“I don’t want you to think that we are just making decisions to increase the rate capriciously, that we don’t care and that we’re not sensitive to the fact that for many people, that’s a very difficult increase,” Tomson said.
By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The Town of Davis voted Wednesday, August 14th to raise water rates $9.00 on the minimum rate of 3,400 gallons per month. The unanimous vote of Council followed a slide show by Mayor Al Tomson outlining the current status of the sewer and water systems within the Town and the need for the increase. “The reason I showed you all the stuff in the background is I don’t want you to think that we are just making decisions to increase the rate capriciously, that we don’t care and that we’re not sensitive to the fact that for many people, that’s a very difficult increase,” Tomson said.
Tomson outlined in his presentation a series of costs and projects that the Town has been involved in that has warranted the need for the Water Rate increase. “There are things that need to be done, there are things that have been done and they cost money,” Tomson said. “Same as what you guys are dealing with, but we have to break even and there are some projects that we have to do.”
Tomson said that the Town has been running an annual deficit in the Water Department. “Right now, based on our last audit, we are in the hole $21,000 for water and we need a million five for a water project that also starts next year to replace some lines,” Tomson said.
According to Tomson, several lines in the Town are in need of replacement due to the presence of lead in the joints. “The lines from Wymer and the lines from Blackwater that go to the Water Treatment Plant are going to be replaced and some water lines on 5th and 3rd are going to be replaced. The lines have lead joints. They are going to be a health hazard at some point. They need to be replaced. I don’t want to have people basically drinking water that is going through lines with lead joints. That’s not right. That’s got to be replaced. I don’t feel that that’s negotiable.”
According to Tomson, due to a flood in December of 2022, over $100,000 in equipment was lost to flood when a basement was filled with water. Tomson said that most of the loss was recovered by insurance, but there was no safety or backup system in place then for such an event. Tomson said, “Town has to worry about all the electronics at the water plant. Some rocket scientist put them in the basement. Back in December of 2022, the basement flooded and we easily had $100,000 or more of damage to equipment. There was no safety mechanism or backup to address that failure when it flooded. We filed it to insurance and we got most of the money back. That’s the good news.”
Tomson said following the December 2022 flood, the Town had a backup system put in that would drain excess water from the basement from the backwash pond. According to Tomson, the system has already been used twice since the installation. “The other thing that happened is, we put a backup in,” Tomson said. “Very simple. They drilled a hole in the wall at the bottom of the basement. So if the basement were ever to take on water, it just goes out the hole and the pipe to the backwash pond. Very simple solution. $12,500 to do it because they had to go through a very thick concrete wall. We’ve used it twice already. The basement would have flooded two more times if it wasn’t for that backup.”
When asked by a member of the audience if there was an alarm for the basement in case of flooding, Tomson said there was, but that it had failed. “There is, but it failed,” Tomson said.
Another project outlined by Tomson was the cleaning of the Town’s water tank. According to Tomson, the tank should be cleaned every five years, but had never been completed prior to the hiring of scuba company Liquid Engineering. Tomson said the company had described the tank as one of the worst they had seen. “Liquid Engineering is a company, they put scuba divers into our water tank to clean the sludge out of the bottom,” Tomson said. “Never been done. Should be done about every five years. They said it was one of the worst they had ever seen. $3,700 to do that.”
According to Tomson, the Town spent over $16,000 to construct a catwalk over the water basins at the Water Plant after receiving a violation from the DEP. The violation came after it was found that workers had been using 2X6 planks to walk over the basins, according to Tomson. “There’s a catwalk at the Water Plant,” Tomson said. “Before that, the Water Operators had to walk over the water basins on 2X6’s. We got a violation for that by the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection). We had to put a catwalk in. $16,366.”
At the Water Plant, Tomson said the blocks on the building were in need of new mortar with many areas able to be seen completely through. “The bricks, the blocks for the water plant, the mortar had failed,” Tomson said. “There were places where you could see between the blocks into the building. So we had them patch the blocks and put siding on it to protect the blocks in the future. $40,000. We needed a new roof, $12,000.”
Tomson also said the cost of equipment and supplies have also raised in recent years and acknowledged that both the community and Town have noticed the rising costs. “You’re all feeling prices go up and so are we,” Tomson said. “Equipment in two years has gone up 43 percent. The power, both how much me use and the price of it has gone up 75 percent. Luckily, our chemicals have stayed flat. Those haven’t gone up. “
Tomson said that by State law, the Town is required to cover their operating costs and operate at 1.5% of Median Household Income. According to Tomson, the MHI for Davis is $42,019. “What we’re required to do by the state and by the PSC (Public Service Commission), we’ve got to cover our operating costs and we’ve got to get to the 1.5 of Median Household Income,” Tomson said.
Tomson said that the drought has not helped issues with the Town’s water. According to Tomson, the Town’s main source of water, Wymer’s Creek, was beginning to dry up under the strain. “The drought has been a problem,” Tomson said. “We did not put anyone on a conserve water advisory. We had a problem though, because the Wymers Creek that’s our main source could not keep up in the drought and started drying up.”
In response to the need for water during the drought, the Town rented a six in pump to bring extra water from the Blackwater River, according to Tomson. “So the people in the Town said let’s rent a six inch pump, which is massive, its like a car engine and 800 feet of hose, so we could pump water from the Blackwater River, which is our secondary source, up to our reservoir. So we would keep having water to treat. That cost between the rental of the pump and the gasoline, $6,000 a month right now.”
Members of the audience asked why the Town’s existing pumps could not be utilized to bring water from the Blackwater River. Town officials and Mayor Tomson said it was a matter of volume with the amount of water needed during the crisis exceeding the amount the current Town pumps could handle. Officials stated that at the peak of the water crisis, the Town was pumping 410 gallons a minute with the rental when the Town’s pumps can only pump 180 gallons a minute. “Its a matter of volume from the Blackwater,” Tomson said. “The pumps are smaller.”
Tomson said a more permanent solution would be coming in the next five to 10 years with a new Water Plant that is in the works. “Now that is going to get fixed, but probably in the next five to 10 years,” Tomson said. “There’s a Lymeing Station that’s on the Blackwater River by the dam that the DEP owned. They’re giving us that building that we can use for a new Water Plant. We are in negotiations with First Energy about the property, whether we buy it or lease it or what the options are for that and we’ll build a new Water Plant. One that has more capacity and pumps right from the Blackwater where we don’t have to worry about a lot of the stuff that people have to deal with.”
There was some debate at the meeting over the official MHI numbers, but Tomson informed the audience that the number is set by the national census and those who participate. Tomson also said the Town was exploring the option of conducting an independent survey of the Town’s income that would require a mandatory 75% of households to participate in order to have the official MHI changed. No determination on the independent survey was made at the meeting.
The Water Rate Increase was approved by unanimous vote of the council at the meeting. There was no word given on when the rate increase was scheduled to take effect.