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October 12, 2010

City updating property surveys

By Trent Moore The Cullman Times

The process of updating maps and property lines is underway, as the City of Cullman works toward the eventual construction of a $70 million dam in the Duck River watershed.

Plans call for the creation of a 640-acre lake and a six-mile pipeline with a 32-million-gallon-per-day capacity. The secondary reservoir would resemble the one at Lake Catoma, currently the area’s sole water source.

Much of the initial data gathering was done in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the city first began the planning process. The project has been on hold for more than a decade due to environmental lawsuits, though those have since been resolved.

The city utilities board has hired Conn Surveyors to update the original information on the approximately 94 property owners, and 14 re-surveys have already been completed. By starting the first phase of land acquisition now on the 1,200 affected acres, project manager Dale Greer said it should expedite the construction process when it begins within the next 12 months.

“You’re typically waiting on the attorney, and surveyor, to do the title work, and things like that,” he said. “So, we’re trying to keep that moving forward. We’re working now to make sure that John Doe has the ability to sell this land.”

City attorney Roy Williams said the updates are required because some tracts have changed hands, or been divided, in recent years.

“For example, one area that used to be one tract is now seven tracts, so it’s figuring out the things like that,” he said.

The city is still seeking government grants to help pay for the approximately $70 million project, and currently plans to fund the first phase via a smaller bond, possibly of $11 million.

“I think we need to borrow in increments, maybe around $10 or $12 million to get started, then keep going to Washington and applying for grant money,” Cullman Mayor Max Townson said.

Efforts to work with the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers to make local firm CH2M Hill the engineer of record for the Duck River project is also underway.

“We have a contract to sign, just really the due diligence things for us to take over as the architect of record,” CH2M Hill engineer Tom Harwell said. “We’ve met with the Corps. and we’re starting to go through their documents [on the project] now ... From there, we’ll look at the plans and update them to a bid-able level.”

Some required water tests in the watershed have been put on hold recently, due to the extreme lack of rain in the area. Once water flow returns to the creeks, Cullman Soil and Water Conservation District representative Tim Scott said water quality tests will resume.

“If it ever rains, we’ll test the water again,” Scott said. “This is the third month we’ve missed, and we still need about three or four inches of rain, first.”

Every major wholesale city water customer has signed new contracts through the length of the proposed Duck River plan, except the Cullman County Commission. The Vinemont, Anon and West Point (VAW) Water Authority, Walter, East Cullman, Cullman water department and Johnson’s Crossing Water Authorities have all agreed to purchase water from the city until 2040, which is the proposed bond length for the project. The signed parties account for approximately 53 percent of area water users.



* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.

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