Thanks to grant funding from the commonwealth and Schuylkill County, 23 customers in Newkirk are getting hooked up to the municipal water supply of Tamaqua for the first time, as opposed to relying on a ground well.

The Tamaqua Water Authority is extending its line from the borough to the village under a contract awarded to Mazzuca Enterprises, Pottsville.

The first Newkirk resident hooked up to the Tamaqua line is Lorraine Bickelman, who was able to turn on her faucet to get borough water after Draper & Yost, Hometown, activated her extension.

The project is being paid for by a $350,000 Pennsylvania Department of Community Economic Development grant and a $50,000 contribution from the county.