Water & Sewer Commission

Town of Mount Airy Water and Sewer Commission Meeting Minutes – October 5, 2016 Commission members in attendance: Dick Swanson, Council Liaison Peter Helt, Fred Goundry, Fred Mason, and Mark Moxley. Ron Runkles was an excused absence. Bill Strayton Health Unlimited, Brian Johnson Director of Public Works, Virginia Siemer Source Water Specialist of the Rural Water Association, and Larry Hushour Chair Parks & Rec Commission. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 pm. Minutes: Peter Helt moved to approve the minutes of the August 3, 2016 meeting. Seconded by Mark Moxley and the motion passed unanimously. The September 2016 meeting was canceled. Old Business: Tampering with Town Water Infrastructure: Section 109 of the Town Code does not contain a specific penalty or fine for tampering with or in any way damaging the Town's water infrastructure. Accordingly, a violation falls under the default provisions of Section 19-4 (Violations and penalties) which limits the fine to $50 for the first offense and $100 for the second and subsequent offenses occurring within six months. Given the severity and potential disruption and/or monetary loss to the Town, Peter Helt moved to recommend to the Town Council that a fine be set for any violation of Sections 109-9, D, E, or F or Section 109-13 at $500 per incident. Mark Moxley seconded the motion and the Commission passed the motion by unanimous vote. The recommendation will be presented to the Town Council at their November meeting. Well Production: Brian Johnson reported that the amount of water pumped during September dropped by over 100K gpd. He stated that resent effort to repair leaks in the system and make changes to the SCADA software system resulted in a significant reduction in “lost water”. New Business: Health Unlimited PWA Reconsideration Request: At the September 2016 meeting of the Town Council, the Council asked the Water and Sewer Commission (W&S) to review and comment on Mr. Strayton's request to remove the water restriction placed on Health Unlimited prohibiting filling its pools from the Town water system. The Commission discussed the impact on the Town water system of allowing Health Unlimited to fill its pools from the Town water system. The Commission considered the amount of water drawn from the system to fill the pools (133,000 gallons) and determined that it would not adversely affect the water towers, water system, or water pressure. The W&S also considered the water demand impact on the Town's unassigned water. The W&S determined that the 364 gallons per day (gpd) on an annualized basis will not materially impact the total available water of 81,000 gpd released by the Town Council for development and redevelopment. The W&S notes that a similar restriction is included in the PWA of the Ridge Swim Club and the W&S used the same criteria to assess the impact on the Town water system used to review the Health Unlimited request. Based on the Commission's review, Peter Helt moved and seconded by Mark Moxley that the Water and Sewer Commission recommend to the Town Council to remove the restriction in the PWA of Health Unlimited and Ridge Swim Club with respect to filling their pools from the Town water system and require each entity to let Town Hall know at least a week in advance of the planned fill date. Motion passed unanimously. Date of Next Meeting: With the absence of a member or members of the Commission in September, the Commission agreed to cancel September's meeting. Adjournment: Peter Helt moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Mark Moxley and passed by unanimous vote. The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 pm. W&S Meeting: The next W&S meeting is November 2, 2016 in Town Hall at 7:00 pm. Prepared by Dick Swanson, Secretary