Below you will find answers to a lot of common questions we receive regarding your sanitary sewer system, as well as general questions regarding City operations.  If you have a question that you don’t see below, then please feel free to give our offices a call at 615-672-3654 during normal business hours, and we will be happy to help find the answer!

Question:  What services does the Wastewater Department provide to the City’s residents?

Answer:  That’s a big question.  We are responsible for the collection of wastewater from homes and businesses, treating that water once we’ve collected it, and maintaining the public infrastructure that allows for those processes.  What that means for most of our customers is that we own and maintain the sewer connection for your home or business, as well as all of the piping and equipment that moves that wastewater to our treatment plant.

Question:  Do you also provide the potable (drinking) water service?

Answer:  No.  The City of White House receives potable water service from White House Utility District (WHUD).  Despite the similar names, we are actually separate operations/entities.  You will need to contact WHUD for questions regarding water service, water bills, etc.; but the City is happy to assist you with any questions regarding sewer, trash, or stormwater services.

Question:  I’m new to White House.  How do I sign up for new utility services with the City?

Answer:  The City of White House provides your sanitary sewer, trash/recycling, and stormwater utility services.  You can sign up in-person during our normal business hours at our new Community Center located at 105-D College St, White House, TN; or you can sign-up online here:  https://www.whitehousetn.gov/departments/finance/utilities

Question:  What are your normal business hours?

Answer:  We are open from 7:15am to 5:15pm, Mondays through Thursdays, excluding holidays.

Question:  I have a sewer service issue, but your offices are closed (late night, weekend, holiday, etc.).  What should I do?

Answer:  Call our offices immediately at 615-672-3654, no matter what time of day it is.  We monitor our phone lines 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and always have team members on-call to respond to any sewer issues that arise.  We will dispatch someone to your location as quickly as possible to address and fix the issue.

Question:  Can I use the City’s App to submit sewer service requests instead of calling your office?

Answer:  No.  We treat all sewer service requests as urgent, so we require all requests to be phoned in.  This ensures the request is acknowledged and allows for the fastest response times for all issues that arise, as app submissions run the risk of not being seen or acknowledged until the next business day.

Question:  I have a question about my sewer bill.  Who should I call?

Answer:  The City’s Finance Department handles all utility billing for sanitary sewer (wastewater) services, trash/recycling services, and stormwater services.  They can be reached at 615-672-4350, and have the same normal business hours as our Department (7:15am – 5:15pm, Mondays through Thursdays).

Question:  Does it cost me money to call you for a sewer service issue?

Answer:  No!  The only time there is ever any additional charge beyond your normal sewer bill is if we find deliberate damage to the equipment/infrastructure (a tank or cleanout has been ran over by a vehicle, the resident has repeatedly flushed prohibited items down the drain and been cautioned against doing so during a previous visit, etc.).  Most service issues we encounter are caused by normal wear and tear, and there is no additional charge to our residents for the normal repair/replacement of those items.

Question:  How long does it take your team to respond to a service request once I’ve called your office?

Answer:  Usually no longer than two hours.  Typically faster than that during normal business hours.

Question:  I have a grinder pump at my residence, and the alarm / red light is in alert.  What should I do?

Answer:  Call our offices immediately at 615-672-3654, no matter what time of day it is.  We monitor our phone lines 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and always have staff on-call to respond to any sewer issues that arise.  We will dispatch a crew member to your location as quickly as possible to address and fix the issue.

Question:  I have a vacuum valve pit in my yard, and it’s making a loud / unusual sound.  What should I do?

Answer:  Call our offices immediately at 615-672-3654, no matter what time of day it is.  We monitor our phone lines 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and always have staff on-call to respond to any sewer issues that arise.  We will dispatch a crew member to your location as quickly as possible to address and fix the issue.

Question:  Our toilets/sinks/tubs are draining slowly.  What should I do?

Answer:  We advise our residents to call us first on these sorts of things before you call a plumber.  As mentioned above, it’s free to you for us to come out and see if there is an issue with the City’s maintained infrastructure, or if the issue is with the privately-owned infrastructure at the site.  If the issue is with our infrastructure (malfunctioning grinder pump or vacuum valve pit), then we will repair it free of charge.  If not, we will let the resident know that the issue is somewhere between our maintenance point and the building, and advise them to call a plumber at that point.

Question:  Where does the City’s maintenance of my sanitary sewer connection begin?

