SOURCE: A River Runs Through It: A 100-Year History of the Columbus Water Works. Editors: Beth Bickerstaff, Jim Patterson, and Bob Tant, 2002.
Figuring out the sewage piece of the puzzle continued to be a top priority for the Water Board.
At a meeting on January 3, 1957, the engineers gave a report, "The Effect of the Fort Gaines Reservoir Upon the City of Columbus," which recommended the purchase, as soon as possible, of approximately 50 acres south of Columbus on the east riverbank that would be suitable for a future sewage treatment plant. They quickly approved the purchase of 62.06 acres from Lane Builders, Inc., and Broadmoor Development Company on the east riverbank for the sewage treatment plant. They then proceeded with a contract for a 36-inch sanitary sewer from the river, running north across Bull Creek, Victory Drive, and Cusseta Road, to a point just south of Buena Vista Road and Bull Creek crossing.
The Water Board voted in January 1959 to end the policy of providing water lines free to developers of new subdivisions within the city. Developers would be required to pay for pipelines and other material, along with labor for installation. The Board agreed to provide free installation for three subdivisions in development: Averett Woods, Esquiline Heights, and the subdivision on River Road north of 45th Street, bounded on the north by Crockett Drive, on the east by 52nd Street, and on the south by the Central of Georgia Railroad.
New Raw Water Pump Station under construction in 1958.
Relocation was necessary due to construction of Lake Oliver.
In 1960 after receiving letters from Dr. John H. Venable, director of the Department of Public Health, the Board agreed to set up a meeting about river development south of Columbus. Water Board attorney J.R. Elliott told the state Health Department officials Columbus had been using the Chattahoochee River for more than 100 years to discharge sewage into, and the city did not build the dams that created an impoundment of the river south of Columbus.
"Health officials, while sympathetic, said the Water Board would have to initiate any approach to seek financial aid to construct a sewage treatment plant. They said they would contact Alabama health authorities to ask about the status of Alabama cities on the Chattahoochee River, and advise Elliott of their findings," the minutes recorded.
Aerial view of the North Columbus Water Resource Facility in 1964.
On the north side of town, the Board decided to ask its engineers to come up with a plan for developing sanitary sewers in the north/northeast section of the city, north of the Water Works Filter Plant and the Roaring Branch drainage area. Developers had asked the Board to cooperate with them regarding sanitary sewers in the Green Island Hills development. Because of the State Highway Department and Muscogee County Public Works Department's plans to widen River Road, the Board approved a survey on the Water Works' ability to serve the expected growth in North Columbus. A report on the survey of North Columbus along the River Road/Highway 103 area revealed water capacity was "on the border line" for this area, and that improvements should be made immediately, according to Board minutes.
The multi-million-dollar sewage treatment plant in South Columbus was completed in mid-1964 and began treating approximately 80 percent of the city's sewage. The other 20 percent was to be handled by the second treatment plant in North Columbus.
The Board adopted a resolution in December 1960, about stopping the pollution of streams in the vicinity of the city, and a project consisting of interceptor sewer and sewage treatment facilities. They resolved to apply to the U.S. Surgeon General of the Public Health Service for a construction grant, under the Federal Water Pollution Act. The Board was successful and in 1961 accepted a grant from the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for up to $250,000 to help finance construction of sewage treatment facilities. The primary plant was built at the current site of the treatment facility near Oakland Park in South Columbus.
Aerial view of the South Columbus Water Resource Facility in 1964.
1961 continued to be a busy year for the Water Works. On February 7, 1961, the chairman told the Board of a letter about the City Commission meeting the day before, at which the Commission proposed an ordinance that would provide, after operating expenses and the sinking fund requirement have been met, the Water Board pay the city of Columbus, in lieu of taxes, five percent of gross water and sewer revenue.
