County may
expand water
around Delco

By NICOLE CARTRETTE

Columbus County commissioners will hold a public hearing this week on expanding the boundaries of Water District 4 in the eastern end of the county. Roughly $1.2 million in federal grant money will be lost if it is not used for construction soon, officials say.

In addition to Acme-Delco, the plan could potentially affect the Riegelwood village that receives water from International Paper if the company decides to get out of the water business.

Original plans for Water District 4 in the North Hallsboro and Honey Hill area are shifting to the Acme-Delco area. The small number of users in Hallsboro simply did not justify the cost, Commissioner Bill Memory says. “We learned from previous votes and problems,” he says.

Low numbers of sign-ups in Districts 2 and 3 caused financial trouble for the county since 2002. In 2004, the county used roughly $1.8 million from savings to bail the water districts out. Commissioners then set taxes of 15 cents per $100 value in District 2 and 11 cents in District 3 to help with the shortfall.

Memory says he believes the situation in the eastern end “where water is the worst in the county” will be different.

Several residents from the eastern area complaining of dirty well water attended a commission meeting last June asking for county water. Many of them reported dirty, rusty, or salty private well water that forced them to purchase bottled water for drinking and cooking.

Ila Mae Flynn of Riegelwood says she understands why people would not want dirty water.

“I wouldn’t want it either,” she acknowledges. However, she explains that people who do not tap on shouldn’t have to pay for it.

“I’m happy with mine,” Flynn says, “It’s good and there’s plenty of it.”

Memory says if the people want it, he anticipates the commission will act quickly with a resolution.

Monday’s meeting is to “see if people are interested,” Commissioner Sammie Jacobs says. “We have some folks in that area that need good water and we are studying it very carefully to do the best job for the money and not over extend it,” Jacobs adds.

A small water line that currently runs from the Town of Northwest to Wright Chemical has 99-percent usage, Memory indicates. “Participation is outstanding,” he emphasizes.

The cost per customer is $21 for the first 2,000 gallons and $4 for each 1,000 gallons thereafter, Director of Columbus County Utilities Leroy Sellers says.

The county wants to provide water at a “reasonable” rate, Memory says, indicating purchasing the water from Brunswick County or sinking a well will be explored.

Green Engineering has provided drawings of proposed water lines and a well at Livingston Creek that will be available at the public meeting, Sellers said. The county owns property at Livingston Creek and having our own source of water would save money, he indicates.

While the county has plans to supply water to the area, the Town of Sandyfield has its own plans that do not include the county. Construction on the $1.25 million system tying the town into the East Arcadia water system is scheduled to begin in January 2007.

A $400,000 Rural Center grant and $150,000 grant through the Environmental Protection Agency will cover most of the cost, Mayor Perry Dixon says. “It will supply water to all of the town,” Dixon said. The town is also searching for favorable financing to implement a water system.

Sandyfield has drafted an agreement similar to that between Bladen and East Arcadia. It provides that Sandyfield itself be treated as one customer and pay a rate per thousand gallons for water supplied to residents, says Tyndall Lewis, vice president of McDavid and Associates, a Goldsboro engineering firm. “It’s a small job,” Lewis says.

Once construction begins it could be completed within four to six months, he says.

The public meeting on Water District 4 will be held Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Riegelwood Community Center located at 105 N.C. Highway 87 in Riegelwood.