Three Options to Support Growth: Potential Water Authority
TRACY HARRIS
Staff Writer
The Lewisburg City Council held a special called meeting at the Rec Center on Sept. 20. It was an informational meeting to discuss a potential water authority. Representatives from Lewisburg Water & Wastewater, TDEC, and Wauford Engineering spoke. Members of the Marshall County Commission and City Council attended. Citizens were given the opportunity to listen and then ask questions.
A new water treatment system is needed due to population increase and industry needs. Multiple people expressed how this kind of population growth could not have been predicted. Numerous things have contributed to the influx not only in our small community, but in Tennessee as a whole.
According to studies, 70 percent of the water used in Marshall County is north of Lewisburg. The remaining 30 percent is used in and south of Lewisburg.
Greg Davenport, President of Wauford Engineering, presented a slideshow and spoke about the firm’s relationship with Marshall County since 1974. He covered the history of water lines that date back to the mid to late 1940s. There are three options being researched and he will bring a report back to city and county officials to help determine the best path forward. Davenport’s report will expand on the costs and benefits of all three options. Until this report comes back, no decisions have been made.
Joint efforts like this fall under “regionalization” or “regional solutions’ according to April Grippo, Deputy Director at Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). Grippo explained that the Duck River watershed currently serves 250,000 customers from Normandy to Centerville.
It appears the county has already determined that a new treatment system is needed, so they got $34 million in bonds. This is why rate payers in the county have seen increases in their rates that city residents have not encountered – yet. The county will pursue building their own system and the city will have to upgrade theirs if the city and county do not join together.
One thing is for sure according to Davenport, “Regardless of the path that anybody chooses is that even though there may seem to be enough water in the Duck River to last forever, there’s really not.”
