SUD Considers Drought Restrictions

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer
“The Big Creek water plant in Coalmont is at the first trigger for voluntary usage restrictions,” SUD manager Ben Beavers reported at the Sept. 27 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District (SUD) of Franklin and Marion Counties. “Since SUD is part of an area-wide drought management plan, we have the option of doing the same thing,” Beavers said.
Updating the board on operations, Beavers said Lake O’Donnell was full, but Lake Jackson was down 12 feet at the end of August. SUD feeds lake O’Donnell from Lake Jackson. This time last year, O’Donnell was down one foot and Jackson was down just six inches.
Big Creek water plant manager Allen Joslyn observed that drought seems to run in 10-year cycles. Following the severe drought of 2007, SUD and the other water utilities on the Plateau developed drought management plans. Two years ago, Tracy City water utility completed a transfer line to Big Creek. Tracy City is in the process of getting pumps ready to facilitate the transfer if necessary.
“We’ll wait until next month before we decide whether to ask for voluntary restrictions,” Beavers said. He hopes alerting customers to the drought conditions will encourage them to take a conservation minded approach to water use. “The long range forecast doesn’t call for relief until late November,” he stressed.
Reporting on negotiations with the Cooley’s Rift developer who requested water service, Beavers said the contract had been signed and the inspection and administrative fees (total $5,180) and impact and tap fees (total $95,473) had all been paid in full. The road is paved and most of the infrastructure is in place, Beavers said. The developer has scheduled a land sale for Saturday, Oct. 1.
Beavers announced SUD outsourced its billing process beginning with the most recent cycle of customer bills. The service costs SUD $45 a month, with a $120 savings to SUD in postage fees, Beavers said. He reassured customers that “the usage graph which was accidentally left off the bill will be back next month.”
“Online billing will be available soon,” Beavers said. The billing company, United Systems, expects to offer the service in just a few weeks. Once available, customers can register to view their billing history and, if they choose, to sign up for paperless billing, by visiting the SUD website <www.sewaneeutility.org> and selecting “Pay Your Water Bill.” For customers who go paperless, SUD will save $.60 per customer per month. Customers already signed up to pay by bank draft do not need to do anything; their billing method will continue unchanged. Customers can view their billing history simply by registering and do not need to sign up for any of the billing options offered. Customers who want to sign up for recurring payments by bank draft are advised to do so through the SUD office, Beavers said, to avoid needing to reenter their account information each month.
The SUD Board of Commissioners will have one open seat beginning in 2017. Commissioner Ken Smith is term limited and cannot seek reelection. Watch the Messenger for details.