Franklin, TN secures $17.6m SRF loan to design $347m potable reuse facility

Franklin, TN secures $17.6m SRF loan to design $347m potable reuse facilityThe City of Franklin has unanimously approved a $17.6 million State Revolving Fund loan to design a new Clean Water Facility featuring an advanced treatment train for potable reuse, backed by $5.8 million in principal forgiveness to address emerging contaminants.

The five-year, design-only loan carries a 2.35% interest rate and includes $5.8 million in principal forgiveness.

Median construction costs for the facility are currently estimated at $347.7 million, with the city exploring a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) delivery model.

The plant will utilize ozonation, biofiltration, GAC, and UV advanced oxidation to treat a portion of the effluent for raw water reservoir augmentation by late 2033.

A 2027 cost-of-service study will address construction funding and ongoing fiberglass reinforced pipe (HOBAS) replacements in the sewer network.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen for the City of Franklin, Tennessee, unanimously approved a resolution on April 28 to secure $17.6 million in State Revolving Fund (SRF) financing for the engineering and design of a new Southeast Clean Water Facility. The five-year, design-only loan carries a 2.35% interest rate. Crucially, the package includes $5.8 million in principal forgiveness through an Emerging Contaminants Grant, reducing the city's repayment burden to approximately $11.8 million. The debt service for the design phase was already factored into a recent rate update passed by the board last year. Driven by population growth that is projected to exhaust current wastewater capacity by 2034, the new facility will discharge upstream of the city's water treatment plant. To meet anticipated strict effluent limits, the plant will feature traditional activated sludge with membrane filtration and UV disinfection. Additionally, a portion of the flow will undergo an advanced treatment train—comprising ozonation, biofiltration, granular activated carbon (GAC), and UV with advanced oxidation—to augment the city's raw water reservoir for potable reuse. While design costs are locked in at $17.6 million, the median construction estimate currently sits at $347.7 million. The Director of Water Management noted during the meeting that a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) delivery method is being evaluated to further refine construction costs as the project progresses. The city expects the facility to begin discharging to the Harpeth River by 2032, with the potable reuse reservoir augmentation coming online in late 2033 following a year of quality control testing. To prepare for the new capacity, the city will also undertake several short-term projects, including a 16-inch water main extension on Lewisburg Pike to increase potable water supply to the plant, sewer flow realignment projects, and modifications to the existing biosolids facility to accept solids from the new site. In the interim, Franklin plans to conduct a new cost-of-service study in 2027 to map out long-term funding strategies. This future rate study will need to absorb the massive construction costs of the new facility, as well as unbudgeted expenses to replace failing fiberglass reinforced pipe (HOBAS) within the existing sewer network.