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Geneva water superintendent says vac truck cut contractor costs and accelerated repairs
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Summary
Josh Santiago told the City Council on March 9 that since acquiring a vac truck in August 2025 his crew completed 15 mainline repairs in-house (previously contracted), saving about $900 on a typical four‑hour repair, and outlined PFAS testing arrangements and upcoming infrastructure projects.
Josh Santiago, superintendent of the City of Geneva water department, told the City Council on March 9 that a vac (jet) truck acquired in August 2025 has allowed staff to complete 15 mainline repairs in-house that otherwise would have been contracted out.
“That's a huge, huge cost savings on our end,” Santiago said, noting that a typical four‑hour repair yields roughly $900 in savings compared with contracting the work. He described crews performing repairs with one supervisor, another water employee and two additional staff and said the truck also reduced outage and mobilization time.
Santiago reported 22 emergency repairs during 2025 and said the in‑house capability has shortened response times. Council members asked for details on the savings; Santiago provided the $900 per four‑hour-job estimate and described shorter outages (one recent repair took about 22 minutes to restore service).
On water quality testing, Santiago said Geneva buys treated water from ACWA and therefore ACWA conducts UCMR‑5 (EPA) sampling and posts results in the consumer confidence report. “ACWA is required to do that testing for us and then they just relay the results back to us,” Santiago said, adding that the consumer confidence report is expected to be posted in June and will include PFAS testing results.
Santiago outlined near‑term capital work: a kickoff for Longstreet water main improvements in the coming weeks; a spring start for a new, roughly 200‑foot water tower; and a Route 84 project to replace a 10‑inch transite (concrete/asbestos‑lined) pipe from People’s Church toward 534 to relieve an identified bottleneck where county mains feed through a smaller line. He said removing the transite section would also reduce the need for targeted EPA testing on that short segment.
Council members asked whether Geneva’s sample results aligned with nearby systems; Santiago said results from Geneva, Ashfield County and Aqua were broadly similar, noting sampling locations differ (entry points vs. plant). He also said a flow study (last done in 2015) is planned to better identify problematic areas for repairs and future paving coordination.
The council did not take formal action on the presentation; Santiago said staff will post PFAS sampling information on the water page as requested and continue coordinating project kickoff dates and contractor meetings.
