Hall County has been given an additional 120 days to supplement its permit application for the proposed Glades Reservoir project.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer granted the extra time on Thursday, county officials announced in a news release.
The county is hoping to secure increased water from the proposed 850-acre lake in northeast Hall County. Original estimates were for a water yield of 6.4 million gallons per day from the reservoir, but studies are being conducted that the county hopes will show that a much larger water supply may be available from the project.
“We have worked hard to reach this point in the Glades application process, and we want to make sure that we have fully addressed every technical and operational facet of the reservoir to ensure our success,” Board of Commissioners Chairman Tom Oliver said. “And in light of the recent federal court ruling on Lake Lanier water use, we are looking much more closely at the potential to secure additional yield from the Glades Reservoir.”
The original permit for the reservoir was submitted in 2007. The plan was fast-tracked this summer by the corps, and sessions were held to receive public feedback.
Wednesday, Oliver submitted a letter to his fellow commissioners and members of the Gainesville City Council seeking to create a join city-county water authority to oversee the Glades and Cedar Creek reservoirs and pursue a plan for a water treatment plant that could serve both lakes.
The county’s desire to push the reservoir project was driven by a July 17 federal court ruling that declared use of Lake Lanier as a water source a violation of the lake’s original intent.