COUNTY’S GROWTH: Camden plans to operate water utility 03/12/06 The proposal is meant to centralize water and sewer service as the county grows. By GORDON JACKSON, The Times-Union WOODBINE -- Camden County’s ongoing housing boom has elected officials considering getting into the water and sewer business. . . . County officials plan to run a little more than 100 miles of water lines, build a series of pumping stations and construct a water-treatment plant in the high-growth unincorporated area of the county. The plan would cost an estimated $105 million. While the water system is still in its planning stage, Bob Noble, director of the Camden County Joint Development Authority, said the county could begin providing water to developers in 18 months. All houses built outside the boundaries of the three cities would be required to connect to the water system, he said. Engineers have already started designing the system, though more planning must be done to determine the location of water and sewer lines, storage tanks, pumping stations and a wastewater treatment plant, Noble said. The good news to existing residents, Noble said, is that they won’t pay anything for the system. Developers are being charged $7,500 for each home planned for construction before the final plat is recorded. With roughly 30,000 new homes planned for construction in the unincorporated area of Camden County in the next 10 to 20 years, Noble said the county won’t have to take a loan or bond to get into the water business.