Water & Sewer Commission

Town of Mount Airy Water and Sewer Commission Meeting Minutes – September 6, 2017 Commission members in attendance: Dick Swanson, Council Liaison Peter Helt, Ted Cisowski, Fred Mason, Mark Moxley, and Ron Runkles. Fred Goundry is an excused absences. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm. Director of Public Works Brian Johnson, Karl Munder and Virginia Siemer Source Water Specialist of the Rural Water Association attended the meeting. Minutes: Ron Runkles moved to approve the minutes of the August 2, 2017 meeting. Seconded by Peter Helt and the motion passed unanimously. Old Business: W&S Monitoring System: Director of Public Works Brian Johnson updated the members on the status of improvements to the water and waste water monitoring systems. Upgrades to water stations 1, 2, and 3 are complete. Water station 4 is in final testing and upgrades to water station 5 will start soon. Waste water upgrades are complete. Erroneous maintenance calls have drop from approximately 30 to zero. The SCADA system monitors the water and waste water systems but no longer controls the systems. Since maintenance staff check the facilities daily, controls are check on-site rather than remotely. This procedure increases security by prevents a hacker from taking control of the system and any breach is limited to viewing some data. Brian Johnson was asked about emergency safeguards during weather or other significant events. He stated that generators are installed and can operate from 24 to 36 hours before refueling. A process is in place to bring fuel and check operating conditions to keep the systems running indefinitely barring a major breakdown of the equipment. W&S Financial Status FY 2017: Dick Swanson distributed a copy of the preliminary year end FY 2017 financial results. On a cash basis, the total W&S departments expenditures exceeded revenue by approximately $106,000 mostly resulting from capital project expenses exceeding capital revenue. The members were ask to consider whether what, if any, action the Commission should consider recommending to the Council at the W&S October meeting. Peter Helt suggested the Commission consider adjusting the Service Benefit Charge rather than making any wholesale changes to the water or sewer service charges. New Business: Water and Waste Water Flows: Dick Swanson gave the members the latest well, POE and waste water volumes for calendar year 2017 to date as compared to historical data going back to 2003. The current numbers appear in-line with history. Virginia Siemer inquired about the Town's last Water Audit” (a water audit is to determine the amount of unaccounted-for water in a water distribution system – water not reaching the point of sale). Brain Johnson stated that a leak detection review is done annually but a formal water audit has not been performed in several years. Virginia Siemer suggested that the Town contact American Water Works Association (AWWA) since they provide free software to assist municipalities in performing water audits. Sludge Disposal: Brain Johnson mentioned that a potential problem could result from the State's strict guidelines and sludge recipients permit requirements for the removal and disposal of sludge from the Waste Water Treatment Plant. Several suggestion were made about who he should consider contacting for recommendations to address the issue. Adjournment: Dick Swanson moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Peter Helt and passed by unanimous vote. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 pm. W&S Meeting: The next W&S meeting is October 4, 2017 in Town Hall at 7:00 pm. Prepared by Dick Swanson, Secretary