The population

of metro Atlanta continues to grow and the sources of water are finite,

according to officials discussing water issues at a recent public hearing

in Fayetteville.

Last Wednesday,

the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District (MNGWPD) held a

public meeting at the Stonewall Administrative Complex to present model

ordinances relating to water, stormwater and wastewater management. There

are 16 counties that fall under what is defined as the district.

Fayette County

is part of the Flint River Basin, as is a small portion of Coweta County

and South Fulton county. Coweta and South Fulton are also part of the

Chattahoochee River Basin.

The two presenters

at the meeting were Eric Olson, an employee of Brown and Caldwell, an

environmental engineering firm, and Steve Hobner, a water engineer working

for the Atlanta Regional Commission. Olson discussed the short term wastewater

capacity plan and Hobner discussed the model stormwater ordinance. Both

men told those at the meeting that the goal of the MNGWPD was to identify

problems both short term and long term within the district and to identify

options for the local governments to protect and enhance water quality.

Olson told

the small crowd at the meeting that there are six wastewater treatment

facilities in the Flint River Basin and that none of these facilities

are projecting short term capacity issues. However, by 2008 they will

be required to have an additional capacity of 8.5 million gallons per

day.

Of the six

facilities, four are in Fayette County. One is owned and operated by the

city of Fayetteville, the Whitewater Creek WPCP, while the other three

are owned and operated by Peachtree City Water and Sewerage Authority;

the Flat Creek WPCP, the Line Creek WPCP and the Rockaway WPCP.

Peachtree City

WASA is planning to upgrade and expand its system to meet projected build

out flow conditions of six million gallons per day. To do this it will

expand Rockaway WPCP from two million gallons per day to four million

gallons per day, upgrade Line Creek WPCP to reuse quality and decommission

Flat Creek WPCP.

Flows from

Flat Creek will be diverted to expand Rockaway WPCP. Flat Creek has a

significant amount of industrial waste flow and Rockaway has more of a

domestic waste flow. Some of the operational problems that Flat creek

experiences from time to time will no longer be a problem. Once Line Creek's

upgrades are complete, 0.9 million gallons per day will be discharged