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Decherd’s recent move to upgrade its water-metering system appears to have made a significant difference in curbing water loss with most of it coming from a single source—the Nissan Powertrain Plant.

Decherd Mayor Mary Nell Hess said Friday that Decherd has managed to reduce its water loss from 60 percent at its worst peaks to averaging slightly more than 20 percent, which is considered achieving a major goal.

ClearWater Solutions, under contract by the city to make upgrades to the water and wastewater systems, reported to the Water Board, which is the Board of Mayor and Aldermen in an alternative role, that the Nissan Powertrain Plant’s bill from April to May had increased from $80,000 to $230,000 and is expected to be about $175,000 for June.

Larry Quattlebaum, senior project manager for ClearWater Solutions, told the board in February that an estimated nine million unaccounted for gallons per month have been distributed to Nissan with another estimated three million gallons being lost to the remaining parts of the water system.

He added that Decherd’s water system has been losing about 12 million gallons per month, equating to a $150,000 to $200,000 loss in revenue annually.

However, Hess said the total water loss is undetermined, and additional factors have surfaced that reveal it’s probably much greater than initially thought.

She explained that a year ago, while the city was under state scrutiny over its budget process, water loss was a main financial topic. She added that she assigned personnel to find where the brunt of the loss was coming from, and the research revealed Nissan was the central figure.

John Schelmbauer, Decherd city engineer, explained that the original Nissan plant’s layout left options to circumvent part of the water system to address servicing issues so production could continue while repairs were being made. He added that part of the water system that was supposed to be metered was apparently left offline.

Schelmbauer estimated that Nissan may have been getting 75 percent of its water unmetered and unaccounted for.

The water board recently approved to upgrade two main pumps at the city’s water-treatment plant that have had their meters deteriorate to where they have been inaccurately reading the amount of water being distributed.

Hess had said the city has to do what it can to curb water loss.

“This is a real problem,” she said. “When your water loss is at 40 percent, it’s a major issue.”

Quattlebaum had said that veins within the meters have had their outside edges eaten away by constant water flow and have no longer been giving accurate readings.

The board approved to spend $60,000 — $30,000 for each of the two pumps — to rebuild them and install new water meters.

Decherd is also upgrading the city’s water meters to ensure more accurate readings and to make it easier to detect when water leaks occur.

The city has applied for a grant for $809,000 in American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 funds to install nearly 1,800 digital-based water meters citywide. The city has agreed to chip in another $350,000 to the $1.16 million total.

When Quattlebaum addressed the board in October 2024, he said the city produces more than two million gallons of treated water daily and seems to be losing about 40 percent of it to leakage or for some other reason.

Hess said at the time that questions had surfaced about potential inaccuracies in the metering process. She added that the city was gearing up to install an electronic metering system, and ClearWater Solutions believed more accurate meter readings would be taken.

Hess had said that engineers also suspected leakage is occurring from areas throughout the system. She added that tests would be conducted throughout the water system to determine if they are on the right track.

Alderman Larry Fraley had said the city has to take action to try and correct the problem.

“We’ve just got to stop it so we’re not losing money,” he said.