The Village of North Lewisburg has a leak and it’s a big one.
Village Administrator Todd Freyhof told council members at a meeting this week that the village is losing about a million gallons of water per month that never makes it to homes.
Freyhof said the water department has been performing leak inspections and believes it has found at least part of the problem near the Meadows subdivision. Freyhof said village crews can hear water moving in the lines near some of the fire hydrants.
Freyhof said a majority of the individual water meters on homes in the Meadows are not working. The original negotiations with the owners of the development included a stipulation that master meters be installed so that the village could monitor the total amount of water flowing into the subdivision, which contains more than 100 homes. Those master meters were never installed.
Freyhof estimated that two master meters would be required at a cost of $50,000. Council members asked if the development should be required to pay for the devices because they were included in the original agreement.
Mayor Ted Murphy said the development has changed ownership two times since 1997. Because the village accepted the ownership changes, he believes it would be difficult to force the current owners to accept the agreement reached by a previous owner.
Freyhof also addressed other issues with the village water and sewer operations.
He said extreme cold weather around the holidays led many residents to run water continuously to keep water lines from freezing. Freyhof said the normal 90,000 gallon daily usage ballooned up to over 200,000 gallons per day, which damaged some village pumps and other equipment.
Freyhof said the village needs to educate residents on other ways to keep water lines from freezing, such as insulation.
Freyhof also said a fine screen at the village wastewater treatment plant became inoperable a month ago due to power fluctuations experienced at the facility. He said parts are not available to repair the structure and it will cost $358,000 to repair.
He said an Ohio Public Works grant is available through the EPA, but the village will need to match 10% of the cost.
The village’s negotiation with Logan County regarding sewer regionalization is also ongoing. Freyhof said North Lewisburg’s most recent offer for Logan County to provide village customers with treatment of 3,000 gallons for $25.25 per month is still being considered. Logan County officials had offered a base rate of $50.50 per month for 6,000 of usage, but Freyhof said 75% of village homes use less than 3,000 gallons per month.
The administrator said the Logan County Commissioners will need to discuss the issue further. With no agreement in place, Freyhof said the EPA will likely not provide funds to assist with the changeover until December at the earliest.
In other business, council:
– Held second readings on ordinances regarding electric aggregation for the village, increasing sewage rates for customers in Woodstock and updating wording on the village tap-in and impact fees.
– Learned that the village has proposed to provide interior mechanical repairs at the village library, coupled with a $200 per month rent increase. The library would continue to handle interior cosmetic repairs. The library board of trustees will need to approve the agreement.
– Learned that the contract with Triad Junior Baseball/Softball for use of the village ball fields is being extended for 2023 with no changes.
– Relayed that the village is not interested in handling snow removal for the Jackson’s Landing subdivision.
– Heard a commendation from Murphy for the work of village staff in opening the administrative building due to the power outages that hit the village during the cold snap prior to Christmas. Murphy said 220 homes were without power and the village hall was used as a warming center for three days, using cots provided by the Champaign County EMA.