At Monday’s Washington City Council meeting, members voted unanimously to accept a North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources $35,000 grant.

Washington Mayor Mac Hodges applied for the Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) in April on behalf of the city. The grant will go towards a sanitary sewer evaluation study.

City officials plan to use the TAG in the 11th and 13th streets drainage basin. The grant will only be used in that area’s drainage basin, according to city officials.

“Once we have identified the problem, it will open us up to seeking another grant to fix the problem,” said William Pitt, Washington city councilman. “Drainage is one of the major problems and issues in the community.”

The grant is part of the North Carolina Clean Water Revolving Loan Grant Act of 1987. The financial assistance is designed to help municipalities with the construction of wastewater treatment and collection, water supply systems, along with water conservation projects.

City planners will hire engineers to complete a new design for the drainage system. Following the completion of the study, Pitt said city officials will apply for another grant to construct the project.

“It will help alleviate some of the flooding problems, and this is will be the engineering part of it, then we’ll come up with a plan,” Pitt said.