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Resident Responsibilities

Leaks

 

AquaHawk Leak Detection Program

American Conservation and Billing (AmCoBi) provides online customer access to view current and projected water usage through their program called AquaHawk. 

Once on the site, select the registration button and follow the instructions to register.

AquaHawk offers several benefits to Buffalo Mountain Metropolitan District customers including:

  • Set monthly threshold values in dollars for water and irrigation usage.
  • Set daily, weekly, and monthly usage thresholds and get notified if you are trending to exceed.
  • Provides timely alerts when problems are detected.
  • You can specify how you want to be contacted - text, e-mail, or phone.
  • Easy-to-understand and use, with access to the help menu for specific instructions.
  • Provides single sign-on access to the payment portal with the touch of a button so you do not need to re-enter credentials.

For more information on the new capabilities of the online portal, click here. 

Leak Alerting

AquaHawk will open a leak alert event when it notices an unusual use pattern compared to the norm. 

Please note this is an automated system.  BMMD advises every homeowner to set custom thresholds to their own water usage and habits. 

You can set custom thresholds in the My Thresholds tab. From there click to set advance water use thresholds to your liking.  

There are four basic severity levels for leak alerts  
  • Critical: 300+ gallons per hour or greater than 7,200 gallons over a 24-hour period 
    • AquaHawk only notifies you if your water usage reaches this threshold.
  • Serious: 50 – 300 gallons per hour
  • Moderate: 10 – 50 gallons per hour
  • Minor: 10 gallons per hour
Possible Signs of  a Line Leak

Inside

  • Running water noise 
  • Vibration in pipes or walls 
  • The water meter running without any faucets on 
  • A decrease in water pressure 

Outside

  • Obvious water surfacing
  • Unusual amounts of water running in a ditch or low area 
  • Depression or sinkhole

 

 

Other Things You'll Want to Know

Property Owner Infrastructure

That portion of all existing and future water service lines extending from the connection to the district main (including that portion located within the road) which includes the curb box, shut-off valve, meter and other related private water infrastructure are the sole responsibility of the Customer.

Shutoff Valves - Interior

Homeowners should know how to shut off water in an emergency. First step is to locate the water meter where the water line enters the building. In most cases a shutoff valve is located before and after the meter. The meter location is usually in a crawl space, mechanical room, garage etc. If an internal water service line leak is discovered and the shutoff valves don’t work, you will need to contact a plumber to either “freeze” the line and replace the faulty shut-off valves or the plumber can help shut-off water to the building using the outside “Curb Stop Valve”.

Shutoff “Curb Stop Valve” – Exterior

The property exterior curb stop shutoff valve is usually located close to a property line near the street driveway entrance and has a 3” round metal lid that is normally flush with the ground. If your property service line has a leak outside, you will need to use this curb stop valve to shut off the water. Operating the valve requires a metal “key” to turn the valve. The valve itself is around nine feet (9’) deep so you’ll need a plumber to shut off the water.

Property owners can reduce liability of emergency repair costs by making sure the property has an exterior working curb stop valve. Make sure to turn the curb stop valve on/off periodically to keep it operational. Marking the curb stop valve with a snow stake/delineator will help find it in the winter. Contact us for support in finding and testing your curb valve. BMMD can add it to our GIS mapping system for future reference. 

Exterior Leaks – Investigation & Repairs

Once a water leak is discovered either through the homeowner, district's water department, or by a visual observation, an on-site investigation will start immediately to determine if the problem is on a District water main line or on a private service line. If the investigation finds a leak on a BMMD main line, the District is responsible for repairing. If the investigation finds a leak on a private service line, the property owner must conduct repairs. If satisfactory progress toward repairing the leak has not been initiated by the property owner after notice, BMMD may shut off water service if excessive water loss is occurring or until the leak has been repaired. 

Repairs – Unknown Exterior Leak Source

If BMMD is unable to determine during the investigation whether a leak, break, or failure exists within a District main or within a personal property service line the district will make contact as soon as possible with all nearby property owners to distribute leak notification information. The District will determine best repair methods and conduct the emergency repair. If the leak source is found on private infrastructure, BMMD will contact the affected homeowner to arrange payment directly with the repair contractor.

