Board extends water leak contract

A contract extension helping shore up a regional water system the state has said loses more than a quarter of its throughput was awarded by the Hot Springs Board of Directors earlier this week.

The board granted a twoyear extension of RJN Group’s water leak detection contract, authorizing it to continue ferreting out leaks this year and

in 2019. RJN will receive $100,000 in 2018 to inspect 330 miles of waterlines on the eastern and southern ends of a sprawling distribution system comprising almost 900 miles of waterlines.

The city said RJN identified 46 leaks during its inspection of 333 miles of lines last year. The company is also the city’s wastewater consultant. It was awarded a $139,921 contract last month for design work on over 4,000 feet of sewer line replacements and rehab in the Gulpha Creek basin of the regional collection system.

The state Department of Health’s most recent survey of the water system showed a 27-percent difference in what the city produces at its two treatment plants and the volume passing through the system’s more than 37,000 meters. The survey showed 15.12 million gallons a day of production was needed to meet average daily demand in 2016, which, according to the rate analysis from the city’s rate consultant, was 7.8 mgd.

The state survey showed the city has made progress reducing unaccounted for water, with the 27.72-percent rate in 2016 down from 28.53 percent in 2014 and 42.7 percent in 2010. In addition to leaks, the city has said finished water used to clean treatment plant filters also contributes to the gap in production and billing.

The contract extension will be paid from the other professional services line item in the distribution department of the Water Fund. The city allocated $125,000 to the line item in 2018.