Fast growth, weak plans brought on water woes

Past decisions by some utilities sped restrictions

By KEVIN WALTERS
and ANNE PAINE
Staff Writers

It's not just lack of rain that has led to water restrictions in suburbs and small towns around Nashville.

Officials have planned poorly and delayed decisions as they wrestled with growth or environmental problems, leading to systems ill-prepared to deliver more water when their residents need it the most.

The situation is severest in Williamson County, where three providers have run low despite access to the water-rich Cumberland River and the county's status as one of the wealthiest in the nation.

"This has nothing to do with a lack of water," said Jamie Raley, who saw the water shut off to his Franklin home after he broke the rules. "It's about poor planning, not enough pumping power."

Raley's offense? Using a sprinkler as he tried to preserve $4,000 in landscaping. He had to pay $50 to get his water turned back on.

Down the street from him, other homeowners topped off swimming pools and soaked flowerbeds without fear: They get their water from a different utility, one that imposed no restrictions, even in the summer's hottest periods.

The problem highlights the difference in how utilities have planned to deal with rapid growth in their communities.

It also points to a difference in philosophy.

"Does a church build a sanctuary for Easter Sunday?" asked Jay Johnson, who as city administrator in Franklin has been deluged with phone calls from angry residents who are no longer allowed to use water outdoors. "Does the mall build a parking lot for the Friday after Thanksgiving?

"If the citizens want a water system built to where water conservation is not a discussion point, tell the (alderman), who makes a policy decision, who tells the engineers ... and the public funds it."

Water cheap, but lacking

Williamson County has added people faster than any other Nashville-area county, Census figures show, growing by about 34,000 new residents between 2000 to 2006. Its water mainly comes from the Cumberland River.

But its largest town, Franklin, now under water restrictions, also partly depends on the Harpeth River.

For years, leaders there struggled to agree upon where to commit money for future water needs.

Franklin's water agency has run a deficit in the recent past, though the city was able to make up the difference by moving money from elsewhere in the budget. The city also charges customers less the more water they use, which is opposite of the way many utilities structure their charges.

As a result, it has some of the cheapest water in the area, a Tennessean analysis found.

Meanwhile, people in neighboring Brentwood have had no water restrictions this summer. Their city invested more than $10 million in recent years in newer and better distribution systems.

Franklin plans to roll out higher water rates Sept. 18, but it still must decide where to invest.

At issue is whether Franklin should build a new treatment plant to treat water from the Harpeth, or buy more Cumberland River water from the Harpeth Valley Utility District.

The utility district, which serves people in Davidson, Williamson and Cheatham counties, already provides most of Franklin's water and sells treated water to several other water systems in Williamson County.

Harpeth water debated

City officials prefer to draw more water from the Harpeth River, but the plan is controversial with environmentalists.

A tributary of the Cumberland, the river is sometimes beautiful but also has flowed so low this summer that Franklin's old water plant has been inoperable for weeks.

Environmental advocates say it can't supply more water.

"The severe drought isn't the failure of the Harpeth River to provide drinking water," said Dorie Bolze, executive director of the Harpeth River Watershed Association. "It's the failure of the city's distribution system."

She called talk of the city's dwindling water supply "scare-mongering" and pointed to the lack of water restrictions elsewhere in the county as proof drinking water can be found and used — if the city invests in better storage and distribution rather than a new plant.

Franklin has proposed spending $4.2 million to $9.2 million to build a new water treatment plant on the Harpeth. Its current plant, built in the 1950s, is long outdated, with a capacity of pumping 2 million gallons of water a day. On average, the city is supplying more than 5 million gallons a day to its customers, according to 2006 statistics.

The city needs permission from the state to proceed; paperwork has been pending since last year.

"Had a decision either way been made several years ago, we would be in the process of implementing that plan," said Johnson, the city administrator.

The Harpeth Valley Utility District identified problems in 1999 and prepared to spend up to $100 million to keep up with increased demands for water from the Cumberland as the region grows, said John Brown, its general manager.

Other cities restrict use

The city of Franklin is not the only utility restricting water use. Two other providers in and around Franklin also have curtailed use, including the Hillsboro, Burwood and Thompson's Station Utility District, or HB&TS.

"The whole county has a problem," said Tom Puckett, general manager of HB&TS. "The county does not have the water to support the population coming in here."

With 6,000 customers, HB&TS is serving more than 25 percent more customers today than it was five years ago — and selling nearly a third more water. Likewise, Milcrofton Utility District has seen its customer base go up by nearly a third since 2002 and is selling 40 percent more water.

The two utilities serve some of the fastest-growing sections of Williamson County.

"The drought showed us, like they showed all the other utilities, their weak points," said Carl Scott Sr., general manager of Milcrofton, which is Jamie Raley's water provider.

The fund that HB&TS holds in reserve for repairs and extensions has more than doubled in the past five years, rising to $6.25 million, according to figures from the utility.

It has also doubled the amount it spends on capital projects, up to $7.6 million last year. Likewise, Milcrofton's reserves — the amount of its temporary investments, plus cash — has tripled in the same period, going up to $5.2 million last year. It had $1.5 million in construction in progress last year, the utility reported.

Officials of HB&TS, Milcrofton and the city of Franklin concede they have struggled to keep pace with growth.

Leaders of the two utility districts also say their agencies are poised to spend millions on improvements, which involves the costly process of buying land for water pipes. Milcrofton, for instance, has secured a $4 million federal loan for upgrades.

"Urban planning has not been Tennessee's long suit," Bill Dobbins, former executive director of the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts. "For many years, our local governments have been at the trough waiting for development to come ... awaiting new building, new houses to bring new taxes. It all comes back to planning properly."

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