Meta Interim Water Operator Deidra Buechter told aldermen at their May 12 meeting that Bartlett & West Engineer Gary Davis believes that in the long run, the city’s water loss over the course of a year is not great enough to warrant a large-scale operation to find the leak.
Buechter reported that 433,698 gallons of water were pumped during April, with 286,5552 gallons sold, 1,100 gallons used by the fire department, 3,000 gallons flushed, 3,000 gallons in accounted for leaks, 1,000 in other uses, and 139,046 gallons (32.06%) in lost or unaccounted for water.
By the time the city factors in electric, chemical, and salary costs, the total cost for the lost water in a year’s time is about $1,000, Buechter noted.
“He said it’s going to cost about $10,000 to find the leak,” Buechter said of her conversation with Davis.
The problem is that such leaks are difficult to pin down. “You could have one leak at 2.5 gallons a minute or 10 leaks at .25 gallons a minute,” Buechter said. “Basically, we’d be losing money if we try to find them. He said 32 percent seems high because we don’t bill a lot.”
To find the leak(s), Bartlett & West would have to tear the system apart and systematically track it down.
“Is it a major undertaking to add valves to certain parts of the city to quarter off the city?” Alderman Otto Wankum asked.
“We have a loop system,” Buechter replied. “It would probably be a pretty big undertaking because we’d have to install a lot of valves.”
“It wasn’t very long ago that we had an extremely low water loss,” said Wankum. “We haven’t found any major leaks around anywhere? We thought that one down at the hydrant was a little-bitty leak because that was all that was coming to the surface but when we dug down, we had a major leak there.”
In May of last year, it was reported that 471,340 gallons of water were pumped during April, with 340,901 gallons sold, 2,500 gallons used by the fire department, and 5,000 gallons stolen, leaving 122,939 gallons of water lost, or 26.08%.
The next month, Buechter reported 411,626 gallons of water were pumped during the month of May, with 358,181 gallons sold, and 53,445 gallons of water lost, or 12.98%.
City Attorney Nathan Nickolaus noted the city pumped less water in April this year but is losing more.
Alderman Ivie Helton reiterated that the ups and downs of the water system have defied logic. “There’s no rhyme or reason,” she said.
Buechter said at least one meter had an issue in which usage was not recorded after a certain point. That one and second meter are being sent in for warranty repairs.
“So when something like that happens, the system doesn’t recognize that as a problem?” Wankum asked.
“No,” Buechter replied.
Wankum suggested the city continue to watch for leaks.
In related news, Buechter said a water-rate study is being conducted by the Missouri Rural Water Association to determine whether the city is charging enough each month.
Nickolaus said it’s a good idea because the water system should be making enough to pay for itself, as opposed to running in the red and needing general revenues to cover expenses.
He said a resident who lives alone and pays the minimum but doesn’t use the minimum amount of water is in effect, by paying taxes used to service the water system, subsidizing water bills for others in town who use more water.
“How is that fair?” Nickolaus asked.
Additionally, he said this is something that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later to avoid a massive increase down the road. Any water projects that include grant funding or loans will require that the city charge a certain enough to avoid having a deficit, Nickolaus noted.
“If you’re not charging that amount, it’s difficult to get funding,” he said.
Inflation is usually about 2% per year, and Nickolaus said the city needs to be increasing its billing by that amount to stay even.
In other business, aldermen approved a resolution establishing control procedures for access to the safety deposit box and bank accounts at Mid America Bank. Mayor Emily Sommerer, Alderman Lawrence Hoffman, City Clerk Deidra Buechter, and Treasurer Mary Plassmeyer are authorized to access all of the accounts, but two of the four must be present to access the safety deposit box. The key will be stored in a locked file cabinet at City Hall.
* Sommer was authorized to enter into an agreement with Matthew Kliethermes Excavating to be the backup equipment operator for the city of Meta.
WATER/TRASH SALES
* A total of $2,552.36 in water sales were recorded, with $1,110.40 collected for trash service, $20 in late fees, and $89.07 collected in sales tax. Total charges were $3,771.83 with a previous balance of $891, and payments received in the amount of $3,764.01, leaving a balance due of $898.82.
FINANCIAL NEWS
* In her regular monthly financial report, Treasurer Mary Plassmeyer noted income/deposits totaled $15,539.61 and debits of $8,297.77 for a balance on hand as of April 30 totaling $299,130.13; the money market balance was $140,183.61, and a certificate of deposit totaling $53,212.56 giving the city total funds on hand of $492,526.30. Another CD totaling $124,554.32 was renewed on April 29 for 15 months at 0.5% interest but was not done in time for the April bank statement summary.
* The next regular meeting of the board will be held at 6:30 p.m. on June 16.
Other business from this meeting will be presented next week.