Quick References

Establish New Service
Learn how to establish a new account at CCWA.

Online Account Acess
Check your account balance, view billing history or make a payment 24/7.

Toilet Rebate Program
Residential customers can save money and water by replacing their old toilets.

Wetlands Center
View information about the Authority's unique educational center.

Community Use Buildings
Rent one of CCWA's facilities for social or business gatherings.

HISTORY

1955 - The Georgia General Assembly established the Clayton County Water Authority (CCWA). J.A. "Red" Garner was selected as first Chairman of the CCWA Board and Robert and Company was hired as engineering firm of record. Bonds totaling $1.1 million were sold to finance the initial construction of the water system. Ed Kemp doubles as both the Clayton County and CCWA attorney. Robert McMullen served in the capacity of what would be referred to as general manager.

1956 - With initial financing secured, the Authority completed the Little Cotton Indian Creek Water Production Plant (W.J. Hooper), supplying 2.0 million gallons of drinking water capacity per day (MGD). The Mountain View elevated tank was built, with 250,000 gallons of storage. The CCWA organization at this time features:

CCWA serves 450-475 customers
CCWA employs 8
CCWA owns and operates 5 pieces of equipment
CCWA supplies 250,000 gallons of water on an average day

1957 - General obligation bonds totaling $950,000 financed the beginning of construction of the sewer system. The CCWA also received a Public Service health grant of $250,000 to support this initial construction. T.J. Elliott served in the capacity of what would be referred to as general manager.

1958 - The Flint River Plant (W.B. Casey) was completed, with the capability of treating 1.0 MGD of wastewater.

1959 - Revenue bonds of $750,000 were sold to finance further construction of the system.

1960 - Edward L. "Ed" Huie, Jr. was hired as General Manager.

1961 - Pumping stations and a 500,000 gallon storage tank were built in and around areas of Morrow. Revenue bonds of $350,000 were sold to finance construction of the system.

1962 - The Little Cotton Indian Creek Plant was expanded to 4.0 MGD. Revenue bonds of $650,000 were sold to finance further construction of the system.

1964 - The CCWA pursued major expansion of the water system. General obligation bonds of $975,000 and revenue bonds of $1.16 million were sold to finance construction of the system. Elevated tanks at Lovejoy and Crystal Lake were built, with a capacity of 500,000 gallons each. The 170-acre Little Cotton Indian Creek (W. J. Hooper) Reservoir filled with 300 million gallons of capacity. Charles Crawley was selected as Chairman of the CCWA Board.

1965 - The Morrow pumping station was expanded, with an 8.0 MGD pump added. Revenue Bonds of $2.12 million were sold to finance construction of system.

1966 - The Little Cotton Indian Creek (W. J. Hooper) Water Production Plant expanded from 4.0 to 10.0 MGD. An elevated tank at Conley Road was built, with 500,000 gallons of storage capacity. The Flint River Plant (W.B. Casey) expanded from 1.0 to 6.0 MGD.

1967 - Revenue bonds of $1.795 million were sold to finance construction of the system. The CCWA completed construction on its headquarters building located off of Lake Harbin Road in Morrow.

1970 - The Northeast Clayton County Water Reclamation Facility opened, with 800,000 gallons of treatment capacity per day.

1971 - The Little Cotton Indian Creek (W. J. Hooper) Plant expanded from 10.0 to 14.0 MGD. Revenue bonds of $4 million were sold to finance construction of the system. Bob Oliver was retained to provide legal counsel for the CCWA.

1972 - The Flint River (W.B. Casey) Water Reclamation Facility expanded from 6.0 to 9.0 MGD. The R.L. Jackson Water Reclamation Facility opened, with 1.0 MGD treatment capacity. Revenue bonds of $4.5 million helped finance system construction.

1973 - The CCWA refinanced its 1971 bonds in the amount of $3.76 million to finance construction of the system.

1977 - Edgar Blalock, Jr. was selected as Chairman of the CCWA Board. Revenue bonds of $12 million were sold to finance construction of the system.

