SUD Board Votes to Terminate Lake Dimmick Agreement

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the Sept. 24 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties, the board voted to terminate the contract with the University of the South that grants the utility access to Lake Dimmick during a drought emergency.

Negotiated following the 2007 drought, the contract stipulates that SUD pay the University $10,000 annually for access to Lake Dimmick, as well as 35 cents per 1,000 gallons for the water withdrawn. The board considered a number of factors in reaching the decision to terminate the contract.

The Tracy City water utility currently has a supply and treatment capacity of nearly 1 million gallons per day, enough to serve the needs of Tracy City, Monteagle and Sewanee (200,000–300,000 gallons per day for each town). During the 2007 drought, Tracy City could not meet Monteagle’s needs because its water plant was not operating at full capacity, and SUD sold water to Monteagle. 

Tracy City is in the process of raising the dam at its main lake and by this time next year, will double its supply; the utility also plans to construct a new water plant to increase its water treatment capacity.

If SUD purchased water from Tracy City in a drought emergency, SUD would also need to compensate Monteagle for transporting the water from Tracy City to Monteagle. The cost of purchasing water from Tracy City and transporting the water from Tracy City to Monteagle has not been negotiated. In addition, SUD would be responsible for the cost of installing service line and renting a pump to transport the water from Monteagle to Sewanee. SUD manager Ben Beavers estimated that cost at $20,000.

Since the Dimmick contract was signed in February 2008, SUD has paid the University $60,000 for access to the lake. No water has been withdrawn. The last severe drought before the drought of 2007 occurred in 1987.

The University has said that SUD’s annual fee pays for dam repair at Dimmick. In September 2012, Jerry Forster, who was the University’s chief financial officer, addressed the board regarding the Dimmick contract. He said that because the 29-acre lake poses a flood hazard if the dam fails, in the late 1990s the state required the University to repair the earthen dam; the repair cost was $300,000. Forster said the annual fee paid by SUD was earmarked for possible future repairs.

“It is our hope that SUD will maintain a close and collaborative relationship with the University as we move forward,” said SUD commissioner Ken Smith. “We decided unanimously to terminate the agreement and use this money to focus on other issues such as unaccounted-for, treated water loss. This measure, as well as continued conservation by the University and all of our customers, will ensure that we are adequately prepared for the next drought.” 

Manager Beavers also noted that SUD’s irrigation demand has decreased since the University installed artificial turf on many of its sports fields.

The Dimmick agreement provided “additional drought emergency insurance,” Beavers said. Commissioner Smith asked what other steps SUD might take to ensure adequate supply. Beavers said leak detection and conservation education were the best mitigation strategies to lessen the impact of drought. The $10,000 annually paid to the University would pay the cost of hiring a firm to do annual leak detection and “eventually all the leaks would be found.”

The board voted to terminate the Lake Dimmick agreement and to allocate funds for drought mitigation efforts. Beavers will ask SUD’s attorney to draft the termination notice.

In other business, manager Beavers presented the board with an overview of the long-range capital improvement budget. Several 2013 capital improvement projects will likely come in under budget, Beavers said. 

After a question by Cliff Huffman, board president, Beavers said he would research the cost of paperless-billing software.

The next meeting of the SUD Board of Commissioners is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 22.

SUD Approves AMR; Considers Revising Cross-Connection Policy

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the August 27 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties, the board voted to contract with United Systems to install automated meter reading (AMR) technology over the course of the next two years. The board also discussed revising the cross-connection policy, which could affect many local businesses.

AMR will enable SUD to retrieve customer meter data via a radio transmitter system rather than manually reading meters, saving time and fuel costs. Manager Ben Beavers received seven bids for the new system. Three were incomplete, and two exceeded SUD’s $350,000 budget. Beavers reviewed bid data from the two vendors whose bids were within SUD’s budget: Consolidated Pipe and Supply ($331,876) and United Systems ($343,636).

Beavers recommended contracting with United Systems even though the bid was slightly more. Explaining his decision, Beavers said SUD was already a United customer for billing software, and SUD was pleased with the service the company provided. Beavers also cited numerous benefits of the Itron radio-read system used by United. The Itron system works with any brand of meter; utility company employees can access hourly meter data without leaving the truck; customer interface is available so customers can read meter data on their computers (cost: $150 for the software, plus $10 annually). Itron is the world’s largest manufacturer of AMR systems; and Itron has a reputation for giving good local service.

The board voted to contract with United Systems to install AMR technology in the district, with a projected completion date of January 2014.

On the suggestion of SUD commissioner Randall Henley, the board reviewed SUD’s cross-connection policy. Summarizing, Beavers said, the policy states “No backflow is allowed.” Backflow refers to water passing from the customer side of the meter back into the SUD system, with a possible result being contamination of the public water supply. The two primary backflow concerns are customers who use both public-utility water and well water, and wet-fire systems at the University, where stagnant water in sprinkler systems could flow back into the public water supply. Customers with possible cross-connection sources, such as wells and wet-fire systems, are required to install backflow prevention devices.

There is also a risk of backflow in commercial kitchens, hair salons and other businesses, Beavers said. 

Although the board took no formal action, they discussed a number of aspects of the backflow issue. 

The board considered requiring all commercial customers to install backflow prevention devices, which is the policy at some water utilities. Beavers said installing a backflow prevention device would cost the customer more than $300. The board discussed requiring new commercial customers to install backflow prevention devices and giving existing customers until May 2015 to install one. (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation regulations require SUD to revisit its cross-connection policy every five years. SUD’s current policy went into effect in May 2010.)

