CARIBOU – City councilors agreed Monday night to apply for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant to fund most of a $682,000 project to upgrade nearly 5,600 feet of water lines on four city streets.

The project is expected to be constructed during the summer along the project area that includes Limestone, Broadway, Water and Utility streets.

The local match, $182,000 will come from a Maine Drinking Water Program loan.

According to Alan E. Hitchcock, general manager of the Caribou Utilities District, the project will replace 5,000 feet of 12-inch water main, 100 feet of 6- and 8-inch pipes and 400 feet of three-quarter-inch copper pipes that serve residences and business along the route.

The city expects the application will be approved. The city has been asked to make a final second phase application for the funds. That means the project is nearly a shoo-in to be funded.

The present line, which was said to be very old, has had discoloration and rust problems over the years. The area involved has unlined cast-iron pipes, which have been prone to breakage several times in recent years.

The Caribou Utilities District has been in violation of contaminant levels because of the rust and discoloration of the water servicing the area.

The project will be tied in to a new well that the city is looking to install for city water. The well project is part of the $1,545,000 loan from the Maine Drinking Water Program.

“Customers in the target area will enjoy improved water quality and reduced health and safety concerns,” Hitchcock said in his report to the City Council on Monday night. “Preliminary engineering is under way for the project with final design expected last this month.

“Construction is expected for June to December 2005,” he said. “Without this funding [CDBG], the existing substandard water main will remain in place, reducing the quality of the new water source.”

“I don’t see any reason why this application won’t be funded,” Mary Walton, director of the city’s community development office, said Monday night. “This will be this year’s project, since matching funds are already in place.”