Pennichuck Water Works: Water Supply Department

Presented By: Jim Lavacchia
Distribution Manager
September 28, 2012
Jim Lavacchia
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Education
 Woburn High School, Woburn MA
 Northeastern University, Boston MA
 University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell MA
 Middlesex Community College, Bedford MA
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Experience
 Pennichuck Water Works
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2012 – present: Distribution Manager,
Distribution Department
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2003-2012: Assistant Distribution Manager,
Distribution Department
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Town of Weston DPW Water Division,
Weston, MA
 1996-2003 Water System Specialist
 1987-1996 Water Division Laborer
Distribution Department
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Certifications
 State of New Hampshire Certified Water
System Operator
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Distribution Grade 4
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Treatment Grade 3
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Commonwealth of Massachusetts Certified
Water System Operator
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Distribution Grade 3
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Treatment Grade 3
Community Involvement
 Litchfield Girls Softball League
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Outline
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Department Staff
Operating / Capital Expenditures Budgets
Facilities and Assets
Contract Operations
Support of Strategic Plan
S.W.O.T. Discussion
Distribution Department
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Department Staff
Donald Ware
Chief Operating
Officer
Jim Lavacchia
Distribution Manager
JP Boucher
Chris Culberson
Assistant Distribution
Manager
Distribution
Supervisor
Jeff Bonenfant
Meter Testing
Meter Techs (9)
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Craig Trepanier
Fleet Mechanic
Linda Sullivan
Rebecca Slade
Dist. Accounting
Administrator
Administrative
Assistant
Distribution
Technicians (6)
All Work Technicians
(11)
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Distribution Department
2012 Operating Budget
 PWW - $1.81 million
 PEU - $665,000
 Hudson - $248,000
 Salisbury - $397,000
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Distribution Department
2012 Capital Expenditures Budget
 PWW - $853,000
 Underground infrastructure
 Replacement Meters
 Fleet improvements
 Equipment
 PEU - $156,000
 Underground Infrastructure
 Replacement Meters
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Distribution Facilities and Assets
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Will Street Facility
Will Street
• Built 1966
• Addition 1987
• Meter Shop 5/8” – 2” Testing
• Fleet Maintenance- All PWW
vehicles
• Inventory Storage - Over
$700,000 worth of inventory
housed on site
• Daily reporting location for
30 employees
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PWW:
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PEU:
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PAC:
Water Meters
5/8” – 24,381
3/4” – 523
1” – 540
1.5” - 440
2” – 269
3” - 68
4”- 12
6” – 13
5/8” – 6,511
3/4” – 45
1” – 162
1.5” - 58
2” – 62
3” - 8
4”- 9
6” – 6
 5/8” – 578
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3/4” – 1
1” – 15
1.5” - 9
2” – 2
3” - 1
6” – 1
All meters are read monthly
Meters are exchanged per PUC regulations
5/8” – 3/4” – 10 years
1” – 2” – 4 years
3” – 2 years
4” and larger - annually
All 5/8” – 2” meters are tested and rebuilt
in-house.
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Fire Hydrants
• PWW - 2,700
• PEU - 515
• PAC - 67
• Each hydrant is
checked twice per
year to assure proper
operation.
• All repairs are
completed by PWW
staff.
