CALL TO ORDER - AT OR AFTER 6:00 P.M.
There were no public speakers.
Mr. Saletta went through the Chair and Vice Chair elections and nomination procedures: Regarding the nominations, if there are more than 2 nominations for Chair and Vice Chair an election process will take place. If there is only 1 nomination for a particular position nominations will cease and that individual will be elected.
Mr. Saletta opened nominations for the Chair and Vice Chair position.
MOTION: A motion was made by COMMISSIONER SHAPIRO and seconded by COMMISSIONER HOFFMAN nominate Robert Milkey for Chair and Winston Tustison for Vice Chair.
There were no other nominations from the floor; Mr. Saletta recommended that the nominations cease and that Commissioner Milkey be elected for Chair and Commissioner Tustison be elected for Vice Chair.
MOTION: A motion was made by COMMISSIONER DAVIS and seconded by COMMISSIONER REYNOLDS to cease the nominations and elect Robert Milkey as Chair and Winston Tustison as Vice Chair.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Mr. Saletta thanked Commissioner Davis for his service as Vice Chair and officially closed the election process.
Mr. Saletta mentioned that appointments for committees and subcommittees will be on the Water Utility Commission agenda at the next meeting.
Chair Milkey resumed the meeting.
MOTION: A motion was made by VICE CHAIR TUSTISON and seconded by COMMISSIONER REYNOLDS to Approve the December 12, 2011 minutes.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Mr. Saletta gave an update and mentioned that everything was going well and as planned. He also thanked Staff and Tucson Water for their collaboration. The pipeline installation, pumps, Scada control operations and electronic controls are in place. The testing of the pipeline still needs to take place. Regulatory process such as testing for chlorination and Bac-T sampling must to be completed and all results must be sent to Pima County Department of Environmental Quality. Once the Water Utility receives the approval of construction certificate from Pima County the utility can proceed with the actual water connection. The connection could occur as early as next week and actual delivery of CAP water could occur the week of January 23rd depending on the test results such as water quality, pressure flow and electrical performance.
Mr. Jacklitch presented several pipeline construction photos and explained that the new pipe installation will be connected on Naranja.
All of the piping has been installed to date except for the pipeline connections. All pressure testing was completed and passed. The bacteriological samples will be taken and sent to a lab. The results should be in two days, if they are good the paper work will be mailed to Pima County. Generally it can take 10 business days for an official approval from Pima County. When it is received, we can make the connections to both water systems. All telemetry programming and water meters have been installed, flushing has also been completed. Tucson Water has been very cooperative and has worked very well with Oro Valley staff. Mr. Jacklitch ended his report.
Mr. Saletta mentioned that Oro Valley’s CAP water is currently being stored in the Central Avra Valley Storage and Recovery Project (CAVSRP).
Chair Milkey asked for a motion from the Commission to recognize the work being done by Oro Valley Water Utility staff as well as a resolution of thanks to Tucson Water for their cooperation in the project.
MOTION: A motion was made by COMMISSIONER DAVIS and seconded by COMMISSIONER REYNOLDS resolve to commend Tucson Water staff and Oro Valley Water Utility staff for the excellent job and the haste in which the job was completed.
MOTION carried, 7-0.
Chair Milkey commented that it was a very good project, the engineering work was collaborative, costs were very reasonable and that it was a significant benefit to the town.
Commissioner Shapiro asked if the Commission could have a field trip to the Naranja and Shannon CAP Water storage facility in the near future. Mr. Saletta said he will arrange a trip, however early in February a dedication and celebration will be scheduled with Tucson’s Town Council, Oro Valley’s Town Council and the Commission.
Mr. Saletta mentioned that at the February 15th meeting, Town Council will also be recognizing Staff for their excellent work in this project.
Commissioner Reynolds asked, is there a well at the site or just a reservoir and pump at the site? Mr. Saletta said there’s a booster station at the reservoir but no well at this site.
There were no further comments or questions.
Mr. Bobby Drew, Meters Supervisor reported that the Countryside Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project was completed.
