Ideas were flowing Thursday afternoon as mayors, water department supervisors, other elected officials and members of the Barrow County Water & Sewerage Authority focused on needing water needs – now and into the future.

Among the options discussed was the possibility of water reservoirs in Barrow County developed through partnership efforts could enhance the community’s ability to store the abundance of water which flows in rivers during the winter and have the stored capacity available for treatment in the summer months when river levels drop.

Water authority chairman Stan Coley called the session to order at the authority’s office to give those stakeholder-participants in a spring 2007 and others an opportunity to get an update on the third phase of the water supply study conducted by Bill Martello of Jordan, Jones & Goulding.

Coley addressed a question raised at the first meeting which had launched the study which all the water providers agreed to participate in and which the authority agreed to fund. Consolidation of government is not the objective, but instead, Coley said coordinated infrastructure to provide quality service and cost-effectiveness through any economy of scale or cooperative, joint ventures would benefit all residents of Barrow County and its municipalities.

Coley introduced Martello who provided a copy of the technical memorandum to each community. It had previously been shared with the authority which called for a follow-up meeting with those who would be involved in working to address future water needs. The strategic planning for the year 2030 when the county’s population is projected to be as high as 173,748, according to the Northeast Georgia Regional Development Center, or 112,255 as estimated by the Atlanta Regional Commission, is critical.

Looking to the year 2030, Martello estimated the water needs in Barrow County could be 28.7 million gallons  a day and current capacity for the entire county is 15.835 mgd. The shortfall of approximately 8 mgd needs to be addressed. Where will Barrow County look for that additional water supply to meet customer demands?

Martello suggests the answer will be multi-faceted with the Bear Creek Reservoir providing 11 million gallons a day peak month average day. Barrow County has a 19 percent reservoir allocation at Bear Creek. The county also has a percent share of the treated water from the water plant.

Barrow may be able to secure additional capacity from fellow member-counties not using all their allocation, and next year, plans will be undertaken by the Upper Oconee Water Basin Authority to explore additional water storage and treatment capacity for the future.

A potential lawsuit between Jackson County and other UOBWA member-counties could be an issue on the horizon.

Martello said Barrow County has been approached by Gwinnett County which has additional water available for sale. The cost of Gwinnett County may be a deterrent in using an abundance from the next-door neighbor. Auburn and Braselton limit their purchase but Braselton will be maintaining its contract with Gwinnett County as a future water source, said Braselton Mayor Pat Graham.

But Mayor Thompson said when water is needed, price may not be much of a consideration.

Mayor Graham asked if it would be advantageous for Braselton’s entire service area to be included in the study to give a better representation and perhaps expand possibilities for future water sources.

Graham said the success of its recent well drilling has netted the system almost 1 million gallons a day from four of the five drilled wells plus the planned expansion of reuse options means Braselton will be able to provide for its future water needs with plans also in the works for a surface water reservoir using water from the Mulberry River. Pending with the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) is a withdrawal permit request from early spring of 2007.

Graham said Braselton hopes to reduce some of its wholesale water purchases but plans to have the 700,000 gallons a day contract with Barrow County as part of its long-range supply components. Braselton also gets water from Jackson County.

Statham Mayor Robert Bridges and Tim Elmore of that city’s utilities department indicated Statham will be primarily self-sufficient in its ability to meet its residents’ water needs as upgrading of the existing plant and future expansion of the plant will provide the 1.4 million gallons a day (mgd) projected to be needed in the year 2030. Statham’s peak month average day was 400,000 gallons in 2005 and is expected to grow to 600,000 by 2010 and to 1 mgd by 2020.

“What we have, we share with Barrow County,” said Bridges of its excess water supply.

Auburn Mayor Linda Blechinger and Public Works Director David Hawthorne confirmed the current and estimated future water demands for Auburn seem to be on target with the city’s projections.

Myron Garrett, Superintendent of the Barrow County Water System, was also at the meeting and was complimented by Martello on “pushing the limits beyond” what the 24-line county transmission line was originally designed to do. A northern loop was originally in the plan but was abandoned in the past due to financial constraints. Enhancing what the transmission line can do in the future will likely require coordination with those water suppliers with treatment capabilities as placement of future water storage should be sited where movement of raw and treated water can be efficiently executed.

Groundwater, reuse, Gwinnett County and Bear Creek were identified as potential sources for future water supplies and exploration of other options will turn to potential reservoir sites in Barrow County and beyond.

Mayor Thompson said the City of Winder’s decision to opt out of the Hard Labor Creek Reservoir project came after the price tag continued to rise with no real guarantee of water. He said the city has instead invested into planning and engineering of its own reservoir potential on the city’s 300-acre plus parcel in central Barrow on Cedar Creek. The possibility

Also representing the authority at the session was Truman Phillips and Len Cooper.

Phillips said work should begin soon if a reservoir is in the future as he pointed to Hard Labor Creek’s long timeline from concept to completion still out into the future.

Commission Chairman Doug Garrison, Administrator Keith Lee and Public Works Director Terry Darragh were also on hand. Garrison said he hopes the efforts will not stop at the county line but that the viability of regional efforts, such as the successful Bear Creek project, will continue to be considered for the future.

Darragh helped talk through a task list for Martello’s next phase which will find him coordinating with the City of Winder on its site-identification an engineering for reservoirs as well as with the Town of Braselton on an expanded scope of study.

The impact of the Statewide Water Planning Districts is not yet known. The members of the district boards have been yet been determined but Martello said it would likely sometime before any water project planning would be affected.

EPD is continuing to process project proposals although the funding which was to have been forthcoming from the state for projects such as Braselton’s reservoir and the dredging of City Pond and other water projects already planned by the City of Winder has been pulled back due to the economic realities being felt.