Matthew Burnette, Staff Writer

The Manchester Water and Sewer Commission voted unanimously 5-0 to send a recommendation to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to accept a bid from Duke’s Root Control for the remainder of the work on city sewer lines started by the company this year.

Duke’s bid is for $1,106,340.29 to continue televising the remaining 269,000 feet of sewer lines. The work will also include light cleaning of mud, dirt and other items.

In addition, Duke’s will also notify the Water and Sewer Department about any issues they find as they find them so that the department can quickly fix the issues internally and build projects for larger issues.

Manchester Mayor Joey Hobbs explained that the televising work will help to “put a stamp” on the entire system in 2025 so that the City can say that they’ve been through all the lines and have footage of them.

“We know where all the manholes are now, and we don’t have to have everybody’s knowledge that’s worked here for fifteen years… which helps the next guys who aren’t here,” said Hobbs. “All they have to do is go back and pull the footage up, and they can look at it.”

“This definitely will give you the ability, no matter how long you’ve been here, to know what’s going on inside the system,” he added.

The funding for the work will come from the $5.5 million federal American Rescue Plan Act money that was allocated to Manchester in 2021. The ARPA was enacted in response to losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

City to undergo water leak survey

The Water and Sewer Commission also approved a quote by Richards LMC to conduct a water leak survey on the city’s water distribution system.

According to the quote, Richards LMC will walk the 166 miles of main in Manchester, stopping to listen every 5-10 feet to listen, when feasible, to the water lines in addition to all meters, hydrants and valves using subsurface leak detection equipment.

Any leaks that are detected will be marked with blue paint for the Water and Sewer Department to locate and repair. A written report will also be created to document locations where leaks are found.

The total cost of the work will be $19,200 with a rate of $120 per mile for each 40-mile increment with any additional miles past 160 billed at the same rate.

Commission Chairman Michael Anderson noted that Manchester’s water loss percentage is relatively low compared to statewide averages.

Water Billing Manager Jennifer Hall estimated that the water loss percentage for September was around 20%, and Anderson said the annual average is around 12-15%.

Interim Water and Sewer Director Lonnie Foley said he would like the water loss percentage to be 0, but that it would be good to get it below 10%.