MWA to issue $50M in bonds for upgrades

The Macon Water Authority on Thursday approved the refinancing of $14.2 million in bonds and the eventual sale of $50 million more.

The new bonds will pay for a long list of improvements to the authority’s water distribution system, sewers, replacement of a sewer line that collapsed under the Macon levee last year, and more.

Ray Shell, the authority’s assistant executive director, said the authority extended some of its existing debt repayment from 20 to 25 years so the utility could retain its excellent AA bond rating even if it takes on more debt.

Shell said the $50 million in new bonds will be issued over time, with the first $20 million being sold this summer.

Among the projects the new bonds will finance are an estimated $17.2 million in water system improvements and $32.5 million in sewer system and sewage treatment improvements, including:

n A new major sewer line at Lennox Drive to relieve sewage volume and reduce the high number of sewage spills that have occurred on the line in recent years;

n New water tanks and water booster pump stations, mostly in south Macon and south Bibb County;

n Improvements to the intake where the authority pulls water from the Ocmulgee River, and the construction of a new auxiliary intake for use during droughts and low river flow;

n Reimbursement the authority’s reserves for the emergency replacement of a major sewer line that collapsed underneath the Macon levee during heavy rains last year;

n Rehabilitation of a Central City Park sewer line that was discovered to be severely corroded between the levee and the Lower Poplar sewage treatment plant;

n Improvements to small stations that pump sewage uphill and to the larger Allen Road pump station where major sewage spills have occurred repeatedly in the last year;

n An expansion of the authority’s “find and fix” program to systematically examine sewer lines for problems and fix them; and

n Improvements to the Lower Poplar sewage treatment plant and its treatment process for solid waste that is later applied for farm fields.

Shell noted that other recent investments by the authority are paying off in reduced sewage spills. Despite storms that knocked out power and deluged Bibb County with several inches of rain Tuesday, the authority found no sewage spills, Shell said.

That’s partly because the authority upgraded several major pump stations last year, including one at Riverside, adding emergency generators to keep them pumping sewage uphill when they lose electricity. When the Riverside station lost power Tuesday, the generator prevented sewage spills that occur when sewage backs up behind inoperable pump stations.

In recent years the authority has been plagued by spills that occur when rain infiltrates leaky sewer lines and overwhelms them.

Shell said the storm also provided a test of the new power quality meter the authority installed at its water treatment plant. The meter sensed when the plant partially lost electricity for a few milliseconds, and its generators automatically geared up and would have run the plant if power was lost for four seconds, Shell said.

Lightning directly struck the authority’s phone system Tuesday, knocking out phone service until Thursday afternoon. Shell apologized to customers who were frustrated with not getting an answer when calling the authority during that period.

To contact writer S. Heather Duncan, call 744-4225. Staff writer Carl Lewis contributed to this report.