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Oro Valley operations report highlights repairs, meter replacement and Water Smart gains
Summary
Staff reported about 2,800 asset inspections, three notable mainline breaks this fiscal year, and progress on a 21,000‑meter replacement program; the utility said its Water Smart program detected thousands of leaks and helped save an estimated $1 million.
Utility operations staff presented a broad operations update, describing inspections, emergency responses, equipment upgrades and customer‑facing programs.
The operations supervisor said crews completed roughly 2,800 asset inspections across about 50 active facilities, performed annual reservoir inspections using dive contractors, and replaced or updated control systems at booster and reservoir sites. Staff described upgrading PLC cabinets at an older Big View booster site and adding the site to SCADA so it can be monitored and adjusted remotely.
Operations highlighted three mainline breaks in the fiscal year, including a Sunrose/Naranha break that buckled the road and required contractor repair, and an overnight incident in the High Mason/ Love Station area where an 8‑inch main in a private driveway was “obliterated” and required isolation and emergency work; staff said they restored service by early morning after isolating the section and hiring a contractor.
On meters and customer service, staff reviewed a large meter replacement project covering more than 21,000 service connections and about 2,500 meter‑box cleanings and smart‑point checks; the utility reported approximately $1 million in estimated savings from negotiations and warranty recoveries related to that effort. The operations update also said staff completed about 33,000 customer service orders and over 9,000 811 utility locate tickets in the fiscal year.
The utility emphasized customer outreach and technology: the Water Smart portal has roughly 8,100 registered users (about 37% of eligible single‑family accounts), and more than 22,000 leak events were detected by the program, leading to roughly 10,000 customer notifications.
Next steps: the commission received the operations report and asked follow‑up questions; staff agreed to continue monitoring assets and bring any major rehabilitation needs back to the commission for project or budget discussion.
Speakers quoted or referenced in this article are included in the meeting speaker list.
