The new Signal Mountain Town Council heard special presentations at the Monday night meeting about the immense problems with the town’s wastewater infrastructure. Executive Director of WWTA Mike Patrick and engineer Scott McDonald reported that the condition of the system that collects and treats wastewater is unacceptable, hard to fix and very expensive to do anything about. It is ranked one of the worst systems, Mr. Patrick told the council.
Most of the underground lines and pipes were installed in or before the 1970’s when many sewer lines and manholes were positioned in creek beds and ravines making problems both hard to diagnose and repair. Some of these locations would never be approved today, he said. To move them now will require tearing up the creeks and a lot of clearing, and then where could they be moved to? he asked. It will be a staggering cost and impact to the environment. To replace the entire system would be in the “eight figures,” said Mr. Patrick. The WWTA is now working on the concept and the economy of making repairs.
The entire system is in a moratorium because of plant violations, mostly stormwater overflows, he said. The problems occur during periods of rain when stormwater inflows and infiltrates the system. During dry weather the treatment plant for Signal Mountain receives about 468,000 to 757,000 gallons per day. That amount can peak to up to 2 million gallons per day during periods of heavy rain.
During dry weather, the plant works pretty well, said Mr. Patrick, despite it being 50 years old with very few improvements ever having been made. That all changes with rain. Extra water gets into the system and into the pumping station through large inflows, such as where a lawnmower breaks off the clean-out cap and also through cracks in the old underground pipes. The best solution, he said, would be to eliminate the inflow and infiltration and keep it out of the pump station and treatment plant.
The extra $8 per month charge on residential WWTA bills is meant to take care of a sewer line problem from the home’s service line to the main line, but that charge does not begin to cover the cost of fixing the whole system, said Mr. Patrick.
There are also a lot of failed septic systems on Signal Mountain, which further contributes to pollution of the streams.
Stormwater Manager for Signal Mountain Cliff Fite gave the council a TDEC report on the condition of streams on the mountain. They are directly affected by runoff which can be as much as five million gallons during periods of heavy rain. TDEC (Tennessee Department of the Environment and Conservation), lists four streams on the mountain as having “Impaired Conditions.” They are Shoal Creek in the Green Gorge area, Bee Branch and Short Creek which all have sewer lines in creek beds and are all polluted with e coli. Freudenberg Creek is considered impaired from mining.
Finding a way to repair septic system problems and replacing them with hook-ups to the sewer is needed in the town of Signal Mountain, said Mr. Fite. So, fixing the sewer system is ranked high on the list of needs. Because of the underlying bedrock, caves and lots that do not have enough room for adequate septic lines are some of the reasons why it is not easy to find a fix. Large leaks are easy to identify, he said, but problems are also caused by an accumulation of a lot of small leaks in many septic systems, all contributing to runoff pollution. There is a lot of e coli in streams from failing septic systems as well as from failing sewers. General stormwater runoff is being dealt with primarily for the quantity issues, not quality. A five-year improvement plan for stormwater problems, created by TDEC on behalf of Signal Mountain puts the cost of maintaining the system at $300,000 each year. “Our revenues don’t support that kind of spending,” he said. Growth on Signal Mountain does not mean adding new homes or buildings, said Mr. Fite, it means adding locations to the sewer in order to have fewer septic systems.
Discussion for improving the town’s website also took place at the Monday night meeting. Town Manager Boyd Veal said that the department heads have made suggestions about changes that they need for making the site more functional for the user and to be able to manage their own portion of the website. Mayor Charles Poss would like to also have a formal survey of residents to hear what they would like to see. Residents can email Special Projects and Compliance Manager Sam Guin with suggestions. Mayor Poss also would like to add a direct link on the website for anyone who would like to access the town’s meetings. Another suggestion is to have the ability to use a search word to find a topic that has been discussed in various meetings.
Establishing guidelines for the various committee liaisons with the council was discussed at length without making a decision. Most council members view the liaison position as an observer, not a member of the committee who would join in the deliberations or vote. Their job would be to report back to the council about decisions made by the committees, councils, and boards. “We’d be an information conduit,” said Council Member Andrew Gardner. The liaison would also communicate to the committee about what the council wants. The mayor also believes that it is everyone’s responsibility to recruit applicants for these bodies when there is a vacancy. Council Member Dan Landrum would like the liaisons to be able to participate in discussions in the capacity of a private citizen of the town. "We appointed citizens to run them - the point is not for the council member to influence their thoughts," said the mayor. Council Member Vicki Anderson was appointed as the council liaison to the Library board, and Mayor Poss and Vice Mayor Susannah Murdock to the Municipal Planning Commission.
A salary survey relating to Fire and Police salaries has been done by a professional service as well as comparing Signal Mountain to other local municipalities. The results have been sent to the town’s personnel committee for recommendations and will next be given to the council.
Brian Wright, with Johnson Murphey and Wright, made the annual audit presentation. Signal Mountain received an unmodified opinion, the best opinion you can get, he said.
The next meeting of the Signal Mountain Council is scheduled for Dec. 28 at 6 p.m.