Bonnie Buchanan has lived in one of Peachtree City’s oldest neighborhoods since 1985, off Hippocket Road.

In all that time she’s never had a problem with her private septic system, and neither have her neighbors. So she doesn’t understand why city officials are advocating a program to hook up about 80 homes west of Lake Peachtree, including hers, to the city sewer system at an estimated cost of $12,000 per home.

City Manager Bernie McMullen said Tuesday that the proposal from the city is trying to head off potential problems in the future, as 25 lots have either had a leach field or drain line replaced for the septic systems in the past 18 years.

A number of homes in the area may also develop septic problems as they are sold by their long-time owners with one or two occupants to families with children, which would increase the water use and potential for septic problems, McMullen said.

One home in the area that recently had a septic system failure had to build a separate pump and pipe system to link up to the city’s sewer system, McMullen said. Such solutions can cost $30,000 or more, he said.

McMullen said the city is proposing to create a special assessment district that would allow homeowners to be charged for the project cost over a 15- or 20-year period. But that must be approved in a referendum among those homeowners, with at least 50 percent plus one of the homeowners voting in favor.

The cost would be approximately $1,067 to $1,271 a year, depending on the years the project would be financed and the interest rate, McMullen said. The homeowners would also have to then pay a monthly bill for sewer service, he said.

The city could perhaps recoup the costs by charging a monthly assessment on residents’ sewer bills, McMullen said. But it’s also possible it could be collected annually as part of the property tax bill, he added.

McMullen said he understands residents’ concerns about the cost of the project. But, he noted, it would relieve them of worries their septic system might fail.

The city is concerned that when the drought ends septic system failures will increase, McMullen said.

“We’re trying to be proactive ... we’re trying to get in front of this,” McMullen said.

McMullen said the city was disappointed with the turnout at a meeting on the issue Thursday night. He is encouraging residents in the area to appear Saturday, March 7 at the city’s retreat at City Hall in which the City Council will discuss the issue around 9 a.m.

Buchanan worries she and her immediate neighbors are targeted under the program not because they need the sewer service but to make it less expensive for others who would benefit from having the sewer access as an alternative to their septic tanks.

She noted that the homes having septic problems generally are the more expensive lakefront areas, not the more modest homes away from the water and on higher ground.

McMullen said the city isn’t suggesting that residents further from the lake be hooked up to sewer to lessen the financial burden on those nearest the lake. The city decided to explore hooking up all homes in the area that aren’t currently on sewer service in the hopes of avoiding future problems, he said.

If a home were to have a septic system failure, the county health department could declare it uninhabitable until an alternate plan is constructed, McMullen added.

Buchanan wondered why the cost per household wasn’t calculated based on the relative property value of each home in the area, as some homes are worth more than others. She noted that although she hasn’t had any problems with her septic system, she paid a few years ago to have the septic line moved to head off any potential problems.

Buchanan is hoping to get a petition going to force city officials to abandon the plan.

Larry Turner, general manager of the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority, said WASA would not finance the work because that would be unfair to its other rate payers. But if the city proceeds with financing the plan WASA would construct and maintain the needed infrastructure as part of the city’s sewer system, Turner said.

The neighborhood just to the west of Lake Peachtree is one of the city’s pioneer areas and has been without public sewer service from its beginning in the late 1950s.

Several other areas of the city are not sewered either, including such high-dollar areas as Smokerise and estate lots along Robinson Road.