One message was clear from a meeting last week between county officials and residents of New Hope community: Wherever it is built, a new 2 million-gallon water tank is needed.

"We're appealing to you tonight... we need another water tank," said Chuck Watkins, vice chairman of the county water committee. Watkins kicked off the informational meeting designed to make the county's case that the tank is needed and that the chosen site is the best one for it.

A 500,000-gallon tank on Ga. Highway 92 at Lee's Mill Road is currently serving two-thirds of Fayette, which includes almost all of the county's unincorporated areas, according to information presented at the meeting. Its coverage area includes the city of Fayetteville, which can buy water from the county under an agreement between the two governments.

If there's a major power outage so that electric pumps can't pressurize water lines, elevated storage tanks are needed to provide gravity pressure to keep the water flowing for drinking as well as to fight fires, said Jack Krakeel, director of public safety for the county.

Fire fighting would use up the pressure from the current north Fayette tank in 30 minutes, Krakeel said. Adding a 2 million-gallon tank would provide pressure for two hours, he added.

The county currently has a 1 million-gallon tank and a 250,000-gallon tank in Peachtree City, plus a 500,000-gallon tank at Crabapple Road and Ga. Highway 74, and a 75,000-gallon tank that serves Brooks, said Tony Parrott, water system director.

There are long-range plans to build two more water tanks in south Fayette, but the county still won't have enough storage, he said. Plans are to start building more water lines to serve more residents of south Fayette later this year.

"We can't get ahead," said Parrott.

Water systems usually try to store enough water to supply an average day's use, said Parrott. Fayette's average use is about 7 million gallons a day, he said, and peak usage shoots up to as much as 14 mgd. The current 2.75 million gallons of storage falls far short, and adding the 2 million-gallon tank in north Fayette won't completely solve the problem, he said.

The need for the new tank is critical to keep pressure up throughout the system, he said, and also just to be sure there is water for drinking and bathing if there's a power outage. "The power went off at the [water treatment] plant July 16 and we lost pressure for 45 minutes," he said. "A half million gallons doesn't last long at 8 in the morning anymore."