EASTSIDE UTILITY DISTRICT

What EASTSIDE UTILITY DISTRICT does

Eastside Utility District is a chartered public water utility district operating under the Tennessee Utility District Act of 1937, providing potable water service to more than 26,000 residential customers across a 70-square-mile service territory spanning Bradley and Hamilton counties in southeastern Tennessee. The District draws raw water from the Chickamauga Reservoir on the Tennessee River, pumps it approximately 1⅔ miles to a 125-acre treatment plant, and applies a conventional treatment train — flocculation, sedimentation, mixed-media filtration with activated carbon, chlorine disinfection, fluoridation, and corrosion inhibitor addition — with more than 80 water quality parameters monitored to meet EPA and TDEC standards. In 2025 the District completed a system-wide Advanced Metering Infrastructure rollout, replacing nearly 24,000 traditional meters with Diehl Hydrus cellular smart meters and integrating the telemetry with a WaterSmart customer portal for real-time usage tracking, leak alerts, and 24/7 self-service bill pay.

The District operates under a regulated monopoly model, generating revenue through tiered usage-based water rates (with separate rate schedules for Hamilton County and Bradley County), wholesale bulk supply to six neighboring utilities — including Savannah Valley Utility District, Ocoee Utility District, Cleveland Utilities, Tennessee American Water, Catoosa County Water Authority, and Dalton Utilities — and ancillary streams from connection fees ($50), reconnection fees ($35/$65), developer/construction services, and a ServLine leak-protection program. Effective reach, including wholesale partners, is approximately 80,000 people across Tennessee and into north Georgia (Catoosa and Whitfield counties). The utility is governed by a three-member Board of Commissioners appointed by the Hamilton and Bradley county mayors and is overseen by the EPA, TDEC, and the Tennessee State Comptroller's Office. Technology partnerships with WaterSmart (customer portal), Diehl (smart meters), and Wistia (video) underpin the customer-facing digital layer, while an internal SCADA system manages treatment-plant operations. The District has received consecutive TAUD recognition (2024 Nick Oberg, 2025 Kaleb Thompson, 2026 Richard Davis) for operational and engineering excellence.

Name

EASTSIDE UTILITY DISTRICT

Legal name

Eastside Utility District

Website

https://eastsideutility.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Eastside Utility District is a Tennessee-chartered public water utility serving 26,000+ residential customers across a 70-square-mile territory in Bradley and Hamilton counties, operating a 125-acre treatment plant fed by the Chickamauga Reservoir and a recently completed AMI smart-meter network with a WaterSmart customer portal.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310), Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Source Water Intake & Pretreatment (Screens, Pre-oxidation, Algae/Cyanotoxin Control) (EUANABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Resources Administration (Watersheds, Rivers, Groundwater) (BPAIAMAE), Environmental Public Health (Food Safety, Water Quality, Sanitation) (BPAIAJAE)

Keywords

• Water utility services
• Drinking water treatment
• Water distribution infrastructure
• Smart water metering
• Wholesale water supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Chattanooga

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Water Service Fees: Eastside Utility District generates revenue primarily through tiered water service fees charged to residential, commercial, and industrial customers based on water consumption (measured in 100 cubic feet). Usage-based pricing with separate rate schedules for Hamilton County and Bradley County customers.
2. Wholesale Water Supply: Eastside Utility supplies water through wholesale meters to utilities in Catoosa and Whitfield counties, including Savannah Valley Utility District, Ocoee Utility District, Cleveland Utilities, Tennessee American Water, Catoosa County Water Authority, and Dalton Utilities.
3. Connection and Service Fees: One-time fees for new service connections ($50 non-refundable service fee), reconnection fees ($35 reconnect fee; $65 for after-hours/weekend reconnection), and various developer fees including water main tap applications and fire flow tests.
4. Developer and Construction Services: Fees charged to developers for water main tap applications, fire sprinkler service connections, fire hydrant meter rentals, fire flow tests, and design review of waterline installations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Eastside Utility District is a water utility that treats and distributes clean drinking water to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across Bradley and Hamilton counties, Tennessee. The utility draws raw water from the Chickamauga Reservoir on the Tennessee River and operates a conventional treatment process including flocculation, sedimentation, mixed-media filtration with activated carbon, and chlorine disinfection. It also supplies water wholesale to adjacent municipal utilities.

