Many residents of the county are concerned about what the changes will cost them. David Shore and other members of the Regional Commission say that the changes should not effect their bills greatly. "If we operate all of Trigg County off of Lake Barkley Water the cost would be about the same," said Shore. Currently the water is 65 cents per thousand gallons to treat the water. However, this does not include the cost of the additional transmission lines to the east part of Trigg County and the new tank and transmission lines at Pete Light.
Some members of the Public have voiced concern that their water bill will be escalating to almost $100 per month if the Regional Water Commission takes over and controls the water supply to the city and the Lake Barkley region.
Billy Sumner and Rip Kirby were present at the conference and have also started a petition asking for more information to be given to the public.
The Regional Water Commission heard their request, however, insisted that knowledge of the project can be found as far back as 2003 in media outlets including The Cadiz Record.
There are several problems that have been facing the Trigg County water supply. Residents of the county use the Lake Barkley Water District as their water supplier. Lake Barkley Water needs to install a one million-gallon tank at Pete Light Hill, some seven miles west of Cadiz. In addition to the tank it will also need lines from the main plant to the Pete Light plant along with lines out to the eastern part of the county. All of these lines are needed to serve and have proper water pressure to all areas of the county.
At the press conference members of the Regional Water Commission said that the City of Cadiz was found by engineers to be in need of a new source of water. The City of Cadiz and the Lake Barkley Water Commission therefore formed the Cadiz Trigg County Regional Water Commission to evaluate and plan the next steps to dealing with these problems as a county. The Regional Commission has representatives from both the City and the Lake Barkley Water. "The county has more representatives than the city because the county is the one who organized this," said the Regional Commission President David Shore.
The Regional Water Commission received support from city and county officials in 2001 when these problems came about. " In the council you want to do things to get ready for the future," Donna McNichols of the City Council said at the press conference. An engineer told officials that the cheapest and best way to fix all of these problems was to form a Regional district for the water. This would give everyone in Trigg County water from the same plant.
The Regional Water Commission has planned a project that would cover the needs of both the city and the county. They plan to expand Lake Barkley Water to three million gallons from the existing two million gallons. They will build a larger transportation line to Pete Light where they will build a one and a half million-gallon tank. The City of Cadiz Water plant will be closed and the city will use water from Lake Barkley Water thus combining the two into the Regional Water District.
The cost of water under the Regional Water Commission is $2.20 per thousand gallons and this includes all construction costs. This is without any grants or money from the states. For every million dollars in grants that the Commission receives the bill will go down thirteen cents per thousand gallons.
The total cost of the plans that the Regional Water Commission has set is $12 million. The Commission has already received a $70,000 grant from the state that was used to pay an engineer and purchase a tank sight at Pete Light Hill. They have just been approved for a $500,000 grant that they would like to use to install a flocculation basin at the Lake Barkley Water plant. The Regional Water Commission is eligible for grants from block grant funds and rural development. The Commission will try to get as many grants as possible to cover the expenses.
At the next meeting of City Council and Fiscal Court, officials will be asked to reaffirm their support of the project. Members of the Regional Commission expressed at the press conference their need to be backed by both the city and the county. "You serve because you have been asked to by Lake Barkley Water and by the City. The City Council and Fiscal Court make all final decisions," said Mayor Lyn Bailey at the press conference.
