Crossville’s Water Future: What’s at Stake

On November 3, registered voters in the City of Crossville will decide whether to authorize the City Council to transfer specified City-owned water and sewer properties to the Cumberland Plateau Water Authority (CPWA).

A YES vote would authorize—but not require—the Council to approve a transfer later. A NO vote would keep that authority from being granted while Crossville continues working on its long-term water needs.

We are Obed Watershed Community Association, Concerned Citizens of Cumberland County, Statewide Organizing for Community Empowerment and Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning.  We are encouraging a NO vote because important questions about rates, local control, infrastructure and future water supply remain unanswered.

This Decision Affects More Than City Residents

Crossville’s water system serves customers both inside and outside the city and is an important part of the broader Cumberland County water supply. But only registered voters who live within the City of Crossville can vote in the referendum.

That means many county residents who depend on this water system may be affected by what happens but have no vote in the decision.

Whether you live in Crossville or elsewhere in Cumberland County, we want to hear from you. Please take our short survey and tell us what matters most to you about the future of the region’s water.

What Will Happen to Rates—and Who Will Make the Decisions?

CPWA argues that regionalization can spread costs among more customers, improve borrowing capacity and reduce future rate pressure. Those potential benefits deserve serious consideration.

But Crossville would also be transferring substantial public assets and moving from a system ultimately controlled by an elected City Council to one governed by a regional appointed board. Crossville would have representation on that board, but it would no longer have sole control of its water and sewer system.

Before that happens, ratepayers deserve a clear, independently reviewed comparison of the costs of remaining independent versus joining CPWA—including water and sewer operations, infrastructure, debt and future water-supply needs.

The consequences also reach beyond the water plant. Crossville’s water and sewer operations are integrated with other City functions, including billing and collections, engineering, finance and administration. Those relationships—and the cost of separating them—should be fully understood before a transfer occurs.

Before We Look for More Water, Let’s Understand the Water We Are Losing

Water loss is a significant issue for Crossville and other county water systems. There is substantial month-to-month variation. Before investing in expensive new sources of water, let’s determine how much water is being lost, where those losses occur, what it would cost to repair them, and how much additional usable water could be recovered.

The cheapest gallon of new water may be the gallon we stop losing.

Where Will Future Water Come From?

For more than 30 years, proposals for meeting future water demand on the Cumberland Plateau have included dams affecting tributaries of the Obed Wild and Scenic River. A proposed Clear Creek water-supply dam was studied as far back as the 1990s.

Today, Clear Creek and Daddy’s Creek have again been discussed among possible future water sources. Both are part of the nationally protected Obed River system.

A new dam below Meadow Park Lake has also been proposed.  Crossville and Cumberland County should address their real long-term water needs—but before considering any new dam, the community should fully examine water-loss reduction, conservation, infrastructure improvements and other less damaging alternatives.

A NO Vote Is Not a Vote to Do Nothing

A NO vote keeps Crossville’s options open.

It gives the community time to obtain reliable numbers, understand the financial and operational consequences of a merger, reduce water loss, consider conservation, and evaluate future water-supply alternatives before transferring control of an essential public resource.

If you live in Crossville, vote NO on November 3.

If you live anywhere in Cumberland County, please take our survey. Your vote may depend on where you live—but your stake in the region’s water future does not.