Coweta County

shut off its water connection with Atlanta last week after a large amount

of manganese was found in the water supply.

County administrator

Theron Gay said the mineral does not pose a health risk to residents,

but makes the water look cloudy and dark.

"It's

a pretty common problem and we're working with Atlanta on flushing the

lines," he said.

The county

started purchasing water from Atlanta last year as a secondary source

of water. The county gets most of its water from Newnan Utilities.

The county

has two lines connecting to Atlanta and shut down the lines after hearing

complaints of bad water, Gay said.

With the county's

rapidly growing population, the Atlanta water purchase is just one of

the options the county is pursuing to make sure the county is wee-served

for future water use.

Within the

next three years, the county's B.T. Brown Reservoir will come online in

the northern part of the county and provide another water source.

Gay said the

county stays in constant contact with Atlanta and will reconnect when

the lines are completely clean.