Report: Despite recent upgrades, wastewater system still needs billions - Tennessee - The Black Chronicle

(The Center Square) – Tennessee spent $510 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds upgrading the state’s wastewater system.

Billions of dollars are still needed to fund projects, a report said.

“The state’s 2018 report, TN H2O: Tennessee’s Roadmap to Securing the Future of Our Water Resources, estimated it would cost approximately $8.9 billion to fund the repair and replacement of aging wastewater infrastructure and to extend the wastewater services to support the state’s growing population from 2018 through 2040,” the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations said in its 97-page report. “However, local and state officials surveyed for the commission’s infrastructure report said that $3.5 billion is needed to fund wastewater infrastructure projects that will be in some stage of development between fiscal year 2021-22 and fiscal year 2026-27.”

The challenges to the state’s wastewater systems are aging equipment, increasing demand, and staffing.

“The 2022 Infrastructure Report Card from the American Society of Civil Engineers graded Tennessee’s wastewater infrastructure a C-,” the report said. “The report card states that over the past decade, efforts to expand capacity to support a growing population have resulted in neglected maintenance.”

The state’s population is expected to grow to nearly 8 million by 2042, a 13.8% increase.

“West Tennessee will be one area that will see additional population growth because of the opening of Ford’s BlueOval City, an expansive automobile manufacturing complex,” the report said.

Ford announced the BlueOval City project in 2021 that will build an electric F-Series truck and include a battery plant for Ford and Lincoln vehicles, the company said. It will create an estimated 6,000 jobs, according to the company.

Wastewater treatment plants are also facing staffing shortages.

“This is partly because workers are becoming eligible for retirement and systems are having trouble attracting new workers,” the report said. “Thirty-nine percent (32 out of 82) of respondents to a commission staff survey reported they had at least one certified wastewater operator that would be retiring in the next 10 years. Sixteen percent (13 out of 82) of respondents reported that all (100%) of their certified operators would be retiring in 10 years.”

Respondents from smaller wastewater systems said they have issues keeping staff. Many operators move on to larger systems that pay more and provide more advance opportunities.

Using a combination of funding sources is the best option for wastewater systems. Grants do not have to be repaid. Bonds are another option but smaller cities and counties in poor financial condition may not be able to attract bond buyers, the report said.

“Loans from government or private sources may also be an option for systems that can’t issue bonds,” the report said. “Systems that issue bonds could also use loans as another funding source for projects as could systems that didn’t issue bonds.”