Long-term plan a must for city water system

Published 8:30 am Saturday, July 30, 2016

By Staff Reports

Barring any new setbacks, city officials are cautiously hopeful that Milledgeville’s water system will be back up and running at full capacity by weekend’s end.

That’s after the latest water malfunctions that resulted in five water main breaks and a boil water advisory being issued for city water customers earlier in the week. City residents experienced low water pressure and sporadic water availability during the past week, on the heels of the previous few weeks when the city operated on a backup water pump while its broken one was replaced.

It has indeed been an exhausting few weeks for city waterworks employees and city officials, coming just a few months after the last water main break that happened back in the spring.

With all of the city’s water issues of late, we feel it is cause to question what the long-term plan is for upgrading Milledgeville’s water system.

If a master plan for the future of the water system already exists, then now would be a good time to relay that to those who receive city water given the recent issues. The patience of local city water users and business owners who have been impacted by the water delays is running thin — and justifiably so.

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City officials need to first be forthcoming about what exactly caused five water mains to break within a week. As of Thursday, they were still trying to determine the exact cause of the latest problems. Then, city officials should share what the long-term solution is for upgrading the city’s water system, as it is certainly evident that an upgrade is needed.

Obviously, an upgrade of this magnitude comes with a hefty price tag, so it would behoove the city to come up with a plan for the future — sooner rather than later. The city mustn’t allow itself to get into a dire situation where there is a major water crisis and a hefty price tag cannot be avoided. If there is an existing plan, then local residents are all ears. Careful forethought is what is required to avoid more of these kinds of water issues for years to come.