Wartrace water expansion discussed at hearing

Bedford County Mayor Eugene Ray tells residents of the Red Hill-Union Ridge area that the county will help Wartrace as much as possible in getting water lines to their homes. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

"This is an informational process," Gallagher said. "Water issues have been a big concern out in the county for quite some time."

Gallagher gave a brief overview of Wartrace's water woes, beginning with rehab work in Normandy several years ago.

"We were losing 64 percent to water leakage," said the mayor. "Now it's 4 percent."

It was about this time last year, said Gallagher, that the town was applying for another CDBG grant. This one was to help pay for improvements to the spring where town was getting its water. The spring was at capacity and couldn't handle more growth without those improvements.

But the spring itself had problems. Surface water --­ and all it carried -- was getting into the water supply, and a moratorium from the state came down.

"We got hit with an order on April 1 last year," Gallagher said, "It was one of those terrible April Fool's jokes -- only it wasn't a joke."

The town was told that by fall of 2009, it would have to build a filtration plant for the spring or find another water source. And agreement was reached with the Tullahoma Utilities Board, and by May of this year, town engineer Robert Stigall said later, the TUB connection should be complete.

The upcoming TUB connection has its pros and cons, said Gallagher to the group at the public hearing Monday. Because the Tullahoma supply is uphill from Wartrace, it removes the need for pumping stations along the way. But the increased pressure has meant the existing lines need to be replaced, and new lines need to be added, a project the town has been working on in recent months.

It's all about funding

The next phase of the project, said Gallagher, will be Red Hill Road, but it all comes down to funding.

"It will cost about $660,000 to go up Red Hill and Lazy Branch Road," he said. "The CDBG grant is $500,000."

He said the town has some money set apart for their matching portion, but would still be about "$80,000 short."

Gallagher said he had hopes that if President Obama's stimulus package passes, some of those funds, already designated for highway and water systems, could come to Wartrace.

"Who knows more about water problems than us?" he asked.

But the first step was getting the CDBG application in, and for that, he needed the assistance of those who will be affected by the water line, Gallagher said. He and others had traveled up the road and checked houses and occupants, and found only about 5.6 customers per mile. The grant criteria prefers 11 customers per mile. So the range of the water line area increased to include part of Union Ridge.

The grant criteria also gives preference to lower and moderate income customers, Fisher-Braly told the group.

"You have to have at least 51 percent of the households at low to moderate income," she said.

The residents turned in surveys that will help the town prove its need for the water lines. Existing springs and wells at their homes will also be tested. The higher the bacteria count in those water sources, the better the chances are Wartrace will receive the CDBG grant, said Fisher-Braly.

Originally, Wartrace hadn't intended to apply for it all. In recent meetings, Gallagher told the board the county might consider applying for the Red Hill water grant money, leaving Wartrace free to apply for a grant for public safety. But at a CDBG public hearing held last week in Shelbyville, Gallagher realized how many areas in Bedford County, not just Wartrace, needed the funds as well.

"Don Gallagher decided he would forego the fire protection project and would apply (for the Red Hill CDBG grant) instead," said Fisher-Braly.

Looking for help

County Mayor Eugene Ray, who also attended the Monday night hearing, said the county would offer as much support as possible.

"I'm going to try everything we can," he said. "The key to it is money."

Ray said he has been talking to several key legislators about the issue, including U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon.

"It's not a Republican thing, it's not a Democrat thing, it's an American thing," said Ray. "All over Bedford County, we're having problems with water. Wells are running out of water. There are people with 55-gallon drums catching rainwater and using it. You'd think it was a third world country, but it's not."

Not everyone was happy with the proposed water lines marked on the giant map at the meeting. Highlighted in yellow, the new lines would go along Red Hill Road from Normandy to where it meets 269. Parts of Lazy Branch and Cleveland roads would be included, as well as short bits of Union Ridge Road and King Road.

One woman questioned why the lines were going up Red Hill Road at all.

"Everybody I know on Red Hill has water," she said.

"No we don't," another protested. "I've been hauling my own water for three years now."

One Union Ridge resident wondered why the line stopped where it did, missing a side of Union Ridge that had at least 14 families.

"That's where the money runs out," said Gallagher. "No matter how far we go, someone is going to want to know why we didn't go farther."

Gallagher said after the meeting that if additional funds come in, the project would extend farther down the roads.