Valley authority could take on water system

An agreement to switch the Avondale Mills water system to the Valley Public Service Authority will likely be approved at a Monday public meeting, officials say.

"I feel sure they'll probably sign that agreement Monday night," said Calvin Smith, the general manager for the Valley authority.

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. at the Valley authority's board office at 435 Pine Street, Gloverville. Mr. Smith said the authority's board would likely vote to allow its chairman to sign the agreement, in which Avondale would give the Valley authority the system along with about $1 million.

"It's actually going to start the time clock on the 120 due diligence days," Mr. Smith said. The agreement would allow the authority to back out within 120 days "if anything comes up we're not aware of," he said Friday. System checks would occur and, if all goes well, the official switch would probably take place by January.

The legal battle over the approved higher rates will continue.

On Friday, Roland Smith, R-Warrenville, one of the lawmakers pushing for a system turnover and representing Graniteville and Vaucluse residents against the higher rates, said he was happy to see the agreement planned for Monday.

Calvin Smith said that even when the Valley authority takes over the system, it will have to adopt Avondale's higher rates for at least a year because the Valley authority temporarily has to purchase water from another authority, Breezy Hill, and address water loss issues with Avondale's deteriorating system. After that, Mr. Smith said reduced rates could follow.

The transfer to the Valley authority also should result in repairs to the decades-old Avondale system. Mr. Smith said his authority hopes to use $2 million in stimulus funds, $6 million in grants, the $1 million from Avondale and to borrow $3 million from USDA Rural Development to overhaul the system. He said that to receive the stimulus money, the Valley authority would have to start work no later than February.

Reach Preston Sparks at (706) 828-3851 or preston.sparks@augustachronicle.com