The county utility districts began receiving water from the Greeneville Water Commission overnight, and county lines are slowly beginning to refill.
Greene County Mayor Kevin Morrison said that water will return much like it dried up – in different areas at different times. The valves supplying those county districts were opened at about 30% around 3AM to allow the pressure to build slowly. That amount will be increased as the system equalizes. You may see some hydrants or valves being opened to allow water to flow freely to help keep the pressures on the system within tolerable limits.
Residents are urged to continue to conserve water until the entire system is stabilized.
If there is a catastrophic failure or significant shock tot the system due to a break or other issues, the flow may have to be stopped again.
A BOIL ADVISORY remains in effect. Read more here on what that means and what you can and cannot do with water flowing from your taps.
Here are some updates specific to each utility.
Number of Customers by Population
Greeneville – 23,425 (10,400 meters)
Glen Hills – 15,812 (6,912 meters)
Chuckey – 14,128 (4,852 meters)
Old Knox – 9,280 (3,363 meters)
Cross Anchor – 8,607 (3,423 meters)
North Greene – 5,912 (2,300 meters)
Mosheim – 2,809 (772 meters)
Greeneville Water Commission should have most of their lines filled, pressurized, and delivering water. The intake station pumps continue to bring over 9 million gallons of water a day to the reservoir. That is a sufficient supply of water to operate the filtration and treatment plant and to supply the county districts. The reservoir has returned to required levels to sustain operations. Storage tanks have also refilled to a necessary capacity to allow sending water to the county districts.
Glen Hills Utility District began pressurization of their system around 3:00 AM. Director Chris Myers said their crews would be out around the clock working to restore water to their customers. Supply lines to the system, storage tanks, and distribution lines will take some time to completely refill. They thanked their customers for their patience and understanding during the restoration efforts. A leak in a line has caused customers in the Poplar Springs and Cedar Creek areas to still be without water. Glen Hills supplies a large part of the county south of the river through supply lines on Jones Bridge and Bird’s Bridge. The line at Jones Bridge is underneath the bridge and has been inaccessible. When Bird’s Bridge was closed, crews were not been able to get on that bridge to do any repairs or inspections. Both lines appeared to be intact and were holding water as it began to flow this morning. They will keep their customers updated at their website at glenhillsutility.com.
Chuckey Utility District and Cross Anchor Utility Districts also began receiving water from Greeneville. Chuckey Utility’s line was severed when the Kinser Bridge collapsed into the river. A temporary 12″ line is being built and will be pulled across and anchored to the river bed temporarily to supply water from the Erwin Highway end of their system. That line would serve customers in the Horse Creek, Middle Creek, and surrounding areas. As of right now, those areas will remain without water. There is no time frame on that line being back in service, but crews are working as hard and as fast as they can to get that water service restored.
A middle Tennessee company, West Wilson Utilities Boring, continues their boring operation under the river at Earnest Bridge. They are drilling six feed underneath the river at Earnest Bridge and will bore a hole capable of holding a 13″ supply line to feed that end of their district. This line will also take a few more days to complete. In the meantime, Chuckey has temporarily laying on top of the closed Earnest Bridge completed a permanent connection to the Jonesborough Water Department to supply water to the Clark’s Creek and South Central areas. to supply water. You can find their updates at the Chuckey Utility District webpage and at the Cross Anchor Utility District webpage.
Old Knox Utility District and the Town of Mosheim Water Department did not report any significant problems to their lines due to any damage. Old Knox General Manager Jonathan Stepp said that their 500,000 gallon tank did run dry but was being refilled and that all customers should start seeing some water come through their lines. The pressure will build back to normal levels slowly. Stepp said that the area around Exit 23 was able to continue to operate as the system was able to get water supplied from the Russellville Whitesburg Utility District.
North Greene Utility District only had about 15-20% of their customers without water.
They also began receiving water and refilling storage tanks and will move the water through their system as it stabilizes in pressure.
