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Rolla Municipal Utilities reports on projects, leaks, lead service lines and power‑pool options
Summary
Rolla Municipal Utilities reported an $800,000 year‑to‑date shortfall in power supply costs, ongoing undergrounding and distribution projects, about a dozen lead service lines located on customer sides, and leak detection work that found 15 leaks and 11 leaking hydrants.
Rolla Municipal Utilities provided a quarterly update covering electric, water and broader utility matters.
Finances and power supply: RMU staff said December and early 2025 saw higher power supply costs as a few wholesale plants were offline; RMU reported being about $800,000 behind year‑to‑date budget compared with the prior year but described the trend as manageable.
Electric projects and emergency generation: Staff highlighted ongoing undergrounding projects in several neighborhoods and service work to support Phelps Health’s new emergency department, VA facility expansions and large commercial customers. RMU also described a 25‑year inventory of local diesel peaking units (17 units across the pool) where many aging support systems (PLCs, relays, injectors) may require $100,000–$150,000 per unit to overhaul; staff said the utility is soliciting proposals and considering divesting some units because the capital cost does not align with capacity credits paid by the pool.
Water system work: RMU said it has identified roughly a dozen lead service lines on customers’ private sides (behind meters) discovered through customer inspections; those customers were notified and the lines entered the utility’s inventory. A December break required excavation and replacement of a watermain segment at the industrial park area; the city engaged local construction contractors to reopen and rebuild the fill site and relaid the line with heavier, locking pipe.
Leak detection and losses: A leak detection survey found 15 leaks (4 water main leaks and 11 leaking fire hydrants). RMU’s leak estimate suggested about 16 million gallons would be lost over a year if the leaks had been ongoing, equivalent to roughly $30,000 in water production costs.
Customer service and outage reporting: RMU rolled out a customer-facing outage reporting tool with an 1-866 number and two‑way AI-assisted texting to report outages and receive automated updates; staff encouraged customers to update contact information for outage notifications and noted a $50 monthly bill credit drawing to incentivize updates.
Other items: RMU noted its 80th anniversary, customer satisfaction survey plans (American Public Power Association), and several capital projects including pressure‑zone pumping stations to boost fire flow and associated customer pressure-reducing valve reimbursement up to $300 per installation in the affected zone.
Council and staff discussion covered PFOS testing (no detections in testing reported), planned street and water main replacements associated with redevelopment, and expected coordination with university and developers for service relocations.
