Jasper mayor Billy SimpsonJASPER, Tenn. – City administrators and employees got some welcome news recently about the Jasper water system.
The town scored 99 out of a possible 100 on its yearly state inspection, officials said.
Chattanooga Environmental Field Office Manager Gary Burriss said the inspection was performed on Sept. 14 and “with this score, the system will remain among Tennessee’s approved public water supplies.”
Mayor Billy Simpson said state officials don’t hand out scores of 100, and this was the highest score the town ever has received on a water system inspection.
“We must be doing something right,” he said. “Our hats are off to [the water department employees]. They are doing a tremendous job … I just can’t say enough about them.”
Alderman Paul Evans noted some of the deficiencies listed in the report and said, “If we don’t address these things, we’re going to be back in the same situation we were before with the sewer plant.”
“As good as it was, it could’ve been better,” he said.
City officials agreed some maintenance is needed on the water tank storage unit on the ridge above the filter plant, and the town’s flushing program needs to be improved.
Time and staff availability always are factors with any of the minor deficiencies the inspection found, Simpson said.
“With the limited number of employees we have, I think we did pretty well,” he said.
Simpson said the next goal is to make sure Jasper maintains its high score.
“We’ll continue striving forward and keep working so that we can do as well or better on the next inspection,” he said. “It’s hard to get much better than a 99, though.”
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.