Financial Responsibilities

Exterior service line leaks can be very costly, especially in winter. Costs can include but are not limited to: Excavation equipment, labor for all repair personnel, road or driveway repaving, revegetation, etc. Costs to repair a private property service line leak costs on average between $9k - $18k in Summit County. In some cases, duplex properties share service lines so repair costs will be shared equally.  Larger HOA properties share one master line so costs will be paid by the HOA. Unfortunately, exterior infrastructure is NOT covered under homeowners insurance and must be paid out-of-pocket by the property owner.

Knowing the location of your underground service lines (property site plan) may also save you thousands of dollars in excavation fees. This will be a valuable tool in an emergency situation if the plumber or excavator knows the location of underground service lines. 

Learn About Water Corrosion 

Corrosion is a chemical process in which the metals commonly used in plumbing systems are eaten away and ultimately fail. Some types of corrosion cause a fairly uniform attack of metals, gradually thinning the entire metal surface often causing "red water" from iron or steel water systems or blue stains from copper or brass systems. Another type of corrosion concentrates its attack in small areas, developing deep in the ground which can also penetrate the wall of a pipe or tank. This type of corrosion usually does not contribute iron or copper to the water, but even a single hole in a length of pipe or a tank can destroy its usefulness.

Corrosion is a perfectly natural process. Man has learned how to convert the naturally occurring ores into useful materials, but all of these metals have a tendency to revert back to their natural stable ore forms. Some metals are highly resistant to corrosion, but these are usually too costly to be used in plumbing systems.

Similarly, all waters are corrosive in at least some degree. However, the rates of corrosion produced by different waters vary widely, depending upon a number of factors. The major factors which govern the rate of corrosion include electrical conductivity due to improper grounding, size of service line, dissimilar metals, improper pipe bedding, corrosive soils, oxygen concentration, and temperature. Each of these factors is discussed in the sections below:

  • Building is improperly ground through the piping system. Construction methods often utilize several procedures to ground the electrical system, one of which is connecting the ground to the water piping. Electrical grounding theories is a vast subject on which differing opinions are written and that while grounding to the water piping system has been common practice for many years and even though a ground rod exists, stray currents will still cause electrolysis and corrosion in pipes.
  • The size of the service line is too small. A high velocity of water running through a small service line servicing a large condo building can cause hydraulic wear on the piping. For example, an existing Wildernest condo has a 2" water line servicing a 20-unit building and in today's standards the County would require a 4" to 6" service line.
  • The amount of galvanic corrosion from the use of dissimilar metals contained in or in contact with the piping system (the use of dissimilar metals such as copper pipe and steel hot water heaters can cause corrosion).
  • The improper bedding of the pipe is a big factor in the deterioration and/or leaks in service lines. Many Wildernest properties were built in the 70's and 80's. The regulation of water pipe construction and installation during that time were minimal. The bedding used at the time included rocks and improper grading, which over time wears on pipes causing failures.
  • Presence of suspended solids, such as sand, sediment, corrosion by-products, and rust can aid in the physical corrosion and damage, damage, and facilitate chemical and biochemical corrosion.
  • Corrosive soils - primary characteristics contribute to the corrosivity of the soil include high chloride content, low electrical resistivity, and low pH.
  • Water Quality - primary characteristics contributing to the corrosivity of the water include high Total dissolved Solids (TDS), low pH, dissolved inorganic carbonate in the water, and high concentrations of chlorides.
  • Other factors include the amount of oxygen in the water and the temperature of the water.

​There are several ways to treat hard water. Some water treatment technologies, such as softeners and aeration systems, can aggravate corrosion. Softeners remove the protective calcium and magnesium and introduce highly conductive sodium into the water. Aeration devices for iron, sulfur, or odor removal add oxygen, which is extremely corrosive in water. Higher water temperatures and suspended materials accelerate the rate of corrosion by increasing the reaction rates or possibly causing physical damage to the pipes.

