A potential

change to the plans for the Lake McIntosh reservoir project could drive

costs up by approximately $2 million.

When the plans

were originally drawn, the lake featured a grassed spillway on either

end. But state officials may require the county to build a concrete spillway

on the top of the dam instead, said county consulting engineer Jim Mallett.

The spillway

will be used to control the lake's level, particularly during flooding

conditions, Mallett said.

Lake McIntosh

is expected to provide eight million gallons of drinking water a day;

as such it is seen as the final key to meeting Fayette's future drinking

water needs. Cost estimates from 1990 tabbed the project at $12.97 million

but new estimates haven't been prepared yet, Mallett said.

The 650-acre

lake would be located on Line Creek but the project must first get a green

light from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The public

comment period for the project recently expired, and county officials

plan to review the comments from the public and other interested agencies

such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department.

The county

already owns the land for the reservoir, which would border the Planterra

Ridge subdivision in Peachtree City to the east and unincorporated Coweta

County to the west.

The site is

also close to the county's water treatment plant on Crosstown Road in

Peachtree City.

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