I am pleased to report to the membership that Davidson Water, Inc. has 60,419 total connections and 53,510 active meters. That is an increase of 519 from prior year. We added 382 new water taps in the past year. That is an increase of 60 over prior year and the highest number since 2008. Currently, we have 72 employees with one position open.

The Gregg Stabler Water Plant ran an average of 9.71 mgd with a maximum daily production of 14.71 mgd. We have maintained full compliance with all state mandated tests. Our new sludge dewatering equipment has been in full operation for almost a year and our results have exceeded expectations. We completed electrical upgrades including a new electrical switchgear and motor control center for our two large generators. Also, we completed the conversion of our original 500,000 gallon finished water tank into a Backwash Tank for more efficient handling of our filter wastewater. We are currently working on repairing a dam breach in Reservoir #1, our smallest reservoir. This is a major project that may well cost as much as $100,000 to repair. Please note this unexpected occurrence illustrates the need for adequate credit reserves.

Our distribution system saw upgrade and pipe relocation of 40,508’ or 7.67 miles. Projects included Pleasant Acres, Lower Lake Road, Old Mill Farm Road, and Reedy Creek Church Road. In addition to these projects, we completed 5 NC DOT projects requiring line relocations and 4 different new or expanded subdivision projects. We completed a Master Plan and Hydraulic Model Study with Hazen and Sawyer Environmental Engineers. Long term, this study will give us a roadmap for system improvements through the year 2060. It helps us determine our capital improvement priorities for the near future. Our main project right now is a replacement of our Hyattown Pump Station where 70% of our daily water goes through. This pump station is receiving new more efficient pumps, new electrical equipment, larger generator and larger piping with the room to add on more. This project will replace 1970’s equipment. We estimate the new station will carry us out to the year 2060.

Our meter department installed 3,953 radio read meters bringing the total number in our system to 39,274. This year we plan to be just as aggressive. These meters are very accurate, have a 10 year warranty and are the best value for the company to measure and bill for water.

Our office and customer service representatives strive to provide the best customer service possible. This is their Number 1 priority. There will always be ways to improve customer service and we are constantly looking for those best practices. Some examples of our recent improvements at our home office are the installment of new cameras for enhanced security and our IT department just completed a server upgrade that greatly improves our back-up and storage capacity. Also, we completed a GIS software upgrade that will allow customer work-order migration.

Davidson Water employees have demonstrated an admirable need to give back to the community in more ways than one. We had an increase of 9% in employee giving in our annual United Way campaign. Our employees gave and collected 4 pallets of bottle water for flooding victims in Columbia, SC. And our annual Food Drive at Christmas is always a huge success. We collected $303 in cash and 633 lbs of food for Greater Outreach Ministry.

Our company is fortunate to have community stewards serve on our board of directors. One of those is retiring from the board. I want to recognize Rick Hunt for 24 years of service on the board. Thank you for your service.

In closing, I will emphasize our commitment to our mission of providing safe reliable water to our members at the lowest possible cost. We will continue to do that with the leadership of our board and management, the expert guidance of our professional staff, the dedication and expertise of our employees, and the support of our members. Thank you for your support.

Ron Sink, General Manager