Record Rains, Record Flooding - Middle TN Towns Losing Water, Sewage Service As Water Buries Systems

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A number of water main breaks and sewage treatment problems are being reported across Middle Tennessee. According to, Tisha Calabrese-Benton, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, water main breaks in the city of Brentwood and Humphreys and Maury counties are threatening fresh water supplies to local residents.

In Rutherford County, four sewer lift stations, which help transport waste water to the treatment plan, have been engulfed by flood waters. In Hickman County, the city water has shut down and state emergency management officials are working to deliver generators to restart power. Calabrese-Benton said state officials will also work with local municipalities to deliver drinking water, if necessary. Health officials caution residents to stay away from flood waters and wash hands often.

Although the rain may have stopped, some parts of already swollen rivers and creeks in the Nashville area could crest Monday before starting to subside, causing a safety hazard with flooding, debris and sewage. The Harpeth River, Mill Creek and Richland Creek are moving record amounts of water that eventually dump into the Cumberland River, which is expected to rise to an estimated 48 feet Monday. By Sunday afternoon, the Cumberland had risen to 46.61 feet in downtown Nashville, with water lapping about 20 feet over Riverfront Park Deck and submerging parts of the Ghost Ballet sculpture near LP Field. Downstream flooding could worsen in Clarksville Monday and Tuesday where already the river had exceeded flood stage on Sunday by more than 7 feet.

The U.S. Corps of Engineers also is releasing record amounts of water from Old Hickory Lake into the Cumberland, 150,000 cubic feet per second, exceeding the March 1975 record. “There is no comparison to anything we have ever done before,” said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hydraulic engineer Hershel Whitworth. “The (Old Hickory Lock and Dam) is in no danger of failing, but releasing too much water would lead to flooding which would knock the dam out of service and limit our ability to regulate short-term flow.”

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http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100502/NEWS/100502040