West Knox Utility District

What West Knox Utility District does

West Knox Utility District (WKUD) is a publicly-owned special district and political subdivision of the State of Tennessee, established on October 18, 1954 under Title 7, Chapter 82 of the Utility District Law. The district provides water distribution and wastewater collection/treatment services to more than 32,000 water customers and 25,000 wastewater customers across a 72-square-mile service area in Knox County, Tennessee. As a regulated monopoly within its certified boundaries, WKUD serves residential, commercial, industrial, multi-unit (apartments, hotels, motels), and developer customers, with rates adjusted effective July 1, 2025 across tiered customer classes. Billing is structured around a fixed monthly customer charge (sized by meter) plus a per-1,000-gallon consumption charge, billed in arrears; ancillary revenue streams include tap/connection fees ($1,200–$15,000 depending on line size and side), backflow prevention testing ($65/device annually), and a $2.50 convenience fee on online/phone payments.

The district does not operate a proprietary technology stack. Customer-facing operations are delivered through a Meridian Cooperative-powered billing portal (account management, Quick Pay, auto-pay), the website itself is hosted on the Streamline platform designed for special districts, and the real-time outage dashboard is built on Esri's ArcGIS. Operational priorities documented publicly include completion of an EPA-required lead service line inventory (zero lead, galvanized, or unknown lines identified), backflow prevention/cross-connection control, water quality reporting to the EPA and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), and ADA/WCAG 2.0 accessibility compliance. Go-to-market is geographic and not competitive: WKUD serves all properties within its certified boundaries, with a 3-member Board of Commissioners (President Ann Milsaps, Vice President Nathan Butler DVM, Secretary Charles Marth) governing policy, budgets, and rates.

Revenue mechanics are essentially subscription-style recurring utility billing, supplemented by one-time tap fees from new development and transactional convenience/backflow fees. Customer acquisition is non-discretionary (any new connection within the service territory), and the district supports developer onboarding through an engineering review, inspection, and approval process. Headcount is reported at 11–50 employees, and the organization publicly advertises career opportunities, indicating active hiring. Revenue figures are not publicly disclosed on the company website or in the source material.

Name

West Knox Utility District

Legal name

West Knox Utility District

Website

https://wkud.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1954

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

West Knox Utility District is a publicly-owned Tennessee special district providing water distribution and wastewater collection/treatment services to 32,000+ water and 25,000+ wastewater customers across a 72-square-mile area in Knox County, operating as a regulated monopoly under a three-member Board of Commissioners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water and Wastewater Utilities

NAICS

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

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services (4900), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) (EUANADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gravity Sewer Collection Networks (Sanitary Sewers) (EUANACAA), Rate Design, Tariff Administration & Regulatory Billing Compliance (EUANAIAF)

Keywords

• Water utility services
• Wastewater treatment services
• Water distribution infrastructure
• Utility billing services
• Municipal water supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Knoxville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Water Utility Service: Monthly billing for water consumption based on tiered rates per 1,000 gallons, plus a customer charge determined by meter size. Billed in arrears.
2. Wastewater Utility Service: Monthly billing for wastewater treatment services based on tiered rates per 1,000 gallons plus customer charge. Billed in arrears.
3. Tap Fees: One-time fees charged for new water and wastewater service connections, varying by meter size and tap type (short side vs. long side).
4. Backflow Testing: Fees charged for testing backflow prevention devices ($65 per device).
5. Convenience Fees: $2.50 convenience fee for online and phone payments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

West Knox Utility District provides regulated water distribution and wastewater collection/treatment services to residential, commercial, industrial, and developer customers within a 72-square-mile certified service area in Knox County, Tennessee. The district bills customers monthly based on tiered usage rates per 1,000 gallons plus a fixed customer charge determined by meter size, and supports tap fee connections, backflow prevention testing, and engineering review for new developments.

