Water leaks costing Lamar major money
At the September 12 regular meeting of Lamar Town Council, the recurring subject of water leaks loomed over council’s discussions, with council member Mike Lloyd announcing that the town recently lost another 200,000 gallons due to a leaking fire hydrant.
The late-August hydrant leak is the latest in a series of costly losses, which are ballooning the town’s monthly bills from the Darlington County Water and Sewer Authority (DCWSA).
“Last month, we purchased 4,588,000 gallons and we only billed (town customers) for about 2.5 million… so the town has had to absorb that,” said Lloyd.
Lamar currently purchases all water for town residents and businesses from DCWSA and has since February when an edict from DHEC closed down Lamar’s town wells due to trace radium.
Lloyd tells the News and Press that Lamar’s water bill from February was $, but bills have steadily climbed as more leaks break loose across town. In April, May, and June, water bills hovered around $10,000, July, DCWSA billed Lamar almost $12,000 and almost $13,000 in August.
“Out of that $13,000, we probably lost 40-percent through leaks,” said Lloyd, noting that two recent leaks on Pearl Street and Main Street also caused losses of 250,000 gallons. “As fast as we repair stuff, something else happens.”
Lloyd voiced his opinion that the leaks are increasing since switching to DCWSA because the Town of Lamar used an additive called K5 to coat the interior of its water pipes and prolong their life. Lloyd said that DCWSA does not use K5, so the absence may be aggravating the leaking issue.
“We’re not blaming the county. They’ve got to maintain their system. We just need to get a handle on these losses,” Lloyd said.
Metering issues are also adding to the problem, and Lloyd says he now sits down each month with a billing register and highlights any meter with a “0” total – which indicated that customer’s water meter has stopped working. Work orders are then issued and the meter is repaired or replaced. This process has corrected some major billing gaffes – as with a local track and football field which received a minimum water bill despite heavy usage watering their playing surfaces. This billing gap cost the town $700 to $900 per month for three years.
Lloyd also noted that most of these water leaks would have cost Lamar even more if concerned residents hadn’t taken the initiative and reported the leaks to Town Hall or local authorities. He thanked citizens for their efforts and asked that they stay on the lookout for possible water leaks around town.
Efforts are still in the works to restore the local water system, and Lloyd said the Town of Lamar has just applied for a $500,000 grant from the SC Rural Infrastructure Authority.
“We’re looking to put a new water plant and a new well in, and the water plant would have filters in case radium shows up. That’s a $1.8 million project, and the $500,000 grant would drop it to $1.3 million,” said Lloyd, adding that the town is also investigating other funding sources for the water system project.
Mayor Pro Tem Jackie Thomas (running the meeting in the absence of Mayor Randy Reynolds) again discussed an ongoing issue with ditches around town experiencing poor drainage and standing water – a problem that breeds mosquitoes and presents a danger to the public.
These flooded ditches include several sites around Duke Street, Pine Street, and West Pearl Street, though some of the problem ditches are only flooded on one side of the road, suggesting a collapsed or clogged drainage pipe. Thomas reiterated his determination to arrange for Darlington County Roads & Bridges to help by sending over a track hoe to dig out these clogged portions and get the water flowing in as many areas as possible.
Council member Angele White-Bradley asked for a more reliable trash pickup schedule, noting that some citizens still don’t know what day of the week their garbage will be picked up. Thomas said that the scheduled pickup days of Thursday and Friday will soon revert back to one regular Thursday pickup, and explained that the irregular two-day schedule was implemented to spread the workload over two mornings because county inmate laborers are not allowed to work in high summer heat of 95 degrees or more.