1978 - The CCWA acquires the property that includes Shamrock Lake.

1979 - The Little Cotton Indian Creek (W. J. Hooper) Plant expanded from 14.0 to 20.0 MGD of water production capacity, while the R.L. Jackson Plant expanded from 1.0 MGD to 4.5 MGD of wastewater treatment capacity.

1980 - The Flint River (W.B. Casey) Water Reclamation Facility expanded from 9.0 to 15.0 MGD of wastewater treatment capacity, and pelletization operations began. The E.L. Huie Land Treatment facility opened.

1981 - Lake Shamrock opened for fishing and picnicking.

1982 - The Shoal Creek Water Reclamation Facility opened, treating 1.1 MGD of wastewater. The 300-acre Shoal Creek land treatment facility also opened. The Irongate and Highlands Water Reclamation Facilities closed, each treating 500,000 MGD of wastewater. Revenue bonds of $12.5 million were sold to finance construction of the system.

1983 - E.L. "Ed" Huie, Jr. retired as General Manager and was replaced by Melvin Newman. Revenue bonds of $6 million were sold to finance system construction.

1984 - The original Mountain View Elevated Tank was dismantled to make way for Hartsfield International Airport expansion. The new Mountain View Tank was built to provide 1 million gallons of finished drinking water storage. The Grant Road Elevated Tank was also built, with a 1 million gallon capacity.

1985 - The J.W. Smith Water Production Plant opened, producing 6.0 MGD of drinking water. The Northeast Water Reclamation Facility expanded from 800,000 to 4.0 MGD. Jack Drew was selected as CCWA Chairman of the Board. Revenue bonds of $23.53 million were sold to finance construction of the system.

1986 - The CCWA refinanced part of the 1985 bonds in the amount of $23.975 million to finance construction of the system.

1987 - The Flint River Water Reclamation Facility was re-named for W.B. Casey, who served as a CCWA board member for approximately 30 years. The Highway 138 Elevated Tank was built, storing 1 million gallons of finished drinking water.

1988 - The J.W. Smith Reservoir was opened for fishing and picnicking. Clayton County Fire Station No. 10 was dedicated to former Chairman of the CCWA Board Charles Crawley. The Little Cotton Indian Water Production Plant and Reservoir are renamed for William J. "Billy" Hooper, longtime department manager.

1989 - The Pate's Creek Reservoir was completed, filled and renamed the Edgar Blalock, Jr. Reservoir, measuring 263 acres in size and holding 889 million gallons of water when full.

1990 - The J.W. Smith Water Production Plant expanded from 6.0 to 12.0 MGD.

1991 - The CCWA constructed a Community Use Building on Lake Shamrock/Blalock.

1992 - The Pate's Creek (Blalock) Reservoir opened for fishing and picnicking. Revenue bonds of $15.5 million were sold to finance system construction.

1993 - Revenue bonds of $31.6 million were sold to finance construction of the system.

1994 - The CCWA acquired the city of Forest Park Water System. The Authority also completed construction of its new headquarters building off of Battle Creek Road in Morrow, later re-named the Jack H. Drew, Sr. Water Authority Headquarters Complex.

1995 - The Melvin Newman Wetlands Center opened.

1996 - The CCWA acquired the city of Jonesboro Water System. The J.W. Smith Community Use Building opened. Melvin Newman retired as General Manager and was replaced by Richard Calhoun. Revenue bonds of $33.08 million were sold to finance construction of the system.

1997 - JWA was hired as public relations counsel to begin a structured public education program for the Authority.

1998 - CH2M HILL was retained by the CCWA as its engineering firm of record. Joe T. Lane was selected as Chairman of the CCWA Board and Wade Brannan was hired as General Manager of the CCWA. Revenue bonds of $24 million were sold to finance construction of the system. Steve Fincher of Fincher & Hecht, LLC was retained as legal counsel for the Authority.

1999 - The Freeman Road Water Production Complex, featuring the ClariCone process, opened with a capacity to treat 10.0 MGD of potable drinking water.

