On October 26, Consolidated Utility District (CUD) received notice of its perfect score – 599 out of 599 possible points – on a state-mandated sanitary survey from the Division of Water Resources of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC).

The survey was conducted when environmental scientists employed by the state visited CUD’s K. Thomas Hutchinson Water Treatment Plant and the utility’s distribution office to examine operations and review records. The survey and inspection covered daily output and documentation from January 2025 to September 2026.

The survey assessed the source water from Stones River, CUD’s protection plans for the source water, treatment methods, operator compliance, data verification, pump facilities and the amount of storage for finished water.

TDEC staff observed CUD personnel perform analyses of water to evaluate turbidity, chlorine residual, temperature, pH, alkalinity, iron, fluoride, orthophosphate, manganese, hardness and alkalinity.

In its notification letter, the state praised the plant’s staff as well as CUD professionals Marlan Pelham, Randy Harrell and Derek Bumpus for their courtesy and responsiveness.

“We welcome sanitary surveys because they provide an opportunity to prove our operational excellence and adherence to our Core Values as a public water utility,” said Roger Goodson, General Manager of CUD. “Our goal is to always deliver safe, reliable water that meets and exceeds the standards by which we’re judged. Every department at CUD is motivated by that.”

The state noted that the population served by CUD has increased from 221,871 individuals as of the previous survey to 232,184 individuals. To preserve standards of quality and safety, CUD already conducts more than the mandatory 150 bacteriological samples within the water system each month at sites throughout Rutherford County.