Hall County changes plans, saves $200 million | News

HALL COUNTY -- Hall County has revised plans for allowing water to be moved from Glades Reservoir to Lake Lanier to the City of Gainesville's water intakes.

According to a Hall County official, the first proposal for this plan was submitted for federal permitting in June. The changes to the plan make it simpler, easier on the environment, and run about $200 million less than the original idea.

The new plan will be passed on the the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is currently conducting an environmental review of the reservoir prior to permitting.

Hall County said that on June 25, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that municipal water supply is an authorized purpose of Lake Lanier, and the Corps of Engineers issued a legal opinion affirming that the Corps has authority to operate Lake Lanier to support some amount of water supply.

Hall County applied for and received a storage contract from the Corps, allowing water from Glades Reservoir to be moved through Lake Lanier to the City of Gainesville's water intakes.

The new plan gets rid of the need for a $200 million system of pipes to carry water from Glades to a planned treatment plant at Cedar Creek Reservoir in East Hall. It is planned to yield 80 million gallons per day.