Drinking Water
The City of Cumming has been in the water business since the 1940s. In the early years, the City was permitted to withdraw raw water from both Dobbs Creek and Baldridge Creek. These two raw water sources provided an adequate quantity of surface water to the City for many years. It was not until the late 1970s that the City secured a withdrawal permit from the U.S Army Corps of Engineers to pump up to 8 MGD (million gallons per day) of water from Lake Lanier to the City’s Potable Water Production Facility (PWPF). The Mayor and Council’s decision to move to Lake Lanier was one of the most important decisions made in Forsyth County’s history.
Today, the City is permitted to withdraw up to 34 MGD of lake water for both the City’s 18 MGD PWPF and the County’s 14 MGD PWPF. Without an adequate supply of drinking water and the Mayor and Council’s vision for the future, Forsyth County would not be the great county that it is today.
The Future
The Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District has been studying the rapidly growing North Georgia region for several years. The results of the studies have been compiled into three District Plans. They are listed below and are available at www.northgeorgiawater.com
District Wide Watershed Management Plan
Long Term Wastewater Management Plan
Water Supply and Water Conservation Management Plan
According to the Water Supply and Water Conservation Management Plan, the City of Cumming and Forsyth County have been allotted 57 MGD of Annual Average Daily Demand (AADD). This equates to a daily maximum of approximately 91 Million Gallons Per Day (MGD) of water from Lake Lanier. The City and County are working diligently to secure the required permits from Georgia EPD and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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