Cumming council awards $593,709 design-development study for Lake Lanier wastewater discharge

The Cumming City Council voted to award Garber Engineering LLC $593,709 to prepare a design-development report (DDR) for a planned wastewater treatment facility that would ultimately discharge treated effluent into Lake Lanier.

The DDR, described by city utilities staff as the next step in a multi‑decade program, will study a proposed initial phase sized at about 2.5 million gallons per day (MGD), phased capacity increases tied to a waste‑load allocation that city staff said currently ranges from 7.5 MGD up to a possible 15 MGD. The council approved the award 3-0.

Why it matters: City officials said the DDR is intended to produce the engineering, environmental and permitting analyses the city will need before seeking construction funding and state concurrence. Staff said regulators — including the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — must sign off on discharge location, water‑quality modeling and permit terms before construction can begin.

City utilities staff explained the technical and regulatory constraints the DDR must address. Presenters said the EPD’s waste‑load allocation sets stringent water‑quality limits (examples cited by staff included an ammonia target near 0.5 parts per million and phosphorus near 0.08 parts per million), and that meeting those limits requires advanced treatment technology that substantially increases cost.

The staff presentation identified a potential site along State Route 400 (Linear 400 Parkway) and described a phased approach to construction so future expansions could be added as demand and regulatory approvals allow. The presenter described the initial facility as likely a membrane‑based treatment plant with a building‑enclosed process rather than open ponds, with architecture and landscaping to limit visual impacts.

Staff estimated a preliminary capital cost for the initial 2.5 MGD phase at roughly $87.5 million (using an illustrative $35 per gallon figure). They described the $593,709 DDR as a budgeted item and said the study would also support grant applications and state funding opportunities once the DDR and early regulatory concurrence are in hand. Staff said a DDR would take approximately six months to complete.

Council members asked about site approval, visibility from major roads, pumping requirements and how the new facility would interact with the existing Bethelview plant. Staff said the proposed site’s elevation could allow gravity discharge to the lake and that the county and other local systems intend to route more flow to the lake as infrastructure is upgraded; any change to existing plants would be considered as part of a long‑term plan.

The council motion to award the DDR to Garber Engineering LLC was moved, seconded and carried 3-0. Staff described the award as a design/report contract (study) and said additional permitting, funding and design steps will follow before any construction decision.

Ending: City staff stressed the DDR is an early, technical step — not a construction authorization. Any later decision to build will require separate council approvals, funding commitments and state and federal permits.