Charles Oliver
Dalton Daily Citizen
DALTON — Projects that will extend sewer to the north end of Whitfield County are moving along smoothly, Dalton Utilities president and CEO Don Cope said Monday.
Cope told utility board members the first phase of the Tunnel Hill project is “essentially done.” That phase is taking sewer from the Mill Creek treatment plant to Tunnel Hill. A second phase will extend that line across the city to the I-75 interchange.
The first phase of the Varnell sewer project is about 45 percent complete. That will take a sewer line from the new Whitfield County Schools high school near Prater’s Mill to New Hope Elementary. The second phase of the Varnell project will run from New Hope to the I-75 interchange at Tunnel Hill. Work on that phase is expected to begin next month.
Cope said a committee that has been studying a regional stormwater utility has been disbanded. He said Dalton Utilities plans to conduct an education program for city residents on the need for a city stormwater utility, while Whitfield and Murray County go their own way.
Cope also briefed board members on the biodiesel pilot project at the utility’s land application system on the Conasauga River. He said sample biomass harvests have been larger than expected. He said officials are still evaluating how well the process removes phosphorus and nitrogen from the waste stream. Cope said creating biodiesel is secondary to removing those chemicals from the waste, which is spread on the site, in order to extend the life of the land application property.
