Cookeville West Spring Street Sewer Rehab Project Taking First Steps

Cookeville will take the first steps in relocating sewer lines on West Spring Street in order to prevent future issues and help with growth.

Director of Water Quality Control Barry Turner said the sewer line at West Spring Street runs under several buildings and has been on the city’s to-do list. Turner said that the project includes about 750 feet of sewer line.

“What catalyst that brought this up this time is the developer that was doing a development over at the corner Cedar and Spring, needed some additional capacity,” Turner said. “So he did a cost-share agreement for us to upsize one line there and as part of that project we’re trying to go ahead and do this other work that needed doing.”

The line runs from the Ralph’s Donut block across Spring Street to the Dairy Queen area. City Council approved a resolution Thursday night allowing the city to acquire by purchase, donation or eminent domain the land needed in the area.

Turner said that he is currently having conversations with the property owner in regards to beginning the project on their property. Turner said he would like to work out an agreement that works for everyone, and believes he can do that if he can talk to everybody.

Turner said that when the project is bid it will also be addressing some ongoing stormwater issues.

“It goes under those same buildings or corners of them and adjacent to them,” Turner said. “And it’s an old line so I know there has been some issue.”

Turner said that the city had put a liner under the existing sewer line to prevent any issues. Turner said if anything were to happen to the existing sewer line they would either have to reroute it or dig into the line from inside a building.

“We’d like to get it rerouted before that problem were to occur,” Turner said. “So we wouldn’t have to do something such as even go into the building and dig down to the sewer to get it resolved.”