City of Murray

CLARKE COUNTY RESERVOIR & LOST (CITY OF MURRAY)

*Planning for the Clarke County Reservoir began in 1991 due to projected water deficits during times of drought.

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*The Clarke County Reservoir Commission was formed in March 2003. 

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*On November 3, 2009 the citizens of the City of Murray voted to authorize imposition of a local sales and services tax in the incorporated area of the City of Murray at the rate of 1%, to be effective on January 1, 2010. The specific purposes for which the revenues shall otherwise be expended as documented on the ballot are: To fund, under one or more agreements, the acquisition of land, planning, design, construction and equipping, while any project debt is outstanding, for the Clarke County Reservoir Project.

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*June 2010 a 28E agreement between the City of Murray and the Clarke County Reservoir was approved by the Murray City Council. This agreement states that if the City withdraws or violates the 28E Agreement, then the City is in default and can be sued by other parties, will be obligated to fulfill all of its duties and still be obligated to pay the same amount to the Commission for reservoir purposes. This equates to approximately $130,000 annually that is currently paid through the Local Option Sales Tax per the November 2009 citizen vote. 

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*Water needs studies indicate that long term (year 2040) capacity of West Lake will provide only about 800,000 gallons per day. A total raw water demand of 2,790,000 gallons for the year 2040 is expected for the area the lake serves. The lake is estimated to serve 30,000 people as it will be the primary source of water for Osceola as well as serving SIRWA which provides water to Clarke County (Murray, Woodburn, county residents), as well as 14 other counties.

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*The reservoir will have a drainage area of 16,500 acres with a normal pool area of 790 acres which will equate to a safe withdrawal capacity of 2 million gallons per day. West Lake has a drainage area of 6,366 acres with a normal pool area of 297 acres and the safe withdrawal capacity is only 800,000 gallons per day.

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CURRENT STATUS OF RESERVOIR PLANNING/CONSTRUCTION

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*Land acquisition for the reservoir was complete in June 2021.

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*HDR is currently working to update the project plan as required by NRCS to be eligible for construction funding. This updated plan is estimated to be complete in December 2022.

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*It is anticipated that final design and permitting will take an additional 2 years after the project plan update is complete therefore the current goal is let construction contracts in early 2025. Construction is expected to take about 2.5 years. Depending on rainfall and runoff conditions it is estimated that it will take between 30 weeks and 3 years for the reservoir to fill.

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*The total anticipated cost of the reservoir is $96 million. The break down is as follows: Dam/reservoir $52 million, Water Supply infrastructure $17 million, Transportation $19 million, Professional Services $8 million.

*Current funding discussions anticipate that approximately $80 million is available through Federal and State programs to fund the project.

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*In addition click on the link to read the  letter from SIRWA and their commitment to the project.

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