BY LISA STAYTON
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — After relocating from their 11-year residence at Eden West a month ago, Kenneth Daniels and his family are facing unexpected challenges securing water service for their new home on Rocky Top Hill.
The Martin County Water District denied Daniels’ request for service.
Daniels shared his exasperation with water board members in a public meeting Aug. 22, detailing his efforts based on prior instructions and statements from water district personnel.
“I need water,” Daniels began. “I’m told by Alliance that I am not eligible to get water because I have no tap. They said the line was too small to supply everybody with water.”
Daniels explained that he initially contacted water personnel in person at the water plant office on Turkey Creek Road about a pre-tap inspection.
“There was a boy there. He was really nice, and he said he would go right after lunch and do that,” said Daniels.
He also contacted personnel in the water district billing office and learned he needed to pay a $1,000 tap fee.
“The women in the office were really nice to me,” he said. “They said I could pay $200 down and $100 a month. I don’t care a bit to do that.”
Daniels said personnel advised him to get his plumbing sticker and lay his water line. He installed about 900 feet of water line from his home to where his mother’s and neighbor’s meters set. Then he installed an on-site septic system and secured electricity service to his new home.
“They said, ‘Yeah, we’ll get it set up. We’ll have a tap set this Friday,’” said Daniels.
That promised Friday came, but the tap did not materialize. Daniels and his wife, Brandi, waited a week before calling the water office.
“I finally called back. I kept getting led around,” said Daniels.
“It was almost a month that I lived there when I got told I’m not getting water… I got a call later saying that someone in the office where the old hibachi was had already said they weren’t putting one in for me – there was no tap going to be set – that I’m not eligible for a tap from Alliance.”
Daniels and his family have resorted to daily visits to his mother’s home for basic necessities like showering and fetching water to flush the toilet.
“It’s tough,” he said.
“I’ve invested so much money, more than I can afford, to get everything right. I’ve had my stickers done for my septic. I’ve had my power on for a while. We’ve lived there for over a month.”
Water board chairman Jimmy Don Kerr asked Alliance manager Craig Miller if the location was on a hill and if there was a pressure issue.
“This is the one we discussed,” said Miller. “It has a 1-inch line.”
According to Daniels, the 1-inch main line travels about 1/4 mile from Old Route 3 to the meters that serve his mother and neighbor.
Miller stated Alliance denied the service because there was not enough pressure on the 1-inch line to serve three customers.
“We are required by law to have a minimum of 30 psi at the meter,” said Miller. “If he has anything less than that at the meter, then we’re in violation. There is already low pressure in that zone.”
Daniels’ suggestion of adding a pump was dismissed by Miller, who noted that it would only aggravate the issue for the other two residents.
Miller stated that replacing the current line with a 2-inch line might be the solution but said Bell Engineering would need to determine the necessary hydraulics.
“I want to go the legal way about everything,” Daniels said. “I do need water to at least flush the commode.”
Chairman Kerr empathized with Daniels’ situation but emphasized the district must adhere to guidelines.
Finally, Kerr told Daniels the district would get the engineer to look at the situation and help him get water.
“This is not going to be quick,” Kerr added.
Other board business
The water board also conducted regular monthly business. Miller reported that billing charges for July amounted to $265,791 among 3,363 customers. The water district collected $257,784, while vendor bills totaled $263,411.
The district spent “about $27,000 for fuel” for the rented diesel-fired raw water intake pump in July. The list of bills included in the board meeting packet showed the pump rental for July was $6,881.
“That’s a big hit on the finances,” Miller said.
Notably, in June, the district reported spending $11,218 for fuel and $7,881 for rent on the raw water intake pump, bringing the fuel cost to $38,218 and the rental cost to $14,762.
“That shows the importance of getting that project finished,” Kerr commented.
Board requests legal opinion on Open Meetings Law
Board members asked their legal counsel for an opinion on the Kentucky Open Meetings Act, prompted by an Aug. 9 news report and an editorial in The Mountain Citizen.
“It was mentioned in the paper … that when we met with [Alliance manager Tony Sneed], our separate meetings, there were secret meetings,” Board member Nina McCoy told the board’s attorney, Brian Cumbo of Inez. “Maybe you should look into how we should do that or what needs to be done.”
Miller commented, “It’s not a secret meeting if there are just two people.”
Cumbo answered, “If it’s not a quorum, it’s not a meeting.”
McCoy agreed, “It’s not a quorum, yes, but it’s like we’re each meeting at a separate time.”
Kerr instructed Cumbo to review the newspaper article and ensure the board did nothing incorrectly.
“We’ve done it every year since we’ve been with Alliance,” said Kerr. “We have these separate meetings to go over the budget.”
“You want a legal opinion?” asked Cumbo.
“Just check and make sure,” said Kerr. “Next meeting, you can come back and tell us if we did something incorrect. I don’t think we did, but just make sure.”
McCoy agreed, “I don’t think we did either.”
Operations
The district set 35 meters, changed 13 meters and disconnected 43 customers for nonpayment in July. Alliance reported there were 42 leaks/line breaks during the month.
The water loss percentage for the month was 68.76%.
Miller said the district continues to pump to the United States Penitentiary Big Sandy 10-12 hours daily and on weekends nine hours a day.
“That income stream is important to the district as well,” said Miller.
Construction update
Miller reported on the water treatment plant and raw water intake construction projects.
According to Miller, the remaining work includes “complete grouting and welding” of clarifier 1 to eliminate leaks.
He said Pace Contracting was on-site earlier that day to work on clarifier 1.
Once clarifier 1 is operational, Pace will clean clarifier 2, bring it back online, and then begin repairs on clarifier 3.
“After that, they have to resolve the issue with the [variable frequency drive] at the raw water intake,” said Miller. “We did get approval for [Abandoned Mine Lands] to pay for the VFD.”
Kerr expressed concern about renting the diesel pump, asking when the raw water intake project would be completed.
Miller said the project extension was through Dec. 31.
“I made it very clear to the engineers and Pace that their time is over; they have to finish these projects,” said Miller.