Updated: This town needs a manager.

[EDIT, January 27, 2023: I am adding a link below to a video of a special meeting regarding our water issues here in Ramseur. The meeting was held on January 10 at the behest of Mayor Caudle and features speakers from a group of local experts from both the private and public sectors. Water is a big issue here and I shared some of my thoughts in the original post below. I made some assumptions in that post that are refuted and corrected during the meeting presentations.

Please watch the video if you haven’t already. already seen it. It was a very informative meeting. We have some very big decisions to make in the near future.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3MaaHSp-zY&t ]

I made the mistake of attending a town council meeting the other night for the first time in a few years. Folks, we’re in trouble. We can’t keep leaving the management of our town to five random people foolish enough to put their names on a ballot. I’m not going to report what I saw and heard in that room. It’s on you to take the initiative to show up. Continue reading “Updated: This town needs a manager.”

Everyone deserves clean water.

Water is an essential element of life. A human being can survive for a month or more without solid food, but after about three days we all die without clean water. Randolph County needs a countywide water system, especially on the eastern side of the county. It is nothing short of criminal that today, well over a decade after the completion of Randleman Lake, there are still people in this county without access to a reliable supply of clean drinking water.

County and municipal leaders have long been aware of a need for a reliable supply of water to several communities on this side of the county. Plans have been floated several times, including last year, to extend a distribution main from Ramseur up NC Highway 49 to serve an area where existing water wells are known to be contaminated. Each time, those with the power to push such a project to completion have either lost interest or been too busy to see it through. It seems that despite so much lip service to the contrary, our leaders, past and present, do not really give a damn about those people.

The town of Ramseur owns a water treatment plant and reservoir with enough capacity to serve at least two or three times as many customers as it does today. More customers mean more revenue flowing through the system, which in turn means more available funds for plant maintenance and line replacement, not to mention a few more good jobs. A state inspection of Ramseur’s water treatment plant (WTP) earlier this year revealed a long list of issues, some dating back to at least 2017, which if not addressed could lead to catastrophic events that might leave the town and all of its water customers without potable water.

Instead of actively seeking ways to expand its customer base after Ramtex, once the town’s biggest water consumer, left town, Ramseur chose to simply let things stagnate. For a while, water plant operations were contracted to Suez, and during that time maintenance was almost nonexistent. What was done amounted to jerry-rigged, piecemeal repairs made only when they could no longer be ignored. Suez is gone now, but that doesn’t change the facts on the ground. Ramseur’s water plant and distribution infrastructure need a major influx of cash to bring the system up to date, and Ramseur leadership has, over the years, shown itself unwilling or unable to properly manage its water system. Perhaps there’s another, better option.

Fifty odd years ago our neighbors to the west in Davidson County chose to create an independent non-profit water company, Davidson Water. Today that system is among the largest in the nation and even serves some of our neighbors on the west side of Randolph County. There is no valid reason why something similar could not be established here. None. All that is needed is the will to do so and pressure on elected officials to make it a priority.

A strong case exists for the creation of an independent, non-profit water company to serve communities up and down the east side of Randolph County. Such an entity could lease or purchase the existing Ramseur WTP and expand service to most of this side of the county within just a few years. Ramseur could retain their wastewater treatment system and the revenue it generates, but would no longer be burdened by the maintenance costs of the WTP. 

The availability of a clean reliable water source is key to economic growth anywhere. The creation of an “Eastern Randolph Water Company” would lead to an economic development boom that would benefit everyone on this side of our county. The time is right for a group of visionary leaders to come together and study the possibilities of such a project. Are you one of those leaders?

Problems at Water Plant Go Back Years

The following email was received at our town office last week. It details a long list of serious issues at our water treatment plant going back at least three years or more in some instances. It’s my understanding that there has been money in the water and sewer operating funds to fix most if not all of these issues over the last several years, but until now no one seems to have bothered to address them.


On 2020-07-30 12:18, Fox, Daniel S wrote:

Ms. Caudle,

Good afternoon.  Eric Hudson and I met with Mark Grose, the contracted
operator in responsible charge (ORC), on July 28, 2020 and inspected
the Town of Ramseur water treatment plant.  I appreciate Mr. Grose’s
time and cooperation for the inspection.  Comments requiring follow-up
are as follows:

1.       Since 2017, yearly inspections performed by Public Water
Supply Section personnel have identified several chemical leaks that
are present in the chemical feed room and the bulk chemical storage
room.  The chemicals appear to be leaking at most of the glued joints
and at the transfer pumps in both of these locations.  These areas
have noticeable dried white crystallization indicative of active
leaks, which over time may dissolve the glue at these joints and
fittings, possibly causing a catastrophic release.  It is imperative
that these leaks be repaired immediately as they pose a possibly
health risk to the operators and to the environment.  Also, the
accumulated water and sludge in the two caustic day tank secondary
containment structures must be drained and cleaned.

2.       There is a lack of “sufficient standby chemical feed pumps”
in the chemical feed rooms.  At present, there are no backups for the
four “new” peristaltic pumps except for the older pulsatron pumps they
replaced.  We strongly encourage that funds be made available to
provide redundancy for these critical pumps.  In addition, several
power strips were improperly connected (daisy chained) together that
were used to power some of the chemical feed pumps.  Actions should be
taken to rectify this issue immediately.

