Local residents

can expect an increase on their sewer bills in the near future to help

pay for a $15 million project to expand the capacity of Peachtree City's

sewer system.

Currently,

the increase on the average residential customer is predicted to be around

$4 to $4.50, said Larry Turner, general manager of the Peachtree City

Water and Sewer Authority.

The authority

will also consider restructuring the fees charged to industrial and commercial

customers "to make sure they are paying for the share of services

they receive," Turner said.

The fee increases,

expected to take affect sometime in January, will bring the fees in line

with fees charged throughout metro Atlanta, Turner said. Currently, the

average monthly residential sewer bill is approximately $24.50, based

on the $3.50 charge per 1,000 gallons.

Some metro

area sewer systems have average bills upwards of $45 monthly, Turner pointed

out. The last time sewer rates were increased was in 1992, before the

city took over the sewer system, Turner said.

The $15 million

project will be financed over 20 years, and the funds from the increased

fees will be used to pay down that debt. The Peachtree City Council has

agreed to back the loan, which allows the authority to get a lower interest

rate by about one-half percent, Turner noted.

Once completed,

the expansion will increase the city's ability to treat sewage from 4.9

million gallons a day to six million gallons a day.

Part of the

expansion will double the capacity of the Rockaway wastewater treatment

plant from two to four million gallons a day. It will also add another

filtration system to the process there, which will result in better water

quality at discharge, Turner said.

Those same

filters will also be installed at the Line Creek waste water treatment

plant as part of the urban reuse program, which will put the water through

the special filters so it can be used to irrigate local golf courses.

Included in that program will be storage tanks so the specially-treated

water can be stored on days when it is not needed due to rainfall.

The expansion

project includes the decommissioning of the Flat Creek waste water treatment

facility, which has been operating for 35 years but was originally designed

to serve on a temporary basis, Turner noted. Because of its age, Flat

Creek costs more to operate than the other two plants.

The authority

plans to continue discharging the allowed .9 million gallons per day into

Flat Creek, however. In addition to maintaining that discharge capacity,

that move will also help maintain wetlands in the area, one reason why

the Southern Conservation Trust asked WASA to maintain the discharge there.

The discharge

for Flat Creek will be pumped in from the Line Creek facility, Turner

said.

Also included

in the expansion is the construction of a new administration/maintenance

facility at the Rockaway plant. Currently, WASA's administration and maintenance

complex is located at the to-be-closed Flat Creek plant.