The Water Works was also recognized for its technological advances. Lewis Edwin Hudson, superintendent of Columbus Water Works, won the 1961 Frederick J. MacMullin Award for leadership in adapting modern technology in his plant, and "other efforts which have resulted in the continuous production and distribution of a safe, adequate, and wholly acceptable water supply for the citizens of his community." It was just the beginning of the awards and recognition Columbus Water Works would receive. (Editor’s Note: this year, the CWW was recognized with the 2024 Great Place to Work award!)
The Board then voted in late 1961 to purchase 16 acres north of 45th Street and west of Second Avenue for the North Columbus Sewage Treatment Plant. It was constructed in 1965. In what seems like foreshadowing of the Combined Sewer Overflow problem of the 1990s, in April 1962, the city manager alerted the Board of places where storm and sanitary sewers were combined. This caused sewage to spill into an open drainage ditch adjacent to the Overlook area. The city manager brought out the need to separate the storm sewers and sanitary sewers to eliminate this condition, at a cost of about $26,000. The Water Board agreed to pay half the cost, with the city bearing the rest.
16-inch pipe ready to be installed for development on Hilton Avenue.
The environment, and especially water pollution, occupied the minds of the Board – as it did much of the nation – throughout the 1960s. The Board received a letter dated January 14, 1966, from the executive secretary of the State Water Quality Board stating, “The bacteriological quality of the Chattahoochee River will continue to be seriously impaired, however, until all wastes discharged in the Columbus area are given secondary treatment and chlorinated before discharge. Phenix City has provided secondary treatment, as has Fort Benning (Moore), and a secondary treatment is being added to two of its other plants. The Federal Water Pollution Control Administration has made bacteriological studies on the Chattahoochee above and below Columbus, to develop a case for interstate pollution. Should they call an enforcement conference, their principal complaint will be that bacterial contamination from the Columbus area constitutes a public health hazard to navigation operations, and to water contact sports on the Walter F. George reservoir.”
In November 1970 the Board accepted an offer of $682,800 under the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, needed for secondary treatment facilities for the South Columbus Sewage Treatment Plant. The Board estimated this would cover 30 percent of the cost of construction.
By 1971, the city, through City Ordinance 71-172, was requiring the Water Works to include the addition of fluoride to the public water system of Columbus. The Board voted to comply when funds were available. In May 1974, the Board learned the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources of Georgia had approved a grant to reimburse Columbus for adding fluoride to the water. The American Dental Association, representing 75,000 dentists at the time, had approved of fluoridating public water supplies in 1950.
Third administrative office on 13th Avenue, 1976.
Making real headway against pollution requires the cooperation of those who use the river; a water works system cannot do it alone. In July 1983, the Board adopted an Industrial Pretreatment Program, which gave Columbus Water Works the means to regulate and control discharges into the sanitary sewer system. This program continued a long tradition of cooperation between Columbus Water Works and its industrial customers.
In the summer of 1986, Columbus Water Works suffered a major failure of the main sewer interceptor along the Chattahoochee River. The bank, in which the sewer main had been installed, slid into the river at two locations. Movement along the bank created failures at several other locations. Working diligently, Columbus Water Works crews repaired several of the smaller breaks and installed temporary pumping stations to route sewer flows around the breaks.
In the summer of 1988, Columbus Water Works was approached by Harris County about supplying the county with drinking water. Harris County had been experiencing rapid residential growth and was having trouble meeting the demand. The Board of Water Commissioners approved a contract providing for sale of water to Harris County. After receiving assurance that this sale would in no way negatively impact Columbus citizens, the council approved the sale.
South Columbus Water Resource Facility Office
To think that what began as an ominous-sounding administrative order on March 30, 1990, could become such a delightful local asset almost seems like a fairy tale. The administrative order basically said the Environmental Protection Division of Georgia, and studies by the city, had documented that Columbus had one or more combined sewer overflows (CSO) that result in discharging pollutants into the water. The Environmental Protection Division ordered the city to comply with strict provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act. Columbus Water Works served as the leading agency to address this problem.