-10/10: Completed installation of the flexnet servers and computer installation. The servers receive the transmissions from the bay station, located at CS1 well site
-10/25: Completed installation and completion of base station antenna
-12/24: Completed installation and programming of 2,244 meters
The AMI project started November 1st. It took a total of 43 days to complete this project.
Staff is currently in the process of importing the meter data from FlexNet software into the Cubic billing software. Approximately 95% of the meters are transmitting at this time, the remaining 5% are still being worked on.
The final phase of this project is the implementation of the customer web portal. There will be a panel of 6 to 7 employees evaluating two different contractor web portals this week.
The customer web portal could be up and running May or June 2012. Once it is operating successfully, the Utility will conduct a training session for the Countryside residents. Details of the training have not been finalized, but it is anticipated to take place at the Countryside Recreation Center on a Saturday morning.
The web portal will allow the residents to go on line and see their usage on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. If there is a leak or problem the customer can detect it.
Commissioner Hoffmann asked, how far back can they go to obtain information? Mr. Drew indicated the data is available up to 40 days. The data is displayed in days, hours and detects negative or positive water usage.
Mr. Ruiz mentioned that all the information is available on real time.
Commissioner Hoffmann asked, what sort of precision does it have? Mr. Drew indicated that it detects problems by 1/10 of a gallon by total flow only not pressure.
A discussion occurred regarding wireless connections, real time, the radio antenna and the range of transmission.
Commissioner Shapiro mentioned, you are now connected to the Countryside tower, will you be getting alerts if there is a constant flow? Mr. Drew said, the system is monitored constantly if a meter is running and there is a leak the system will alert us.
Chair Milkey suggested that once the system is in place, customers should submit their out of town information so they can be contacted if there is a problem. Mr. Drew indicated that information was already in the customer records, however we can notify customers through the Town’s newsletter.
Chair Milkey suggested using Sun City’s newsletter.
Mr. Drew mentioned that the utility received a check for $14,444.00 from Amp Cap Meadows salvage company for the old meters. He also mentioned that the ability to go on line is a great asset for our customers and also provides great customer service.
In answer to Commissioner Davis question, Mr. Drew indicated that all new development meters will be Iperl meters.
Commissioner Verlaque mentioned that the HOA is paying their landscapers to read meters twice a week to avoid waiting until the end of the month and having problems. We have a 10 zone area the new Iperl meters will assist the HOA instead of having the meters read by landscapers, and can be an enormous tool in terms of savings.
There were no further questions, Mr. Drew ended his report.
Mr. Saletta thanked Mr. Drew, Water Operator staff and Customer Service for the tremendous work in the project. No Action was required on this item.
Mr. Saletta reported the following:
The Regional Assessment Task Force is requesting feedback from water providers on how much further should they continue with the regional assessment. The Think Tank report areas of importance included: -Best Management Evaluation, Regional Solutions, Supply, Infrastructure, Conservation and Demand Management, Reliability and Sustainability.
Mr. Saletta attended a meeting December 12th to discuss some of the initial steps. The Southern Arizona Water Users Association (SAWUA) has been asked to participate and to identify water infrastructure needs and potential funding.
The next meeting will be held 1/30/12.
Mr. Saletta mentioned that because of the Commission and Town Council’s leadership Oro Valley has taken steps to do some of these regional tasks. We will continue to look at other regional possibilities through the Regional Water Assessment Task Force.
This issue may come up at the Water Research Center Conference on January 24, 2012.
Commissioner Davis asked about the Town of Marana and the reclaim facility. Mr. Saletta mentioned that the site had a small wastewater treatment plant and did not have any connection to Tucson Water’s reclaimed water facility at the Sweetwater plant.
There were no further questions, Mr. Saletta ended his report. No Action was required on this item.
Councilmember Hornat mentioned that the budget process was coming up. The departments will meet with each Town Council member individually. We will also be seeking input from the community at our January 26th meeting. Councilmember Hornat ended his report.
Commissioner Tustison had no report.
Commissioner Davis commented they will meet to discuss the educational process regarding the Water Conservation Outreach Volunteer position.
