WASTEWATER ASSET MANAGEMENT
Wastewater Treatment Plant, Pump Stations and Stormwater Pump Stations
Holyoke, Massachusetts
Client: The City of Holyoke, MA and United Water Environmental Services, Inc.
Paul B. Doran, P.E. Consulting Engineer: The City of Holyoke entered into a private 20-year service contract for operation, maintenance, repair, and improvement services to the City’s wastewater system, to include the wastewater treatment plant, the wastewater pumping stations, the force mains, the interceptors, the collection sewers, the combined sewer overflows and the flood control system. At the commencement of operation services, an Independent Evaluator was to establish the initial condition and the remaining useful life of the wastewater system assets to serve as the initial baseline, which would be compared to the final condition of the assets at the conclusion of the 20-year service contract term. The private operator was required to return the system assets such that the useful life of the assets would be equal to or greater than 90 percent of the useful life at contract commencement or the private operator would be assed monetary penalties.
Selected as the Independent Evaluator, conducted an baseline Wastewater Asset Management study to determine the baseline useful life of the wastewater system assets in years as of the commencement date of the contract. He worked with the City and the private operator to develop a computerized asset registry of the equipment assets of the wastewater system having a dollar value of greater than $5,000. To develop the registry, he performed a detailed, hands-on asset inventory field investigation of the wastewater assets using the City’s database as a starting point.
Performed the detailed field investigations of the wastewater treatment equipment assets. The objectives of the study’s field investigations were threefold:
1) Account for assets not included in the City’s database to create a complete registry of equipment assets;
2) Perform a visual structural integrity evaluation of all asset structures to identify any visual defects that would have the potential to reduce a structure’s service life; and
3) Perform a functional analysis on equipment assets, having a replacement value over $5,000, to assess if the equipment is is able to operate within its original design parameters.
Developed customized asset data forms on which the field oservations related to the condition of the assets, structural integrity of the structures and functional evaluation of the equipment were noted. This documentation served as the basis for future capital programs and repairs, separate forms were completed for each equipment and structure asset in the registry.
In addition to the comprehensive data forms and information,
extensive photograph documentation of the baseline condition of each of the wastewater treatment assets were included. These photographs will be used to compare the condition of the assets upon completion of the contract term.
Using the field data, created his proprietary spreadsheet asset model tailored to perform the useful life calculations and asset analyses. To assess the remaining useful life of the managed assets, the model accounted for the following: current asset age, maintenance history, daily utilization frequency, chronological renewals and replacements, performance assessment, and conditions assessment. The replacement values were used by the City in its capital panning and maintenance renewals and replacement budgeting process.
Update to the Wastewater Asset Management Study
Four years after performing the original baseline Asset Management study, was retained by United Water to prepare an Updated Asset Study to reflect the many capital improvements made as part of United Water’s Design/Build/Operate Agreement with the City of Holyoke. The Updated Asset Study accounted for: 1.) capital improvements that United Water made and 2.) equipment that was demolished or mothballed due to poor condition or being non-functional.
The goal of the Updated Asset Study was to assess the condition of the assets with four years of Company contract operations and maintenance, plus give the City of Holyoke and United Water an updated calculation of the remaining useful life of the assets four years since contract commencement. With this updated useful life figure as an indicator of O&M performance, the City and United Water could make adjustments in O&M practices as necessary towards meeting the contract conditions.
The methodology used in the updated asset evaluation was similar in nature to that performed for the Baseline Asset Evaluation and an Update Asset Evaluation Report was prepared to be used by the City and the Company to assess adherence to the 20 year DBO Service Agreement.
Initial Baseline Asset Evaluation Report Wastewater Treatment Plant and Pump Stations
East Providence, Rhode Island
Client: United Water Environmental Services, Inc.
Paul B. Doran, P.E. Consulting Engineer: The City of East Providence entered into a 10-year Design/Build/Operate (DBO) Service Agreement with a private Company for the operation, maintenance, repair, and improvement services to the City’s wastewater system, to include the 15 MGD wastewater treatment plant and the wastewater pumping stations and the force mains.
