Commissioner

Charlie Jones took the offensive Tuesday morning at the

Coweta County Commission meeting and asked the commission

to take another look at privately owned water systems.

Jones once

again brought up the plight of the residents in the

Pointe Comfort subdivision who are continuing to have

problems with their water supply. Back in May, Pointe

Comfort residents made it clear to the Coweta County

Board of Commissioners that they want their water woes

solved.

The

commissioners first heard about the problem late last

spring when Commissioner Charlie Jones said he had been

inundated with calls about the quality and cost of the

water in the Newnan subdivision.

Harold

Jewel, who developed the subdivision, supplies the 57

residents with water through a private firm, Rappahannock

Water Company.

Earlier

this year, residents were told to either boil their water

or buy water, because there was a danger of E-coli

contamination.

At the

beginning of May, residents received a letter from Jewel

that said he would now be purchasing water from the

county to supply to the subdivision. The residents would

face an increase in their water bills and also would have

to pay a $450 tap-on fee for the county water.

Commission

Chairman Lawrence Nelms told the residents that the

county had not committed to providing the residents with

water, but was currently considering different options to

help the residents with their water problems.

Eric

Lambert, who lives at 55 Brook Place, said the residents

did not have a problem with the county supplying the

water at an increased cost, but said the residents did

have one problem with any potential solution.

"We're

adamant about not having [Jewel] as a middle man,"

he said.

Other

residents said they had received nothing but

misinformation about their water system, while others

voiced their concern about possible problems in Jewel's

water system.

"I'm

concerned about the health considerations for me and my

family," said resident Elaine Davis.

County

administrator Theron Gay said he had talked earlier in

the year with Jewel about buying water from the county.

Gay told

Jewel it would cost him approximately $20,000 to hook up

to the county, but never heard back from the developer,

he said.

During

Tuesday's meeting, Jones said the county may eventually

have to condemn the water system and provide water to the

residents.

Outside of

condemnation, there's not a whole lot the county can do,

Jones said.

"We

really do have our hands tied with these private

systems," he said.