I. President’s Corner

The state of Beaches Water Co-op is good. We currently have 8 wells at six pump locations that serve our community of almost 800 homes, with only minor interruptions due to repair work. Our water consistently passes all required tests. Fiscally, we are still in good shape, paying our costs out of our income. For this we have to thank the field and office crews.

It is my sad duty to report that, due to increased costs, after three years of steady prices we must again increase rates. This is due to several things. First, as you're probably aware, inflation has ramped up, and our costs for electricity, materials and labor have increased sharply in the last year. Second, the Co-op is changing its repair and maintenance arrangements, and we have to contract out more to commercial plumbers at higher costs. More on that below. Third, rather than continue to fight increasing numbers of leaks and costly repairs on certain older sections of the system, the board has decided to replace whole sections of failing lines, and has drawn up a list of priority streets to tackle. These will be significant costs, but should reduce the number of leaks and repairs over the long term. The rate increase has been set to raise both the base cost (the rate for 0-1000 gallons), and increase the rates for higher water usage. The new rate schedule is also shown in this newsletter. As noted above, the business model for the Co-op is in flux. Dennis DiBello, a former board member, Water Superintendent for 32 years, and owner of the business (American Property Consultants) that currently operates both the operational and business aspects of the Co-op is slowly and carefully trying to retire from the water business. This is one reason that we are contracting out more of the repairs and maintenance. We owe a lot of our current strength as a water provider to Dennis's abilities and leadership, and we are fortunate that he is treating this transition with consideration. We have also engaged with James Stone, a customer with a similar background to Dennis, to become Assistant Water Superintendent, with the aim that he will take over as full Superintendent in time.

As usual, we are a couple board members short of our full complement, and we welcome interest from members who would consider serving. The annual meeting is scheduled for 3:00pm Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, at the Long Beach Civic Association Building. Those who attend or send in a proxy will be entered in a drawing for a $100 credit on the water system.

Please note again that it is illegal for anyone not an employee of the water system or authorized by the water system, to open, tamper with, or shut on or off the water at our meter pits. If you need the water shut on or off, please contact the office.

II. Water System Operations, Maintenance & Improvements

I'm Jim Stone and I'm the new Assistant Superintendent (Asst Supt). Where I'm accountable for Operations and Maintenance my supervisor is Dennis DiBello, the Beaches Water Co-op (BWC) Superintendent and Business Manager. By fall I will have relieved Dennis as Superintendent while he'll retain the Business Manager position. I will be mainly focused on the Operations and Maintenance aspects of the Beaches Water System. I look forward to supporting BWC and you in our quest for providing you the members with safe, clean, and reliable water year-round. By the way my family uses this same water system.

As with any utility system, age and wear and tear take its toll. While our above ground infrastructure is relatively new our water mains and associated valves need replacing. Most of which are 60-70 years old. That said, this is costly but work that must be done. Our plan of approach to obtaining monies is two-fold. One is applying where eligible for Infrastructure Act monies to accelerate piping replacement starting with streets that exhibit numerous leaks first and two, assigning our annual capital budget monies to replace old piping in one or more streets at-a-time. This latter approach will take years, unfortunately. And, as a friendly reminder we replaced all of Dogwood Rd. water lines about two years ago.

As a proponent of continuous improvement and in support of saving maintenance time and then money, I ask that each member keep their water meter pit accessible and easy to find. Each meter pit has a lid made of either steel or reinforced plastic with a transmitter embedded in it. Some are even painted blue to help with ease of visually identifying it. The most common cause of this is fall and winter weather where leaves, water driven dirt/sand cover the lids; and occasionally grasses and weeds that grow over the lids are the summertime culprits. Anything to save time is helpful. If you have any questions about the Operation or Maintenance of the system please give us a call.

V/R,

Jim Stone, Assistant Superintendent

III. Financials & Water Rates

The table below reflects the rate increase for fiscal year 2022-2023.

BEACHES WATER CO-OP RELEASES NEW ONLINE CUSTOMER WEB PORTAL

• One-step secure bill payment with "Quick Pay"
• Credit cards, debit cards and ACH Bank Draft Payments
• Sign up for recurring payments
• Use the electronic wallet feature to store payment methods (secured)
• Sign up for paperless services via email
• Manage your account settings

2021 Annual Water Quality & Consumer Confidence Report

Our drinking water is safe and meets all federal and state requirements for community drinking water. In 2021, there were no water quality violations.

Annual Water Quality Report for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2021

This report is intended to provide you with important information about your drinking water and the efforts made by the water system to provide safe drinking water.

The source of drinking water used by BEACHES WATER CO-OPERATIVE is Ground Water: Nanjemoy and Aquia confined aquifers.

Este informe contiene información muy importante sobre el agua que usted bebe. Tradúzcalo ó hable con alguien que lo entienda bien.