The new line, to be built almost entirely under roadways, will carry highly cleaned and disinfected wastewater from the F. Wayne Hill treatment plant approximately 8.4 miles to a discharge point deep within the lake.

"By returning our water to its source, we'll be helping folks downstream along the Chattahoochee instead of sending it the other way to the Atlantic Ocean," said Board Chairman Charles Bannister.

He pointed out that the project was bogged down in controversy when he took office, but he and State Rep. John Heard helped negotiate higher treatment standards acceptable to the Lake Lanier Association and state regulatory authorities. Stream crossings for the pipeline are regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which gave its approval in October. Construction will begin soon after the first of the year.

Gwinnett's 750,000 residents used about 526 million gallons from the lake each week in October. The new line is expected to return up to 40 million gallons per day. For comparison, the Corps of Engineers has been releasing about 6.7 billion gallons per week for downstream users.

The Hill plant is at the junction of I-85 and I-985 near the Mall of Georgia. About 3.3 miles of the pipeline are already being built as part of roadwork projects in the area. Total cost for the entire line, including the underwater part, will be about $65.5 million.

Click here to see map for the entire pipeline route