PELL CITY — The Coosa Valley Water Supply District is expected to have contracts from all entities involved with the regional water project signed by mid-July.

Officials said Tuesday morning that contracts from Lincoln, Springville, Odenville and Pell City with the Coosa Valley Water District Authority must be completed and signed before the authority’s July 15 meeting.

Officials said it’s vital the contacts are completed and signed by the CVWSD chairman at the authority’s 9 a.m. Wednesday, July 15, meeting at the St. Clair County Courthouse in Pell City so a bond issue to pay for the regional water project is secured before interest rates escalate.

Under the agreements each entity, Pell City, Lincoln, Springville and Odenville, is required to purchase 750,000 gallons of water per day from the authority.

Mike Walraven, project manager and an engineer for Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood Inc., estimated the regional water project will cost $37,690,806, with about $24,733,206 of that amount funded through a bond issue.

CVWSD is also identifying new customers to purchase additional water from the regional water supply district.

“Obviously the more water you sell, the cheaper the water is going to cost,” Walraven said.

He estimates the initial cost of water to hover close to $2.50 per 1,000 gallons of water, but that cost is expected to dip considerably as the demand for water increases.

Walraven estimates that when the surface water treatment facility increases its water production from 3 mgd (million gallons per day) to 4.5 mgd, the cost of water per 1,000 gallons could sink to $1.96, and dropped as low as $1.71 per 1,000 gallons when the plant’s capacity is increased to 6 mgd.

Larry Ward, senior vice president with Morgan Keegan Investment Co., told CVWSD board members Tuesday that CVWSD needs to move forward quickly with financing the project, because interest rates are creeping up “in a direction that’s not good for the authority.”

“The longer you wait, the greater the gamble,” Ward told CVWSD board members.

Once contracts are signed and in place, the process of securing a bond issue can move forward.

The Lincoln contract is apparently the only agreement in question.

Lincoln officials have expressed an interest in increasing the gallons of water the city purchases from CVWSD, beginning the third year after the new surface water treatment plant is in production.

The increase water supply is to help Lincoln meet its obligation to Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, which is Lincoln’s biggest water customer.

Also, there are some engineering designs that must be changed if a state grant to help improve the quality and quality of water for HMA is off the table.

The possible changes in the amount of water Lincoln purchases from CVWSD will have little affect on the total cost of water per 1,000 gallons.

The new surface water treatment facility will initially pump 3 mgd of treated surface water to St. Clair and north Talladega counties.

The plant is capable of producing 6 mgd of treated surface water without any capital improvements. However, the plant is designed to pump as much as 12 mgd of treated water.