LAWGIBB WINS LAKE ALLATOONA PRESERVATION AUTHORITY CONTRACT

ALPHARETTA, GA, April 20, 2001 -- LAWGIBB Group has been awarded a contract from the Lake Allatoona Preservation Authority (LAPA) to provide environmental water resources services for a state-funded, federally required Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP). Rick Pearce, Senior Vice President, who heads up the firm's Environmental Services Division, made the announcement

Lake Allatoona is a manmade lake near Atlanta that serves as a drinking water reservoir for more than 400,000 people in northwest Georgia. The SWAPs, sponsored by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, help local water suppliers identify, assess and find ways to better manage potential contaminant sources that might impact drinking water intakes and provide the public with the collected information.

According to LAPA General Manager Ron Papaleoni, an eight-county, 1,100 square-mile watershed assessment area has been delineated (currently, about 80 percent of the state's population is served by surface water systems).

LAWGIBB Group is assisting LAPA with source water assessments, susceptibility analyses, geographic information system (GIS)/database support, and community awareness (which includes public forum meetings, newsletters and exhibits in local government buildings). The firm is studying 8 of the 11 surface drinking water intakes located within the watershed, which include:

Bent Tree and Bent Creek Estates (two intakes)
Big Canoe subdivision
City of Cartersville
City of Jasper
Etowah Water Authority
Grandview Lake
U.S. Army Camp Frank Merrill

"As Atlanta's population continues to grow, it's important that a suitable potable water supply is available," Pearce said. "Our scientific analyses of the potential contaminant sources within the watershed area will help ensure this."

Results of the analyses will be published and will also be posted on the LAPA Web site, http://www.allatoona.org.

Papaleoni added that community involvement is important to the program's success.

"We encourage people interested in their drinking water to attend meetings and get involved in making sure we have clean drinking water now and for our children's generation," he said.

Founded in 1946, LAWGIBB Group is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The company has expanded its scope of operations to include many traditional engineering and scientific disciplines, and today is widely recognized as one of the world's leading engineering, environmental and design consulting services companies. The firm now has more than 3,500 professionals working in over 100 offices around the world with projects in 160 countries worldwide.

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