Sunday, November 3, 2002
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Sunday, November 3, 2002 |
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Lake McIntosh plan presented to public; would surround Planterra subdivision By JOHN
MUNFORD
A rendering of the proposed location of the Lake McIntosh reservoir between Fayette and Coweta counties shows the lake would border Peachtree City's Planterra Ridge subdivision on three sides. The rendering was displayed at a public information meeting about the project Tuesday evening in Fayetteville. If Fayette County gets the necessary federal and state permits to build the 650-acre lake, it will provide approximately 8 million gallons of drinking water a day. Construction of the lake will take between two and three years from the time work begins until the lake is filled, said Tommy Craig, an environmental attorney from Covington who has coordinated the project for the county. Craig said he felt confident the project will get the go-ahead, although the process of seeking the permits will likely be difficult at times. Although the project disturbs a significant amount of wetlands, the other two alternatives studied by the county would impact larger wetland areas, he said. With an estimated population of over 233,000 people in 2030, the county figures it will need a daily water supply of 31.3 million gallons, Craig explained. When the county's future water needs were tabulated, several current water sources were deemed to be unreliable because of drought conditions, Craig said. Line Creek and Whitewater Creek, which combine for a capacity of 4.6 million gallons a day, and groundwater wells which can produce up to 4.33 million gallons a day, fell into that category. "This is about making our community drought-proof," Craig said. The county also cannot count on purchasing up to 4 million gallons of water a day from the city of Atlanta because that contract expires next year and the cost could increase dramatically, Craig added. The county already owns the land for the project, which has been on the drawing board since the early 1970s. County leaders later decided to build the Lake Horton reservoir first. Craig said the Lake McIntosh plan has taken a while because of the need to compile 566 acres of land in other locations for wetland restoration, enhancement and preservation purposes. Those properties were purchased with conservation easements that will last into perpetuity, Craig added. The idea is to take the farmland and turn it back into habitat for wildlife, he said. The county's plan involves damming up Line Creek to create the lake. The dam will be located west of Dividend Drive and north of Kelly Drive in Peachtree City. There are no federally protected species over six miles downstream from the proposed dam, Craig said. The project will impact a historic site which will be removed from the area and either displayed locally or sent to the University of Georgia, Craig said. Craig declined to disclose the location of the historic site because it could encourage others to loot the site before it can be properly excavated, he said. The county's plan also calls for a 150-foot buffer protection area on either side of streams and tributaries that feed into Line Creek to keep runoff and sediment from entering the lake. This buffer would also extend around the perimeter of Lake McIntosh, Craig said. Dennis Chase of the Line Creek Association questioned how the buffer area would be enforced, particularly since some of the streams are in Coweta County, which is outside of the Fayette County Commission's jurisdiction. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division is ineffective in such matters, Chase said. Craig replied that the Georgia Department of Community Affairs has employees to "police" governmental compliance and can revoke their "qualified local government" status, which affects a government's eligibility for grants, among other things. "There are negative economic sanctions," Craig said. Fayette County will be aggressive in fighting runoff and sediment problems since they can take away from the capacity of the lake, Craig said. "We are going to be real concerned about the water quality of this lake," Craig said. The county considered two other sites for the reservoir, one at the north end of Whitewater Creek and one at the south end. The northern site was not fully investigated since it would affect a large number of existing homes, which would make the project much more expensive, Craig said. The southern site on Whitewater Creek would cause Starr's Mill to become inundated with water, which is why it was not chosen as a reservoir site, Craig added. The public meeting was attended by representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which plays a pivotal role in whether to permit the Lake McIntosh plan.
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