September 14, 2015
The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Water Commissioners of
Columbus, Georgia was held at the office of the Columbus Water Works on Monday,
September 14, 2015, at 1:30 p.m., the following Commissioners being present:
Carole Rutland, Chair
Karl Douglass, Treasurer
Reynolds Bickerstaff
Mayor Teresa Tomlinson
Absent: Sanders Griffith
Receipt of the Minutes of the regular meeting on August 10, 2015, was
acknowledged by the Board and approved as written.
The Financial Report for the month of August including Ft. Benning was
provided to the Board. Motion was made and seconded to approve the report.
Motion carried.
John Peebles gave a brief presentation on the Isle Technology Approval
Group (TAG).
What is TAG?
? TAG is a global innovation forum of the world?s leading water utilities.
o Europe, North America, Brazil, Singapore, and Australia
? TAG accelerates the market uptake of ?step-change? technologies by engaging
the industry during pre-commercial stages of development.
? Isle TAG has been operating in the U.S. market since 2011, and has grown to
include over 40 utility members participating in six functional U.S. Tag Groups:
o U.S. Water TAG (Southern California)
o U.S. Waste Water TAG (Southern California)
o U.S. NorCal TAG (Northern California)
o U.S. South East TAG (FL, GA, Carolinas)
o U.S. North East TAG (NY, PA, MA, DC)
o U.S. Ohio Valley TAG (OH, KY, IN)
o U.S. Texas TAG
Why TAG?
? With regulatory standards becoming more stringent, and with increasing
pressure on capital budgets and rising operational costs, it is clear the
adoption of new technological solutions is vital to a sustainable future in the
water industry.
? TAG helps technology developers find suitable partners who can help
accelerate the development and commercialization of early stage technologies.
How does TAG work?
? Isle is constantly searching for new technologies
o not restrained by geography
o includes ?cutting edge? innovation developed in other sectors
? Isle validates and screens technologies through due diligence
o must demonstrate a ?step-change? benefit over competing solutions
o meets needs or challenges identified by utility members in prior workshops
? Isle presents a list of potential technologies to utility members prior to
the TAG meeting for members to vote on their top five.
? At the TAG meetings, member utilities receive pitches from 5 technologies
selected based on the voting.
? The technology developer is typically seeking feedback or field trial
opportunities.
CWW and TAG
? After attending meetings in Southern California, CWW joined as a founding
member of the Southeast TAG which now has seven utility members.
o Alexandria Renew Enterprises
o City of Atlanta
o Charleston Water System
o Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities
o Columbus Water Works
o Mount Pleasant Waterworks
o Toho Water Authority
? Since joining in 2013, CWW has attended eight TAG meetings:
o 3 in Atlanta
o 3 in Charlotte
o 1 in Kissimmee (Toho)
o 1 in Charleston
? and been exposed to 40 new technologies in the categories of:
o Energy Generation and Efficiency
o Water Quality and Monitoring
o Condition Assessment & Leakage
o Asset Renewals, Assessment & Management
o Operations and Intelligent Networks
o Sludge Management
o Water and Wastewater Treatment
TAG Technologies ? CWW has pursued further
? ZAPS LiquID ? real-time broad spectrum water quality analyzer ? implemented
at NCWRF and FBWTP
? Sedar? ? decision support analytics ? investigating use for fire flow testing
at Ft. Benning
? Emrgy Hydro ? power generation from plant flows ? pilot in Atlanta -
identified potential location at SCWRF
? Arisdyne ? controlled flow cavitation to increase methane gas yield and
reduce sludge ? pilot in Columbus, OH
? Envirologics ? pipe cleaning ? potential use in pipe cleaning and lining CIP
? Quasar Energy Group ? co-digestion for increased biogas production ? CBFT3
resource
? Alga Enterprises ? removing ammonia from wastewater ? interest letter to
support pilot in Australia
? PW Tech Screw Press ? piloted at NCWRF
? InfoSense ? sewer line rapid assessment tool (SL-RAT) ? Field Services piloted
? Received further information on several other technologies
? TAG Technology Database ? http://tag.isleutilities.com
? CWW will host the next TAG meeting Thursday, September 17th in the
Chattahoochee Room.
The Board acknowledged Mr. Peebles? report.
Jeremy Cummings gave a brief update to the Board on the I&I Abatement
Program outlined below:
I & I Abatement History
? In 2009, Columbus recorded 80.6? of rainfall which is the highest annual
rainfall recorded in 130 years. The average rainfall is 48.6? for Columbus.
Forty-one counties in Central and South Georgia were declared disaster areas by
the Governor?s office.
? January 2009-December 2009, CWW reported 68 sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs)
to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD).
? Fifty-three of the 68 SSOs were caused by excessive rainfall events.
? As a result of these spills, the EPD issued CWW a Consent Order with the
requirements listed below:
Requirements
? Complete the Rehabilitation of the Bruce Street Sanitary Sewer Project by May
30, 2011. Completed on February 22, 2011.
? Complete the Rehabilitation of the Exeter Court Lift Station Project by May
30, 2011. Completed on March 8, 2011.
? Initiate the Sewer System Capacity Evaluation (SSES) Program by July 30,
2011. Completed on May 11, 2011.
? Complete the Flatrock Creek Sanitary Sewer Relief Project by January 30,
2012. Completed on December 6, 2011.
? Complete the entire Collection System Assessment Evaluation and submit to EPD
the Collection System Assessment Report by January 30, 2013. Completed and
submitted to EPD on December 14, 2012.
? Complete the Weracoba Creek Basin (89.4 miles) SSES and repairs by April 30,
2014. Completed on June 25, 2013.
? Complete the Lower Lake Oliver Basin (19.1 miles) SSES and repairs by
November 30, 2014. Completed on January 27, 2014.
