Leaders discuss Harrison water

“We’re glad to get that,” said industrial authority executive director Marvin White, adding that the IDA will hold a bid opening for the Harrison water project June 16 at 10 a.m.

The water system will include approximately 8.5 miles of water lines. It will tie Madison County to the Royston water system, with an eight-inch water main from Royston to the Harrison Fire Department, and six-inch lines elsewhere.

“That will give fire protection and water service to a good chunk of that part of the county on the outskirts of Royston,” said White.

County commissioner John Pethel asked White if the IDA has had any residents sign up for the Harrison water services.

“We haven’t yet,” said White. “We’ll probably put out a flyer where they can sign up if they want to sign up. And then we will sometime go door to door when we’re getting ready to work on the project and get those connected up as the contractors are in the area.”

The Harrison area water system installation loan was approved by the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) May 19 for $2.3 million — $1.6 million forgivable and $690,000 at three-percent interest over 20 years.

Pethel said a Harrison water system will be a great thing.

“Some of the people don’t know or realize what benefit we’ll get out of this,” said Pethel, noting that home insurance premiums in the area should drop, thanks to improved ISO ratings.

In a separate matter, White said the IDA will install two siphon pipes the dam at the Seagraves Mill Dam. The state threatened to have Seagraves Lake drained if corrective measures for the dam weren’t taken.

White noted Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is working on a couple of dams in Madison County, including one directly behind Seagraves Mill.

“They’re retrofitting that dam,” said White. “So, I think when that’s done, water will flow out of it into Seagraves Lake. And that will be a help in providing a water supply there.”

White noted that two grants were up before the One Georgia board this past week, a $500,000 grant for the Hull-Sanford waste water treatment plant and a $500,000 grant for a road for the Columbia Farms feed mill.

After receiving bids that were deemed too high for the Hull-Sanford sewage system, the IDA agreed to re-bid the project. Those bids will be in the later part of June or the first of July, White said.

“Hopefully we’ll get that project going,” said White. “We’ve done a lot of meeting and a lot of work trying to get the price down where it’s within the budget. The engineering plans were probably not as good as they should have been, which caused some of the contractors to put a lot of extra money in to take care of unforeseen things. And I think we’re getting that worked out.”

County leaders see the establishment of a sewer system in Hull as a crucial step in boosting the county’s commercial base.