State auditing Fulton’s water operations

The state Environmental Protection Division has launched an audit of Fulton County’s water operations, since the county wouldn’t reconsider terminating its contract with the Cauley Creek Water Reclamation Facility in Johns Creek. EPD Director Judson Turner said Fulton disregarded the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District’s planning process, and the agency wants to know if the county is out of compliance in any other way.

The plant provides recycled gray water used for irrigation by several golf courses including the Atlanta Athletic Club. County officials have said the closure will save $6 million per year and lower countywide water rates by 4 percent. But the state is troubled because Cauley Creek’s former customers will be charged the same rate for treated water drawn from the Chattahoochee River as they did for gray water, which won’t encourage conservation.