Byrdstown Lead And Copper Survey Complete

Byrdstown has completed and submitted its lead and copper survey, a new requirement of the state.

The survey covered a sum of 4,000 active water lines and a sum of 250 inactive waterlines within the town’s water system. Byrdstown Mayor Sam Gibson told Aldermen Monday night the survey required in some cases for the town to go onto personal property and find out what is attached to the water meters. Gibson said going onto personal property made completing the survey challenging and time-consuming.

“We may set the meter and leave and put the box there and they come through themselves or have somebody come in and bring water from their house and hook onto the meter,” Gibson said. “We are not there. We don’t have a clue, but yet we had to go back and try to with this survey thing to write down everybody and what they have.”

Engineering consultant Zeida Hillis said in the future the state could require utility districts to enforce removing lead and copper from the water system whether it’s on public property or personal property. Water Plant Superintendent Buster Harmon said even though the state has not officially stated that requirement, the writing is on the wall and has caused many concerns for utility districts across the state.

“As we’ve seen in a bunch of meetings over the last three or four years it is one hot topic,” Harmon said. “Everybody sees it. It’s just like when the state is up there like in Knoxville, they threw the state girl to the wolves. I mean she did not know what she was walking into and I’ve never seen her back she may not even work for the state any more but they really hounded her.”

Byrdstown Utility Clerk Missy Harding said the process of completing the survey should not take as long in the following years.

“This is the worst year after this we just have to do any additional that we add,” Harding said. “So all of this will be already in the state but if we add any additional next year then we will have to do those.”

Harding said the new rules will no longer let the utility district choose what houses they gather test samples from. Gibson said the survey is now in the state’s hands and the town will not know what the next steps are until the state reaches back out after reviewing the survey.