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City utility crews honored as Sustainability Heroes

Water and Sewer Department members posing with Environmental Sustainability Board Chair Virginia Tegel were, from left, Chad Freeman, Bo Stepp, Chase Dowdy, Adam Steurer, Virginia Tegel, Stephen Bell, Damian Bingham and Tim Sexton. [CITY OF HENDERSONVILLE]

By Lightning Reports, Published: April 14, 2025

The Hendersonville Environmental Sustainability Board honored Hendersonville’s Water & Sewer Department with its third annual Sustainability Hero Award during the April 3 meeting of the City Council. 

The department has shown “a long-standing record of prioritizing sustainability in all areas of operation, including water conservation, waste reduction and operational efficiency,” Environmental Sustainability Board Chair Virginia Tegel said.

Some of this department’s accomplishments include the following:   

• Restoring clean drinking water in just over two weeks to 100% of customers after Hurricane Helene 

• Prioritizing integrative infrastructure improvements that use stormwater and erosion control measures 

• Creating the Mountains on Tap program to encourage drinking tap water and reducing single-use plastics 

• Creating the Water Conservation Rebate program to incentivize the community to reduce water consumption in homes 

• Installing a UV disinfection system that is expected to reduce City-wide electrical consumption by 6% or about 801,000 kilowatt-hours, enough electricity to power approximately 70 homes for a year 

• Implementing a Water Treatment facility-wide recycling program 

• Initiating a biosolids thermal dryer facility which is estimated to reduce biosolid landfill waste by over 60% 

The award also highlighted the efforts of specific Water & Sewer staff members Bo Stepp, Damian Bingham, Chase Dowdy and Stephen Bell. Stepp, Bingham and Dowdy initiated stream restoration practices to repair eroding streambanks to protect sewer infrastructure including recontouring the stream bank and planting native vegetation. Instead of taking the easy route, this crew built a durable, long-term solution that paid off during Hurricane Helene. 

Laboratory Supervisor Stephen Bell took the initiative to start a recycling program at the water plant that he currently maintains while educating staff members on the importance of waste reduction. This has led to staff members carrying over these efforts of waste reduction in their own lives which is directly aligned with the mission of the Environmental Sustainability Board.  

Past award recipients include Brandon Mundy, awarded in 2024 for implementing efficiency changes to the City’s brush collection program, route efficiency study, and implementing a tracking program for contaminated recycling and trash bins. Mike Huffman, the first award recipient in 2023, was honored for his work in water quality, stream and floodplain restoration projects, creating Hendersonville’s Stormwater Program, Trash Trout program, education, and rain barrel program.