Water Authority Talks Possible Projects at City Council

During the Ellijay City Council Meeting this Monday, the Ellijay & Gilmer County Water Authority (EGCWA) addressed the council regarding plans to replace two water lines in the Ellijay City Limits on South Main Street and Skyline Drive
Representatives of the EGCWA Emory DeBord and Mike Gibbs addressed the city council on August 20th, presenting some specifics of the possible water project. Explaining the plan, the water authority said it may use its rehabilitation budget to fund the replacement of two water lines in the city limits, one located on South Main Street near Legion Road and the other on Skyline Drive.

In the meeting, DeBord told the council that the reason for the replacement of the water lines is due to an abnormal amount of problems with the lines reported by EGCWA Operations Manager Gary McVey.

According to Debord, every year the water authority uses its rehabilitation budget to replace lines in the County that may need repair. Also, Debord explained that the the amount of money in the rehabilitation budget varies from year to year. As such, the EGCWA could end up using the money on another pipeline in the County if deemed necessary. If the project does continue, it is expected to be completed before the end of July 2013.

Afterwards, in the same meeting, the city council then asked the water authority if it would identify the areas in the city for them that do not have sewer lines. The reason for this, the council said, was that since some areas in the city, such as Gudger Street and Pine Street, do not have sewer, it would like to know how much it would cost to add the sewer line to the areas.

The council then said that adding the sewer to the areas would depend on the average household income of that area since adding the sewer lines would in turn mean more cost to the people living in that area.

At this point, the water authority plans to provide maps of the areas in the city without sewer, along with estimating costs of pipeline per foot, digging costs, and paving costs. The purpose of these items is to help the city make its decision, the authority said.

If the project moves forward, it could potentially cause a disruption of traffic flow, since sewer lines lie under the middle of the road.

Council, though, is uncertain if the project will continue.