Summer 2014
| NCRWA.COM
21
correspondence
Becky,
Thank you for coming to the Town of Lucama on 6-24-14
and bringing the corrilator with you. If it was not for
the corrilator and you operating it for us, then we would
have had to dig 300 feet down the edge of Hwy 301
in Lucama for probably 4 days looking for the leak. The
corrilator located the leak within 2 feet. This was a great
help so our guys could get out there and fix it and get off
the edge of Hwy 301. Thank you again.
Thank you,
Ty Davis
Town of Lucama
Mr. Wilson,
Today Al Slover came by to help me with my two
CCR’s, and I just wanted to say thanks. He was very
knowledgeable and helpful. We finished both of them, and
they are now ready for my customers. I just wanted you to
know that I appreciate all the help and resources that we
receive from NCRWA. You folks are some of the best in the
industry! Thanks again,
Bart T. Farmer
Town of Wingate ORC
Dear Mr. Wilson,
The Town of Sims would like to recognize all the help
we received from Debbie Maner of the NCRWA. She
showed such great patience and understanding with
the crazy scheduling she had to endure while trying
to complete the Towns’s Wellhead Protection Plan.
Debbie was always so understanding and helpful, truly
a privilege to work with.
We would also like to thank the Rural Water
Association for all you do to help protect our
resources.
Sincerely,
Dana Hewett, Mayor
THE NCRWA MAILBOX
case studies that clearly show this to be true. A comparison of locally owned
public utilities’ production cost (cost per 1000 gallons) versus privately run
systems of the same size will prove or disprove this theory. (It has been my
experience that most locally run water/sewer utilities operate very efficiently).
On the contrary there are plenty of examples where systems have increased
rates after regionalization and/or contracted with private companies without
any significant change to the level of service. Some “regional” systems charge
their satellite systems retail rates but provide only wholesale services. Some
private contract utility companies have deferred needed maintenance to improve
their annual bottom line financial performance. There are systems that have
benefitted from privatization or regionalization when all the parties involved
receive equitable benefits from the agreement. These options, however, have
not been proven to be effective in every situation and in some circumstances it
has been extremely detrimental to some of the parties involved.
Regardless of local ownership, regionalization or privatization it will be
necessary for water and sewer rates to increase to resolve the problems that
exist. To think that our water/sewer problems can be solved simply by changing
the type of ownership without increasing the cost of the services is not realistic.
Local water/sewer rates have been set for political reasons and not based on
the true cost of providing the services and, therefore, most local water/sewer
rates are truly too low. Until local governing boards begin charging for the true
cost of providing water and sewer services there will be insufficient resources
available to properly operate and maintain water/sewer utilities over the long
run. If local officials continue to under charge for these services it is likely that
state legislation will ultimately force a change in system ownership and control.
If local authority of water/sewer systems is taken away in favor of regionalization
it will be extremely important that the regional agreements provide protection
for the “purchase” or “satellite” systems as these regional agreements can be
detrimental to small systems depending on the contract terms and conditions.
If your system is considering entering any intergovernmental water/sewer
agreement you should contract with an independent attorney that is familiar
with environmental contract law to make sure your interest are fully protected.
A true “regional” agreement should provide representation for every entity that
is party to the agreement.
In conclusion, it is likely that there will be increasing pressure from federal
and state legislators to fix water/sewer system problems. As local boards and
councils are forced to increase rates to “catch up” for years of undercharging
for the true cost of water/sewer services and pay for ageing infrastructure
replacement, there will be a perception that the water/sewer utilities are charging
more due to inefficiency or poor management of their systems. Customers will
complain that the new rates are too high. (In fact, water/sewer customers have
been getting discount rates for decades as they have paid less than the true cost
for the utility to provide the services) Legislators will consider changes that
will affect local control of utilities as a way to try to control the rising cost.
Ultimately, water and sewer customers will have to pay higher bills so utilities
can continue to provide safe drinking water and protect the environment
regardless if the systems are regional, private or locally owned.
