It will be another little while

before Peachtree City residents will have more answers about the Fayette

County Water System's plans to dredge Lake Peachtree.

City officials have agreed

to allow the use of Drake Field for staging equipment in the project,

which will remove an estimated 22,000 cubic yards of sediment from certain

areas on the bottom of the lake.

But water officials have decided

to hold a wide-open bidding process. Instead of pre-selecting a method

and seeking contractors to perform the job that way, the system will seek

bids from contractors, who will specify in the bid which method of removal

will occur.

"That way we'll have the

best price and the best plans for the county," said Jim Mallett,

the consulting engineer for the Fayette County Water System. "...

We'll look at all the prices and methods."

The city's input was the original

holdup, but now the water system has to wait for a permit from the Georgia

Department of Transportation. That's because the city wants the contractors

to access Drake Field by paving a road off Ga. Highway 54 at a cut-through

for the property.

The city contends the cut-through

will keep heavy trucks from mingling with residents who have business

at nearby City Hall and the library.

But for the county, it means

an estimated 30 additional days in time that will be needed to secure

the DOT's approval for the project.

"We're working on the

drawings for this right now," Mallett told the county's water committee

at its meeting last week.

Several committee members have

said they hope to avoid a dredging procedure that calls for reducing the

level of Lake Peachtree. Some residents are urging the county to use a

barging process that would allow trucks to take away the silt before it

dries out.

The dredging is required by

a contract with the water sys tem and the city since the water system

uses Lake Peachtree as a reservoir.

Back

to News Home Page |