With early-stage structures now visible on the construction site of Clarksville’s second water treatment plant, Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts and a team of leaders from City Hall and the Clarksville Gas & Water Department recently viewed the progress for themselves, and were impressed with what they saw.
Located at the end of Barge Point Road overlooking the Cumberland River, Clarksville’s second water treatment plant is materializing rapidly while Clarksville’s utility customer base remains on a soaring trajectory.
Clarksville’s population is nearing 177,000 people based on latest Census estimates. The City needs this second water treatment plant to cope with the growth, and to safely and reliably provide residents with one of the most basic of all needs.
Mark Riggins, General Manager of Clarksville Gas & Water, emphasizes that having a potable water supply is, in every way, a matter of public safety.
The second water treatment plant is well into construction and will ultimately cost about $210 million, distinguishing it as the single-largest spending item in the City’s history.
Funding was enabled through a major revenue bond issue, supported by Mayor Pitts and the Clarksville City Council.
“I am very proud of the progress Judy Construction has made and their ability to navigate the continual struggle our industry faces to obtain necessary construction materials,” said Riggins. “Their dedication, along with the involvement of all our Gas & Water staff, is evident by the constant work and visible progress I witness each time I visit the plant site.”
The new water plant is expected to be in production by mid-2025.
"This new water treatment facility will serve our city's growing needs and provide a much-needed secondary supply of clean water well into the future," said Mayor Pitts. "This is the single-largest public project in our city's history, in terms of total cost. I appreciate Mark Riggins and his Water Division team at Clarksville Gas and Water for showing great leadership in making this project a reality."
Construction is being done in three phases, with each phase having the capacity to generate 12 million gallons of water per day, for a total of 36 million gallons at final, full capacity.
The City’s one, existing water plant along the Cumberland, located off Pumping Station Road and the U.S. Highway 41A Bypass, has a daily water-generating capacity of 28 million gallons and the ability to peak for brief periods at 30 million gallons.