Spooner Drive residents reject water line proposal

A proposal to extend water lines down an Evans street has been nixed by residents.

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At the request of some home owners on Spooner Drive, the Columbia County Water Utility Department conducted a survey to offer water service to homes along the street. But not enough residents wanted to pay the installation costs to obtain that service, said Water Utility Director Bill Clayton.

"Of the 11 residents of Spooner Drive, only three said yes, six said no and two didn't respond," Clayton said.

The cost to install water lines down the street, located across Washington Road from the Woodbridge neighborhood, is $83,180. The county's Water Utilities department was willing to pay $31,350 of that cost, leaving the 11 homeowners with a bill of $2,850 each to get the service.

For some residents, that price tag was too steep considering they already receive water from a well.

"I don't think we'd be interested in it," said Spooner Drive resident Jerry Reynolds in March. "We've had well water for 25 years and that's working fine."

The county rarely offers such cost-share partnerships with residents for water line construction, Clayton said. It was offered on this occasion at the behest of Commissioner Charles Allen.

Allen said some residents of Spooner Drive approached him about water lines while he was campaigning for his seat.

Though he would have liked to have had the lines installed at no cost to the residents, Allen said the venture was too costly for the county to accept the entire burden.