SILEX – It’s raining money in Silex.

The Department of Natural Resources recently waived its magical grant wand and awarded $591,000 to the town for its ongoing effort to provide drinking water to its residents.

With the radium levels teetering between what is deemed safe and unsafe, the city declared a water emergency in September 2023, and periodically shut off water to residents. Since then, the water has sporadically been deemed safe to drink while not during other times, prompting the city to provide bottled water to residents for consumption.

The city received nearly $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for a project that will connect the city with Pike County for water service.

After receiving the funding and approval for the project, Silex then learned construction costs exceeded earlier projections by $400,000.

But then Mayor Lon Luckett received a call from a DNR official, Greg Powell, with an end-of-year fiscal miracle.

“He (Powell) said we’ve been going over the budget here and we think we’ve found some state funds for your water project,” Luckett said of her conversation with Powell. “I said, that’s awesome.”

Originally, Luckett said they planned on covering the deficit with funds earmarked for sewer improvements.

The news only got better when Luckett heard the amount of the grant, $591,000, and the fact there was no match required from the city.

“He said, now you’re going to have some paperwork that’s going to need to be signed. And so they sent it Friday,” Luckett said. “I was not able to do it at home, so I came down here. I said, if they’re going to give us a half a million dollars, I’m going to risk a little snow.”

The good news didn’t stop with the financial windfall as Luckett also reported work started Monday on the project as the contractor was moving equipment to the Pike County location where the pipe will start.

Luckett said they will be running pipe down to Silex soon and they expect to be finished by “March or April.”

“That’s everything,” Luckett said. “That’s meters in and everything except the tower. That’s connecting the two cities, the two portions of the city.”

After Luckett hit the highlights of the project, Alderman Steve McDonald remarked what may be the best part for the community: no more bottled water.

“I’m figuring we might have to buy three more shipments of bottled water,” Luckett said. “Maybe two. We will have to see.”

Luckett said the city spends about $4,000 per shipment of water which typically lasts six to eight weeks. In 2024, Luckett said they spent $16,000 on water.

The city had been storing the water in two donated tractor trailers, but has since built, heated and insulated a storage space for the bottled water.

“So we are sitting in a very blessed position, I feel,” Luckett said. “I’ve been walking on air. I’ve just been walking on air. That’s just fabulous news.”