Century II Overview
 | KUB, like other utilities nationwide, must step up efforts to replace aging infrastructure. Century II, a new infrastructure management program, is designed to be an investment in our next 100 years of quality service - and in the quality of life in our community.
Century II is KUB's proactive long-range program to improve and maintain the electric, gas, water, and wastewater systems for our customers. It moves KUB into its second century of service by improving each system through sound planning, resource allocation, and continued, but accelerated, investment. |
Century II includes all four services, but each is at a different stage of assessment, prioritization, planning, or implementation. Under PACE 10, for example, the wastewater system is already well into the construction of planned collection system improvements. Each system has a maintenance and replacement strategy already in place that will continue under Century II.
KUB is committed to providing reliable utility services and meeting customer needs - now and in the future. By anticipating and addressing needs now, customers will realize long-term benefits and experience even fewer service interruptions.
First Step — Upgrading the Water System
KUB's predecessors built a dependable water system that has stood the test of time well. We are proud of our safe, high-quality water and the reliable system that delivers it.
Like much of our nation's water system, however, KUB's system was built nearly a century ago for a much smaller population. Today, it must serve our expanding community and meet new regulatory requirements as it ages.
Since the 1990s, KUB has focused on upgrading water tanks and the water treatment plant and on maintaining water distribution pipes. This was addressed without major water rate increases - and while replacing an average of five miles of water pipes a year.
At that rate, however, it would take 300 years to upgrade the system. We don't have that long. Knoxville grew quickly in the 1920s, and about 12 percent of the water pipe was installed in that era or earlier. |  |
We need to step up the pace now to replace aging pipes and reduce the increasing rate of breaks.
