An explanation of the $3 leak fee

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In an effort to ensure the details on the Fayette County Water System’s Leak Protection Program are properly scrutinized in public view, I wanted to give you some specifics.

The Leak Protection Program is a three-dollar per month add-on to your water bill. For $36 per year, you are covered in the event you have a major line leak on your property, which is your responsibility.

For example, we take your six-month running average on your water bill — let’s say $50 is your average — and use that to determine our coverage when you have a leak problem. So if you have a leak and the next water bill hits $950, all you have to pay is $50.

My water line broke on my property at the beginning of the year. It cost me a significant sum to remedy that situation.

What is not being mentioned by some of the letter writers is the three-dollar monthly add-on coverage fee is optional. Every water customer can opt out of the Leak Protection Program if they so desire. This program is not mandatory.

Every water customer was sent a form in the mail explaining the program, and it included the instructions on how to opt out of the program if you want. Just please remember that if the water line on your property goes bad, breaks and runs up your water bill, and you do not use the Leak Protection Program, all those costs belong to you.

If you have any questions related to the new program, call the Water System Customer Service line at 770-461-1146.

For the record, there are some private companies offering water leak insurance programs. I have had no personal experience with any of those companies. I could not find a private leak coverage plan lower than the one the Fayette County Water System is offering. I do not know if the private companies will be in business a month from now, so buyers beware.

The Water System was allowed to go into disrepair in years past and suffered from a series of challenging setbacks. The new management and the new contract engineering firm the Board of Commissioners hired have done a magnificent job bringing the system back to health. Previously, we were constantly being cited for violations for Total Organic Carbon (TOC) measurements. We are currently beating the requirement by as much as 25 percent.

There is quite a bit more work to do, but the new team is up to the challenge and doing a great job.

On the Lake Peachtree issue, our engineering team completed the survey of the lake and dredging appears to be on schedule. We are working with the Peachtree City government on an acceptable route to transport the silt from the lake.

Steve Brown
Peachtree City, Ga.

[Brown is chairman of the Fayette County Commission.]