Blacksburg Town Council approves policy to monitor water sales

The Town of Blacksburg is hoping to track profits from water sales that are essentially going down the drain.

Public Works director Roger Childers said the town has been unable to track exactly how much water is being pumped from local hydrants under its current system of selling water to private contractors.

Currently the town has two contractors who are temporarily purchasing water and loading it daily from the town's hydrants. Many more contractors approach the town for water as well.

Without a meter to monitor the exact amount of water being pumped from the hydrants, there is no way to know how much water is being taken, Childers said. And under the old procedures, there were no consequences for taking more water than agreed upon.

Council approved a new policy Tuesday during its monthly meeting that will hopefully help the town track how much water is actually being taken by contractors.

The town will require individuals who purchase water to pay a deposit for a hydrant meter. If that meter "walks off" the deposit will cover its cost, Childers said. If the meter is returned, the deposit will also be returned.

Those individuals who are caught hooking up to a hydrant without a meter and proper documents could face criminal prosecution.

Council is also placing locks on the fire hydrants in areas where water theft has been a problem. Local fire departments will have keys for the locks.

The public works department will also be altering its trash pickup schedule. Areas where trash was picked up on Tuesday will now have trash collected on Wednesday. Residents who have normally had their garbage picked up

on Wednesdays and Thursdays will not have their service affected.

The change will free up one day for public works employees to cut grass, Childers said. It should also save on fuel.