Wartrace engineer Robert Stigall explains the benefits of receiving water from the Tullahoma Utilities Board during a special called meeting Monday. (T-G Photo by Brian Mosely) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Mayor Don Gallagher called the proposed deal between the Tullahoma Utilities Board (TUB) and Wartrace "a great win-win deal," but signing off on the plan was side-tracked until issues concerning the water supplied to the Coffee County distillery could be addressed.

Wartrace, which owns Cascade Spring and which also provides water to Normandy, Beech Grove and Bell Buckle, issued a boil water advisory last month after heavy rains caused surface water to enter Cascade Spring, which impacted the quality of the town's supply.

The boil order has since been lifted, but the potential that the problem might reoccur, coupled with new state regulations which would require an expensive filtration system for the spring, led the town to explore options to relying on Cascade Spring. The spring has provided the area with water for generations and is the namesake of the school campus serving Wartrace, Bell Buckle and Normandy.

TUB has offered Wartrace two options: Use Tullahoma as its sole water source or as a backup source. The draft agreement examined Monday would supply water on a full-time basis by constructing a water line from Cascade Springs to a TUB water line that is located approximately 4,500 feet away.

Gallagher said that everything in the contract is to Tullahoma's satisfaction, but the sticking point was item number six, which stated that Wartrace's agreement with TUB does not preclude the city from selling water from Cascade Springs to George Dickel Distillery.

(George Dickel web site photo) [Click to enlarge]

The only thing Wartrace has to do is to get the state's approval to furnish the spring water to the distillery, due to the fact that it would be untreated water that was being used for "manufacturing concerns," Gallagher said.

Gallagher, city engineer Robert Stigall and David Money of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) will be sitting down with distillery officials to hammer out the details.

Wartrace receives approximately $140,000 a year by furnishing water to the facility. Gallagher said this was a major issue for the distillery since the brand boasts of the clean spring water used in making the whiskey.

Once the matter with the distillery is taken care of, all that will remain for Wartrace is to set a price for Bell Buckle, Gallagher said. Following that step, the mayor said he would be comfortable presenting the agreement for the board to approve.

Mayor Dennis Webb of Bell Buckle, its water manager Ronnie Lokey, and Aldermen Frank Reagor and Jenny Hunt also attended Monday's meeting.

Stigall explained to the Wartrace board that once the water system is connected to Tullahoma, it would be able to supply seven to eight million gallons to Bell Buckle. Stigall also recommended using a 12-inch line instead of an eight-inch line to provide more pressure. He and Gallagher both said water pressure would increase "across the board" when the connection was completed.

Currently, TUB does not have a single customer that uses such an amount of water, so a new rate was proposed -- $1.70 per thousand gallons. The cost would consist of three components -- the cost of wholesale water to TUB from DRUC at $1.10, a five cent Duck River Agency water fee, and a 55 cent TUB water distribution fee.

Both TUB and Duck River Utilities Commission would ask their respective boards to commit to holding the price firm until July 1, 2010. The rate is not dependent upon Bell Buckle continuing to buy its water from Wartrace. The current cost for Wartrace is $2 per 1,000 gallons, so the TUB deal would result in savings for the town.

DRUC has also offered to conduct Wartrace's water quality testing if this option is chosen.

Gallagher said that buying all of the town's water from TUB would also save the town money because it would not be required to build or staff a $3 million water filtration system.

TUB is proposing the agreement for a term of 10 years but is willing to consider a longer or shorter term.

Wartrace hopes to approve the contract with TUB this month, submit the construction plans to the state for approval and advertise the bids. Bids would be opened in June and the construction contract would have a 60-day window.

Wartrace officials hope that the water line to TUB would be completed by Aug. 31.