Jefferson County is now just one step away from owning the village of Smithfield's water system, something commissioners said they have been working on for more than a year.

All village officials have to do is sign the agreement and they will officially hand over their water system to the county.

NEWS9 sat down with County Commissioner Tom Gentile Friday to find out how progress has been going over the last few weeks, and he said things have been progressing smoothly.

Village officials tell NEWS9 that earlier this month, council voted to pass the agreement with commissioners, which Gentile said will allow for progress in the southern part of the county, not only for Smithfield, but for other communities nearby.

"We are working with a community called Bradley which has been trying to get water for many years that is just outside of Smithfield. This will allow us to expand water service to customers that aren't currently served by a good source of drinking water and water they can rely on," Gentile said.

Gentile added that there will be a lot of work to do once the county takes control, such as repairing leaks and meters, but he said officials are prepared.

Nothing is official until the agreement is signed, but village officials are expected to do that once they have a clean copy of the agreement.