PRAIRIE GROVE --The city's 2019 water loss ratio was the highest in 38 years, and officials hope a scientific analysis will locate water leaks in the system.
Prairie Grove City Council waived competitive bidding last week and approved a water leak analysis contract with Matchpoint, out of Wilmington, N.C., for $28,595. Matchpoint will survey about 65 miles of pipeline to pinpoint leaks.
City Council placed two ordinances on first reading:
• An ordinance to increase council member compensation to $100 for regular meetings and $50 for special meetings and committee meetings. Presntly, members receive $50 per meeting.
• An ordinance to authorize $50 per meeting for members of Prairie Grove Planning Commission. Currently, members do not receive any compensation.
Larry Oelrich, director of adminstrative services and public works, said the city looked at two firms and recommended Matchpoint because of its technology, methodology and feedback from other water utilities in Northwest Arkansas that have used the company.
Matchpoint's price was about $3,000 more than the other firm, Utility Services Associates of Kalispell, Mont.
Oelrich said Prairie Grove's water loss ratio was 27.5% in 2019, the highest ratio since he's been keeping track of water loss.
He explained that the water loss ratio is determined by the number of gallons of water sold compared to the number of gallons of water produced or purchased (substracting non-metered water used for city services).
In an email, Oelrich pointed out all water systems have water loss with older systems losing more water than newer systems. Water loss can come from leaks but it also can be the result of inaccuracies and declining accuracies in water meters, Oelrich said.
An acceptable amount probably would be a 20% system water loss, Oelrich said.
For the past six months, Prairie Grove's water loss ratio has ranged from a low of 29% in September to a high of 36% in January.
"We estimate that we cannot account for roughly 31% in 2019, which is high, and which is why we initiated the leak detection survey," Oelrich wrote.
The city pays $2.34 per 1000 gallons for wholesale water. If Matchpoint finds one leak that loses 25 gallons of water per minute, Oelrich said the payback time for the contract would be about a year.
He is expecting the analysis will find leaks producing 50-75 gallons of water per minute. The payback time for the contract could be four to six months at that loss rate, he said.
Prairie Grove last conducted a water leak analysis in the early 1980s and found three significant leaks that made a lot of difference. Oelrich said these were leaks going into the ground that couldn't be detected by anyone.
In other action, the council approved:
• the final plat of Belle Meade Subdivision, Phase 4. This is for 55 lots that are about .25 acre in size.
• the replat of Lot 3, Phase 1 of Prairie Meadows Subdivision. A new owner wants to break up the lot into four lots and build a duplex on each lot. The land is behind Bank of Fayetteville.
• a two-year contract for IT services with Preferred Office Solutions for $1,185 per month and $7,800 for a new server for the water department.
• a resolution to open a new account at Arvest Bank for jail fees collected through Prairie Grove District Court and to transfer two accounts from Arvest to Bank of Fayetteville.
• a change to the police policy to increase the limit from five miles to 15 miles for officers to be able to drive their vehicles home.
General News on 02/26/2020