Chatham Makes Plans for Water Needs: County Looks Ahead 20 Years
By Leah Friedman, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.
Jun. 1–PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Board of Commissioners has approved 10,630 new homes to be built over the next decade.
Now they’re figuring out how to bring water to them.
The commissioners recently agreed to buy 6 million gallons of water per day from Harnett County.
Chatham County’s water-treatment plant already draws 3 million gallons a day from Jordan Lake. The new total will more than cover the 5.1 million gallons a day the county projects it will need in 10 years.
The Harnett County deal will cost $32 million and require running a pipe up N.C. 42 to Chatham County’s water-treatment plant at Jordan Lake.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?
If you already own a home, not much. The commissioners say they don’t plan to raise taxes to cover the cost. But the county is taking $5 million from its $21.9 million fund balance, or savings account, to offset the debt. That’s in addition to the $1.7 million County Manager Charlie Horne recommends withdrawing to balance this year’s proposed budget. Money taken from the fund balance will not be available for unexpected costs the county might incur.
SO WHO PAYS?
Mostly new homeowners. The bulk of the $32 million will be paid for by water availability and hookup fees on new homes in Chatham County. It costs $3,500 to make water available to a new home, and $1,200 to tap into county water and get a meter, according to County Finance Director Vicki McConnell.
WERE THERE OTHER OPTIONS?
The commissioners considered purchasing water from Sanford in Lee County. The county already buys 300,000 gallons a day from Sanford to supply the Moncure area in southeast Chatham.
Commissioner Patrick Barnes said the board chose Harnett because its proposal required less money up front, and “Harnett has a little better water- treatment plant.”
Sanford City Manager Leonard Barefoot said he was surprised Chatham County chose Harnett, which he only learned from media reports.
“We would just like to sit down and have a conversation [with the county],” he said.
WHY NOT BUILD A BIGGER PLANT?
The county plans eventually to expand the capacity of its Jordan Lake plant by 3 million gallons a day, which will cost $9 million, according to Roy Lowder, interim utilities director.
But to meet all its needs, the county would have to get a bigger state allocation of water from Jordan Lake and spend $60 million to $70 million on a new treatment plant, according to Commissioner Mike Cross. For now, buying water from another county is cheaper.
“We’re like a renter,” he said. “You can’t afford a house, so you rent a house.”
HOW LONG WILL THIS MEET THE COUNTY’S NEEDS?
At least 20 years, according to Hobbs Upchurch, an engineering consulting firm hired by the county to study various water supply options. That would include the additional 3 million gallons a day the county plans to get from Jordan Lake.
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Copyright (c) 2006, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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