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Marietta utilities report stable revenues, drought concerns and federal court win for Atlanta-area water allocations
Summary
City staff reported near-budget water sales and robust capital reserves but warned of drought risk; meeting included a summary of a federal court decision upholding Army Corps allocations from Lake Allatoona that affects the Marietta/Cobb County water authority.
City staff reported that water sales for the reporting month averaged about 68 million gallons per day, slightly above budget, and that water sales revenue for the month was roughly $7 million—about $20,000 below budget. Net income and year-to-date capital spending were presented; staff reported approximately $65 million in cash reserves held for capital improvement projects as of the close of the financial report.
Staff also said year-to-date average rainfall recorded by the water authority was about 7.6 inches in February, roughly 44% below the prior-year comparison, and warned the authority is projecting a substantial drought this year. Officials noted nine active pipeline projects and three facilities projects in progress, plus one bid out and nine unfunded EPA-related mandates.
On legal developments, staff summarized a recent federal court decision in a long-running water dispute among Georgia, Florida and Alabama. A federal judge upheld the Army Corps of Engineersdecision to grant Metro Atlanta increased allocations from Lake Allatoona, a ruling the city said will allow Metro Atlantato count certain return flows against usage and thereby affect supply calculations. The staff summary noted that the decision supports the Corps2021 allocation and includes the Army Corps, the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Cobb-Marietta Water Authority among the parties upheld by the court.
In electric utility matters reported by BLW staff, February generation and resource metrics were reviewed: the utility ran slightly favorable to plan on kilowatt-hour production and had several plants out for scheduled refueling (Vogtle 2, Hatch 2, Wansley and Addison); staff said most units were scheduled to return imminently. The budget and rates committee reported the committee approved a 3.5% increase to wastewater rates that is a passthrough from Cobb County and will be passed on to city customers; staff described this as roughly a $1.25 monthly increase on average wastewater bills.
No formal council action was required for the financial presentations, but council members asked staff to track drought indicators and noted the legal decisionas material context for regional water planning.
