SNOW HILL — Greene County and Snow Hill’s boards plan to meet Sept. 9 for a joint meeting on an alternative water project.
Snow Hill’s board had previously agreed not to sign an amendment to the inter-local agreement to continue to receive water from the county through Greenville Utilities Commission.
The agreement that was drawn up between the towns and the county projected a monthly customer surcharge, which increased by $1 each year and ended with a $12 monthly charge in 2012. The agreement appears to have ended in December.
The surcharge was used to pay for water lines, pumps and other infrastructure to key points across the county, with Snow Hill being a major hub.
The problem now with the town not signing the agreement is whose water is going where, Town Administrator Dana Hill said following the board’s decision on Monday night to meet jointly with the county.
“Our two systems are interconnected freely,” he said. “So when we pump, there’s nothing to stop it or no way to meter it from going into the Greene County system and vice versa.”
There is no way to keep track of water loss. All they know is how much water is pumped and customers use.
Neither the town nor the county can determine how much water is being flushed or leaking out of the system because they don’t know how much is flowing to the other water entity, Hill said.
“The ultimate fix is to close the valves,” he said, “so that our water can’t leave our system and theirs don’t leave their system. The issue with that is that the county uses our system to push water from one side of the county to the other.”
That leaves the question as to what would be the effect to the county if Snow Hill closes the valves, Hill said.
Whatever the answer is, that is what will be discussed at the joint meeting and will likely involve installing meters or putting in new lines and wells.
“We know what’s best for Snow Hill, which is to isolate,” Hill said, “but … I’m interested to know what’s best for the county.”
Mayor Dennis Liles expressed concern during the town meeting about protecting Snow Hill’s interests.
“We’re here to protect ourselves,” he said. “What I mean by that is, there’s some things that we can present (to the county) … to make sure that down the road that we’re protected.”
He gave the example that if town officials wanted to tap back in at some point, they would want to make sure they would pay the then-current surcharge rate and not have to pay previous fees.
The problem of chloramines will also be discussed. Snow Hill would go back to using a chlorine system, which is cheaper and less trouble when flushing the system.
“The only reason we use chloramines now,” Hill said, “is because you can’t treat surface water with chlorine.”
The “downside” to isolating the town’s system, he said, is that the town owns one well outside the town limits that pumps water through the county and South Greene Water Corporation’s line and into Snow Hill. There is also a long-range concern.
“Our studies have shown, from the staff studies and the engineer’s studies, that we have enough of a water supply for 100-plus years,” Hill said, “but we also have the security now of being tied to another water system. So that’s something to consider.”
The state has mandated a 25 percent reduction of groundwater use and has not decided yet whether to increase that number to 50 percent, then 75 percent. The town has met that reduction and is currently at a 63 percent reduction.
“And I would argue that we’ve already paid to get our 25 percent to the town,” Hill said. “So we should be paid up.”
The subject of increasing surcharges is also a disputed matter with both Snow Hill and Hookerton officials.
“Our inter-local agreement said we had to pay $12 up until December 2012,” Hookerton Town Clerk April Baker said. “… When we told (McDavid Associates) this was the last payment, that’s when they came up with the new agreement that goes up to (the year) 2047.”
The “new agreement” is actually an amendment to the original agreement.
McDavid is the engineering firm in Farmville that has been handling the alternative water project between Greenville, Farmville and Greene County.
Andrew Parker of McDavid said whether the agreement ends permanently depends on the interpretation of the agreement.
The agreement states, “Each member agrees to pay the County of Greene a monthly water fee as outlined in Appendix A or otherwise amended.” It also states the agreement will be in effect throughout the term of the contract, which ends in July 2047. However, the stated surcharges ended in 2012.
Hill said Snow Hill customers have paid more than $800,000 in surcharges, and he believes that amount has paid for the infrastructure from Greenville to the booster station in the town.
The town could be charging a fee to customers that would pay for repairs and meeting the 75 percent reduction instead of paying for lines to be installed throughout the county, he said.
“Snow Hill customers shouldn’t have to pay to get water to other areas of the county,” Hill said.
The joint meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Sept. 9 at a location to be named.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.