On the eve of Bass Pro Shops' July 13 grand opening in East Ridge, there's renewed concern about whether a years-old sewer moratorium will keep the greater Exit 1 renaissance from happening.
Too much storm and groundwater enters the Hamilton County Water and Wastewater Treatment Authority-managed sewer system in the area of the city around Exit 1. Aging sewer lines and infrastructure are broken in some places underground, allowing water to seep in, claiming capacity. Some residences have guttering tied into the sewer lines, funneling additional storm water into the system. And even outdated and missing manhole covers play a part in the infill and water infiltration.
WWTA officials say they're working on increasing sewer capacity in and around Exit 1.
But the clock is ticking for East Ridge.
The city is nearly halfway through the 10-year investment window of the once-in-a-lifetime Border Region Retail Tourism Development District tax incentive program, which allows the city and developers to reap tax incentives for bringing major retail, commercial and tourism developments to the state.
And with approximately $10 million or more in public money tied up or committed to the redevelopment of Exit 1, East Ridge needs the border region program to take off and succeed. But that can only happen when the sewers are fixed.
"If nothing is done, it could very well delay, or if it pushes it out too far, then potentially put some of the additional development in jeopardy," said East Ridge Mayor Brent Lambert.
Wolftever Development, a local firm headed by John Healy, Matt Wood and Ethan Wood, is completing work now on an 85,000-square-foot, roughly $30 million Bass Pro Shops store just off Exit 1. It's designed to anchor a greater, 50-acre development costing between $70 million and $100 million.
The greater Jordan Crossing development calls for retail stores, hotels and restaurants, and "that definitely is going to require a lot more sewer capacity and obviously a lot more customers tying on," Lambert said.
Though magnified under the pending grand opening of Bass Pro Shops, sewer capacity is not a new concern for East Ridge.
Lambert said city leaders have been seeking to get the moratorium lifted for years. In 2012, frustrated with the moratorium, Lambert proposed pulling East Ridge out of the WWTA and having the city take back its sewer.
The vote failed 3-2 at the city level.
And since then, East Ridge and the WWTA have engaged one another in a lawsuit, and since settled, over street cut repairs and fees. Lambert said a lot of discussion between East Ridge and WWTA officials has happened behind closed doors over the moratorium.
Tim Boyd, District 8 county commissioner, represents East Ridge and said the moratorium in East Ridge is an urgent need.
With local border region incentive reimbursements only available until 2022, "we have a pretty short window to take advantage," he said.
"If we started today, five years is not a long time," Boyd said.
Boyd questioned why WWTA officials haven't addressed the burdened sewer issues in East Ridge before now, especially with the city uniquely poised to grow Exit 1.
"This (development opportunity) is it for us for a very, very long time," he said.
Boyd said the East Ridge sewer moratorium needs and deserves immediate action and a quick solution from WWTA leaders.
WWTA officials, meanwhile, say the public utility is already on the case, that solutions are soon-coming and that capacity may be added back to East Ridge sewers around Exit 1 as soon as two months from now.
WWTA has been conducting smoke tests in East Ridge since September of last year to find holes in the city's sewer lines. When holes are found, they can be patched and repaired.
Mark Harrison, interim executive director of WWTA, said a $7.3 million federal-state revolving fund grant recently announced for East Ridge sewer fixes will help expedite the process.
The moratorium, he said, is self-imposed by WWTA, but required of the utility under Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation regulation whenever a sewer area experiences five or more overflows in a certain time period.
He said WWTA is bound by TDEC regulation to uphold the moratorium.
Harrison said the short-term goal for East Ridge is to use the $7.3 million federal-state grant to repair broken sewer lines and lateral connections and reduce infill and infiltration from ground and storm water. That will increase capacity.
"This allows us to get rid of some (infill and infiltration) faster than we could have budgeted ourselves," he said.
Harrison said a current total working number for East Ridge fixes hovers around $10 million. He said the long-term strategy in East Ridge is to continue knocking down infill and ground water infiltration, and perhaps upgrading and upsizing when necessary and possible. The city's existing sewer system has the capacity to handle new Exit 1 development, if the infiltration is eliminated, he said.
Harrison cautiously predicted the moratorium could be lifted within 18 months to two years. Even if not, he said by shoring up broken lines, WWTA can increase Exit 1-area capacity enough to allow for new projects and developments to move in. The moratorium means new connections are "scrutinized," not necessarily impossible, he said.
"I do expect that we'll have performed enough rehab work to allow Exit 1 to construct its proposed development within two years," Harrison said.
Boyd, who is preparing a review and report on the WWTA to his fellow commissioners later this year, said the situation is urgent for East Ridge, but not yet dire.
"This is not unfixable," he said. "This is not an impossible situation."
Lambert, meanwhile, is optimistic in Harrison's 18-month to two-year timeline. He said a wave of new leadership at WWTA in recent years has moved the city and the sewer utility in a better direction than in the past.
"And that's to their credit," he said.
Lambert said it will hopefully take 18 months to complete improvements to the interchange at Exit 1 off Interstate 75, which will better move traffic in and out of Camp Jordan Parkway and Ringgold Road.
And if the sewer fixes happen at the same time, "that would be perfect timing," he said.
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.