A Leak? A Bad Meter? West Cape May Losing 35 Percent of Water it Purchases from Cape May

WEST CAPE MAY — The borough has been losing an average of 35 percent of the water it purchases monthly for residents from the City of Cape May.
Is the water leaking from pipes? Are Cape May’s outflow meters accurate? Is someone stealing water from the system?
All those questions were raised at a town meeting March 10. The West Cape May Taxpayers Association requested the meeting with borough officials to discuss the situation.
Taxpayers Association member Kathy Gallagher presented 13 questions to the borough in written form after analyzing water records from West Cape May and Cape May. She produced a report showing from 2003 to 2009, West Cape May had an unaccounted water loss of 121 million gallons valued at $695,000. She noted acceptable loss in water systems is 8 percent but West Cape May showed yearly loss figures ranging from 20 to 38 percent.
Mayor Pamela Kaithern noted the water loss spiked in the summer, the third billing period of the year. As an example in 2005, the borough had a 19 percent water loss in the first quarter which increased to 43 percent in the third quarter.
West Cape May Public Works Manager Rob Flynn gave a PowerPoint presentation on the topic of water loss.
Flynn said the Borough Hall complex including the volunteer fire company, public works garage and police substation used 128,220 gallons in 2009 at a cost of $772 while Wilbraham Park used 7,209 gallons at a cost of $44. Water system users pay for the municipal use, he said.
Flynn said the borough replaced every resident’s water meter last year, purchasing approximately 800 new meters using a USDA grant at a cost of $179,000.
He said a number of borough residents use wells and are not connected to municipal water. Those who wish to connect must obtain a permit and hire a plumber, said Flynn.
He said the water/sewer department keeps an eye out for illegal connections plus receives tips from “tattletale,” neighbors.
Flynn said there are four master meters used by Cape May to calculate water billing to West Cape May. All water comes into West Cape May through one master meter at Canning House Lane from Cape May’s desalination plant. Water that leaves the borough to continue on to Cape May Point is deducted from three meters and Lower Township residents on the system are billed directly from Cape May.
Meters are located at Wilbraham Park, a minus meter, a two-way meter at West Grant Street and a minus meter at Cape May Point, he said.
Water provided on Broadway is measured by a master meter along with West Cape May’s total water consumption, said Flynn. Broadway water consumption is reported to Cape May, which uses the figures to get a bulk consumption rate for the borough. It uses the base figure to calculate a 7.5 percent per 1,000 gallons maintenance fee for that zone.
Broadway is covered by the master meter and is billed unlike West Perry Street and S. Broadway. Cape May owns the Broadway, W. Perry and S. Broadway water lines and enacts a 7.5 percent maintenance fee.
Flynn said the borough has been vigilant in repairing leaks. The new water meters at residences send a radio signal to a computer in the borough which takes human error out of the picture, he said.
Unaccounted for water can come from water main leaks, fire hydrant use, un-metered customer connections, accounting errors and meter inaccuracies, said Flynn. He said fire hydrants are un-metered high volume users which are used for training purposes and as a water source for public and private construction. Construction and roadway contractors must get a borough meter.
Flynn said the borough has a plan in place for the next water system flush to record accurate consumption.
If there is a major water leak in the borough, it is not visible.
Water leaks must go somewhere, often bubbling up in the street or producing high flow through the storm sewers in dry weather, he said. Intermittent or variable unaccounted for water volume cannot be due to a single undetected leak, said Flynn.
He said meter inaccuracies are frequently due to the wrong size or type of meter. Flynn said multiple meetings have been held with Cape May City to discuss and attempt to resolve the problem with no resolution at present.
All Cape May master meter calibration was up to date as of July 2009, said Flynn.
West Cape May has been upgrading its water system replacing water mains on a number of streets since 2001. Most streets on the east side of the borough were opened up for pipe replacement in 2002, Broadway and Leaming avenues in 2004, the west side in 2005, Myrtle, Atlantic and Pacific avenues in 2007, Park Boulevard in 2008 and Sixth Avenue in 2009-2010.
Flynn said some water leaks were found when streets were torn up.
As part of an action plan, Flynn said surrounding towns have been contacted to grant access to all systems to investigate for root cause and corrective actions. Five firms that specialize in water loss have been contacted of which two have submitted proposals to the borough.
He said funding will be appropriated and the project awarded to one of the firms.
Kaithern said despite water meter and pipe replacement, there was little change.
Deputy Mayor Peter Burke said the borough’s water system was somewhat unique since Cape May’s pipes run through West Cape May. He said there may be a meter problem rather than an actual loss of water.
Burke said the meter into Cape May Point was located at their water tower.
“The water leaves West Cape May and runs under Sunset (Boulevard) in Lower Township,” he said. “We don’t have any control over what’s going on underground on Sunset.”
He said the borough has budgeted to place a meter on the water main where it leaves West Cape May for Cape May Point.
“How can we lose 121 million gallons over a seven year period and the residents of this community pay for that?” asked Gallagher.
She said her figures did not agree with Flynn’s presentation.
“My figures came from official documents from the Borough of West Cape May and the City of Cape May,” said Gallagher.
Kaithern said Gallagher’s chart counted in the user fee from Cape May for Broadway’s water twice. Gallagher disputed that claim.
She questioned the accuracy and reporting of the meter that serves Borough Hall. Gallagher said the administration should have “hit on this problem, seven or eight years back.”
“It’s like smoke and mirrors,” said Gallagher.
“It’s not smoke mirrors,” retorted Kaithern. “We stood up here tonight and showed you exactly what’s going on…”
She said there has been a “concerted effort to eliminate the loss.”
A resident suggested a committee of residents be formed to deal with the issue but Kaithern said a professional firm needed to investigate the problem.
Water/Sewer Superintendent David Carrick Jr. said they would examine the borough in total. He said there may be a pipe going somewhere of which they are unaware.
During public comment, a resident suggested West Cape May stop paying Cape May for water until the water loss problem is identified and fixed. She suggested putting the money in escrow.