The Oconee County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve loan documents from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) that add $5.8 million in new county debt for construction of the Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir in Walton County.

The BOC took the action following a financial analysis by County Administrative Officer Jeff Benko showing that the county can handle this and future debt for the reservoir and other projects without a water rate increase, though he did not guarantee that a rate increase would not be necessary in the future.

Benko said that the Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir Management Board has shelved plans in the short term for construction of a water treatment plant to process water from the reservoir as a cost-saving measure.

Benko said the focus of the project at present is on providing “raw water” that can be treated at other plants already in existence in Walton County.

Water, once treated, will be distributed through the existing water lines of Walton County and then cross the border into Oconee County on existing interconnects between the two systems, Parker said, also holding down costs in the short term.

For details and a full video of the section of Tuesday night's meeting dealing with the Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir project, go to Oconee County Observations.

See also:

• Oconee County Board of Commissioners Scheduled To Approve New Hard Labor Creek Debt
• Hard Labor Creek Loan Put Forward For January Vote at Oconee County Board of Commissioners Meeting
• Oconee County Board Of Commissioners To Consider New Debt for Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir
• Oconee County and Walton County Votes On Hard Labor Creek Loan Postponed to January
• Hard Labor Creek Management Board Still Waiting on Loan Documents From State
• Hard Labor Creek Management Board Agrees To Consider Adding Citizens from Walton and Oconee Counties
• State Will Not Seek Access to Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Water For Atlanta, Oconee County and Other Officials Predict