Three separate problems with meters at the new Oxford High School could find the school district and project contractor Etkin Skanska, Inc. in some hot water.
According to a letter sent to school officials in early July by Oxford Township Supervisor Bill Dunn, three distinct problems were found with the water metering at the new Oxford High School on Oxford Rd.
The first problem occurred back in August 2003 when the high school’s low-flow meter stopped transmitting readings. Oxford Township engineer, Shannon Parry of Rowe, Inc., said the last reading was received that month. Beginning with October 2003, the building’s quarterly readings for low-flow usage were estimated.
‘The high school water meter actually has two readings on it – one for the high-flow and one for the low-flow. Domestic water usage is calculated by combining these two readings,? explained Parry. ‘As of October, the bills to the schools were estimated based on the readings from the high-flow and an estimation of the low-flow based on passed usage.?
‘It’s not unusual for this to happen during construction projects,? added Parry. ‘These are just hooked to the building, sometimes kids even pull them out.?
Oxford Schools Assistant Superintendent Ron Franey confirmed that the disconnection was by accident. He explained that the wires to the low-flow meter became disconnected when a contractor knocked down a nearby wall.
‘We have paid all of the estimated bills we’ve received,? said Franey, ‘no one’s disputing that. None of us realized the bills could have been bigger.
‘It just hasn’t been billed to us on a timely basis.?
The second problem was discovered during a meeting requested by the school district for June 30. According to Parry, the school district asked for a meeting with the township engineer, the building’s architect, the project foreman and representatives from the county water department to see if the high school’s old water meter could be used with the new water system.
‘They had already purchased a new six-inch meter and they wanted reimbursed for that,? explained Parry. ‘They wanted to use the old meter instead.?
Prior to the June 30 meeting, Etkin Skanska requested for the county to transfer the old water system to the new. Parry said the transfer was scheduled for July 9. She explained that since everyone was present for the June 30 meeting, the engineers ‘went out to research the transfer request.?
At this time, Parry said officials found that the old water meter and backflow preventor had been disconnected from the old water system, and the water was still turned on and usable. Not having a meter and back flow preventor attached to a usable water system is in violation of Michigan law and could result in felony charges.
A timeline released by Etkin Skanska states that on June 15 the water was turned off to the new high school ‘so work could be done on the old system.? The document further states that between June 16 and June 19, the plumbing contractor, Macomb Mechanical, removed the old meter and installed the device in the new boiler room, with the intent to have the new system active in a couple of days.
The timeline states that due to weather delays and scheduling difficulties with the state, Macomb Mechanical temporarily reactivated the old water system. According to the timeline, ‘As an oversight, a temporary backflow device and meter were not installed.?
‘They thought that they would be connecting those pipes the next day, but it wasn’t and it just went on and on,? said Franey. ‘There was little to no water that went through there and was unmetered.?
The water to the old system was turned off on June 30; however, the water to the new system remained on. All parties involved in this investigation agree this was an oversight by everyone.
The third problem was discovered when the Oakland County Water Department returned to the site on July 1 to perform a cross-connection control investigation, due to no backflow preventors being used. During the visit, officials observed that there was a hose attached to the new fire line, a system separate from the domestic hookups. Again, there was no meter or backflow preventor attacked to the line.
‘We don’t have a total amount yet of how much water was used,? said Parry.
She continued to explain that so far officials have been able to estimate that approximately 370,000 gallons of water was unmetered; however, the amount is only a foundation figure based on the district’s paid bills and the actual readings left on the compound meter when it was disconnected. She explained that officials from the township and county must now determine how much ‘unmetered? water was used after the meter was disconnected and through the fire line, which could be a difficult process.
‘Figuring out how much was used when the low flow stopped transmitting was the easy part; figuring out how much was unmetered is hard,? said Parry.
Parry said that several numbers are needed to even begin estimating the unmetered amount: a meter reading will be done at the booster station on Waterstone Dr. in the Waterstone development; meter readings will be done at all parcels north of the property connected to that system; and any ‘unaccounted for water use,? such as fire hydrant flushing and fire department usage, will be estimated.
Parry explained that the final unaccounted for amount should be a close approximation to the unmetered amount used at the new high school.
Ron Franey confirmed that Oxford Schools has agreed to pay for the unmetered water. When asked if the billing will be charged to Etkin Skanska or Macomb Mechanical he said probably not, ‘we used the water.?
Supervisor Dunn said he is uncertain what steps the township will take next.
‘It depends on what they say,? he stated. ‘If they’re truly sorry and admit their mistake; you know we all screw up. They did mention at the meeting that yes, they did err.?
Ultimately, Dunn said the township board will be deciding whether or not to bring any criminal charges in these matters.
‘I think that their being cooperative goes a long way,? added Dunn.
The Oxford Township board will be addressing the water metering problems at their July 28 regular meeting. Officials from Oxford Schools, Etkin Skanska, Macomb Mechanical and the township engineer Parry will be on hand for questioning.