Lill Coker voices concerns to the Chattanooga City Council over a proposed wastewater overflow tower planned for Hickory Valley Road.Some Tyner-area residents say they're worried about possible odors from a planned sewage overflow tower near the Hickory Brook subdivision.
Chattanooga Public Works officials say the tower, described as a "wet weather storage facility," will stop wastewater overflows into Friar Branch and isn't likely to smell bad.
The Chattanooga City Council plans to vote Tuesday on the $81,000 purchase of the proposed tower site at 2455 Hickory Valley Road.
In recent meetings, those for and against the purchase addressed the council.
"We want to know, if things are not done in the way we were told they would be done, what recourse do we have?" Lill Coker asked. Coker's family owns farmland near the planned tower site.
Jack Sample, Coker's neighbor, said people in the four adjoining subdivisions want to know the maintenance requirements for the facility and whether the city has considered possible damage to property values. He asked that residents be allowed to share input and for all parties to work together for a satisfactory resolution.
"I've received a lot of questions about this," Councilwoman Carol Berz, who represents the community, said in a separate Public Works and Transportation Committee meeting.
Mike Patrick, director of the Waste Resources Division of Chattanooga Public Works, said the facility will store diluted wastewater, but not all the time.
"We won't use the facility during dry weather, which is the highest odor time," Patrick said. "We will only use it in extreme wet weather events."
The tower's design incorporates odor control measures including carbon filters, he said. The city's other wastewater facilities use similar measures.
Patrick estimated the chance of an odor leak at less than 25 percent.
"I do not believe odor will be an issue; however, we have a provision for that just in case," Patrick said.
The project is part of Chattanooga's comprehensive program to eliminate or significantly reduce sewage overflows, mandated through a 2013 agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
On Thursday, Berz said in a phone interview that Public Works Administrator Justin Holland planned to meet with residents to address concerns about the project.
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@times freepress.com. Follow on Twitter @pleach_tfp.