Answer:  That depends on what type of service connection that you have.  There are three (3) kinds of sanitary sewer collections systems, and we have all three of them in White House:  Gravity services, Low-Pressure services, and Vacuum services.  If you have a grinder pump (low-pressure service) or a vacuum valve pit (vacuum service) in your yard, then our maintenance begins at the tank (the line between the house and the tank is your private property, but everything from the tank to the treatment plant is serviced by the City).  If you have a gravity service connection, then our maintenance begins at the 6-inch cleanout, which is probably located near your property boundary.

Question:  How do I tell what type of sewer service I have (gravity, low-pressure, or vacuum)?

Answer:  Grinder pumps (low-pressure services) and vacuum valve pits (vacuum services) both have a round tank with a 2ft or 3ft wide lid on them.  Grinder pumps also have an electrical control panel with a red light and alarm system to alert the resident in case of an issue that is usually located very near to the tank.  With gravity service connections, there is no tank; but you will typically have two (2) sewer cleanout pipes in your yard.  One of the cleanouts (typically a 4-inch) will usually be located near the foundation of the building, while the other cleanout (typically a 6-inch) will be located near the edge of the property or along the road/sidewalk.  If you’re still unsure but curious about what type of sanitary sewer service you have at your residence or place of business, then please feel free to give us a call and we’d be happy to help you find out.

Question:  What sorts of items are prohibited from being flushed into the City’s sanitary sewer system?

Answer:  Great question!  Typically, we prohibit items that will cause physical, chemical, or biological damage to the components that make the City’s sanitary sewer system and wastewater treatment plant function, and/or that pose a health and safety risk to our employees who work hard to keep these systems functioning.  There’s a handy short list of common prohibited items we encounter on the “Grinder Pump Station” tab to the left of this page that is applicable to all types of sewer connections (not just grinder pumps).  A more comprehensive list of prohibited wastes can be found in Title 18 of the City’s Ordinance (check out the “Government” tab at the top of the page, and navigate to “Municipal Code”).

Question:  What about these “flushable wipes”?  Those are okay to send into the sewer system aren’t they?

Answer:  “Flushable wipes” are, unfortunately, the bane of sanitary sewer systems across the county.  While they will flush and probably cause no issues with your household plumbing, they wreak havoc on our systems.  They cause clogs in gravity lines, jam up both grinder pumps and large lift-station pumps, and can cause serious malfunctions in vacuum sewer systems.  Please do not flush so-called “flushable wipes” into your sewer.

Question:  I want to add a bathroom to a previously unfinished basement.  What should I do?

Answer:  Great question.  This can be particularly challenging for structures serviced by a grinder tank or a vacuum valve pit, but fortunately there are ways to do it.  Give us a call at 615-672-3654 to discuss your options.  Unapproved modifications to the sewer system servicing any site in the City are not permitted, and can cause unintended operational issues for the property owner.  Let us work with you to come up with a solution for your site.

Question:  Can I cover up my grinder tank, vacuum valve pit, or other sanitary sewer equipment with a deck, flower bed, etc.?

Answer:  No, this is prohibited by ordinance.  We need to be able to access the tanks to repair/replace/maintain any equipment inside of them.  Some light landscaping around the tanks is acceptable as long as we still have a safe footpath to the tank, but please do not cover or bury the lid, and leave our hard-working crew members room to work.  Specific restrictions can be found in Title 18 of the City’s Ordinance (check out the “Government” tab at the top of the page, and navigate to “Municipal Code”).

Question:  Can I regrade my yard to drain into the top of my grinder tank or vacuum valve pit, and/or connect my gutter downspouts to drain into the sanitary sewer system?

Answer:  No, this is prohibited by ordinance.  See questions below regarding the differences between “Sanitary Sewer” and “Storm Sewer”, as well as the reasons we keep them separate for more information!

Question:  Can I connect the drain line from my RV or Food Truck to the City’s sanitary sewer system?

Answer:  No, this is prohibited by ordinance.  The specific rules can be found in Title 18 of the City’s Ordinance (check out the “Government” tab at the top of the page, and navigate to “Municipal Code”).

Question:  Does the City charge different rates for customers served by gravity connections vs. grinder pump connections vs. vacuum connections?

Answer:  No!  The type of sewer connection at your home or business has no impact on what your monthly sewer bill is.

Question:  Does the City charge different rates for residential sewer customers vs. commercial sewer customers?