The board also considered requiring only certain categories of commercial customers to install backflow prevention devices. Beavers will compile a breakdown of SUD’s commercial accounts according to the type of water use and present it to the board for review.

The SUD Board will schedule a working session for September to discuss the Lake Dimmick agreement and the capital improvement plan. The next regular business meeting is scheduled for Sept. 24.

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.

SUD Considers Water Loss, Drought Policy and Dimmick Contract

by Leslie Lytle Messenger Staff Writer
At the June 25 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties, SUD manager Ben Beavers offered new insight into the possible causes of SUD’s high unaccounted-for water loss. The board also discussed options for amending its contract with the University that allows SUD to withdraw water from Lake Dimmick in a drought emergency.
Unaccounted-for water loss is the difference between the amount of treated water SUD produces and the amount accounted for in metered sales. SUD’s water loss year-to-date is 28.7 percent. To address water loss from aging inaccurate meters SUD will replace all customer meters, which, according to Beavers, should account for about one-fifth of the loss.
Responding to a suggestion from a water-loss audit, Beavers checked the metering of water leaving the plant. SUD had been monitoring the output during the production process;this method includes water used to clean the skids which is later discarded. Monitoring the output externally as the water left the plant showed a 4,700-gallon difference in one day.
Beavers next plans to investigate sources of unauthorized consumption, such as fire service lines feeding sprinklers that are flushed in routine maintenance; not all fire service lines are metered, pointing to another unaccounted-for water-loss source. Beavers said that water used by the fire department also needed to be more efficiently monitored.
In July, Beavers will attend a conference on unaccounted-for water loss in Louisville, Ky., and hopes to learn other remedies specific to SUD’s situation.
The Lake Dimmick contract discussion at the May meeting led the board to ask Beavers to consult with SUD attorney Don Scholes. By the provisions of the contract, SUD pays the University $10,000 annually for access to Lake Dimmick in a drought emergency. Scholes questioned the value SUD was getting for its money. The board discussed whether SUD has an obligation to help maintain the lake since the University is SUD’s biggest customer, and it seemed unlikely the University would deny SUD use of the lake in an emergency.
Commissioner Randall Henley pointed out that the University needs to maintain the lake regardless. Beavers suggested two options: one, terminate the agreement; two, modify the agreement eliminating the $10,000 annual fee, but leaving in place the per-gallon use charge. Beavers also suggested that if the $10,000 fee was eliminated the University could be given a break on the rate increase assessed to all customers in extreme drought.
On a related topic, Scholes recommended SUD revisit its drought policy. By the policy, hotels and restaurants are among the businesses whose water is cut off during an extreme drought. Scholes said that as the policy currently reads, the University dormitories could be classified as hotels and McClurg Dining Hall could be considered a restaurant.
The board will revisit the Dimmick contract and drought policy at the next meeting on July 23.
Commissioner Henley asked that the board also review the backflow prevention device policy for commercial establishments in July.
On the suggestion of the college students who did the Constructed Wetlands Study, Beavers is taking measures to enhance public outreach. Plans call for a Twitter account for day-to-day communications and a SUD blog for weekly updates and information. Beavers has received many questions about the proposed constructed wetlands. SUD will also maintain a Facebook page to direct users to the Twitter account and blog for more information. The SUD website will continue to be the primary source for policy and static information, such as rates.

SUD Considers Water Loss Remedies

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the March 26 meeting of the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties, SUD manager Ben Beavers reported that SUD’s unaccounted-for water loss continues to increase. A lengthy discussion followed about how to address the problem.

Unaccounted water loss is the difference between the amount of treated water SUD produces and the amount accounted for in metered sales. SUD’s water loss year-to-date is 28.3 percent and was 29.1 percent in April. The two causes of unaccounted-for water loss are inaccurate meters and supply line leaks. Beavers said the annual cost to SUD is $62,000, the cost of producing the leaked water plus the loss in revenue from meter inaccuracy.

In the 2013 budget, SUD committed funds to replace all customer meters. In 2012, SUD’s water loss was 33 million gallons. Beavers estimates replacing the meters will eliminate 5 million gallons of water loss annually, increasing revenue by $24,000.

The next step would be to install supply-line flow meters to locate line leaks, Beavers said. Metering all of the district’s supply lines would require 15–20 meters at a cost of $6,000 each. (Outlying areas could be monitored with seven meters, but the supply lines in town are looped, making the metering task more complex and costly.) The board discussed using the $50,000 budgeted for studies for purchase of supply-line flow meters. 

Commissioner Ken Smith asked about SUD’s contract with the University regarding Lake Dimmick. By the provisions of the contract negotiated after the 2007 drought, SUD pays the University $10,000 annually for emergency use, with an annual rate increase of 2 percent. SUD would also be required to pay a per-gallon rate for the water withdrawn. Several commissioners argued that SUD should pay an annual permission-to-use fee or pay for the water withdrawn, but not both. Smith said that SUD should contribute to maintenance of the lake, but $5,000 annually was adequate. The board voted to authorize Beavers to consult with SUD’s attorney about how to renegotiate the contract.

Reporting on the operation of the utility, Beavers said nearly 13 inches of rain fell in April in two rain events. During both, SUD experienced bypass incidents in the wastewater collection system. He said almost all systems in the state experienced bypass incidents in April, and most of the overflowed water was rainwater.

The next meeting of the SUD board is scheduled for June 25.