SOUTH POINT - The Village of South Point is poised for growth - and local officials want to help the process along.

One way the local government is ensuring that growth is possible is by expanding the village's sewer system.

"In order to grow, we've got to have it - to ensure that our area is going to grow. It also makes the whole area grow," Village and Sewer District Administrator Pat Leighty said.

The project will cost more than $1 million but that does not mean village coffers will be running dry.

Mayor William Gaskin said the project will not cost residents a dime extra. It is paid for by loans and grants that will cover most of the cost.

The village already has the grants in place through the Appalachian Regional Commission and Issue 2.

With the funding in line, village officials hope to let the project go to bid by October. The project will increase the capacity of the sewer plant to be able to treat 1.8 million gallons a day instead of the 1.2 million gallons it is now equipped to treat.

"Our plant is nearing capacity and we're doubling our capacity by 50 percent," Leighty said.

The sewer district extends from the Lawrence County Airpark to County Road 1 and out to Sunrise. That is approximately 20 to 30 miles of line that services around 12,000 people.

Although The Point industrial park is a good reason to increase it and will benefit from the work, Leighty said they would have had to increase it anyway, because the whole district has grown. The idea for the increase came from the EPA.

This will be the third extension to the sewer plant. The others were to improve the amount of treatment; this one is to improve the capacity.

"We've outgrown our present system, it needs to be updated," Gaskin said. "We should increase it and we are going to."