HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — There is a saying that goes "when you look your best you feel your best," and Tara Mason and her team help folks feel their greatest every day at Great Clips in Bonaire.
Coming into work, she says she passes something new often.
"House-wise and just with the new fire station and everything. It's been growing. It's been growing crazy," Mason shared.
In turn, that growth shows up in her chair.
"There's been a lot of changes like with people coming from different areas like Texas, Ohio, New Jersey," she said.
With new folks hitting their chair, she hopes they start taking advantage of more of their services.
"We would like to do a little more hair-washing and beard trimmings, but it's just a part of growing," Mason said.
As their clientele grows, the county is preparing to make sure their water is strong for those future washes.
"As we have a growing county, people want to flush the toilet. People want to take a shower and people want to fill up their pools," Houston County Chairman Dan Perdue said.
In the last five years, the county's water usage has increased by 3 million gallons a day. During the busiest time of year, July, water capacity reached 20.7 million gallons a day in 2023.
"Water demand, especially our Feagin Mill system, what we call the north end of the county system is increasing dramatically," Perdue says.
So to keep all the systems working in harmony and pumping effectively, the county is looking to build another water tower. At Tuesday night's council meeting, they will discuss considering a plot of land on Old Perry Road for the project.
It will sit around the corner from the new Public Safety Center and Fire Station, which Perdue says is also a plus.
"When a fire happens, that's when we see the most demand on our water towers," he shared.
Perdue says they would like the project to be complete by the end of 2026. Leaders say it will cost several million dollars and will be paid for with state COVID-relief funds. Perdue says that money must be spent by 2026.