Senoia is hopeful on sewer grant

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@thecitizennews.com

Senoia should know by October if nearly half the cost of the second phase of its sewer system will be paid for by a federal grant.

During a Tuesday night public hearing on the grant, city engineer Ben Turnipseed said the city will "probably" receive a rural development grant for $2.6 million. The price tag on the second phase is $6.1 million and low interest loans would pay for the rest of the construction.

The second phase would sewer the existing homes and businesses in town and have an ultimate capacity of 700,000 gallons per day. Currently, the city's first phase is using about 25,000 gallons a day for 50 low-income homes.

Turnipseed estimated it would take nearly two years from when the city received the funds to complete the project. The sewer system will feature eight-inch lines connected to six pump stations that feed the sewage to the town's treatment plant next to Southern Mills on Andrews Parkway.

The grant is the maximum the city can receive, and the engineer said the timing may have been right for getting the funds.

"They use income data from the 1990 Census to figure the amount. If we had waited and used data from the 2000 Census, we might not have received it, since the income level has gone way up," he said.

The city hooked up the first customer to the sewer system earlier this summer after nearly 20 years of debate, planning and discussion.

The first phase is providing sewerage for the town's low-income residents.

The city will then focus on providing sewerage to the town's subdivisions and the businesses on Main Street.

During the town's initial installation of the service, residents will be allowed to hook up for free. But since many of the older homes have their current septic systems in the backyards and the new sewer lines are running along the street, there will still be a cost to make the connection.