BlueOval City megasite authority plans to protect Memphis aquifer

The Megasite Authority of West Tennessee on Wednesday, July 23, approved a plan to protect the Memphis Sand Aquifer, which is underneath the megasite — home to Ford Motor Co.‘s $5.6 billion BlueOval City.

Ford’s electric vehicle truck and battery plant anticipates pumping several million gallons of water daily from the aquifer during peak operations.

Approval of the “Wellhead Protection Plan” is the culmination of years of negotiations between Protect Our Aquifer, the University of Memphis Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research, Ford and the Megasite Authority.

“This amendment sends a really clear message that protecting the Memphis Sand Aquifer is not optional; it’s a shared responsibility,” said Sarah Houston, Protect Our Aquifer executive director. “(This can) ensure that we have clean drinking water for generations.” 

The plan aims to prevent and mitigate hazardous materials from the megasite’s industrial users from contaminating the aquifer through its seven wellheads, which are the tops of the deep wells connected to the aquifer. 

A wellhead-protection area encompasses the ground above and below the wellheads where harmful substances could spill or leak into the drinking-water supply, making it susceptible to contamination. 

“Our concern was the more you pump, the faster you’re going to pull down any surface-level contamination,” Houston said. “There’s going to be leaks, spills, accidents, and without taking appropriate proactive measures, that’s eventually going to end up in the aquifer and groundwater.”

Houston said the amendment was “beyond what they wanted,” including a 750-foot buffer zone immediately surrounding the wellheads for more protection and the agreement to mitigate the entire megasite.

Protect Our Aquifer will continue to push for a more comprehensive inspection of the 750-foot zone once the site reaches peak water demand. 

The amendment, now subject to zoning-enforcement laws, will require megasite tenants to submit an inventory of materials used along with evidence that the materials will not harm the aquifer. 

Some proposed users will need to submit a special-use permit to the authority’s planning and zoning commission along with required documents. 

If contamination occurs in the wellhead-protection area, the facility’s owner or operator may face significant fines, expenses for groundwater cleanup and costs related to additional treatment and monitoring of the water system.

Houston said the amendment isn’t trying to stall development, but to implement risk management, long-term cost avoidance, responsible stewardship and positive precedent.

“The end goal is setting a standard for industrial development to take into account being more proactive and not just doing whatever they want and then dealing with the repercussions 20 years later,” she said. 

Meanwhile, the authority also approved the reduction of water and wastewater rates until the end of the year in light of BlueOval City’s recently announced decision to delay launch of the EV plant until 2027. 

The authority also discussed whether to take over the water and wastewater operations on site or sell those operations. The board agreed to explore alternative options.

And it also heard a presentation by Tennessee Power Distribution Co. to build a natural gas peaking facility that could be used to quickly provide electricity during peak power demands to support BlueOval City’s Tennessee Valley Authority substation.

The plant would be built on 100-150 acres of state-owned land across from BlueOval City.

The board will consider the proposal at the next meeting.