Private outfall ditches in Mathews are finally going to get some attention.

The county has signed a contract with Ditch Maintenance Inc. of Suffolk to clean ditches on an hourly rate basis, beginning as soon as late August or early September. The project will be paid for initially with $308,000 that the county has available under a cost-sharing agreement with the Virginia Department of Transportation.

Mathews County Planning and Zoning Director Thomas Jenkins, who is overseeing the project, said that the first three ditches that will receive attention are located in the following areas: along Peachie Lane on Gwynn’s Island, continuing near Spirit Branch Road, and emptying into Edwards Creek; off Gullwing Cove in Diggs, emptying into Garden Cove, and off Antioch Road near Antioch Church, running to Bellevue Road in Susan, then continuing to Route 14 near St. Paul Church.

Although the last ditch runs behind the St. Paul graveyard and empties into Horn Harbor, Jenkins said that t...