Spotlight on Community Projects

Spotlight on the Town of Erwin

The project consisted of replacing two of three existing above ground concrete water storage tanks with a new 500,000 gallon glass fused-to-steel above ground water storage tank on the existing site.  The tanks replaced were both over 95 years-old with degrading lead-based interior coatings.  Tank replacement resulted in elimination of a possible source of lead contamination from the Town’s water supply, and prevented the need to purchase additional water to meet current demand.  The project resulted in prevention of potential health-based concerns, while securing a safe and reliable source of water for the Town.

Two of the three original tanks were over 95 years-old. The tanks operated in parallel and provided storage to the Town’s system. The tanks were undersized based on current demand, and their lead-based painted interior coatings were degrading. This posed a threat to the Town’s ability to provide both a safe and dependable supply of drinking water to its customers. 

The project proactively addressed a possible health-based risk (lead) and future SDWA compliance problems, replaced again/failing infrastructure, significantly improved the financial integrity of the distribution system, and lowered financial risk by allowing the town to address both health and demand at the same time.

Spotlight on the Town of Gainesboro

The Town of Gainesboro requested DWSRF assistance to address an average water loss by volume of 54%. Through partnership between DWSRF and CDBG, the Town reduced water loss to an average of 28% (significantly under the original goal of 35%) over several months. Reduction in water loss occurred due to replacement of problem water lines and service lines, implementation of district metered areas (DMAs), and installation of a radio read meter system. In addition, The Town installed automatic meter readers to effectively promote energy savings and reduce carbon emissions.

A portion of the water lines replaced were cast iron and tuberculation had reduced the diameter of the pipe and led to discoloration of the water. Replacing these lines with PVC ensured that adequate flow could be supplied to flush lines, reducing water lost under pressure due to excessive flushing, while removing the potential for discoloration. The majority of service line replaced was of galvanized construction.  A significant portion of mainlines and service lines replaced were forty (40) years-old and suffered from excessive leakage. 

Without assistance from the SRF program, the Town of Gainesboro would not have been able to perform the work required to achieve significant reduction in water loss. Leveraging of resources between DWSRF and CDBG allowed more comprehensive work to address water loss in an affordable manner.  The Town of Gainsboro is located in Jackson County, a very small, rural, and economically distressed county in TN.  In 2015, the Town was cited with an insufficient fund balance by the Tennessee State Comptroller. The institution of an aggressive rate increase ordinance over the next three (3) years allowed the Town to observe a $75,000 surplus (10% above operating costs) for the fiscal year ending June 2018, prompting the Town’s removal from the State’s watch list. Cooperation between all stakeholders (DWSRF, ECD-CDBG, the Comptroller, and most importantly, the community) resulted in a financial turn-around for Gainesboro and the future of its communities.

The Town of Gainesboro, located in rural, distressed, Jackson County, TN, owns and operates a water distribution system that serves approximately 462 residential customers, 86 commercial customers, 5 industries, and 1 utility district. 

The Town addressed approximately 4,750 LF of water line replacements, 90 service line replacements, 550 meter replacements with radio read meters, and installation of 3 district metered areas (DMAs). Whereas, Gainesboro had hopes of reducing the water loss to 35% in order to save approximately 4,355,000 gallons per month, which (according to their AWWA water loss reporting form) would equate to $26,150 per year, it exceeded these goals by around 20%.  The reduction in water loss is expected to reduce pumping and chemical costs, as well as ensure more water drawn from the Town’s source is captured. The new radio read meters allow the Town to obtain customer readings each month in just one (1) day, rather than a week, as was required prior to this project. The reduction in drive time will reduce wear and tear on equipment and reduce emissions. In addition, it is very possible that the monetary savings due to the reduction in water loss will pay the loan expense.

Spotlight on the City of Franklin

The City intends to expand the existing WWTP from its current capacity of 12 MGD to 16 MGD.  The
WWTP expansion will include the addition of new headworks for pretreatment of wet –weather
peak flows for 56 MGD; construction of a new 10 MGD equalization tank for wet-weather storage;
modification to three oxidation ditches to include a fermentation zone for more efficient nutrient
removal and the addition of an alum feed system for chemical phosphorous removal capabilities;
numerous hydraulic improvements to ensure the processing of peak flows;  upsizing the ultraviolet
(UV) disinfection system; and modifying the existing biosolids treatment process to use thermal
hydrolysis pretreatment and mesophilic anaerobic digestion to produce a Class A biosolids. 

The project also includes expanding the existing on-site reclaimed water pump station to serve
additional reclaimed water customers.  The existing reclaimed water distribution system has been
designed to transport reclaimed water to a variety of customers around the City.  The City of
Franklin’s ultimate plan is to complete a distribution loop around the entire City to provide a
reliable source of reclaimed water to its customers.