Oak Ridge Town Council on Sept. 4 approved a text amendment to Section 38-63B of the town code establishing when new subdivisions must connect to the municipal water system and separately adopted an updated water fees schedule that expands base charges and establishes a wholesale rate. The measures passed after public comment from the town's Water Advisory Committee and a unanimous recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Board. The changes are intended to guide where and when developers must run lines and to prepare the town's water system for commercial customers.

The amendment sets a sliding scale, tying the required extension distance to the size of the proposed subdivision; staff described the text as identical to an ordinance adopted in Stokesdale. "This text amendment comes as a unanimous recommendation from the Water Advisory Committee," said Spencer Sullivan, chair of the Water Advisory Committee, in public comment. Sullivan said the committee's goals include growing the municipal water system and its customer base, and that developers who met with the committee were comfortable with the amendment's provisions.

Why it matters: requiring connections near existing mains shifts the cost of running lines to developers and reduces the uncertainty for homebuilders that results from private or community wells. Town staff told council their research shows the cost of running municipal pipe is comparable to drilling individual wells or building community wells, and the fee changes aim to prepare the system for larger and commercial meters.

Details of council action and discussion: Town staff presented the amendment and said it would require new developments near existing mains to hook up when certain thresholds are met; the Planning and Zoning Board held a public hearing and voted unanimously to recommend approval. Sullivan told council the text gives predictability to developers and helps the town add customers. Council member Schneider made the motion to approve the text amendment; the council approved it by voice vote.

At the same meeting council also approved updates to Appendix A of the Town of Oak Ridge Water System rules and regulations. The revised schedule expands base monthly charges to cover larger meter sizes (to accommodate potential commercial customers), establishes a wholesale rate (described in staff materials as "10 less than the retail rate"), applies the same rates in the town's extraterritorial jurisdiction, and clarifies commercial classifications. The Water Advisory Committee reviewed and recommended the fee changes at its Aug. 13 meeting; staff said the proposal was modeled on Winston-Salem/Forsyth County rates and reviewed by Envirolink.

Following the votes, the Water Advisory Committee reported to council that it will seek engineering proposals for a town-core loop (an extension route described by the committee that would run from Linville Road/Oak Ridge Road east to Highway 68, south on 68 to Lemville Road and back north), with the committee's first priority to extend a line to serve Oak Ridge Commons. The committee said it will present a proposal for council consideration at the next meeting and will hold two open houses for citizens about the water system (Nov. 13 and Jan. 10, times given by the committee). That work was described as direction to staff/committee rather than a formal contract award at this meeting.

What remains: Staff will schedule the engineering proposals and public outreach; council will see the committee's proposal for the core loop at a future meeting. The council did not set new rates in this session beyond adopting the updated schedule; implementation and any extraterritorial hookups will proceed under the revised rules.