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PERFORMANCE PROFILE, St. Charles County, Missouri

1: INITIAL OPERATIONS CHALLENGES

2: PROJECT BACKGROUND

3: ALLIANCE ACHIEVEMENTS

 

1: Initial Operations Challenges

• Assist the District Board of Directors in making the transition from a rural district to a dynamic public utility.
• Provide the District with the state-of-the-art management, administration, and technical services necessary to meet the challenges of explosive residential growth.
• Expand District utility management capabilities to include wastewater treatment, collection, and administration.
• Develop a plan to provide superior drinking water quality to meet the rapidly increasing water demand in Missouri's fastest growing population center.

2: Project Background

Alliance successfully operates, maintains, and manages St. Charles PWSD #2, the largest public water supply district in the state. More than 30,000 customer water accounts and 10,000 customer sewer accounts serve a population of greater than 110,000.

Reporting directly to the district Board of Directors, Alliance provides full business management services, including utility billing, customer collections, customer service, planning, administration, and management.

3: Alliance Achievements

• Alliance's planning and administration services have made it possible to accommodate new water supply and distribution systems for more than 1,400 new customers per year over the last 5 years.
• Alliance developed and implemented an award-winning water supply plan to replace the District's problematic deep well potable water supply with an innovative wholesale water supply configuration. The project involved negotiation of a cost-effective long-term agreement with the City of St. Louis, followed by design and construction of transmission and storage facilities. Facilities included a 42-inch transmission main under the Missouri River, 13 additional miles of transmission main ranging from 24 to 42 inches in diameter, and a two million gallon ground storage tank and pumping station with an overall supply capability of 38 million gallons per day.
• Alliance coordinated with District consulting engineers to provide potable water in a service area of more than 430 square miles, serving all or part of three sizeable cities, numerous smaller communities, and a large unincorporated area.
• Alliance negotiated territorial agreements with several adjacent public utilities and wholesale supply agreements with secondary municipal users.
• When a localized group of customers brought concerns about varying water pressure during peak periods, Alliance worked closely with a design consultant to address the problem and also address future growth. The number of customer complaints went from many to none.
• When utilities in St. Charles County were required to become part of Missouri One-Call, the number of water and sewer locate requests soared from an average of fewer than 100 per month to as many as 2,000. Alliance managed the increase with no decline in service for routine customers or area contractors.
• In 2005, the District proposed a new contract with Alliance: for project management services.
• By replacing a 50,000 gallon water storage tower with a 1.0 mg tower, New Melle residents benefit by getting a lower (better) fire insurance rating, lowering insurance costs.
• Introducing on-line bill pay in 2005 has further reduced administrative costs for the District. The convenience of credit card payments online or by phone also helps avoid service disconnections.