Consolidated Utility District

What Consolidated Utility District does

Consolidated Utility District of Rutherford County (CUD) is a nonprofit public utility district organized under Tennessee state law, formed in 1968 through the merger of four predecessor districts (Stones River, Florence, Double Springs, and Rockvale). CUD provides water and wastewater services to residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental customers across Rutherford County, Tennessee, serving more than 70,000 accounts (over 200,000 people) through a distribution network of 1,700+ miles of pipe and 5,000+ fire hydrants.

The utility's core technical infrastructure centers on the K. Thomas Hutchinson Water Treatment Plant (32 million gallons per day maximum capacity after a $15.5 million expansion completed in 2020) and the largest decentralized STEP (Septic Tank Effluent Pump) wastewater fleet in Tennessee — 6,000+ tanks across 65+ subdivisions. Operational technology includes Itron Automated Meter Reading (AMR) infrastructure ($1.3M contract), GIS-based asset mapping, District Metered Areas for proactive leak detection, and FlowCam Cyano computer-vision screening for cyanobacteria. CUD's water treatment performance earned consecutive Partnership for Safe Water recognition (2023 Award of Excellence, 2025 Partnership for Safe Water Award) and a "nearly perfect" 2023 TDEC compliance score.

CUD's revenue model is ratepayer-funded with no tax dollars: recurring monthly bills for water and STEP sewer service form the base, supplemented by one-time tap fees, System Development Charges, and assorted service fees (activation, tampering, reconnection). The supporting go-to-motion is primarily direct-to-consumer through office, drive-thru, online, mobile-app (myCUD), phone, and automatic-bank-draft channels, with a separate developer-services channel managed by the Engineering Department for new-construction plan review, meter applications, and SDC administration. The utility is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners (all CUD customers) and operates with 130+ employees.

Name

Consolidated Utility District

Legal name

Consolidated Utility District of Rutherford County

Website

https://cudrc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Consolidated Utility District (CUD) is a nonprofit public utility district serving over 70,000 residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental accounts across Rutherford County, Tennessee with drinking-water treatment (32 MGD capacity) and the largest decentralized STEP wastewater system in the state.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water and Wastewater Utility Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Sewage Treatment Facilities (22132), Sewage Treatment Facilities (221320), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration (BPAIACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Decentralized/Package Wastewater Systems (Small/Remote) (EUANADAE), Onsite/Decentralized Reuse Utilities (District/Building‑Scale Reuse as a Service) (EUANAGAH)

Keywords

• Water utility services
• Wastewater collection
• Decentralized wastewater systems
• Water distribution
• Municipal water supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Murfreesboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Monthly Water Bills: Recurring monthly charges based on water usage per thousand gallons plus minimum bill charges based on meter size. Primary revenue stream from over 70,000 residential and commercial accounts.
2. Tap Fees and System Development Charges: One-time fees for new service connections including tap fees, meter set fees, and System Development Charges (SDC) to finance utility system development for new customers.
3. STEP Sewer Service: Monthly sewer charges for customers with STEP systems, including base minimum bill and usage-based charges per thousand gallons.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Consolidated Utility District (CUD) is a nonprofit public utility district that provides potable water distribution and wastewater collection/treatment services to more than 70,000 residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental accounts across its service area. It is the largest operator of STEP (Septic Tank Effluent Pump) decentralized wastewater systems in Tennessee, supported by the K. Thomas Hutchinson Water Treatment Plant, and also provides developer services such as plan review, tap and meter installation, and System Development Charges.

Product overview

Consolidated Utility District provides essential water and wastewater services to Rutherford County, Tennessee. The utility operates a unified service platform centered on water distribution (serving over 70,000 accounts through 1,700+ miles of pipe), wastewater management via STEP (Septic Tank Effluent Pump) systems, and water treatment at the K. Thomas Hutchinson Water Treatment Plant (32 MGD capacity). Supporting services include customer billing/payments (with myCUD mobile app), developer services for new construction, field operations for meter management, leak adjustments, and community programs like Neighbor-4-Neighbor. The company also publishes department dashboards for public transparency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Distribution Service

Quantifiable outcome

• 8-12% water loss (2023)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Community HelpersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal nonprofit partner managing the Neighbor-4-Neighbor program, which provides temporary assistance to Rutherford County families facing financial difficulties in paying their residential water bills. CUD partners with Community Helpers to administer bill assistance.
• Tennessee Association of Utility Districts (TAUD)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState association representing utility districts in Tennessee. Recognized CUD for excellence in recruitment of talent and nominated CUD to National Rural Water Association for workforce excellence programs.
• National Rural Water AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization serving rural water and wastewater utilities. CUD was nominated by TAUD for workforce excellence recognition and participated in association video discussing CUD's culture of excellence.
• Tennessee State University - National Center for SMART Technology InnovationsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCUD Board Advisor Dr. Robin Blackman serves as Senior Program Executive Director of HBCU C2 Initiative at Tennessee State University, promoting SMART Technology Innovations, educational equity, and addressing community challenges using app design and Apple Swift programming language.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• American Water Works Company: Largest publicly-traded US water and wastewater utility, serving ~14 million people across 14 states. Comparable as a regulated water/wastewater provider with similar operational, regulatory, and capital-deployment dynamics, though it operates as an investor-owned utility at vastly greater scale.
• Essential Utilities (formerly Aqua America): Multi-state regulated water and natural gas utility serving ~5 million people across 10 states. Comparable as a water/wastewater provider with rate-regulated revenue and acquisition-driven growth strategy, particularly in mid-sized communities.
• California Water Service Group: Investor-owned water utility serving ~2 million people in California, Hawaii, New Mexico, and Washington. Comparable regulated water utility business model and infrastructure-investment-driven growth, but operates exclusively in western geographies.
• Middlesex Water Company: Investor-owned water and wastewater utility in New Jersey and Delaware. Comparable as a smaller, geographically concentrated water utility with similar regulatory and infrastructure dynamics.
• SJW Group: Water and wastewater utility holding company operating in California, Connecticut, Maine, and Texas. Comparable regulated water utility with similar customer-base and capital-intensive infrastructure model.

Direct peers

• Hallsdale-Powell Utility District: Tennessee water and wastewater utility district serving Knox and surrounding counties. Most directly comparable peer as a fellow Tennessee utility district operating under the same state regulatory framework and serving similar suburban/rapidly-growing communities.
• West Knox Utility District: Tennessee utility district providing water and wastewater services in Knox County. Directly comparable as a Tennessee utility district with similar size, governance, and service territory characteristics.

Emerging players

• Infiltrator Water Technologies: Leading manufacturer of decentralized wastewater treatment technologies including septic and treatment systems. Comparable through its focus on decentralized/on-site wastewater solutions, the same niche where CUD operates STEP systems at scale.

Others

• Mueller Water Products: Manufacturer of water infrastructure products including meters, valves, and hydrant products. Comparable as a supplier/ecosystem participant serving water utilities with metering technology; CUD uses Itron AMR systems and operates 5,000+ hydrants with similar infrastructure needs.
• Itron Inc. Global provider of metering and water resource management technology. Directly comparable as an existing CUD technology partner ($1.3M contract) and as a key supplier of AMI/AMR infrastructure to water utilities of CUD's profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CUDRC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/consolidated-utility-district

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Consolidated Utility District