Clean water on tap for East Tennessee community

Clean water fresh out of the faucet is something most of us take for granted. But one East Tennessee community is enjoying it for the first time.

The pastor of Rock Hill Baptist Church remembers the spring-fed well-water of his youth.

"It was pretty good drinking water and everything," Rev. Murl Phillips said.

Then mining and logging in the New River community of Anderson County spoiled the wells.

"So much iron and sulfur in it, didn't taste good," Phillips said. "You couldn't wash your clothes in it, because it would stain the white stuff."

It has stained the stainless steel sink at the church.

"The water that was in here now, it stunk. It stinks like rotten eggs," he said.

But no more.

"It is probably one of the last big pockets of areas in this county we finally have got water to," Anderson County Mayor Rex Lynch said at a celebration Friday for the completion of the New River Water Project.

Federal and state grants, coupled with county money and donated labor from the Anderson County Water Authority, made piped-in water possible.

"I don't care if you live in New River or Clinton or Oak Ridge, ya'll deserve water just like anybody else," Mayor Lynch told a crowd gathered at Rock Hill Baptist Church.

The grant application effort started about 5 years ago and actual construction began last year.

Monday, about 100 water meters like one just installed at the church will be installed in the community.

The mayor and guests lifted glasses filled with fresh water from the church's faucet.

"Cheers to good water, drinking it in the New River Community," Lynch said.

For those who live in New River, a new water source will improve their quality of life.

"It's going to be a blessing to us, it truly is," Phillips said.

A federal EPA grant Rep. Zach Wamp helped secure funded a quarter-million dollars of the project. The Office of Surface Mining contributed to the project as well as a Community Development Block Grant. The Anderson County Water Authority donated an estimated $300,000 in labor. And Anderson County also contributed.

The various grants used to extend water access feature different conditions and restrictions. So while everyone tapping into the new water system will pay a monthly bill, some residents paid nothing for the hook up, while other homeowners are responsible for running a line to their meter to tap into the clean water. It depends on where they live. And for some, that will be a hardship.

If you want to help some New River residents connect to their new water meters, contact the Anderson County Community Action Commission: 865-457-5500.