The source of our water, which is surface water, is Watts Bar Lake- Kings Creek Embayment. The Utility has three raw water pumps which pump water from the lake into the plant for treatment. These pumps were upgraded in 2022.
Our water plant produces an average of 2.6 MGD for our system and three other neighboring systems that have agreements to purchase water from our plant. The plant has a capacity of 6.0 MGD if needed. Roane Central Utility District, North Rhea Utility District and City of Kingston all have wholesale agreements to purchase water. Rockwood Water Plant is the primary water source for Roane Central Utility District and a partial source for North Rhea Utility District. The connection with the City of Kingston provides a backup resource in the event of an emergency or increased demand.
The utility has five full-time employees and one part-time operator assigned to the water treatment plant. Four of these operators are Grade 4 certified water treatment plant operators.
Our plant is in operation seven days a week throughout the year. The plant is under the direction of a licensed operator at all times it is in operation. On average, the plant is operating ten to eleven hours a day.
Our distribution system consists of approximately 77 miles of pipe serving over 4,000 accounts for a total served population of over 10,000. The distribution system is maintained by our operations personnel in close cooperation with the treatment plant. The utility has four full time personnel licensed in distribution and several other employees in training for certification.
Both treatment plant staff and field personnel are committed to delivering high quality water to all the customers. All water production and distribution activities are conducted based upon stringent regulations by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the Environmental Protection Agency. All certified personnel are required to completed continuing education requirements in order to maintain licensure. All of our certified personnel exceed the required training in order to ensure that we achieve above the minimum requirements for our customers.