A draft image of what a sewer system holding tank could look like on Emory Valley Road. The proposal could change based on input from Oak Ridge City Council members. (Image courtesy City of Oak Ridge)
To the Editor:
Having attended many meetings (City Council, EQAB, budget), I understand the rationale behind building the holding tanks proposed for the city. I have heard about gravity, clay soil, pumps, federal fines, tax increases, rate increases, rate increases, and the following year, rate increases. I have looked long and hard at the giant holding tank in Knox County on the road leading from Middlebrook Pike to Sam’s (it’s on the right) and looked at maps of the city to ascertain alternate locations. I also picked up a copy of the rate study at the Council work session Monday night.
I really hate to say it, but I think the city has gotten it right. It’s one of those “death and taxes” things. However, I would like to propose a solution to the “big, white, ugly blight on the landscape” inevitability. Let’s start out by painting all of them green. In Oak Ridge that is the best camouflage color.
Then, let’s sponsor a contest to design and over-paint each of them in the best city-scape-rain barrel-trompe l’oeil tradition and invite all the universities, colleges, schools, and any other groups to submit designs to a judging committee. The three winning groups then proceed to paint the ugly things in a manner that exemplifies all the good things about the city and the region. The winning groups also provide their own paint and artists. Let’s bring the community together from the very beginning rather than trying to justify the unjustifiable.
Pat Fain
Oak Ridge
David A. Vudragovich says
Pat, I am not as well versed in the sewer problem as you but is there not a way we could spend money instead fixing a part of the current system so we do not have the run off/over flow? Or will the holding tanks still be of use once the sewers are eventually updated? My wondering is if we build the tanks and use them for the next 3-8 years, will they be obsolete and unneeded afterwards? (a permanent structure but of no use?) Thanks!
pat fain says
too technical for me in some areas… however, it is my understanding that the tanks are in lieu of repairing all sewer lines due to high/prohibitive cost of repairs… this model is used in knoxville who were consulted on this…. I believe these are part of a permanent solution
Pat
Ellen Smith says
The problem is that holes and cracks in the sewer lines — including laterals to people’s houses — let rain water leak into the sewers. That greatly increases sewer flow after a storm, sometimes leading to overflows.
It probably is technically feasible to patch all of the holes, but the cost of doing that would be incredibly large, so it’s not financially feasible. In the early 1990s, the city staff started a campaign to seal the holes in the system. They managed to drastically reduce the problem of overflows, but not eliminate it — because expenditures of $1M to $1.5M per year (all that city leadership thought the city could afford) weren’t enough to do that.
The city’s response to the EPA order includes some big expenditures to reduce leaks by lining sewer mains, replacing manholes, etc. However, it will cost many times less to build these tanks to store some of the extra water than it would cost to repair all of the leaks in the sewers. As Pat indicated in her reply, these tanks are considered to be part of a permanent solution to the problem.
johnhuotari says
Thank you for the additional info, Ellen.
Peter Scheffler says
I like the idea of the murals. Another idea is to put hand-and footholds on them and use them as rock climbing structures (assuming the liability issues can be solved).
johnhuotari says
Another interesting idea. I don’t know if it’s feasible, but I find it encouraging that people are trying to turn these tanks into assets.
johnhuotari says
Peter,
I mentioned your idea to the city manager during an interview on another subject today, and he said some places do things like that. However, he didn’t seem to think these tanks would be large enough, and he did bring up the liability issue.
Angi Agle says
I love the murals idea! One has only to peruse the street painting festival, the art center, or hallways of our schools to see the talent available in this town. The tanks are large and ugly, but decorating them with art could turn a liability into an asset.
Let’s do this.