By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@thecitizennews.com

Photocircuits Atlanta Inc. in Peachtree City is by far the largest water user in Fayette County, according to an analysis of the June water bills sent out by the Fayette County Water System.

The company ran a tab for 25.6 million gallons of water, which is the equivalent of filling over 1,000 backyard swimming pools per month.

A total of 16 water-using entities each metered over a million gallons of water in June, according to the numbers released by the water system.

Photocircuits not only tops the list, but its use is more than the next nine highest water bills on the list combined.

Scott Formel, a superintendent with Photocircuits, says the company tries to recycle water when it is economically feasible. The plant, which manufactures electronic circuit boards, uses water to create chemicals and rinse off other chemicals.

Photocircuits is the top employer in the county, providing over 1,300 jobs.

Two other industries cracked the top 10: Hoshizaki America Inc., in third place with over 3.2 million gallons used in June, and TDK Electronics with 2.58 million gallons, good for sixth on the list.

The second largest water user in the county for June was the Fayette County Board of Education, which used 4.6 million gallons at its various facilities throughout the area.

The only other governmental entity that made the list was the Federal Aviation Administration, which was fourth overall with a usage of 3.09 million gallons for June.

There were only two other businesses on the list of users breaking the million-gallon mark: the Fayette Pavilion retail center (fifth overall, total usage of 2.73 million gallons) and Fayette County Hospital (seventh overall, total usage of 2.53 million gallons).

The rest of the list is comprised of residential units as follows:

8. Twiggs Corner Condominiums, 2.04 million gallons;

9. Harmony Village Apartments, 2 million gallons;

10. Amli at Peachtree City, 1.7 million gallons;

11. Balmoral Apartments, 1.62 million gallons;

12. Sheraton Conference Center, 1.54 million gallons;

13. Aberdeen Conference Center, 1.29 million gallons;

14. Shiloh Mobile Home Park, 1.28 million gallons;

15. Ridgefield Condominiums, with 1.11 million gallons; and

16. Marnelle Mobile Home Park, with 1.10 million gallons.