For Noble County Commissioner Tyler Moore, it’s been a matter of a promise made and a promise kept.

Back in 2016, in Moore’s first successful campaign for Commissioner, he promised the voters of the county his number one priority was to provide water to every resident not already hooked up to county water.

That promise took a giant step toward being realized when Bob Bond, President of the Noble County Water Authority, told the Commissioners the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development had released the three million dollars made available for Phase III of the Noble County Water Line Expansion project. Funding for Phase IV had already been obtained through a FEMA grant/loan.

To say the entire water line extension project has been a monumental undertaking is an understatement. Generations of Noble County Commissioners have tried to find funding, but it was Moore who was relentless in contacting senators, congressmen, state senators, state representatives, and state and federal officials until he finally opened the right doors, got the money flowing and got the project started.

Moore was not alone in this undertaking. Former Commissioners Gary Rossiter, Virgil Thompson, Brad Peoples and others played significant roles. Present Commissioners Allen Fraley and Gary Saling have been instrumental in bringing this project to its present state. Bob Bond and the Noble County Water Authority Board have worked tirelessly towards gaining funding and seeing this project through to its completion. Bond in particular, has been irreplaceable in seeing that Phase III and IV funding reached Noble County. “This in no way represents the end of our work here,” Bond stated. “Now that we are figuring out the formula for obtaining funding for these projects there is no reason to believe there won’t be a Phase 5-6-7 and 8.”

The county has seen that once Phases I and II were completed, an influx of new homes and new residents has followed those new water lines. This represents progress and renewed hope for the future of the county. There is every reason to believe this phenomenon will continue. The bid opening for the Phase IV construction contract is scheduled for Friday, April 25. Bids will be advertised for the Phase III project soon afterward.

The Phase III Water Line Extension project includes Pleasant Hill Road, Bond Road, Halley’s Ridge Road, Cooper Road, West Road, Akers Road, T-Ridge Road, Cobb Road, Warhol Road, Elijah Danford Road, and Fish. Phase IV includes Mt. Zion Road, Davis Road, SR 285 to Chaseville, and Old Infirmary Road.