Judge Joe Booth has cleared the way for Jackson County to proceed with its suit against the group that owns the Bear Creek Reservoir. If the county prevails and if Jackson County’s analysis is correct, members of the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority are in for a shock.
Jackson County filed suit because experts it hired determined that the reservoir cannot produce as much water as has been assumed. Jackson County wants an accurate calculation so it can be properly reimbursed when other member counties use its water and so it can better plan for the future.
The intergovernmental agreement establishing members’ shares in the reservoir clearly states that the yield of the reservoir must be calculated anew following any record-setting drought. Having (apparently) just exited such a drought, Jackson is demanding that recalculation which it expects will show a daily yield of less than half of what has been previously suggested.
The “official yield” of the reservoir is 58 million gallons per day (mgd). Jackson’s consultants put that figure at 24 mgd.
The other three members of the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority adamantly oppose any recalculation, and for good reason. Two of the other counties —- Athens-Clarke and Oconee — consistently use most, all or more than their average daily allotment during the dry months. If those allotments are reduced by 55 percent, they’ll have to pay Jackson County when they withdraw more than allowed under any new measurement system. Barrow County has signed contracts to sell water; if Jackson County prevails, Barrow won’t be able to deliver.
Given the huge difference between the two yield estimates, it is hard to imagine that a judge or jury won’t take the logical course of action and bring in unbiased experts who can deliver accurate numbers to settle the issue. The other three counties, particularly Athens-Clarke and Oconee, filed the motion to dismiss not because Jackson County’s analysis is flawed, but because they fear it may be correct.
Grant here a bias towards Jackson County, but it really is in the best interest of all four counties to know exactly how much water they can expect to be able to take from the lake during a drought. If the lake will last 180 days, well and good, but if Jackson County’s consultant’s figures happen to be accurate, the regional water supply is more like 73 days. Better to find that out now than wait for the next drought to demonstrate it.
There are significant financial implications if Jackson County prevails, but those are nothing compared to the possibility of entering the next severe drought under the illusion that your water supply is twice as big as it really is. All four counties need to know how much water really is in the Bear Creek Reservoir.
Somebody is wrong. It is in all parties’ interest to have an accurate measurement of the capacity of the regional reservoir. Hopefully, either the two parties will agree on a third set of experts to do an unbiased calculation, or the court will order it.
