Bon Aqua-Lyles Utility District (BALUD) is working with Water Authority of Dickson County (WADC) to develop a plan for serving long-term needs of the area it serves.
The utility has room to grow, with use of about 750,000 gallons a day on its 1.3
Million gallons permit to draw from Piney River, said BALUD Manager Brad Barnes.
Another 1 million a day is available through an agreement with the Dickson utility; the neighboring system supplies about 5 percent of Bon Aqua-Lyles annual usage.
But things are changing, Barnes said. “We all know the growth is coming, residential and industrial,” the utility manager said. “We can really tell the growth.”
Barnes said new users are coming on across the system, which runs from Pinewood across to the Williamson and Dickson county lines, with more than 3,700 customers.
More specifically, Barnes said residential growth seems to be picking up from where it left off nearly a decade ago, though not in new subdivisions. “There were a lot of vacant lots” in several residential developments from that time. “That’s where I can see it starting to fill up now.”
Meeting on July 20, the BALUD board agreed to jointly fund the long-term study. The analysis will include a hydraulic study, which will show how the system’s water flows through its 160 miles of line, identifying areas that need improvements.
Barnes said the study also will take into account anticipated industrial needs—including the so-called Thompson property, on Highway 100 near North Tidwell Road, being studied by the county industrial board for possible purchase.
“We want to be able to meet the need,” Barnes said.
Meeting July 20, the three member Bon Aqua-Lyles board agreed to share the cost of the study, said board member Mike Capps; work on it will begin in August.
Barnes said the Dickson utility is doing a larger review of its entire system as it prepares to upgrade. The Water Authority of Dickson County also offers sewage treatment services, and has been meeting with Hickman county Officials on that subject regarding the possibility of expanding service in East Hickman area.
Source: Hickman County Times
