Utility Maintenance Pays

Sound maintenance programs keep costs down and performance up

February 21, 2001

Water maintenance worker Jim McDonald places repair clamp on  watermain break.

The old adage "pay me now or pay me later" has meaning to most of us as a warning against not taking proper care of our assets. The adage is usually directed to those who neglect to perform necessary maintenance, such as changing their engine oil, or keeping their house painted and in good repair. But it's even more important when it comes to maintaining public assets, which everyone relies on for essential utility services. This axiom has not gone unnoticed within the Department of Public Utilities' operating divisions.

Consequences of not taking care of things usually result in higher costs and increase the risk that something will fail at the most inopportune time. Both results are not acceptable. Maintenance is a key program in providing water, sewer and stormwater services to customers within Salt Lake City's service area.

"Proper preventive maintenance is one of those bedrock principles," says Florence Reynolds, Water Treatment and Water Quality Administrator. "Plant personnel take enormous pride in their jobs and in the facilities they operate and maintain."   This pride is reflected in the appearance of the plants, performance and the quality of the drinking water leaving the treatment facilities. All three plants have consistently treated water that is below 0.1 NTUs, well below the federal drinking water standard of 0.3 NTUs. In the drinking water treatment plants, the operators perform both operations and maintenance

Water treatment plant operator Mitch Ellis repairing flocculator sprocket and chain.

functions.

As Jon Adams, Water Reclamation Manager, looks over the 120-acre water reclamation facility site, he echoes the same philosophy regarding operations and maintenance. Recipient in 1998 of the EPA Region VIII Operations and Maintenance Excellence Award, followed in 1999 with the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies’ Platinum Award for 5 consecutive years of perfect compliance, the plant has achieved an outstanding record. It is currently working on 96 consecutive months of perfect compliance. Keeping the plant equipment in good repair is essential to high plant performance. "The plant personnel get full credit for our success," says Jon.  Walking around the site, one can't help but notice it is well groomed with manicured lawns (watered with secondary water), clean buildings that are painted and equipment maintained.  "All signs of pride in the employees' work," notes Jon.

Operating and maintaining 1,500 miles of water distribution mains, 600 miles of sewer

Terry Giles inspecting a sewer main.

pipe and 300 miles of stormdrains, spread out over 165 square miles of service area, has its own challenges.  Besides the buried pipes, there are storage dams,  distribution reservoirs, pumping plants, regulator stations, valves, fire hydrants and a myriad of other appurtenances that make up the water, sewer and stormwater systems. Mark Stanley, Maintenance Support Manager, oversees this vast network of utility assets. He manages employees of various journey-skills, including valve and hydrant crews, electricians, instrumentation technicians, welders, equipment operators and mechanics to perform a wide range of maintenance functions. Skilled and knowledgeable specialists operate the water, sewer and stormwater systems. "We are fortunate to have such a skilled and dedicated workforce," says Mark. "Maintenance occurs 24-hours a day, seven days a week and our employees always come through."  In Utah's four distinct seasons, the field maintenance workforce is subject to the heat of summer and cold of winter. Mark pays tribute to his employees, "It takes special people to endure the elements and working conditions and still get the job done in a professional manner."  

Maintenance work falls into two categories.  The first, maintenance of the buried water pipelines, tends to more reactive and more costly. Crews make repairs when water mains burst and water surfaces.  Failed sewerlines are included in this first category.  Most often these repairs are made under emergency conditions. In order to reduce failures and high maintenance costs, the City Council has approved capital improvement programs to replace aging water and sewer pipes. The second category is preventive maintenance, which includes valves, fire hydrants and regulators in the water system. Sewerline cleaning and inspection prevent sewer backups or failures.  Keeping stormdrains and canals clean and free of debris prevents flooding. Mechanical and electrical equipment is maintained at a high level of service to avoid plant and system failures. A computerized work order system tracks the work performed by all work groups.

Stormwater employee Bob Deegin shown cleaning gutter inlets.

Over the years the utility systems have grown in size and complexity while the number of employees operating and maintaining them have decreased. Investments in technology have helped make this possible. Having a well-trained and equipped workforce has led to more efficiency.

Providing reliable service is critical to good customer service. Plant and system failures disrupt service, inconvenience customers and run-up maintenance costs. As an enterprise fund (water, sewer and stormwater utilities), effective and efficient maintenance keeps costs down, and the savings go towards capital improvements to improve the systems. 

Florence, Jon and Mark all agree that sound maintenance programs are essential to ensure high performance and reliability. This philosophy is deeply rooted in the organization.  George Jorgensen, retired Chief Engineer, would often quip, "It's no use building new stuff, if you don't take care of the things you already have."  There's no disagreement with George's words of wisdom.  Maintenance of Salt Lake City's utility assets is crucial to the continued delivery of efficient and dependable services to its customers.