The Kerr Lake Regional Water System begins the next phase in its quest to cut a big bill from the Army Corps of Engineers when a delegation visits the regional corps office in Wilmington at 10:30 a.m. In addition to representatives of water partners Oxford and Warren County, the local crowd will include both City Council members seeking the Ward 3 at-large seat, John Wester and Elissa Yount; former water plant director Mike Hicks; and a couple of engineering consultants. The meeting is supposed to be informational only, a chance for the Corps of Engineers to explain why it wants $3.455 million for a Kerr Lake water storage contract, or more than $221,000 per year for 30 years when financed at 5 percent interest. Under a 1974 contract that originally expired in May 2004 and has been extended to the end of December, the water system pays $9.60 per million gallons used, or less than $20,000 per year. It’s not clear how open to negotiating the corps will be, and Henderson doesn’t appear to have much leverage: The region needs the water more than the corps needs the money.