Businessman wants new reservoir to help lower water rates

FLOWERY BRANCH - A Gainesville business man hopes building the Glade Farm Reservoir could reduce the difference between city and county water rates.

Business owner Jimmy Adams wants to know if the difference between city and county water rates could be reduced if Hall County starts selling water wholesale.

When Hall County builds the Glade Farm Reservoir, Commission Chairman Tom Oliver says the county would wholesale the water; cities could be the retailers and county rates could drop.

"A business could rely on that information when they make their plans and I hope the Glade Reservoir can move forward, and quickly, " Adams said.

Adams was in the audience when Oliver talked about changes in water differential this week at the morning meeting of the South Hall Business Coalition in Flowery Branch at the Mulberry Creek Community Center.

Adams said existing rates could discourage, not encourage new businesses to locate in Hall County.

"I'm hoping that in the future we can look at lowering the difference between the two," Adams said. " It's an economic issue for businesses."

Adams, founder and president of The Adams Companies, Inc., Adams Data Management, Adams Property Management and Vice President of Adams Transfer & Storage Company, Inc., said he pays twice the rate for water at his Oakwood location that he pays in Gainesville, plus a $135 water department charge for sprinkler service he never had to pay before.