by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

“I’m intrigued. I’d like to see what they come up with,” said Sewanee Utility District manager Ben Beavers commenting on the proposed Consolidation Study the SUD Board of Commissioners agreed to participate in at the Sept. 16 meeting. “It doesn’t commit us to anything except contributing data,” observed SUD Board President Charlie Smith. Tracy City received a grant for a study to investigate a merger between Tracy City and Monteagle water utilities. “The state wants all four water utilities on the Plateau to participate,” Beavers said, Tracy City, Monteagle, Sewanee, and Big Creek.

Beavers explained if “consolidation” happened “the model is to form a water authority and whoever wants to participate gives all their assets to the water authority. In the five-year transition period, the utilities are operated separately to begin with. What they’re moving toward is one rate structure and operation. [Debt] stays in the old system. I’m not sure how that works exactly. The only thing [the utilities] combine at the start is the workers, repairs, that sort of thing.”

“Monteagle and Tracy City are already so entwined, it would make sense for them,” Beavers said. “Us to a lesser extent. We’re on the uphill side of Monteagle, so the chance of us getting water without extensive modification from everybody else would be slim.”

“It would be interesting to see how all that could come together to benefit all four utilities if there was a severe drought,” Smith said. As participants in the study, SUD will be informed of the study’s conclusions. According to Beavers, the Big Creek utility does not provide sewer services, but a grant opportunity could lead to Big Creek providing sewer treatment to the Caverns music venue. Also significant, Big Creek water utility is investigating purchasing Ramsey Lake. “If they get that, the north end of the county will have all the water they need,” Beavers said. “We [SUD] would bring the least to the table. The only thing we really have is a fairly new water treatment plant.” [Note: Monteagle treats Tracy City’s sewage and buys water from Tracy City. See Messenger, March 3, 2023, and October 4, 2024.]

Reporting on operations, Beavers said a recent leak on Clara’s Point Road resulted in water pressure dropping throughout Sewanee. “An 8-inch PVC line on a rock split. We lost 411,000 gallons, not quite half a million.” The water drained into Wiggins Creek. “It was mostly rock there, so there was no erosion,” Beavers said. SUD also repaired a leak at the Woodlands and is engaged in remedying an issue at the Midway booster station. The casing for one of the two pumps is leaking and will require excavation to repair. “The other pump is still fine,” Beavers said.