PERFORMANCE PROFILE,
Ralls County, Missouri
1: INITIAL OPERATIONS CHALLENGES
1: Initial Operations Challenges
-
A $500,000 transmission main had never been put
into service for various reasons. - Systems for monitoring tower levels and pressure needed upgrade and improvement.
- Excessive loss of the purchased supply was a significant drain on the District budget.
- Administrative functions including billing and collection needed improvement, and reliable financial reporting was lacking.
- The Districts staff needed to obtain certification for operation of the distribution system.
- Booster station and wastewater treatment plants had fallen into ill repair and testing was not being performed according to regulations.
2: Project Background
The Ralls water district purchases its
water wholesale from the City of Hannibal and distributes
it on a retail basis to the residents of eight nearby communities, as well as surrounding rural areas.
In addition to a complete range of operation and maintenance services, Alliance provides Ralls County Public Water Supply District No. 1 with a variety of administrative services, including meter reading, computerized billing, collection, financial reporting, and day-to-day management of the utility.
- Within weeks of signing the contract with Alliance, the East to West transmission main was being fully utilized, significantly helping pressures and flows to a sizable portion of the rural district.
- A radio telemetry SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) system for the automatic monitoring and control of various critical water systems was put in place within the first week of Alliance’s operation agreement.
- An aggressive meter change out and leak detection program has been implemented to reduce unaccounted for water. With the high costs of the purchased water, calculations have shown that this effort will likely pay for itself in less than five years.
- Alliance has helped the District upgrade its filing and computer systems, improve delinquent collections and get a professional handle on its business operations and financial status.
- Detailed operating and maintenance procedures have been implemented, including Alliance’s own ReCAP program for environmental testing and compliance.
- Alliance assisted the District in funding an Emergency Community Water Assistant Grant for $240,900 from USDA Rural Development. The grant, specifically earmarked for installation of a new booster pump station, allows the District to keep up with peak demand periods with increased water system capacity.
- Alliance assisted the District in refunding $1,655,000 in existing bonds to take advantage of lower interest rates and reduce annual P&I payments by approximately $60,000/year over the first several years.
- Wastewater plant operations have been optimized for efficiency. This has reduced the amount of sludge that must be hauled, a savings of nearly $1,500 each year.
- In August 2004, Alliance assisted the District to gain overwhelming voter approval of $4,000,000 in new bonding capability.
- From June 2001 through February 2005, Alliance assumed the role of primary District negotiator to arrange the sale of a portion of the District’s territory to the City of Hannibal’s Board of Public Works for $1,500,000. The sale of future customers via a territorial agreement ultimately required approval of USDA Rural Development and Missouri Public Service Commission. A new 20-year wholesale water purchase agreement was also negotiated.