The Peachtree City Council deep-sixed a proposal Thursday night that would have allowed the town of Senoia to treat up to 500,000 gallons of sewage a day at a Peachtree City plant.

The City Council action to deny the request from Senoia and the Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority was unanimous. The deal would have allowed Senoia to double its current sewer capacity; several council members said they couldn’t justify enabling Senoia’s growth, and they hoped that denying the sewer access would at least slow the town’s growth plans.

That growth certainly would have affected traffic through Tyrone on Ga. Highway 74, which is the typical route Senoia residents take to reach the interstate.

Senoia officials contend they will find another way to increase the town's sewer capacity to foster population growth. Peachtree City Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford said denying Senoia’s sewer request would likely "buy some time" for Peachtree City to prepare its infrastructure for Senoia's impending growth.

The Senoia town manager said there are plans to annex property on the city's border in several locations to account for the new growth.

Several Peachtree City Council members cited the adverse impact the increased traffic would have on the quality of life for Peachtree City residents, especially since Ga. Highway 74 is the main avenue for Senoia and Peachtree City residents to reach Interstate 85.

WASA officials contended that without the Senoia deal, they will have to raise residential sewer rates by as much as $6 a month to make up for more than $500,000 in revenue it lost when the top sewer customer, the Photocircuits manufacturing plant, shut its doors last year.

WASA General Manager Larry Turner said the utility is $200,000 behind its budget projections revenue-wise in the current fiscal year. He predicted the authority would have to use about $400,000 from its reserve fund to balance the budget this year.

Local biologist Dennis Chase noted that if the city needed to expand its sewage treatment plants in the future, it would either degrade the water quality of Line Creek significantly or it would be extremely costly to build the plant expansion so the wastewater can be treated at a higher level to maintain water quality.

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