Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 17, 2007
5. Agencies, Programs, People
REGIONAL WATER COMPANY ISSUES:
Residents pour out water woes - Monterey Herald
Fruitridge Vista blames phones for response delay - Sacramento Bee
DWP crews costly choice; But in-house teams a 'must' - LA Daily News
REGIONAL WATER COMPANY ISSUES:
Residents pour out water woes
By Claudia Melendez Salinas, staff writer
For years, residents of
On Monday afternoon, for the first time in at least five years, the residents had a chance to unload their concerns by the bucketful.
More than 100 people gathered at the
The subcommittee was formed as Alco was seeking to expand into the
Nearly 40 people testified about the company's service -- most of them complaining about the company, a few speaking in support. And while the comments mainly flowed along their usual course, the hearing got testy at least once.
Ramon Galindo said he's been a customer of Alco for 30 years, and he declared himself to be a satisfied one.
"I receive reports of the analysis," he said in Spanish. "I've never had a problem with the water service."
But satisfied customers like Galindo were more the exception than the rule.
"The smell of the water is like ammonia," said Dolores Izquierda. "When you boil it (to purify it) the smell becomes stronger. We get headaches and we don't know what's going on."
Alco was found in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2000, and was ordered to sell eight of its nine water systems. It has since cleaned up its water, and its
Tom Adcock, vice president of the company, attended the meeting accompanied by more than a dozen of his employees. He introduced them at the beginning of the event, saying that they're the face of the company that's been in his family for almost 75 years and that they're not only employees of Alco, but in many instances its customers.
The meeting, which ran over two hours, will be broadcast in Channel 28, the
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/17089978.htm
Fruitridge Vista blames phones for response delay
By Mary Lynne Vellinga, staff writer
Fruitridge Vista Water Co. on Monday blamed a phone equipment malfunction for its failure to respond for more than two hours to a broken water main that sent water gushing into homes and yards in south
Three properties were flooded in the Saturday morning rupture, and another 13 Fruitridge Vista customers had their water shut off for "several hours" while the main was repaired, said spokesman Stevan Allen. He said company crews were on hand Monday pumping out water, replacing landscaping and making other repairs.
Sacramento Fire Capt. Jim Doucette said Sunday that his department tried to call Fruitridge Vista when the water shutoff valve for the spewing water couldn't be found. Instead of rolling over to the 24-hour answering service as it is supposed to, the company's phone went to voice mail.
A service employee for the small, family-owned water company responded after seeing a report of the flooding on television.
Allen said Monday that equipment failure, not human error, was to blame. He said the phone system was supposed to roll over to the answering service even if no employee programmed it to do so.
"It doesn't appear to be a human error," he said.
Allen said Fruitridge Vista, which has been plagued by water-pressure problems since it had to shut down three wells because of contamination, has been trying to improve communications with the Fire Department. In January, Fire Department personnel complained about low water pressure at the scene of a warehouse fire on
Allen said the water company subsequently set up two meetings with Fire Department officials in February, but both were canceled. "We're not trying to cast blame, but there was a good-faith effort to share information," he said.
Doucette said the Fire Department hasn't had a problem reaching Fruitridge Vista before.
"I think you're going to find that it was just a one-time mistake," he said Monday.
Allen said the company isn't sure what caused the pipe near
Fruitridge Vista is working on a state-approved plan to solve its water-pressure problems by drilling new wells and tapping into the city's water system. #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/156040.html
DWP crews costly choice; But in-house teams a 'must'
LA Daily News – 4/16/07
By Kerry Cavanaugh, staff writer
The cost of upgrading Los Angeles' aging water system soared by tens of millions of dollars after some of the work was shifted from private contractors to DWP construction crews, the Daily News has learned.
A review by the Department of Water and Power found that using union crews to install trunk lines roughly doubled both the cost and the length of time it would have taken private workers to complete the project.
In one example cited, a private contractor bid $6.2 million to install a 42-inch pipeline beneath
"Experience indicates that contractors can complete trunk-line projects on a substantially shorter time period than in-house forces," Water System Chief Operating Officer James McDaniel wrote in a memo to General Manager Ronald Deaton.
