LEWISTOWN, Ga., Nov. 15, 2000 (Peoria Journal Star)— With four of six precincts reporting, residents in northern Fulton County were voting Tuesday against creating the North Fulton Water District, which would bring a potable water system to replace their contaminated wells.
The referendum, which also included votes from Knox County, was failing 35-112. The district likely would have served the three largest areas in need first; Fulton County's Middlegrove area, the Rapatee area in Knox County and Spoon River Valley School.
A study conducted by the Illinois Rural Water Association earlier this year found E. coli, nitrates and other contaminants in a majority of Fulton County's private wells.
The Fulton County Health Department, however, deemed those figures to be inflated.
The district would have applied for various state and federal grants to construct a water system or tap into a municipal water supply, Canton attorney John McCarthy said.
Virtually no development plans and no cost estimates have yet been generated for the district. McCarthy said voters first would have to approve the referendum before the project would get moving.
A seven-member water board would be appointed by the two county boards, and the district would be supported by revenue from residents who sign up for the service. The district would not have had taxing authority without a public referendum.
The district's board would have hired an engineering firm to plan the system and apply for a state design grant for up to $100,000. The engineer would have then designed a system to determine where water lines would be placed.
Finally, the board would have applied for loans and grants for construction, which will take at least five years.
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