Forsyth County’s consideration to pursue funding for an Etowah River fed reservoir would not impact Dawson County’s water flow, officials say.
Brooke Anderson, general manager of Etowah Water and Sewer Authority, said Friday he is confident Dawson County will not be affected by Forsyth County drawing water from the Etowah in northwest Forsyth County.
The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners voted 3-1 early last week to direct the county’s water and sewer director, Tim Perkins, to apply for a $3.5 million grant from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority.
If approved for the grant, funds could be put toward a $14 million project to build a 180-acre major water source reservoir.
“The area would be below any intake structure the authority has in place and would have no impact on the authority or the authority’s plans,” Anderson said.
Those plans include a 137-acre watershed reservoir project Etowah Water and Sewer Authority has had in the works for several years.
An increasingly popular choice for reservoirs, the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority and city of Canton are also building a reservoir on the Etowah River in nearby Cherokee County.
The environmental facilities authority state agency has $40 million in grant funding to aid local governments and water and sewer authorities in developing water supply projects.
“It will be a highly competitive grant,” Perkins said.
Forsyth County Commissioners Charles Laughinghouse and David Richard were in agreement on at least filing an application.
“It can’t hurt to try,” said Forsyth County Commissioner David Richard. “They can only tell us no.”
The deadline to submit the grant application is Aug. 29. Grant awards will be announced in December.
According to its Web site, the environmental facilities authority is a state agency that administers a variety of programs that provide financial assistance and other support services to improve Georgia’s environment.
Among the agency’s focus areas are water, wastewater, solid waste, recycling, land conservation and energy efficiency.
DCN regional staff Frank Reddy contributed to this story.
E-mail Michele Hester at michele@dawsonnews.com.