Contracting for water

The town of Stoneville is in the final stages of deciding whether to continue its contract to buy water from Mayodan or to contract with another provider, such as Dan River Water Inc.
Stoneville appears to be leaning toward continuing with Mayodan, which gets its water from the Mayo River. Dan River, which uses the Dan, mostly services rural, unincorporated areas. It’s good that Stoneville has other options in regard to water service, but retaining Mayodan makes sense for a few reasons.
First is familiarity. Stoneville has a history with Mayodan, so identifying problems and devising solutions is – theoretically at least – relatively painless. Keeping Mayodan would eliminate any change in customers’ bills and eliminates any chance for confusion.
Though Mayodan recently raised its water rates – primarily because of the loss of business customers – a solid customer base helps ensure some stability in costs. The more customers that use water the less expensive the rates for everyone.
Extending the contract does not come without pitfalls, the largest being a 20-year contract without giving Stoneville the option of buying water from another source if Mayodan is unable to meet future needs. It appears officials are making progress on the option, and the contract may include a clause to that effect.
“Biggest problem I have is that they want to tie us down to a 20-year contract,” Stoneville Mayor Rex Tuggle has said. “It’s hard to get out from under a 20-year contract you can’t change. I don’t think they (Mayodan) would sign anything that would tie them down for 20 years.”
Board members have said such a clause should be added, allowing Stoneville to give a notice of at least six months to get out of the contract, regardless of its length. That certainly makes sense, and officials should work out a deal that’s acceptable to both parties. After all, no one knows what the future holds.
Regardless, continuing the contract offers Stoneville a solid chance to keep rates reasonable, and that’s what matters most to residents of both that town and Mayodan.