Kimball seeks more data on pump station

Friday, January 1, 1904

photo A proposed pump station that would supply water to Jasper Highlands could be built near this existing water tank along Timber Ridge Drive in Kimball.

KIMBALL, Tenn. - Town leaders say they need more information about a proposed pump station along Timber Ridge Drive that would supply water to the Jasper Highlands development before deciding whether to sell or lease the land.

"We don't have near enough information to even begin to make a decision," Alderman Mark Payne said.

Don Tabor, an engineer with CTI Engineers Inc., recently showed concept drawings of the construction plan to the Kimball mayor and aldermen.

The booster pump station would be assembled on a concrete slab near a tank that provides water to Kimball, Tabor said.

He said the pump station would use that tank to distribute water to the development on top of the mountain, as well.

Some residents have voiced concerns about the effects the pump station would have on the city's water pressure.

Chattanooga developer John "Thunder" Thornton said water pressure likely will be enhanced.

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South Pittsburg, which supplies the water to the tank in Kimball, required Thornton to install a pump that would double the capacity of that city's water leading to the tank.

Mayor David Jackson said he had some concerns after looking at the initial drawings, too, when he saw that water would flow back down to the tank through the same line it is pumped up the mountain.

"I think this would create a problem," he said. "My understanding was they were going to come from the water tank with a [new] line and not tie into the existing line."

Tabor said the design can be adjusted to suit the board.

Thornton could purchase private land near the tank to install the pump station, and he said he has been exploring that option.

"Today, right now, we do not have that option," he said. "We're still working on it."

Jackson said the board will hold a special work session to discuss the matter after more information is available.

The issue will on the agenda for the board's regular meeting on May 2.

"We're not going to do anything that would interfere with the service of our customers in town," Jackson said. "Our responsibility is to answer to the folks who live inside our corporate limits."

Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.