Commissioner Hoffmann had no report.
Mr. Drew reported the following:
Customer Service Report December 31, 2011
Total Metered Connections = 18,545
Projected Meter Installation for FY 11-12: 35
Actual New Meter Installations for FY 11-12: 43 Current Month: 9
Projected EDU’s for FY 11-12: 44
Actual EDU’s as of 12/31/11: 54 Current Month: 10
Meter Replacements
FY 08-09: 404
FY 09-10: 579
FY 10-11: 533
FY 11-12: 2,113 as of 12/31/11
Total 3,629 Current Month: 595
During CY 2011: The Utility received $962,609 in on line payments (just under 10% of annual water sales) and Karn Boyce performed 119 water audits. Mr. Drew ended his report.
Mr. Jacklitch reported the following:
Lambert Lane Water Main Installation: The contractor for this project is Eagle Rock Construction. We are currently installing a new 16-inch water main from La Canada to Lambert Lane. Approximately 4,000 linear feet of pipe has been installed. The Utility is scheduled to complete a total of 7,000 linear feet. There are two zones C&D which makes the project a bit more complex in terms of scheduling.
The project is scheduled for completion this fiscal year.
El Conquistador Booster Station: All of the underground utilities and pipes are in. The footers for the security wall are in and the hydro pneumatic tanks are currently being painted. Currently the masonry contractor is on site to built the security wall. Scheduled Completion Date: March, 2014. Mr. Jacklitch ended his report.
Well Pumpage Monthly Report - December 2011
Sustainable rate = 5,500 AFY -Monthly Accrued Pumpage = 7,688
Annual Well Pumpage Report - December 2011
Year 2005: Potable Pumpage: Over 10,000 AFY
Year 2011: Potable Pumpage: 7,600 AFY
Mr. Ruiz mentioned that once CAP Water is delivered our ground water demand will decrease considerably.
Reclaimed Water System - December 2011
Yearly total: 723,827,000 million gallons. Mr. Ruiz mentioned that the Splendido 18-hole putting green (1.3 acres) will be receiving reclaim water. A new meter is being installed. All the meter and impact fees have been paid and they have signed a new user agreement.
Chair Milkey noted a discrepancy in the Reclaimed Water table for users EU4 through EU-6 in December. Mr. Ruiz said he will recheck the zero usage information.
Annual Reclaimed Water Use - December 2011
Mr. Ruiz reported that year 2011 was the highest year for reclaimed water use. -Yearly Total: 2,232 AFY.
Potable Water System Overall Reservoir Storage - December 2011
-Total Reservoir Storage Average: Overall storage 9.0 -10.0 MG
Daily Demand: Highest 5.0 MG Low: 4.0 MG
Potable Water System Daily Demand - December 2011
-Precipitation: 4 rain events recorded.
-Yearly Rain total: 12.23 inches
Mr. Ruiz ended his report.
Mr. Saletta reported on:
-Arizona Snotel Current Snow Water Equivalent - Jan 09, 2012: Arizona area looks good in terms of snowpack however Arizona does not contribute significant flow to the Colorado River. White Mountains - over 100% snowpack, Flagstaff area shows significantly less.
Colorado Snotel Current Snow Water Equivalent - Jan 09, 2012: Upper Colorado Headwaters region at 59% of average snow water equivalent. At this time the snow pack in the upper Colorado River does not look good.
Colorado River Water Storage Lake Mead and Lake Powell:
Lake Mead - 57% Full Lake Powell - 65% Full
They have implemented equalization releases. The total volume for both reservoirs is approximately 50.0 million Acre Feet. There is roughly a total of 30.0 million Acre Feet of volume for this time of year. Staff will email this information to the Commission.
Mr. Saletta ended his report.
Mr. Saletta reported the following:
1/18: Town Council Meeting
1/24: Arizona Water Resources Research Center Conference
1/26: Public Budget Work Shop
2/01: Town Council Meeting
2/13: WUC Meeting
Mr. Saletta ended his report.