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GREENSBORO — If Randleman Reservoir's six partners move quickly on a few basic decisions, cities now stricken by drought could be pulling water from the new lake within a few years.

Are the cities taking too long on Randleman Reservoir? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.

The timing is mainly in the hands of city leaders in Greensboro and High Point, said John Kime, executive director of the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority, which built the dam and lake.

"Bottom line, I just need them to tell me when they want me to start digging," Kime said.

They will do that by making decisions on how to pay their shares of the project's next phase, which includes building a water treatment plant, pump stations and water lines, he said. It's expected to cost $57 million.

The discussion about finances emerged Tuesday from the authority's monthly meeting.

Kime said if area leaders want construction on a fast track, the project could be put out for bid almost immediately, a contractor hired by late March, and construction begun about a month later. Construction is expected to take 24 to 30 months, he said.

The new, 3,000-acre lake stems from a dam first discussed in the 1930s and authorized by Congress as a federal project in 1968.

The authority was formed by Greensboro, High Point, Jamestown, Archdale, Randleman and Randolph County to operate the reservoir, taking it over as a regional project after the federal government backed out in 1987. Greensboro and High Point own the biggest shares of the project, so they pay more.

Greensboro's tab for building the system to treat and distribute the water is $30.3 million; High Point's, $9.6 million. But the two city governments have suggested bypassing the original plan to finance construction using revenue bonds sold by the authority.

Instead, city officials believe they can save money by paying their shares up front from their own reserves.

Water authority member Tom Phillips said during Tuesday's meeting Greensboro officials have told him several times they want to do it that way. Kime said that could free the authority from having to sell any revenue bonds, allowing it to borrow the remaining $17 million from banks.

That is a faster route to construction because it saves weeks or months of dealing with government finance agencies and private bond advisers, he said.

Other major decisions pending include the route a crucial water line will take to Randleman and whether High Point wants its initial water allotment from the new lake or plans to sell it to Greensboro, Kime said.

Contact Taft Wireback at 373-7100 or taft.wireback@news-record.com