Williamsburg audit shows less revenue loss from water leaks

WILLIAMSBURG — The City of Williamsburg is losing revenue on about 1.6 million gallons of water a month, but that’s an improvement of nearly 2 million gallons from last year, Faith Hinrichs, of Gronewold, Bell, Kyhnn & Co. P.C. told the city council last week.

Water loss is the difference between the amount of water the city treats and the amount it bills for, said Williamsburg Mayor Adam Grier. The city is in the process of fixing leaks so that the city can be paid for all the treated water it’s distributing.

Old water meters and leaky water mains can keep the city from charging for all the water it’s treating, said City Councilman Tyler Marshall. “We’re making a product — treated water,” he said. The city needs to bill correctly for its usage.

Most of the water leakage has been in residential service lines, said City Administrator Aaron Sandersfeld. A lose of 15% to 17% is industry standard, he said.

The city’s audit showed water loss of 16% for fiscal year 2023, down 1.9 million gallons a month from 2022 when the loss was at 31%.

Other issues

Auditors found internal control deficiencies in that a limited number of people have the primary responsibility for most of the accounting and financial reporting duties. This is because the city has a limited number of employees which does not allow procedures to be established to adequately segregate duties, auditors said.

The city should review its control activities to obtain the maximum internal control possible under the circumstances utilizing currently available staff.

Auditors found no questionable disbursements.

Two funds showed deficit balances as of June 30, Hinrichs said; the Oak Street and Bridge Project showed a deficit of $9,774, and the sewer sinking enterprise project a deficit of $302,860.

“All funds should have positive cash balances,” said Hinrichs.

The deficits will be eliminated through receipt of grants and sewer collections, the city said.

“Overall, the audit went really well,” Hinrichs said.

Property tax brought in $1.5 million in 2023; local-option sales tax, $487,000; tax increment financing, $1 million. Total receipts were $4.77 million, according the audit report.

Disbursements totaled $9.5 million, including $5.3 million for capital projects and $1.5 million in dept service.