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Distribution System Repairs
 PWW
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Average 12 main repairs per year
Average 27 service repairs per year
Maintain over 440 miles of pipe
Mains range from 24” to 1.5” diameter
Main materials Iron, Steel, Plastic & AC
 PEU
 Average 38 main repairs per year
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Average 56 service repairs per year
Maintain over 163 miles of pipe
Mains range from 16” to .75” diameter
Main materials Iron & Plastic
 PAC
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Average 1 main repair per year
Average 2 service repairs per year
Maintain over 40 miles of pipe
Mains range from 12” to 1.25” diameter
Main materials Iron, Plastic & Tin
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Gate Valves
• PWW
• Over 9,000 gate valves ranging in size
from 24” to 1.5” diameter
• Over 900 of these valves must be
operated annually per PUC regulations
• Over 1,600 additional valves are to be
operated annually to meet PUC
regulations
• PEU
• Over 2,200 gate valves ranging in size
from 16” to .75” diameter
• Over 400 of these valves must be
operated annually per PUC regulations
• Over 350 additional valves are to be
operated annually to meet PUC
regulations
• PAC
• Over 150 gate valves ranging in size
from 12” to .1.25” diameter
• 35 of these valves must be operated
annually per PUC regulations
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Flushing Program
 Nashua
 Takes place Sunday – Thursday nights
April-June
 Over 1,500 fire hydrants are flushed
 PWW CWS
 20 Systems flushed annually during the
month of April
 PEU
 30 Systems - annual flushing during
the months of April and May
 PAC
 Annual flushing during the month of
April
Flushing accounts for over 3,100 hours
of labor on an annual basis.
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Contract Operations
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Hudson & Salisbury
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Meter Reading
Meter Exchanges
Gate Inspections
Hydrant Inspections
Hydrant repairs
Hydrant painting
Annual flushing programs
Non-payment termination
of service
Town requested repairs
Emergency Repairs
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Backflow Testing
 PWW
 2,500 annual tests
 PEU
 250 annual tests
 PAC
 80 annual tests
 Hudson
 650 annual tests
 Salisbury
 90 annual tests
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Support of Strategic Plan Initiatives
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Strategy #1
Protect and Sustain our Water Resources
 Maintenance of the Best Management Practice sites
 Immediate response and repair of leaking infrastructure
 Aggressive leak detection efforts
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Strategy #2
Attract, Train and Retain Highly Qualified
and Motivated Employees
 Provide our employees with proper tools and equipment to
complete their jobs
 Attend training classes & seminars
- New England Water Works Association
- New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
 Promotion from within
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Strategy #4
Maintain Customer Confidence and Support
 Resolving meter inquiries as required by PUC
 Replacement of malfunctioning meters
 Meter reading in a timely fashion results in consistent billing
cycles
 Communication between departments of ongoing projects
which may impact customers service
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Strategy #5
Provide Highly Responsive Customer Service
 Respond to all customer inquiries in a timely manner
 24/7/365 on call field staff and supervisor
 3 person crew is on call all weekends and holidays
 Field staff communicate effectively with customers
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Strategy #6
Meet Customer Expectations for Quantity
and Quality of Water
 Flushing of water mains and services
 Addressing low volume and pressure complaints
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Strategy #7
Manage the Company’s Assets to Provide Cost Effective,
Uninterrupted Provision of Water Service
 Immediate repair of broken infrastructure
 Substantial investments in leak location equipment and
training
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Strategy #9
Distribution and Administrative Facilities
 Distribution facility has outgrown its useful life.
 Distribution management and the Chief Operating Officer are
looking to identify possible locations to construct a facility to
meet our current and future space needs.
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S.W.O.T Discussion
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
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Strengths
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Experienced workforce
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Reactive workforce able to work well under emergency
situations
Workforce is dedicated to providing high quality of customer
service
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Purchasing power
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Modern meter testing facility
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Highly respected in industry
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Weaknesses
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Will Street Facility
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Inventory – Difficult to manage without proper facilities
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Paper work-order system – inefficient, leads to errors
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Work order processing - delays in processing due to paper
work
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Aging workforce
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Majority of our work is reactive versus proactive
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Opportunities
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Asset Management
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Technology – GPS location and GIS systems
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Data Presentation and Collection (DPaC) - Work
order and inventory management system
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Cross training of employees
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Contract meter & backflow services
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Threats
 Aging Workforce
 Injuries & vacations – loss of productive time
 Employee turnover – loss of key staff members
 How do we attract new people to fill these positions
 Promote qualified individuals from within the organization
 Outdated information to field staff
 Increased regulation (Occupational Safety and Health
Administration – Department of Transportation –
Environmental Protection Agency – New Hampshire
Department of Environmental Services)
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Questions?
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