Product overview

West Knox Utility District operates as a water and wastewater utility provider delivering services through a unified operational platform. The core offerings include water distribution and wastewater collection/treatment services to over 32,000 water and 25,000 wastewater customers across 72 square miles in Knox County, Tennessee. Customer-facing services are delivered through the Meridian Cooperative-powered billing portal (billing.wkud.com) offering account management, Quick Pay, auto-payments, and scheduling. Real-time outage information is provided via an ArcGIS-powered dashboard. Developer and contractor services include new development engineering review, inspection, and approval for water/wastewater line installations. Supporting programs include backflow prevention testing, lead service line inventory, and annual water quality reporting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Water Distribution Services Provision and distribution of clean, safe drinking water to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across a 72-square-mile service area in Knox County, Tennessee.
• Wastewater Collection and Treatment Collection and treatment of sewage and wastewater for over 25,000 customers, including gravity sewer systems and low-pressure grinder pump systems for challenging terrain.
• Backflow Prevention Testing Program Cross-connection control program requiring annual testing of backflow prevention devices for lawn irrigation, commercial, and industrial facilities, with testing fees of $65 per device.
• New Development Services Engineering review, inspection, and approval services for new water and wastewater line installations, including development agreements, standard specifications, and prerequisite documentation for developers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero lead service lines found in complete EPA-required inventory across the entire water distribution system
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Pellissippi State Community CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWKUD is a proud partner of Pellissippi State Community College's Water Quality Technology program (A.A.S.). The district supports workforce development in the water quality field, with the program designed to prepare students for entry-level positions at water/wastewater treatment plants.
• StreamlinecoreTechnology or IntegrationWKUD's website and content management system is powered by Streamline, a technology platform specifically designed for special districts. Streamline provides website hosting, accessibility compliance tools, and district management features.
• Meridian CooperativecoreTechnology or IntegrationWKUD's customer billing portal is powered by Meridian Cooperative, providing online account management, payment processing, and customer service tools.
• Tennessee Association of Utility Districts (TAUD)minorOthersIndustry association providing advocacy, training, and resources for utility districts across Tennessee.
• American Waterworks Association (AWWA)minorOthersInternational nonprofit association providing water research, standards development, and professional resources for water utilities.
• Knoxville Utility Board (KUB)minorOthersNeighboring utility board providing electricity, gas, water, and wastewater services in the greater Knoxville area.
• Natural Rural Water Association (NRWA)minorOthersNational nonprofit organization providing training, technical assistance, and advocacy for rural and small water systems.
• Tennessee One CallminorOthersState-mandated call-before-you-dig service that notifies underground utility operators to mark their lines before excavation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hallsdale-Powell Utility District: HPUD is a Knox County utility district offering water and wastewater services to residential and commercial customers. It operates under the same Tennessee state regulatory framework and serves a similar customer demographic in an immediately adjacent geography.
• South Blount County Utility District: SBCUD is a Tennessee utility district providing water and wastewater services in adjacent Blount County. It operates under the same Title 7, Chapter 82 Utility District Law and offers a directly comparable product set to a similar rural/suburban customer base.
• Knoxville Utility Board: KUB is the largest utility provider in Knox County, Tennessee, delivering electricity, natural gas, water, and wastewater services to the broader Knoxville area. It is explicitly linked as an industry peer on WKUD's website and competes in adjacent service territory for similar municipal utility customers.
• First Utility District of Knox County: First Utility District is a neighboring Tennessee utility district providing water and wastewater services in Knox County. It operates under the same Utility District Law framework and serves an overlapping customer base, making it a directly comparable peer in scale and operating model.
• Tennessee American Water: Tennessee American Water is the largest investor-owned water and wastewater utility in Tennessee, operating treatment and distribution systems across the state. It is comparable in core service offering (water/wastewater utility to municipal customers) while differing in ownership structure.

Regional players

• Consolidated Utility District of Rutherford County: CUDRC is a Tennessee utility district serving Rutherford County (Murfreesboro area) with water and wastewater services. It is a regional peer operating the same utility district model but in a different Tennessee geography and does not overlap WKUD's service territory.
• Metro Water Services (Nashville): Metro Water Services is the water and wastewater utility for Nashville/Davidson County, Tennessee. It is a regional peer operating a comparable water/wastewater utility business in a different Tennessee metropolitan area, providing useful scale and rate-design benchmarks.

Broad incumbents

• American Water Works Company: American Water is the largest publicly traded water and wastewater utility in the United States, serving over 14 million people across 14 states including Tennessee. It is a broad incumbent offering the same regulated water/wastewater utility services at a vastly larger scale.
• Veolia North America: Veolia operates and manages municipal water and wastewater systems across North America, including many small and mid-sized utility districts under contract. It is a broad incumbent that often partners with or competes for operation of district-level water utilities.
• Essential Utilities: Essential Utilities (formerly Aqua America) operates regulated water, wastewater, and natural gas utilities across 10+ states. It is a broad incumbent serving similar municipal and residential utility customers with comparable regulated rate-of-return economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/west-knox-utility-district

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 West Knox Utility District