At the Carroll-Boone Water District quarterly meeting on October 21, Office Manager Cathy Klein proposed a three percent salary increase for all employees. Several Board members mentioned that the Consumer Price Index rose 5.4 percent on a year-over-year basis. The board then approved a compromise raise of 4.2 percent beginning Jan. 1, 2022.
Citing that construction costs are estimated to rise by 30 percent, along with other proposed expenditures, consulting engineer Brad Hammond proposed that the wholesale price of water be increased by 15 cents per gallon. The board agreed, and the wholesale cost to cities will increase to $1.90/1,000 gallons January 1, 2022.
Finances healthy but costs are higher
“There’s been a lot going on since we met together last,” Klein said. The cost of electricity was $17,000 higher than projected for the quarter. Chlorine is up $25,000 per year and has increased 47.2 percent since March 2021. The increase is 75 cents per pound since last quarter. Ammonia prices have increased by four cents a pound.
Klein spoke with the supplier and was told that this plant receives ammonia and chlorine from Houston, and extreme weather this year, coupled with a national chlorine shortage, means prices are expected to increase.
She said that the balance sheet had a net increase of $826,000 in 2020-21, with $11.9 million available cash. Gene Brooks moved to publish a Request for Proposal for a required three-year audit, and that passed.
Progress update
Plant Manager Barry Connell remarked on sludge hauler operations, saying, “For the first time in three years we got everything cleaned out. We hauled about two to three million gallons of sludge in about three weeks.”
He added that there was one day when a generator issue caused a brief shutdown. “We sat here dead for about six hours but at the end of the day we were back up and running.”
A leak in a pipe to Alpena was repaired quickly by cutting and replacing a segment. The leak was attributed to a probable “hot spot” in the acidic clay, causing the pipe to rust. Connell noted that some repairs are lengthy due to old pipe not being perfectly round, causing issues with fitting to new, calibrated segments.
Ongoing projects
Engineering reports that the raw water intake improvement project is complete and operational, with no cost changes. The East and West water generator improvements, expected to be completed in October, are now scheduled for November due to supply chain issues. The East and West generator cost estimate has not changed, remaining at $3.86 million. Repairing and replacing meters and valves is on budget and on schedule.
Infrastructure funds sought
The engineering noted that American Rescue Plan includes funds for water infrastructure projects. There are four major infrastructure projects underway: an ammonia and chlorine feed equipment upgrade for the East and West plants requiring $500,000; the Pine Mountain tank and booster tank repair and refurbishment project (price undetermined), the parallel transmission main connecting Berryville with Green Forest upgrade, estimated at $3 million, and the West plant filter refurbishment at $2.5 million.
It was suggested that, with heavy competition for available funds, the best strategy is to propose funding for a single critical project and show how that project serves a currently underserved area and/or a population below the poverty line.
The parallel water transmission main was proposed by Hammond as being the most likely to be funded because its are underserved, or soon will be, without the improvement. Connell said that he would rather see the proposal address plant needs but understands that the project most likely to be funded might be the parallel transmission line. Further talks between Connell and consulting engineers Hammond and Chris Hall will result in a decision.
The next meeting will be Jan. 20, 2022.