SUD Board Discusses Meter-Reading, Dimmick Contract

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the July 23 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties, the board reviewed the bids for installing automated meter reading (AMR) and revisited the issue of amending or terminating the contract with the University which allows SUD to withdraw water from Lake Dimmick in a drought emergency.

 AMR will enable SUD to retrieve customer meter data via a radio transmitter system, rather than manually reading meters, saving time and fuel costs. SUD made the decision to replace all the meters in the district to help address unaccounted-for water loss, the difference between the amount of treated water SUD produces and the amount accounted for in metered sales. SUD’s unaccounted-for water loss year-to-date is 27.2 percent. Aging meters are typically inaccurate and give false low readings.

SUD’s budget for installing AMR is $350,000 over a two-year period. SUD Manager Ben Beavers received seven bids, and all were over budget, the lowest being $414,000. AMR-fitted meters are now the industry standard for all large meters, Beavers said. Only the smaller residential meters are available in the non-AMR variety.

 Although meter replacement with AMR-fitted meters will cost approximately $150,000 more, the board held to its commitment to install an AMR system, citing the time and fuel cost savings. AMR will also make it possible to retrieve hourly data on past water use, aiding in leak detection.

 Beavers suggested that purchasing the six 10-inch zone meters called for in SUD’s AMR strategy could be deferred and the budget extended over three years instead of two. The zone meters, costing approximately $50,000, would record water use in the six regions of the district and help isolate the source of leaks. A spike in a region’s water use would likely indicate a water leak in that region.

 Beavers will review the AMR bid data and make a recommendation to the board at the August meeting.

SUD commissioner Ken Smith spoke with University Domain Manager Nate Wilson regarding the Lake Dimmick contract. 

By the provisions of the contract negotiated following the 2007 drought, SUD pays the University $10,000 annually for access to Lake Dimmick in a drought emergency. 

According to Wilson, the University’s position is that SUD is getting full value for its money, and the money is being used for dam maintenance. 

Wilson suggested that if SUD terminated the contract, the University was open to negotiating with another utility district, perhaps Monteagle, for water rights to help pay the cost of dam maintenance.

The board discussed several factors that have changed since the contract was negotiated in 2008. At that time, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) did not favor impoundment (i.e. man-made reservoir) water supply strategies on the Plateau. Since then, however, 

TDEC revised its position and approved the Tracy City water board’s request to increase its water supply by raising the dam on its reservoir, significantly increasing the total water resources available on the Plateau. TDEC also awarded funding for transmission lines to connect the Plateau water utilities.

The SUD board will hold a working session in September to discuss the emergency water supply issue and the Lake Dimmick contract.

The next regular meeting of the board is scheduled for August 27.