HAZARD – Officials with the City of Hazard say they may know why recent utility reports showed a larger than usual water loss.

It was during the commission’s July meeting that City Manager Combs noted a loss of 50 million gallons of produced water from the City’s water system. He said at the time that he thought that figure was incorrect, and said an adjustment in how the water is accounted for may have solved the problem. But he cautioned it may take a few months to know for sure.

“We found a few problems that we should have known about, but it just popped up,” Combs said. “But to give you an honest answer, we won’t know until ... next month or the month after that, by changing the way water is produced, we should have a better idea. But I do feel better about it.”

The adjustment came in regard to how the water was accounted for, Combs said. Officials were accounting for water produced and water lost, but doing so at different times of the month, so there was going to be a discrepancy no matter how accurate the measurement. By syncing those two figures and measuring during the same time period, it should provide a more accurate figure of water produced and lost in the system. Combs cautioned that there is “still a long way to go,” but officials are centering in on the problem.

According to Combs’ August utility report, the City lost about 24 million gallons of water in July, or about half the amount reported in June.

In other business, the commission voted to accept a resolution to sponsor the Pathfinders group’s application for grant approval for a new walking path in the downtown area. The Pathfinders of Perry County is a nonprofit group that has worked in the past to clear walking paths in the city, and a larger goal has been to construct a pedestrian and bicycle path inside the city.

According to a proposal from the group submitted to the commission on Monday, the group hopes to apply for a $200,000 grant to build the path along Main Street, beginning at the “Welcome to Hazard” sign on North Main and extending to the William D. Gorman Bridge on the lower end.

The city commission also voted to accept a bid from Landmark Construction Group, Inc. in the amount of $8,500 to demolish and dispose of a structure on Apple Street in the Lothair section of Hazard. The City will initially pay for the cost of the demolition, but due to a lien being placed on the property by the City, whomever sells the property will be responsible for reimbursing the City for the cost of demolition, Combs explained.