While the District sympathizes with Wildernest property owners who have experienced service line pipe corrosion, the District cannot take responsibility for the maintenance or replacement of water piping within the consumer's home or business. The District Rules and Regulations clearly state that each property owner must maintain its own internal plumbing system and entire service line.

The Things You'll Want to Know

Property Owner Infrastructure 

That portion of all existing and future sewer service lines extending from the connection to the district main (including that portion located within the road) which includes all connections, clean-outs, service line and fittings. 

Financial Responsibilities

If the sewer blockage or I+I is on a district sewer main, then the district is responsible for making corrective repairs. If a sewer backup or I+I occurs on a private service line, property owners are responsible for making corrective repairs.

Backups

The most common sign of a possible sewer service line backup inside a building is found through the lowest elevation toilet or floor drain backing up sewage water. If a sewer backup or issue occurs, stop using water in the building immediately! Contact a plumber to determine the source of the blockage. In most cases a plumber will be able to snake the service line through a cleanout at the home. Know where your cleanout is and the condition.

If you or the plumber are unable to determine the source of the backup, call BMMD to help investigate further. Camera technology may be needed to determine the source of the problem.

These events are more common in older homes, homes with basements and are more likely to occur on lower floors. Common causes of sewer backups include grease buildup, separated joints, clogged pipes, root damage, cracks in the pipe or main line backups.

Leaks and Repairs

The district cleans and video inspects the main sewer lines in Wildernest on a regular basis. Service lines leak such as groundwater inflow and infiltration (I+I) are usually discovered during this time. The district will reach out to homeowners if private infrastructure leaks exist and will initiate a time frame for corrections. BMMD Regulations requires homeowners to conduct repairs within 72 hours.

 

Summit County Code & BMMD Regulations state that it is the responsibility of the property owners to maintain their culverts free and clear of silt, mud, debris and ice at all times.  Repair or damage to public roads, right-of-ways and drainage systems caused by a blocked culvert or lack of a culvert will be billed directly to the property owner of the failed culvert.

Culverts are prone to filling in with sediment after a large rain event or spring runoff. Once filled in either partially or wholly, ice will build up in the winter and freeze from the bottom up until it’s completely blocked. This is normally only an issue during spring runoff but is also present during low snow winters. When driveway culverts become clogged or ice dammed, they back up and flow into the roadways. The water then freezes creating a hazard for all.

Please see Summit County’s and BMMD’s rules and regulations for more information on driveway culverts .

 

Homeowners, HOAs, and residents are responsible for maintaining their own driveways, entrances, and parking areas. Keeping private residential driveways and HOA entrances open in winter is the responsibility of the property owner. This maintenance is on-going and will help to alleviate potential blockages. Residents and HOAs of Wildernest must also do their part by complying with the following Summit County and BMMD winter maintenance requirements:

  • Do not snow blow, plow, or shovel snow from your driveway out onto or across the road, right-of-way, recreation path or drainage ditch.
  • Do not park in streets, rights-of-way, or recreation path. Parking any vehicle or trailer in the street or right-of-way is prohibited and subject to ticketing or towing.
  • Snow removed from a private driveway or parking area must be stored on your own property at least 10 feet from the paved edge of the road.
  • Do not let children play in roadside snowbanks!
  • Do not walk in the street! This is extremely dangerous for you and our plow drivers. Please carry a flashlight while walking at night so the plow drivers can see you.
  • It is illegal to pass on double yellow lined roads (i.e., Ryan Gulch). Do not pass plows! This is hazardous for you and for them.
  • Put your trash and recycling bins out on the morning of your collection day, not the night before, and remember to bring your bins back inside the same day. This is a year-round district requirement.
  • Always keep trash cans out of roads! (Shovel out a spot for the bins just off your driveway apron so the plows do not hit them). Drivers are not responsible for trash cans in roadways.
  • Mark your infrastructure (driveway culverts, driveways, outside water shut off or curb stop valve, sewer cleanouts, etc.).
  • Wear reflective or bright colored clothing and a headlamp to be visible in inclement weather and at night.