Monthly Update

Choctaw Utilities Plant Update

April 6, 2020

The construction of the new CU plant is approximately 90% complete. We have been slowed down by an electrical transformer specification issue, but that has since been resolved. Right now, construction has been halted as a result of CV-19, and the timeframe for construction to continue is unclear.

We’ve asked the contractor for an updated schedule, but with all the uncertainty, any sort of firm timeline would be speculation at this point. We will update everyone as soon as we get an update schedule.

We will announce our next board meeting as soon as the governor lifts the restriction on public gatherings.

Please stay home and be safe until this difficult time gets better !!!!

Letter to the Community

August 31, 2018

Choctaw utilities Inc.
Rate increase explanation

August 27, 2018

Overview

At the July 30 Choctaw Utilities board meeting, a motion to increase rates unanimously passed by a 6-0 vote. This rate increase will be effective for the October 1^st, 2018 billing cycle. The purpose and details of this rate increase are further explained below.

Background

The plant that supplies water to the Choctaw Lake community experienced a failure of a filter in 2016. After an engineering study, the plant was deemed to be past its expected useful life. Over the past 18 months, the Choctaw Utilities Board of Directors have explored the various options available to remedy this situation. A new plant consisting of Vertical Pressure Filters, aeration tower, pumps, electrical safety improvements, and chemical feeds has been in design since January. Preliminary estimates to construct this plant range from $1.5-2.0 million. The CU board of directors has secured an EPA loan at a fixed rate for 20 years to replace our plant. The estimated interest rate is 1.75%, however, interest rates have been steadily increasing.

A network of hydrants has been installed in the community, and more are planned. These hydrants have improved our ability to flush the distribution mains and are currently awaiting approval for fire suppression purposes with the ISO.

Finally, the Ohio Legislature has mandated that all utilities prepare and maintain an Asset Management Plan (AMP). Asset management is a process water and utilities can use to make sure that planned maintenance can be conducted and capital assets (pumps, motors, pipes, etc.) can be repaired, replaced, or upgraded on time and that there is enough money to pay for it. The biggest change asset management drove is beginning to save for eventual replacement of the main distribution system. We have 11 miles of distribution pipes and we were previously not escrowing funds for their replacement.

The new rate structure takes into account these three requirements.

New Rates

Lot with Service – $43/month
Adjoining lot – $10/month
Lot without Service – $12/month
Split lot – $5/month
Commercial – $43/month

How Your Money is Being Spent

Inventory (Asset) Replacement

This spreadsheet depicts the estimated useful life of the new plant and distribution system. Assets are listed along with their estimated useful life and replacement cost. As we construct the new plant, we also will begin saving for its eventual replacement. The intent is to not borrow money in the future.

Operating Funds and Totals

The Inventory replacement sheet is then added to the annual Operating budget to arrive at a new rate of $43/month.

Rate Increase Effective Date

The rate increase will be effective on the 1 October utility billing.

What Happens Next

The new plant design has been at the EPA for engineering approval for several months. Feedback has been positive and we intend to send out the plant for construction estimates in September. As always, the community will be provided updates as we receive them.

Another batch of hydrants is planned for this fall/winter as well.

Summary

CU is working to ensure the water plant remains viable now and into the future. The steps we have taken, along with the rate increase, will ensure the water provided to the community is of high quality and meets all EPA standards.

Sincerely,

CU Board of Directors

A downloadable and printable version of 2018 08 27 Letter to the Community

Choctaw Lake Hydrant Flushing

April 20, 2018

Fire Hydrants at Choctaw Lake to be flushed beginning April 30th

Fire hydrant flushing is performed each spring to ensure the hydrants are operating properly in case of fire, and to clear the waterlines of debris.

The flushing is performed by Emergency Operations personnel between 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., and may be extended longer if there are a multitude of emergency runs that occur when flushing is scheduled.

Residents mayexperience discoloration of water or a drop in pressure during these time periods, and up to 48 hours after flushing has taken place.

