At the January 5 Portland City Council meeting, the conversation turned serious as city leaders tackled a major challenge: fixing the city’s aging wastewater system under the watchful eye of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Mayor Mike Callis laid it out plainly-Portland is under a consent order from the EPA, and the clock is ticking. The city received the order back on December 4, 2025, and now it’s facing a tight timeline to get its sanitary sewer overflows under control. The EPA wants action, and fast.
The first step? Submitting an Early Action Projects Plan by March 4.
That’ll be followed by a full Sewer System Evaluation Survey (SSES), which is due this summer. Essentially, the city needs to figure out where the biggest problems are in the sewer system, prioritize the fixes, and start digging.
Callis noted that the EPA initially asked for all the work to be completed within three years. That’s a tall order. So the city is pushing for a five-year window-a request that, based on recent conversations with the agency, seems likely to be approved.
The council also reviewed a 2021 map that showed how sewer tap moratoriums were divided into seven zones across the city. That map still plays a role in the current planning.
Portland has been working closely with the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC), which recently released over 2,400 wastewater taps for the city to use. But when Portland asked for 700 more, TDEC pushed back, citing concerns about the wastewater plant’s readiness to handle the additional load.
So for now, the city’s waiting to hear whether it needs to stick to the old zone map or if there’s some flexibility. Either way, the message is clear: the overflows have to be fixed.
Utilities Director Bryan Price gave a detailed update on what’s already been done. Thanks to flow monitoring in Zone 1, the city was able to demonstrate enough progress in reducing inflow and infiltration (I&I) to reclaim those 700 taps. That work included significant repairs in areas like Hunters Street and Jerry Street, where Purdue Trucking & Excavating has been busy on the ground.
Looking ahead, Price said the upcoming SSES will be a deep dive into the sewer system-identifying the worst trouble spots and putting together a plan to address them. And when it comes to obvious fixes, he emphasized the importance of acting quickly.
“If you see low-hanging fruit, go and fix it,” Price told the council. “The best time to do that is right now, when the water table is high.” That’s a key point-high groundwater levels make it easier to detect leaks and problem areas in the system.
This spring, the city plans to focus SSES work along Airport Road, Diane Place, the rest of Zone 2, and areas in Drakewood and Zone 5A.
Price also presented a cost estimate for replacing sewer mains-$2.65 million. The city has applied for a grant to help offset those costs, but no word yet on whether it’s been approved. And when it comes to the SSES itself, Price said it’s tough to predict the total cost until they see what they’re dealing with underground.
To give the council some perspective, Price pointed to other Tennessee cities that have been through similar EPA consent orders. Paris, in Henry County, spent about $30 million. Springfield, which got a TDEC order in 2013, had to shell out $70 million before finally coming out from under it in 2021.
“I’m not saying this to scare you,” Price said. “I’m trying to let you know-to do what they’re telling us to do is a hefty number.”
Right now, the most urgent needs are mapping the system-an effort expected to cost around $100,000-and getting bids out for the remaining sewer main replacements. When asked how long that work would take, Price estimated about nine months to get it done.
As for funding, Price and Callis outlined the city’s current resources. Portland has about $2.6 million left from a $5 million water plant loan, $600,000 already budgeted for work on Demase Street, and around $2.8 million in sewer reserves. Still, Callis acknowledged the financial puzzle: “These are some of the things we’ve knocked around already-where does money come from?”
The council approved the $100,000 for flow monitoring and gave the green light to fund the sewer main replacements. They also signed off on a Request for Qualifications to find an engineering firm for the Demase Street project.
It’s a big lift for Portland, no doubt. But with a clear plan, a bit of flexibility from the EPA, and some strategic spending, the city is positioning itself to take on the challenge head-on.