A public hearing

about the proposed construction of a new reservoir lake for Fayette County

will be held Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m.

The meeting

location has not been established, but officials hope to have that detail

wrapped up soon.

The public

hearing is the next step taken by the Fayette County Water System, which

is seeking the final approval permit for Lake McIntosh from the U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers.

The 650-acre

lake would be built on Line Creek between Peachtree City and Coweta County.

The plans are to build a dam for the lake west of Dividend Drive and north

of McIntosh Trail in Peachtree City. An area of 69.5 square miles would

form the lake's drainage basin.

The lake is

expected to boost water production by eight million gallons a day.

After comments

are received from the public, the Army Corps of Engineers will get input

on the proposed project from several other agencies, chiefly the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, said

County Attorney Bill McNally, who is negotiating the approval process.

"Whenever

it goes forward, we'll take it step by step," McNally said.

There is no

indication about when the Corps of Engineers will have a final decision

on the application, McNally said.

"So far,

everything appears to be going well," McNally said.

The county

will be responsible for replacing wetlands related to the project. Officials

may seek wetland replacement "credits" by building a nature

center near the site, but no decision has been made yet as the Fayette

County Water Committee recently asked McNally to look into that possibility.