JOHN COFFELTEditor

A letter from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has been sent to the city of Manchester dated April 30 that instructs the city to enforce a self-imposed moratorium on certain new connections to the system.

The letter said that “review of existing collection system records indicates that from March 15, 2024, through April 8, 2024, Manchester’s wastewater collection system exceeded five releases/overflows at two manholes: A39 and A43.”

Based on that, The Division of Water Resources has determined that chronic overflow conditions exist at A39 and A43 in Manchester’s collection system.

The state said that within 30 days, the city shall inform the Division in writing of the process to be implemented to enforce the moratorium. It calls for a list of all connections that have been approved by the City of Manchester as of the date of this letter to be included.

In order to remove this moratorium, the city must have approved an engineering report and construction plans for correction of the problem; have the correction work underway and cumulative, peak-design flows potentially added from new connections and line extensions upstream of any chronic sanitary sewer overflow or release point are less than or proportional to the amount of inflow and infiltration removal documented upstream from that point.

Mayor Marilyn Howard told the Times that the city is working on the problem.

“It will take time and money,” she said. “It has always been my stance that though we welcome growth it is our duty to serve the citizens who have lived here for years and repair old lines that cause overflows that are around their homes.”

She said that the city has performed smoke testing, running camera through the lines and prioritizing what is the best use of available funds.

“We are doing our best to fix these manholes that become chronic above five overflows,” Howard said.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.