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Richmond launches online water accounts, urges conservation amid well anomaly; plant reports high septage and equipment upgrades
Summary
Town staff rolled out online customer accounts with leak-monitoring features coming soon; commissioners urged continued conservation after a one-day anomalous high pumping event. The plant reported high septage throughput (~800,000 gallons this month), agreed to accept treated Waterberry Dam discharge, and said a new influent pump component is en route.
Town staff reported on Oct. 20 that online customer accounts (through Zenner) are live and that many customers have successfully signed up to view hourly and daily water-usage data; a leak-alert text feature was described as "coming soon." Staff encouraged customers to register email addresses to receive notifications.
The commission also discussed drought-conservation practice after staff found that one day the well had pumped continuously at higher-than-normal rates; staff said the system otherwise has been operating normally. During a conservation notice staff limited bulk water deliveries and asked commercial haulers to defer nonessential fills; commissioners emphasized sensitivity to residents who rely on bulk deliveries for household needs.
In his operations report, Dave told the commission the plant has handled a large septage volume this month and that the plant is "on par to be in the 800,000-gallon range." Plant staff said contractor activity at Waterberry Dam (pressure-washing the spillway) will produce filtered water the contractor needs to dispose of; the contractor will deliver up to 8,000 gallons per day of filtered water to the plant and the plant will accept it at septage rates.
Staff also reported progress on equipment: the new influent pump motor is en route, the old pump has been demolished and removed, and replacement diffusers and aeration hardware are being installed. Commissioners praised the plant's recent hire, Kelly, who is handling lab work and training for licensing.
No regulatory actions were announced; next steps are internal: staff will continue account rollouts, finalize leak-notification details with the vendor, monitor well performance, and proceed with pump installation and startup testing when all components arrive.
