Gainesboro Hopes To Stop Rainwater At Sewer Plant With New Grant

The city of Gainesboro will use new grant money from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to pay for improvements to the city’s sewer system.

Consulting Engineer Nathaniel Green said the grant will provide $630,000 to build upon a sewer project that was completed at the beginning of last year. Green said the work will address breaks in the city’s sewer lines that are allowing rainwater to get in and travel to the sewer treatment plant.

“Treating rainwater is expensive, and so off-setting that by rehabilitating the, rehabilitating the sewer system helps to make the system as a whole more efficient,” Green said.

Green said the work would involve replacing about 3,000 feet of sewer collection lines and associated manholes. He said the goal is to get plans and specifications together in the next ninety days, but the bulk of the work will likely begin in the fall and finish sometime in the spring of 2025.

“There may be, you know, some work that has to be done within roadways that would require short periods of time where we close roadways, but other than that it should be fairly inconspicuous,” Green said.

Green said the majority of the project will use trench-less construction with minimal impact on the citizens. The grant includes a $70,000 match to be paid by the city.

“Most small communities, and in particular small and rural communities, require assistance with their sewer collection systems because of inflow and infiltration, and that is breaks in their sewer lines or open holes in their sewer lines which would allow rainwater to get in,” Green said.

Green said the project will begin by televising the inside of the sewer lines to figure out which lines need repairs the most.