New Lakeland Sewer Plant starts

Construction has started on the new Lakeland Wastewater Treatment Plant. Construction is expected to take approximately 18 months.

The capacity of the plant is 2.25 million gallons per day (mgd) of wastewater, which will significantly increase the capacity of the current plant. (While the rated capacity of the exisitng plant is 1.0 mgd, to meet the discharge standards, the city operates the current plant at a lesser capacity to meet discharge standards.) The new plant is needed to meet Tennessee Department of Environmental Quality (TDEQ) regulations on treatment of wastewater. Treated wastewater from the plant is discharged into the Loosahatchie River.

The plant is not expected to increase sewer fees for Lakeland residents, other than a planned $1.00 per month fee increase every five years, which also includes the operational cost of the plant.

The City reviewed a number of options before deciding on this alternative. The alternatives included a decision on the size of the plant, location of the plant and a possible inter-local agreement to jointly build and operate a sewer treatment plant. The City decided on the current project after reviewing the alternatives.

One alternative considered was a joint plant with our neighboring cities, especially Arlington, since the Town of Arlington is also currently constructing a wastewater treatment plant. However, the cost of “pumping” the wastewater to the Arlington site, and the savings associated with the City being able to utilize the current site and parts of the current system, made the current project the most financially feasible alternative for Lakeland residents.