February 8, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
Future installation of Septic Tank Effluent Pump Systems (STEP) by private developers may soon be prohibited in the City of Smithville.
During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, Daniel Tribble, Manager of Field Services for JR Wauford and Company of Nashville recommended that the city adopt an ordinance or resolution to prohibit future installation of STEPs based on a new state law which requires municipalities to maintain them. JR Wauford is the city’s engineering consultant.
For several years the city has serviced a development on Coconut Ridge Road with these type systems.
“In a typical sewer system, you have houses that discharge through plumbing to a gravity line which flow through manholes that go to pump stations which ultimately end up in your wastewater plant,” said Tribble. “Alternatively, you could have lines from a home that discharge into a tank which has a grinder pump that pumps into a low-pressure sewer line and then discharges to a gravity sewer line or another pumping station. We call that a STEP system (Septic Tank Effluent Pump System). These systems are not recommended for cities that have central wastewater collection systems like the City of Smithville does. You have manholes, gravity lines, and pump stations to take all this wastewater to your plant and treat it there,” Tribble continued.
“The State of Tennessee passed regulations in May 2022 that changed how cities and municipalities have to view the ownership and control of these STEP systems. It states low pressure pumps, low pressure tanks, septic tank effluent pumps, STEP tanks, and septic effluent gravity tanks are integral to the treatment and conveyance of sewer in a low-pressure system design and shall be owned or under control of the municipality, other body of government, public utility district, or a privately owned public utility demonstrating lawful jurisdiction over the service area. What that means is the city would be ultimately responsible for the maintenance of these low-pressure gravity sewer lines and pumps. Instead of pumps that you have to replace just at the pump stations everyone pumps to, effectively the city would be responsible for maintaining the pumps of every resident who had this type of (STEP) system. Some are already in the system on Coconut Ridge, but they are not desirable long term for the City of Smithville. Its our recommendation that you don’t allow these in the future,” said Tribble.
Meanwhile, Tribble updated the Mayor and Aldermen on the sewer line rehab project that has just begun on Carter Street.
“The gravity sewer repair job is being done by John Hall Construction. The notice to proceed was issued Monday. They are starting on Carter Street with an estimated completion date of May or June depending upon weather,” said Tribble.
Although Carter Street will be closed to through traffic during the project, residents who live there will have access.
The work is the beginning of an almost one-million-dollar project to rehab sewer lines and manholes in certain parts of town including Earl Avenue and West Main Street in addition to Carter Street.
Last September, the aldermen voted to award a bid to the John T. Hall Construction Company of Sparta in the amount of $939,620 which was the least expensive of the three bids submitted.
Tribble said the project will be done in phases.
“Phase one of this project includes the open cut sewer replacement of approximately 2,700 feet of sewer line along Earl Avenue, West Main Street, and Carter Street. The second part of phase one of this job is the CCTV or closed-circuit television inspection of approximately 7,400 feet of sewer lines mostly in cross country areas that flow along creeks and not in roadways. Our plan is to review the CCTV footage and make a recommendation to the city as to the appropriate rehabilitation methods for these areas,” Tribble said.
Tribble also gave a progress report on the two grants the city will be using to do further sewer system rehab work.
“The city was awarded a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant in November. We had the project kickoff meeting with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Deveopment representative on January 25. This grant will be married to American Rescue Plan grant funds which total just over $1.5 million. The intent is to use both of those funds totaling $1.8 million to design a sewer system rehabilitation project that will meet the needs and requirements of both these grants. Both grants will be administered by the Upper Cumberland Development District.
The aldermen awarded a bid to Southern Sales Company in the amount of $148,000 to replace pumps at the wastewater treatment plant as recommended by Tribble.
“We made a site visit to your wastewater plant in late 2022 and noticed some equipment that needed to be replaced. Four proposals were received by vendors for the replacement of subject pumps including installation, startup, and testing,” said Tribble.
Southern Sales will install new recirculation pumps in the systems sequencing batch reactors and implement reuse pumps for the plant.