For Edgecombe County's two uncompleted water districts, District 5's construction is ahead of schedule, while District 4 is still waiting for funds to be approved before its construction begins.

Edgecombe County's Water and Sewer Director Mike Matthews said District 5, which includes the Leggett, Whitakers and Battleboro area, is running "a little bit ahead of schedule."

McMahan Brothers Pipeline Inc. of Lexington, S.C., is the contractor for the project, which Matthews said costs $5.6 million and is scheduled to be completed in April. He said the work in District 5 includes revamping Leggett's water system and putting in a whole new water system.

At this point of the project, Matthews said McMahan is looking to put new water meters in the district, replacing the old ones.

The county has not accepted a bid for the work on District 4's water system yet, Matthews said. That's because funding for the project is not in place yet.

Work for District 4, which will take over the town of Speed's water system, will cost an estimated $1.2 million, he said. Whether it will be mostly a loan or grant package is uncertain at this point.

The $5.6 million for District 5 is approximately $3.36 million in grants, and $2.24 million in loans, he said.

The one-time fee to hook up to the systems still costs $200, but in District 5, Matthews said he doesn't know how much longer that will last.

He said he doesn't know the "exact date" when the cost to hook up to the water system will increase to $500, and then to $905 when the project is completed. He said that increased is passed from the county to residents, because the construction company bills the county when their cost increases go up during the project's construction.

So far, Matthews said 290 people have signed up for service in District 5, with 185 signing up in District 4.

District 5's area runs west of N.C. 258, north of Tarboro to Halifax and Nash counties. District 4's area is east of N.C. 258, north of U.S. 64 to Halifax and Martin counties.