County officials say they are interested in possibly buying water from Laurinburg as it looks to meet long-term needs.

But County Commissioner Larry Caddell said this week that the needed upgrade of the utilities in Scotland County would be expensive along with the added cost of extending water and sewer lines an estimated 30 miles from the Lumber River site to Moore County.

He said the county is already committed to an enlargement and upgrade of its own wastewater treatment plant at Addor, which serves Southern Pines, Pinehurst, Aberdeen and several other municipalities and outlying areas, including Camp Mackall.

The Lumber River Council of Governments received a grant to pay for a study and asked local governments in the region to help share in the costs.

State Rep. Jamie Boles, who is working to find a way to raise the $2,500 to cover the county's share of the study, said he was really more concerned about the commissioners' reasoning that the facilities in Scotland County are of little interest to Moore County.

"The McGill study seemed to regard it as a viable resource for future development in Moore County," Boles said.

The McGill study is a comprehensive examination of water resources in Moore County, including an assessment of existing facilities and a long list of recommendations to improve water systems and to correct shortcomings in the county system and other utilities serving municipalities.

Nevertheless, Caddell says Moore County remains interested in buying water from the city of Laurinburg, which has a large and efficient water system with the capability of selling excess water to other areas.

Caddell and other commissioners met for breakfast in Pinehurst Thursday, then toured several water projects in Pinehurst. Caddell said the commissioners wanted to familiarize themselves with these projects prior to a joint meeting with the Pinehurst Village Council on July 8.

Interest in the Wagram facilities was piqued several months ago when the village of Pinehurst made an offer to purchase them after the village failed over a period of years to acquire its utilities from the county. The offer never got off the ground, because the Scotland County Board of Commissioners has to approve the deal. The Scotland board has instead opted to wait on a study report on the utilities.

Contact Florence Gilkeson by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.