Flushable wipes clogging wastewater plant

Mountain City's already damaged Wastewater Treatment Plant has a new problem: flushable wipes. There's been a recent uptick in wipes entering the plant, Manager Chris Atwood told the Board of Mayor and Aldermen during its March 3 meeting. "We need to look about doing something, or we'll have overflow issues," he said. "We may be at home [when it overflows]. There's no monitoring in that part of the plant; it may run everything over before we get there the next morning." Despite their name, flushable wipes often do not break apart fast enough in sewer systems to make a difference. The result is that they clog pumps inside treatment plants. Atwood said one day recently, the plant got a "hopper" — a container used to store solids removed from wastewater — in less than 24 hours, something that should normally take more than a week. Atwood floated the idea of talking to other towns to see how they deal with flushable wipes. If no other solution is found, he said he'd have "rebuild part of the equipment to handle these." SILVER LAKE Project Coordinator Chris Hook pitched the board a plan to remove trees around and inside Silver Lake, one of the town's drinking water sources. According to a report Hook shared with the Aldermen, trees have fallen into the water which could "lead to color and taste issues" in the future. Hook wrote that he meet with a Tennessee Department of Agriculture forester who recommended removing all trees within 80 feet of the lake to avoid any more trees falling in. He also recommended removing trees in a nearby collection of white pines with a diameter of 18 to 20 inches greater, so deciduous trees have room to grow. The forester initially recommended putting pesticides on the hemlock trees nearby the lake, because they are infested with Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, an invasive parasite that kills eastern Hemlock trees. When Hook told him they couldn't use pesticides near the water source, the forester recommended cutting down all the hemlocks instead, including those further than 80 feet from the lake. Hook suggested hiring a logging company to remove the trees; he said the Forester told him the lumber could be sold for enough to pay for the job and then some. The board voted to give Hook permission to hire a consulting forester who can help find a logging company and write a contract for the job. WATER LINES The board approved a $644,217 bid from Bob Stout Construction to repair waterlines. Mayor Jerry Jordan said the waterlines were damaged by Helene. The funds for the project will be drawn from the town's unassigned fund balance, with up "to 75% of the cost reimbursed by FEMA at a future time," according to the meeting's agenda. "Our share will probably be about $161,000, but the waterlines got to be fixed," Jordan said. The only other bid was from Iron Mountain Construction, which was $960,218.