? Complete the Main Post/Ft. Benning Basin (48.3 miles) SSES and repairs by
June 30, 2016. SSES completed on July 10, 2013. Repair work is currently
underway. All CIPP work is complete and open cut replacement work is 70%
complete. We do not foresee any challenges meeting the deadline.
? Complete the Lindsey Creek Basin (123.5 miles) SSES and repairs by June 30,
2017. SSES completed in April 2014. Repair work is currently underway on the
12 basins that were identified to be major I&I contributors. Nine of the 12
basins have been smoke tested and three are scheduled to be smoke tested. We
do not foresee any challenges meeting the deadline.
? Submit a progress report to EPD on December 31st and June 30th of each year
for each action listed above. Progress report was submitted to EPD on June 22,
2015.
The Board acknowledged Mr. Cummings? report.
Kevin White advised the Board that the Columbus Housing Authority has requested
CWW to waive the Sewer Availability Fee (SAF) for the Booker T. Washington
Housing Revitalization Phase II Project. The Board approved SAF waiver for
Phase I on September 8, 2014.
Phase II Construction Plan
? A total of 106 units will be constructed
? 91 unites will be low income
? The Housing Authority is requesting CWW waive the Sewer Availability Fee
(SAF) for the low-income units, which equates to a 96% SAF waiver,
? The SAFs for this phase of the development are $40,000; therefore, the waiver
would be $34,400.
? Staff requests Board approval to waive the Sewer Availability Fee for the
Booker T. Washington Revitalization Phase II Project.
Motion was made and seconded authorizing Management to waive the Sewer
Availability Fee for the Booker T. Washington Revitalization Phase II Project
in the amount of $34,400. Motion carried.
Kevin White presented the following project for the Board?s approval:
Fort Benning Smart Meter Phase II
? Army Directive 2014-10 Advanced Metering of Utilities (AMU) ? This directive
will give Fort Benning the capability to better manage its natural resources by
metering all utilities. The directive requires that a minimum of 60% of all
utilities are metered by 2020.
? Phase I of this project included installing 36 meters ranging in size from 2?
to 8?.
? Phase II will consist of installing 70 meters.
? Project plans and specifications were prepared by Barge, Wagoner, Sumner and
Cannon.
? The following bids were received on August 27, 2015:
Contractor Bid Amount
Whitfield Contracting, LLC $538,282.00
Crawford Grading and Pipeline $564,470.00
Gordy Construction Company $662,377.00
? The engineer?s estimate was $558,650.00. The engineer has reviewed and
tabulated the bids and recommends contract award to Whitfield Contracting, LLC
as the low bidder at the bid price of $538,282.00 (Funded via Fort Benning
Contract Modification).
? Staff requests Board approval to award the Fort Benning Smart Meter Phase II
Project to Whitfield Contracting, LLC at the bid price of $538,282.00.
Motion was made and seconded to award the contract to Whitfield Contracting,
LLC at the bid price of $538,282.00 for the Fort Benning Smart Meter Phase II
Project. Motion carried.
Adriann Deering gave the following report to the Board on the Residential
Grease Recycling and Pharmaceutical Event that took place on August 8, 2015.
Results and Participation
Grease & Oil Pharmaceuticals Participants
Date Amount of Gallons Date Pounds Collected
Nov. 28, 2011 185 April 23, 2011 203 52
Aug. 11, 2012 300 April 28, 2012 506 119
Jan. 12, 2013 400 Jan. 12, 2013 475 194
Aug. 3, 2013 497 Aug. 3, 2013 478 249
Jan. 11, 2014 330 Jan. 11, 2014 435 286
Aug. 2, 2014 275 Aug. 2, 2014 540 311
Jan. 10, 2015 310 Jan. 10, 2015 469 418
Aug. 8, 2015 350 Aug. 8, 2015 597 342
Surveyed participates - How did you hear about the event?
Advertising Method
TV 172
Bill Insert 104
Newspaper/Other 58
CWW Website 8
Current Drop-Off Locations Started July, 2014
1335 Alexander Street
? July ? December 2014 ? 228 Gallons
? January ? August 2015 ? 652 Gallons
3001 South Lumpkin Road
? July ? December 2014 ? 28 Gallons
? January ? August 2015 ? 312 Gallons
September 18, 2015 ? Six Additional Drop-Off Locations
1. Corner of 45th Street and 2nd Avenue
2. John Rigdon Park, 6800 Psalmond Road
3. South Commons CSO, Lumpkin Boulevard
4. Corner of Lindsay Drive and Glenwood Drive
5. Corner of Buena Vista Road and Higgs Drive
6. Frank Chester Park, 1441 Benning Road
The next scheduled Grease Recycling and Pharmaceutical Disposal Event will be
held on Saturday, January 9, 2016.
The Board acknowledged Ms. Deering?s report.
President Davis provided the following items of information to the
Board:
? Gwen Russell received a thank you note from Terri Parodi, Director of
Volunteers with United Way, for her efforts and encouraging co-workers to
participate in ?Stuff the Bus? so that school children would have the tools
they need to succeed in school.
? Gwen Russell and CWW staff received a thank you note from Dawn Grantham,
Principal of Richards Middle School, for their appreciation for the teaching
supplies that were presented in CWW?s name to teachers who were the winners in
a team building activity at Hollywood Connection.
The following Division Reports were provided to the Board as information:
? Customer Service Report
? Meter Maintenance Report
? Engineering Report
? Field Services Report
? Information Services, Environmental Compliance and WQM Report
? Communication, Security, Community/Corporate Events Report
? Strategic Planning and Employee Services Report
? Water Resource Operations and Managed Maintenance Report
There was no discussion.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned.
_________________________________
Emory E. Blount, Secretary
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