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April vote on merger of water districts
Question: What was the first public water supply district organized in Vernon County? Answer: Public Water Supply District No. 1 -- commonly known as the Moundville water district -- which was organized in 1965.
Consolidated Public Water Supply District No. 1 -- which includes customers just outside Nevada as well as the Harwood, Richards and Bellamy areas -- was organized in 1966.
On Tuesday, April 4, voters within PWSD No. 1 and CPWSD No. 1 will be asked if they approve of a merger of their two districts.
In separate telephone interviews on Thursday morning, Janet Daugherty, longtime officer of PWSD No. 1 (currently treasurer) and Sherri Simmons, General Manager of CPSD No. 1, each spoke about why they believe this merger is good for their respective water district.
Said Daugherty, "The main concerns I've heard about the merger are how long will it take to get a water leak fixed and will we have representation on the merged district's board."
Answering these she said, "Consolidated has eight full-time maintenance people and someone on call 24/7. We never had that. And as to the new board, there will be new district boundaries and an election later this year, and if we want to have someone on the board then someone from our area will have to run."
And what is the advantage for CPWSD No. 1?
"PWSD No. 1 has asked to merge with us because it is too small to spread costs among its customers," said Simmons. "Merging with them will benefit our customers by increasing the size of our customer base which spreads costs around and gives us economies of scale."
PWSD No. 1 has a customer base of 280 while CPWSD No. 1 has 3,310. Daugherty and Simmons both stressed there will be no rate increases due to the merger.
From the start, the Moundville well suffered with too much naturally occurring fluoride. Several attempts to control this through various water treatment efforts yielded little improvement.
"As the Environmental Protection Agency has tightened its standards, the state's Department of Natural Resources has really increased the number of regulations you've got to meet in order to operate a water system in Missouri," said Daugherty. "It used to be their only real worry was bacteria or too much salt but now it's a two page list of things they test for."
The factor, which changed everything, was the same one, which led Bronaugh to dig a new well, radon.
Radon is a radioactive gas, which, according to the Surgeon General's office, is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today.
While Bronaugh took out a loan to dig a new well, the resulting increase in water rates continues to elicit negative comments from patrons.
"When we looked at what we'd have to charge our customers, we decided it was going to be way too much," said Daugherty.
While the loan payments would have resulted in a sizable rate increase, DNR now requires water districts to add a charge equal to the cost of system replacement, spread out over 20 years. While this makes a water district more self-supporting, it can result in significantly higher rates.
As a result, PWSD No. 1 voluntarily closed its well.
CPWSD No. 1 has served as a back-up water source to PWSD No. 1 for nearly 20 years and became that district's only source of water in 2014.
Over the years, PWSD No. 1 had three significant projects. The 1981 project expanded service to homes on the west side of Highway 43. A project in the 1990s installed some new pipe while the one in 2012 replaced nearly all of the original pipe in anticipation of partnering with another district.
"At one point we were talking with Bronaugh to get our water from them and we still have an inter-city connection with them," said Daugherty.
What interrupted that relationship was Bronaugh's own radon difficulties and the problems, which resulted from the digging of a new well, which have been resolved only recently.
"When we began, all we had was a new well and a pipe that ran along a section of Highway 43 at Moundville," said Daugherty. "Back then our small customer base was an advantage but now it is a severe disadvantage."
Nevada attorney, William McCaffree, who helped both of these water districts get organized, reminisced a bit on Thursday.
"The first water district I ever helped organize was the one in Moundville," said McCaffree. "My dad grew up there and I was always impressed by the way every landowner gave an easement without exception so that everyone could have good water."
PWSD No. 1's treasurer pointed out how the good old days were not always so good. To get water, some people had cisterns and a few had wells while animals used ponds. However, many in the Moundville area had to rely on tank trucks out of Nevada to get their water.
Daugherty closed by saying, "One of the greatest signs of progress for any community is when the people take good clean water for granted. We've tried to do this since 1965 and if folks will support the merger, we think everyone involved will have this for years to come."