BWSC planned and engineered a 50-year solution to the water needs of Dickson County. Providing guidance over several years, BWSC pointed the way to consolidate several utility districts into a single regional authority and tap into the Cumberland River as a new source for the region. BWSC then engineered a new intake, pump station, 22 miles of transmission line, and a new 5-MGD plant (expandable to 15 MGD) equipped with submerged ultra-filtration hollow-fiber membrane technology. This was the first municipal plant in Tennessee to use membrane filtration. At the dedication, Congressman David Shepherd said, “We now have one plant [and] one water source for the whole county, and we’re going to be better off because of it.” The plant received an Award of Excellence from Rebuild Tennessee.

The plant, intake and pump station were linked by radio telemetry and a SCADA system for centralized operator control. Since each component of the project (plant, intake, pump station and transmission line) was constructed by a separate general contractor, the telemetry and SCADA equipment for the system was issued as a single construction contract to ensure compatibility throughout the system. Emergency power supply for the entire system was included to allow full water services operations during extended power outages.

Key points:
Regionalization of individual utilities
5-MGD plant, pump station, intake and 22 miles of 24-inch transmission line
System-wide radio telemetry and SCADA
First municipal use of membranes in Tennessee
Award of Excellence from Rebuild Tennessee