Public Works & Utilities outlines 2025 priorities: asset management, water mains, reclaimed water and staff capacity

Westminster — The city’s Public Works & Utilities Department presented its 2025 work plan and budget priorities to the City Council on Feb. 10, outlining organizational changes, asset-management efforts and capital needs for water, sewer and roadway systems.

Director’s summary: Paul Knippel, Director of Public Works and Utilities, said the department is ‘‘all about infrastructure’’ and described a reorganization completed in early 2023 that centralized engineering, operations, fleet and facilities into a single department to improve coordination. "We are now organized really, a lot in alignment with a lot of other larger cities," Knippel said, explaining the rationale for integrating design, construction and maintenance functions.

Key priorities for 2025 - Asset management and data integrity: Staff said they will produce a first-generation, department-wide asset report by the end of 2025 that ties GIS, work-order and capital project data together to support multi-year planning. - Water and wastewater infrastructure: The department reported ongoing replacement of aging water mains in several neighborhoods and an annual program that replaces 6,000–10,000 feet of pipe in targeted areas. Knippel said the city aims to keep main breaks under a benchmark (the department cited 15 breaks per 100 miles per year as a goal) and currently experiences roughly 30–50 breaks annually across the system. - Reclaimed-water distribution and collection-system rehabilitation: Staff highlighted recent valve work to improve isolation during repairs and a more aggressive cleaning/televising program for wastewater lines. - Staffing and technical capacity: Knippel identified several specialized roles that are difficult to recruit — traffic-signal technicians, emergency vehicle technicians and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) staff — and said the department is pursuing internal cross-training and selective reclassifications rather than immediate head-count increases where possible.

Sampling and pretreatment questions: During discussion of the first-reading pretreatment ordinance, Tanner Craft, Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent, described the plant’s biological nutrient removal process and said monitoring is guided by the city’s NPDES permit. Tara Wilson, Water Quality Program Supervisor, said the city samples 12 domestic locations and 12 commercial locations annually and samples permitted industrial users multiple times per year; permitted industrial users also self-monitor monthly.

Budget context and capital workload: Knippel told council that across funds the department plans more than 70 capital projects in 2025 totaling more than $42 million and that the department runs on multiple funding sources (water fund, stormwater fund, general fund). He noted an ongoing cost-of-service/rate study being prepared with the finance department to inform water and utility rates.

What council asked for: Council members requested more transparency in capital-priority lists (for example, a prioritized list of water-main replacements and a PQI/Pavement list by street) to inform the upcoming budgeting process. Council also asked staff to return with periodic updates and to include metrics that show performance progress.

What to watch next: Staff said the department will provide the first-generation asset-management report by year-end 2025, and the city’s cost-of-service study for utilities will proceed through 2025 and inform 2026 budgeting and rate recommendations.