By RALPH ELLIS
October 19, 2000 (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)—The Coweta County Commission, under the gun to find new water sources, has struck a deal to buy millions of gallons of water from the city of Atlanta.
The county should be able to buy about 3 million gallons daily from two connections at the Coweta-Fulton line as early as next summer.
Within five years, Atlanta plans to upgrade its water system, allowing Coweta to buy up to 15 million gallons daily.
The deal, announced last week at a Coweta County Commission meeting by Commissioner Lawrence Nelms, was confirmed Friday by Melinda Langston, water-utility manager for Atlanta. Atlanta also sells water wholesale to Clayton and Fayette counties and the cities of Hapeville and Union City.
"We have been negotiating, and we expect to have a contract to present shortly," Langston said.
Commissioners said the pact should go a long way toward relieving concerns Coweta County might run out of water. The Coweta County Water Authority has been buying water from Newnan Utilities for years .
But Newnan Utilities told the county in August to find new water sources by next summer.
County Information Officer Tom Coker said new pipes and other hardware needed to supply water by next summer should cost about $3 million. He said this money already has been allotted as part of a program to obtain water from Atlanta and Fayette and Spalding counties. The county will keep working to obtain water from the other counties, Coker said.
Coweta County currently uses about 6 million gallons per day on a normal day and approximately 9 million gallons per day on peak demand days, the county has reported.
Copyright 2000 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
