September 14, 2009
The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Water Commissioners of
Columbus, Georgia was held at the Columbus Water Works office on Monday,
September 14, 2009, at 1:30 p.m., the following Commissioners being present:
Billy Blanchard, Treasurer
Dr. Carole Rutland
Karl Douglass
Mayor Jim Wetherington
Absent: Philip Thayer, Chairman
Due to the absence of Philip Thayer, Chairman, Billy Blanchard was
Acting Chairman.
Receipt of the Minutes of the regular meeting on August 17, 2009, was
acknowledged by the Board and approved as written.
The Financial Report for the month of August including Ft. Benning was
presented to the Board. Motion was made and seconded to accept the reports.
Management gave a brief update on the following activities for the
month of August conducted by Engineering and Field Services.
Ft. Benning Tank Demolition
Three aging Ft. Benning Distribution Storage Tanks are scheduled for removal
from the system. Ongoing CWW improvement projects on Ft. Benning have made it
possible to put upgrades in place which allow decommissioning of these tanks.
They are: Kirksey Tank, Victory Drive Tank (both in Harmony Church), and
Wherry Tank (located in the Capehart residential area). Contract time is 60
days.
Bids were received on September 3, 2009. They are as follows:
Contractor Bid Amount
Steelsmith Tank Co., L.C. $ 66,880.00
All Industrial Services, Inc. $ 117,444.00
Iseler Demolition, Inc. $ 138,885.00
The engineer?s estimate was $124,775.00. The engineer has reviewed and
tabulated the bids and recommends contract to Steelsmith Tank Co., L.C., as the
low bidder in the amount of $66,880.00.
Following discussion motion was made and seconded to award the Ft.
Benning Tank Demolition Project to the low bidder Steelsmith Tank Co., L.C. in
the amount of $66,880.00. Motion carried.
Ft. Benning BRAC Collection System Improvements
Three CWW BRAC sewer collection project: North Upatoi Trunk Sewer, South
Upatoi Trunk Sewer, Lift Stations #3 and #24 Upgrades reached substantial
completion, testing and were placed into service.
Field Services
Emergency sewer repair work on River Road and Manchester Expressway
Replaced 300? of collapsed 8? concrete pipe with new PVC pipe
In the process of working DOT permits for rerouting 600? of deteriorating sewer
line
Plans are to CIPP the remaining downstream portion of the sewer
Painting 16? water main running above ground through the 11th Street underpass
Management introduced CWW?s new Director of Engineering, Mr. Billy Cobb
to the Board. Mr. Cobb, a Mechanical Engineer, has been employed with the
Water Works since 1992.
The Board congratulated Billy Cobb on his promotion.
Management gave a brief update on the following activities for the
month of August conducted by the Strategic Planning and Employee Services
Department.
Strategic Planning
Completed 13 departmental site visits to communicate strategic planning
initiatives to more than 112 employees
Concluded an open enrollment and rotation program for Strategy Team membership
which resulted in 20 new members
Completed Strategic Planning information brochure which outlines current goals
and objectives
For the month of August, 20 of the 23 benchmarks were met.
Strategy Team Activities ? Performance Work Plans
Each of the six strategy teams identified a minimum of three performance work
plans for FY 09/10. These are written documents which identifies the specific
activities that will be accomplished in support of the CWW strategies. A total
of 29 PWPs have been developed. As of August, two activities in support of the
29 PWPs have been completed.
Strategy Team #1 ? Customer Satisfaction:
Participated in Chamber of Commerce Expo on August 13th
Strategy Team #5 ? Sustainable Workforce:
Partnered with the Clean Air Campaign to host employee meetings to share
information about individual responsibility to protect the ?air? environment
Employee Services
Phillip Craighead (Safety and Benefits Coordinator) attains his Certified
Workers Compensation Associate (CWCA) certification
Supervisory Training ? Level 1: Communication at work
Employee Services staff are continuing Lawson vLab training activities in
conjunction with the HRIS conversion project
Team members participated in a Positive Employee Relations Seminar sponsored by
Strategic HR Partners
The Board acknowledged Management?s report.
Management gave a brief update on the following activities for the
month of August conducted by the Environmental and Communication Services.
Communications and Continuous Improvement
The Columbus Water Works has been selected to participate in a Water Research
Foundation project ? ?Forecasting the Future: Progress, Changes and Predictions
for the Water Sector?
Evaluate the use of previous ?Future? studies
Identify new and changing trends
Identify strategies to manage successful futures
Identify new research projects to help utilities transition to the future
Customer communications in September will focus on the open house and on
protecting the sewer collection system
The Board acknowledged Management?s report.
Management gave a brief update on the following activities for the
month of August conducted by the Water Resources, Management Maintenance and
Security Departments.
South Columbus Water Resource Facility
Average Daily Flow for Month 30.16 MGD
Maximum Daily Flow for Month 45.68 MGD
SCWRF staff is continuing with painting projects. This month they completed:
oRAS Blowers and Piping
oPrimary Sludge Pump Station
Jeremy Cummings transferred to the Field Services Department and James Stevens
was hired as the new Assistant Superintendent for the SCWRF
Plans are being made for the annual SCWRF open house on October 24, 2009 (10:00
am ? 2:00pm)
Spent a considerable amount of time working with JJ&G as they gather
information for the plant expansion project
North Columbus Water Resource Facility
Average Daily Flow 35.26 MGD
Maximum Daily Flow 44.74 MGD
The #2 solids plant clarifier has been repaired by the manufacturer (EIMCO).
The clarifier is now back in service.
