Company Wins Contract to Monitor LA Wastewater FlowMarsh-McBirney Inc. has been selected by the City of Los Angeles to supply 75 Flo-Dar™ flowmeters to be used in the city's wastewater collection system. The data gathered by the meters will be used to evaluate flow levels throughout the wastewater system, identify any hydraulic deficiencies, establish maintenance priorities and to calibrate the city's predictive sewer modeling system.
The Flo-Dar Digital Doppler Radar Velocity Flowmeter provides significant cost savings associated with maintenance since the sensor measures flow from above the fluid versus the use of a flowmeter with a submerged sensor. The flowmeter represents a revolutionary approach in collection system monitoring as it measures sewage velocity and depth remotely, without any contact with the flow.
Marsh-McBirney, established in 1971, is a manufacturer of flow measuring instrumentation for municipal and industrial markets. Its flowmeter product line uses digital doppler radar and electromagnetic technology.
City Selects Utility Billing SystemThe City of Lebanon Authority, PA, has selected Hansen Information Technologies' Utility Billing, Permitting and Licensing solutions for its Water, Sewer, Public Safety and Billing departments.
The new system will be used to manage the billing, permitting and business license activities of the departments. The system includes software licensing, project management, data conversion, and training.
The City of Lebanon Authority will be adding the new software to the existing Hansen Water, Sewer, Plant, Street, and Customer Service solutions already in use in the city.
"We've been a Hansen customer since 1990, and knowing how their products work, we felt that adding the Utility Billing Solutions to the Hansen system would streamline operations," said Ann Minnich, Project Coordinator. "It's going to be a way of bringing the entire city structure together. We will have access to the same information. The system will save us time and work hours, and we will reduce errors."
Some of the departments will be replacing a number of manual record keeping systems and a current mainframe software package. The new system will make it easier to track meter exchange and service connects and disconnects. Plans are also underway to investigate the feasibility of using mobile devices for completing electronic work orders in the field.
The city is responsible for issuing 264 building permits and 145 zoning permits annually, billing 17,000 customer accounts monthly, and tracking 584 licenses. The city responds to an average of 1,169 code enforcement calls each month.
The new enterprise system will integrate the following functions: customer service, work order, preventive maintenance, parts inventory, purchasing, utility billing, permitting, licensing and resource planning. At the same time, the system is streamlining business processes and decision support within the city. Future considerations include installing a citywide call center in various departments including the Mayor's office.
The system will be used by 135 employees throughout the city, and will give them the ability to manage work activities and track customer calls from initial contact to problem resolution. The new upgrade includes Hansen's GIS solutions which will be used to support the City/County's established GIS database that is used to display various components of potable water, wastewater, stormwater, and water treatment plant data. The system will help the city with project planning and creating work order maps.
The implementation of the new system will begin immediately and is to be completed in a year.
Company To Play Major RoleIn Tampa Bay Desal ProjectHydranautics recently completed negotiations for the Tampa Bay, FL, Desalination Project.
The project is the largest potable desalination plant of its kind in the United States. It will treat up to 25 mgd and is projected to be on-line by the end of 2002.
Covanta Water of Fairfield, NJ, will design, build and operate the facility. The project was developed and will be owned by Tampa Bay Desal, LLC, an affiliate of Poseidon Resources of Stamford, CT. Tampa Bay Water, the local water authority, will purchase and distribute the water to users in the greater Tampa Bay region.
Hydranautics will supply the project with SWC (Seawater Composite) and ESPA (Energy Savings Polyamide) membranes that offer the best combination of flow and rejection available. The reverse osmosis (RO) seawater system at Tampa Bay Desal incorporates new design features that significantly reduce capital costs and power consumption during the desalting process. The use of Covanta's proprietary DualSand process for the pre-treatment of the water will add to the overall efficiency of the project.