Ross: And I think too Heather, just clicked back to that slide from Toledo, Ohio because they've had the "Do not drink (notice)" for the entire population due to that. They’re getting through the treatment plant. And yes that’s a different cause of the problem from a break or the Boston one …
Criticality and Overall Cost in Water Utilities Asset Management
Heather: And the other thing to think about is, different breaks have different criticality to a water utility. So a small break on a side street that it’s just tricking down the road, impacting a couple of customers is not the same as a major water main break that impacts the whole town …
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Holistic Impact of Infrastructure Management Actions to the Utility Community
Why should the utility worry about the cost of pipe breaks that don’t affect the utility? For example, blocking traffic. Dawn: This came whenever we have the earlier discussion about the cost were associated with the water line breaks in LA, and so you know you’re talking about the various …
Three Important Sources of Asset Management Knowledge
To remind webinar participants of the people and organizations responsible for the "Ask-the-Experts" webinar series, Heather presented the "Contact Information" slide (see image above). Heather says: You can see, mine, Dawn and Ross’s contact information there if you have questions following …
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Asset Management Information Systems Discussion and Overview Guidance
In relation to the question on the best way to track O & M cost, Heather gave guidance and discussion on the asset management information system. Heather: I was just going to mention that you know it’s something that comes up a lot if the question is also getting at, you know, “What kind …
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Asset Valuation and Insurance Issues in Infrastructure Asset Management
A webinar participant asked the questions below: "Based on experience at different places, what is the best way to track O & M (operation and maintenance) cost, and how to estimate the asset value, depreciation, all the equipment refurbishments for replacement pricing and insurance …
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Fixed Costs and Variable Costs Impact of Shrinking or Declining Towns
The discussion on the question below continues with Heather and Ross providing more insights. "Is there a formula or is research being done to assist utilities balancing aging infrastructure with the possibility that the customer base will decline? The population in our area is declining. If we …
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Issues Around Aging Population Demographic and Infrastructure Funding
In the previous post "Infrastructure Management in Shrinking or Declining Towns" there were two questions. Ross Waugh responded to the first question on that blog post. This blog post presents Ross' response to the other question, which reads: Is there a formula or is research being done to …
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Infrastructure Management in Shrinking or Declining Towns
Have you run into situations where replacement cost cannot be supported by current use? What do you recommend when the cost structure points towards the discontinuation of service in a particular area? Is there a formula or is research being done to assist utilities balancing aging infrastructure …
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Why Do Water Utilities Hesitate to Do a Level of Service Agreement
In the previous blog post titled "Involving Customers in Level of Service Conversations", Ross and Heather explained the importance of communicating with clients or customers. Ross answered the follow-up question, which says: Why do utilities hesitate to do a level of service agreement and how …
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Asset Management – Involving Customers in Levels of Service Conversations
Heather and Ross took turns answering the question below: In order to have an effective level of service, do you need the input from your customers? Heather: I would say, I take a stab at some comments and then I’ll turn it over to Ross to add some because I know they’ve done a lot in New …
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How To Determine Levels of Service – Customer and Technical
During the webinar, one of the questions asked was, "What is the best way to determine an appropriate level of service for community water or wastewater system?" Ross: Yeah and thanks for the question, and that's a good question because everybody has to answer it. And I think the answer …
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