The update for the site is the petition drive was a success. It heighten awareness and support for the public water project. So far approximately 90 households support water for the area by signing the petition. Anyone that owns a business or resident and would like to add their name to the petiton may do so. They will need to provide their name, address, phone number and state they are willing to purchase water at minimum usage for the required time. The information can be emailed to reeray@hughes.net or they can call Rebecca Ray at 334-864- 9677.
The committee has decided to pursue Lochapoka water authority or east alabama water authority for water. The city of LaFayette and the deep wells are not supported as long term water sources.
We will have a petition drive scheduled for November 3rd at the West Chambers fire department from 10 am to 1 pm. I will also be speaking on a local radio station on November 2nd. We need to have strong community support and all help to accomplish that goal is welcomed.
Notes from tonight's meeting at Mt. Lebanon Church regarding a desired public water system in the West Chambers area.
The meeting began just after 6pm with an invocation by Mr. Gandy.
State Representative Richard Laird spoke briefly in favor of public water, but indicated it was up to the County Commission to arrange funding.
Area resident Barbara Wright expressed concerns over the safety of her well water, and desire for a public system.
Rebecca Ray was the primary spokesperson for a group called the West Chambers County Community Committee, which organized the meeting, and is promoting this and other projects to benefit the community (such as an area park).
Dale Chase, a Walnut Hill resident and a founding member of their water authority in the 1970s, shared her experiences in organizing that system, and stressed that we can expect a tough sales job in trying to get enough of our neighbors onboard to start a system. One sticking point she mentioned is that to connect a home to the public system, the well serving it now must be disconnected - this is something I need to research completely! She mentioned that the Still Waters resort bought 100 of the 350 meters originally needed to justify their system.
County commissioner Wayne White expressed his longstanding desire to see public water in the area.
Consultant Billy Bell spoke at length about the requirements for setting up a system, and stressed the following questions that must be answered at the beginning: Who will be the authority? What area will it serve? Lastly, what will be the water source? He mentioned in passing that assistance is available from the FHA, and that an FHA formula provides guidance on what the cost should be as a function of meters per linear mile. During Bell's extensive Q&A session, he expressed doubt that an engineering study had been done. Someone mentioned that such a study had been done for those portions of the County not yet served, which gave an estimated price tag of $21 million. Bell pointed out that this study was not for the much smaller West Chambers system under discussion.
Commission chairman Charles Hardage mentioned legal or regulatory restrictions on crossing the ridge between Chatahootchee and Tallapoosa basins.
East Alabama Fire Chief Byron Pigg focused on some possible water sources, including multiple deep wells, other large nearby water authorities, etc.
Rebecca Ray closed at about 7:15 by asking everyone to sign a petition asking for access to public water in the community. After-meeting discussions continued past 7:30, which is when I left.
P.S. - I didn't take a count, but would hazard a guess that 30-40 residents attended the meeting, along with several officials, workers and consultants familiar with public water systems.
Contact info: ken@finefellow.com