CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The City Council approved a rate increase for Clarksville Gas & Water at their Thursday meeting, clearing the way for multiple infrastructure projects including construction of a North Clarksville water treatment plant.
Council members voted 11-2 to approve the rate increase. The two no votes came from Wallace Redd of Ward 4 and Trisha Butler of Ward 12.
The rate increase will be gradual, going up in stages. The average Clarksville resident can expect to pay an additional $3.14 per month as of July 1, with additional increases through 2024.
Council members approved an amendment to the original ordinance that adjusted the rates for industrial customers inside and outside the city of limits.
Gas & Water Director Mark Riggins said the increase has been “in the works for years” and that it clears the way for several important infrastructure projects, the largest of which is the new north Clarksville water treatment facility.
Water treatment plant moves forward
Council members approved an ordinance allowing Gas & Water to obtain easements for construction of the treatment plant through imminent domain. That measure passed first reading 10-3, with the no votes from Ward 5’s Jason Knight, Ward 8’s Wanda Allen and Butler.
The council also approved the issuance, sale and payment of up to $240 million in revenue bonds and up to $65 million in revenue refunding bonds for the plant. Council members voted unanimously to approve the issuance of bonds for the project.
The city previously purchased land for the plant on Barge Point Road, which is on the Cumberland River downstream from downtown, the confluence with the Red River and Trice Landing. The project has already received $6.8 million for the purchase as well as design, construction and management.
Completion of the project will cost an estimated $138 million, according to city spokesperson Richard Stevens.
The city’s first and only other Water Treatment Plant is at the end of Pumping Station Road, off the U.S. 41A Bypass, drawing from the Cumberland River just upstream from the Conservation Club docks.
Last month, Riggins told council members the new plant will provide increased capacity, as well as much needed redundancy, to Clarksville’s water supply. He said the project effectively “future-proofs” Clarksville Gas & Water.
Riggins said the rate increase will also allow Gas & Water to move forward with a planned $70 million sewage treatment system. The system includes state-of-the-art sludge-drying equipment, opening up new possibilities for waste disposal and taking pressure off of Bi-County Landfill.
Correction: A previous version of this article should have said the water treatment plant has already received $6.8 million for the purchase of land as well as design, construction and management. Completion of the project will cost an estimated $138 million.