JENKINSVILLE (Feb. 9, 2017) – The Jenkinsville Water Company is passing along a rate increase to its customers from the Mid-County Water Company . . . but as of Monday night’s meeting (and vote), the company doesn’t know exactly what those new rates are.
The JWC board of trustees voted 5-1 Monday night to pass along Mid-County’s rate increases, but without providing any numbers for the public. Board member the Rev. Leon Thompson voted against the rate hike.
“Mid-County has passed it, but we just didn’t have the paperwork in front of us to actually call out a certain number,” board president Gregrey Ginyard said after the meeting. “We’re going to look at the number from Mid-County and it will come out. So we voted to actually look at what the numbers are with Mid-County and stuff to try to keep pace of them.”
According to the water operator’s report delivered to the board Monday night by James Green, the JWC purchased 1,840,000 gallons of water from Mid-County last month. Green also reported a total loss of 265,269 gallons of water. Total demand, Green reported, was 5,307,070. Total gallons billed were 5,041,801.
The water company produced 3,459,070 gallons from local wells, Green told the board.
JWC trustees also voted 5-1, again with the Rev. Thompson dissenting, to seek a loan for construction of a well on Highway 215.
“We had a test well done and it was doing 400 gallons a minute,” Ginyard said, “but it had radium in it, so we have to put a filtering system on the radium to clean the radium out of it before it’s made drinkable, potable.”
During the open discussion segment of the meeting, JWC customer David Melton asked Ginyard if the company was allowing water trucks to fill up at fire hydrants supplied by JWC water. While Ginyard answered that some trucks had filled up at JWC hydrants in the past, none were doing so currently.
“We have had some before,” Ginyard said. “No. We don’t have any now, if that’s what you’re asking.”
In response to a follow-up question from Melton on the subject, Ginyard said the hydrants were metered and any water moved through them is noted on the operator’s report.