Possible Water Leak Updates

Oaklawn Park's water comes from the City of Bloomington through City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU). The total of all water used by Oaklawn Park is billed as one bill to the HOA each month by CBU. The HOA then pays to CBU each month that total water bill. The water bill that each owner of each townhome pays is then used to cover the bill paid by the HOA to CBU. The total collected from the townhome owners has to equal the amount of the bill we all owe to CBU as the members/owners of the homeowners association. This monthly billing assessment, collection, and payment is all done by our property manager, Focus Property Management.

Now that we have the new, individual water meters installed that measure water use by each townhome, it seems likely we have a significant water leak or leaks somewhere underground in the neighborhood. This would be the mostly likely explanation for the difference between what the collective water use the water meters are reading and the remaining total water use/billing charges beyond that being charged by CBU. Focus Property Management, working with the board, has been taking steps to locate the leak as clearly it cannot be seen above ground. To help keep residents informed, updates to the process are being included here.

• In late April 2026 City of Bloomington Utilities (CBU) checked and verified that the main water meter into the neighborhood is working and calibrated correctly.

• May 29, 2026. Bynum Fanyo Utilities (BFU) worked between 2 AM and 4 AM to turn on and off the water in the different sections of the neighborhood to try to narrow down the area within the neighborhood that any large leak may be happening.

• June 3, 2026. Results from that search. BFU ruled out about 2/3 of the complex. They believe the leak to be in the western or southwestern sections of the complex. There are some valves that either will not turn or are covered in debris that they were unable to use to isolate further. There are also a few places where it looks like the valve caps are buried just below grade. They requested dig those out just to see if they are valves and what they control to see if that could help further isolate the problem.

• June 4, 2026. Focus approved those next steps.

• June 10, 2025. From BFU: "We were there [Oaklawn Park] this morning with our leak detection equipment. Also present was a representative from the company who sells the leak detector to help as he has years of experience using the equipment. We were still unable to locate any leaks. At this point I believe we have exhausted our efforts looking for this leak. It is very frustrating but I am not sure what else BFU can do. We will not be sending you a bill for any of our time."

• Now that we have exhausted all investigations with Bynum Fanyo Utilities, we are moving forward with consulting a civil engineer and then possibly involving the City of Bloomington if the engineer believes that is the correct approach.

If at any time you notice an area that is constantly damp even when it has not been raining, please let Focus know. If as we move into the likely drier summer season you notice an area where the grass/vegetation stays greener even while everything around it starts the typical browning of our drier summers, please let Focus know.

This is just as urgent for any board member (we live here, too) as it is for any other residents, and this is a top priority. Board members (who are not compensated in any way for doing board work) pay the same additional water billing costs that this situation is costing each member of the community The leaks are not even visible by professionals who have made the attempts to find them. This issue is not due to neglect by any past or current board or board members. It could be something about the quality of pipes and how they were put in by the original developers. It could just be naturally aging infrastructure. It could be something an outside utility company might have hit by accident. But it is not an intentional act done by anyone currently living here or part of the current association. All of us want a solution to this challenge. Focus Property Management is working on this "project." If you would like to help solve this problem, please put in your nomination for the board with Focus Property Management and run for election to the board at our annual meeting on July 2. The more of us who live and own here participate in being on the board, the more represented the neighborhood is in solving our challenges and deciding to make improvements to the neighborhood.

• Kyle Thompson