"This is important both to completing these important water quality improvement/security related projects and minimizing disruption to communities."
Despite the cost overruns - and complaints from some employees about waste and inefficiency - the Board of Water and Power Commissioners is poised today to approve hiring a 20-member crew for a third trunk-line project.
It's actually part of a compromise with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18 - the politically powerful union that represents most of the DWP employees and has challenged the utility's effort to hire private contractors for trunk-line work.
As part of the settlement, the DWP will hire a third, 20-person trunk-line crew, and the IBEW has agreed not to challenge private contracts for 13 upcoming trunk-line projects.
"The settlement agreement clears way for the department to enter into a number of contracts for essential trunk-line construction work," board President David Nahai said. "At the same time, we have to remember that we need to have in-house capability, as well.
"At the end of the day you can't just continue contracting out."
Can't win everything
The 13 future projects will cost ratepayers an estimated $737 million, officials said, but could have cost as much as $1.3 billion had DWP employees done the work.
"Am I totally happy? No! However, it's a great beginning to correct a totally unacceptable situation," said DWP Commissioner Nick Patsaouras.
"It's good for ratepayers. (We) cannot win everything off the bat. It takes time to correct ingrained problems in a bureaucracy."
Local 18 representatives did not return calls Monday.
But the union has previously challenged the DWP's cost comparisons, saying they grossly overstate the expense of work done by IBEW crews.
And IBEW leaders have also criticized the DWP board for hiring private contractors for maintenance and emergency work.
Older than 1940
The DWP maintains more than 280 miles of trunk lines and 7,200 main lines that transport water to 670,000 homes, apartments and businesses in
Last year, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council raised water rates 5.5 percent over a two-year period. The increased revenue is supposed to cover costs for some of the infrastructure improvements.
But the utility hasn't initiated any trunk-line projects since 2004 because of the stalemate with the IBEW over who would do the work.
"The board is in the process of reviewing the issue," said Parita Shah, a spokeswoman for the mayor. "And while we do not want to prejudice its decision, we have requested the board and department ensure that the department has adequate internal capacity to provide reliable water service to Angelenos."
The DWP used to hire private contractors for major pipeline projects, but its construction budget was slashed in 1999 as the agency prepared for energy deregulation. The union then asked that its DWP members be allowed to install water pipelines instead.
The department instructed two teams, called Integrated Support Services crews, to install the
But the price tag was two to three times higher than it would have been for an outside contractor to do the work, and inspectors said the quality wasn't as good.
In early 2000, utility employees raised concerns about the high cost of using Integrated Support Services crews.
An internal e-mail sent in March 2000 said private contractors are specialists in pipeline construction and have a financial incentive to finish faster so they can move to the next contract.
"A contractor is much more motivated and skilled in keeping costs down (than is) a group of civil servants," the memo said.
In 2002, an audit by the Barrington-Wellesley Group found that the DWP was paying more for trunk-line construction using its own crews and recommended forming a committee of water-division managers and the IBEW to compare costs.
A staff report showed that DWP crews cost 161 percent to 221 percent more than if outside contractors had handled the job.
They also noted that the DWP had assigned 31 employees to install the Parthenia trunk line while a contractor had just 13 working on the
Since 2003, the IBEW has pushed for a third trunk-line crew to handle the work. Under its contract, the IBEW can challenge contracts of any outside work that could be done by DWP employees.
In 2004, DWP managers and the union discussed a compromise that would permit outside contracts for trunk-line projects with some perks for the union - such as granting "substantial" overtime, records show.
Still, there was no agreement. Efforts to move forward on new trunk-line projects stalled, and staffers warned that delays were threatening the city's ability to meet water-quality deadlines.
The city must remove or cover all open reservoirs, and part of that work will include major construction projects such as building tanks and large pipelines.
That's why DWP board members are eager to settle the labor stalemate.
"This provides an opportunity to move ahead aggressively without objections to essential contracts," Nahai said.
Nahai said the decision was a reasonable response to valid union concerns about the need for more in-house staffers.
"We see it at every turn with power outages, with the problems last summer (with the heat wave), that you have to have in-house capabilities with emergency and maintenance issues," Nahai said. #
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