SUD: Audit Good; Water Loss Troubling


by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

“SUD showed a net positive change in position,” said Sewanee Utility District Board President Charlie Smith, commenting on the 2022 audit reviewed at the May 16 commissioners’ meeting. Less favorable was SUD manager Ben Beavers’ report on operations which showed unaccounted-for water loss had more than doubled since the previous month.

Reviewing the audit, Smith said he was surprised to learn the University accounted for 34 percent of SUD’s customers. Beavers said at one time the University had accounted for 40 percent of the customer base. Beavers pointed out that in addition to showing SUD’s strong financial standing and decreasing debt, the auditors reported no “findings” calling for corrections in SUD’s financial practices in the 2022 audit or in the prior year’s 2021 audit.

Beavers speculated the sharp increase in unaccounted-for water loss resulted from plastic meters installed eight years ago when SUD replaced all the meters in the district. Unaccounted-for water loss is water produced at the plant that does not register on customer meters. Unaccounted-for water loss had been steadily declining and had dropped to 15.3 percent but shot up to 37.6 percent for the month of March. SUD had already undertaken replacing the plastic meters which Beavers called “a badly designed product.” Beavers attributed the increase in water loss to meter failure since the decrease in sales correlated with the percentage of in-town customers, and the meters of Jump Off area customers had already been replaced. SUD might need to amend the budget to reflect the need for stepping up meter replacement, Beavers said.

Looking to the future, Beavers said the University was considering constructing apartments along Highway 41A between Alabama Avenue and Kennerly Avenue. The Sewanee Village Ventures plan proposed a 60-unit complex. Beavers said the aging cast-iron sewer line would likely need replaced to handle the increased load; currently only a few customers are connected in the area proposed for the construction. The University recommended SUD do a “cursory study” of the line, Beavers said. He speculated the University would help pay for the project.

Beavers hopes the flow meters needed for the study can be purchased with the TDEC administered American Recovery Plan grant money SUD will receive. Beavers recently learned SUD’s grant had been approved. He was advised he could begin purchasing materials, but not to enter into any contracts yet, as the contractual mechanism had not yet been determined. SUD’s major grant project will be to reduce inflow and infiltration of ground water into the sanitary sewer system, and flow meters will be needed to measure the success of the rehabilitation, Beavers said. The flow meters could also be used to assess possible sewer upgrades needed for the apartments project.

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