Butler County Water Authority met today in the Whitney National Bank boardroom.

Glenn Branum, auditor for BCWA, got things underway with his annual audit report.

“The audit is clean and uneventful, which is what you want,” Branum said.

Branum suggested the board work on segregating duties and developing a capitalization policy, which will help them comply with requirements for federal loans and grants. The board approved the audit report.

Wesley Bass, manger of Artesian Utilities, described what establishing a capitalization policy meant.

“This sets a limit on what will be capitalized by the system,” Bass said. “Anything that extends the life or adds a new asset to the board and that exceeds a set limit will go the board for approval.”

Joe McCranney, chairman, said the water board previously had no such policy.

The board then let Gene Gibson, fire chief of Searcy Fire Department, take the floor.

Gibson described a community grant project his department was working on.

“We are trying to improve our fire service by installing 7 fire hydrants,” Gibson. “It won’t cost the water board or Searcy Fire Department anything.”

Gibson had found a grant to pay 100 percent of the costs for the new hydrants.

“All we need from the water board is an estimate of the total cost to buy and install these new pumps.”

41 residences and two churches would benefit from the expansion, Gibson said. To insure no damage is done to the lines, the SFD would use the hydrants only for filling trucks with available pressure, and would not use pump trucks.

The board approved a motion to give Bass, permission to establish a cost-estimate for the fire hydrants.

Gibson said he will report back to the board after applying for the grant, which opens June 1.

The final piece of business that came before the board was the results of the annual inspection of the Butler County water system.

Alabama Department of Environmental Management performed the inspection On March 5.

ADEM found chlorine levels to be adequate and the entire system to be in satisfactory working order.

Following the inspection, ADEM recommended that the chlorine fan at well # 4 be repaired, that ladder guards be installed on the Ridge Ground Tank and Brushy Creek Elevated Tank and that a screen be installed on the flap valve at well # 2.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for April 26.