Image Credit: Gabe Howard & City of Columbia, TN – Government / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By David Seal] –
Critics of Columbia, Tennessee’s water pipeline project are warning citizens to oppose the vote on a 500-million-dollar water intake project.
Activists are warning that utility rates will dramatically increase, debt created by the project would tax citizens and ratepayers for decades to come, and that additional stress will be placed on the endangered Duck River.
A Maury County Commissioner took to social media on December 5th stating in part,
“PAUSE & PLAN — BEFORE WE MAKE A $500+ MILLION MISTAKE”
“Over the last few months, I’ve spoken repeatedly about one central truth: Maury County and the City of Columbia are growing faster than our infrastructure was ever designed to handle. And when growth outpaces planning, two things happen every time:
1 – Long-timers get stuck with the bill, and
2 – We lock ourselves into decisions that aren’t sustainable for the next generation.
That’s exactly where we are with the proposed $500+ million [Columbia Power and Water System] CPWS Duck River water intake expansion.” – said Gabe Howard, Maury County Commissioner
Howard is asking concerned residents to contact the Columbia City Council and oppose the $500,000.00 pipeline project. The Columbia City Council web link and contact page is provided here.
A Maury County utility official also commented on the water crisis as follows for this news report.
“Columbia Power and Water System is proposing a 149% rate increase for the rate payers in Maury County for a $520 Million water intake and treatment facility project that will only produce an additional 12.5 million gals of water per day, 7 Million of which will be directed to Spring Hill, leaving the rest of the citizens of Maury County 5.5 Million gallons per day. Maury County Water System has a project underway that is capable of producing 7 million gallons per day for approximately $51 Million, 1/10 the cost. So, seven individuals will be making a decision that could negatively impact 133,000 residents.” – said Jason Gilliam, Board Member, Maury County Water System
To see Commissioner Howard’s full post on the issue, a link is provided here.
For background on the water issue in the Columbia region, links are provided here:
About the Author: David Seal is a retired Jefferson County educator, recognized artist, local businessman, 917 Society Volunteer, and past Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Party. He has also served Jefferson County as a County Commissioner and is a citizen lobbyist for the people on issues such as eminent domain, property rights, education, and broadband accessibility on the state level. David is also a 2024 winner of The Tennessee Conservative Flame Award & has received an accolade from the Institute For Justice for successfully lobbing the TN legislature to protect property rights. David can be reached at david@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
