Citizens Tell Oconee County Commissioners Of Their Concerns About Sewer Projects

Concerns about Oconee County’s sewer upgrade plans dominated the citizen comment section of the Board of Commissioners meeting last night.

Tony Greco, 1071 Winthrop Place, in the Hickory Hill subdivision outside Watkinsville, was the first to speak, and he informed the commissioners about the formation of Friends of Calls Creek and the meeting it held on Monday night attended by more than 70 citizens.

He said he hoped the county will pursue other alternatives to the proposed pipeline down Calls Creek, which would carry treated sewer water from an expanded sewer plant outside Watkinsville to the Middle Oconee River.

Former Commissioner Chuck Horton, who lives at 1061 Ramblewood Place in Hickory Hill, raised even broader concerns about the county’s plans, questioning why the county had not upgraded the existing Calls Creek plant after the Commission voted to do so in 2008.

And David Jackson, 1050 Campbellton Place, also in Hickory Hill, detailed the impact of the construction of the pipeline on his and other residential areas along Calls Creek and called for continued community involvement in the decision about the pipeline.

Commission Chairman Melvin Davis said that alternatives to the pipeline would be explored and that citizens would be given an opportunity to express opinions about those options.

For more on the story, with video clips of the key sections of the meeting, go to Oconee County Observations.

Pictured: Tony Greco.