PICAYUNE —
Ground was broken Thursday morning to mark the beginning of installation of a sewer system at Hide-A-Way Lake.
The work will take about a year and a half to complete and will involve installing grinder pumps, sewer lines and force mains.
In the end, the work will increase property values and enhance the public health of the gated community, Utility Authority Board president Steve Lawler said.
District IV County Supervisor Sandy Kane Smith said the project has been needed for a number of years, even though the community has practiced a strict septic tank maintenance program for many years. HAWL resident John Rhodish said that maintenance program involved every septic tank being inspected at least once a year. That practice enabled the community to maintain their lot sizes of about a third of an acre while using the on-site waste water systems.
When the project was first proposed about three years ago, it met with resistance from residents, especially since the cost for homeowners to come online was so high. HAWL General Manager Bruce Devillier said the cost initially proposed was $7,000 to $9,000 per home. After some Federal Stimulus funds and other grant funds became available, that cost has been reduced to $250 per home, said Utility Authority Engineer Brooks Wallace.
“That was a big burden off our property owners,” Devillier said.
Part of the project will involve the Utility Authority taking on a debt of about 15 percent of the cost to build the project. So far, out of the about 950 residents in the gated community, 816 have agreed to join the system, Wallace said.
Once the system is constructed, the sewage will be routed to Picayune’s new waste water treatment plant currently under construction on Neal Road. Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Engineering Coordinator Sarah Tracy said the infrastructure to accomplish that involves a pump station and force main, which are being paid for using Stimulus funds.
The total project will cost $5.9 million. The Utility Authority will be taking out a loan of about $800, 000 for part of the project from State Revolving Funds, which it will pay back at about 2 percent interest. The remaining balance is being funded with Federal Stimulus Package funds, said Utility Authority Operations Manager Cliff Diamond.
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Related Photos
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GROUNDBREAKING — Members of the Pearl River County Utility Authority, residents of Hide-A-Way Lake and county officials participated in the ground breaking of the gated community’s coming sewage system. The system will cost about $5.9 million and take about a year and a half to build. Jeremy Pittari
Ground broken in HAWL for sewer project
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