AWWA ACE94028

In the mid-1970s, the City of Atlanta determined that a new water intake and treatment plant, upriver from its current intake, were required to provide reliability and to meet future water needs. The permit required for the new facilities appeared to be a straightforward withdrawal permit request until Fulton County, which purchased part of its water from Atlanta, and the City of Roswell, which purchased part of its water from Fulton County, also requested withdrawal permits from the State of Georgia in the same stretch of the Chattahoochee River. The State indicated that only one withdrawal permit would be granted and that the local jurisdictions needed to resolve the ownership issue. Initially, the differences between the two jurisdictions were too great to consider addressing the big challenge of utility (water and sewer) consolidation or resolution of the system's contractual and political conflicts. The two jurisdictions launched a program to address the immediate potable water treatment needs. To accomplish the common goal, the original agreement was written with more flexibility than either of the two jurisdictions normally would operate, but throughout the document, limitations were included due to the uncertainty of the relationship. This paper outlines the establishment of cooperation, bidding a unique project, building, staffing and operating the facilities, and coping with the transition.