Chatham County water woes

By Mike Cross
Posted Monday, February 26, 2007

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February 19, 2007: Board of Commissioners Work Session – Water woes

Chatham County, NC - Apparently the eleven BOC meetings, over a twenty-one month period by our previous board, developing a water plan that will carry us through 2027 isn’t good enough.

Patrick and I were part of that process and frankly don’t exactly know what to think about the latest results.

“Discussion of value engineering review for water systems” was item 9 on the work session agenda. The new proposal was to hire an additional engineering firm to do a peer review of the Harnett Water Plan / Contract which was developed by Hobbs-Upchurch Engineers along with our staff and BOC…and unanimously approved on 18 September ’06. There was no scope of work, estimated time line or cost presented for this proposal, but this action was approved by a vote of 3-2 with Barnes and Cross opposing. The work of the Harnett Water Contract is already underway on both sides of the Chatham / Harnett Line. The SE Water District is now on hold.

“Request to award bid for Western Transmission Lines” was item 28 of the evening agenda. That’s the line to service the voter approved SW Water District and follow US 64 to Siler City. The bid award was pulled from the evening agenda for the work session and tabled, pending the results of the peer review by a vote of 3-2, again with Barnes and Cross opposing.

So what does all this mean to many of our citizens?

1. It means the citizen customers of the voter approved SE Water District, specifically those on New Elam Church Road South, Christian Chapel Church Road South, NC Hwy 42 North to the Harnett Line, Mt. View Church Rd. West and Old Sanford Road North plus the Bel Meade Subdivision in the PBO ETJ-US 64 West for which the county has assumed water service responsibility are for now in limbo.


2. It means the citizen customers of the voter approved SW Water District are at least temporarily off the map. We can’t provide service without a transmission line.


3. Based on the phone calls, face-to- face conversations and emails I’ve already endured -- many citizens are just as displeased with this decision as I am!