Spring Hill outlines $250–320M "Pure Water Spring Hill" plan: reservoir, purified‑water pilot and staged bonds
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Summary
City staff presented a multi‑part water program — dubbed Pure Water Spring Hill — that combines reclamation plant upgrades, an advanced purification pilot and a proposed 200M‑gallon reservoir; staff previewed a nonbinding LOI to buy 137 acres for $22.5M and a proposed bond authorization (up to $320M) staged 2026–2031.
Spring Hill officials laid out a multi‑year capital program they call Pure Water Spring Hill, designed to expand wastewater reclamation capacity, build an advanced water purification plant for reuse, and construct reservoir storage to improve drought resiliency and manage treated effluent limits.
"We're talking about constructing a reservoir. We need that reservoir regardless. We need it for drought resiliency for our folks," Mr. Allen said, framing the reservoir as the program's heart. Staff said the reservoir target is about 200,000,000 gallons, built as multiple ponds for redundancy and public access with trails and park amenities. The city presented a nonbinding letter of intent to acquire 137 acres (total purchase price cited at $22,500,000), with about 37 acres proposed for conservation easement and donation and the remaining ~100 acres for city purchase; staff said owner financing and favorable terms were part of negotiations and asked the board to consider a resolution on April 6 to authorize next steps.
Technical and schedule highlights: staff proposed increasing the water reclamation facility rating from 5.0 MGD to 7.5 MGD as an initial lift and designing systems so they can be expanded modularly to 10–12.5 MGD and beyond toward a projected full‑build‑out demand of roughly 15 MGD. The advanced purification component will begin with a pilot train (about 34 gpm, roughly 49,000 gpd) and a 13‑month pilot and regulatory demonstration under TDEC oversight before full‑scale design; the pilot is intended to generate step‑by‑step monitoring data (samples after each treatment barrier) to build the state record for reuse standards. Staff said the first phase of the advanced purification facility is expected to be rated around 2.5 MGD with potential expansion to 10 MGD.
Cost and financing: staff presented program estimates in the $250–255 million range for the reservoir, advanced purification and reclamation modernization, with broader water‑system needs totaling about $320 million when additional water projects are included. John Warner, the board's financing advisor, recommended a staged bond authorization of roughly $316M–$320M with closings distributed from 2026 through 2031, structured as revenue and tax bonds payable from Spring Hill water net revenues with general obligation tax pledges as additional security; Warner recommended a single broad resolution to authorize the program and staged sales to preserve flexibility and speed of funding.
Board members pressed staff on key risks: schedule (regulatory review and pilot timing), reservoir excavation uncertainty (existing and potential pinnacle rock), and the need to keep early procurement and program oversight tight to avoid escalation. Mr. Allen said the city is pursuing progressive design‑build and parallel procurement (the "Spartan team" model) to shorten typical 8+ year delivery to a target substantially complete date around Memorial Day 2030. He emphasized the need to coordinate with the state as rules are finalized and to manage cash prudently if financing is staged.
Next steps: staff will bring an LOI/resolution about the property purchase on April 6 and asked the board if it wanted a bond‑authorization resolution the following month; no binding votes occurred at this meeting.
