County’s water service area could expand

By LEE HINNANT

Anxious to save more than $5.2 million in low-interest loans and a grant, Columbus County commissioners want to expand the boundaries of proposed Water District 4 to include eastern parts of the county.

First approved by voters in 2000, District 4 would have created a public water supply system around Hallsboro. Only about 300 residents pledged to connect to the system and the county is still losing money on two of its three other water systems, so the District 4 plan went to the back shelf.

Commissioners face a troubling dilemma. There are not enough committed customers in and around Hallsboro to make the water system financially feasible, but the demand for county water in Riegelwood, Delco and other more eastern areas is strong. Also, the federal government has stated it will take back the grant and loan promised to the county if District 4 isn’t built.

At Monday’s regular meeting, commissioners agreed to extend the boundaries of Water District 4 to take in most communities north of U.S. 74-76 and also to an area south of the highway around Livingston Chapel Road. The county must hold a public hearing on the plan and win the approval of the federal Rural Development agency to make the idea work.

Commission Chairman Kip Godwin said District 4 would likely use an existing water supply line serving Wright Chemical and some residences in Acme. The line, owned by the Town of Northwest, has capacity for additional users. Instead of building a well and elevated storage tank, as originally envisioned, District 4 might instead grow from the existing supply, he said.

“This looks like a salvageable plan,” Godwin said. The county also hopes to cooperate with the towns of Sandyfield, East Arcadia and Bolton to coordinate growth of a water system.

While they want water where it is desired, commissioners don’t want to repeat the steps that led to deficits in districts 2 and 3. The county abandoned a widely protested attempt to force residents to connect to the water systems and is now imposing a special tax on property owners in districts 2 and 3, even if they don’t have access to water lines. District 1 is making money, so there is no special tax in that area.

The county has already spent about $300,000 on engineering plans and test wells for District 4. It would get that money back if the system is constructed.

Discussion about the change to District 4 led commissioners to again consider whether to merge the water service districts. Commissioners rejected the idea in 2004, but Godwin said he had recently been told that Rural Development – which provides loans and grants – would be in favor of a merger.

Commissioners took no formal action on the merger idea and Commissioner Lynwood Norris said he was opposed to the concept.