(By Amber Phipps) Workers adjust sewer bobber lines that will alert the computer when the water levels rise and fall.

On Thursday at 11 a.m., the Washington County Wastewater Department initiated an updated, computerized sewer line off State Route 60 just outside of Devola.

The updates will eliminate sewer overflow through a newly installed computer system that can be easily monitored and controlled from a cellular device or tablet.

The Washington County Commission arrived at the sewer as the wastewater team applied the final installments Thursday.

“It was a real problematic station,” said Commissioner James Booth. “They were going out to send somebody once or twice a day to get it cleared out.”

The updated service line will now clear the pump out on its own, due to the updated technology and monitoring systems that have been installed. The wastewater team would then only need to check on the line when necessary and not multiple times a day.

(By Amber Phipps) Washington County wastewater worker inside of the computer system.

“When you talk about 150-200 jobs coming in, we have to be thinking about the infrastructure,” said Commissioner Charlie Schilling.

As jobs expand the size of the community, the sewer systems need to be able to support that growth. With the computerized additions, the system can detect if something is wrong with the pump and shut it off to prevent overflow or damage to the pipes, they said.

According to the Wastewater Department Superintendent Joseph White, this project is the beginning of phase one. It began in December 2023 when the department received $4 million from the EPA to complete it.

“We’ve got a lot invested in this, a lot of time and effort and help happening here,” said White.

With these new updates, White now has the ability to turn the pump on and off from his phone. Before, the team would have to arrive at the sewer line and manually flip a switch.

(By Amber Phipps) Washington County Commissioners Charlie Schilling, Eddie Place and James Booth stand in front of the new computerized sewer system along with Wastewater Department Superintendent Joseph White.

“I can see on my phone everything that’s going on in the system,” said White. “So if it calls an alarm, I can see in real time what’s happening.”

With this new system, workers will be spending less time driving out to the stations. Time, money and resources will be saved tremendously over time, he said.

White and the commissioners are excited to finally see this phase in action after so many years of planning, they said.

(By Amber Phipps) Workers with the Washingont County Wastewater Department add the waterline bobbers to the sewer.

(By Amber Phipps) A wastewater worker inspects the sewer pipelines.