The community of Laurels in Carter County is moving closer to being connected to public drinking water.

The Carter County Commission agreed to provide county funding to complete the Laurels Road water main extension project.

This would provide ten households in the community with public water.

Bradley Whitson has lived in Laurels for 24 years.

“We’ve had well water since we got here, and I’ve been trying to get public water for years,” he said.

Whitson says you can’t always rely on drinking from the well.

“It’s tricky when it comes to drinking water. You just never know if the water is good or not. With the environmental changes, there’s always the possibility that the water could be contaminated with E.coli, and I just feel safer with public water,” Whitson said.

Patty Woodby, mayor of Carter County, says this project was important to her and the county.

She says providing a clean and sustainable water source for the Laurels community is the first step to improving other areas.

“I really want to work with partners to bring this infrastructure to these homes and families. This is quality of life. We want members of our community to have clean drinking water for their children, grandparents and family members,” Woodby said.

She hopes that this and other projects in the district will have a major impact on the future.

“Bringing water into families’ homes is a meaningful work and that’s exactly what we want to do as leaders here in Carter County. We want to do work that not only changes your daily life, but your life for generations to come,” Woodby said.

A timeline for the project has not yet been set, but when it is completed, households will receive their water from the City of Elizabethton.

Jonathan Pleasant is the city’s general manager of water resources.

“It’s really gratifying … being able to provide that reliability and stability with easily accessible public water is exactly what we’re here for,” Pleasant said.

The county received approval for another project to provide public water to the Garland Branch community in Watauga, affecting 14 households in the area.