Agenda Packets - 2006/08/14 - Laserfiche WebLink

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In the summer months, the City has had several days where it has pumped over 3 million gallons of water in one day. It happened 6 times in 2005, all of which were in July. In 2004, the City again pumped over 3 million gallons of water in one day six times, again all in July. But in 2003 the City pumped over 3 million gallons of water in one day 22 times from June through August. On these days the City would have to take corrective measures, work overtime, or break the Xcel peak control rules. Peak control for Well No. 1, is only being allowed to run from 10:00pm to 6:00am, 7 days a week, Well No. 6, is only allowed to run from 9:00 pm to 9:00 am Monday through Friday. While these were the only days we pumped more than 3 million gallons of water in one day, there were 20 – 30 days a year where the City pumped between 2.5 and 3 millions gallons of water in a day. If by chance one of these days coincides with one of the days that Xcel Energy requires the City to go to zero draw (peak control program), the City would most likely run very low, or out of water. The City was put on peak control once in 2005, but the City was put on a high probability to be shut off for two weeks straight, Monday through Friday only. The City generally will be put on notice once the temperature reaches 90 degrees. In 2001, the City was put on peak control 13 times in June and July. If the City runs the wells any other time, than these permitted times, there is a penalty. Peak control is a cost savings program that Xcel Energy offers to high volume electric users. It allows for Xcel to restrict the hours during the day that the City can draw electricity to pump, and treat water. It also allows Xcel to put the City on zero draw, which means that staff goes around to all the wells and shut off all the breakers where power comes into the buildings. If staff ran any well during the zero draw peak control time set by Xcel, the penalty would be so great that it would be more than what the City saves for that well over the entire year. The City saves on average $20,000 a year, on electric rates, on all the wells and booster station combined using peak control. Further Discussion: Staff has received a bid from US Filter, the proprietary vendor of our current SCADA system to install radio communication to all of the existing sites. That bid came in at $30,860.00 plus tax. This bid does not include installation of the radio antenna’s, the poles they would need to be installed on, or the wiring from the antenna’s to the radio units; the bid for that is $23,649.00. Staff has $28,740 currently budgeted for this off an old bid, but the price has gone up since the original bid back in December of 2004. The budgeted amount also didn’t include the installation of the antenna poles or wiring. These phone lines have out-lived their practical life. With new technology, the City of Mounds View can eliminate that cost and repair by switching to radio technology. Radio technology will enable the City to have the same communication capability, without the cost of dedicated phone lines. These phone lines are also starting to fail. These failures could cause the City to run drastically short, or even out of water during the hot summer months. The phone lines that are currently failing are City owned and maintained lines thus we can’t call Qwest to fix the problem. The new radio technology would be completely compatible with our current SCADA system, so there shouldn’t be any additional cost associated with updating our new computer system. Staff is recommending that the City of Mounds View switch from dedicated phone lines to radio controlled communication. It will pay for itself in less than six years, and it will ensure