Wednesday, November 28, 2001
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Wednesday, November 28, 2001 |
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New water plant built with future in mind By DAVE
HAMRICK
One can't escape the feeling of spaciousness when walking through Fayette County's new South Fayette Water Treatment Plant on Antioch Road. But it's not wasted space. The plant is designed to ultimately triple the amount of water it can treat, without having to build any new buildings. Invited dignitaries will get a chance to tour the plant at a special open house Dec. 4. Operating since early summer, the plant is open for tours anytime for students and other groups. Phone 770-461-1146 to set one up. Built at a cost of $12 million over the last two years, the plant is now delivering six million gallons a day of treated water to county homes, increasing the county's overall capacity to 20 mgd. As future demand warrants, the plant is already equipped to increase its production to nine mgd, and space is provided for additional pumps, filters and pipes to double that, to 18 mgd. Raw water flows into a 27-million-gallon holding pond from across the road at the county's new Horton Creek Reservoir. If need be, water can be pumped from nearby Flint River directly into the holding pond, or into Lake Horton. And the county recently decided to spend an additional $1.19 million to upgrade the pumps and lines to handle the future expansion. The South Fayette plant is a key component of the county Water Committee's long-term plan to keep the water supply ahead of demand for years to come. The plant is tied into a recently completed loop water line so that water can be sent to anywhere in the county from anywhere in the county, operator Alisa McCathern explains. For instance, in addition to supplying the current six mgd to the South Fayette Plant, the system pumps eight mgd of raw water to the Crosstown Treatment Plant in Peachtree City, which was recently expanded from 4.5 to 13.4 mgd capacity. With a tap on the keyboard, McCathern calls up a schematic showing the current condition of all the water tanks and plants in the system. Two new water tanks now under construction will almost double the above-ground storage of treated water, from 3.75 million gallons to 7.25 million gallons. A tank at Ga. Highway 92 and Lee's Mill Road is almost complete crews are painting now and officials hope to start using the tank in January. And clearing has just begun for a tank on Ellis Road just off Ga. Highway 85. Each tank will hold two million gallons. An older half-million-gallon tank will be torn down.
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