Date
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Time
8:45 AM - 9:15 AM
Location Name
Ballroom C
Name
Wet Weather Storage Facility Construction Challenges in Clarksville, Tennessee
Track
Collections
Description
The City of Clarksville, Tennessee is among the fastest growing cities in the United States with a population growth of 15% over the last five years. In both 2022 and 2023, Clarksville led all Tennessee cities in year-over-year population growth. This rapid population growth places added strain on existing wastewater collection system infrastructure that is already aging and in some cases in need of repair.
One particular area of concern within the Clarksville collection system was the New Meadowbrook sewer sub-basin. The sewers in the New Meadowbrook sub-basin are aging and susceptible to inflow/infiltration (I/I) and wet weather sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). The sub-basin included two constructed overflows. The two constructed overflows included flow monitors for reporting purposes, and according to SSO reports, between 2011 and 2018, five to fifteen wet weather SSOs occurred per year at the constructed overflows with a volume ranging from a few thousand gallons to several hundred thousand gallons per event. Clarksville Gas & Water and Gresham Smith evaluated the New Meadowbrook sewer sub-basin and determined that a wet weather storage facility was the best solution to mitigate SSOs. Construction of the New Meadowbrook Wet Weather Storage Facility began in April 2021, and the project reached Substantial Completion in November 2023. The facility includes a diversion structure, equalization pump station, and a 1.25 million gallon prestressed concrete wastewater storage tank.
The focus of this presentation will be construction challenges associated with the New Meadowbrook Wet Weather Storage Facility. The major construction challenges are summarized below:
•Site constraints – Due in part to the site’s small footprint, the equalization (wet weather) pump station was constructed adjacent to the existing (duty) New Meadowbrook pump station. The pump station site is bounded to the north by a tributary stream. The station is elevated but almost completely surrounded by the 100-year floodplain. The site flooded in January 2022. Another constraint is Fort Campbell Blvd., a seven-lane U.S. Highway that bisects the wet weather storage facility site; the pump station is on the east side of the highway, and the storage tank is on the west side of the highway.
•Bypass pumping – Because the wet weather equalization pump station was constructed immediately upstream of the duty pump station, extensive bypass pumping was required to re-route a portion of the collection system flows around the construction area.
•Equipment delays – The project experienced multiple, COVID-related, significant equipment delays particularly associated with electrical equipment such as the backup generators and transfer switches.
This presentation will discuss the challenges associated with construction of the New Meadowbrook Wet Weather Storage Facility, present the lessons learned, and describe how the project team developed solutions to overcome the challenges and deliver a successful project for the City of Clarksville.