By Robert Medley
Managing Editor
Sale of City of Piedmont’s water supply to developers building homes outside of city limits should be tapped out, council members agreed Monday.
Such sales of Piedmont water should be restricted immediately to help the city’s needs inside the city limits. And a moratorium against sales of water outside city limits should be passed for the second time this century, council members decided.
Councilman Jonathan Hisey recently asked the city staff and city attorney to look into the reasons why the developer for a housing addition being built outside city limits, just southwest of Piedmont, can use city water. The area does not have its own rural water district.
A moratorium had been passed by the Piedmont City Council in 2003 that prohibited City of Piedmont water from being sold outside city limits unless it was to a home built before 2000, and only to a single-family home where there was no adequate source of water, Hisey said.
The sale of water outside city limits, however, despite the moratorium, was approved by former city manager Jason Orr, said Hisey, who represents Ward 4 in Piedmont, an area on the east side of the city.
Hisey said City of Piedmont water is being used for the Gordon’s Hollow addition south of N.W. 150th and west of Richland Road.
City Attorney Mike Segler said he learned Orr had approved the developer’s connection to city water for the homes. Councilman Ron Cardwell, Ward II, who represents the west side of Piedmont, said housing additions outside of city limits that use water from the city can cause problems for Piedmont residents who have low water pressure.
“We need to protect the interests of the current customers,” Cardwell said.
“Anyone downstream, further down the line away from the source could experience even a greater pressure loss when there is a huge demand further up the network,” Cardwell said.
Cardwell said former City Manager Orr, “absolutely blew it,” by approving the water line for the developer despite the Piedmont moratorium. “That puts us in a really difficult situation.”
Segler advised council members that a new moratorium was needed.
Councilmembers unanimously approved a motion to ask the city staff to draft a new moratorium on water sales outside city limits.
Hisey said the moratorium “should prevent things like this from happening in the future by people who should know better.”
City Manager Mark Roath told council members he planned to meet with Segler and representatives of Crabtree Homes LLC., the developers.
Hisey said the new moratorium should prohibit any future developments from tapping into city water.
Mayor Kurt Mayabb also made a motion at the Monday meeting for the city attorney and city manager to further investigate the matter. That motion was also unanimously approved by the council Monday, Jan. 4.
The council met Monday, Jan. 4 to make up for a meeting that was canceled in December due to COVID-19 cases.
The council is expected to meet as regularly scheduled Jan. 24
