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The Barrow County Water & Sewerage Authority will soon be making plans for its office relocation.
The authority voted unanimously to authorize Chairman Stan Coley to sign the contract with Barrow County to purchase the former Holsenbeck fire station on Highway 211 near Highway 11 for $300,000. The motion was made by Ron Beacham and seconded by David Hawthorne.
The authority would take possession of the property, where a future water tower could be built, at closing.
The authority had been considering the property acquisition to better position the water office in the largest water service area it serves and to prepare for growth potential.
The water authority is also setting itself ready to assist Barrow County and the cities of Auburn, Winder and Carl to be postured for growth when development activities revive after this economic downturn.
Myron Garrett, who heads the water department activities for the county, said he is excited about the sewer plans now being finalized through a memorandum of agreement between Barrow County and the City of Winder.
"I got excited when I got to looking at it," said Garrett of the cooperative venture which will provide needed sewer service to Auburn and Carl and serve the Highway 211 corridor up to Beaver Dam Road. Garrett said the Highway 211 gateway will be well served by the plan which will reserve the Tanners Bridge land application capacity for development around the Bethlehem and University Parkway area, possibly opening the gateways of Highway 53, 81 and possibly 11.
The former plan was to take Auburn area sewer south to the Tanners Bridge site and possibly construct a new facility which was estimated to cost $20 million.
Garrett said when Engineer Neil Counts and Wastewater Director Mark Whiddon got together on examining sewer plans, the proposal to alter the projects more in line with the original sewer study provided a plausible means of accomplishing service and economic development goals in a more cost-effective manner.
The ability to begin utilizing the 1 million a day wastewater capacity the county is paying for in the City of Winder’s wastewater treatment plant in the Cedar Creek basin is a smart move, said Garrett.
"I’m glad to see this happening the way it’s happening," said Coley. With the price of pipe and labor currently down, he said the authority should expect to be asked to vote on financing the pipe purchase, perhaps in January. A called meeting may be needed to get the wheels in motion once the final drawings are prepared.
Coley said a Wednesday morning meeting will be held with representatives of the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) to further discuss a loan to finance the proposed sewer line project.
"They want us to buy the pipe and we’ll get paid back when the loan goes through," said Coley.
"Things are going to pick up some day," said Garrett. "Barrow County must have infrastructure in place and not have to go out and build when one guy wants to locate." Being proactive now will position Barrow for enhanced growth potential, he suggests.
The authority is continuing its efforts to provide additional water storage capacity for the county looking to the year 2050. A water study has projected there is an 8 million gallon deficit in water availability.
Phil Schmitt of Schmitt Engineering & Land Surveying presented his findings related to reservoir storage potential of the Barber Creek site.
Coley was able to secure sufficient signatures from property owners around the area and, with authorization from the authority, engaged Schmitt to take another look at the reservoir’s potential on the ground.
Schmitt said his preliminary engineering found the Jordan Jones & Goulding water study provided good data and determined Barrow County GIS data is also good.
Schmitt used GPS equipment to estimate the sustained water storage elevation for Watershed Dam No. 6, one of the watershed structures in the county constructed to help control flooding. Called 54-acre Lake, the body of water has filled with silt and could likely benefit from dredging, Coley has noted. The dredging could gain additional raw water storage capacity.
The normal pool of the current structure is at an elevation of 786 feet Mean Sea Level and Schmitt projected raising the elevation in intervals of 2 feet before attaining an elevation of 796. By raising the elevation by 10 feet, Schmitt estimates storage capacity could be increased by 239 million gallons. With the base volume of 57 million gallons, the total storage capacity could be 296 million gallons. The area of the reservoir would reach 100 acres but the water level would not impinge on the University Parkway, he noted.
The proposed raising of Reservoir #10 below the watershed dam could gain another 824 million gallons of added storage if the elevation is raised to match the 796 of the watershed dam. With its base volume, the total storage could total 1.3 billion gallons.
However, Coley said the additional expense of the Reservoir #10 may be unnecessary if the Rocky Creek project is pursued. He said it was "far more important in the priority" due to its proximity to where water is needed and where a treatment plant which could treat additional capacity is already in place.
"We could save money and satisfy the water needs," said Coley.
In January, Coley said he expects to have Dr. Jack Crowley, University of Georgia professor in the School of Environmental Design, with his students to present their proposals related to the Statham reservoir.
Coley said he is only one-third of the way in meeting with property owners around the proposed Rocky Creek reservoir site to explain the proposed projects and ask for signatures to allow surveying on their property.
Coley said he is finding individuals who are absolutely for the reservoirs, absolutely against them or interested in more information. Coley said everyone, including the authority members, should be like the latter.
Coley said producing the same type of preliminary engineering on Rocky Creek which Schmitt generated for the proposed Statham reservoir would assist the authority in better assessing the next step in the process.
In a motion by Ron Beacham which was seconded by Truman Phillips, the authority authorized Schmitt to proceed with the job at the same rate of compensation as the Statham project: $95 an hour for engineer, $60 an hour for an assistant engineer and $100 an hour for surveying.
Schmitt said he planned to have the report prepared for presentation at the authority’s Jan. 19, 2010 meeting.
