The Demorest City Council has decided not to continue its current pursuit of a Tallulah Falls property that had been under consideration as part of the city’s long-term water supply planning.
City officials said the need to secure additional long-term water resources remains, even though that acquisition effort will not move forward.
Demorest operates a water system that extends beyond the city limits, maintaining about 435 miles of waterlines, serving more than 7,400 active water meters and supplying roughly 70% of the water used throughout Habersham County. The city also provides wholesale water to neighboring communities, including Tallulah Falls.
Because of that reach, the city described the matter as a community and regional water-supply issue, not simply a Demorest issue.
Demorest currently relies heavily on water purchased from neighboring municipalities, including about 2 million gallons per day from Baldwin and 1 million gallons per day from Toccoa, along with supplemental production from city wells.
The city said those partnerships have served the community well, but Northeast Georgia’s growth means neighboring systems may face increasing demands of their own. City officials said water infrastructure requires years of planning, engineering, permitting and investment, and that waiting until a shortage exists is not responsible long-term planning.
The Tallulah Lake discussion was part of Demorest’s broader effort to secure a dependable water supply for the next 50 to 75 years and beyond. During the evaluation of Tallulah Lake as a possible future water source, the city and its professional team identified two additional potential options.
Those possibilities will continue to be investigated and would require further engineering, property evaluation, permitting review and discussions with appropriate parties. No conclusions have been reached regarding those alternatives.
The city said it will continue evaluating its options while focusing on protecting Northeast Georgia’s natural resources and ensuring that communities served by the Demorest water system have a dependable future water supply.
