SUD Midway Booster Site Selected

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the Sept. 22 meeting, the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties received encouraging updates on the Midway pressure boosting station and the constructed wetlands project, two initiatives that had suffered some setbacks.

Commissioner Randall Henley has met repeatedly with affected property owners to select a site for the Midway pressure boosting station. Plans now call for locating the station on the corner of Midway Road and Leaky Pond Road. The location change will slightly increase electrical line costs, SUD manager Ben Beavers said, but more Midway residents will benefit from the increase in water pressure. SUD hopes to complete the project this fall, weather permitting.

Sewanee biology professor Deborah McGrath reported on the constructed wetlands project (being undertaken jointly by the University of the South and the University of Georgia) to examine using wetlands to treat wastewater. Plans call for installing the wetlands at the SUD wastewater treatment plant. The site first proposed had deeper soil, McGrath said. The site finally settled on had shallower soil and surface rock. As a result construction costs increased by $2,000 due to the need to move more dirt. The researchers have decided to scale down the project site from one acre to slightly over one-quarter acre to save money. 

McGrath said she’s pleased by the design revisions. The smaller wetlands will be “easier to manage” and “look more natural,” making it more attractive to visitors. She stressed the goal of “educating people about water and water needs.” Plans call for breaking ground this fall and to begin planting in February. There may be an opportunity for community members to participate in the planting process.

Reviewing operations, Beavers said unaccounted for water loss has decreased to 18 percent from an average of 22–23 percent prior to SUD installing automated meter reading technology (AMR) in 2014. Unaccounted for water loss is the difference between water produced and water registered as passing through customer meters, meaning SUD is not paid for the water. The new AMR meters more accurately record water use.

Beavers’ goal is to reduce unaccounted for water loss to 15 percent. To aid in detecting water leaks in the main service lines, SUD recently installed zone meters in Sewanee Summit and Jump Off. Plans call for a zone meter in Midway, as well. Beavers said the 28 miles of line in the Jump Off community appear to be leak free.

Looking at budget considerations for 2016, Beavers cited two sewer-system related expenses in the capital improvement budget, repairing leaks in the sewer line and rebuilding the Mikell Lane pumping station. A recent video camera inspection of sewer lines revealed numerous leaks. Repairing the sewer line “is going to be a long, expensive process,” Beavers said. To save money, SUD plans to rebuild the Mikell Lane station at a cost of $50,000 rather than replace the station entirely which would cost $200,000. On the operations budget side, Beavers noted an increase in health insurance costs.

Beavers anticipates a 2016 rate increase of 2.5 percent or less, “depending on the capital improvements SUD undertakes.” SUD’s consulting firm Raftelis Financial recommends an annual rate increase of 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent to cover the cost of capital improvement needs.

The SUD board next meets on Oct. 27.