THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 8, 1995 TAG: 9501080081
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Last summer the Currituck County Board of Commissioners created a water authority to save at least $1 million in water line improvements along soon-to-be-expanded N.C. 168.
It now looks like that authority - and the county - won't save that money after all.
Currituck commissioners learned recently that the county is going to have to pay $851,200 to improve 21,280 linear feet of line that the state has decided not to touch.
``This was really a shocker,'' County Manager Bill Richardson told commissioners at a recent meeting.
Richardson said last week that he plans to meet with R.V. Owens III, the Albemarle area's representative on the North Carolina Transportation Board, to discuss the county's options.
County officials had planned to pay about $525,000 to upgrade 18 miles of water lines from the Virginia border to Barco this year while the state widened the highway.
The state would pay for moving the water lines during the highway expansion, and the county would pay just for upgrading the pipes. Most lines will be enlarged from 4, 6, and 8 inches to 12 inches. Now that the state is not planning to touch the water line from Survey Road south to Sligo, the county will have to pay much more to upgrade those lines.
The project is now expected to cost about $1.4 million, according to county records.
The project would improve water pressure for customers in those areas and accommodate future expansion.
There are 2,872 customers from Moyock to Grandy, where the county water system ends.
In late November, state transportation officials announced they would not need to disturb water lines from Survey Road in Moyock down to Sligo while expanding the highway.
Upgrading that section is expected to cost $851,200.
That price could easily increase to millions, however, if the project is postponed beyond December, when work begins on expanding that stretch of N.C. 168.
``If we waited another 10 years, it could easily cost $5 million or more,'' said Leland Gibbs, the Currituck County water superintendent.
Delays also could jeopardize the other improvements, he said.
``It wouldn't be wise to let them upgrade the northern section and the southern section and then put a garden hose in between,'' Gibbs said.
If the county decides to stick to the state's schedule, Currituck officials would not need to begin paying for the Sligo-to-Survey Road upgrades for a year to 18 months after the section is completed, Richardson said.
The additional cost may be passed on to water customers.
``We're going to have to look at our connection fees, no doubt about it,'' Richardson said at a Dec. 19 board meeting.
A previous board of commissioners in June created the Currituck County Water Authority, which took over ownership of the water system's transmission lines and then leased them back to the county.
The sole purpose of forming the authority was to save taxpayers millions of dollars when water lines are relocated.
Shortly after the water authority was created, the General Assembly approved legislation that says municipalities do not need to pay for water line relocations on state projects, Gibbs said. by CNB