“Lincoln has elected not to participate in the Coosa Valley Water Supply District project because of an inability to reach a contractual agreement with Honda,” said Bill Trussell, an attorney for the Coosa Valley Water Supply District.
Trussell said the project will move forward without Lincoln, and the St. Clair County Commission is expected to fill the vacant spot left by Lincoln’s departure from the Coosa Valley Water Supply District board.
“This will be a major water supply for the county,” Trussell said.
Lincoln Mayor Lew Watson confirmed Friday that it appears Lincoln is reluctantly withdrawing from the water supply district, a water authority Watson personally helped organize more than six years ago.
“There are some contract issues that couldn’t be resolved,” Watson said.
He said there is no ill-will between parties.
“I think all the parties recognized things didn’t go as planned,” Watson said. “I think it is more feasible for St. Clair County to do it without us.”
He said the planned construction of a large water line between Talladega and St. Clair counties, which would span across and underneath the Coosa River, is a costly undertaking.
Watson said that part of the water project would cost $5 million to $6 million alone.
“It’s no small undertaking,” he said. “We thought and still think it’s a great project, but it doesn’t fit financially right now for Lincoln.”
Watson said it’s possible Lincoln could rejoin the Coosa Valley Water Supply District in the future.
“It’s not out of the question,” he said. “Right now with the economic conditions, it’s just not the right time for us.”
Watson said he expects his council to vote in favor of withdrawing from the Coosa Valley Water Supply District at its Tuesday night council meeting.
The St. Clair County Commission is expected to vote in favor of becoming a member of the Coosa Valley Water Supply District board at its Tuesday morning meeting, contingent upon Lincoln withdrawing from the board.
Watson said Lincoln will not suffer any penalties for withdrawing, and the city currently has an adequate water supply.
“Our system right now has more than enough to take care of our needs,” Watson said. “This project was more to help us meet future water supply needs.”
The cities of Springville, Pell City and Odenville are expected to approve their contracts with the water supply district before the Coosa Valley Water Supply District meets again next Wednesday.
The Pell City Council is expected to approve its agreement at Monday night’s meeting.
“Five years down the road, we’ll be glad we’ve done this,” Pell City Councilman Greg Gossett told the mayor and council at a Thursday afternoon work session.
Gossett serves as a representative for Pell City on the Coosa Valley Water Supply District board.
Entities involved in the project will not have to make any payments until the new surface water treatment plant is up and running. The entities are then required to purchase 750,000 gallons of water per day.
“This is a very expensive proposition,” said Pell City Mayor Bill Hereford, adding that when the surface water treatment plant is completed, “we’ll have water for all our growth.”
When the plant begins its operation in 2011, it will initially treat 3 mgd (million gallons a day) of water withdrawn from the Coosa River. The plant is expected to increase its operations to 4.5 mgd after about three years and treat 6 mgd of surface water after the plant is in operation four to six years.
The surface water treatment facility is designed to pump as much as 12 mgd of treated surface water.
Coosa Valley Water Supply District water is expected to cost $2.45 per 1,000 gallons initially, but the cost of water is expected to drop as low as $1.75 per 1,000 gallons as the demand for water increases.
The project cost is estimated at $33.8 million.
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