Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority received a visit from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper last week as he announced $462.9 million in funding for water infrastructure projects around the state.

The Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority will have a new executive director on the job by March 19 after the TWSA board voted unanimously during its Feb. 18 meeting to hire engineer Daniel Manring. 

The N.C. Department of Transportation will pay water and sewer hookup fees for businesses displaced by the N.C. 107 project, but it will be up to business and property owners to ask for reimbursement, right-of-way agent Jake Day told the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority board last week. 

After more than seven years at the helm, Dan Harbaugh has left his role as executive director of the Tuckasiegee Water and Sewer Authority. His last day was Friday, Sept. 27, with the TWSA board hiring former Town of Sylva Public Works Director Dan Shaeffer to lead the organization temporarily. 

With right-of-way acquisition for the N.C. 107 project in Sylva set to begin in January, the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority is hoping to adopt new policies this December aimed at assisting ratepayers impacted by the endeavor. 

It’s been two years since discussions began about the possibility of removing the Cullowhee Dam, and it could take years more to complete the additional studies needed to make a decision about removal and to raise the funds necessary to actually do it. 

Western Carolina University and the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority will explore the possibility of combining their water systems following receipt of a $50,000 grant from the State Water Infrastructure Authority, which the TWSA board voted to accept at its June 18 meeting. 

The Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority will look to keep up-front fees for water and sewer hookups high when it adopts its new budget in June, following a divided May 15 vote. 

The announcement that 20,000 gallons of sewer capacity will soon be released in Cashiers has spurred interest from homeowners and businesspeople alike, and the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority Board is pondering whether to bump up its sewer plant construction schedule as a result. 

During a recent public comment period, water and sewer customers in Jackson County told the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority that they don’t want to see their rates go up to allow new customers to pay lower up-front fees.