Nashville Sanitary Sewer Master Plan

Nashville Utility Services Board

Master Plan

• Oct 15, 2020 FINAL. Town of Nashville Sanitary Sewer Master Plan – adopted 10-15-2020 (453 pages)
  • The Town has not adopted any Extraterritorial Utilities Ordinance for Sewer at this time. We recommend that the Town pursue this type of ordinance as it provides for the authority to regulate sanitary sewer service to areas outside the corporate limits. p12.
  • One option which the Brown County RSD report did not explore is routing Bean Blossom’s sewer to the Town for treatment. This option could consist of a gravity sewer extension, from the previously mentioned Greenbriar Lake sewer extension, north along Greasy Creek Road. Sufficient grade is present to route a 10-inch gravity line from Greasy Creek Road at Creamer Road, north for approximately 2.80 miles to Freeman Ridge Road. At this point a force main would be required to convey flow from the Bean Blossom town limits (approx. 1.0 mile).
  • The number of EDUs in which this sewer extension could serve was derived from the Brown County RSD report. In their report they estimate that 276 EDUs are currently in the Town of Bean Blossom, and approximately 60 additional EDUs along Greasy Creek Road. See Appendix A, Figure 5-5, for a map of this sewer extension. The engineer’s opinion of probable project costs is $6,283,000. p32.
  • Recommended expansions p28,  What is the evidence supporting the scores?
  • Follow-up (email confirmation). Table 6.2  “was derived from interviews with Town Council and Utility Staff.”

• DRAFT: Nashville Sanitary Sewer Master Plan July 15, 2020 (173 pages)

Current Events

Jun 8, 2021. BCD. Town moves on Utility projects.

Mar 2, 2021. Town starting process of creating a comprehensive plan By Sara Clifford

• The idea is not to start over completely; the town has so many plans that were done in the past that it could make sense to reuse or incorporate them.In addition, within the past year or so, the town council has adopted a sewer master plan and started work on a stormwater plan; its Utility Service Board has begun talking about infrastructure work needed now and in the future; a committee is working on a bicycle and pedestrian master plan; and the redevelopment commission is in the process of getting a new TIF and economic development plan approved. All those plans need to mesh, and a comprehensive plan could drive all of them, Norton said.

Summary of the Master Plan – Brown County Democrat

Aug 20, 2020. Town Council Meeting.  A presentation on the plan was presented. It was stated the intent was not to approve the plan at this meeting.  The consensus appeared to be that there was a valid need for system improvements and this should be the priority for Nashville. There was no documentation presented of a valid need to expand service to other areas in the county that could be served by the Nashville Plant.

July 28, 2020.  My comments about the plan – also shared at the FaceBook group – Brown County Matters. I reviewed the plan and have a few initial questions below.  I shared these with Town Council Member Nancy Crocker and referenced these questions at last month’s Town Council meeting.

The initial perception is that this is a Town centric strategy.

• On the town’s “growth”, how many new residents were acquired as a result of annexation (pg 11)?
• The Town has had a policy that linked annexations with sewer service.  What is the Town’s current position?
• What is the projected cost to Nashville Sewer customers over the next 10, 20, 40-year planning cycle (pg 1) if there are no new customers, e.g., growth?  Is this information available in a spreadsheet?   Are “future demands” being overestimated to “reduce operations and maintenance costs” to Town customers and taxpayers?
• 40-year potential and 2.50-mile radius of Nashville (pg 1).  Is the 2.50-mile radius in the current agreement with the Brown County Regional Sewer District (BCRSD)?
• Reference to “Hill Top” Development.  Is the name “Hill Top” based on a legal description?  The majority of homes are located on Town Hill Rd, East, and West.
• I am skeptical of the assumptions regarding population and growth projections. Did the assumptions factor in the economic impact of COVID?  What are the qualifications of the individuals guesstimating these projections?  (pg. 14-17)
• Overall, the county has a low to moderate-income level of 53.1% (2017).  Hook-ups and higher monthly utility costs will be a burden for many.  The “target” of a monthly rate of $65.00 (pg. 37) is likely conservative.  Without growth, costs of maintenance will have to be passed on to the customer. Helmsburg customers are currently paying $92.50.   I would like to see a spreadsheet that projects revenues, costs, and monthly rates over the life cycle of the respective projects given the growth and no growth projections.  Maintenance and repair costs have to be passed on to the customers – many of which are on fixed incomes.
• The plan references areas with failed/failing septic systems to justify a sewer expansion (pg 10, 14, section 4.3, pg.17). What is the evidence of failure?  How many systems have been identified as failing?
• Pg 11 – typo regarding the 2018 estimated population of “18,013”?
• On the Recommended Sewer Matrix chart (pg 28-29),  what is the supporting documentation regarding the ratings?  I live on Town Hill – I was not contacted. Residences have replaced inadequate systems with Presby’s.  What is the detail that supports these ratings?
• Extraterritorial Zoning Ordinance (pg.3). What is this?  Does it provide the Town with the same powers that are granted to an RSD? An RSD can “force” sewer hook-up. The BCRSD has adopted this standard. Exceptions to the rule are only temporary.

July 15, 2020.  BCD.  Town developing sewer master plan, updates, expansions by Sara Clifford

• … in 2018, the Brown County RSD vacated about a mile-and-a-half radius around town limits — basically, to the tops of the hills that surround major roads into town — in case the town ever wanted to extend sewer to those properties.
• This draft sewer master plan includes several neighborhoods in that mile-and-a-half buffer zone as well as others, and prioritizes them, in the engineers’ opinion, according to how quickly the town should or could bring them sewer:

March 11, 2020.  BCD, Plans, fixes being made at town wastewater plant Sara Clifford

•  Nashville now has a plan to fix the violations which the state found at its wastewater treatment plant last year. In the meantime, new customers…

Dec 4, 2019.  BCD. Town OKs major study of sewer service Sara Clifford – The Nashville Town Council has hired a firm to do a comprehensive study of Nashville’s sewer plant and operations — how the plant is…