Eagleville Sewer Issue In Need Of A Solution

Dear Eagleville Citizens,

   The Harpeth River Watershed Association‘s mission is to protect, preserve and restore the ecological health of the Harpeth River, as well as providing our expertise on water quality issues all over Tennessee. We believe in informing the people of the river’s significance and the issues it faces and in bringing the citizens, experts andregulators together to find solutions that benefit all concerned. Eagleville’s streams come together and form the Harpeth River just east of Hwy 41A on the north side of Eagleville.  This is the region referred to as the “Headwaters” of the Harpeth.   These headwaters are vitally important to the health of the river system as what happens in the headwaters sets the stage for water quality downstream.

    At a recent meeting that I attended at city hall about the search for a solution to the sewer issue in Eagleville, I was very heartened by the attitude of those in attendance about trying not to have Eagleville’s problems be passed on to others to deal with downstream.  HRWA began working in Eagleville around 2003 with some funding from the Department of Agriculture to help deal with agricultural runoff affecting the Harpeth River and the source streams in the headwaters. In addition to helping install agricultural practices like cattle exclusion fencing and alternative watering in place, installing streambank stabilization and planting trees along many streams, we conducted water quality testing for sediment, nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, and dissolved oxygen.  We also tested for pathogens like E coli bacteria. Many of you might remember seeing my old blue Jeep CJ7 parked on the side of the road while I was down in the creeks collecting water samples.

   In 2008 we decided that we needed to find out why the bacteria counts were so high on Cheatham Branch, next to the community center and other spots, and on other streams like Kelly Creek and Concord Creek. Knowing that cattle were not likely the only source of these pathogens in these streams, we worked with Dr. Frank Bailey at MTSU to conduct a “source tracking” study which can determine what kind of animal these bacteria came from, and thus help us identify the source of this pollution. The results were distressing. We found not just E coli, which is an indicator for the presence of many other pathogens, but many very debilitating human pathogens like shigella and enterabacter that were described as too numerous to count and that were traced back to human sources.

   In trying to understand what was going on, I contacted the U.S. Geological Survey and talked with the Tennessee Department of Health.   According to USGS experts, the topography and geology of Eagleville is such that the entire eastern half of the city essentially has the water table rise to the surface during the wet winter months.  This causes the septic systems in town to operate well below what is needed to be effective for treatment, and allowing untreated sewage to mix with surface waters.  Health Department expressed their concern that based on their expertise, if they were take a close look at Eagleville, they will find many, if not most, septic systems not functioning properly.  In addition, The Health Department believes that on most lots, there would be no other location that would work, even if a new septic systems could be afforded. They expressed concern that if Eagleville did not find a cooperative solution, much of the city might be considered uninhabitable under state law.  The Health Department officials expressed that they did not want this to happen, but nonetheless believe the town needs to be putting in a good faith effort to address this difficult problem. 

   To further complicate the issue, all of the tributaries of the Harpeth River in Eagleville and much of the mainstem of the Harpeth River downstream have been officially determined by the TN Department of Environment and Conservation since 2004 as not meeting state and federally required water quality standards.  As a result, no new sewer treatment plants may discharge treated water into the river or its tributaries which adds more pollutants. Eagleville School, operated by Rutherford County, has the only discharge permitted by the state in the area predominantly because it was in place before the state determinations were made.  The state water quality permit allows a certain amount of pollutants to be discharged that is based on the volume of water (18,000 gallons per day) and the concentration of pollutants.

   In talks HRWA has had with state, TDEC has indicated that the school’s discharge permit could be taken over by the city, and that volumes of water could be increased, but only if total pollutant loads did not increase from the current permit levels. For example, in order to increase water volume by ten times, concentrations would have to be reduced by ten times. Current standard municipal treatment systems cannot meet this requirement. I’m sure many of you are aware of other treatment systems, such as those that apply treated effluent from the plant on land through drip irrigation.  This type of system requires large amounts of flat well drained land, which Eagleville does not have in abundant supply in the winter time when cold temperature significantly reduce the effectiveness of soil to process the remaining pollutant load in the drip irrigation.

   The bottom line is that Eagleville has fewer options than most communities of its size due to the geographic and hydrologic conditions that exist in your community. HRWA has been involved in helping Eagleville look at and compare options since this issue surfaced (no pun intended) and have helped the city look for funding options as well. We applaud the efforts of Mayor Tune and the many citizens we have talked with about this issue. The fact of the matter though, is that in the eight years I have worked in the Eagleville area, I have seen the largest business in town close and remain shuttered, the grocery store burn and not be rebuilt, several restaurants open (or try to open) and then close, and the city generally begin to decline. All of this can be linked to the lack of a sufficient waste treatment solution. It appears that the City of Eagleville is at a crossroads regarding its future and that Eagleville cannot remain as it is.  Without resolving the sewer issue, the city is extremely limited in its growth.   By developing a solution that the citizens of Eagleville establish themselves, it avoids the option that the state would step in, do what had to be done and pass the bill on to the citizens that remain.

   The Harpeth River Watershed Association understands the challenges that the citizens of Eagleville have to address the sewer issue and realizes there are no easy solutions.  The leadership and citizens of Eagleville have put tremendous effort into this issue, and it seems the time is now to move toward a solution.

Michael Cain
Director of Watershed Assessment and Restoration
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