Utility Committee Agenda and Packet 2021 03 09

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about the impact on the block system. Mr. Kowar said the way it is set up is the first blocks cover indoor use. The next blocks are for outdoor use. Councilmember Lipton asked how restrictions might impact revenues. Mr. Kowar said that depending on the effectiveness of the restrictions the City could face demand and corresponding revenue reduction of 5% to 20%. Councilmember Lipton then said we should keep this on the agenda for discussion over the next few months. X. Water Treatment Plant Upgrades Presentation Mr. Kowar wanted to celebrate and recognize staff for a great job they are doing and for some of the cutting edge things they are performing. He went on to introduce Mr. Venette, the Chief Water Plant Operator that led his staff to win the WTP of the year award in the Rocky Mountain Region and we are really lucky to have the WTP staff working for us. Mr. Venette conducted the presentation outlining the success at the WTP in the implementation of machine learning project to reduce water usage and staff time for a main component of treatment process. With a collaborative effort between Public Works and IT, the filter process was revolutionized with a new predictive model that allow operators to optimize this process for improved results. Looking forward to the 2021 Plan the model will be fully implemented at both treatment plant. In addition, Mr. Ahrens is working on upgrades and refinements to his model to enhance its effectiveness. Mr. Kowar commented that this has the potential to saving around $55,000 per year and a great example of working smarter not harder. Councilmember Lipton asked if treatment plant systems are automated or analog. Mr. Venette said mostly automated but combines some analog. Committee commented on a great job and thanked Mr. Venette for the presentation. XI. Water Loss Audit Report Mr. Peterson explained this section is mainly a follow up on the efforts and referred to middle of the report on Page 102. These pages contain a series of tables that show how our facilities line up compared to benchmarks. The City's rankings are highlighted in yellow. The City will be working through the process of developing an action plan on how to move these rankings farther up in those categories. City water loss is very low and the water system is responding well. Councilmember Lipton asked if we had an interest of moving up the water meter project and does this have relationship to this. Mr. Kowar said that meter replacement does have a positive impact on water loss and provide further explanation on how the meters work and when they should be replaced. Mr. Peterson concluded that this audit has allowed staff to bring this process in house and staff will be able to conduct future water loss audits based off of this baseline material on an annual basis. Councilmember Fehey asked if this include old underground pipes that are cracked or broken. Mr. Kowar said yes and explained how we identify where the big leaks are. Councilmember Fehey then asked if we track the age/replacement/where the likelihood is of problems. Mr. Kowar said yes through the Lucity Management System program and modeling. We also do leak detection monitoring that can pick up leaks.