Q. What is the Long-Term Water Supply Program?

A. The Long-Term Water Supply Program (LTWSP) is a critical activity that has been ongoing for more than 10 years to ensure Columbia Power & Water Systems (CPWS) is able to improve resiliency, increase reliability, and provide redundancy for our local water supply. This Program includes expansion of our source water supply from 20 to 32 million Gallons per Day (MGD) to meet the demands of growth and includes treatment and conveyance projects designed to ensure reliable, consistent and affordable water to all our customers for many years to come. The LTWSP currently includes several projects necessary to meet the near-term source water expansion as follows:

• Downstream Intake – Construction of a new raw water intake on the Duck River 34 river-miles downstream of the current intake

• Raw Water Pump Station – Construction of a pump station to convey raw water from the downstream intake to the existing water treatment plant

• Raw Water Transmission Main – Construction of a 16.5-mile transmission main from the pump station to the existing water treatment plant in Columbia

• Treatment Plant Expansion – Expansion of the existing water treatment plant from 20 MGD to 32 MGD capacity using state-of-the-art membrane treatment technology

Q. Why is the LTWSP necessary?

A. Currently, our water system has a single raw water intake location on the Duck River and a single water treatment plant (WTP), both permitted at 20 MGD capacity.  Expansion of the source water intake and WTP are necessary as peak water demands are nearing the permitted capacity of the system.  Relocation of the primary raw water intake from its current point in downtown Columbia to a point 34 river-miles downstream is required by State and Federal environmental permitting agencies due to concerns over endangered species in the stretch of river through Columbia.

 Q. Are the ongoing distribution system upgrades part of this project?

A. No. The $80 million in projects for distribution system upgrades are maintenance projects on the current system and are not in correlation with the LTWSP expansion projects.

Q. Where will construction take place?

A. The Downstream Intake will be located near the Williamsport community on the western edge of Maury County.  A 16.5-mile raw water transmission main will be constructed through both rural and urban areas to the expanded Water Treatment Facility in Columbia off Nashville Highway.  The water treatment plant expansion is on property adjacent to the current CPWS Water Treatment Facility.

Q. How much will the LTWSP cost?

A. The cost of the Program is expected to be around $520 million. With $280 million of the Program cost being for relocation of the primary raw water intake to the downstream location.

Q. What are the funding strategies for the LTWSP?

A. CPWS is exploring options at the local, state and national levels for funding the project. The Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program has approved the project and is expected to be part of the funding loan strategy.  The State Revolving Fund (SRF) program has budgeted a $135 million loan for the Program. CPWS is pursuing additional programs to meet the balance of the project funding needs.

 Q. How long will construction last?

A. Construction is expected to begin in early 2026 with a completion date around the beginning of summer 2029.

Q. Will my water supply be interrupted or affected?

A. There may be interruptions in service for brief period and all reasonable efforts will be made to perform these activities outside of peak usage times.

 Q. How will I be notified of any disruptions?

A. While various notification tools will be used, the best way to stay abreast of any changes of pending interruptions will be via this project website.

 Q. How will this LTWSP affect the Duck River?

A. Over the past decade, a variety of investigations and studies were conducted by CPWS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and related stakeholders.  The findings concluded that the Downstream Intake project will be a net benefit to the river eco-system by relocating the withdrawal point downstream of the more environmentally sensitive areas near Columbia.  The new intake will also be located downstream of the outfall from the Columbia Wastewater Treatment Plant which provides opportunity to recapture and re-use that treated, clean water.   

Q. Does this mean we don’t need another long-term solution?

A. Not necessarily. This LTWSP is an expansion to meet the immediate and near-future needs of our community.  However, the Downstream Intake component of the Program pairs well with the other long-term source water supply solutions being considered, particularly with the ability to recapture and re-use treated effluent from the Columbia Wastewater Treatment Plant. As source water usage grows, the corresponding increase in effluent discharge can be captured and re-used to lower the overall demand for new source water volume.

Q. How long will the Downstream Intake provide enough water?

A. The jump from our current capacity to the full 32mgd won’t happen immediately, but rather over time as both the area grows and regionalization of water needs become more necessary. Projections from previous studies suggest CPWS would not meet or exceed the threshold for 25 to 30 years.

Q: Is it really the only option?

A. It’s the only option that’s fully permitted, fully designed, and ready to start construction on a schedule that delivers reliability in this decade. Other ideas can be studied, but they aren’t in that ready-to-build posture today. This is a unique project that doesn’t foreclose other opportunities to enhance regional water sustainability and reliability. In fact, it would dovetail nicely with the other proposals folks are raising. The only other hypothetical project that has taken that very first step of a feasibility study is the proposal for a Cumberland River pipeline. It’s three times as expensive and — best-case scenario — would not be completed until four years later than our shovel-ready intake project.

Q: What about the idea of a new regional water authority?

A. We can debate ideas forever, but we can’t gamble with water. The situation demands a timely and certain response, not wishful speculation of unproven alternatives or punting to a hypothetical regional water authority that does not exist. Moving forward with this project doesn’t preclude the ability for us to have some kind of regional authority later. Moving forward with the project now mitigates risk now. We need to mitigate that risk as a responsible steward of the river and our customers.

A hypothetical regional water authority wouldn’t magically create more water or lower costs by itself — let alone deliver a permitted, financeable and on-time solution faster than what’s already shovel-ready. What it mainly changes is governance and control. It would typically set a wholesale “cost-of-service” rate and allocate costs across multiple distributors (CPWS, Spring Hill, MCWS, etc.). That can add another layer of administration and can shift decision-making away from local boards/councils.

Today, CPWS already functions as a regional provider. CPWS sells wholesale water at a cost-of-service rate (currently $3.75 per 1,000 gallons to wholesale customers). Zero markup.

Q: Why do it now?

A: Because the risk is real and the risk doesn’t wait. Because this kind of infrastructure takes years to permit, design, and build—and we’re at the point where we have approvals, design, and a real construction window. Delaying a shovel-ready plan doesn’t reduce risk; it extends it. And every month of delay adds $1.8 million to the price tag. As professional engineers with ethical obligations, we cannot in good conscious endorse further delays that leave us hanging out on this limb longer than necessary — especially if the justification for that is to explore hypothetical concepts that we know would take many more years to build at exponentially higher cost.

The plan in front of council reflects the culmination of 25 years of study by federal, state, regional and Maury County partners and agencies. It reflects a decade of work by Columbia Power and Water. We can’t afford to kick this can any farther down the road. The risk is real and costs only rise. At this point, ‘pausing and planning’ isn’t just unnecessary overkill, it’s the riskiest and most expensive approach.