Oak Ridge Today

City breaks ground on new water plant

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The City of Oak Ridge broke ground Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022, on its new water treatment plant on Pumphouse Road. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

The City of Oak Ridge broke ground Wednesday on its new water treatment plant, which could cost $78.3 million.

The new plant will use a technology known as ultrafiltration membranes, a type of purification that uses very fine membranes. It will be along the Clinch River at the city’s water intake off Pumphouse Road south of Bethel Valley Road.

“This plant provides every drop of water to our 31,000 residents from Elza Gate on the east, to the Preserve on the west, and to all (U.S. Department of Energy) facilities, most notably Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex, which will soon include the new Uranium Processing Facility,” said Oak Ridge Mayor Warren Gooch. “Our new plant will produce high-quality drinking water and deliver it through new pipelines more reliably and efficiently than current operations.”

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Oak Ridge Public Works director dies after short illness

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Shira McWaters

Oak Ridge Public Works Director Shira McWaters died Saturday after a short illness, the city said. She was 60.

“Today we have lost a colleague and a friend,” Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson said. “Our hearts are with Shira’s husband, children, and family as we share some small measure of their grief at the loss of this vibrant woman.”

McWaters, a civil engineer who had been working for a company in Arizona, was hired by the City of Oak Ridge as public works director in 2016. She started in March that year. She replaced former Public Works Director Gary Cinder, who retired in September 2015. The Public Works Department is responsible for much of the city’s essential infrastructure, from streets to drainage to water and wastewater. The department also maintains city-owned buildings and city vehicles and equipment.

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Garbage has to be brought to curb starting July 1

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The Waste Connections Convenience Center is pictured on Warehouse Road in east Oak Ridge on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 6:30 p.m.

With limited exceptions, garbage cans in Oak Ridge will have to be brought to the curb for the weekly pickup starting July 1, and there will be a $1.20 monthly fee increase for the waste disposal service.

The city’s previous 25-year contract is expiring, and the new contract will start July 1.

Unlike many cities, Oak Ridge has had a “backdoor pickup” garbage service for years, but that is ending. With that back door service, garbage would be picked up away from the curb—at a back door, for example.

Under the new contract, people with qualifying disabilities will still be eligible for backdoor garbage and recycling services. (More information is included below.)

As part of the contract change to curbside pickup, new large 95-gallon trash bins will be provided at no cost, a press release said.

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Updated: Crews repairing water main break

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Oak Ridge crews are repairing a water main break at the corner of Rutgers Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike, the city said Thursday afternoon, Aug. 13, 2020. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

Note: This story was updated at 12 p.m. Aug. 16.

Oak Ridge crews repaired a water main break at the corner of Rutgers Avenue and Oak Ridge Turnpike, the city said last week.

Just before 5 p.m. Thursday, the city said Oak Ridge Public Works crews were shutting valves to isolate the break. Crews could be repairing the main for the next several hours, the city said. Water was cut off for the Jimmy Johns and Home Federal Bank on the Oak Ridge Turnpike.

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Landslide repair could cost $400,000

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It could cost an estimated $407,000 to repair the landslide near the Oak Ridge Water Treatment Plant on Pine Ridge, city officials said Friday.

The water plant is on a ridge top above the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Bear Creek Road. The landslide occurred next to the access road to the water plant on Saturday night, February 23. It’s the only access road to the water plant. It allows operations and maintenance workers to get to the water plant and deliver materials, equipment, and chemicals.

Oak Ridge Public Works Director Shira McWaters said the city has been able to maintain access to the water plant using the inside lane of the access road and closing the outside lane, the one closest to the slide.

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Public Works director to discuss water, wastewater systems on Tuesday

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Oak Ridge Public Works Director Shira McWaters will discuss the needs and costs of the city’s water and wastewater systems at Lunch with the League on Tuesday. McWaters will also discuss the status of upgrades to the systems, a press release said.

Lunch with the League is scheduled from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, October 16, in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, which is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

McWaters was in the private consulting field for more than 22 years before she accepted the position with the City of Oak Ridge, the press release said. She helped municipal clients in the areas of water, wastewater, and storm water. McWaters has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Worchester Polytechnic Institute and holds professional engineering licenses for the states of Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Arizona. [Read more…]

Signal timing project would be eligible for 100 percent federal funds

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Oak-Ridge-Turnpike-South-Tulane-Dec-10-2015

The intersection of Oak Ridge Turnpike and Tulane Avenue is pictured above in this file photo from December 2015. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A $2.8 milion signal timing project that could affect traffic lights on Oak Ridge Turnpike would be eligible for 100 percent federal funding, according to a resolution to be considered by Oak Ridge City Council members on Monday.

The project, the second phase of a project to improve the city’s traffic signal system, could cost $2.86 million, and it would focus on 14 locations along a 2.7-mile section of Oak Ridge Turnpike between Illinois Avenue and Florida Avenue. It would include:

  • the installation of advanced traffic controllers at 11 intersections,
  • the installation of aerial and underground fiber optic cables to connect all 14 signals within the city’s existing fiber network,
  • the replacement of loop detectors with radar vehicle detection at stop lights, and
  • the establishment of a traffic operations center that would be located in the Oak Ridge Central Services Complex on Woodbury Lane to manage the signals.

