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Clarksburg Water Board General Manager Jason Myers, board member Al Cox, President Paul Howe, board member Jonathan Calvert and attorney Tim Stranko attend a regular meeting of the board on Tuesday.
Attendees of a Clarksburg Water Board meeting watch a presentation on contents of utility service line samples during a regular meeting of the board Tuesday.
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WV News) — Members of the Clarksburg Water Board voted Tuesday to hire an outside company to survey customers and provide data on customer service lines. Members also voted to purchase new tanks and a new equipment trailer.
Clarksburg Water Board General Manager Jason Myers, board member Al Cox, President Paul Howe, board member Jonathan Calvert and attorney Tim Stranko attend a regular meeting of the board on Tuesday.
The Water Board approved paying $21,156 to 120Water to compile data on water lines owned by customers who are served by the water system. The cost would equate to $2.53 per customer, Water Board General Manager Jason Myers said.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule require water utilities to create an inventory of utility service lines and customer service lines by October 2024.
“They’re making it our responsibility to know what’s on the other side of that meter on the customer side,” Myers said.
At the same time, information in the Water Board’s customer database, including names and phone numbers, is in need of updating, Myers said.
The Water Board has already been in the process of determining what material uility service lines are made of. The utility also has offered to check lines on the customer side of the meter to determine what material the line from the meter to the home is made of. So far, hundreds of customers have declined to have Water Board workers inspect their lines, however.
Workers will be able to determine the material used in customers’ lines at locations served by lead utility service lines when those service lines are being replaced, but it will be more difficult to find out the material used in customers’ lines where the utility service line does not contain lead, Myers said.
The most recent inventory update shows 4,046 lead utility service lines have been identified to date, with most locations reported, according to Myers.
There are approximately 8,300 customers on the water system.
“We know about 200 customer service lines,” he said.
Potholing 4,000 lines would take a crew 10 months if they worked on nothing else, according to Myers.
Attendees of a Clarksburg Water Board meeting watch a presentation on contents of utility service line samples during a regular meeting of the board Tuesday.
“It’s not possible for us to do that,” he said.
120Water will produce and send a mass mailer allowing customers to self-report their contact information, the material of their home’s water service line, whether they would like for their lead line to be replaced and, if they are unsure of the material, whether they would like Water Board workers to physically check the line.
That information would then be reported back to the Water Board.
“There’s going to be a lot of good information with this, and we’re also going to be able to comply with that 2024 (EPA requirement),” Myers said.
To account for customers who do not respond to the survey, 120 Water will use predictive modeling, based on the data compiled from customers who do respond to try to determine how many in the total customer base may have lead customer service lines.
“It gives us something to go off of,” Myers said.
In other business, the board approved the purchase of two 8-foot storage tanks at $30,816.
The board had previously approved purchase of one large tank at a maximum cost of $45,000, according to Myers.
“We were trying to find something that was a little bit cheaper,” said Chief Operator Bob Davis.
The shorter tanks will also be easier and cheaper to maintain, Davis said.
Water Board members also approved spending $15,900 for a new Gatormade 16k Aardvark tilt-bed equipment trailer.
The frame of the existing trailer broke, according to Director of Distribution Bobby Fazzini.
The old trailer will be sold as is, according to Myers.
Water Board members also reviewed a letter to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources requesting Drinking Water Treatment Revolving Fund principal forgiveness and low-interest loans to help pay for a lead service line and selected main line replacement project.
The lead service line replacement portion of the project has an estimated cost of $27 million. The board is requesting half of the total cost in grant funding, with a low-interest, 30-year loan to cover the remaining half.
The selected main line replacement portion of the project has an estimated cost of $24.12 million. For it, the board is requesting a 30-year loan with a maximum 2.5% interest rate and 0.25% annual administration fee, while reserving the right to also pursue more favorable loan options elsewhere.
Senior staff Writer JoAnn Snoderly can be reached at 304-626-1445, by email at jsnoderly@theet.com or on Twitter at @JoAnnSnoderly.
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