1997 Newsletter McNulty WATER ASSOCIATION 34240 Millard Rd. Warren OR 97053 RETIRING THE MORTGAGES fast. Last winter we were forced by government lending agencies to take rapid action to pay back some $166,000 in debt owed by McNulty Water. These debts are 30 year loans that financed the construction of much of the water system. Some are old - 1964 construction as the system was first built. Some are newer - the Stone Road well & pump in 1977. At the February 1996 meeting, those members present voted overwhelmingly to retire the debt rapidly. The board implemented an Eight Dollar a Month SURCHARGE on each meter. This extra $24 per billing is bringing in more than $17,000 per billing, all of which is being used to retire the long term debts. Three of the six bonds have been paid off this year, with the SURCHARGE money. As expected, the $166,000 debt will be fully retired after ten such billings. The last billing showing the surcharge should be the second billing in 1998. At that time, the surcharge will end. NO RATE INCREASES. The board is pleased with the willingness of the majority to get this financial burden behind us. The board has felt that we should try to get along with NO INCREASES IN BASIC RATES during the period of the surcharge. The highway project presented us with an extreme financial challenge. With the help of the money in hand, and of the surcharge to prevent a double problem, and of careful deferring of some other expansion projects, we managed to finish the summer with as near to ZERO in the bank as one could. We took out NO new bank debt. HIGHWAY 30 CONSTRUCTION Our new water line along the highway replaces some of the oldest line in the system. It runs near the new PUD pole line. The south end of the line is at Dave Road, a quarter mile north of Bennett Road. There is a new feed from the south end of Bayview Ridge, along Dave Road, to the highway. Rearranged feeds come to the highway along Achilles Road, Millard Road, and Division Road. The main line continues North to Firway Lane. Much of the Firway Lane arrangement has been brought up to date, with two new hydrants on Firway. In earlier decades, water was bought from St. Helens through a connection at McNulty Creek. Our furthest North customer was the Veterinarian. We no longer cross the creek. We have abandoned the connection to St. Helens water at this point. The STATE does NOT pay for the costs of relocating utilities when a road is modified. Thus, McNulty Water has paid for ALL the costs of replacing the 7000 feet of water main along the highway, installing new hydrants, and reconnecting to all residents. The biggest single expense was a highway crossing and boring under the railroad, at Millard Rd., to serve those houses east of the highway. Actual costs to us were more than $150,000. ANNUAL PUBLIC MEETING of the McNulty Water Association Tuesday, February 18, 1997, 7:00 PM McNulty Office, 34240 Millard Road All are welcome. ALL CROSS-CONNECTION PREVENTION DEVICES ARE TO BE TESTED IN THE MONTH OF MARCH. Each owner of a back-flow prevention device must have the device tested before March 31. Your report from a certified tester must be on file at the McNulty Water Office by March 31. Otherwise, the law requires the shutoff of your water service. It is the owners responsibility to see that the white copy of your test is turned in to McNulty Water by March 31. AMONG THE QUALIFIED TESTERS: Back Flow Management 1-800-824-4385 Water Metrics 1-800-523-1884 Robert (Bo) Laird 397-4677 Steve Wagner 641-4983, 626-8783 Richard Sattler 537-0334 or 351-5321 Above notice is for those 35 or so members who have legally required cross connection prevention devices. REPORT TO CONSUMERS Regarding McNulty Water Supply: WE CONTINUE TO SUPPLY GOOD WATER This report is in response to recent EPA implementation of the SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT amendments of 1996. MCNULTY WATER SERVES 750 WATER CONNECTIONS, as of December 1996. We are thus a “Small System, serving fewer than 10,000 people”. There are 186,000 public water systems in the USA. WE HAVE ENOUGH WATER. We have five wells. Four of them are currently operable (with pumps and power supply). Three of the four can be operated at one time. Any two of the three could keep up with the demand for water in summer. Thus we feel we have a comfortable safety margin. We could pump nearly one million gallons a day. We usually pump about one half million gallons a day on hot days. WE HAVE NEVER HAD A TURBIDITY PROBLEM. Our wells are ALL DEEP WELLS, drawing water from two to four hundred feet below the surface, well below the first levels of rock. Thus, they are not affected by river level, by storm runoff, or by other problems experienced in, for example, St. Helens. EVERY WELL PASSES THE STATE TESTS for contaminants. These regular test are run on a state- mandated schedule. Chemical and biological tests are done by an outside laboratory. With a pathogen-free water source, we never have a well problem that requires the addition of chlorine. When a line has been extended or replaced, chlorine is used in that section only until the water at the far end of the line passes purity tests. New lines are not connected to customers until they pass the tests, or else the customers at each home are warned that the tests have not yet been completed. ============================= Chemical Measurements of McNulty water have shown no reasons for concern: Chlorine: None Natural Fluoride: 0.15 mg/L, which is 4 percent of the 4.0 mg/L limit. Added Fluoride: None Negligible levels of NINETEEN inorganic chemicals. No lead, no mercury, no arsenic, no asbestos. Negligible levels of EIGHTY THREE organic chemicals. ============================== Local measurement of pH: Typically 7.2 THE BOOSTER PUMP for the NORTHERN CUSTOMERS Customers north of the Fairgrounds receive their water from the 200,000 gallon tank on Robinette Road. Water is pumped from the tanks at Blaha Road to the tank at Robinette by a BOOSTER PUMP, located in a pit at the West entrance to the fairgrounds. We try to have two sources of water to all main water lines. This is done by bringing water around the blocks, just as roads go around blocks, and as power lines go around groups of houses. We have many such loops. One is the block of Millard, Bachelor Flat & Ross Road. Another includes Sykes Road, Pittsburg Road, and East and West Kappler roads. The feed past the fairgrounds is one of our links which has no backup. There is no second line along Saulser Road. THIS YEAR, we took one more step toward dependability by buying as SECOND BOOSTER PUMP. It is now in use at the fairgrounds site. The old pump is removed, and is being rebuilt. This pump will remain ready to put back into service if needed. How much for a pump like that? $3000. It pumps 300 gallons a minute against a head of 80 to 100 PSI. NEXT YEAR, we want to improve the line to, and from, the Robinette Tank. The line is too small, causing variations in pressure for those north of the Fairgrounds. The first step will be draining the Robinette tank, adding a twelve inch outlet and valve at the bottom, and repainting the inside if necessary. This can’t happen until the weather is warm enough for painting. The NATIONAL DRINKING WATER CLEARINGHOUSE has a website: www.ndwc.wvu.edu There are about 800 new homes in St. Helens in the last two years. There are about 40 new homes in the McNulty area in the last two years. ========================== McNulty Board: Richard Louie, Walt Neaderhiser, Mae Mowrey, Steve Rosenlund, Noel Thompson. Significant Others: Ben Erlandson, Fred Bolton, Melvin Olson e:\ww\water\news9701.doc Printed 7 July, 1999 <\pre><\html>