Utilities Fact Sheet

• Candlewood Lake Association operates its own water supply utility.
• 2020 water production: 37,803,000 gallons (103,570 gallons per day).  
• Average CWL household daily usage: 68 gallons per person (estimate of 2.44 persons per household), or an estimated 166 gallons.



• Water sources:  two groundwater wells pumping by way of submersible well pumps of 15-20 horsepower pumping approximately 8 hours daily.  Each well is capable of pumping 100 gallons per minute, a very strong volume of groundwater.
• The wells draw water from sand and gravel deposits buried in ancestral drainage channels.
• The aquifer is covered by approximately 22 feet of glacial till. Permeability, a measure of the ease with which water can move through a porous rock, is low here, which provides some protection from contamination. Depth to water in this aquifer is approximately 31 feet below the ground surface; the thickness of the aquifer itself is 25 feet.
• The pore space of the water-rich zone of the subsurface, called an aquifer, is the spaces or voids between the solid material.  The porosity of the aquifer is the volume of void space to the total volume, expressed as a percentage. It is estimated the sand and gravel aquifer serving Candlewood has values of 15% porosity.
• Hydraulic conductivity is a measure of how easily water can pass through soil or rock. High values indicate permeable material through which water can pass easily; low values indicate that the material is less permeable.  Fifty feet per day is the estimate of hydraulic conductivity from the aquifer Candlewood relies upon.
• Candlewood’s total groundwater production from its treatment plant is estimated at 216,000 gallons per day.
• Water tower storage: 100,000 gallons.
• Miles of water lines:  27 miles.
• 8-inch diameter water lines operated by CWL are on Candlewood Drive and along sections of County Road 40. Elsewhere there are 6-inch and 4-inch diameter lines.
• Each property is provided 300 cubic feet of water (2,244 gallons) as a part of their assessment fee.  Excess water is measured monthly and billed quarterly, in 100 cubic feet increments at $5 each.
• Estimated valuation of water pipelines in place, based on replacement costs adjusted in February 2020 for inflation for Delaware County, Ohio (based on 2/15 study): $3.87 million.
• Number of service connections: 647¹ (as of November 2020 – subject to change as new properties come on line).
• Total billed metered water consumption is 32,133,000 gallons.
• It is estimated the CWL water utility has the capacity to serve up to 1,200 full-time (12-month) residences.
• Water services tap-in fee:  $3,600.
• At present, there are 16 fire hydrants installed on CWL property.

Sewer

• Candlewood Lake Association operates its own wastewater treatment utility
• 300,000 gallon capacity of treatment plant, of which only 70,000 gallons are being used at this time.
• Miles of sewer lines:  27 miles.
• Estimated in place grinder stations:  690².
• Expected grinder station life:  15 years.
• Annual replacement rate for grinders:  ~10%.
• Sewer services tap-in fee:  $12,600.  Effective February 1st, 2022.
• Sewage grinder pumps normally have a 1-1/4” discharge and range from 2 HP and up. They will pump low volumes of sewage (30 Gallons Per Minute or less), but can push it over longer distances (thousands of feet) and can handle head pressures of up to 130 feet.  Source:  https://www.septicsolutions.com/customer-service/knowledge-base/sewage-ejector-pumps–vs–sewage-grinder-pumps (9/8/20)
• Wastewater goes through a multiple step process to restore the water to a condition safe to return to the environment. CWL uses what is called the Extended Aeration Process to treat its wastewater.
• All the wastewater from CWL is pumped to the WWTP through the grinder at your home and directly discharges into the flow equalization lagoons.  Since the flow comes into the WWTP at an uneven rate, it is stored here where it is then metered into the WWTP process at a steady flow rate. 
• The sewage is first treated for approximately 48 hours in the biological part of the treatment process of the wastewater treatment plant which is designed to substantially degrade the biological content of the sewage, which is derived from human waste, food waste, soap and detergents. To be effective, this treatment process requires both an oxygen and a food source to survive.Bacteria and protozoa consume the biodegradable soluble organic contaminants (e.g. sugars, fats, organic short-chain carbon molecules) and bind much of the less soluble fractions into floc. 
• Once the sewage has been treated for the 48 hours in this tank, it is then discharged into the settling basin where the water and floc that is formed in the biological treatment process is separated by gravity.  It is also at this point where CWL adds liquid alum to remove naturally occurring phosphorus in the wastewater generated by the treatment process itself.  This settling process takes up to 8 hours from start to finish at which time the wastewater then flows by gravity to the sand filters, where the water is filtered through a media that removes any solids still remaining in the wastewater stream. 



• From there, it is then exposed to ultraviolent light which disinfects the wastewater and neutralizes any pathogenic bacteria that still may be still present in the wastewater. 
• Lastly, the water is aerated before it is then discharged into the Whetstone Creek about ½ mile or so below Candlewood Lake’s dam.   Federal law requires the State to obtain a surface water discharge permit into Whetstone Creek.  Candlewood’s average daily flow (as of October 2021) is 0.085 MGD, and for this the Ohio EPA charges a fee of $500 each year.
• It is estimated the CWL wastewater utility has the capacity to serve up to 1,200 full-time (12-month) residences.  

Electricity

• Candlewood has no ownership role.
• Provided by Consolidated Cooperative.
• Each property is separately metered.

Natural Gas / Propane

• Candlewood has no ownership role.
• Knox Energy supplies residences with natural gas by pipeline.
• Knox Energy customers in CWL have no option to shop for a provider outside of Knox Energy.  They are charged the “Standard Choice Offer” as dictated and approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.
• Each property is separately metered.
• Some homes are served by storage tank propane on their property with the propane provided by vendors of their choice.

Telecommunications

• Candlewood has no ownership role.
• CenturyLink provides (optional to the customer) land-line telephonic services.
• Several providers deliver (optional to the customer) cellular service into Candlewood (Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.).
• Several providers deliver (optional to the customer) satellite telecommunications into Candlewood (DirecTV, DishTV, HughesNet).
• Armstrong Group of Companies (provides optional to the customer) access to high-speed fiber optic telecommunications to 49% of the 625 residences (as of this date); no services to Unit 4 due to surface and subsurface conditions.

¹ Includes residences, campground, swimming pools, administrative building, maintenance building, utilities shop, Northmor Schools campus, Girl Scout camp
² Some 215 adjacent properties share grinder stations.