To ensure the reliability and cleanliness of the Kingsport area’s water supply continues for years to come, the City of Kingsport contracted J. Cumby Construction to completely rework the method of water supply to the water treatment plant.
The project consisted largely of the construction of a 24-foot-wide by 38-foot-deep intake well, a 7.5-foot-wide and 1,100-foot-long tunnel under the bluff to the water plant, and a new 22-million-gallons-per-day capacity pump station. The new process allows gravity to carry water from the south fork of the Holston River to the treatment plant where 4 identical pumps lift the water to the plant, safeguarding against single point mechanical failure. This replaces the existing system of pumping water up and over an 85-foot-high bluff with piping exposed to mountain weather conditions. Several other piping, electrical, and controls upgrades were completed as well, including a 2,500 kW emergency backup generator.
This project is the culmination of a process that began in 2010 with as mater plan to modernize a water supply system that dates to the 1920s and hasn’t been updated since the 1970s. Initially budgeted at 15 million dollars, J. Cumby Construction completed the upgrades slightly over 13.5 million.
Project Specs:
Location: Kingsport, TN
Completion Date: July 2017
$13,500,000+ Contract Value
1,100+ Feet of Tunnel
12,000+ Tons of Stone
