Macon Water Authority

The Macon Water Authority (MWA) was created by an act of the Georgia General Assembly to provide public water and sewer services for the citizens of the City of Macon and Bibb County, as well as additional retail and wholesale customers.

The origin of the MWA dates back to 1880, when water for domestic service was procured from the wells of individual Bibb county citizens. That same year, The Macon Gas Light and Water Company undertook the task of providing water under pressure for the business section of downtown Macon, by developing what is known as Tuff Springs.  The next year, the company installed 53 fire hydrants to supply water for domestic and manufacturing services for a small area south of Spring Street.

In 1973, the Macon-Bibb County Water and Sewerage Authority was created with five members, three of whom were elected and two of whom were appointed – one from the City Council and one from the County Commission.  Those respective city and county appointees remain in effect today.  Since that time, the Authority has operated as an independent, autonomous public water utility.

In 1979, the state passed legislation requiring representation on the Water Authority according to districts.  District elections began in 1980, at which time the number of MWA Board Members was increased to seven – the current number of board members that serve on the Authority today.  In 1992, the Macon-Bibb County Water & Sewerage Authority was renamed to The Macon Water Authority (MWA), and it has operated under this brand name ever since.

Today, the MWA Water Distribution System has approximately 1,425 miles of water mains and service lines serving approximately 51,000 metered accounts, or 155,000 customers.  The Authority also operates a sewage collection system, which includes approximately 250 miles of interceptor sewers and 977 miles of sanitary sewer lines, serving over 45,000 customers.  Macon Soils, a subsidiary of the Authority, handles the recycling of biosolids from wastewater treatment at the Authority's water reclamation facilities, distributing these by-products to area farmers for agricultural purposes.

The Macon Water Authority assembles a five-year plan to accomplish construction projects for water, sewer. water and sewer maintenance, miscellaneous projects, and specific DOT projects that require utility relocations.  A list of these projects -- including name, scope, percent complete, estimated cost, funding source, monies spent to date along with percent of final contract amount, current status and estimated start and completion dates -- is compiled and updated monthly for public information and as a reference for customers.