Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Utilities topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
King George service authority: leak audit under way; staff to report back within weeks
Summary
Service Authority general manager Dan Hamilton told the Board that a Virginia Water Authority audit identified potential leaks, replaced leaking hydrants, and raised concerns about production‑meter under‑reading; staff committed to a 45‑day follow‑up and further data reconciliation to determine whether there are significant unmetered losses.
The Dahlgren service authority briefed the Board on FY25 finances, DEQ grant timing and an ongoing leak investigation during the Aug. 19 meeting.
Hamilton said the service authority paid off a prior line of credit and made scheduled principal and interest payments in FY25. He described a Virginia Water Authority audit (September 2024) that used acoustic detection and other methods to identify several leaks and meter issues. The audit identified leaking fire hydrants (four were replaced in the prior three weeks) and raised questions about a production meter that was replaced along with the master meter; Hamilton said older production meters tended to under‑read and that new meters could show higher production than past billing records indicated.
"We don't have confidence in all of the data yet," Hamilton told the board, adding that some exported spreadsheets contained negative numbers that require reconciliation. He committed to delivering the Water Authority audit results and a summary of planned next steps the following morning and to prepare a 45‑day report for the board in early September. Hamilton said a second‑level audit might be warranted if internal checks cannot reconcile the production‑versus‑billed disparity.
Board members pressed staff on the size of the discrepancy (some had reported figures on the order of one million gallons a month). Hamilton said he could not confirm a million‑gallon shortfall from the current data and that such a leak would likely manifest visibly; he noted another possibility was unmetered connections or meters that were not in the billing system.
Hamilton listed possible investigative tools (acoustic gear, LIDAR/thermal drone surveys and targeted leak‑detection contractors) and said the service authority does not currently own all of those technologies but can contract for them. He said staff will first verify every account in Dahlgren has a meter and is being billed before contracting for a more expensive second‑level leak hunt.
What happens next: Hamilton will provide the Water Authority audit and a 45‑day status report; staff will prioritize verification of meter serial numbers and billing alignment and will propose next steps for detection or remediation if internal reconciliation fails.