Sedimentation basin #7 is being drained and cleaned so that the contractor can
begin replacement of the new sludge collection system.
Managed Maintenance Highlights
Replaced chlorine alarm at South Columbus Water Resource Facility
Repaired fluoride leak for post mixer #2 at North Columbus Water Resource
Facility
Replaced control transformer Ft. Benning Lift Station #31
Replaced PLC output card for Sludge Hopper #3 at South Columbus Water Resource
Facility
Installed new PLC for SCADA at South Commons CSO
Security
Continue to monitor Pandemic Influenza as relates to H1N1. Completing
installation of hand sanitizers at all facilities. An Operational Assessment
meeting is planned for September 15, 2009. The purpose of this meeting is to
review current plan requirements and establish current operations preparedness
status.
On August 24, 2009, CWW completed a Lightning Strike Survey of its North
Columbus Water Resource Facility to research what preventive measures need to
be instituted to minimize lightning strikes and electrical surge damage to our
CCTV and security system.
On August 25, 2009, CWW completed the mass badging of over 123 of its employees
to receive the new Ft. Benning Access Control Contractors Affiliate Badges.
The badges will be required to enter Ft. Benning based upon new scannable
technology being implemented at all access control points on Ft. Benning.
On August 14, 2009, CWW conducted an educational tour of CWW facilities for
international visitors (students and their chemistry teacher) from Liberia.
Accident at Russia?s Biggest Hydroelectric Facility ? Sayano-Shushenskaya
The Accident ? August 17, 2009
At 08:13 local time (00:13 GMT) on 17 August 2009, the station suffered a
catastrophic ?pressure surge? in turbine known as a water hammer. The sudden
water pressure surge resulted in the ejection of turbine 2 with all equipment,
a total weight of some 900 tons, from its seat.
Turbines 7 and 9 also suffered from severe damage, while the turbine room roof
fell on and damaged turbines 3, 4 and 5. Turbine 6, which was in scheduled
repair at the time of the accident, received only minor damage as it was the
only one of the station?s 10 turbines that did not receive electrical damage
due to shorting of transformers, and it will be restarted as soon as possible.
Water immediately flooded the engine and turbine rooms and caused a transformer
explosion.
On August 23, 2009, authorities said 69 people were found dead while 6 people
are still listed as missing. Efforts to pump flood water from the engine room
and complete a search for the missing workmen are expected to take 3 to 8 days.
Consequences
76 people dead
It will cost at least $310 million
A long time to repair the damages
The production of more than 500,000 tons of aluminum will be lost
Oil slick is traveling down the river
It is not clear how many people were potentially affected by the accident
The plant satisfied 10% of Siberia?s energy needs
Aluminum smelters consumed over 70% of the energy generated by the power plant
The Board acknowledged Management?s report.
Management gave a brief update on the following activities for the
month of August conducted by the Finance and Customer Services Department.
Customer Services
All activities in support of Customer Services (Meter Reading/Meter Services
and Customer billing) remain current for this cycle.
As part of an initiative to continually improve customer satisfaction, targets
have been developed to respond to customer?s requests within an acceptable
industry standard. The five most frequent meter service order requests are
identified, monitored, and measured monthly.
Top Five Work Order Types % Of Total Work Orders Most Frequently Requested Current
Identified
Utility Industry
Standard CWW Performance Results Target Recommend Standard to improve Customer
Satisfaction
Connection 41.97% ? to 1 day 1 day ? day
Disconnection 15.77% 1-2 days 1 day 1 day
Final Reads 9.14% 1 day 1 day 1 day
Re Reads 5.23% 7 days 5-7 days 3 days
Meter Leaks 0.29% 3-5 Days 3-5 Days Checked- 1 day. Repaired 3-5 days
Our goal is that 90% of all service orders met or exceed our standard
benchmark. Our August results show that of the 2,728 top 5 service orders
completed, 93.67 % were within the target.
Work Order Type Number of Work Orders Number Completed By Target Percent completed by Target Contribution
to Weighted percentage
Connection 1456 1414 99.5807% 0.48665
Disconnect 426 369 86.6197% 0.15903
Final Reads 511 470 91.9765% 0.09786
Re-Reads 204 197 96.5686% 0.05881
Meter Leaks 131 122 93.1298% 0.00317
Monthly Response % 93.67%
The Board acknowledged Management?s report.
Management gave a brief report on the following activities for the
Columbus Water Works 2009 United Way Campaign.
17 Committee Members
Activities ? Bake Sale
Hamburger/Hot Dog Cook-Out
Balloon Pop Prizes
Silent Auction
Fall Festival Give-Away
THEME ? ?RACE TO THE GOAL?
Goal - $66,000.00
The Board acknowledged the report.
President Tant informed the Board that a settlement agreement has been
reached with our insurance company regarding the claim on the collapsed water
tank for $3 million. Following discussion, motion was made and seconded to
accept the insurance settlement agreement. Motion carried.
President Tant provided the Board with copies of the following items of
information:
Thank you letter from Senator Saxby Chambliss to Bob Tant
Thank you letter from Dayton Preston to Bob Tant on behalf of Cliff Arnett
Thank you note from Nathan Deal to Bob Tant
Thank you letter from Customer Debby Forde to Linda Sanders to compliment
Customer Service Representative Jeneka Jordan
Thank you letter from Customer David Byrd to Linda Sanders to recognize
Customer Service Representative Angie Moore and Dispatcher Cindy Ragan for
excellent customer service.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned.
____________________________________
Emory E. Blount, Secretary
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