Some Norris sewer customers could be on the hook for $2,000 or more for upgrades
Some Norris sewer customers could be facing bills upwards of $2,000 each to replace leaky sewer lines on their own property to the point where they hook up to the city’s wastewater system, city officials say.
Under tentative plans being finalized by the city, most of that work would have to be completed by the end of January 2024, City Manager Adam Ledford said.
City Water Superintendent Tony Wilkerson will be contacting the affected property owners personally during the month of September to inform each one what repairs would be needed, Ledford said.
Of the city’s 700 sewer customers, about 110-120 have lines that have been identified through smoke testing as having leaks, Ledford said.
But the problem isn’t that raw sewage is leaking out from those lines. Instead, the issue is that the lines are inadvertently collecting groundwater from heavy rains, and sending it to the Norris wastewater treatment plant, where it can overwhelm the system.
When that happens, the wastewater collected by the city’s sewer lines ends up being diverted from the treatment plant off East Norris Road into nearby Buffalo Creek without first having been run through the treatment process.
Those diversions are violations of state law, even though the wastewater does get at least basic chlorine treatment for bacteria before being discharged into the creek.
The city was served a “Director’s Order and Assessment” from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Water Resources in February 2022 detailing runoff violations that are alleged to have occurred from May 1, 2019, through Nov. 30, 2021.
As a result of the “Director’s Order,” the city has agreed to a plan to correct the stormwater infiltration problems by Oct. 31, 2024, or face at least $18,768 in fines – in addition to the $4,692 Norris has already paid.
Under the plan, the price for the bulk of the work was estimated to be $5.488 million, with a potential bill as high as $6.6 million. That does not include the possibility the city might need to install a 750,000-gallon holding tank for stormwater runoff, at an additional cost of more than $2.1 million.
The money to pay for the city’s part of the upgrades will come from a “combination of grants, debt and increased sewer rates” to customers, Mayor Chris Mitchell has said.
Last year, engineers hired by the city began testing the sanitary sewer system to find leaks and other problems that allow stormwater to enter the system.
Some of that work included smoke tests that checked lines on private property, identifying which customers’ private lines – called “laterals” – need repair or replacement.
Leford said some of the 110-plus customers may not have to do anything more than replace a cap on a sewer line cleanout, but others would need to replace their entire lines running from their homes to the city’s sewer lines.
“A lot of those are pretty simple fixes, such as a cap needing to be replaced,” Ledford said. “But it will fluctuate so much. For those that have a busted-up line, it could cost upwards of a couple of thousand dollars.
“The deadline for us is October of 2024,” he said. “For the property owners, once we notify them, we can give them 90 days, but we’re looking at giving them a little bit longer. The end of January deadline is what I’m proposing. We don’t want the simple fixes to drag on.”
Here is the notice the city released about the problem, dated July 31:
“Late last year, the City of Norris and Norris Water Commission conducted a systemwide closed-circuit television (CCTV) and smoke testing of the community’s underground sanitary sewer system.
“The testing methods are common industry standards necessary to identify locations throughout the system in need of maintenance and repair. The original Norris system was designed, constructed, and placed into service during the 1930s.
“As you might expect, the testing identified several locations throughout the system in need of maintenance and repair, including many private connections to the public system.
“The private sewer lines running from homes and businesses used to connect to NWC-owned and -maintained lines are known as laterals. According to statute, the upkeep of these private laterals is the responsibility of the property owner(s).
“If a line (lateral) owned by you was identified as in need of maintenance or repair, the staff of the Norris Water Commission will be conducting individual communication with further information.
“If you have any questions or further comments, please contact the City Office at (865)494-7645.”