Transformative Water System and Customer Service Enhancements
A comprehensive overview of the city's initiatives to stabilize water rates, enhance water quality, and boost operational efficiency through various projects like leak detection surveys, water main replacements, and new water tank construction. These efforts demonstrate the city's commitment to infrastructure improvement and service reliability.
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Water System and Customer Service Improvements
The City's Commitment to Stabilizing Water Rates, Improving Water Quality, and Enhancing Operational Efficiency
Water System Improvements
Conducted a comprehensive leak detection survey on the water system, identifying and repairing 17 leaks, saving the city about $500,000 a year in water treatment costs. Monitoring flow meters within the distribution system to detect leaks. Leak Detection and Water Loss Replacing damaged water mains and service connections, demonstrating a commitment to reducing water loss, conserving resources, and providing reliable services to its residents. Upgrading outdated meters to radio-read meters, increasing the frequency of meter reading, and installing an antenna for real-time transmission of meter readings.
Water Main Replacements
Successfully completed a $900,000 water main relining project, relining 3000 feet of water main from Western Avenue in New Addition to Knoxville. The water main, originally installed in the 1930s, had suffered from corrosion and leaks. Relining was a more economical and less disruptive option than replacing the pipes entirely. Water Main Relining The relining process involved inserting a flexible liner inside the existing pipes and curing it, creating a new pipe within a pipe that is resistant to corrosion and has a smooth surface to increase water flow. The benefits of relining water mains include cost savings, less disruption, improved water quality, and increased water flow, demonstrating the City s commitment to improving its infrastructure and providing reliable services to its residents.
Construction of a New Water Tank at Yourtee Spring Allocating over $1,000,000 to construct a new water tank at Yourtee Spring, with the engineering phase completed and construction being planned The new tank can cut down costs associated with treating spring water, reducing the plant s dependence on treating surface water Improves fire protection by providing a steady supply of water for firefighting, demonstrating the City s commitment to improving its infrastructure and providing reliable services to its residents Protects the water system from potential damage caused by sudden pressure changes, eliminate the need for an expensive pumping station, and improve water quality
Replacement of the Century-Old Reservoir
Creation of a Lead Service Line Inventory
Hydrant Flushing Program
Incorporation of a Polyphosphate Corrosion Inhibitor into the Water Treatment Process
The City is using $80,000 from ARPA to separate water service lines in older homes that share connections with neighbors, with a focus on homes experiencing pressure or water quality issues Separating water service connections ensures that each home has its own reliable connection to the public water system, resulting in improved water pressure, supply, and metering Water Service Line Separations Separating water service connections reduces the risk of water contamination by eliminating shared lines that can be a source of cross-contamination and improves the accuracy of water metering This initiative is a crucial step in improving the City s water infrastructure and ensuring the safety and quality of the water supply for its residents
The City initiated the Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention Program to prevent cross-connections and backflow from commercial businesses Cross- Connection Control and Backflow Prevention Program The program ensures that elevated risk businesses have appropriate backflow prevention measures in place Some examples of cross connections and backflow in a commercial establishment include a hose in a bucket of dirty water, a soda dispenser without a backflow prevention device, and a dishwasher without an air gap or a backflow prevention device The Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention Program is an important initiative to protect the public water supply from contamination
Water Conservation
The Utilities Department is working on treatment plant optimization to stabilize water rates, improve plant performance, reduce costs, and improve water quality Chemical usage optimization includes increasing flows from Yourtee Springs, turning off unnecessary chemicals during flooding events, performing jar testing, and planning to pilot test DELPAC 2500 Treatment Plant Optimization Energy conservation efforts include increasing flows from Yourtee Springs, operating the plant at the highest efficiency, and updating VFDs and equipment to more efficient units Staff improvements include increasing flows from Yourtee Springs, cross-training staff, and reducing overtime by using fill-ins from the wastewater department
Customer Service Improvements
The ServLine Program is a leak protection program available to public utilities to help serve customers and improve utility operations. Since July 2022, ServLine has insured Brunswick residents against financial loss from customer water leaks. The program provides turnkey administration of leak adjustments to ease operational impact. It has been successful in its first year, with many claims being substantiated and paid, resulting in cost savings for the City and its residents. ServLine Program The ServLine Program is optional for residents, but those who have opted for the service have noticed a great benefit. In Brunswick, over 3,000 customers have enrolled in the program. City residents have the option to purchase additional, optional insurance through the ServLine program, including exterior water line coverage, exterior sewer line coverage, and interior plumbing and drain coverage.
Utility Billing and Meter Reading Process
The City is continually replacing outdated water meters to avoid billing errors, water wastage, and maintenance issues. New water meters provide accurate and timely data on water usage and leaks, helping customers conserve water and money. Meter New water meters enable advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), which supports wireless data transmission, improved customer service, and better infrastructure planning. The City is upgrading water meters to RF (radio frequency) meters, which allow for real-time daily water usage logs. Replacement Program and Advanced Metering Infrastructure Of the total 3500 meters located in the City, less than 300 manual read meters remain. RF meters save staff time and give staff the ability to access daily water usage logs, presenting a day-by-day, hour-by-hour log of individual home water usage and leak detection. Installing Fixed AMI infrastructure at key points throughout town, beginning with the 1-million-gallon storage tank. This could occur as early as mid-summer 2024. AMI technology transmits real-time meter readings to City Hall and would eliminate the need for drive-by meter reading.
The City is undertaking a project to relocate water meters from the inside of homes to the property line, providing numerous benefits for both residents and Public Works crews, including convenience, safety, and security. Meter testing and maintenance will be done outside the home, eliminating the need for residents to let anyone inside, keeping them safe from imposters posing as water utility workers. Relocating Water Meters from the Inside of Homes to the Property Line Public Works crews will have quicker and easier access to meters in case of emergencies, as they will not need to access the home, allowing them to shut off the water quickly if needed. A meter leak will not cause water damage in the home, and the meter being outside the home helps stop unauthorized use of water.
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