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Published Saturday, November 15, 2008 in Local

Newnan Utilities step closer to raising dams

By Elizabeth Richardson

The Times-Herald

Newnan Utilities is another step closer to raising two of its dams in order to increase the city's water storage capacity.

Brandon Lovett, Newnan Utilities' water operations director, told members of the Newnan Water, Sewerage and Light Commission Friday morning that the city utility is still conducting a feasibility study on the project.

So far, the study has led utility officials to believe that they could borrow dirt from the existing site of dams 2 and 3 in the city reservoir complex between Sewell and Corinth roads to construct the dams. They've also begun analyzing the current pump stations to determine what capacity they could feasibly handle, according to Lovett.

Newnan Utilities currently has 1.65 billion gallons of storage. They are proposing undertaking the dam project in phases. The first phase would raise the current dams 21 feet -- from the current 905 feet to 926 feet -- and add about 800 million gallons of water capacity, according to Lovett. Newnan estimates the cost to carry out this phase will be approximately $5 million.

The second phase would raise the dams an additional 14 feet and add another 1.7 billion gallons of water -- which would double the current water capacity. This phase isn't expected to be considered "anytime soon," according to Lovett.

One great advantage of this project, according to Dennis McEntire, general manager of Newnan Utilities, is that every additional gallon of water that raising the dams would create would be usable because the city wouldn't have to contend with the manganese that exists on the bottom of reservoirs -- a problem when pumping at low reservoir levels.

"There is no indication that this [project] is absolutely necessary, but it would give us such a cushion and a lot of flexibility," said McEntire at Friday's meeting. He added that Newnan has never run out of water, and the lowest the reservoir levels have reached is 46 percent.

Currently, Newnan Utilities pumps water from the city's streams in the summertime when energy and its associated costs are at their highest levels. If Newnan goes ahead with the reservoir project, then they could pump on a more flexible timetable and ultimately cut costs, according to the general manager.

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