Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water System topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Warrenton staff flag high water loss, propose leak detection and asset-management investments
Summary
Public works staff told the budget committee the citys water loss may be as high as 30% (typical target ~10%), pointed to aging asbestos-concrete mains and budgeted for leak-detection and asset-management tools to identify and fix losses.
Public works staff told the budget committee they are concerned about water losses in the distribution system and proposed near-term investments to diagnose and fix leaks.
"We're still trying to figure out what the issue is exactly, but I've seen for last year, I think it was almost closer to 30, which is enormous," the public works director said, noting typical city targets are about 10% water loss. Staff said the system includes many aging asbestos-concrete mains that are notorious for leaks and that they plan a leak-detection program and an acoustical survey expected to cost under $80,000.
Staff proposed investing in an asset-management/work-management platform (iWork or similar) to track work orders, preventative maintenance, and infrastructure condition. The director framed these as investments intended to reduce long-run operating costs and emergency repairs.
The committee discussed priorities for the water fund (including fire-flow improvements and the so-called blue tank fire-protection tank rehabilitation) and agreed the leak-detection and asset-management work should proceed to refine repair priorities.