2000 - The CCWA adopted the Water Resources Initiative 2000, the most comprehensive master plan in the Authority's history, designed to upgrade the water, sewer, and administrative and technological capabilities of the system. The capital projects scheduled for the first 10 years of the master plan total approximately $250 million. Revenue bonds of $22.32 million were sold to finance continued construction of the system.

2001 - The CCWA purchased the city of Riverdale Water System. Pete McQueen was selected as Chairman of the CCWA Board. Revenue bonds of $93.55 million were sold to continue financing construction of the system according to the Water Resources Initiative.

2003 - The CCWA opened its first Constructed Wetlands facility on Panhandle Road, which includes 55 acres of treatment wetlands with a capacity of 3.3 MGD. Revenue bonds of $87.685 million were sold to finance capital projects.

2004 - The CCWA opened the new W.B. Casey Water Reclamation Facility with the capacity to treat 24.0 MGD. In doing so, the CCWA decommissioned the old W.B. Casey and R.L. Jackson Water Reclamation Facilities. The CCWA completed Phase I of the E.L. Huie Constructed Wetlands facility, which provides approximately 55 acres of wetland cells with 3.6 MGD of treatment capacity. The CCWA refinanced $59.085 million of revenue bonds.

2005 - The CCWA sold revenue bonds totaling $60.245 million to continue upgrading the system. The Authority also began Phase II of the Huie Constructed Wetlands site, as well as upgrades at the Northeast Water Reclamation Facility, to be completed in 2008, which will expand treatment capacity from 6.0 to 10.0 MGD. Features of the CCWA on its 50th Anniversary in 2005:

The CCWA serves a population of over 267,000 and over 75,800 customers.
The CCWA employs over 350 people.
The CCWA owns and operates over 500 pieces of equipment.
The CCWA supplies 25.77 million gallons of water on an average per day.
The CCWA has an operating budget of approximately $80 million.
The CCWA holds over $452 million dollars of public assets.

2006 - The CCWA unveils a redesigned, more customer friendly web site and begins providing telephone and credit card payment options. The $20 million rehabilitation and upgrade of the William J. Hooper Water Production Plant was completed. Phase II of the E.L. Huie Constructed Wetlands was put in operation, adding another 3.0 MGD of treatment capacity. The Freeman Road Water Production Complex was officially renamed in honor of retired Deputy Manager Terry R. Hicks. Wade Brannan retired as General Manager and was replaced by P. Michael Thomas. The CCWA implemented a new Hardship Assistance Program to provide financial assistance with water/sewer bills to eligible customers.

2007 - The CCWA started the year under new leadership with General Manager P. Michael Thomas and Deputy Manager Malachi “Mike” C. Bennett III. During one the worst droughts of the past 50 years, the CCWA was able to stay ahead of the curve due to the use of constructed treatment wetlands and existing raw water reservoirs. While many Georgia areas were experiencing drastically low water reserves, the CCWA’s reservoirs never went below 78 percent of their storage capacity. This led to the CCWA garnering a lot of favorable media attention, especially in national industry publications. Phase 3 of the E.L. Huie Constructed Wetlands was put into operation, bringing the total treatment capacity to 9.12 MGD. The Authority also implemented a new county-wide Stormwater Utility and a new customer billing system. The CCWA unveiled a new vision statement of “Quality Water, Quality Service” and a new mission: Providing reliable water services to our community through innovation, efficiency and the protection of our water environment. Plus, the Lovejoy Public Library unveiled an original mural of the Newman Wetlands Center, which was hand-painted by a local Southern Crescent artist.

