Wednesday, March 7, 2001
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Wednesday, March 7, 2001 |
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Fayette's ready for summer drought By DAVE
HAMRICK Fayette County Water System is ready for another dry season, but local officials would like a little more flexibility in dealing with summer demand. The county's reservoirs are now full, reported Tony Parrott, director of the Water System. "We're ready for summertime," Parrott told the county Water Committee last week. But state-imposed mandatory watering restrictions actually create a problem for the Water System, he added. In addition to allowing outdoor watering on an odd-even schedule, the state bans all watering from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., which creates a spike of peak demand in the early morning, he said. "We would prefer odd-even all day long so we don't have that peak in the morning," he said. Committee members voted to recommend that the County Commission write a letter to the state Environmental Protection Division and, in the words of Chairman Chuck Watkins, "tell them why we want to go back to odd-even watering. We've been using this system for a long time and it's worked really well," he said. The Water Committee also took steps to reduce the effects of that peak demand on the water tanks at Ga. Highway 92 and Lee's Mill Road, thus reducing the possibility that customers in the area will run into water pressure problems. Sixteen-inch water lines on Westbridge Road feed the current 500,000-gallon tank and will feed the two-million-gallon tank under construction next to it, and those lines can't carry water fast enough to fill the tanks overnight. So if evening demand is high, it's difficult to get the tanks full for the morning peak, said Parrott. Committee members unanimously approved a recommendation that the County Commission approve engineering work for a new 24-inch line along New Hope Road to feed the tanks, along with a booster pump on Ellis road. A two-million-gallon tank on Ellis Road will be filled by 30-inch lines coming directly from the county's new water treatment plant on Antioch Road, and the booster pump will allow the thirsty tank on Hwy. 92 to drink its fill from the same source.
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