SUD Reviews Year-End Financials

by Leslie Lytle
Messenger Staff Writer

At the annual meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties on Jan. 22, manager Ben Beavers presented an overview of SUD’s 2012 financial statement. Beavers also reported on SUD’s authority to add fluoride to the water and on the inflow and infiltration (I&I) resulting from heavy rainfall.

SUD was over budget on water sales for 2012, Beavers said, and slightly below budget on sewer revenue. The water resource charge assessed to new water tap customers made up for the less than anticipated sewer revenue. SUD finished the year with total revenue 1.6 percent above budget. On the expense side, SUD finished the year 6.5 percent below budget. SUD’s water treatment cost was significantly less than anticipated, due to the lower than budgeted amount spent on chemicals. Beavers attributed the savings to improved efficiency of the water treatment process at the new water plant and the careful monitoring of SUD employees.

A customer’s question at the December meeting regarding SUD’s authority to add fluoride to the water it treats prompted Beavers to consult SUD’s attorney, Don Scholes. According to Scholes, no explicit law gives water utilities the authority to add fluoride, but because the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) regulates the amount of fluoride utilities can add, TDEC implicitly authorizes water utilities to add small quantities of fluoride.

In a discussion about 2012 rainfall levels, Beavers said rainfall for 2012 was slightly below average, but the I&I (the amount of storm water entering the sewer system) decreased from 170 percent in 2011 to 130 percent in 2012. This calculation is based on the difference between water sold and the amount of water returned via the sewer system for customers with both water and sewer service. Beavers attributed the reduced I&I to sewer rehabilitation in the Mikell Lane area. The Alto Road area, a significant source of I&I, is targeted for sewer repair in 2013. Excess I&I can lead to overflow and raw sewage spills. “SUD managed to stay ahead of I&I from recent heavy rainfall by running the sewer plant seven days a week,” Beavers said.

SUD has received the final report on the build-out study conducted by student intern Jane Brown. Brown’s analysis showed 953 available building lots in the SUD district and projected maximum development of approximately half the lots over the next 40 years. The study will aid SUD in determining future water supply needs. The study can be reviewed on the SUD website, <www.sewaneeutility.org>.

 The SUD commissioners decided to dedicate the April 23 meeting to a presentation by college students in a course taught by biology professor Deborah McGrath. The students will present a monitoring plan for seeking public comment on a constructed wetlands as a means of wastewater treatment. SUD is investigating acquiring funding for a pilot constructed wetlands in response to a feasibility study conducted jointly by the University of the South and University of Georgia.

Commissioner Ken Smith, the uncontested winner of the commissioner election, will be sworn in at the next SUD commissioners’ meeting scheduled for February 26.