by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the Feb. 20 meeting, the Sewanee Utility District Board of Commissioners approved contracts for three American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant projects. The board also charged manager Ben Beavers with identifying engineers qualified to advise SUD if the utility decided to switch from spray-field to dripline application of effluent at the Wastewater Treatment Plant.

St. John Engineering, from Manchester, Tenn., will provide engineering services for the Sewer Rehabilitation Project to reduce Inflow and Infiltration of groundwater into the sewer system. St. John will survey and evaluate the sewer lines and manholes, provide SUD with technical specification of rehabilitation work needed, and prepare documents defining the contractual agreement with the firm SUD engages to perform the sewer repair. The total cost of the Sewer Rehabilitation Project is $1.5 million. St. John’s fee, $79,500, was below the standard 8 percent typical for engineering services for this type of project, according to Beavers.

Rye Engineering, from Erin, Tenn., will design and implement a Water-Lines Leak Reduction Project. Rye will develop a plan for zone monitoring, install zone meters, and design a monitoring and reporting system using zone-meter data. In a second project, Rye will also conduct a survey to identify any lead and copper fittings in SUD water lines, a federal requirement SUD must comply with by October. Rye will review construction and work order documents to determine line materials and prepare a service-line inventory report. “They [Rye] can do in a week what would take me three months,” said Beavers. The total cost for Rye’s services, $316,920.83, was in line with what SUD anticipated spending on the projects.

Board President Charlie Smith called on the board to revisit a previous discussion about switching to dripline application as a trial in a section of the WWTP spray fields where emitters were damaged by a lightning strike. Smith pointed out dripline did not require a large buffer zone to avoid overspray, giving SUD more surface area. Beavers concurred, although noting the soil loading allowance would be the same. Because dripline was installed on top of the ground, the initial cost would be less, Beavers added. A possible downside would be maintenance and a robust filtration system to keep the emitters from clogging.

Beavers said the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) advisor he hoped to consult with had retired. Beavers will contact TDEC for a list of qualified engineers knowledgeable about dripline systems. In the previous discussion about switching to dripline, the board also considered a timber harvest in the spray field. Beavers will look for a forester to advise SUD on a harvest. The last harvest, done 10 years ago, was done in stages based on size and species. Following the harvest, replanting with cypress was most successful. “The green ash and willow didn’t last a year,” Beavers said. “The deer loved it.”