Moving forward

Judge rules in favor of long delayed water reservoir project

By Trent Moore

Staff Writer

Cullman Mayor Max Townson high-fived Economic Development Assistant Director Dale Greer Tuesday afternoon, as word broke that a Birmingham judge had ruled in favor of the Duck River Dam water reservoir project.

“This has been 18 years in the making,” Greer said, smiling ear-to-ear in the mayor’s office. “This guarantees our water supply so the community can flourish.”

Townson said he was excited to finally see the project come closer to fruition.

“If I had a bottle of champagne, we might have to pop it open,” he joked. “I’m just elated. This means so much for the future of Cullman.”

A 2007 lawsuit with the Alabama Rivers Alliance, which was ruled in favor of the city Tuesday, had blocked the project from starting sooner. The lawsuit was filed for concerns over the project’s possible impact on the community, quality of life and its possible impairment of the flow downstream.

The Duck River project calls for the creation of 640-acre lake and a six-mile pipeline with a 32 million gallon per day capacity. The reservoir would resemble Cullman’s current and only water source, Lake Catoma.

Officials have been working on a plan for an alternative water source for years, though the issue didn’t receive major attention until the 2007 drought that saw Lake Catoma drop 25 feet below full pool.

City officials worked with the Army Corps of Engineers on the matter and it was determined that due to proximity and cost, the Duck River Dam project was the most viable option for an alternative water source.

Greer said the $60 million project would be paid for with a bond issue, which the city would pay off by selling water to its wholesale customers, which includes Cullman County, East Cullman, Johnson’s Crossing and others.

The project was first stalled by the current lawsuit in 2003 when federal judge Karon Bowdre determined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “did not take a hard look at the cumulative effects of other proposed projects in the Black Warrior River Basin, the future water quality of the proposed reservoir, and the effect the proposed dam will have on the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River.”

In the past few years, Greer said the city of Cullman and the Corps worked to meet those concerns.

“She said there were these areas of deficiency and we felt like we’d been given a road map of what to do,” he said. “We worked to meet those concerns.”

When ruling in favor of the city to proceed Tuesday, Bowdre said the Corps had now taken a “requisite hard look at the relevant issues.”

Greer said preparations are already being made to continue on with the project.

“Now we have to go back and update the appraisals, contracts, plans and specs,” he said. “We have to make sure all the partners are in place.”

Wells Turner, chairman of the Cullman Utilities Board, said the Corps’ plans for the project are approximately 90 percent complete.

“We’re working to get ready so we can start moving the dirt in,” he said. “There are so many positives to this.”

Cullman County Commission Chairman James Graves said he was open to working with the city on the Duck River Dam project.

“I’m pleased for the city and that’s a very positive thing for them,” he said. “On the campaign trail I said I supported this project because the Army Corps said it is the most viable ... I told Mayor Townson that I’m looking forward to starting discussions on the matter very soon.”

Townson said the project could also be a boon to the local economy, creating as many as 1,000 new jobs.

“This will create and preserve a lot of local jobs,” he said. “It’s great.”

‰ Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 225.