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RE: Update Report for January, 2009
Water Meter Reading and Billing
Billing will go to Postal Pros February 6th, for mailing. On January, 17 delinquency notices were sent out. All delinquencies were paid on time and no water was shut off.
There are three accounts that were turned over to Nate, LRPA for collection.
Well # 14
As a recap, Well #14 motor failed October 27th. The pitless adapter had failed and we were in the process of having repairs made (basically dig up and replace the pitless adapter). With the failure of the pump and the replacement of the pitless adapter needed it was determined to clean the well during this down time. Cleaning Well #14 was a budgeted item. A scope was developed by GGI and OMI to clean Well #14 and I have sent this to CH2M HILL OMI procurement department for pricing. These costs were due December 1, we have received on bid, ASW the cost is $67,940.00. Rodgers Well Drilling was also going to send in a bid. The original estimate of this work to be done was less than $10,000.00. We have changed the scope and applied for a Notice of Intent to discharge the waste for the well cleaning process, which was one item that caused the work to be so high. If we can streamline the disposal of the waste this could reduce the cost considerably, however, this may take time to process with the New Mexico Environmental Department.
Well No. 9 Update
Well #9 continues to deliver 175 gpm, with a static (non-pumping level) of 29.5’ below grade. Water is now flowing down the Galisteo Basin.
OTHER
One pressure reducing valve failed on Pricipe de Paz affecting 33 customers. We received the part to rebuild the PRV and have scheduled the repairs and outage for Monday 10 am to noon. All customers will be delivered a letter of notification on Friday. All of the dead bolts on the facilities have been changed and we are in the process of changing all of the padlocks on the gates, tanks and booster stations. We have one employee off on medical leave for four month and have a part time employee in his place.
The total water lost for 2008 is estimated at 25 million gallons.
The majority of this water loss was due to failing air release valves (ARV’s) in an area that covered 6 linear miles. These ARV’s were not identified on the main water system map supplied by the original developer. The ARVs were found on a design map dated from 1984 It is presumed that the ARVs were installed within a year or two of this date. However, no as-built drawings could be found. These ARVs were located in remote and off-the-road areas. The ARV’s and connections had pressure ratings of 100 to 150 psi. However, the area where these ARV’s were installed experience pressure ranges in excess of up to 275 psi with most areas exceeded 150 psi, i.e the ARV’s installed have never met the required pressure ratings.
Several customers called in to report these leaks. OMI enlisted support from some of our other projects, (Rio Rancho and Las Campanas) to explore the area of concern and to identify and confirm the location of these devices and identify ones that were failing. OMI employees covered the area twelve times during the months of June thru October. During this time there were also failures that occurred because of the inadequate pressure rating of the originally installed equipment.
The inadequately rated ARV’s have been replaced with properly rated connections and ARV’s.
I would like to point out how difficult it is to find a leak in Eldorado. Recently several customers have had leaks that were undetected. One customer had a 165,000 gallon leak in one month that was found ten feet from the driveway. Another customer over a three month period had several leaks at various times with a loss of 325,000 gallons in an area where 300 to 500 people passed each day and this was not detected until we read the meter.
I have contacted Bruce Rubin of Utility Service Association, previously Hughes Leak Detection who had provided the leak detection service in 2007.
I discussed with Bruce what it would take to do another leak survey looking for a leak ~20 gpm. Bruce estimated looking for a leak this size in Eldorado with the condition and having PVC as a water distribution piping system would cost approximately $50,000.00. He also indicated he would have little hope in being able to produce what would be expected given the conditions.