Project SWIFT :: An Overview
Conceptual Overview of Project SWIFT in Spring Hill, TN
If you’ve spent any time driving around Spring Hill lately, you know firsthand that our city’s rapid growth has created some serious challenges—especially when it comes to infrastructure. Traffic congestion is an everyday reminder of how quickly we’ve expanded, and behind the scenes, our water and sewer systems are equally strained.
Recently, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) placed strict limits on our sewer treatment plant’s capacity—capping us at 5 million gallons per day—due to regulations on how much highly treated water we can safely return to Rutherford Creek. As of the latest reports, Spring Hill is already using approximately 4 million gallons per day, meaning we’re at 80% of our permitted capacity and quickly approaching our limit. Facing these constraints, the city explored every possible option: land application, constructing additional treatment facilities, and even discharging treated water into alternative waterways. Ultimately, one innovative, environmentally sound solution rose to the surface—an approach successfully implemented elsewhere but new to Tennessee. We’re now, in conjunction with TDEC, leading the state to find a solution through an initiative we call Project SWIFT: the Strategic Water Initiative for Tennessee.
What is Project SWIFT?
In nature, all water is continuously reused through the water cycle—evaporating, condensing, and falling again as precipitation. Project SWIFT mirrors this natural process by intentionally and safely recycling water, creating a sustainable and reliable water supply for Spring Hill that will serve generations.
At its core, Project SWIFT involves creating an innovative water purification and recycling system, combined with the strategic construction of a reservoir, to provide Spring Hill with a long-term solution to water scarcity. Here’s how it works: the city’s current wastewater treatment plant already produces highly treated water—so clean, in fact, that I personally saw a former wastewater treatment director confidently demonstrate its purity by drinking it straight from the system. Project SWIFT applies additional advanced purification steps, including ozonation, ultrafiltration, activated carbon filtration, and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection. These state-of-the-art technologies remove pathogens, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and even challenging contaminants such as PFAS—ensuring water quality that meets or exceeds all existing drinking water standards.
After this advanced treatment, the purified water is stored in a strategically located reservoir, blended with fresh water from the Duck River. This blending process creates a dependable source of high-quality raw water, significantly reducing the city’s reliance on external water sources and ensuring sustainability and resilience in our water supply.
From there, water from the reservoir undergoes another round of advanced treatment before entering Spring Hill’s existing Water Treatment Plant, where it receives final treatment before distribution. Importantly, the project includes built-in flexibility: if needed, a valve system allows the city to bypass the reservoir and redirect fresh water from the Duck River directly to the Water Treatment Plant, just as we currently do today.
Simply put, Project SWIFT isn’t just about addressing current water challenges—it’s about securing Spring Hill’s water future for decades to come.
How Project SWIFT Works and Key Components Explained
Project SWIFT uses an innovative, multi-step approach to secure Spring Hill’s water future by safely recycling highly treated wastewater and integrating it seamlessly with our current infrastructure. Here’s a simplified overview:
Step 1: Initial Wastewater Treatment
Wastewater from homes and businesses in Spring Hill first goes through our existing wastewater treatment plant. Through biological and physical processes, contaminants are removed, resulting in water that already meets current environmental standards. This initial treatment maximizes our existing infrastructure, efficiently using resources we already have.
Step 2: Advanced Water Purification
Next, this highly treated water undergoes advanced purification processes. Ozonation breaks down chemicals and pharmaceuticals, biologically activated carbon (BAC) removes remaining organic matter, ultrafiltration (UF) filters out microscopic contaminants like viruses and bacteria, granular activated carbon (GAC) removes trace contaminants including challenging compounds such as PFAS, and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection neutralizes pathogens. These sophisticated purification steps ensure water purity surpasses all regulatory standards, providing Spring Hill with water that’s exceptionally safe, clean, and reliable.
Step 3: Reservoir Storage and Blending
Once purified, the water is stored in a strategically placed reservoir, where it blends naturally with fresh water from the Duck River. This blending process ensures a consistently high-quality water source that’s readily available even during droughts or periods of increased demand. Additionally, the reservoir creates valuable recreational opportunities and increased green space, addressing a critical need for more park areas in our community.
Step 4: Final Treatment at the Water Treatment Plant
Water drawn from the reservoir undergoes another round of advanced purification before entering Spring Hill’s existing Water Treatment Plant. Here, it receives final filtration, rigorous testing, and disinfection—the same treatment process currently used for water directly drawn from the Duck River. This final step guarantees water safety and quality, maintaining the highest standards of public health protection.
