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Article published Jun 24, 2009 City objects to letting Maryville dump treated water into Little River
By Iva Butler of The Daily Times Staff
The Rockford City Commission is opposed to Maryville being allowed to pump all treated wastewater directly into Little River near the plant site on Wheeler Road instead of pumping it 2.5 miles to Fort Loudoun Lake.
Commissioners passed a resolution June 11 "which addresses maintaining the quality of water in the 6 mile section of the Little River that flows through the city."
Commissioners were alarmed after a Daily Times article published May 4 quoted Maryville Assistant Director of Water Quality Control Jack Graham as saying, "The state is looking at the possibility of allowing Maryville to pump all treated water into the Little River because of the new plant."A $31.4 million upgrade is under way at the Maryville Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, which treats sewage from the Maryville, Alcoa and South Blount and Knox Chapman Utility Districts.
According to plant managers, the completed plant will be a state-of-the-art facility, going from aeration to oxidation ditches with biological nutrient removed.
"The main difference is that this is a newer process and does a significantly better job with treatment. Treated water is significantly cleaner than the current process," Graham said previously.
Currently the plant is running at capacity, which is 10 million gallons a day. Once the upgrade is complete in fall 2010, the capacity will increase to 17 million gallons per day.
Maryville has the capacity to pump 20 million gallons per day from the plant 2.5 miles to Fort Loudoun Lake near Cox Sky Ranch off Alcoa Highway.
With the new plant, Maryville officials would prefer to pump the wastewater into Little River near the plant just downstream from Rockford.
Maryville currently has a state permit to pump six times a year at that location.
Rockford Vice Mayor Carl Koella III, who grew up on Little River Road in Rockford, drafted the resolution opposing the change in discharge location.
"I grew up swimming, boating, water skiing and fishing in that river. That river should be protected for future generations," Koella said.
"This is a beautiful section of the river and it would be a shame to jeopardize it," he added.
Standing at the TVA boat access area on Co-op Road on Tuesday, Koella said, "It's not unusual to find 40 or 50 people here on the weekends just enjoying the river."
According to the letter from Rockford City Commission: "We strongly oppose pumping this amount of treated sewage into the Little River. The increased aggregate output is well within the 20 million gallon per day pumping capacity of the facility.
"We urge denial of the permit to pump into the Little River. The City of Rockford strongly endorses continuation of the current procedure of pumping all treated water to Fort Loudoun Lake with no diversions into the Little River.
"There can be no operational or financial benefit to doing anything other than pumping the wastewater plant output the short distance to Fort Loudoun Lake that will justify sacrificing the water quality of the Little River. Current practice will assure preservation of the Little River's water quality, keeping it suitable for all forms of water recreation and enjoyment by citizens of Rockford and the surrounding area," the letter states.
Koella said, "Anyone who has spent time on the Tennessee River knows that is an industrial section of the river (where the treated water is now pumped). That's where there is barge traffic."
Maryville City Manager Greg McClain said, "The city is just getting word of the letter and resolution. Some of it is misleading and also includes incorrect assumptions. Our City Council will discuss this at a work session at 8 a.m. Thursday in Maryville Municipal Center."