A seemingly small part of the $6 million federal/local water-sewer upgrades announced last month promises to become the first steps on a long path to deal with downtown Eatonton’s aging infrastructure – mainly cast-iron water pipes laid more than a century ago.
Funding for the four-year project comes kick-started with $3 million from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). And the second $3 million comes from local entities – the Eatonton-Putnam Water and Sewer Authority (EPWSA) ($2 million), the Putnam Board of Commissioners ($600,000) and the city of Eatonton ($400,000).
The bulk of the money will go toward installing about 50 new valves in current lines and connecting far-flung lines so that water can be supplied from two directions. The basic idea is to minimize disruptions of service and to have dependable water pressure.
However, two other line items for the project include mapping and a master plan.
The mapping would update old maps and measure the size and exact locations of old and new lines, plus the locations of underground valves. (The latter became an issue about a decade ago when a backhoe operator broke the large line leading to the hospital, doctors’ offices, and school on Sumter Street. The break occurred during the afternoon, but water was flowing well after midnight until a retired water department worker had to be awakened to tell current workers where the shut-off valve was located.)
Other incidents over the years may seem like sporadic and incidental nuisances, but they add up: searching for a line with enough pressure to meet fire code requirements, a hydrant with so little pressure that fire hoses could not pump to a second-floor window, a non-performing sewer line, brownish water for a few days after a line break or the fall and spring line contractions and expansions, a white blouse returned pink after three washings.
A master plan not only suggests a more pro-active and coordinated approach, but a rough draft will be ready for the EPWSA board’s approval next month, said EPWSA Director Brice Doolittle. A more detailed 25-year plan, with funding options attached, should be ready from the Macon-based ESG engineering firm by the end of the year.
A master plan, especially one with a 25-year window, cannot be set in stone. Personnel and community priorities come and go, but it will at least point in a direction. Improvements will have to be piecemeal, according to funding. Some things have to be done before others are possible. It will take time, and it will not be cheap.
In other items at last Wednesday’s EPWSA board meeting:
-- the two wastewater treatment plants each recently received a Gold Award for meeting all the state’s operating standards.
-- a water brochure covering 2021 is available at the EPWSA website or by request.