By Patrick McCreless The Cullman Times

CULLMAN —

The Cullman County Commission will not sign onto the city’s Duck River water plan until certain aspects of the project contract are addressed.

In a letter hand delivered Monday to Cullman Mayor Max Townson, the commissioners listed seven reasons why they could not sign the city’s proposed 30-year water contract.

“Personally, I’m flexible on all the issues,” said Commission Chairman James Graves. “But I don’t speak for all the commissioners, I just speak for myself. Ultimately, it will be up to the two associate commissioners since they have the votes.”

Townson said the city’s and county’s lawyers would meet on their own Monday to look over the contract and try to find some sort of common ground.

The city had previously given the county until Nov. 23 to sign the contract.

“But we also said we would not slam any doors,” Townson said.

But even if the city addresses all of the county’s issues with the contract, Commissioner Doug Williams could not say he would sign it.

“I can’t make that statement yet,” Williams said. “I hope we can come to the table and make some concessions both ways.”

Commissioner Wayne Willingham could not be reached for comment by deadline of this article.

The city has proposed constructing a dam reservoir at Duck River to create a second water source. Currently, the county receives all its water from Lake Catoma, which is owned by the city.

The commission has proposed pumping water from Smith Lake and creating a regional water board that would offer $25 million to purchase Lake Catoma and its treatment plant.

“There will be no negotiating ... when it comes to the selling of Lake Catoma and the treatment plant,” Townson said. “That belongs to the people.”



County Contract Issues

*  The contract limits county water use to 160 million gallons of treated water a month for the next 30 years. The County is already at the 160 million gallon limit in 2010.  The City contract, basically, prohibits all growth for county farms and homes for the next 30 years.

Townson said the new water contract is basically an extension of one the county currently has with the city and it has never kept the county from obtaining the water it needs.

“Anytime they have wanted to increase the amount of water they need, we have always been more than willing to do that,” Townson said.

*  The contract does not allow any additional, outside water sources to supplement the water provided from the City, which again, is not a sufficient amount and is especially not acceptable in case of drought or other severe water supply needs.

According to information from the Cullman Utilities Board, Lake Catoma can treat a maximum of 24 million gallons of water a day. In 2009, the average daily use by all water systems was 10.9 million gallons a day and the maximum single day use by all systems was 16 million gallons a day. Duck River would increase raw water capacity for the area to 56 million gallons a day.

“We handled everything during the (2007) drought,” Townson said. “It’s not the system that needs upgrades, it’s the water quantity.”

*  There is no limit to capital costs. This contract is an open check book which allows the city to purchase what the city determines and pass along those costs to the county, without any say from the county.

“There is no incentive for capital costs to go beyond what is absolutely necessary to build Duck River,” Townson said.

*  The contract does not address Disinfection Bi-Product (DBP) upgrades that are required by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). Based on the current city treatment system, the county will be out of compliance with ADEM in 2012 and this is a health issue for county water users. The county must have assurance of modification to the current and future water treatment system.

“Our water meets all standards,” Townson said. “ADEM said once that water passes our lines and goes through their lines, it’s the responsibility of their system. ADEM told them they can alleviate the problem by flushing the lines ... we have to do that too.”

*  The contract does not include the verbal agreement from the city that the city upgrade the main supply pipe on Golf Course Road to handle more capacity.

“Years ago we came in and put in the first pipe, then later the county put on a bigger-sized pipe ... when you do that, you lose pressure,” Townson said. “I told them if they are not going to come with us and be a water customer, then we are not going to fix that pipe. It would cost about $200,000.”

*  The water fee contract formula for determining the base rate is unclear. The formula should be clearly written.

“It’s calculated by what it costs to produce that water,” Townson said. “It’s a formula.”

*  The contract does not allow the county to have a voice or vote in rate changes, infrastructure upgrades, water sources, etc.

“We don’t vote on rates either,” Townson said, reiterating that rates are determined by a formula. “It’s done by auditors. They (commission) are buying it at wholesale costs and they mark it up accordingly. We don’t have anything to do with what they charge.”



* Patrick McCreless can be reached by e-mail at patrickm@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131 ext. 270.