Lower price will actually bring in more revenue

The city of Calhoun is well-known throughout the region as having a plentiful water supply and even having the capacity to supply the commodity to other areas, including the city of Chatsworth, a wholesale customer.

A recent renegotiation of the Calhoun/ Chatsworth water supply contract brought the price of water per thousand gallons down 20 cents, but will bring in $14,000 to $15,000 more annually, according to Calhoun Water Department Director Jerry Crawford.

The increase in revenue is due to the fact that the city of Chatsworth agreed to go up on its water intake during negotiations, he explained.

Chatsworth has been buying water from Calhoun since 2004, but has been eyeing Dalton’s water prices recently, Crawford said. This is part of the reason Calhoun decided to reevaluate its agreement with the Murray County municipality.

The contract is set on a 20-year time frame with stipulations for adjustments, he said, allowing for some change in rates if necessary.

The city is permitted to withdraw 29.8 million gallons per day from its various water sources, Crawford said, but daily usage is only averaging around 11.5 million gallons per day.

Calhoun’s excess supply of water has prompted utilities officials to look at supplying water to some parts of Floyd and Bartow counties as well, he said. Gilmer County already buys a marginal amount of water.