Sandy Springs Moves Forward With Water Independence Plan

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — Sandy Springs residents have no clue whether water rates charged by the Atlanta Department of Watershed Management are an accurate reflection of the service level it has received over the last few decades.

That's according to a report presented Tuesday at the City Council's work session where Sandy Springs leaders were given an outline of what steps its legal team has taken to obtain information needed to move forward with improving the state of its water system.

City Attorney Dan Lee provided an overview of what has been done since the beginning of the year when Mayor Rusty Paul and City Council members indicated water reliability and independence was a top priority for 2018. The city has brought on Hartman Consultants, LLC to help appraise the value and condition of water operations in Sandy Springs.

A series of open records requests were made this year, but Lee said Sandy Springs has gotten little to nothing in response to those submissions. Atlanta, he said, has not provided any documentation that outlines the rates charged to the city, as he was told that information does not exist. The one thing they did receive, Lee said, was a rate study done in 2003, but used information dating back to 1999.

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Lee said every rate study must have an appraisal done of the system to accompany that report. Since the last report was done more than 10 years ago, there are no facts that back up the current rate imposed on Sandy Springs. As a side note, the attorney said many parts of the water system infrastructure was not put into the ground by Atlanta, but by developers who got approval from Fulton County before Sandy Springs incorporated in 2005.

The base charge for Sandy Springs and other customers who are outside the city limits is $6.56 per 1,000 gallons. Lee suspects that Sandy Springs residents are charged 21 to 23 percent higher than customers in Atlanta. According to figures provided by Sandy Springs, the base rate rises as a person's monthly consumption increases.

Comparatively, Lee said Fulton County water customers pay about two-thirds less than what Sandy Springs pays to buy water from Atlanta.

Lee also said Atlanta's watershed fund has been subsidizing the city's general fund. The watershed fund, he notes, has forked over about $16 million each year to the city's general fund. This is problematic because enterprise funds, such as Atlanta's watershed fund, are required to only fund operations related to their specific purpose.

“All revenue Atlanta collects for the sale of water are commingled,” Lee said, adding water users such as Sandy Springs residents are essentially paying for Atlanta general fund operations.

Sandy Springs is demanding the Department of Watershed justify the rates charged to Sandy Springs and to consider reducing that figure. It's also calling on Atlanta to repay the watershed fund any money required to cover the amount transferred to Atlanta's general fund. Lee said if these problems aren't addressed, the city could have no choice but to press forward with an alternative dispute resolution to correct the errors.

At the City Council meeting, elected officials considered levying a 5 percent franchise fee on the city of Atlanta for constructing, maintaining, repairing, selling and operating water within the right of way in Sandy Springs. Lee said the fee could bring about $900,000 into the city's coffers, and that money could be used towards making some much-needed repairs of its water system.

However, City Council members expressed concerns about moving forward with the proposal, as they did not want to see Atlanta pass on the fee through a water rate increase to Sandy Springs customers.

Mayor Rusty Paul said he's sat down with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and City Council President Felicia Moore to discuss these same issues. Paul said he even proposed buying the Sandy Springs portion of the water system from Atlanta. However, Paul said Bottoms responded with the analogy of someone who shows up on a person's door step and asks about buying their house when it's not for sale.

"I said it’s more like a duplex, and we’d like to buy our half," he said.

The main goal for Sandy Springs should be to get access and control of the system, which he said is riddled with numerous leaks and deteriorating points. He also said the city's public safety has been at risk, as many fire hydrants in the city were inoperable. Without knowing the condition of the underground pipes, the city could be faced with a crisis that could leave residents without waters for days and even weeks or months.

“We think this should be a service that the city of Sandy Springs provides for its own citizens," he added.

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