The town of Pulaski is upgrading its water treatment plant in a $25 million project that town officials say is needed to address critical structural issues and update aging infrastructure.
Pulaski town manager Todd Day, and chief water operator Josh Hodge stand outside a brick building, with They point out huge cracks in a concrete wall, attached to part of the building. Day said this wall has been patched many times over the years, but it’s crumbling.
“It’s imminent, it’s absolutely imminent,” Day said.
Hodge points to one of the cracks. “You can see it right now, it’s leaking as we’re standing here. And it’s one of those situations where it’s not an option. If you don’t fix what’s there, you’ll be in trouble.”
This wall used to stand between two bodies of water. One was an outside basin to allow sediment to settle. But in the 1980s, the town emptied it to do repairs, and built a temporary system. The repairs were never done, and today, trees are growing out of the concrete. The temporary system is still being used. It works, and the water coming from this plant is safe to drink. But keeping all this working means long hours for the plant’s employees, often more than 12 hours a day.
“We can’t put out bad water. We can’t put out dirty water,” Hodge said. “So the only options we have are to run longer, which cost more money all around, but it’s what you deal with.”
Last year, Pulaski raised water rates for customers to fund an overhaul of this treatment plant, water lines, and a pump station near Gatewood Reservoir, which supplies water to this plant. The reservoir was down 24 feet this winter due to drought. Day said it’s still lower than usual, down about 12 feet currently, but water levels have gone up in recent months.
Day said he's hoping grants can help cover some of the costs for upgrades, and construction could begin in one to two years. “We are absolutely going to modernize this water treatment plant,” Day said.
The project won’t replace all the aging infrastructure, so more improvements may still be needed in the future.
Pulaski also struggles to find enough workers for their plant. Hodge began working in Pulaski 13 years ago.
“I was laid off from Volvo,” Hodge recalled. “And the rest is history, really."
Despite the long hours, he likes the work, and hopes others will apply. Day said Pulaski offers higher wages than many surrounding communities, good benefits, and will pay for operator training for employees.
