County organizing rural water district

Federal money will build Holmestown area system

The Liberty County Commission voted Thursday evening to pursue federal funds to build a rural water system in the Holmestown-Screven Fork area. Financing for the project is projected at $6 million, which would be funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture once approved.
Commissioners reviewed preliminary findings and cost assessments presented by Paul Simonton, president of P.C. Simonton and Associates, Inc., and Simonton engineer Matthew Barrow.

The process would include
the installation of a water tank
and well in the Miller Park area, as well as approximately 21 miles of water line, to serve about 375 people. Initial use is projected at
112,200 gallons per day, and planned well capacity would be 300,000 gpd. The tank’s capacity would be between 300,000-500,000 gallons.
Simonton told commissioners the process of completing the project — from submitting paperwork to securing funding to actually constructing the system — can take as long as five years.
The commissioners also heard from a Coastal Georgia Land Initiative representative about habitat mapping that’s being done in Liberty County. Biologists are currently working in the field to map Liberty County’s coast as part of a habitat study, said Sonny Emmert, who works with the coastal resources division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
The maps will allow county leaders to plan future development in conjunction with preservation efforts.