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Public Utilities rolls out 2025 service-delivery plan update with $558M in proposed projects; commissioners ask about sewer expansion and septic areas
Summary
Public Utilities presented a five-year update to the 20-year Service Delivery Plan, listing projects to rehabilitate and expand water and sewer infrastructure, noting the county-owned quarry as a water-resiliency asset and prompting commissioner questions about sewer extensions into septic-served areas and project financing.
Athens-Clarke County Public Utilities presented its five-year update to the Service Delivery Plan (SDP) on April 8, outlining completed projects from the prior plan, proposed priorities for FY2025–2029 and a long-term look at water- and wastewater-system needs.
Assistant Director Hugh Vogel (Public Utilities) and consultant Diana Jackson (Jacobs) reviewed the plan’s aims: to evaluate regulatory compliance, public-health priorities, rehabilitation and replacement needs, and expansions tied to future land-use and growth projections. The SDP update presents a 20-year planning horizon with a five-year update cycle; staff said the proposed bundle of projects included work across regulatory compliance, rehabilitation and expansions with a combined planning estimate presented of approximately $558 million over the planning horizon.
Public Utilities staff reviewed major completed projects from the prior SDP and projects currently under construction, including sanitary-interceptor work tied to campus and stadium areas. Staff said many of the listed projects are prepared as fact-sheet entries and carry project numbers to track design, permitting and budget authority.
Commissioners asked specifically about sewer service in outlying and lower-density areas. Staff noted that blue areas on their map are outside the gravity-served system and would require costly mechanical lift stations or small package treatment plants to serve—work that can run into multi-million-dollar costs for each sub-basin. Commissioners requested ballpark cost estimates for sewer extensions in septic-served neighborhoods and asked about prior policy choices that limited sewer rollouts to higher-density or developer-driven projects.
The county’s recently purchased quarry was discussed as a resiliency asset for future water supply; staff noted royalties from permitted mining activity provide some offset but are not a substitute for system funding. Staff also detailed prior funding tools used to build infrastructure, including state revolving funds (SRF) and federal grants where available, and said consultants (Stantec) will review recommended rates with affordability protections for customers.
Commissioners asked for follow-up materials, including redacted raw daily-ambulance availability (requested in a separate item), a GIS map showing gravity-served versus septic-served areas, more specific project cost breakdowns, and the annual royalty/lease revenues from quarry operations. Staff agreed to provide the maps, project fact sheets, and grant/loan options and to coordinate rate-affordability analysis by the consultant team.
Ending: Public Utilities will return with detailed GIS maps of sewer/well/septic areas, a breakdown of the recommended projects and cost estimates per project, royalty income figures and analysis of funding options (grants, SRF, developer contributions) to support prioritization and budget decisions.
