Many residents in the annexed areas of Brookhaven are just a deposit payment away from receiving water and sewer from the city.

Letters from Kayla Watts, the billing administrator for the water department, are going out this week to residents who have recently been connected to either water lines, sewer lines or both.

“We need to get something out there to let them know to get it set up,” Public Works Director Keith Lewis told the Board of Aldermen Tuesday night.

The city has been running water and sewer lines in several areas including Moreton Estates, Lakewood Village, Pandora Subdivision, Crooked Lane and a portion of Country Club Drive as well as several others.

The water department needs to update the records that are on file. Lewis is asking residents to come in person to Room 107 in the Lincoln County-Brookhaven Government Complex at 301 South First St. and bring a valid photo ID and $125 for a refundable service deposit.

“Please come in within 30 days of the date of this letter to update your information or the water/sewer services will be suspended until the updated information is completed,” Watts’ letter reads.

Lewis said the deposit is required for the new addresses that have been hooked up to the service, but is less than a normal deposit. The $10 activation fee has been waived.

Customers are not required to pay a hook-up fee which would normally cost $1,000 for sewer and $1,200 for water. Greenbriar Digging Service is providing the hook-ups to the city services at no cost to the homeowners.

The Annexation Improvements Project includes the following areas:

• Water and sewer into Deer Run.

• Water and sewer into Moreton Estates.

• Water only along Natchez Drive from Zetus Road to Hwy 84.  

• Sewer only into Lakewood Village. 

• Water only out East Monticello to Crooked Lane, up Crooked Lane to Old Highway 51, along Ozark Lane to Williams Street, and along Williams Street between Ozark Lane and Crooked Lane. 

• Water only along Sawmill Lane between Old Highway 51 and Industrial Park Road.

• Water along Hwy. 51 North from Industrial Park Road to New Sight Drive.

• Sewer along Hwy. 51 North from Heritage Family Church to New Sight Drive and into Pandora Subdivision.

• Sewer only into Weed Lane,  a portion of Country Club Drive and a portion of North Jackson Street.  

• Water only along Union Street Extension, from Industrial Park Road to I-55.

Aldermen voted in February to finalize two 20-year loans — which total $8.5 million — for the Annexation Improvements Project. The loans, through the State Revolving Fund, are from Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality for sewer service and the state Department of Health for water. The MDEQ loan is for $5,583,000 at 1.95 percent. The MDH loan is for $2,934,000 at 1.75 percent. Both are for 237 months.

Besides paying for extension of water and sewer lines into the neighborhoods, the project also includes renovations and repairs of the Brookhaven Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Greenbriar was the lowest bidder for the water and sewer expansion at $6,390,000. The treatment plant renovations are another $1.1 million, and the rest is engineering and other associated costs, McKenzie said.

The idea of the project began in 2005 when Brookhaven began the process of annexing parts of Lincoln County, which officials said was to keep the city fiscally viable. The annexation came with the promise of expanding city services including fire protection, police services, parks, road maintenance, solid waste and water and sewer to annexed areas. Once homes are connected, residents will start receiving bills from the city for those fee-based services.

For more information about water and sewer services, call 601-833-7721.