THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 22, 1995 TAG: 9511220503
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Lower Currituck County residents who bought into a county water system during the 1980s may finally see the valuable resource flow their way within a decade.
And residents wishing to receive county water in the future will see connection fees jump from $1,000 to $3,000 after June 1.
``Anywhere in Currituck County the tap fee is going to go up, not just in the southern end of the county,'' County Finance Director Daniel F. Scanlon II said Tuesday.
A $4 million expansion of the mainland water system moved a step closer Monday night when the Board of Commissioners during a regular meeting in Currituck approved a water-user agreement and tap-on fees for new signups.
The five-mile pipeline, however, will only reach a small fraction of about 400 households that signed up for water service throughout the 1980s.
``With the initial lengthening of the line, we're only picking up about 20 of the folks,'' County Manager Bill Richardson said.
``Potentially,'' Board Chairman Ernie Bowden quickly added.
Still, the commissioners said, the new project is an important first step.
``We're trying to fulfill an obligation we made to that end of the county,'' Commissioner Gene Gregory said.
Added Commissioner Paul O'Neal: ``The county is trying to get out of the shallow well (and move) to the water system to supply our future needs, not just our current needs.''
Like people in the rest of Currituck's mainland communities, residents in the southern part of the county were promised water from a new county system that they helped finance with a $4.7 million bond referendum in 1988.
More than 400 households signed up for the new service and paid tap-on fees, some as low as $35.
But the money dried up by the time the transmission lines reached Grandy, and county residents were unwilling to pay for another $1 million in construction bonds to finish the project.
Under the new water expansion plan, a transmission line running alongside U.S. 158 is scheduled to be built during the next five years.
Single-family dwellings not already slated for hookup can pay a $1,000 connection fee until June 1. The rate will then jump to $3,000.
``Water's expensive. It's a valuable resource,'' Scanlon said.
The board debated Monday whether to help needy families finance the fees. Eventually it decided against a customer installment plan in order to prevent cash flow problems.
``If the bank won't do it, we don't need to do it,'' Bowden said. ``And if the bank will do it, then they should do it.''
The total program is expected to take five years to complete. Costs include:
$345,000 for the transmission line.
$225,00 to evaluate the Maple wellfield and plant.
$750,000 to dig 10 new shallow wells at the Maple site. This will ``max out'' the plant.
$2.25 million to build a new ``nanofilter plant'' at Maple, capable of producing 750,000 gallons of drinking water daily.
$404,930 for contingencies.
The water main extension, well field evaluation and 10 new wells will be financed by consumers through system profits and connection fees.
The new reverse-osmosis plant will probably require some form a debt, to be paid through operation receipts. by CNB