Today, John Ray Clemmons came out in support of Mayor Karl Dean and the issues surrounding water in Nashville. The Metro Council will meet tonight on these issues and John Ray Clemmons plans to attend to show his support.

Clemmons stated “I applaud the courageous leadership exhibited by Mayor Dean in bringing the water, stormwater, and sewer issues facing our city to the forefront of his agenda. These are not new problems facing Metro, and they have been ignored long enough.”  

John Ray Clemmons believes that there are concerns which must be addressed as Nashville moves ahead.  The rates and fees must be fair and equitable. Residential homeowners should not be required to cover the storm water runoff costs of larger landowners with more impervious surfaces.  

Capacity fees for water and sewer services must be decreased so that government and other citizens do not stand in the way of men and women who want to open new small businesses and create jobs.  Nashville must also keep an eye on the impact water rate increases will have on our local universities.

 All of these issues and many others must be considered and addressed as our government takes the necessary steps to finally bring Metro’s water system into the 21st century. 

Clemmons concluded, “The EPA has had its sights set on Metro for a long time, and we must do all that we can as a city to ensure our compliance with the environmental laws of this country for both environmental and budgetary reasons.  However, mere compliance should not be our goal. We must overhaul our entire water system in a way that demonstrates our commitment as a city to being a national leader in utilizing environmentally friendly solutions to provide clean water, handle storm water runoff, and treat sewage. Metro’s Water Department is faced with limiting budgetary issues which must be addressed. Our storm water system is antiquated and requires a massive overhaul to meet these requirements.”