Step 5: Distribution to Homes and Businesses
After completing all purification and treatment steps, the high-quality water is distributed throughout the community, supporting everyday life, economic growth, and the long-term livability of Spring Hill. Residents and businesses alike will have reliable, secure access to clean water for generations to come.
Built-in Flexibility
Finally, recognizing the importance of flexibility, Project SWIFT incorporates a valve system that allows the city to directly draw fresh water from the Duck River into the Water Treatment Plant if necessary, bypassing the reservoir entirely. This critical design feature ensures operational adaptability, allowing the city to respond swiftly to emergencies, maintenance needs, or varying water quality scenarios.
Through this integrated, multi-step approach, Project SWIFT creates a sustainable water management solution, mirroring the natural water cycle and ensuring Spring Hill’s water resilience far into the future.
Benefits to Spring Hill
Project SWIFT isn’t just about water—it’s about creating meaningful, lasting benefits for our entire community. By strategically acquiring approximately 110 acres for this project, Spring Hill has the rare opportunity to significantly expand our city’s parks and recreational spaces. This expansive property could feature trails, playgrounds, picnic areas, sports facilities, or even serve as a future location for community amenities like a library or public facilities. Such an expansion directly addresses the urgent community need for additional parkland highlighted in recent studies, dramatically improving our quality of life.
Additional key benefits of Project SWIFT include:
Water Independence and Security
By purifying and reusing water locally, Project SWIFT significantly reduces our reliance on external sources like the Duck River, giving Spring Hill greater control over our water resources. This independence ensures our community will have access to safe, abundant water even during severe droughts, population growth spikes, or regional water shortages. With this dependable local supply, residents and businesses can confidently plan for the future, knowing our water infrastructure can sustainably support continued growth.
Environmental Sustainability
Project SWIFT directly supports environmental sustainability by dramatically decreasing our dependence on the Duck River, recently identified by the Southern Environmental Law Center as one of the region’s most endangered rivers. Reducing water withdrawals from the Duck not only preserves its ecological health but also limits the volume of treated water released into Rutherford Creek, protecting local ecosystems from potential overuse or contamination. By locally purifying and reusing water, Spring Hill actively participates in regional conservation efforts, protecting the environment for future generations.
Enhanced Infrastructure Stability
The infrastructure enhancements provided by Project SWIFT—such as additional reservoir storage and advanced purification technology—will significantly increase our city’s resilience. These improvements ensure that Spring Hill can meet its growing water demands without experiencing disruptions or shortages. Residents will benefit directly through enhanced reliability and protection from future infrastructure failures, giving families and businesses peace of mind regarding the city’s essential services.
Economic Development Opportunities
Project SWIFT positions Spring Hill for sustained economic growth by ensuring robust, reliable infrastructure—an essential factor for attracting new businesses and investments to our community. With a secure water supply and modernized facilities, existing businesses can expand confidently, and new enterprises will see Spring Hill as an ideal location. Additionally, the creation of new recreational spaces and improved infrastructure will enhance property values, stimulate local businesses, and increase the city’s overall attractiveness as a destination for economic investment.
In short, Project SWIFT represents more than just a solution to today’s infrastructure challenges—it’s a visionary investment in Spring Hill’s long-term quality of life, environmental stewardship, infrastructure reliability, and economic prosperity for generations to come.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can we be sure the purified water meets health standards?
Project SWIFT’s advanced purification process employs multiple proven technologies—ozonation, activated carbon filtration, ultrafiltration, and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection—to ensure that purified water consistently surpasses all federal and state drinking water standards. Continuous monitoring, rigorous testing, and oversight from state regulatory authorities provide further assurance of safety and quality at every step.
What environmental approvals does Project SWIFT require?
Project SWIFT is being developed in close partnership with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). As part of this collaboration, Spring Hill must obtain various state permits and approvals, including rigorous environmental assessments to confirm that the project protects water quality, public health, and local ecosystems. All regulatory steps are carefully managed to ensure compliance and environmental stewardship.
Has this type of water reuse been done before elsewhere?
Yes. While Project SWIFT will be the first of its kind in Tennessee, the concept is a proven model in multiple states, including Texas, Georgia, and Florida, which have demonstrated clear success in safety and reliability.