2008 - The CCWA continued to garner industry accolades for its innovative use of constructed treatment wetlands, which enabled the Authority to maintain a sustainable supply of drinking water during one of the worst droughts in the past 50 years. In May, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon even commended the CCWA for this innovation during a press conference with Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue. Other milestones include:

The $55 million expansion and upgrade of the Northeast Water Reclamation Facility was completed under budget and seven (7) months ahead of schedule. This project was funded by a Series 2005 Bond Issue
CCWA Earned Best Tasting Tap Water for the metro Atlanta region and placed 2nd in the State’s Taste Test
GA Environmental Protection Division (EPD) relaxed Clayton County’s outdoor watering rules since the CCWA continued to have a sustainable water supply
CCWA rolled out a new bill format, a new Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System and Online Account Access
The Stormwater Utility marked its one year anniversary having completed more than 600 jobs throughout the county
Work on a four-year, $10 million project began to upgrade all water meters in the system by replacing older water meters and converting all meters to automated meter reading (AMR) technology
The CCWA began participating in the Metro North Georgia Water Planning District’s Regional Toilet Rebate Program to encourage customers to replace pre-1993 toilets with ultra-low flush toilets or high efficiency toilets

2009 - Throughout 2009, CCWA continued to gain recognition for its sustainability practices from local and national groups. While revenues continued to decline, the Board of Directors, management and staff continued on a fiscally conservative course to keep the Authority in good financial shape. Highlights from 2009 include:

Recognition by the Georgia State House of Representatives as ‘one of the most successful water and wastewater planning in the state.’ House Resolution 371 spotlighted CCWA’s Total Watershed Management (TWM) approach, which integrates management of watersheds, water supply resources and effective land-use practices. This TWM approach helped CCW maintain a water supply in excess of 200 days during one of the worst droughts in the past 50 years.
A customer service survey was conducted by an outside firm to give management feedback on how customers rate CCWA’s customer service. While the results were good overall, the survey helped management and staff see areas that needed improvement.
Work began on 2010 Strategic Master Plan, which will focus on improvements to customer service, infrastructure and technology.
Standard and Poor’s (S&P) Rating Services increased CCWA’s Bond Rating from AA to AA+ based on the Authority’s strong financial position despite a sharp slowdown in its service area economy. S&P stated, ‘the authority’s financial operations are good despite a decline in construction-related revenues and water consumption due to drought conditions.
CCWA lost a member of its family in June when Sergeant First Class John C. Beale was killed in action in Afghanistan while serving in the Georgia Army National Guard. John was deployed as part of the 1st Battalion, 108th Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron of the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He worked for CCWA for nine years, serving as a Surveyor and then as the Storm Water Maintenance Technician. Following John’s death, CCWA employees dedicated a living memorial to John’s memory at its Headquarters Complex.
Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) declared the drought was over and eased outdoor watering restrictions for all of Georgia.
Leading Conservation Organization American Rivers named Clayton County one of the nation’s top “Water Wise Communities” for its use of constructed wetlands, stating in its report, “Clayton County’s water capturing and recycling system will ensure a secure and reliable water supply for its residents.
CCWA Board Member Doug Bonner moved out of the county and resigned his seat after serving for three years. The Board of Commissioners appointed Don McMillian, Jr. to replace Bonner.
Improvements began on the J.W. Smith Water Production Facility began. The $4 million project includes: complete replacement of the filter bottoms, replacement of the majority of the filter control valves, replacement of two major chemical feed systems (others were replaced over the last two years), renovation of laboratory and office space, and storage building addition.
A record number of residents took part in CCWA’s annual public education events: Household Hazardous Waste Amnesty Day, Wetlands and Watershed Festival and Rivers Alive Stream Cleanup.
CCWA General Manager P. Michael Thomas was chosen to serve on Governor Sonny Perdue’s Water Contingency Task Force.
Work continued on Phase 4 of the E.L. Huie, Jr. Constructed Wetlands. Once completed, CCWA will be able to return up to 21 MGD to its water supply.
CCWA took advantage of favorable financial conditions in the bond market and saved the Authority more than $1.2 million in future debt service payments by advance refunding a portion of its outstanding Series 2001 Water and Sewerage Revenue Bonds.
CCWA finished the year by changing to a new third party payment processor, Paymentus Corporation. This change allows customers to pay their bill online or by phone for a reduced service fee. CCWA worked to reduce this fee, which is charged by the third party payment processor, from $3.95 to $2.75.