The Siler City local government became the latest to approve an interlocal agreement to merge its water and sewer utilities with the City of Sanford on Monday, as the town’s commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the change. It means – like Pittsboro did earlier this year – Siler City will transfer all its infrastructure and staff to Sanford’s TriRiver Water system, with the goal of better equipping the town’s utilities for growth and to spread out the cost burden of infrastructure upgrades.
Siler City may not be the only government joining TriRiver Water next fiscal year, as the Chatham County government is also considering a merger and further discussion its options on Monday afternoon.
The discussions between Chatham County and the City of Sanford have increased in recent months after the partnership with the Town of Pittsboro was formalized through nearly a year of preparation. Chatham County staff told commissioners the Pittsboro merger has “worked as well as we could’ve hoped” from the town’s operations perspective – with Sanford’s system also entering partnerships with the towns of Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina for water and Lee County for both water and sewer.
Chatham County provides utility service for about 11,000 connections, according to County Manager Dan LaMontagne, which creates a limited financial upside considering the costs needed for the county government to keep up with the projected growth across the community – just like Pittsboro and Siler City faced. Since Sanford has the capacity and infrastructure to handle the increased water use, it will take charge in handling each government’s operations and eventually a buildout of utility pipelines. With the larger city taking control, Chatham County’s communities would have the ability to add more residents and developments faster and at lower costs to customers.
During a presentation about the feasibility of a merger with TriRiver Water on Sept. 16, Sanford Assistant City Manager Victor Czar told the county commissioners a partnership would make sense as the region continues its upward population trends – and, as its other partnerships continue to blossom, it would make overlap with Chatham County less complicated.
“That’s why we’re here,” said Czar, “we’re trying to solve a problem for a lot of people, including us. Because if we merge with Siler City and Pittsboro, y’all are kind of right in the middle. We might have to sell you water and buy it right back from you.”
County staff positioned a merger as a likely boon for the current employees of Chatham’s utility department. Like with Pittsboro’s employees that transitioned to TriRiver Water, the workers would not only get a pay raise after a merger but see their seniority and tenures honored by Sanford too.
In an interview with 97.9 The Hill, Chatham County Commissioner Karen Howard said that stability is a major benefit in her mind. She echoed that allowing for “economies of scale” offers a path forward for Chatham’s growth and more opportunity to get funding or grants from the state government, using the example of Siler City receiving $72 million for the water/sewer connections Wolfspeed development as long as Sanford handled the service.
“People don’t care [where the water comes from] whether they live in Pittsboro, Siler City or Moncure,” Howard said of having a unified utility system. “They just want the service provided, they want it to be provided well, and the water quality to be good, and the wastewater systems to be reliable and trustworthy. That is, I think, what we get with a robust system.
“And so,” she concluded, “it really does sound like a win-win for employees, and a win-win for county residents who rely on this utility for service.”
A concept map of TriRiver Water’s potential utility system in the future, displaying the various connections between Chatham County communities it will service. Presented to the county commissioners in September, officials said the map does not reflect any confirmed pipeline paths from Siler City or Pittsboro. (Photo via TriRiver Water and Chatham County.)
Siler City – and Chatham County if it agrees to join – will have to raise its customer rates before the new fiscal year as the local government joins TriRiver Water. It will create a short-term jump, but Sanford officials say the long-term goal of the entity is to create “rate parity” for the region where all customers work off the same rate structure. Notably, the City of Sanford would be the sole authority to set rates for customers and collect payments with the merger.
While the payment collection element would allow more flexibility for where Chatham County residents could pay their utility bills, one commissioner questioned whether the former would actually constrict residents. During Monday’s meeting, Commissioner David Delaney asked about the implications of county residents not being able to vote for the elected officials who would determine rates and the future of infrastructure projects in Chatham. He claimed outsourcing the services would create a lack of representation for residents.
“If everything is taken off our plate as a county and sent over to Sanford and TriRiver to run fully on their own, the residents here are left with no ability to give effect to that body,” said Delaney.
LaMontagne responded by saying customers could still bring issues directly to the county government, and the strong relationship between the staff and Sanford’s staff would be maintained through the partnership. During the September presentation, Czar also pointed out the ability for development and controlled growth would largely still be dictated by Chatham County’s zoning for the land parcels.
Commissioner Katie Kenlan said during the September meeting there is little concern for her about the relationship between the county and Sanford’s governments, describing the merger as “a great opportunity.”
“I’ve been very impressed with this process and this project working with you all,” she said to Czar and LaMontagne, “and I’m very proud of the relationship with our towns and the City of Sanford, all the work [Public Utilities Director] Blake [Mills] has done.”
A vote to approve an interlocal agreement to have county utilities merge with TriRiver Water will be held at the commissioners’ next meeting on Oct. 21. But some quirky local government steps will need to be taken first, as described by the county manager on Monday. Three separate water districts (Southeast Water District, Southwest Water District, Northwest Water District) were created in the early 2000s as a means of borrowing debt for future projects. With each being legally recognized entities, LaMontagne said the commissioners will have to act through those districts.
“We would need to sit as the board of each of the water districts and vote on the TriRiver merger,” he said, “and each one of those districts would convey the infrastructure to TriRiver Water. And at a later date, we would look to dissolve those [districts] and we would need to resolve the [$8 million] debt for the Southeast Water District, which those funds do exist in the Water Enterprise Fund.”
If Chatham County passes its merger agreement in October, the City of Sanford’s elected officials will take up official adoption of the binding merger alongside Siler City’s at its scheduled meeting in November.
Featured photo via the Chatham County Government.
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Karen Howard – I certainly care where my water comes from and Jordon Lake promised years ago to support us with their water, not contaminated Haw water. I live in Pittsboro and just attended a meeting to deny ONSWA a double raise in sewage. It is unacceptable to hear that Pittsboro City Council Members get a raise in pay to join Tri water and we the people lose time and time again!
Check out the Western Intake Partnership site for additional information on Chatham County and Pittsboro water plans.
https://westernintakepartnership.com/