Friday, July 20, 2001
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Friday, July 20, 2001 |
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New water source is on the way By JOHN
THOMPSON
Coweta's water users should be breathing a sigh of relief by the beginning of the week. That's when Coweta County will connect to the water lines from the city of Atlanta and bring an additional source of water flowing into Coweta's taps. County Administrator Theron Gay said the county will receive at least 2.8 million gallons a day. The contract between Coweta County and Atlanta also calls for up to 15 million gallons of drinking water per day within five years based on improvements to the Atlanta Water System. The water being purchased from will be priced at approximately 90 cents per thousand gallons under an agreed rebate program, which is designed to offer reduced water rates to Coweta County as a means to repay the county for the cost of needed water lines outside the county's borders. After the rebate, the water price is set to be $1.25 per thousand gallons. Newnan Utilities, currently the sole provider of water to the county system, charges $1.45 per thousand gallons. Coweta County's water system currently uses an average of five million gallons of water per day and peaked at approximately nine million gallons during 2000. While the contract with the city of Atlanta provides an immediate boost to the county's available water supply, it is by no means the only avenue being worked on by the Board of Commissioners to provide additional water for the county's system Also in hand is a contract with the city of Griffin to provide up to 10 million gallons of water per day incrementally beginning in 2004-2005, based on completion of new treatment and storage facilities. Work also is progressing on a treatment facility at the B.T. Brown Reservoir in northwestern Coweta County that will provide between six and eight million gallons per day. Completion is scheduled for the end of 2003.
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