SUD Negotiating Compensation for Flawed Meters

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the June 16 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District (SUD) of Franklin and Marion Counties, SUD Manager Ben Beavers told the board he would meet Thursday with a representative from Itron to discuss compensations for the flawed meters supplied by the company. Beavers also updated the board on the sewer inspection and cleaning work.

SUD began installing new meters system-wide last August in conjunction with the upgrade to automated meter reading (AMR) technology. Of more than 1,200 meters, nearly 10 percent have failed, Beavers said. According to the manufacturer’s warranty, if the failure rate exceeds 5 percent, the company bears labor and fitting-related replacement costs, in addition to supplying replacement meters. Itron has acknowledged the meters from a particular lot had faulty radio transmitters. Beavers said the flawed meters can be identified by their serial numbers. SUD wants the manufacturer to take full responsibility for replacing all meters still in the ground that are likely to fail. SUD will also request labor and parts compensation for the more than 100 meters already replaced by SUD and an extended warranty on the meters.

In discussing the financial statement for May, Beavers said the cash-on-hand reserve, $1,352,888, had nearly returned to the June 2014 level. A year ago, SUD began withdrawing funds from the cash reserve to pay for the $350,000 AMR upgrade.

“It’s good to know we can do a capital improvement project without borrowing money,” Beavers said. The AMR project came in $50,000 under budget because SUD employees performed much of the labor. A loan for the project would have cost SUD $25,000–$30,000.

Updating the board on the cleaning and video surveying of SUD’s sewer lines by the firm Sani-Tech, Beavers said the work was nearly finished except in difficult-to-access locations where more portable equipment was needed. SUD commissioner Ken Smith reported that the July 1 start-up date for the constructed wetlands project has been delayed. This is an effort undertaken jointly by the University of the South and the University of Georgia to examine using wetlands to treat wastewater. 

Complications and costs have forced the researchers to simplify the design, Smith said. Golder and Associates, the engineering firm in charge of the project, has indicated a costly pump is needed, when SUD has offered to supply the researchers with a pump meeting design specifications free of charge. Discussion is ongoing.

The SUD board will not meet in July. The next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 4 rather than on the regular fourth-Tuesday meeting date.