Winter January 2008

 

Water To Our Rural Neighbors

 

Jackson County Water is continuously approached by residents of Jackson and Vinton Counties who are in need of safe drinking water. These residents live in the rural areas that we all enjoy so well. However, the beautiful hills and valleys, streams and forests can present a multitude of engineering and construction obstacles. As we continue to try to extend water service to these individuals, we are reminded of two important facts. First of all, the farther out in rural areas you live, the more costly utilities are to construct and maintain. Secondly, rural Jackson and Vinton Counties are a beautiful place to live and work. Sometimes the cost is well worth it.

 

Jackson County Water has been contracted to provide maintenance services to the Vinton County Water Company since August of 2007. We are presently exploring the possibility of acquiring the Vinton County Water system and integrating it into the Jackson County Water system. The benefits to our existing customers would be improved hydraulics and resolving the disinfection by-product problems for current Jackson County Water customers in Vinton County . It would also allow us to more efficiently utilize the new water treatment facility which has more than adequate production capacity. It would also improve our distribution system capacity to expand service to additional residents in need of safe, public water service.

 

Jackson County Water presently has two other projects that will be built early in 2008. Jackson County Water will be building a water line on Five Points Road in Scioto Township in Jackson County . This project is a joint project with the Jackson County Commissioners and the Scioto Township Trustees. Jackson County Water will also be building a 6 inch water line on Kelly Road in Jackson County and into Vinton County . This project is a joint venture with the Vinton County Commissioners. We appreciate all of these officials and their willingness in helping find funding as well as some of the footwork so critical to making these projects competitive.

 

 

PLEASE TAKE NOTE !

 

For your information, the following is a schedule of common fees at Jackson County Water:

 

The current cost for a standard ¾” residential service is $1000.00. If the service requires a road bore, the additional cost is $250.00. Any additional work will be billed according to time and materials. Please keep in mind that tap fees may be changing. Jackson County Water will be examining these costs early in 2008 to evaluate the need to increase this cost.

Other fees office policies to be aware of are as follows:

 

• The charge for a returned check is $25.00.
• Our delinquent service fee is $60.00. This will apply to delinquent accounts paid with checks having insufficient funds.
• Also, for all after hours service calls, the charge is $25.00 per hour.
• The fee to transfer an account is $20.00.
• The JCWC fee for meter tampering is a minimum of $200.00 and will be held responsible for damages by the company. However, it must be understood that tampering with a water meter is a very serious offence, it is a felony under Ohio Revised Code 4933.18, and is subject to prosecution and is punishable by law. Furthermore , any individual found guilty of such a violation will be responsible for the tampering fee, any and all damages and will be prosecuted by the State of Ohio .
• A rental deposit is $60.00 (this is a refundable deposit and is required if customer is not the owner of the property applying for water service).
• For our customers' protection, a photo id is now required by the business office when terminating, transferring or applying for a new account.
• Also, regarding rental property, JCWC policy requires landlords to co-sign water service applications authorizing renters to have water service put in their name.

 

Please feel free to contact our office if you have any questions.

 

 

WATER RATES

 

In order to maintain adequate coverage for increased costs of operation, Jackson County Water is continuing again this year with the implementation of an increase of 3% on all water rates. This will mean that the new minimum bill for the first 2000 gallons will be $23.00.

 

The new rate schedule for 2008 is as follows:

The minimum bill for 0-2000 gallons = $23.00

The next 8000 gallons = $9.73 per 1000 gallons

The next 10,000 gallons = $8.74 per 1000 gallons

The next 30,000 gallons = 7.73 per 1000 gallons

The next 50,000 gallons = $6.68 per 1000 gallons

Everything over 100,000 gallons = $4.24 per 1000 gallons

Looking at this in a positive way: under this new rate, safe Jackson County Water is being delivered to your home for just 1.15 cents per gallon. That translates to an increase of 0.000335 cents per gallon.

Jackson County Water is a real bargain when you consider that you can buy over 100 gallons of water delivered to your home from Jackson County Water for about the cost of a 20 ounce bottle of bottled water.

 

DRIP … DRIP … DRIP…

 

 

It is not uncommon for customers to have a leak in their plumbing. When that happens, they may see a high water bill. It doesn't take a very big leak to lose a lot of water. For example, a 1/16” hole in a pipe can lose approximately 25,000 gallons of water in a month. Jackson County Water employees may notice a change in a customer's usage pattern. When this happens, we try to notify the resident to avoid the unnecessary expense of wasted water because of a leak. Our employees do not always catch these variations in the field when reading meters, but as a courtesy, when they do, they try to leave the customer a note.

If you experience a large leak, please contact our office. The office has a set formula which can allow them to determine how to adjust your bill in the event of a large leak in your service. Please be advised that this adjustment is only available once every 12 months, so prevention and early discovery is your best line of defense. Toilets are probably the main cause of unnecessary water loss in the home. The primary culprit is the flapper valve in the tank which can fail and allow water to trickle continuously down the drain. Our office has free toilet test tablets for you to check your toilet for a leak. Please stop by our office and ask for them if you would like some.