Residents are cautioned to refrain from doing laundry during this period. Before resuming laundering, partially fill washers with cold water until the water runs clear. Run a sample of water into a transparent container to check for settling or discoloration. Once the water is clear, the washer can be spun out to drain the tub for a normal laundry load.

Turn on all faucets in the house and allow water to run freely until it appears clear again. Avoid turning on hot water taps during the flushing period if water is cloudy or discolored, because the water heater will replenish itself with rusty water, which will remain in storage in the tank until used up.

Some persons could experience staining of clothes and other items despite these notices. Clothes should be kept damp or wet to prevent the stains from setting. The recommended “rust-removers” or “rust fighters” are carried among the cleaning products at grocery and hardware stores. Most of these cleaners direct you to add them to a regular laundry load and run it again.

Any questions related to fire hydrant flushing should be directed to the City of London Div. of Fire at 740-852-4297.

Flushing Hydrants Installation Begins

January 31, 2018

Four months ago CU formed a committee to explore acting on a recommendation from the EPA and our engineering consultant to install flushing hydrants.

After several months of researching the pros/cons, understanding the risks, receiving quotes from several contractors, and vetting our selected contractor, we passed a unanimous motion to install hydrants.

On behalf of the CU Board, I’m happy to show you the first complete installed hydrant. It’s on the East Side on Suqulak. By the time this contract is fulfilled, we will have 14 total hydrants installed at various locations around the community.

We selected a contractor that has experience working on our type of distribution piping. We are able to install these hydrants without isolating the distribution system. This process is called “hot tapping.” However, this work is not without risk.

Over the next few weeks, weather permitting, you may see our contractor installing hydrants throughout the neighborhood. If something doesn’t go right, and it becomes necessary to notify you of any problems, we will be posting on this forum, Facebook, and via the email system.

These hydrants will allow us to do a much more thorough flush than we are currently able to do. As unusual as this sounds, flushing the distribution system is a common maintenance practice for any water system.

Please drive safely and watch out for our contractors who will be working over the next few weeks – and let’s hope for good weather!

I would like to thank the CU team that made this important piece of infrastructure happen.

Choctaw Utilities November 2017 Update

November 29, 2017

We hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving and realize that most of you are getting ready to move into December and the upcoming Christmas season. Things have been progressing well as Choctaw Utilities (CU) continues to move forward with our plans to construct our new water plant next year. Here are a few of the many items we have been addressing the last 30-45 days:

WELL TESTING RESULTS

We concluded testing of our well pumps in October. This was requested by the EPA to test the viability of upgrading our water plant capacity from 400K gallons per day (GPD) to 550K GPD with the building of our new plant. Each well was tested at 150% of its rated capacity and the aquifer was monitored for unacceptable draw down. The testing was successful, and these results were sent to the EPA for their review. During these tests, we also conducted routine maintenance on well #1 (we have three wells) and put in larger motors on the other 2 wells. As we move forward with the new plant, it is good to know that we have three good, deep wells for our water production.

FLUSHING HYDRANTS

The CU board is very close to finalizing a contract to install approximately 17 new water hydrants at various points on our distribution system. We have been working at securing bids for the project, as well as working with the fire chief in London on the proper placement of these new hydrants. The primary purpose of these is to be able to adequately flush our distribution system several times a year. Currently, we only have two hydrants (1 on the east and 1 on the west side) and this does not allow us to flush and prevent the buildup of sediment on our distribution system. Yes, our water is very clean, but over time, sediment will inevitably build up and must be flushed out. This project has been blessed by the EPA and we hope to have these installed over the winter. We have specified the same brand and style of hydrant the city of London uses; we hope to also have these approved for fire suppression in the event of a structure fire.

EPA MEETING

The CU staff and several members of the CU board welcomed a group from the EPA at our water plant on November 17. This inspection and review of our operations was part of the Managerial review process of securing low-interest funding from the EPA. Senate Bill 2, which requires utilities to have a long-term plan by Oct 2018, was recently passed by the Ohio legislature. By the time we are ready to commence construction, rest assured CU will have been reviewed from top to bottom by multiple agencies. This review was part of that new process. The meeting went very well as they were impressed with our operations and plans for the new water plant.

