by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the Jan. 24 meeting of the Sewanee Utility District Board of Commissioners, SUD manager Ben Beavers reported on excessive water loss caused by the subzero temperatures during the Christmas holiday. In other business, the board counted the commissioner election votes and passed a resolution affirming the requested amount and required match for a $2.13 million American Recovery Plan (ARP) grant administered by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

During the Christmas holiday, the water plant ran from 20-22 hours a day for three days to keep up with the water lost from burst pipes, Beavers said. Records showed 640,000 gallons of water produced one day and more than 500,000 gallons on another day, when average daily usage was 240,000 gallons. “We probably lost a million gallons of water in four days,” Beavers estimated.

SUD will not be compensated for unmetered water loss from burst sprinkler lines in dorms and fraternity houses. When the fire lines were installed, metering was not required according to Beavers, although that has since changed. All renovated and new fire lines must be metered. Commissioner Donnie McBee observed reducing heat in the unoccupied buildings to save energy proved costly.

The vote count in the Marion County commissioner election showed Clay Yeatman the winner in a near tie race. Yeatman bested Ellis Mayfield with a vote of 21 to 19.

SUD slightly revised its ARP grant application to account for being allocated approximately $458,000 more money than they initially anticipated and for being required to pay for some administrative costs, Beavers said. The $2.13 million grant will be used primarily to reduce Inflow and Infiltration of ground water into sewer lines which increases SUD’s costs at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. SUD will “TV” inspect sewer lines and rehabilitate manholes to remedy I&I, Beavers explained. The grant money will also be used for three other projects: to set up a computerized asset management program, required of all water utilities; to detect leaks in water service lines with zone meters and link zone meter data to the computerized asset management system to identify what zone the leak is in; and to inventory service lines for lead components to comply with federal regulations by the 2024 deadline.

SUD’s 15 percent match for the $2.13 million grant will cost the utility $319,287.97. Commissioner Doug Cameron stressed the I&I reduction and leak detection will significantly reduce SUD’s costs in the long run.

The SUD Board of Commissioners will meet next at 5 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 14, a week earlier than the regular meeting date.