Also, if you see any sign of a water leak as you travel throughout Jackson County , please contact our office. In the interest of being good stewards of the natural resources we have all been given, we all need to prevent waste when and where we can.

 

In today's economy, no one can afford to, or wants to, spend more money than they have to. Damage to any Jackson County Water property costs all of our customers. Not only that, but with the added emphasis on homeland security it is in all of our best interests to be aware of the things going on around us. For that reason, we would like to ask our customers to report any vandalism or suspicious activities around any Jackson County Water facility. You can contact our business office at 740-286-5929 or 740-286-6180 after hours, or the Sheriff's office if you notice anything that might be suspicious.

 

 

 

 

 

OH NO!

 

No one intends to miss paying a bill, but it happens to all of us at some time or another. And we don't want to see you to spend any more money than you need to, so just remember that a ten percent penalty is applied to every account balance not paid by the due date on your bill. If a past due amount is carried 30 days after the initial due date, your account will be assessed 2% interest per month in addition to any other penalty. Customers whose account is two months past due are subject to disconnection. Our office will mail a delinquent notice stating a final service date. But refer to your bill for the status of your account because sometimes mail delivery is delayed and your notice may not arrive in time. If the delinquent amount is not paid by this final service date, a $60.00 delinquent service fee will be charged to your account. After the final service date, this service fee plus the outstanding balance will be required to restore your service. Please note that the $60.00 delinquent service fee as well as the returned check fee will apply to any delinquent account paid with a returned check. Also, remember that the JCWC business office will not be able to receive checks for delinquent accounts on the day of disconnection or for the re-activation of those accounts.

 

Remember, for our customers' convenience, there is a night deposit box located in the drive-thru of our office on Huron Street in Jackson . Please feel free to use it to make payments with checks or money orders at any time when the office is closed.

 

 

JUST A REMINDER

 

Once again, our business office would like to remind our customers that water service at any JCWC meter is limited to servicing one (1) occupied dwelling only. Any multiple connection, that is - more than one occupied dwelling connected to a single meter, is a violation of the water users agreement and the water service may be subject to disconnection and loss of service. In the interest of resolving this problem for our customers before they experience any disruption of service, Jackson County Water would like to encourage those in violation of the multiple connection policy to contact our office immediately in order to arrange to purchase additional meters for their occupied dwellings. Resolving this situation as soon as possible can help you avoid the loss of service for a multiple connection violation, possible legal problems as well as any other applicable penalties. To make this more convenient for you, our office can make arrangements to set up a payment plan for you as well. If you have any questions, please contact our business office at 740-286-5929 .

 

Also, please be aware that there are strict OEPA regulations concerning backflow prevention. If you have a private water source such as a well or cistern, it is extremely important that you make sure that your private water supply is not connected to the pipes supplying Jackson County Water. Even a connection with a valve is prohibited. And for good reason, risk of contamination and unobserved water loss can cause personal injury and property damage as well as high water bills. If you have any questions regarding your piping and whether there is any risk of cross-connection, please contact our office.

 

 

BOTTLED WATER

 

Many people today have made a healthy lifestyle change and are drinking more water. While this is a very healthy trend, marketing has convinced many people that bottled water is the only safe choice. Those individuals in the water industry realize how stringent the requirements are that public water is safe and meets a myriad of regulatory requirements. Most of the news about drinking water quality violations are the result of ever-tightening requirements. With the constant re-evaluation of contaminants and the revision of the standards for public drinking water, what was fine last year may not meet the new standards. And so water systems are constantly under the gun to make changes to meet these new requirements, and to try to do it without too much economic impact to our customers. Bottled water on the other hand, is not so strictly regulated and monitored. In an article in the February 2008 Reader's Digest, Rethink What You Drink , the author, Janet Majeski Jemmott writes ‘ Evocative names and labels depicting pastoral scenes have convinced us that the liquid is the purest drink around. “But no one should think that bottled water is better regulated, better protected or safer than tap,” says Eric Goldstein, co-director of the urban program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a nonprofit organization devoted to protecting health and the environment.'

Ms. Jemmott goes on to write , “Yes, some bottled water comes from sparkling springs and other pristine sources. But more than 25% of it comes from a municipal supply.” 1

There is some scientific concern over the safety of some of the types of plastics used in the manufacture of bottles, not to mention the environmental impact that the empty, discarded bottles make. Perhaps one step toward being more environmentally responsible is utilizing tap water in reusable glass containers for those single-serving, water-on-the-go situations.

 

1 Jemmott, Janet Majeski, Reader's Digest, February 2008, Peggy Northrop, ed., Group Publisher, Reader's Digest Assoc., Inc. New York , N.Y. , pp.118-120