Infrastructure
The City of Elberton owns and operates Elberton Utilities, which provides water, wastewater, electric, natural gas and telecommunications services to the citizens and businesses in the City of Elberton as well as part of Elbert County. There are many benefits to using Elberton Utilities: - Technical Assistance in the Areas of Energy Efficiency and Production
- On-Going Energy Usage Analysis
- Internet Metering with Graphical Usage Reports
- Single Point of Contact for All Services
- Energy Services (energy audits, plant design and performance contracting)
- Security Lighting Services
- Natural Gas Services
- Water and Wastewater Services
- Telecommunications Services
Water Distribution System The City of Elberton owns and operates the sole water supply and distribution system in Elbert County, serving approximately 3,500 customers. The City owns and maintains approximately 100 miles of distribution lines and three elevated storage tanks with a combined storage capacity of 1.34 million gallons. The water distribution system consists of distribution mains ranging in size from six-inch to sixteen-inch diameters. The City has a raw water intake and pump station on Lake Russell to provide raw water supply for treatment at the Elberton water treatment plant. The intake has a current pumping capacity of 5 million gallons per day with the capability of increasing capacity in the future by replacement with a larger pump. The City maintains 53,000 linear feet of twenty-inch diameter raw water transmission main to deliver the raw water from the intake to the water treatment plant.
The City is permitted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw up to 7.5 million gallons per day from Lake Russell, and the City also maintains a permit to withdraw from Beaverdam Creek as a backup source. The City operates one water treatment plant consisting of two gravity mixing/flocculation units followed by chlorination. The water treatment plant is permitted to treat a monthly average of 3.0 million gallons per day. The peak day demand in recent years was 2.5 million gallons per day. Wastewater Treatment System The City’s wastewater treatment system includes two major wastewater treatment facilities: the Falling Creek water pollution control plant (WPCP) and the Fortson Creek WPCP. The two plants have a combined rated capacity of 1.5 million gallons per day. The City’s wastewater collection system maintains approximately 62 miles of sewer lines. Electric Distribution System The City established its electric distribution system in 1895, and it now serves the City’s incorporated area and its enacted service territory of approximately 33 square miles. The City maintains over 125 miles of distribution lines to deliver power to 4,600 residential, industrial and commercial customers. Power is transmitted to the City by three substations located strategically in the service area. This power is purchased wholesale through the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG Power) and is transmitted through Georgia’s unique Integrated Transmission System. MEAG Power was created by the 1975 Georgia General Assembly to provide a low-cost, dependable source of electric power to its participant communities, such as Elberton, who own their own electric utility system. MEAG Power and its member cities own shares of four of the most modern and efficient generating plants in Georgia. As a municipal utility, the City is entitled to a portion of the output of certain federally owned electric generation projects administered by the Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA) of the Federal Department of Energy. Natural Gas Distribution System The City has owned, operated, and managed its natural gas distribution system since 1950. The natural gas system serves 4,300 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the City and in outlying areas of Elbert County. Williams Gas Pipeline-Transco provides natural gas transportation service to the City’s gate station. The gas is then transported at 700 psi to the City. The gas system consists of over 144 miles of distribution lines, many of which carry gas at high pressure (300 psi) to regulator stations throughout the City. At these regulator stations, the pressure is reduced for transmission and delivery to homes and businesses. The City is a charter member of the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia (the “Gas Authority”), a joint-action agency, that adds the needs of the City’s customers with the needs of 76 other publicly-owned gas systems in the southeast to buy natural gas collectively at the lowest available price. The City has a full-requirements contract with the Gas Authority to supply natural gas to customers of the City of Elberton. The Gas Authority also provides budgeting, marketing, and other related services for the City and its customers. Telecommunications Elberton and Elbert County have the essentials for industry – land, buildings, utilities, workforce and educational opportunities. But one item vital in today’s world is technology accessibility.The City of Elberton owns and operates a broadband system that covers all of Elberton including the Elberton Industrial Park and part of Elbert County. ElbertonNET is an HFC system (hybrid fiber coax) with fiber on the utility poles and coax into the business or residence. Currently, a subscriber may have up to 9 mbps of bandwidth for personal or business use. If desired an industry may run fiber all the way into the business giving the subscriber unlimited bandwidth, reliability and security. Over 30 miles of fiber lines are installed and utilized by the Elbert County Board of Education and local businesses. ElbertonNET High Speed Internet and Broadband TV are offered to residential and commercial customers. TV service includes a digital tier of up to 224 channels as well as HD channels. www.elberton.net There are two private providers in the area: Comcast and AT&T. 
Other Utility Partners Elbert County has other important utility partners serving the area. Hart EMC and Georgia Power provide electricity in Elbert County. For phone and DSL service, AT&T serves the area. Comcast also provides cable as well as high speed internet options.
Highways Convenient surface arteries provide businesses with access to national markets. Interstate 85 passes 35 miles north of Elberton while Georgia State Highways 17, 72 and 77 pass through the city. Georgia State Highway 17 connects with Interstate 20, fifty miles south of Elberton and is the scenic highway of the state connecting the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with the Atlantic beaches of the East Coast. It is a four hour trip to the Port for Savannah from Elberton. Airports Patz Field has one runway, 4,000 feet long and 75 feet wide with medium-intensity runway lighting, precision approach path indicators at both ends and a turnaround on Runway 28. The airport has a rotating beacon, segmented circle and VOR, DME and GPS approaches to Runway 10 and a GPS approach to Runway 28. It has a 600 square foot terminal, an AvGas fuel concession and 16 hangar spaces. Air shuttle service is available at Athens (36 miles) served by Georgia Skies. Patz Field located two miles south of Elberton has a 4,000 lighted, bituminous runway, aircraft tiedown and hangar. Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport is only 2 hours (100 miles) away.
Railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern piggyback service is available at Atlanta (100 miles). Norfolk Southern provides rail service via Hartwell Railroad in Elbert County. 
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