Answer:  Yes.  The usage rates are the same, but there is a different base fee for businesses than there is for residences.

Question:  Can I get a sewer bill adjustment for a water leak?

Answer:  Yes, provided it’s verifiable that the excess water did not enter the City’s sewer system, and the volume that was lost exceeded a certain measurement.  Also, reach out White House Utility District (WHUD) to discuss your options for a water bill adjustment.  The specific rules can be found in Title 18 of the City’s Ordinance (check out the “Government” tab at the top of the page, and navigate to “Municipal Code”).  You can also submit a Leak Adjustment Request here:  https://www.whitehousetn.gov/departments/finance/leak-adjustment-request#!/  

Question:  Can I get a sewer bill adjustment for filling a swimming pool?

Answer:  Yes, we allow for a sewer bill adjustment once per year for filling of a swimming pool.  The specific rules can be found in Title 18 of the City’s Ordinance (check out the “Government” tab at the top of the page, and navigate to “Municipal Code”).  You can also submit a Pool Fill Adjustment Request here:  https://www.whitehousetn.gov/departments/finance/pool-fill-adjustment-request

Question:  Can I get a sewer bill adjustment for irrigating my lawn?

Answer:  Yes, but only if you install a separate, dedicated water meter for your irrigation system.  Reach out to White House Utility District (WHUD) to discuss your options for getting a dedicated irrigation meter installed.

Question:  Someone just put lines of colored paint and/or flags down in our community.  What’s going on?

Answer:  Chances are there was a line-located request in your area, and utility holders have come out to mark the lines.  This is required by law for any excavating or ground-disturbing activities (including setting fence posts, telephone/electric poles, etc… but also for emergency repair excavations for broken utility lines).  The markings are actually color-coded by type of utility.  Red is for electric lines, orange is for communication lines, yellow is for gas lines, green is for sanitary sewer lines, blue is for potable water lines, and purple is for nonpotable water lines.  If you want to learn more, look up the 811 utility locate service for more information.

Question:  What’s the difference between a “Sanitary Sewer” and a “Storm Sewer”?

Answer:  Great question.  “Sanitary Sewer” refers to Wastewater – this is water used in a home or business (toilets, sinks, showers, dishwashers, laundry, etc.) which then comes to our Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), and we provide biological treatment for removal of solids and nutrients before discharging treated water to a nearby stream.  “Storm Sewer” refers to Stormwater – this is naturally-occurring runoff water that occurs during rain events, that is moved from one location to another (via culverts, pond outfalls, etc.), and is not connected to our sanitary sewer system.

Question:  Why don’t we combine the sanitary sewer and the storm sewer?

Answer:  Great question, and there are a lot of good reasons.  The most important reason for us is that Wastewater Treatment Plants are not designed to treat “clean” water.  Facilities like ours rely on biological treatment – bacteria in the water – to basically eat and capture nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, and remove them from being dissolved in the water, and released back into surface streams.  The Wastewater that comes to our plant is the food source for the bacteria that do this very important job, and they literally starve if we send wastewater into the plant that is too diluted (lots of clean rain water mixed in), which can cause a plant to stop treating effectively.  While some larger and older metropolitan areas do in fact have combined systems, the practice is widely discouraged and typically no longer legal to construct because of the operational issues they can cause, the direct cost of ownership and maintenance of those systems, and numerous environmental problems that those types of systems can contribute to.

Question:  I own a property inside the City Limits, and I want to build and connect to the City’s sanitary sewer system.  What should I do?

Answer:  Give our offices a call at 615-672-3654 to discuss the process.  We recommend initiating a conversation with our team as early in the planning process as possible for all new constructions.

Question:  I own a property outside the City Limits, and I want to build and connect to the City’s sanitary sewer system.  What should I do?

Answer:  We only provide sanitary sewer service to residents within the City of White House City Limits.  If you want to connect a new (or existing) building to our system but aren’t currently within City Limits, the parcel will have to annex in.  Give our offices a call at 615-672-3654 to discuss the sewer capacity and connection feasibility, but also reach out to the City’s Planning and Codes Department at 615-672-4350 to discuss annexation and rezoning processes.

Question:  I’m interested in working for the City of White House Wastewater Department.  Are you hiring?

Answer:  Check out the “Departments” tab at the top of the page, and navigate to “Employment Opportunities” under the “Human Resources” heading to see what positions are currently available with the City of White House!  We look forward to reviewing your application.