Product overview

Eastside Utility District operates as a water utility providing clean, safe drinking water to over 26,000 customers across Bradley and Hamilton counties in Tennessee. The utility has transitioned from a traditional water service provider to a technology-enabled utility with its AMI Smart Meter Replacement Program now complete, deploying Diehl Hydrus smart water meters for nearly 24,000 customers. These smart meters feed data into the WaterSmart Customer Portal—a third-party platform (WaterSmart, hosted at eastsideutilitytn.watersmart.com)—which serves as the primary digital interface for customers to track usage patterns, receive leak alerts, and manage billing. The utility also offers supplementary services including backflow prevention testing, the ServLine leak protection program, Lead & Copper Rule compliance programs, PFAS monitoring, developer services for new construction, and water conservation education resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Service and Distribution Core water utility service providing clean, safe, cost-effective drinking water to more than 26,000 residential customers across Bradley and Hamilton counties, reaching approximately 80,000 people including wholesale partners.
• Water Treatment Services Water treatment plant operations drawing from Chickamauga Reservoir (Tennessee River), including flocculation, sedimentation, mixed-media filtration with activated carbon, and chlorine disinfection. Full process takes 10-12 hours with monitoring of more than 80 water quality parameters.
• Smart Meters (AMI) Advanced Metering Infrastructure using Diehl Hydrus smart water meters that automatically record usage in near real-time and transmit data via cellular signal, replacing approximately 24,000 traditional meters across the customer base.
• WaterSmart Customer Portal Online customer portal (eastsideutilitytn.watersmart.com) enabling customers to view usage charts and trends, track daily/weekly/monthly patterns, compare usage to past periods, receive leak alerts, and manage billing and account settings 24/7.
• Wholesale Water Supply Bulk water supply to adjacent municipal utilities through wholesale meters and interconnections, including Savannah Valley Utility District, Ocoee Utility District, Cleveland Utilities, Tennessee American Water, Catoosa County Water Authority, and Dalton Utilities.
• Developer Forms and Services Forms and services for developers including design specifications for waterline installation, fire sprinkler service applications, fire hydrant meter applications, fire flow tests, and backflow device requirements.
• ServLine Protection Program Leak protection program covering high water bills due to leaks. Auto-enrolled for all customers. Covers water line repairs from meter to home. Optional extended Line Protection available for additional coverage.
• Backflow Prevention Testing Annual backflow prevention device testing required for sprinkler meters. Helps protect the public water system by ensuring devices work properly and keeping contaminants out of drinking water lines.
• Lead and Copper Rule Compliance Program Service line material inventory program to identify lead and galvanized pipes. Includes scratch testing, customer surveys (SLM Survey), educational resources, and compliance with EPA Lead and Copper Rule requirements.
• PFAS Monitoring Program Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) sampling and monitoring program participating in TDEC's statewide initiative testing for 29 PFAS compounds as required by EPA's Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 5.
• Bill Pay Services Multiple payment options including online portal, phone payments (24/7), in-person, night drop, satellite payment centers (First Horizon Bank, Village Market in Collegedale), ACH bank draft, and mail.
• New Service Requests Water service activation for new addresses including online contract submission, required documentation (driver's license, lease), and $50 non-refundable service fee.

Quantifiable outcome

• Water reaches approximately 80,000 people across the service area including wholesale customers
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Savannah Valley Utility DistrictcoreOthersWholesale water customer purchasing bulk water from Eastside Utility District for redistribution to its own customers. One of several wholesale utility partnerships in the regional water supply network.
• Ocoee Utility DistrictcoreOthersWholesale water customer purchasing bulk water from Eastside Utility District for redistribution to its own customers.
• Cleveland UtilitiescoreOthersWholesale water customer purchasing bulk water from Eastside Utility District.
• Tennessee American WatercoreOthersWholesale water customer purchasing bulk water from Eastside Utility District for redistribution to its service territory.
• Catoosa County Water AuthoritycoreOthersWholesale water customer in Catoosa County purchasing bulk water from Eastside Utility District.
• Dalton UtilitiescoreOthersWholesale water customer purchasing bulk water from Eastside Utility District.
• WaterSmart (powered by River Networks/WaterSmart Software)coreTechnology or IntegrationWaterSmart is the customer portal platform (hosted at eastsideutilitytn.watersmart.com) providing billing, usage tracking, leak alerts, and communication preferences. Eastside Utility's smart meter data integrates with this platform to provide near real-time water usage information to customers.
• Chickamauga Reservoir / Tennessee River (raw water source)coreOthersRaw water supply source. Eastside Utility draws raw water from the Chickamauga Reservoir on the Tennessee River, pumping approximately 1⅔ miles to the treatment plant.
• American Red CrossminorOthersReferenced as a resource partner for safety information. Eastside Utility's July safety blog post links to American Red Cross summer safety tips, drowning prevention, and water safety resources.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tennessee American Water: A regulated water utility operating across Tennessee and a wholesale customer of Eastside Utility District. It is the closest direct operating peer in terms of geography, regulatory environment, source-to-tap service model, and B2B wholesale water relationships.
• Cleveland Utilities: A nearby multi-utility district in Bradley County, Tennessee, that also buys wholesale water from Eastside. Comparable in scale, geographic scope, and customer mix (residential + industrial in a similar Tennessee service area).
• Savannah Valley Utility District: A small Tennessee utility district that is a wholesale customer of Eastside. Operates the same Tennessee Utility District Act framework with a similar source-water treatment and distribution profile in southeast Tennessee.
• Ocoee Utility District: A Tennessee utility district (Polk County) that purchases wholesale water from Eastside. Highly comparable as another chartered Tennessee Utility District serving a smaller geographic area with similar water-supply economics.
• Dalton Utilities: A multi-service municipal utility in Whitfield County, Georgia, that is a wholesale water customer. Operates a similar combined electric/water/wastewater utility model serving a comparable mid-size industrial/residential customer base in the Southeast.
• First Utility District of Knox County: A larger Tennessee Utility District serving Knox County. Comparable as a chartered utility district operating a similar full-cycle water utility in East Tennessee, though with broader scale and customer base.
• Hixson Utility District: A Tennessee utility district serving the Hixson area north of Chattanooga. Operates under the same Tennessee Utility District Act and serves overlapping suburban customer demographics in the greater Chattanooga market.

Regional players

• Catoosa County Water Authority: The wholesale water customer in Catoosa County, Georgia. Comparable as a regional water authority sourcing supply from Eastside and serving a similar suburban-industrial customer mix just across the state line.

Broad incumbents

• American Water Works Company: The largest publicly-traded U.S. water and wastewater utility (parent of Tennessee American Water, an Eastside wholesale customer). Highly comparable on regulated water-utility economics, scale advantages, and capital-deployment playbook.
• Essential Utilities: A large diversified water/wastewater/natural gas utility serving multiple states with comparable regulated rate-base economics. Comparable as an incumbent investor-owned utility, though at significantly greater scale and across broader service categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EastsideUtility
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eastside-utility-district

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 EASTSIDE UTILITY DISTRICT