GREENE COUNTY
As of Tuesday, Piedmont Water was telling customers in the Reynolds Water System that they expected repairs to the new water treatment system to be completed in one to three days.
On Saturday, Nov. 26, a weld broke on the header pipes for the pumps pulling raw water out of Lake Oconee, causing a failure in the pump house, according to Piedmont Water. They are hooking up a temporary exterior pump to get water from the lake and the water plant back online.
Since that time, customers have been receiving a blend of hard ground water from wells and softer treated surface lake water held in reserve tanks at the treatment plant site. Prior to the treatment plant going online in early September, water from more than 20 wells was the source for the Reynolds Water System as it is for most of Piedmont Water’s customers.
Piedmont Water told customers that by opening many fire hydrants they did a heavy flush of the system before bringing the wells back online so there shouldn’t have been any discoloration issues.
They said they are testing the water to make sure it is within the guidelines of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and safe for everyday use.
Manny Patel, Georgia EPD Drinking Water Program Manager, told the Lake Oconee News Tuesday that all looks fine.
“The water from the plant is continuously monitored,” Patel said. “There have been no problems since the plant went online.”
First mentioned in 2015, the plant was projected to cost $ 8 million dollars, but that ballooned to $15 million prior to the start of construction in the fall of 2019.
It draws some two million gallons of water a day from Lake Oconee and processes it for use by the Reynolds Water System The Reynolds Water System includes Reynolds Lake Oconee properties in Greene County and other communities and businesses generally along Lake Oconee Parkway up to and including Lake Oconee Academy and St. Mary’s hospital.