WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — For 12 years, residents and advocates have pushed for fixes to a wastewater treatment plant that continues leaking sewage in their neighborhood and into natural waterways. On Tuesday, the state will hear public concerns about the Limestone treatment plant in Williamson County's Grassland area.
I have reported extensively on the issues and improvement plans submitted to upgrade the privately-owned plant. Neighbors believe the current improvement plans aren't sufficient to address ongoing problems.
"It was Christmas day this year. I was on a hike with my family," said Autumn Moore, describing an unfortunate encounter during their neighborhood holiday hike. "It smells. It's across from the creek on the hike it's raw sewage."
Central States Water Resources owns the Grassland wastewater treatment plant and submitted plans to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation proposing upgrades. In March, the plant was cited for leaking nearly 200,000 gallons of raw sewage into the Harpeth River. Since then, Moore says her sewage rates have increased, as has the sewage in her neighborhood.
"This has become known as poop field," Moore said.
"River Rest HOA is opposed to the draft permit as it's designed," Moore said. "The analogy is they can't even manage bicycle. Why would we give them a shiny new Ferrari."
River Rest neighbors and the Harpeth Conservancy's Dorie Bolze showed us their newest find in the failing system - an actively bubbling manhole with treated sewage flowing over.
"This is a manhole on that line going to the river," Bolze said.
"All of this effluent is supposed to be going into a pipe underground into the river underneath the water. It's not supposed to come out here," Bolze said.
"That's a lot of contact by people their neighbors their dogs. It's a violation of the permit. It's not allowed," Bolze said.
Bolze and neighbors have now had time to review the improvement plans. What they take issue with: the plans include expensive upgrades but don't include fixes for long-existing issues underground.
"This is the only system that's never really solved its problems along the Harpeth in Williamson County," Bolze said.
It's become personal after feeling for years robbed of enjoying the nature in their neighborhood.
"It's not just our creek our river it's Tennessee they're not honest or forthright," Moore said. "I'm doing this because that matters to me and my dad raised me that way to take care of property and to leave the world better than you found it."
State regulators will receive public comment on a draft permit related to Limestone Water Utility Operating Company's proposal to expand treatment capacity at its River Rest sewer plant from 0.25 million gallons per day to 0.45 million gallons per day. The expansion is intended to replace an aging wastewater treatment facility that has experienced chronic failures and repeated sewer overflows.
The sewer plant and its collection system have been under strain for more than a decade. Since at least 2009, prior owners informed the state that the 30-year-old system required significant repairs and that sewer lines serving nearby neighborhoods needed major rehabilitation.
For many years, the facility routinely received flows well beyond its design capacity, approximately one-third above capacity during normal conditions and up to 6 times capacity during heavy rain events. These excessive flows, combined with aging infrastructure and mechanical issues, have contributed to chronic noncompliance with state permit requirements designed to limit pollution discharged into the Harpeth River.
Limestone Water Utility Operating Company purchased the facility in December 2021 and is now proposing to construct a new treatment plant. However, concerns remain about the absence of a clear compliance schedule to fully rehabilitate the sewer collection system, as well as the need for immediate and temporary safeguards during construction to prevent ongoing sewer overflows that continue to expose residents and contaminate Cartwright Creek.
"The sewer plant is in desperate need of replacement, and the sewer collection lines must continue to be rehabilitated to prevent the system from being swamped and unable to effectively treat sewage," said Dorie Bolze, President and Founder of Harpeth Conservancy.
"The Harpeth River near the Moran Road bridge is a beloved place for recreation. It is long past time for this facility to operate properly and consistently meet permit limits designed to protect water quality."
Cartwright Creek is a tributary of the Harpeth River, one of Middle Tennessee's most heavily used rivers for recreation and a critical waterway for downstream communities. When sewer overflows occur, untreated or partially treated sewage can enter Cartwright Creek and the Harpeth River, elevating bacteria levels such as E. coli, increasing public health risks for people recreating in the water, and degrading overall water quality.
The public hearing is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. at the Williamson County Administrative Complex Auditorium on West Main Street. I reached out to the private company that owns the plant to see how they planned to address the active leak and their goals for the hearing.
In a statement they said: As part of the permitting process, there is a 30 day public notice period during which customers may review and comment on the proposed plans. In this case, it was determined to open this into a public forum. There will be a Question and Answer period included, and Limestone will have multiple representatives on hand to address customer questions and receive feedback. Once the meeting is on record, we anticipate proceeding with approval of the submitted plans.
Regarding the reported effluent flow – Tennessee has experienced significant winter weather followed by thawing conditions, which has caused river levels to rise, as expected. The flow observed is treated effluent, not raw sewage, and is being managed at this time by our operators. We will continue to monitor conditions closely and address any concerns raised to us by residents.
Have you experienced issues with wastewater treatment in your neighborhood? Are you concerned about water quality in Middle Tennessee? I want to hear from you. Email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com. Your story could help shed light on important public health and environmental concerns.
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
