Check out these awesome annoucements of our project!!!!

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USDA KRSL
Hays Post

This website is an excellent resource for how find and repair water leaks in your home and farm property, water efficiency and other resources. http://www.smarthomewaterguide.org/

The plan to rebuild and upgrade existing water infrastructure is still in the initial phases of development as of 12/6/18. This process has been very slow due to the amount of "paper shuffling" involved. As the planning process becomes finalized, more specific details will be shared on the website. In the meantime, refer to this link /Portals/russell3/documents/minutes/2017%20annual%20meeting_initial%20project%20planning.pdf to understand the historical and current issues of the district, general scope of the project and timelines that were presented during the annual March 2018 meeting held at the Fossil Creek Inn Convention room Russell, KS. 

During the summer of 2018, another issue that was brought forward for discussion and consideration was including the town of Susank and Odin into the project plans. The "PER" addresses this addition. Susank currently purchases water from RWD #3 at a wholesale price but the water distribution system in Susank is old and costly to maintain for Susank due to cast iron main lines that were installed in the 1950s. 

The residents of Odin rely on private water wells. During the summer of 2018, initial discussions and residential survey feedback determined that the residents of Odin were interested in being supplied with a PWS vs relying on private water wells.

The general scope of the project includes the following:
1: Replace all PVC pipe ranging from 3inch to 6 inch
2: Dismantle all current standpipes and construct 1 new standpipe and 1 new helio-spherical water tower. This will increase the water holding capacity of the RWD and mitigate current high demand issues that we face during the summer months. The current standpipes are costly to maintain and upgrade to OSHA and environmental standards. The standpipes are also prone to freeze/freeze damage in the winter months.
3: Integrate the latest technology in smart meters utlizing AMI technologies to read water meters using existing cellular networks and ultrasonic meters to meter customer water use. Customers will be billed for water and the customer will no longer be required to read meters.
4. Consolidate two booster stations into one booster station with the addition of another pump and backup power generation.
5: Address areas that have low volume complaints. Pipe upsize for those areas.
6: Address areas of high pressure. Installation of pressure reducing valves.
7: Incorporate targeted zone meters to facilitate leak detection. This is currently being utilized in specific areas of our RWD and it works well.
8: Addition of Odin and Susank to the RWD along with a few additional customers within the boundaries of the current RWD.

Stay tuned to this page for updates on the project. 
As of 1/2/19...........Tentative timeline for "knowing something new" as I like to call it should occur by March 2019. We are still in "paper shuffle mode".........currently waiting on the results from an Environmental Review (ER). Once the ER is complete, then the ER along with the PER (Preliminary Engineering Report) will be submitted to USDA Rural Development. 

During the course of the year, a few customers will have a meter pit replaced due to damage caused by negligence. The most common is cattle pushing the meter pit lid off and stepping in the meter pit, bending the riser. 

RWD #3 will bill the customer for the damage as outlined on page 21 of the RWD BYLAWS and R&R......"Consumer's Responsibility The Consumer shall be responsible for any damage to service equipment installed by the District for his service, on account of any cause other than normal wear and tear."

The RWD BYLAWS and R&R are available here /Portals/russell3/documents/CustomerService/BY-LAWS.pdf again refer to page 21

The best solution to prevent meter pit damage and receiving a bill from the RWD for the repairs is to erect a simple barricade around the meter pit. Keep in the mind that the barricade must allow easy access to the meter pit for customer readings and audit readings from RWD personnel. 

Dear Customers,

Please find the new residential meter rates, effective January 2020, below. Thank you and have a happy New Year!