John Coffelt, Editor

A large section of pipe became lodged in a main sewer line near Manchester Rotary Park late in the afternoon on Sunday, Oct. 13, causing a backup that released an overflow into the Little Duck River.

A second, smaller overflow was reported Thursday, Oct. 17 that was caused by a rock that was later removed from the line.

Mayor Joey Hobbs said that as soon as crews responded to the incident the blockage had shifted to allow flow, alleviating the overflow.

“(Monday) we ran a camera down through there and found a piece of pipe that we have to get out,” Hobbs said. “By the time we all got down there on scene it had actually somehow unstopped itself.”

The Manchester Water and Sewer Department began working on the line Tuesday.  Until the debris is removed from the line and examined, the department will not know where the chunk originated. 

Hobbs said the incident was not related to the inflow and infiltration problems the city has that cause overflows at chronic manholes in the system.

The results of a $300,000 televising project of the interceptor lines are due Nov. 1, but initial video results show some problems with the lines near the soccer field. 

City Hall addresses social media concerns

Hobbs said much of what is posted on social media forums related to the wastewater plant and the collection system is inaccurate. 

“There was a post talking about the new line that was installed was cracked or broken,” Hobbs said. “That’s just false.”  

A recent post to the ManchesterTNforum on a thread about a foul odor at Dave King Park alleged that pipes were damaged during the river crossing project instillation near Gateway Tire. In 2020, the contractor walked off the job after a failed attempt at “bursting” the river crossing section. When the bypass pumps ran out of fuel, millions of gallons of sewage were released.

The post said that the subsequent repair was botched by the contractor that then missed either by the fulltime inspector. 

Those new sections of line near Gateway Tire are completely intact, according to Hobbs.

The problem, according the preliminary report from camera work done for the interceptor lines, is near there, but involves 20-year-old lines.

“We are going to have to do some repairs in there, but we can’t make heads or tails until we get the actual reports back,” Hobbs said.

Additionally, rumors that the sewer treatment plan is near capacity are untrue. While the plant is due for some much needed repairs, as long as it remains operational, even during large rain events, the plant can currently handle the system’s intake.

The Manchester wastewater plant has a capacity of 4.3 million gallons per day. The city is considering a long-term expansion project that would raise that to the maximum allowed by the state at the current discharge point in the Duck River, 6.9 MGD.

The expansion would cost about $55 million and take 57 months to complete.

In the meanwhile, the city has begun bidding on a $3 million basin project to address inflow and infiltration.

A second $2 million project has been sent for approval to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) to replace lines upstream of Skinner Flat Road.

That project will replace the hodgepodge of lines of various diameters with an 18-inch line going back across Interstate 24.

Those projects will be funded using American Recovery Act Funds.

The city has begun in-house camera work and smoke testing in Areas I and II that will address about 200,000 feet of sewer lines.

These tests will give the city an honest understanding of what’s causing some of the chronic overflows.

The city had gotten the number of overflow hotspots down to two, currently during the last rain event there were six overflows, with four that are chronic.

Sewer rehab takes time

Aging sewer infrastructure is a widespread problem affecting most small towns in the state. With each additional subdivision comes the addition of new lines that cities must maintain in perpetuity.

“I truly don’t think everybody understands the breath of what you’re talking about here,” Hobbs said. “I think everybody thinks, oh there’s just a line and we’re not doing our jobs here.”

“It’s amazing the (complexity of the system) for everybody to have sewer,” he said. “We are dedicated to fixing the problem.”

According to Hobbs, the city’s sewer problems are at the forefront of things he intends to accomplish during his time as mayor. That starts with gaining knowledge of the system to figure out what’s broken, what repairs can be done immediately and what will be a long-term project.

“We’re going to spend roughly $6 million upgrading our system but people think you can just go attack this overflowing manhole,” he said. “But what is causing it overflow?”

“We are not just accepting that we have manholes that overflow,” Hobbs said. “We meet every couple of weeks. We discuss every bit of this…”

During dry times, there are mostly problems in the system, but during heavy rain, then there are overflows due to inflow and infiltration.

Rainwater enters the system from sources that include roots breaking into the line, leaky connections, manholes that become submerged and even in some places storm drains that were connected to flow into the sewer.

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.