Tennessee bill letting private companies buy water utility districts worries some in Chattanooga area

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Children play in the stream in the plaza outside the Tennessee Aquarium. From back to front, Charlotte Smith and Audrey Smith play under the watch of their mother Amber Smith and grandmother Lou Ann Collier from Gadsden, Alabama. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd/ Children play in the stream in the plaza outside the Tennessee Aquarium. From back to front, Charlotte Smith and Audrey Smith play under the watch of their mother Amber Smith and grandmother Lou Ann Collier from Gadsden, Alabama.

By Mike Pare December 3, 2019 4 min read

A bill slated to come before Tennessee legislators early next year that would permit private companies such as Tennessee American Water to buy utility districts is drawing fire.

Utility districts across the state, including the nearly half dozen in Hamilton County through which thousands of people get their drinking water, are aligned against the bill.

But private companies such as Tennessee American, which supplies water to most of Chattanooga, said passage of the bill could lead to more reliable utility infrastructure, enable added access to capital for system improvements and create cost savings.

“Private utilities’ sole focus is on the service they provide to customers,” said Daphne Kirksey, external affairs manager for Tennessee American.

The bill is supported in the state House by Commerce Committee Chairman Timothy Hill, R-Blountville, and in the Senate by Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville.