FEBRUARY 2008

Customers are urged to learn more about MPW construction projects for fiscal year 2009 and beyond during a series of Capital Improvement Plan

Meetings beginning this month. MPW General Manager Clay Duffie said it’s important to note that projects are divided into two categories for funding —Extension and Expansion (E&E), and Renewal and Replacement (R&R).

“E&E projects are funded primarily by impact fees charged to new developments,” said Duffie. “These projects extend infrastructure and expand plant capacity to accom-modate more demand. The use of impact fees aligns with the MPW Commission’s objective that growth pay for growth.”

“R&R projects include the replace-ment of aging in-frastructure. These projects are funded with a percentage of operating revenue and earned interest,” he said.

The planning and sched-uling of projects is revis-ited annually and is subdi-vided into four categories:

A d m i n i s t r a t i v e Projects support all utilities (water and wastewater), and are therefore funded with both water and wastewater E&E and R&R dollars.

Water Projects support only water assets, and are fund-ed with water R&R and E&E.

Wastewater Projects support only wastewater assets, and are funded with wastewater R&R and E&E funds.

Grant Projects: Several CIP projects are kept on the MPW project list but rolled over from year to year be-cause the projects are dependent on grant funding. In or-der for these projects to be viable, grants must account for approximately 75-percent of total project funding. MPW has pursued and completed numerous projects over the years in an effort to keep the environment safe and to pro-tect natural resources.

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Mount Pleasant Waterworks’ Capital Improvement PlanMajor projects initiated and/or completed during 20071. Charleston Water System (CWS) Second Connection: A second feed from CWS was tested and permitted to operate in June. This second connection provides an additional water source to MPW’s north service area. It also

provides a redundancy to the I-526 connection and reduces the need to install large transmission lines from I-526 to the north service area.

2. Whipple Road Water and Forcemain Relocations: In order to accommodate the Town’s road widening improvements project MPW was required to relocate a force main and water main from the Whipple Road right-of-way. Taking advantage of the relocation requirement, MPW increased the size of both lines to accommodate future growth needs.

3. Deep Well No. 1 Replacement: Deep Well #1 was drilled in 1969 and has been one of MPW’s best water producing wells. However, the well began experi-encing sand infiltration. After several at-tempts to repair the well casing on the 37 year old well, MPW determined that the best long-range solution was to construct a new well for water plant #1.

4. Pump Station Conversions: MPW continues its multi-year project of converting above ground pump stations to sub-mersible. Submersible stations are more efficient and cost ef-fective to operate, which results in savings to our customers.

5. Old Village Waterline Replacement: To correct water discoloration issues, old, small-diameter cast iron lines were renewed or replaced with newer materials on Simmons, Fair-mont, Barbara, Coral, Cherry, Palmetto, Bellview and Ferry Streets, and Kings Ct.

6. Design of an Expansion of the Rifle Range Road Waste-water Treatment Plant: MPW formed a Technical Advisory Committee, which included utility leaders, contractors and engineers to help provide an independent perspective on the wastewater treatment opportunities faced by MPW. Included is a conveyance plan for the decommissioning of the Center Street Wastewater Treatment Plant. MPW is now moving forward with the design of the 10-MGD expansion using membrane treatment technology.

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MPW Operations Center1619 Rifle Range Road

Monday - Friday • 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

884-9626 • 884-4858 (fax)customerservice@mpwonline.comEmail requests received before 12 noon will be processed the same day. Those

received after 12 noon will be processed the following business day.

LEARN TO BE WATER-WISE and

AVE MONEY ON YOUR WATER BILL

Turn your pennies into DOLLARS to benefit East Cooper Commu-nity Outreach (ECCO) or Water Missions International (WMI). Just call 884-9626 and tell us you want to ROUND-UP your bill payment to the next highest dollar and request the change go to either ECCO -or- WMI. You can also sign up online by clicking the Customer Service tab on the navigation bar, then ROUND-UP on the drop-down menu.

From Customer Service

Calling all school-age children from Kindergarten through 12th Grade! MPW’s annual Poster Contest is underway. The contest is open to all students public, private or home-schooled. The winners in each category will be presented with checks for $100 (1st Place), $75 (2nd Place ) and $50 (3rd Place).

PLUS...Winning posters and artists in each grade category will be photographed and published in the Moultrie News during Drinking Water Week, May 4 — 10, 2008.

All entries must be received by the end of the business day Friday, March 28, 2008. For more information, contact Nicole Frampton at 388-1152, or email to nframpton@mpwonline.com. You can also get the information from our website: mountpleasantwaterworks.com

Leaking toilets are the most common cause of high water bills.

There are a number of signs that a toilet needs some repairs, but many toilets leak without conspicuous indica-tions of trouble. Here are some of the obvious signs of a leaking toilet:

If you have to jiggle the handle to make it stop running.Any sounds coming from a toilet that is not being used.If you have to hold the handle down to allow the tank to empty.If you see water running over the top of the overflow.If you can see water trickling down the sides of the toilet bowl long after it’s been flushed.If water drips out of the refill tube into the overflow pipe.If a toilet turns the water on for 15 seconds or so without you touching the handle (otherwise known as the phantom flusher).

However, even if your toilet doesn’t have any of these symptoms, it’s still possible that it is leaking. These leaks are known as SILENT LEAKS, because they usually go undetected.

The Dye TestRemove the cover on the toilet tank and carefully set it aside so it can’t be ac-

cidently knocked over and cracked. Remove any “in-tank” bowl cleaners that color the water and begin the test with clear water in the tank, as well as in the bowl.

You can use a special dye, available at a hardware store, or use ordinary food coloring. Put enough dye in the tank water to give the water a deep color (several tablespoons).

Wait 30 minutes and make sure nobody uses the toilet. In 30 minutes if you find any of the dyed water now in the toilet bowl—your toilet is leaking. A properly operating toilet will store water in the tank indefinitely without any water run-ning into the bowl.

If you have found your toilet is leaking, you now have to find out which part is the culprit—the flush valve or the refill valve:

1. Draw a pencil line on the back wall of the tank on the inside of the tank at the waterline.2. Turn the water supply off, either under the tank or at the main cutoff.3. Wait 20 to 30 minutes.If the water level remains at the pencil mark, the leak is occurring at the REFILL

VALVE, the unit in the left side of the tank. If the water level falls below the pencil mark, the leak is in the FLUSH VALVE, the unit located in the center of the tank.

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Your bill can be paid di-rectly from your credit card or debit card (VISA, MAS-TERCARD & DISCOV-ER), checking account or savings account each month by joining a growing num-ber of customers who enjoy MPW’s EASY PAY PLAN. Just fill out the authoriza-tion on your bill and return it with your payment. Or, you can sign up on our web-site. Just click the EASY PAY PLAN link on the home page and follow the directions.

Instead of a bill you will receive an EASY PAY PLAN statement that shows you when and how much will be drafted from the account of your choice. If you have any questions about your bill, you’ll have time to call before the payment due date.

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The MPW Commission News-letter Water Lines is produced in-house and mailed to custom-ers each month with bills and statements. Current and past issues can also be viewed and downloaded from our website:

www.MountPleasantWaterworks.com