Chattanooga Public Works Administrator Justin Holland announced Tuesday that there will be three presentations at the end of September of a proposal for consolidation of services of the Chattanooga Sewer program and the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority (WWTA).
The presentations will include discussions about a feasibility study for the consolidation that will include pros and cons.
City public works currently operates the regional sewage treatment plant at Moccasin Bend.
The WWTA handles sewer lines out in the county.
Mr. Holland also gave a report on what the city is doing to conform to the stormwater consent decree for reducing infiltration of stormwater runoff and overflows during periods of extreme rain events. The city is spending $2,362,974 to build a wet weather combined sewer storage facility. A change order for the builders of that facility was approved at the council agenda meeting on Tuesday, for an added amount of $310,577. The report was illustrated with slides of the building and massive tanks in process. There will be storage for 30 million gallons of stormwater in three storage basins, each holding 10 million gallons. The change order was due to more extensive work than was anticipated, such as piles that ended up needing to be in excess of 80 feet long in some places in order to get to the bedrock.
A change order was also needed for the revised amount of $97,437 for making upgrades to the control room for the sewer system. From the new control room, 84 pump stations can be controlled and all flows and pumps can be monitored. The upgrades will create efficiencies and reliability in running the system.
The 12 percent increase to sewer billings that was announced recently does not pertain to residents of Chattanooga, said Mr. Holland. The increase comes from WWTA which controls sewers in the county excluding Chattanooga. There will be a zero percent increase this year, said Mr. Holland, but future increases are anticipated, he stated.
Transportation Director Blythe Bailey told the council that the St. Elmo Riverwalk extension is close to being started once the city gets approval from TDOT. It now ends north of 33rd Street. The new extension will cross Broad Street at St. Elmo Avenue and proceed to the Incline, adding about a mile and a half to the length. This work will be federally funded, he said.