Month: August 2022

The Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, voted on a Water Storage Agreement with the State of Georgia to allow the County to use storage volume in Lake Lanier for water supply.
Early last year, Georgia entered into a Master Storage Agreement with the United States Department of the Army to secure water supply for multiple jurisdictions, Gwinnett County included. While Gwinnett and others have used water in the lake for many years, this contract for the first time grants long-term rights to storage volume in Lake Lanier to meet Gwinnett County’s water supply needs.
“Quality water is important for our residents and visitors,” said Chairwoman Nicole Hendrickson. “It is the small benefits that play a large part in why Gwinnett County is the preferred place to live and work. DWR continues to deliver superior services, and this is an important step toward securing the County’s water supply for years to come.”
As part of the agreement, the County will pay an annual fee to the State. A roughly $1.5 million annual payment goes toward the cost of storage. Additional fees for the county’s percentage of the cost of lake repair, rehabilitation and replacement, as wells as operation and maintenance, will be assessed every year.
“This contract is the result of many years of work to gain access to adequate storage volume to secure water supply for the communities that depend on Lake Lanier for their drinking water,” said DWR Interim Director Rebecca Shelton. “Recently, due to the hard work of DWR staff to properly treat the water from the lake, we recently received the award for best tasting water in Georgia.”
The contract remains in effect for a minimum of 30 years. Once Gwinnett pays for the storage costs, it will have rights to the storage volume.  

As a result of rising fuel and labor costs, worker shortages, supply chain issues, and a higher volume of trash and recycling, the County amended its contract with residential solid waste haulers.
Changes to the agreement will increase payments to haulers and provide them with the resources needed to deliver better services, while holding them accountable for services that are not provided – like missed routes.  
Residential property owners in unincorporated Gwinnett County will see a $22.44 increase in their annual solid waste fee for 2023. The increase is based on the annual adjustments for fuel costs and Consumer Price Index changes that would have taken effect regardless of the revised agreement. In addition to the increase, residents will receive a $6.06 credit that will be applied to the annual solid waste fee from liquidated damages assessed to haulers last year. With the credit applied, the annual increase will be $16.38, or $1.37 per month.
The 25% senior discount will continue for qualifying accounts and the County will continue to assess how to best use liquidated damages to benefit residents. 
Here’s a more in-depth look at the performance requirements haulers must meet:

Haulers will be required to implement notification systems for missed routes when scheduled routes are not completed
Reporting requirements have been enhanced for better performance tracking
Specific performance measures and liquidated damages have been added missed collections
Standards for failure to correct missed collections and chronic problems have been strengthened
Procedures for any suspension of service due to uncontrollable circumstances have been strengthened

Additional costs for 2022 and a portion of the increases for 2023 will be paid from the solid waste fund. The current agreement expires in June 2026. The County will revisit its current Solid Waste Management plan to address residents needs within the next 10 years.