The Impact of COVID Brad Rayburn, MRWA Circuit Rider
Over the last couple of years, COVID has impacted everyone in some way, and by now most of us know someone that has had the virus. Initially, the country was shut down. People started working from home and some still are. I thought (or hoped) when the states opened back up things would go back to normal. The mask mandates that were implemented during the shutdown became relaxed and it was optional to wear, or not to wear, a mask. The mass distribution of the vaccine was offered to those that wanted to take it, and for a brief time, it seemed that people became comfortable again. Many people, including myself, fought the media storm of COVID and all the mandates that came with the virus. In early October 2021, COVID found me and showed me how misinformed I had been. Not only did I get the virus, but eight other people, immediate family members of mine, that I was around contracted the virus. Over the course of those weeks, I was asked numerous times if I was vaccinated? No, I was not vaccinated. The questions I ask myself, “If I had been vaccinated, would I have gotten the virus? Would I have given my family COVID?” Unfortunately, dealing with COVID is not something that is going to go away, and it is something that all of us are going to have to deal with in one way or another. One major effect of COVID is that we are all facing supply and demand issues and increasing product costs. It seems like the cost of everything has substantially increased and some things that were once easily obtained no longer are and, in some cases, simply unaffordable. Water/wastewater systems are having to adjust how they are accustomed to doing things due to this pandemic. Two of the biggest impacts for water/wastewater systems have been the rising cost of materials and the shortfall in supply. I contacted a water supply company to ask how much materials had increased in price, and if they were 10
having trouble getting some materials. The answer was yes and yes. Brass has risen 15-20%, a meter setter that was $100 before COVID is now closer to $140 and takes 6 weeks to get. Rectangle meter boxes have increased in price by 40%. Water meters have not increased but they could take 3 months to receive. Ductile iron fittings (mechanical joints) are out of stock or hard to receive. It is hard to even get PVC pipe, and some companies have run out of poly tubing. In most cases water/wastewater supplies are obtainable, but it can take much longer to receive the materials. These shortages and longer lead times must be planned for now. With the increase of cost for supplies and so many unknowns on how much things will cost in the future, many systems are evaluating their water/sewer rates. Water/Wastewater systems have had to act quickly to this by increasing the cost of new water/sewer connections to the customers paying for this service. That cost can be passed on to that individual, but when it comes to the cost of repair/replacement parts, such as, pumps, leak repair parts, water/sewer main replacements, chemicals, etc., that cost must be absorbed by every customer of the system. Over the years, I have written articles on water systems having a plan or being prepared for the unexpected. Before COVID, the unexpected was an ice storm, a tornado, a flood, etc. I certainly never thought a virus was the unexpected for which a system should prepare. To deal with the rising cost of materials water/wastewater systems will need to evaluate their rates. Typically, this is done by doing a rate study. A rate study is done to determine how much the water/wastewater system will
