BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Water District will not require a rate increase contingent upon the contractor completing the raw water intake by the projected July date and consistent water sales to the federal prison. This is according to Tony Sneed, Alliance Water Resources vice president and director of operations, who presented the water district’s 2023 audit during the April 23 board meeting.
“Once we get past this July, then the next six months, we should catch up, so I don’t anticipate a rate increase,” Sneed stated. “Of course, all that is dependent on that raw water pump.”
Sneed reviewed the district’s finances and the 2023 audit, saying, “This is the first audit you’ve had in at least 15 years that is unqualified, meaning there is nothing wrong with the audit. That’s a good accomplishment.”
The audit shows MCWD met income goals, but renting a pump for the raw water intake and paying for the diesel fuel to operate it led to a budget overspend of approximately 14%. The cost is currently averaging $35,000 per month.
“You can imagine what that does to our budget,” said Sneed.
According to the audit, revenues increased from the previous year by $59,000 or 2% and totaled $3.26 million, which Sneed attributed to the last rate increase. Operating expenses increased by $286,000 or 9.5% and totaled $3.3 million.
“We would really be good financially right now if it was not for the raw water situation.”
The contractor working on the raw water intake project recently provided Alliance with a projected date of June 1 for equipment installation that would complete the raw water intake project.
“I’m adding on a month because that’s just how stuff works,” said Sneed.
He also commented on the loss of revenue the district experiences when it is unable to pump water to the federal prison, which is “around $20,000 per month.”
“We’re selling 10,000 as opposed to buying 10,000,” Sneed explained.
Recent infrastructure issues on New Route 3 disrupted water quality and temporarily halted sales to the prison. The district resumed pumping to the prison April 23 and is taking special measures to ensure the water is clean.
“It’s a priority for us,” said Sneed. “And we’re going to live and breathe that every day.”
He added, “We have to flush before we pump.”
Sneed went on to explain the adjustments he made in drafting the 2023 budget, which included removing certain non-cash items and depreciation expenses to present a clearer financial picture.
“When I do that and I compare the expenses, we were $240,000 over the expenses,” he said.
“I think our budget is good. We just have these two issues to work through.”
Following former water manager Craig Miller’s resignation last month, Sneed discovered unpaid vendor bills.
“Candidly,” he said to board chairman Jimmy Don Kerr, “you were a little shocked by Prestonsburg not having been paid. When you approve paying bills every month, they’re approved. [Alliance employee Cassie Moore] can’t really pay them until we actually have cash. We had several that had not been paid, so we moved money around between Alliance and the district to get those paid. I think we’re pretty much caught up.”
He added, “It also means that Alliance is still carrying… It’s all due to the delay with the raw water intake.”
Moving the meeting forward, Sneed addressed water loss, which was 75.09% in March.
“That is an area that I personally am disappointed about—that we haven’t made progress in water loss,” he remarked. “We’re going to refocus on that.”
In other business, the board awarded a water line replacement project to Boca Enterprises for $1.38 million. The project, “Beauty-Lovely Line Replacement,” will replace lines and meters on Collins Creek Road in Warfield. The board has $1.5 million to spend on the project, which U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers announced in March 2022.
The water board will meet again May 28 at 6 p.m. in the government center.