Spring Hill, CPWS restore irrigation shutoffs following TVA outages

The City of Spring Hill is lifting irrigation restrictions, which were put into place earlier this week, following a widespread power outage on Aug. 31 caused by a power failure at a Columbia substation and a "tripped" TVA line.

On Tuesday, the necessary repairs to a mechanical issue were made within the Columbia Power and Water Systems water distribution system in Spring Hill. The Spring Hill irrigation systems were previously shut off to allow for the municipal water system to recover, officials say.

Spring Hill City Administrator Pam Caskie said the water mechanical issue was likely caused due to the widespread power outages that affected many parts of Spring Hill and Columbia a week ago, which required a temporary shutdown of the irrigation water system for several days.

According to Tennessee Valley Authority communications representative Adam May, a tripped TVA line and Columbia substation caused the outage last Thursday.

"The outage was started when a lightning arrester failed on the north Columbia substation, which is not owned by TVA," May said.

"When it failed, it tripped a TVA line that goes from the Maury Substation to the Saturn substation. TVA responded and had that line re-energized within 55 minutes. When the initial incident happened, it tripped off the TVA Substation at Mt. Pleasant. That issue was fixed within 35 minutes.

"TVA has an ongoing program to replace aging equipment, and we routinely perform preventative maintenance."

Rather than shutting down resources like emergency response, such as water in Spring Hill used by the fire department, cutting off the city's irrigation system was, while inconvenient, the best option, Caskie said.

The previous power outage led to a blackout of the Spring Hill business district at Spring Hill Crossings and Main Street, causing traffic congestion and businesses being forced to shut down for over an hour.

After several days, the water system has rebounded, and thus, the restrictions were lifted, a week after the power outages.

City staff, along with Mayor Jim Hagaman and Caskie, addressed the situation following the repairs during the Board of Mayor and Aldermen's work session Tuesday.

"We had a major mechanical failure in our system that caused a lot of issues, and as a result of that many of us on staff came together to solve the issue," Hagaman said. "This was a crisis that was mitigated more quickly than anything I've ever seen in my life, and it happened because people are willing, have the expertise and competency and desire to serve the citizens holistically."

More: As water use reaches peak season, Spring Hill requiring citizens to curb nonessential water use

Hagaman also thanked each individual department member for their swift work in restoring the water system, which ranged from communications staff to development services, public works and multiple first-response teams.

"And I want to say a very special thanks to the entire staff at Columbia Power and Water Systems who worked tirelessly through the night to fix repairs and restore service, because remember this happened [on Monday], which was also a holiday," Hagaman said.

On Monday, the mechanical issue was identified, and irrigation restrictions were put into place by Spring Hill officials. At the time, Spring Hill residents were asked to participate in a voluntary shutoff of irrigation systems, while large commercial properties in Spring Hill were placed under a mandatory shutoff, the press release states.

The tank levels, as of 6 p.m. [Tuesday] were at 58%, which was a 17% increase from where we were Monday afternoon, Water Superintendent Jeremy Vanderford said.

"We are looking in good shape."

More: Spring Hill replenishes water reserves following 7-day moratorium for nonessential use

"We are graced with a good partnership with CPWS," Caskie said. "And in the middle of peak watering issues, and on a holiday weekend ... and you have a mechanical failure, which was probably brought about by the [Tennessee Valley Authority] substation loss from last Thursday's power failure. I know this was inconvenient and a lot of people don't like it, but it was definitely the lesser of all the options."

More: TVA power station failure leads to widespread outage in Spring Hill, Columbia

The city also expressed its gratitude to residents for their understanding and cooperation throughout this process. If you have any questions or additional information can be addressed by contacting Spring Hill communications staff at commdept@springhilltn.org.

Jay Powell is a general reporter for The Daily Herald. Get up-to-date news in your inbox by subscribing to The Daily Herald newsletter at www.ColumbiaDailyHerald.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Spring Hill and CPWS restore irrigation shutoffs following TVA outages