The planning, design and construction of Residential, Commercial and Industrial Developments must be thoroughly analyzed, reviewed and inspected by our Engineering & Development Department to verify their accordance with established development procedures, specifications, requirements, local ordinances, Bartow County Growth Management Plan and all other applicable guidelines prior to final approval and connection with the Bartow County Water & Sewer Utility Systems. A Developer (or his/her authorized representative) must submit a formal written request to the Bartow County Water Department regarding the current availability status of Water and/or Sewer Utility Service(s) at or near their Proposed Development. For Water Utility System Developments, a Flow Test Fee of $115.00 must be submitted to our department prior to performing a Water System Flow Test that shall be conducted upon the water service main fire hydrant located nearest to the proposed Development for the purposes of calculating current Water Utility System pressure levels and fire flow rates. Based upon the results of this Water System Flow Test, the Developer’s Engineer must then calculate the availability of water required to meet peak domestic service demands and fire flow protection for the Proposed Development. The Water Utility System shall be designed to maintain a minimum service pressure of 30 p.s.i. (pounds per square inch) at each Water Utility Service Connection and all associated distribution points under peak domestic water demand and fire flow. The Developer’s Engineer must provide a comprehensive report based upon these results detailing the construction purpose, average daily water consumption and peak demands calculated to service the Proposed Development certifying that connection of said Development to the Bartow County Water System shall not produce unacceptable fire flow levels. Fire flows shall be no less than 1,000 g.p.m. for Commercial and Industrial Developments; no less than 750 g.p.m. for Multi-Family Residential Developments; and no less than 500 g.p.m. for Single-Family Residential Developments. (Note: For Low-Density Developments, lower fire flows may be acceptable based upon the risk to adjoining properties as determined by the acting Bartow County Fire Chief). For Water and Sewer Utility System Developments, the Developer must provide the Bartow County Water Department with three (3) complete sets of Construction Plans for the Proposed Development detailing the geographic location, Development layout and conceptual design of proposed Water and/or Sewer Utility System Service(s) with separate Construction Plans for both Water and Sewer Utility Systems. A $175.00 Plan Review Fee shall be submitted for each set of Plans (and each new version of Plans) reviewed including Preliminary Plans, Construction Plans and As-Builts (Final) Plans. Development Plans submitted to the Bartow County Water Department for approval must also be accompanied by a letter signed by a Georgia Registered Engineer confirming that a landfill will not be constructed on the Proposed Development site:

Pursuant to Act 599, “The Erosion and Sedimentation Act”: “Therefore, effective immediately, all utility plans submitted to the Division for environmental approval, as required by State regulations, must include defined contract requirements for erosion and sedimentation control. Requirements for erosion and sedimentation control should be defined such that costs may be included in the bid proposal. Please note, however, that any required erosion and sediment control plan must still be approved by the Soil and Water Conservation District. If the Environmental Protection Division is the permitting authority for the land-disturbing permit for the specific project, a thirty (30) day public notice will be required. All local jurisdictions with delegated environmental approval responsibilities should be guided accordingly in the development and approval of construction water and sewer project plans”.

The Proposed Development will be reviewed by the Bartow County Water Department and, if approved, one (1) copy of the approved Plan shall be returned to the Developer for construction purposes. The Developer shall schedule a pre-construction conference with his Contractor and the Bartow County Water Department to coordinate project construction schedules including making road bores; installing water and sewer taps; connection to existing Water and/or Sewer Utility Service Mains, arranging for the acquisition of all necessary permits, etc. (Note: Contractors must possess a valid Georgia Utilities Contractor License and be formally approved by the Bartow County Water Department). The Contractor shall then provide the Bartow County Water Department with a certified copy of his quote for the Development. Prior to the Bartow County Water Department granting initial construction authorization for the Development, a Tap-On Fee ($715.00 for each Water/Sewer Service Main Connection) and an Inspection Fee (equivalent to 2% of the Projected Development Construction Cost) shall be submitted to our department. (Note: Confirmation of the Final Contract total may be required before construction approval is granted for the Development)! In addition, water usage for filling and flushing will be billed at $4.77 per thousand (1,000) Gallons based upon a minimum of four (4) times the volume of the pipe. {Example: 5,000 LF 8” Pipe X 2.89 Gallons/ft. X $4.77/Thousand (1,000) Gallons X 4 = $275.71.} The Contractor must adhere to Bartow County Water & Sewer System Specifications per materials used and methods of installation (Note: Please see "Bartow County Water & Sewer System Construction Procedures & Specifications" below). During periods of construction the Developer and/or Contractor shall be responsible for installing locate flags, painting the curb at all road crossings, short-side taps and maintaining same until all Water and/or Sewer Utility Services are installed and completed. Should access to any new Development cross or cover an existing Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Water Service Main, the Developer shall be responsible for relocating the affected Water Service Main or replacing it with Ductile Iron Pipe (DIP). The Contractor will be required to periodically update the Bartow County Water Department regarding construction progress of the Development so mandatory inspections can be scheduled and conducted. Due to past problems with ditches settling, the Bartow County Water Department at its own discretion may require that compaction tests be performed by a reputable firm at the Developer’s expense to ensure proper compaction has been achieved. Prior to the installation of water meters and/or sewer taps within the Development, all required Water and/or Sewer Utility System tests shall be conducted and passed per Bartow County Water Department Specifications while any applicable property deeds and/or utility easements shall be executed and properly recorded. As-Built (Final) Drawings shall be submitted to the Bartow County Water Department along with a $175.00 Plan Review Fee detailing the exact location of all Water and/or Sewer Utility System infrastructure including service mains, service taps, valves, manholes and fire hydrants. These As-Built (Final) Drawings shall be produced by the Engineer of Record for the Development and presented on two (2) complete sets of fresh drawings. The Engineer of Record must also certify upon the As-Built (Final) Drawings that they (or his/her designated representative under their direct supervision) have made sufficient visits to the Development confirming that said Development was constructed according to Bartow County Water Department Plans and Specifications as approved. A final inspection shall then be conducted by the Bartow County Water Department to assure that these As-Built (Final) Drawings are accurate and that all meter setters, meter boxes, sewer taps, sewer manholes and all other Water and/or Sewer Utility System infrastructure has been properly installed. Note: If a water meter cannot be properly seated, an additional charge shall be made for adjustments performed to the meter setters and/or meter box or any repairs to the same. Once all required maintenance procedures indicated during this final inspection have been successfully corrected by the Contractor and accepted by the Bartow County Water Department, final approval shall be granted for the Water and/or Sewer Utility System(s). Note: The Developer shall be solely responsible for all Water and/or Sewer Utility System(s) repairs performed within the Development for a period of one (1) year from the date of final Water and/or Sewer Utility System(s) approval. Should a leak and/or blowout occur during this mandatory one-year warranty period, the Developer shall be responsible for all necessary repairs, estimated water loss, retesting of the Water and/or Sewer Utility System(s) and reimbursement of any associated expenses incurred by the Bartow County Water Department.