3.       The trac-vac for sedimentation basin #1 was not operational
during the inspection.  This equipment should be repaired as soon as
possible.  In the meantime, it is highly recommended that basin #1 be
manually drained and cleaned to eliminate accumulated sediment in the
basin.  It should be noted that this issue has been cited before, as
outlined in Water Plant Inspection Follow-up letters dated February
22, 2017 and July 19, 2017.

4.       At the time of inspection, the sink drain at the sampling
station in the onsite laboratory was stopped up, resulting in water
overflowing onto the floor causing a slip hazard.  This drain should
be repaired immediately.

5.       The raw water turbidity meter was not functioning properly
during our inspection.  Mr. Grose indicated that he collects grab
samples every two hours to monitor for raw water turbidity using the
benchtop analyzers, but it is recommended to have this meter placed
back in service in order to continuously monitor source water
turbidity.  Furthermore, all turbidity meters are reportedly
calibrated by Carolina Technical Services (CTS) on a quarterly basis.
We have requested the last calibration results (performed on 7/27/20)
to be submitted to this office for review.  Mr. Grose indicated the
benchtop meter was not calibrated during the last calibration event.
This is a critical meter and must be calibrated immediately.

It is recommended staff record and document the results of
turbidimeter verifications when staff compare the turbidity from
continuous meters against the benchtop meter.  The attached Turbidity
Data Validation Worksheet is an example for your reference.

6.       Any testable backflow prevention assemblies located
throughout the water plant, including those on chemical feeds pumps,
should be tested and maintained according to the manufacturer’s
recommendations.

7.       According to Mr. Grose, the Stout Street elevated tank is
currently inactive and not in use at this time, and is only used when
the Weatherly Street elevated tank is out of service.  He indicated
that both tanks are visually inspected yearly and are “washed out”
every two years by Utility Services.  The stagnant water in the Stout
Street tank must be drained and a bacteriological sample should be
collected from this tank prior to placing it back in service.

8.       During the file review process, it was discovered that two
outstanding projects had not received final approval status from the
Plan Review Section.  As discussed during our meeting, these projects
received Authorizations to Construct (ATC), but have not received
final approval status, although both projects are complete.  Please
submit the appropriate engineer and/or applicant certifications to
obtain final approval for these projects.  Mr. Grose was provided the
attached spreadsheet which contains pertinent information regarding
these projects.  It should be noted that placing a project in service
prior to obtaining final approval is a violation of the _Rules
Governing Public Water Systems_, and is subject to administrative
penalties.  For your convenience, I have attached a blank Engineer
Certification form and Applicant Certification form for your use.

9.       In order to achieve a better representation of the
bacteriological (BACTI) conditions throughout the entire distribution
system, and per the Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR), the three
monthly BACTI samples should be _rotated_ amongst the twelve (12)
locations listed on the attached bacteriological sampling sites table
that we have on file for the Town of Ramseur.  Since approximately
2018, only two of these locations have been sampled each month (C01 –
Shop and 123 – Town Hall).  Please begin rotating the monthly BACTI
sample locations so that all sites listed in the Sampling Plan are
sampled.  Furthermore, per the bacteriological audit that was
performed by Rodney Darr on August 14, 2018, please provide a RTCR
site sampling map which includes, at a minimum, the layout of the
distribution system piping, all source water entry points, treatment
facility and storage tanks, dead-end mains, maximum residence time
(MRT) sites, and the locations of the routine bacteriological sampling
sites.  Please provide this office a copy of this map as soon as
possible.

10.   According to the revised rule 15A NCAC 18C .0406 – Distribution
Systems, Section (b)(6), records are required to be maintained,
beginning January 1, 2020, related to backflow prevention devices and
inventorying high risk sites (see attached rule).  These records will
be reviewed by our staff during the next inspection.  Please contact
us if you have questions related to the requirements of this rule.

11.   The current project to add a new, post-clearwell chlorine
injection point, is nearing completion.  It should be noted that the
Engineering Plans and Specifications Approval – Chemical Feed letter,
dated July 26, 2018, a stipulates that “once the second gaseous
feeding system is in place, a CT tracer study must be completed at the
WTP, and the study must be submitted to our Winston-Salem Regional
Office, with a PE seal and signature.”

** Please reply to this email and provide notification when the above
tasks have been completed.

Since there is no emergency interconnect (emergency source of water)
for the Town of Ramseur, it is imperative for the Town to budget for
long term solutions to provide the necessary equipment for the daily
operation and maintenance at this water plant.  You are encouraged to
periodically visit the water treatment plant and observe the on-going
operations.  If there are any questions regarding these inspections,
please do not hesitate to contact me.  Thank you again for your
cooperation.

D. Shawn Fox, E.I.
Environmental Engineer
Public Water Supply Section
NC Department of Environmental Quality


Today we have someone competent and well versed in how a water treatment and distribution system should be maintained and operated overseeing our water/sewer operation, Jim McIntosh. It’s a huge mess, but why has Suez allowed these issues to pile up.

Suez has been operating our water treatment plant for years, and since water treatment and distribution is one of their core services, shouldn’t they have made some effort over the years to notify our board of commissioners and push them to take action? The previous board bears ultimate responsibility for the negligence that occurred on its watch, but Suez bears a responsibility for not pushing the issues at each monthly meeting until they were resolved.