In 1991, Water Works officials launched a master plan for water and sewer service focused on the massive CSO program. In 1995, the completed CSO program was the only one statewide to avoid fines by meeting the mandated deadline. The CSO program became one of the first in the nation, and a pilot for other utilities. Columbus officials worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in developing its plan, helping set EPA policy.
The plan consolidated 16 CSO points into two direct treatment facilities. The project also leveraged other investment and community improvements; the requirement for a large consolidation conduit allowed the development of the city's signature Riverwalk.
Columbus Riverwalk
Although Columbus Water Works and its management are established at the regional, national, and even international forefront in their field, challenges continue to come from outside. Water Works leaders must make thoughtful decisions and fight battles, just as their predecessors did 100 years ago.
In 2001, Georgia Power sued the Water Works and city government, and the Water Works sued back. The specific issue in the suit and its appeal was whether Columbus Water Works had the legal right to withdraw water from the Chattahoochee, or if Georgia Power Company, could in fact, compel Columbus Water Works to move its intake. After legal sparring over the course of a year, both sides finally agreed to step back and revert to the condition, which had been in place for nearly 100 years.
In a Columbus Ledger-Enquirer story published April 24, 2002, then Water Works president Billy Turner said the agreement "recognizes the value Georgia Power's Oliver Dam provides, but it doesn't settle the question of who owns and controls the water in the Chattahoochee River and its reservoirs."
Fourth administrative office, 1421 Veterans Parkway
The Water Works serves virtually the entire 200,000 population of Muscogee County through more than 65,000 water connections. The organization also serves, by contract, Harris County and Talbot County, Georgia, and anticipates adding regional customers in the future.
On December 8, 2002, the Board of Water Commissioners was presented with the water sculpture "DRAMA" in recognition of the 100th Anniversary of Columbus Water Works. The Sculpture marks the entrance to the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts.
The dominant issue for the Columbus Water Works, in our most recent history, has been the “Water Wars” dealing mostly with Florida’s concerns about stream flow to sustain the fisheries in the Apalachicola River. CWW leadership including Billy Turner, Robert Tant, Steve Davis, and now Jeremy Cummings have addressed the potential impacts of how the river is managed by the Corps of Engineers and Georgia Power via public statements and participation in legal actions. In a 2024 agreement between Georgia, Alabama and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a required stream flow at the 14th Street USGS stream gage answered one of the CWW concerns.
Concerns remain for both on the water quantity and quality sides. There seems to be plenty of stream flow for our water supply needs but water quality issues continue to arise from new federal regulations for drinking water, protection for recreational water quality needs of whitewater, and achieving adequate stream flow for wastewater and rainwater dilution. This is a complicated situation, but it is part of the ongoing CWW dilemma.
For 123 years under the leadership of about 90 unpaid, appointed citizens, 11 chief executives and hundreds of outstanding employees, not a single violation of state and federal drinking water standards has occurred. In 1956, the Water Board at the direction of Columbus City Council assumed the responsibility for collection and treatment of wastewater for which it has an admirable record of compliance and including the receipt of numerous state and national awards. The following men have assumed the role of managing the daily operations of the system. Each has taken on the difficult task of meeting the water and wastewater needs of our city.
Dudley Chipley, Superintendent, 1914 – 1918
Charles F. Jordan, Superintendent, 1918 – 1928
A.J. Smalshaf, Superintendent, 1928 – 1940
George R. Lowe, General Manager, 1940 – 1959
J. Thomas King, General Manager/President, 1960 – 1980
Frank S. Williams, President, 1980 – 1986
A.B. Culverhouse, President, 1986 – 1989
Billy G. Turner, President, 1989 – 2009, 2011
Robert L. Tant, President, 2009 – 2011
Steve R. Davis, President, 2011 – 2024
Jeremy W. Cummings, President, 2024 – Present
The Columbus Water Works has maintained a clear vision and mission to not only sustain the current level of service but to improve it for future generations.
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