Shovels Turn Dirt Near Future Site of Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir

State and local officials gathered near the future site of the Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir on Friday, Oct. 4, to break ground on the construction of the multi-million dollar project that is expected to provide a sustainable water supply for Walton and Oconee Counties through 2050.

"Acquisition is 99 percent complete for the right-of-way and all of its buffers," Chairman of the Regional Reservoir Board Jim Luke said as he opened the 40-minute ceremony.  "All of the necessary construction contracts are signed and all of the necessary permits have been issued, so now the building of this reservoir officially begins."

The land clearing and dam construction portion of the project is expected to take about 18 months, he said.

"Once the dam is filled and the gates are closed, we're going to give Mother Nature 18 more months to fill our reservoir, if she cooperates," Luke said about Phase I of the project.  

For decades, officials have been working toward the goal of building the regional water source.

"This project, the single largest expense item for Oconee and Walton Counties, probably forever, it took bold decisions from our leadership to make it work," Luke remarked.  "My thanks go out to all of those who were brave enough to make those decisions and the clear the path for this vital reservoir."

Governor Nathan Deal said the Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir is the first project benefiting from his Water Supply Program to begin construction.

"We are a state that is very blessed with water that falls from the sky and flows through our rivers and our streams, but we still have not had the capacity to capture and store that water for use when we need it," he said. "This is a project that will do exactly that."

Deal applauded the counties for their teamwork. 

"This is an opportunity, and you've seized that opportunity, to become the first example of what can be done with cooperation."

The partnership is divided as 71.2 percent Walton County and 28.8 percent Oconee County.

Walton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Kevin Little said Walton not having its own water source was concerning to him because "if you don't have your own water source, then you're at the mercy of someone else for your growth, your development, or even for your drinking water." 

"So we stand here today, very proud to be able to say now we'll have our own water and we'll be able to work with that," he said.

Little acknowledged that the project has been controversial.

"It is stressful a lot of times when you're making 200-300 million dollar decisions, the public generally are concerned about that," he said.  "But the vision that it takes to make those decisions will pay off for many years to come." 

It was a sentiment that was echoed by Melvin Davis, Oconee County Board of Commissioners Chairman.

"Oconee and Walton will continue to grow with Caterpillar and Baxter, as already been indicated, and other companies that will locate in our service area," he said. "This reservoir will supply those needs."

The next meeting of the Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Management Board will take place on Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. at the Walton County Government Building.

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Oconee County Observations blogger Lee Becker has been closely following the project's developments.  The following are some abstract versions of his blog posts that appeared on Patch this year:

• Hard Labor Creek Reservoir Groundbreaking Planned
• Hard Labor Creek Management Board Scheduled To Consider $28 Million Budget
• Oconee County Commissioners Decide To Seek Citizen For Hard Labor Creek Board
• Oconee County BOC Approves New Debt for Hard Labor Creek Regional Reservoir