First Utility District

Why do you want to expand the Plant?

The plant was originally built in 1974 at the current location and the last expansion was complete in 1995. Today, we serve 26,000 sewer accounts and the number of connections to the system continues to increase. This growth results from people moving into the area, and from our efforts to extend sewer service into subdivisions that were originally equipped with septic systems and drainfields. Simply put, it is time to expand again.

Why don’t you use new technology, instead of expanding the site?

A well-respected and experienced engineering firm designed our treatment plant. The technology being used is the best for the conditions in our community. It is a modern system that removes a high percentage of pollutants over a wide flow range for a reasonable cost. The process removes solids and transfer large amounts of oxygen to the water with moderate power consumption. New technologies such as membrane filters are being developed, but they are normally additions onto the end of an aerobic system like ours.

Could you build another plant in another location?

That would be possible. We could find another site, and possibly get permitted by the State. But there would be local resistance and again we would probably have to condemn the property causing disruption in another community. We would also have to condemn property to connect our collection system to the new plant site. It would be expensive for our ratepayers, and some duplication of functions would be involved. Expanding the existing plant is the most economical and least disruptive to our customers and community.

Could FUD postpone the expansion a few years, it doesn’t seem to be an emergency yet?

Design and construction of the expansion will take several years. Immediate attention needs to be given to the project so that we can maintain environmental compliances, help improve water quality in the Tennessee River, and meet the service needs of a growing community.

Are you expanding the plant to serve the people of Loudon County?

No, we currently only serve about 25 sewer customers in Loudon County. The need for the expansion to our existing wastewater treatment facility is to serve existing and future customers in Knox County not a few in Loudon County as some have suggested.

Will the plant expansion pump more sewer into the lake and harm the quality of water?

No, the plant does not produce sewage, and a larger plant does not produce more sewage. The plant only treats what our community produces, and our community is growing. The efficient operation of an adequately sized plant does a better job, and improves water quality in the river. If it is undersized, water quality in the Tennessee River will be adversely affected.
Inadequate sewage treatment facilities are only one cause of water quality problems. Stormwater runoff is another major factor. Every rainfall washes lawn chemicals, roadside debris, oil, gas, erosion from construction sites, and parking lot trash into the river. We all need to do whatever we can to protect our nation’s waterways.

Will a larger plant produce more odor?

No, A properly sized plant actually produces less odor than an overloaded one will.