The need for work on northern Shelbyville’s water infrastructure was the most-discussed topic at Shelbyville City Council’s study session Tuesday night.

Jason Reese, general manager of Shelbyville Power, Water and Sewerage Systems, said he feels $2.9 million in state sewer rehabilitation funds, available through the American Rescue Plan, is needed to upgrade sewer and water lines in the North Hurricane Watershed, near Hurricane Creek.

Much of that area’s water flows toward northern Shelbyville. That area suffers drainage problems during heavy rains.

“With all this expansion going on in the industrial park, we have a real need to upgrade and rehab our existing lines in what we call Little Hurricane Creek Sewershed,” Reese said. “Large masses of land on the northern end of town …basically, we have a pumping station at Shaw Road, which is right along Little Hurricane Creek, that’s the far west side of this sewershed.”

All sewage from existing industrial developments in northern Shelbyville flows into that pumping station, Reese said. So will sewage from new developments in the new 231 Industrial Park area.

“It also catches a lot of gravity sewer along the McDale Lane area and as far east as Brown Lane, the new developments (on Fairfield Pike) to around Legends Restaurant,” Reese said.

“Problems include inflow and infiltration (of lines), old clay lines, cracked sewer lines, tree roots, anything where we take on a lot of storm water and ground water. “Over 50 percent of our lines are over 50 years old, so we would have to develop a Local Asset Management Plan.”

Those conditions reduce the capacity of the sewer lines and causes the city water treatment plant to “have to work overtime,” increasing expense.

This is not to be confused with an available $6.5 million federal grant the city is considering applying for, Acting City Manager Kay Parker said.

“We have had two overflows in the last three to four months in that area. We’re only allowed by the state to have five,” Reese said.

Beyond that, a state-ordered moratorium would go into effect.

“If we have three more overflows within a 6 to 8-month period the state’s going to come in and put a stop to any new sewer taps in that area…until the problem is 100 percent corrected. That would also affect any new houses in that area of the city,” Reese said.

Council members will vote on applying for the grant at next Thursday’s monthly meeting.

“I’m going to be voting no on it as it’s presently presented because for the past year we’ve been working with this money for expanding sewer service up toward Uncle Nearest and Tennessee Downs,” City Councilman Henry Feldhaus said. He feels up to half of the grant should go toward adding new infrastructure, as opposed to what he saw as Reese’s request for all to go for repairing or replacing existing lines. Feldhaus asked where the money would come from to help new customers just north of Shelbyville requesting city sewer service.

“My feeling is that things inside the city limits need to come first,” Mayor Wallace Cartwright said.

Feldhaus rhetorically asked how much money the sewer budget currently has for repair of existing sewer lines.

“The answer is zero,” Feldhaus said.“What we’re doing is taking every bit of our CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) money and rehabbing sewer lines. Now, we’re going to be taking $3 million of generational-changing money, which is supposed to help the city grow, and do things in the future, that we would not be having otherwise, and we’re going to rehab sewer lines. When are we going to do some generational changing things to help fund some of these economic development things?”

Feldhaus asked what the plans are for rehabbing 50-year-old lines downtown “that haven’t been touched in forever” and decried what he considers lack of maintenance of the city’s sewer system.

Reese said he agrees plans are needed.

“The new management policy is to become more proactive instead of reactive,” Reese said.

He feels areas needing the most repair should be targeted for rehab to avoid high rate increases. He said the sewer system would be glad to help find funding to extend to the Uncle Nearest area – but the distillery will have to help out as well.

“We can’t just let the sewer system go in the hole for one customer,” Reese said. Feldhaus also said the county needs to contribute money for growth-related issues.o

The council took a look at proposals for widening Fairfield Pike, including curbs and gutters in areas where none currently exist. Attention was particularly focused on the area around the intersection of Fairfield Pike, Hickory Drive and Tulip Tree Road near the duck pond.

Public Works Director Buck Vallad expects the cost to be around $3-$4 million.

“I challenge Mr. Collins (newly-hired City Manager Scott Collins, who was in attendance and will begin his new position shortly) to find us some more money,” Feldhaus said.