A newly released audit of Newton County finances is casting new doubt on a years-long push to build new reservoirs around the metro Atlanta region .
The audit claims county officials “recklessly wasted” $25 million pursuing the Bear Creek Reservoir, a project the county has since abandoned. The auditor placed much of the blame on former county attorney Tommy Craig, who served the county in a dual role as water consultant.
Craig has vigorously attacked the audit as "breathtakingly incompetent" and blasted county commissioners as "foolish" for shelving the Bear Creek project, but Jenny Hoffner of the conservation group American Rivers said it is a cautionary tale for other local governments.
“Newton County taxpayers were put on the hook for $25 million,” she said. “They were sold a bill of goods. It was not going to generate water, but it did generate fees for consultants.”
While Newton County has left its reservoir projects behind, other local governments are still mulling what to do with their proposed reservoirs. Hall County and a trio of cities in south Fulton County have recently asked federal regulators to pull their permit applications for their planned reservoirs.
Lowered projections for population growth in the metro area, combined increased rates of water conservation, have weakened the case for such projects and make it more difficult to get permits from The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
But, with millions already invested, local governments are reluctant to turn back now.
