Interesting Discovery Announced at Board Meeting
J.R. Thacker, Troy Norris, Mark Vibbert and Jay Cary, along with Michale Ballard, not pictured, discussed bids, reduced water loss and being overcharged for water at last Monday’s Cumberland County Water District board meeting. File Photo
By Greg Wells
CCN-Editor
Slotts Construction of Columbia has the bid for the remediation of the water system in Marrowbone, Cumberland County Water District Board President Troy Norris said.
“They came in under the grant funding amount,” Norris added. He said the other project, a water line relocation adjacent to Dutch Creek Bridge on Ky-90 west, is being finalized next Monday.
Norris said Flowline Construction of Monticello was the low bidder on that project, which will be paid for by the state highway cabinet.
The district’s Manager, Michael Ballard, told the board some very good news last Monday night. “Water loss for last month was 23.38%,” he said. “That’s down 10% from last month.”
Norris and the rest of the board expressed their appreciation for all the hard work by the water crews in finding and repairing leaks.
The utility is under state order to reduce water loss throughout the system.
Ballard had some mixed news as well. He explained that part of the rate survey being conducted with the Public Service Commission required a deep examination of all facets of their operations, including the water they purchase.
He said a detailed audit of the water supplied to CCWD discovered overcharges. He explained that their contract with Albany was for $2.10 per 1,000 gallons. What they discovered was that they had been charging $2.92 per one thousand.
Ballard explained that this had been going on since about 2009.
“The PSC will decide how Albany is going to make it right,” he continued.
Ballard explained that the PSC was required by the law to review any rate changes for Albany’s wholesale agreements with other water districts, but none had been presented to them during those years.
Norris made the point that he had asked of the other utility if they needed to do anything regarding their contract more than once since coming into office in 2012 or 2013 but had been told that everything was the same as it had been.
“The first priority I had was to make sure that we are paying the correct amount now,” Ballard said.
They reiterated that the public service commission would be the ones to see that CCWD was paid back for the overcharges.
They did not estimate the amount of money involved, but indicated it would likely be a significant figure, depending on how far back the PSC went in their calculations.
The board had declared a dump bed as surplus and auctioned it off. Atchison lawn care was the highest bidder at $3050 and has until the end of the month to remove the item.
