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Sewer costs
could exceed $1billion
By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@TheCitizenNews.com
You only think you’ve
got a high water bill.
If Coweta County wanted to provide sewer to all its residents and businesess,
the infrastructure costs could top the Austin Powers’- like $1 billion
price tag.
That was just one of the informational nuggets tossed out during last
week’s workshop of the Coweta County Commission.
As the county continues to grow, the question of sewer is becoming a bigger
and more thought-consuming issue for the five members of the commission.
The county has a limited sewerage operation that provides wastewater treatment
for the county’s industrial park in Shenandoah, but other commercial
operations rely on septic tanks.
“We all know we need it at Thomas Crossroads,” said chairman
Leigh Schlumper.
The busy crossroads is the site of three large shopping centers, and Schlumper
said the Publix store had suffered two septic failures in the past few
months. In fact, Schlumper favors creating a community improvement district
for the area that would allow businesses in the area to pay for the infrastructure
if they wanted sewer for their establishment.
When county administrator Theron Gay provided an estimate of what sewer
would cost for the area, you could almost hear a collective gulp in the
room.
“Besides the cost, you probably wouldn’t be able to get permits
for the whole area,” Gay added.
Instead of focusing on getting sewerage for the whole county, Commissioner
Larry DeMoss suggested the county look at a much smaller area.
“We need to look at getting sewer at all the interstate exits to
help spur growth,” he said.
That could provide a less costly option for the county, but county attorney
Mitch Powell also warned the commission about another problem.
“The biggest problem is where you draw the line where the connection
ends,” he said.
Commissioner Greg Tarbutton agreed the county could not provide sewerage
for the whole county, but agreed the county needed to look at expanding
its fledgeling system.
“Sewer’s a resource that can help you improve your tax base,”
he said.
The commission decided not to fund a comprehensive sewer study for the
region, but did instruct staff to investigate the issue further.
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