By Jacob Fullmer

November 17, 2006 | NIBLEY -- With only two Nibley residents in attendance, the City Council discussed the problems and strengths in the town's water treatment system.

In a public presentation Thursday, Nibley's elected officials raised their own utility awareness when city Public Works employee Rod Elwood explained the upkeep involved with city sewer and water. With almost 29 miles of underground piping and over 530 existing manhole covers, Elwood told the council of the challenges facing city staff in this dirty area.

Elwood said pipe obstructers too often come from materials which obviously shouldn't be in the drains, which cost almost $30,000 each year for the city to contract out for maintenance and cleaning. While grease and motor oil should never be drained into the city's system, construction materials can fall into street drains. Teenagers, he says, have been known to drop whole tree branches into the system.

Between the months of July and August, the city has to compensate for an extra 3.5 million gallons of water surging through the sewer system because of flooded basements. This extra water costs the city and those citizens whose drains the water finds.

Mayor Gerald Knight said citizens have expressed to him their concern with rising utility bills because of rising ground water.

Elwood said it affects the city as well. They have had to fix 10 to 12 manholes because of surging ground water. Citizens can expect a detailed message in the next city newsletter outlining proper use of their water waste systems.

In recent years, the city discovered it was actually undercharging residents for utilities. City Manager Larry Anhder said when he is asked why someone's bill is currently so much he explains the situation. If a citizen presses the matter further, he asks if they want him to look backwards and charge them for what was missed in previous years. Knight said he learned before his election he had unknowingly benefited from the unjustified lower charges.

Anhder said he is "absolutely convinced to the core that none of [the undercharging] was fraudulent."

Some citizens have speculated the city lost $50,000 in this administrative error, Anhder said. While the exact number is unknown, he believes a maximum of $10,000 is more believable. Citizens' current bills are believed to be accurate.

NW
MS