What’s the big deal about sewer sales, and why should you care?

Peachtree City sewer service customers pay some of the highest rates in Georgia, with the cost of sewer often nearly doubling the cost of treated water on the joint bills.

So why wouldn’t Peachtree City want to sell some of its sewage treatment capacity to customers outside the city? Might that not spread the fixed costs over more payers, thus providing the possibility of — if not lower bills — at least lesser future increases?

The short answer is a caution about development density outside the control of Peachtree City’s Council and zoning rules.

Where sewer lines go, development almost automatically follows, simply because builders can pack more residential and commercial units into sewered acreage than into areas served only by septic tanks.

Denser developments mean more people, more traffic, more of many things. Whether that is good, bad or a matter of indifference depends on individual perspectives. One thing is certain: Sewer brings change.