News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Pickett County Commission approved a partnership with Byrdstown to replace settling basins in the town’s water system.
Byrdstown Mayor Mayor Sam Gibson said commissioners voted in favor of using its $2.7 million of TDEC ARP funding for the project.
“We got 10 votes for it and had one person absent that night,” Gibson said. “I felt real good about it. These commissioners realized that this money is going to Pickett County. It’s not going to the town of Byrdstown.”
Byrdstown provides the county with public water. Gibson said the town and county will both match 15 percent making the total project cost about $3.3 million. Gibson said the project now needs TDEC approval to move forward.
“The first thing was to get the county commission to agree for that money to be funneled down to the town of Byrdstown for the water and sewer projects that we will present to TDEC,” Gibson said. “TDEC will approve those and rank them.”
Gibson said the basin project is state mandated. Gibson said two of the three basins bottomed out with sink holes and will be replaced with concrete. The water systems are used to control pollution by using gravity to suspend and remove waste.
“That’s a $3 million project so that alone would eat up most of that,” Gibson said. “These are things required by the state.”
Gibson said by implementing a three percent water rate increase yearly, the town has enough money in the water fund to cover the match. Gibson said customers should not be financially impacted by this project cost.
Gibson said the leftover ARP money would be for smaller projects at sewer pump stations.