In addition, the city would replace older existing traffic signal heads with LED signals that operate more efficiently, more reliably, and provide better visibility, according to a memo that accompanies the resolution and was written by Oak Ridge Public Works Director Shira McWaters. She said new pedestrian-accessible signals would be installed at appropriate locations along with new signing and pavement marking upgrades. And two signals would also be reconstructed to receive new mast arms. [Read more…]

Public Works director: Shifting soils can cause water line breaks

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An Oak Ridge Public Works Department crew repairs a broken water line underneath Northwestern Avenue near Nevada Circle at lunchtime Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. The crew here is supervised by Oak Ridge Public Works Department Utility Line Maintenance Crew Chief Michael Brown. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

An Oak Ridge Public Works Department crew repairs a broken water line underneath Northwestern Avenue near Nevada Circle at lunchtime Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018. The crew here is supervised by Oak Ridge Public Works Department Utility Line Maintenance Crew Chief Michael Brown, left. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Soils can shift during extended periods of cold weather, which can cause water lines to break, Oak Ridge Public Works Director Shira McWaters said Tuesday.

On Monday, Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson told City Council members that crews had responded to 35 water main breaks since January 1, an average of about five per day.

“It is not unusual for water systems (nationwide) to experience above-average breaks during extended cold weather periods when the ground starts to freeze and the subsequent thawing when warm weather returns,” McWaters said when asked about the water line breaks on Tuesday. “This is due to the shifting of soils that can cause the breaks.”

In Oak Ridge, the age of the municipal water system is a factor in the frequency of the breaks because many of the lines are older and reaching the end of their useful life, McWaters said. [Read more…]

One person dies, four injured in two-vehicle crash near UT Arboretum

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One person died and four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash involving a sedan and an SUV near the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, May 26, 2017, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

One person died and four people were injured in a two-vehicle crash involving a sedan and an SUV near the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, May 26, 2017, authorities said. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

One person died and four people were injured in the two-vehicle crash near the University of Tennessee Arboretum on South Illinois Avenue on Friday afternoon, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 2:47 p.m. Friday at Commerce Park Drive, which is across from the Arboretum.

The two vehicles involved were a sedan and a sport utility vehicle, the City of Oak Ridge said in a press release.

Three people were inside the sedan: two adults and one child. The adult passenger was killed. The adult driver and child passenger were injured.

Two adults inside the SUV were injured, the city said.

All of the victims were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. Two were taken by UT Lifestar medical helicopters and two by ambulance, the city said. The extent of their injuries and current conditions are unknown. Their identities haven’t been released. [Read more…]

New water plant could cost more than $40 million

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oak-ridge-water-treatment-alternatives

Building a new water treatment plant in Oak Ridge or rehabilitating the current one could cost between $43.1 million and $46.9 million, according to an evaluation of three alternatives prepared for the city by an engineering company. The three alternatives are show in the image above.

 

Building a new water treatment plant in Oak Ridge or renovating the current one could cost between $43.1 million and $46.9 million, according to an evaluation prepared for the city by an engineering company.

Three alternatives for renovating the existing water plant or building a new one were presented to the Oak Ridge City Council in October in an evaluation by Jacobs Engineering Group. The three options have different impacts on the raw water intake on the Clinch River in south Oak Ridge, an intermediate pump station at the Y-12 National Security Complex between the raw water intake and the existing water treatment plant, and the current 70-year-old plant, which is on Pine Ridge above Y-12.

The first alternative, which could cost $46.5 million, would rehabilitate the existing plant. It would continue to use the raw water intake, the intermediate pump station, and the water plant. It would include work at those three sites, as well as to the two underground lines that feed the water plant.

The rehabilitation would require mechanical and process equipment upgrades, pipeline replacement, electrical improvements, and slope stabilization.

The Jacobs evaluation said the building and basins at the existing plant are in good condition, and the facility works well at 8-12 million gallons per day. It has the two underground lines coming in and three going out, and two storage reservoirs on Pine Ridge, one of three million gallons and the other of four million gallons. [Read more…]

Power still out in some areas; trees, utility lines remain down

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Alhambra Road Power Outage July 8 2016

Utility lines were down after a large part of a tree fell on Alhambra Road in east Oak Ridge on Friday, July 8, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was updated at 12:30 a.m.

Power remained out in parts of Oak Ridge on Friday night after a severe storm blew through Friday evening, and the city said electricity might not be restored in some areas until Saturday.

In a brief statement Friday night, the city said it is still experiencing power outages in at least 17 known areas across town.

“Additional contract crews have been called in to try to get power in major areas up tonight,” the statement said. “Public Works crews are also out clearing downed trees and brush. Areas around Dana and Michigan have been hit especially hard with downed poles and lines in some places. Power in these areas may not be restored until tomorrow.”

The city urged residents to use extreme caution and avoid these areas. [Read more…]

Council to consider contract to evaluate water plant

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Oak-Ridge-Water-Treatment-Plant-2009-1

The Oak Ridge Water Treatment Plant is pictured on Pine Ridge above the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

The Oak Ridge City Council on Monday will consider hiring an engineering company to evaluate the city’s 70-year-old water plant. There are questions about whether Oak Ridge and the U.S. Department of Energy should continue to invest money in the water plant, build a new one at a new site, or consider other alternatives.

The Council on Monday will consider awarding a $98,250 contract to Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. of Knoxville to evaluate the plant. Jacobs Engineering has offices in Oak Ridge.

The city’s 1940s-era water treatment plant is on Pine Ridge above the Y-12 National Security Complex, and it provides water to businesses and residents of Oak Ridge, as well as to DOE.

“The plant is currently 70-plus years old and continues to show signs of aging despite efforts over the last 15 years to modernize and upgrade,” said Shira McWaters, the new Oak Ridge Public Works director. “Many of the plant’s assets are near or have exceeded their useful life cycle and require replacement or major rehabilitation.”

Discussions about the future of the current plant came up as the city and DOE negotiated a contract extension for water supplied to Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. [Read more…]