No water districts need apply.
That was the message Elbert County commissioners sent Wednesday when they approved a one-year moratorium on reviewing any new or amended plans from districts seeking to provide water services.
The three-member commission also unanimously voted to create a water task force made up of county citizens.
The commission’s temporary ban, which passed in a 2-1 vote, comes a month after an Elbert County water district seeking to expand its power statewide suddenly withdrew its request. The Elbert and Highway 86 Commercial Metropolitan District and a related private company have proposed a 150-mile pipeline from Lamar to Elbert County. The plan included exporting water from the county’s underground aquifers to other counties and had angered Elbert County residents.
A district spokesman said the moratorium would not affect its pipeline project.
Commissioners Del Schwab and John Shipper supported the moratorium. They did not return calls and e-mails from The Post. Commissioner Kurt Shlegel was the lone “no” vote, saying the resolution was a “political move” that “simply kicked the can down the road.”
“We were elected to make choices and not just push off decisions to the future,” he said.
