photo by Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus
The city of Chattanooga’s Hamm Road Equalization Station has been recognized for improving water quality by reducing wet weather overflows from combined or separate sewer systems.
Since it came online about three years ago, the Moccasin Bend Hamm Road Equalization Station has prevented nearly 850 million gallons of wastewater from overflowing into the Tennessee River.
“The Tennessee River as it flows through Chattanooga is dramatically cleaner today than it was only a few years ago, when sewage overflows were an unfortunate regular occurrence," said Mayor Tim Kelly. "And Chattanoogans using the river can see it with their own eyes: otters, ospreys and various fish species have made big comebacks in the last few years thanks to our work to clean up the river. We take our designation as a National Park City very seriously, and this award is a great testament to that.”
The Department of Wastewater received the Outstanding Overflow Abatement Award from the Clean Water Professionals of Kentucky and Tennessee at the annual Water Professionals Conference. Organizations chosen for the award have proven success with improvements at their wastewater treatment plant by addressing capacity issues or have implemented other innovative solutions to control overflows. Stormwater runoff overwhelms sewer systems, causing untreated or partially treated wastewater to discharge into rivers, lakes or other bodies of water.
The city’s Moccasin Bend Environmental Campus has contended with processing historical amounts of water, and the award points to their effectiveness and efficiency in addressing overflows. The wet weather equalization station consists of three storage tanks that collectively can hold up to 30 million gallons of wastewater from storm events. This temporary storage prevents untreated wastewater from overflowing into the river.
“We know that clean water is the life blood of our community and our top priority is protecting it,” said Department of Wastewater Administrator Mark Heinzer. “Each day we work together to address challenges before they become issues. It’s an honor for our team’s efforts to be recognized by our peers.”