Wednesday, May 4, 2005 | ||
Bad Links? | High water usage may face penaltyBy JOHN MUNFORD Water your lawn a lot? Get ready to pay premium prices for using more water than average. Fayette County water customers can expect to pay higher rates for high usage in the near future, as the Georgia Environmental Protection Division will require them to urge conservation of water. The county will have to decide whether to impose the new conservation rate solely on residential customers, or if it is necessary to do so for business users too, said Tony Parrott, director of the Fayette County Water System. The countys water committee discussed the concept of conservation rates at its meeting Wednesday, but they did not talk about specific figures that might be used. The matter will be fleshed out further at an upcoming meeting. Some metro Atlanta water systems have already adopted water conservation rates. In Henry County, for example, users pay an additional $4.03 per 1,000 gallons of water between 3,000 and 9,000 gallons of usage. After that, customers are charged $6.03 for every 1,000 gallons of water used. Fayette County water customers pay a minimum fee of $16 for the first 2,000 gallons of water used, and it costs an addition $2.80 for every 1,000 gallons after that point, up until the 20,000 gallon rate, whereupon a $25 penalty is added. That penalty was added several years ago when the county faced a summer drought, Parrott noted. Last summer was not quite as dry as we have been in the past, Parrott told the water committee. Parrott said one simple water conservation tip is to make sure when washing a car to use a nozzle on the end of the hose so the water doesnt continuously run out. The idea of charging more money for higher water usage originally came from the North Georgia Metropolitan Water Planning District. The state of Georgia is involved in various litigation with the states of Alabama and Florida regarding water usage, and rapid growth in metro Atlanta is predicted to put an ever-increasing demand on the areas water supply. In other business, the committee discussed the possibility of changing its policy of when to cut off water service for customers with unpaid bills. The cut-off rate ballooned to 355 in March of this year, up from 192 in September 2003, Parrott reported. After a bill is past due for 30 days, a letter is sent to the property and a phone call is attempted, Parrott said. Then, if the bill remains unpaid a water system employee is sent to cut off the meter, but the employee first knocks on the door and offers to take a payment on the spot to avoid having to cut off the meter, Parrott added. Several water committee members indicated they would like to see the policy become more stringent and less forgiving of those who are late with their payments. |
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