Committee presses to buy farmland adjacent to wastewater plant as long-term capacity risk grows

Members of the Infrastructure Committee of the Roswell City Council spent an extended portion of the meeting discussing acquisition of farmland adjacent to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, citing constrained site capacity, recurring maintenance complications and the potential for regulatory changes to require additional treatment space.

Committee members and staff said the property — which has recently changed ownership following the death of the prior owner — would give the city room to expand the wastewater facility and reduce operational risk tied to conducting repairs within a congested site. Staff asked the committee to consider an appraisal and to include the property in the wastewater department’s capital budget for the next fiscal year rather than attempt an off-cycle purchase this year.

Committee members described multiple operational concerns: limited room for equipment and replacement parts, the higher cost of tearing out and replating concrete in a tight site, recent interruptions to operations during extreme weather events and a backup-generator failure during a high-demand storm. Staff and members noted the plant is running roughly at 55% capacity while undergoing multiple renovations, including dewatering upgrades. Members said those renovations have been complicated by lack of adjacent staging and expansion space.

Staff recommended returning with a reappraisal showing whether water rights are included and advised committee members that water rights from the tract may not be transferable into the city’s potable-water system or have the same utility as city artesian rights. A staff member flagged that irrigation-water rights are a separate property right and that their utility to the municipal system depends on where and how they are adjudicated. Committee members asked staff to return next month with an appraisal that specifically states whether water rights are included.

Several committee members recommended that wastewater capital planning include an appropriation for acquisition so the city can negotiate purchase options, leases or first-rights-of-refusal rather than risk losing the property. One member suggested structuring a leaseback arrangement in which the city acquires the land and leases it back to the current agricultural user until the city needs the property for infrastructure.

The committee also discussed regulatory risk: staff noted proposed changes in water-quality regulation and the emergence of contaminants of concern could require additional treatment steps that would be difficult to implement on the current footprint, increasing unfunded capital needs.

Ending Committee direction: staff will obtain an updated appraisal that specifies whether water rights are included, look at enterprise-funding options and present a budget recommendation for consideration in next year’s capital plan. No purchase was authorized at the meeting; the committee identified the acquisition as a multiyear priority.