CENTRAL – The City of Central will ask contractors to bid on a drainage project that the city hopes will prevent flooding.

The mayor hoped the project would be further along and now it could take another month, or even longer, before drainage work even starts.

"As soon as we get a contractor hired, it will be by 3-4 weeks," Mayor Junior Shelton said.

The city expected to have the work start already, however it ran into problems the first time it asked contractors for bids.

Donald Hunt and other homeowners are waiting for a city-wide draining project in hopes it will help to unclog and prevent flooding.

"Well I'd like to see it work, I know we can't control God's plan but I think we can at least keep the ditches clean," Hunt said.

Residents also hope that there will eventually be stricter oversight on developments to help regulate what goes into drainage canals.

"Now where you have one subdivision where it's higher than the one next door. Yeah, there's issues there," Jeffrey Meyers, drainage expert said.

Mayor Shelton said that once an existing drainage system is in place, where the water goes is a top priority.

"When it is developed, we have an ordinance, that says no more water can leave that property than left there prior to it being developed," Shelton said.

City officials say the project will cost $4 million for the cleaning and another $2.6 million would come from the city's drainage fund for the project.