By Katie Northcott
Amid controversy about Maury County’s struggling water supply, the Spring Hill Board of Mayor and Aldermen reviewed a study that explored the potential of a pipeline from Cumberland River.
Mallory Valley Utility District (MVUD) completed a feasibility study in partnership with Maury County Water System, City of Mt. Pleasant Water Department, Columbia Power and Water Systems, and City of Spring Hill. The study was initiated in alignment with Governor Bill Lee’s Executive Order 108, which emphasizes exploring ways protect the Duck River watershed and alternative water sources.
The study found that a 30-mile, 54-inch pipeline or dual 42-inch steel pipelines from the Cumberland River would be “a technically feasible and well-suited long-term solutions. However, the study projected the pipeline’s total cost would be $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion. Additionally, the pipeline likely would not be operational until 2033.
“It looks like a great project, but I don’t know where $505 million is going to come from on the backs of our citizens,” Alderman Alex Jimenez said. “I’m already seeing a lot of them complain about the water increase, now. The last thing I want to do is have a fixed income resident have to move because they can’t pay for water anymore.”
Mayor Matt Fitterer agreed, saying “the pipeline likely doesn’t make sense.”
Dan Allen, Assistant City Administrator, recommended that the Mayor and Aldermen remain neutral on their solution for now since Lee has commissioned a Planning Partnership to study solutions to the water supply problem.
Allen presented five current potential solutions: the Columbia Pipeline, the Columbia Dam, the Downstream Intake Project, raising Normandy Dam, and utilizing decentralized reservoirs with water harvesting.
He advised that out of those options, the most promising is the Downstream Intake Project in collaboration with Columbia Power & Water Systems (CPWS). The Project could finish as soon as 2029, the soonest of the five options. Time is of the essence if Spring Hill wants to avoid a moratorium on its water systems.
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