As required per the DBO Service Agreement, an Independent Evaluator, (“IE”), was to conduct an initial Wastewater Asset Management evaluation of the wastewater system, to establish its initial condition when the Company began operating and maintaining the wastewater system.
Retained by the Company to serve as the IE and to conduct the initial Wastewater Asset Management evaluation in accordance with the Service Agreement.
Conducted the initial condition assessment and useful life of the wastewater system assets to serve as the baseline, which would be compared to the final condition of the assets at the conclusion of the service contract term.
Mr. Doran conducted the field investigations of the wastewater assets consisting of:
1) a Conditions Assessment of the Managed Asset Equipment, which determined and established the initial baseline condition of the assets to be used in the Weighted Average Useful Life calculations;
2) initial Structural Integrity Evaluation of the Managed Asset Structures to determine and to establish the existing condition of the Managed Asset Structures and to determine if a more intensive investigation was necessary; and
3) a Functional Evaluation of the buildings, structures and minor electrical, mechanical and process equipment to determine their overall condition and ability to perform their intended function as originally designed.
Using the comprehensive assemblage of background data gathered in the field, created a proprietary spreadsheet asset model tailored to perform the useful life calculations and analyses. The model used the following equipment information in the useful life calculation: current age, the maintenance history, daily utilization frequency, chronological renewals and replacements, performance assessment, and conditions assessment.
A unique feature incorporated into the asset model was the replacement value of each equipment asset as of the commencement of private operations. The replacement values were used by the City in its capital panning and maintenance renewals and replacement budgeting process.
Upon completion of the field investigations, prepared the Baseline Asset Evaluation Report to present the findings of the initial condition of the Managed Assets condition assessment, the Managed Asset Structures Functional Evaluation, the Managed Asset Structures Structural Integrity Evaluation. The Baseline Report contained over 1200 pages of documentation.
Asset Management Consulting Services Wastewater Treatment Plant and Pump Stations
Newport, Rhode Island
Client: United Water Environmental Services, Inc.
Paul B. Doran, P.E. Consulting Engineer: The City of Newport entered into a 20-year Design/Build/Operate (DBO) Service Agreement with a private Company for the operation, maintenance, repair, and improvement services to the City’s wastewater system, to include the wastewater treatment plant and the wastewater pumping stations and the force mains.
As required per the DBO Service Agreement, an Independent Evaluator, (“IE”), was to conduct an initial evaluation of the wastewater system to establish its initial asset condition when the Company began operating and maintaining the wastewater system in 2001. However, the initial Baseline Asset Evaluation was never completed at the commencement of the first Design/Build/Operate contract in 2002. Eight (8) years into the 20-year Service Agreement, the City decided to terminate the services of the first private Company and hired United Water to fulfill the provisions of the remaining term of the Agreement.
Paul B. Doran, P.E. Consulting Engineer (“PBDoran”) was retained by the United Water to calculate the weighted average useful life of the assets for three separate scenarios:
1.) Since the Baseline Asset Report was never completed at the start of the 20-year Design/Build/Operatae contract, Mr. Doran used all available Pre-Contract data [including 2002 photographs of the plant assets, previous maintenance reports, installtion dates of the original plant equipment, equipment specifications and interviews with plant operations personnel] and his professional judgement to reconstruct the initial asset conditions as existed at the commencement of the original Company’s services in 2001;
2.) Evaluate the 2009 condition of the assets at the commencement of the United Water’s assumption of contractual services (in 2009) using the extensive documentation that United Water gathered together; and,
3.) Evaluate the 2011 condition of the assets after two years of United Water’s Design/Build/Operate services.
For the first task, all available information, plans, photographs, etc. that described conditions that existed in 2001 were reviewed. From extensive data analysis, a targeted, proprietary spreadsheet model was created and best professional judgment was used to arrive at the baseline conditions in 2001. Similarly, the condition of the assets as of 2009 and present day asset condition as of 2011 were evaluated.
A summary report was prepared for the United Water to review with the City of Newport. This summary report formed the basis for United Water to ask for an increse in its capital budet and operation and maintenance costs.