GENERAL PLAN

Our engineering firm, MS Consultants, has submitted our General Plan to the EPA for their review. This suffices the Technical piece of the EPA review process. The purpose of the General Plan is so the EPA can broadly review the proposed plant. The EPA will review this plan and get back to us after the first of the year. With the General Plan approved the next step is moving into “Detail Design.” Detail Design is where we will hire an engineering firm to provide the blueprints of the actual plant.

MADISON COUNTY/CLPOA MEETING

At the request of a few CLPOA trustees and Madison County, several members of the CU board attended a meeting to hear a presentation from Madison County about the possibility of supplying bulk water to the Choctaw Lake community. Here is a report of the meeting, as submitted by Scott Kutzley, member of both the CU and CLPOA board:

“On Tuesday evening, 11/21/17, thirteen members of the CLPOA board of trustees, the CU board of directors, and our lake manager met with three Madison County representatives. The focus of the meeting was to discuss the proposed county water treatment plant, the potential for the Choctaw Lake community to obtain water from the County, and the concern that County has for copper entering the waste water treatment plant from our community.

The County believes that they are close to an agreement with the State of Ohio to take over management and upgrades to the existing water treatment plant at the prison complex. Their intent is to sign a long term lease with the State and purchase the plant from the State within a year or two.

The primary initial goal of the County is to run water to the route 42 and interstate 70 area to promote development. They are not focused on adding Choctaw Lake to their new distribution system but it would help their economic model to add the revenue that would be associated with our community. With county water available at Choctaw Lake, the county stated they would be willing to sell to surrounding areas and promote development.

If Choctaw Lake does not join their water system, the new water main will run along route 38 and go east on route 40 toward route 42. This route would then bypass both Choctaw Lake and Somerford and would inhibit growth and development in our vicinity. If Choctaw Lake does join their new water system, the new water main would run along 56 to Old Columbus Road, and also go east along route 40 toward the route 42 area.

The County believes that they will be able to supply water through their new distribution system within 18 to 24 months. Their preliminary estimate to supply bulk rate water to our community is $48 per household, per month. The County will not incorporate our water distribution system into their system, so CU would still be required to maintain billing services and maintenance of the CU properties and water distribution piping, valves and water towers. CU believes it would cost the homeowner about $12 per month to continue the billing and water distribution services, so the total monthly bill would be approximately $48 plus $12= $60, or $180 per quarter.

CU believes that if we install a new water treatment plant adjacent to our existing plant, our monthly water bill will go from $30 to approximately $40 per month. Although the County would supply softened water, which CU does currently not offer, CU believes that a new water softening system is feasible and would add about $8 per month, per household. So if water softening is added to the new water treatment plant the total monthly bill would be approximately $48, or $144 per quarter. Without the addition of a water softening system, the CU rate would be $30 plus $10= $40 per month, or $120 per quarter.

WATER SOFTENER CAMPAIGN

To help with the copper issues at the sewer plant, CU is looking to train a network of volunteers to help “tune” personal water softeners. Your softener will soften the water to 0 grains of hardness, which could be a contributor to high copper levels. We need your softener set to 7 grains, which is the optimal level for copper corrosion control. The CU volunteer will make a slight adjustment to the bypass valve, thus blending the output water to 7 grains. If you are interested in helping, please email davelohrer@hotmail.com.

TIMELINE

Our timeline is to complete engineering / bid specs in the next few months and move the project out for bid in early 2018. Following the bid process, we intend to select our contractor and hope to begin the construction process in early summer 2018. This timeline is subject to change at any time.

We will be continuing the posting of monthly updates on our website in an attempt to keep the Choctaw Lake community updated on the progress of our new water plant. Please feel free to contact any of your board members if you have any questions.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 29, 2018 at 7:00 pm at the lodge. Everyone is welcome to attend.

A downloadable and printable 2017 11 CU Plant Update