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October 30, 2010

City half way through surveys

Officials narrow down list of candidates to serve as project manager

By Trent Moore The Cullman Times

The City of Cullman has updated surveys on nearly half of the area needed to build a proposed dam in the Duck River watershed, and is also narrowing down a list of candidates to serve as the project’s manager.

Plans call for the creation of a 640-acre lake and a six-mile pipeline with a 32-million-gallon-per-day capacity, similar to Lake Catoma, currently the area’s sole water source.

Duck River has been on hold for more than a decade due to environmental lawsuits, though those issues were resolved last year. Much of the preparatory work for the project was done in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the city first began the planning process.

Conn Surveyors has reportedly updated surveys on nearly half the affected acreage for the approximately $70 million dam, and work will continue until all records are refreshed in the coming months. The watershed includes approximately 94 property owners.

“We’ve got about 30 done, and as far as the area in size, we have about half of it done,” city attorney Roy Williams said. “We’re getting into small tracts now, so we may not have as much size going forward, but we’re still making progress.”

City officials are now working to hire a project manager, and a delegation from the utilities board has already met with three candidates. At least two more interviews are already scheduled for November.

The city utilities board had previously approved a plan to make local firm CH2M Hill the engineer of record for the Duck River project, and to work in concert with the U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers.

Project coordinator Dale Greer noted CH2M Hill should also be able to provide assistance in the selection process for a manager.

“Maybe with the size of their firm, we’ll have a little more guidance in the process there,” he said. “That way we’ll know what we need to do, and if we’re duplicating processes.”

With extremely dry weather the past few months, some required water tests in the watershed have been put on hold. Once water flow returns to the creeks, Cullman Soil and Water Conservation District representative Tim Scott said water quality tests will resume.

“There were no water samples this month, because there was no flow, but it has started raining again,” Scott said. “We’ll be ready to go when the water flow starts again.”

With the election to decide the new associate Cullman County commissioners on Nov. 2, city officials are already planning to meet with the newly elected delegation once the new line-up is finalized.

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 outgoing associate commissioners have opposed the project, though chairman James Graves has been a proponent of Duck River since he was elected. All four candidates vying for the open seats have expressed support for the project.



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

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