History of CCWSA
The Cherokee County Water & Sewerage Authority (CCWSA) was established as a subdivision of the government of the State of Georgia by an act of the Georgia Legislature in 1955. This Authority was created for the express purpose of providing public drinking water and sanitary sewer services to the citizens of Cherokee County. CCWSA has performed this mission since its establishment, adding infrastructure and treatment systems in response to growing demands for services.
CCWSA is a public not-for-profit governmental entity tasked with the provision of drinking water and sanitary sewer services to Cherokee County. The Authority has no taxing powers, is not a part of Cherokee County government, and does not receive any tax revenue from county or city governments. CCWSA sells the services of high-quality drinking water and efficient sewage conveyance and treatment, the charges for which go to pay on-going operations and maintenance costs. New customer connection fees are designed to repay any moneys the Authority borrows for capital improvement projects such as new or expanded water and sewer lines, or new or expanded treatment facilities.
CCWSA is governed by a seven-person board of directors. The directors serve four-year terms and there is a term limit of two consecutive terms (8 years). A director who has served the term limit is eligible for reappointment after being off the Board for at least 4 years. The Board members are representative of the citizens of Cherokee County and must be a customer of CCWSA. Cherokee County is divided into four districts for representation. A member is appointed from each of the four districts. Those members must be a CCWSA customer and represent one of the four respective districts.
Another member must be a CCWSA customer and is deemed the “at-large” member representing the county as a whole. Another member must be a CCWSA customer in one of the cities within the county that has consolidated its water and wastewater systems with the Authority. These six board members are appointed by the Grand Jury of Cherokee County. Candidates for appointment undergo questioning, qualification review, and other scrutiny by the Grand Jury during the appointment process. This appointment process is somewhat unique since water/wastewater systems are most often part of a city or county government where appointees are either elected officials or political appointees. The apolitical appointment process has allowed the CCWSA Board to make decisions about water and sanitary sewer services for the citizens of Cherokee County based on need and economic viability instead of political expediency. The Chairman of the Cherokee County Commissioners is automatically the seventh board member by virtue of his/her elected position.
