Public Works Mission Statement

The Water Department operates out of the Mill Creek Regional Water Treatment Plant in conjunction with the Washington County Service Authority (WCSA). The plant was substantially upgraded in 2019 with a $3.4 million project and can produce up to 3.1 Million Gallons a Day (MGD), which the Town has
1.4 MGD and the WCSA 1.7 MGD. The Town serves a population of approximately 7,000 residential, commercial and industrial patrons in the Town of Chilhowie, in Smyth County outside of the corporate limits, and in Washington County.

The Sewer Department operates out of a modern .999,999 MGD multi million dollar facility adjacent to I-81 on the southwest corner of the Town. It serves the Town of Chilhowie and into the Seven Mile Ford area. Smyth County pays a proportional share of the Operation and Maintenance cost at the facility for its customers in the Green Hill area, and from Highway 107. The plant serves approximately 4,000 residential, commercial and industrial patrons.

The Chilhowie Public Works Departments maintains hundreds of miles of water and sewer lines and appurtenances in the Town and in Smyth and Washington Counties. It also has responsibilities in maintaining Town facilities, including the H.L. Bonham Visitors Center (containing the Smyth County Chamber of Commerce), the Old High School (containing the Chilhowie Branch of the Smyth County Library and other services), the Town Hall, Fire and Emergency Medical Buildings, the Town Shop Buildings, Town Parks and Streets within the corporate limits.

The mission of the Chilhowie Public Works Department is to provide, maintain and improve these services to citizens of our Town and area in the most cost efficient and effective methods possible; and, in times of outages and emergencies, provide timely response to these situations.