FEBRUARY 2007

A Letter from Clay Duffi e, General Manager of Mount Pleasant WaterworksDear Customers,MPW would like to apologize about any confusion regarding

your bill, and would like to try and address some of our customers’ questions and concerns.

MPW staff and Commissioners care about the responsibility and trust that you put in our organization. We have experienced problems with our meter reading process and rectifying this issue is our highest priority.

In 2001 Mount Pleasant Waterworks began installing automated meter reading devices after extensive successful testing. Once installed, electronic transmitters allow water meters to be read remotely. When working properly, electronic transmitters allow many water meters to be read remotely at one time by sending meter readings to a laptop computer in the truck.

Prior to this, a meter reader walked through neighborhoods and stopped at each meter to manually record the amount of water used.

This wireless radio system known as Automated Meter Reading or AMR remotely reads meters and then transfers the data to the billing system. Using AMR will ultimately make the meter reading process more effi cient and should provide savings to our customers.

A challenge raised with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) related to the FCC approved radio transmission equipment prompted the manufacturer to modify the design of the equipment. The meters recorded the usage accurately, but these modifi ed radio transmitters began to fail faster than we could replace them. In an even worse turn of events, some of the replacements began to fail.

We have negotiated with the company that provided the AMR devices to correct these problems and to reimburse MPW for the cost.

Why the estimated bills? The AMR devices were failing at such a rate that we

were unable to obtain actual reads of water used. In order to continue monthly billing MPW had to estimate some customers’ usage based on their previous consumption history. In some cases, we estimated bills for several months.

Recently, we added meter readers to begin the process of visually reading all the meters. Consequently, many customers who were receiving an estimated bill had their meter visually read. In many cases, the actual consumption over the estimated period was more because our estimates were low.

While this “catch up” bill is accurate, the higher bill caused confusion and frustration especially if Tier charges were added for excessive use.

So what are we doing about the problem?We are reviewing the “catch up” bills of all customers with an estimated bill and removing Tier charges if they were incorrectly added. We have added staff to visually read meters and reduce the number of estimated bills.The Mount Pleasant Waterworks Commissioners voted to suspend all Tier charges for two months while staff works to resolve our billing process issues.We have reassigned staff to remove and replace the failed transmitters. We want to assure our customers we will fi x this

problem and greatly appreciate their patience and understanding.

Kind Regards,MOUNT PLEASANT WATERWORKS

Clay Duffi e, General Manager

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W A T E R L I N E S • M P W C o m m i s s i o n N e w s l e t t e r • F e b r u a r y 2 0 0 7

Important Contact InformationThe MPW Operations Center, including the drive-thru service window, is located at 1619 Rifl e Range Road, and is open between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

843.884.9626 — That’s the only number you have to remember! MPW Call Center Representatives can help you with your billing and water or wastewater servicerequests during regular business hours. After hours or during holidays, our new answering service will page on-call personnel who will return your call within 15 minutes.

Take advantage ofTake advantage ofT our newake advantage of our newake advantage of EASY PAY Online at www.MountPleasantWaterworks.com for online billing, bill payment, customer service, account history, answers to service or billing questions, helpful information, and more!

You can still email requests for new service or transfer of service to customerservice@mpwonline.com.Requests received before 12 noon will be processed the same day. Those received after 12 noon will be processed the following business day.

How To Save Money on Your Water Bill—New technologies are being developed every day to help reduce water use and save money on your residential or commercial water bill. These helpful tips are from the website Water—Use It Wisely at www.wateruseitwisely.com.

Instant Hot Water DevicesThis recirculation system uses a pump at your water heater to keep the water in your line hot and comfortable from the moment you turn it on. A bypass valve at your faucet provides constant hot water.

Leak Detection EquipmentThese units can be deployed throughout the plumbing system to continuously monitor for leaks. Easily installed on pipe fi ttings, they’re held in place by a strong magnet and have a battery life of up to 10 years. No maintenance is required.

Smart Irrigation ControllerThese next-generation controllers reduce outdoor water These next-generation controllers reduce outdoor water These next-generation controllers reduce outdoor water use by monitoring weather conditions, soil moisture and plant type, then apply just the right amount of water based on those factors.

Pre-rinse Spray ValvesFor restaurants, cafeterias and food service operators, these spray valves save water, energy and sewer charges. They have a fl ow rate of 2 gallons per minute or less, and a clean ability rate of 25 seconds per plate or less.

Vertical Stop Sprinkler HeadInserted just below the sprinkler head, these stops will shut off a broken head automatically, preventing the familiar lawn fountains that are usually associated with broken sprinkler heads.

www.MountPleasantWaterworks.com

What’s New On Our Website

MPW announces the 2007 Drinking Water Week Poster Contest

Calling all school-age children from Kindergarten through 12th Grade! MPW’s annual Poster Contest is underway. Here are the rules:

The contest is open to all students : public, private or home-schooled. The winners in each category will be presented with cash prizes ranging from $200 (1st Place winners), $100 (2nd Place winners), to $50 (3rd Place winners).PLUS...Winning posters and artists in each grade category will be photographed and published in the Moultrie News during Drinking Water Week, May 6 - 12, 2007.

All entries must be received by the end of the business day Friday, March 30, 2007. For more information, contact MPW Director of Communications Nicole Frampton at 388-1152, or email her at nframpton@mpwonline.com. You can also get the information from our website: mountpleasantwaterworks.com.

Check out the series of articles written by General Manager Clay Duffi e that describe some little-known facts about water, wastewater and our environment. Go to the Press Room and click on “It’s All About Clean Water,” and fi nd out for yourself!

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New technologies are being developed

and save money on your residential or commercial water bill. These helpful tips