By Scott Pearson

Staff Writer

The Lewisburg Water and Wastewater Department is showing positive growth this fiscal year, but that success also raises the possibility of necessary expansion in the future.

General Manager Trigg Cathey presented the year-to-date financials to the Water Board at their monthly meeting on Thursday, Jan. 19.

“We are seeing more usage and more sales as Lewisburg grows,” Cathey said.

Halfway through the fiscal year, revenue is up $400,000, he said, although any surplus would be decreased by a $200,000 improvement project at the water treatment plant and a $53,000 dump truck acquisition later in the year.

Revenue has topped $500,000 every month since June of 2016 due to increased demand spurred by growth, Cathey said. The water treatment plant is running 22 hours a day in order to keep up with water needs.

Those growth numbers are pushing the system to use more and more of its capacity, however.

Cathey said that the growth had pushed Lewisburg Water to consistently use 70 percent of its capacity, with spikes up to 75 percent.

This number is significant because state law requires water districts to begin planning for expansions once they start reaching 80 percent of capacity.

As Lewisburg and Marshall County continue to grow, the department could face expansion projects to increase their capacity.

As it is, the department is moving forward with two projects that have been in the works for more than a year.

The state has approved plans for improvements at the Snell Branch pumping station and the installation of additional treatment equipment at the wastewater treatment plant to further decrease the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous discharged from the plant.

Half of the city’s wastewater has to be pumped through Snell Branch in order to get to the water treatment plant. The plant itself is about 30 years old and the equipment runs 24 hours a day and is at the point of needing replacement.

The additional nitrogen and phosphorous removal is required due to a decrease in acceptable levels of discharge mandated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. That mandate is unfunded by either EPA or the Federal Government.

Doug Murphy, Director of the Duck River Agency, presented the planned pledge of $350,000 from the agency for the construction of a visitor and educational center at Henry Horton State Park. The Duck River Agency is charged by the state to develop, protect, and sustain the river as a water source for the region.

Five cents for every thousand gallons of water from each system that uses the Duck River goes to fund the DRA, who need member approval to use those funds. While funds are generally spent on engineering or feasibility studies, the long-term plan of the agency is a construction project at Normandy Dam that would raise the water level, and amount of water accessible out of the Duck in the future.

The other six water systems had already approved the project so Lewisburg’s vote was a formality, but was not without some friction.

Board Chairman Bill Marsh asked Murphy if that was a good use of the department’s nickels.

“You keep taking the nickel that we could be using to put in water lines for people who desperately need water,” said Marsh.