PCWD seeks solution for new meters
The January 8 meeting of the Board of Directors of Pie Cove Water District included the swearing in of two members that began new terms, and the election of officers. This should have happened in December, but that meeting was canceled for lack of quorum. Robert Hewitt will continue as President and Lou Padula as Vice President, while the duties of Secretary and Treasurer will shift from Vicki Jakubac to Becky Smith. Rose Vernard is the fifth director.
General Manager Jeremy Potter’s report showed production and use down from the last two years due to fewer leaks. Last month’s report showed water loss at a low 5.5%. The static monitoring well fell 5.7 feet in the last two months, to 73.31 feet. Potter expressed optimism that rain will come in the next months, but in reply to a question from Smith acknowledged that if there is little to no rain by April it may be appropriate to go Stage II, “mandatory compliance.”
Potter introduced the District’s latest hire, Maintenance Worker Nathan Baldwin. Baldwin has his Distribution 3 certification and worked 17 years with Huntington Beach utilities, 14 of those with Water and Sewer.
The biggest challenge facing Potter now is the completion of the project to replace the District’s meters with “smart” meters. Most of the meters and valves have been replaced, with just a few left in the final two routes. Unfortunately, the meters are not communicating with the office as they were intended to. During the most recent reading 645 meters did not send their data, up from 480 during the previous cycle. Potter has determined that the problem is the valves and not the meters themselves, and believes that the solution may lie in using a “mesh” system in place of the “machine grade cellular” system presently being used. A mesh is a network where meters can send data to one one another, with the data taking several jumps to reach the office. Board members expressed some irritation at this development. The resolution and responsibility for the problem is made more difficult with the bankruptcy of Smart Earth Technology, the company that sold the package of valves and meters to the District. Potter is now working with a successor company, Zenner, to implement a pilot test program of the mesh solution. The test will start with the most distant meters, including Acorn Lane.
The Board approved a resolution authorizing Potter to take action to purchase the land between Highway 243 and Franklin Drive. This land is adjacent to the District’s present holdings in Dutch Flats.
The meeting continued in closed session to evaluate the performance of GM Potter. President Hewitt texted later that Potter will continue as GM and “got a raise bringing his position comparable to Fern Valley’s GM.”
The next meeting will be Wednesday, February 12.