by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

In a discussion at the March 17 meeting about sewer service to the University apartments scheduled for occupancy fall semester 2027, Sewanee Utility District manager Ben Beavers alerted the board of commissioners to sewer capacity concerns. Although the University apartment project is not in jeopardy, future large-scale development on the University side of Highway 41 would require increasing the size of the sewer line under the highway, a major undertaking with multiple issues.

The University is willing to pay for increasing the size of the sewer line passing the apartments to 12 inches, Beavers said. All the sewage from Georgia Avenue and St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School passes through that line. But increasing the size of the section of line passing the apartments will not address the capacity worries. The line joins the line passing under the highway which also carries sewage from much of the rest of campus. Beavers explained regulations stipulate design capacity is “half pipe”; at 0.8 capacity, the utility must pursue remedial solutions. “The sewer line under the highway is between those two [benchmarks], toward the high end,” Beavers said. “The problem already exists, and the apartments are making it worse.” SUD’s engineer advised against additional demand on the system beyond 10 houses over the next five years.

“That would restrict the University from adding additional apartment units,” said SUD President Charlie Smith.

“I made that perfectly clear,” Beavers said. “But we can’t compel them to [increase the line size] past the property line.”

Beavers cited an additional concern. Replacing the sewer line under the highway would entail significant disruption of the road, making Tennessee Department of Transportation approval necessary. “The manhole in the center of the highway is 14 feet deep,” Beavers said.

“This should have been dealt with before when the highway was narrowed [in 2021],” Smith insisted. SUD suggested increasing the line size at the time, but the advice was ignored.

In terms of small-scale remedies, SUD is undertaking extensive work to remediate inflow and infiltration (I&I) of rain water into the sewer lines. “The I&I work will help,” Beavers said.

To that end, the commission voted to dedicate surplus funds from the lead and copper survey to I&I rehabilitation. SUD funded the federally required lead and copper survey with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. I&I remediation is also an ARPA project. The grand administrators approved rededicating the use of the surplus funds.

In other business the board approved a contract authorizing continuation of the Wetlands Project until August 2028. The trial constructed wetlands, a research project undertaken jointly by the University of the South and the University of Georgia in 2015, studies wetlands’ effectiveness in cleaning wastewater.

The initial contract extension proposed by the University gave the University sole authority in selecting legal counsel in the event of an indemnity claim, regardless of who was named in the claim. SUD’s insurer objected. Paraphrasing the approved revision, Beavers said, “If the University is the sole claimant in a lawsuit, they get to control who their lawyer is. If both of us are named, we have to agree on who the counsel is.” Regardless, the University bears all costs.

Smith questioned the provision allowing “the University and its agents to access the property at all times.” Beavers said the previous contract allowed the same assess. “We’ve never had an issue. They’re good about telling us when they want to bring a class.” SUD accommodates the requests by leaving the gate open.

The board elected Donnie McBee to serve as vice president for the coming year.