Avoid Getting Tapped Out: Pricing Strategies to Ensure Safe, Clean Water Continues to Flow
Jul 11, 2016
Shafer, Kline & Warren’s Danny Coltrane, managing director of water resources south region, offers insight into how planning and maintaining clean water systems are essential to the health and safety of communities.
People take water for granted. Every day, when the tap is turned on to fill a glass, take a shower or water a lawn, water is there. Water could be considered the original on-demand service. But this attitude can be dangerous, and Danny Coltrane is passionate about changing it.
Unlike other on-demand services like an instant movie download, water is not a luxury expense. It is necessary for living a safe and healthy lifestyle. In a time when cities, such as Flint, Michigan, are facing the unthinkable reality of unsafe or dry taps, Coltrane’s message to community officials who say they can’t afford to fix their community’s water problems is simple: They can’t afford not to.
As managing director of Shafer, Kline & Warren (SKW) Water Resources South Region, Coltrane specializes in the effective treatment and distribution of water and wastewater. He has studied growth patterns, investigated system facilities and produced comprehensive planning documents to ensure communities are prepared to operate and maintain their water resources for years to come.
“There are some places that brag that they haven’t raised rates in 20 years, and the residents think that is a good thing,” said Coltrane. “To me, that’s sad. They have done nothing to control their future and have only postponed the inevitable cost of replacement to the next generation.” Coltrane advises that by understanding the life span of water systems, developing a comprehensive maintenance program, planning for reasonable rate increases and maximizing funds, communities can ensure clean water is available now and in the future.
“When you sign on to be a city commissioner or official, you are there to watch out for the public’s health and safety,” said Coltrane. “The delivery of clean, safe water is an essential component of that.” One of the underlying assumptions that Coltrane confronts as a consulting engineer is that utilities have a 100- year life expectancy.
He clarifies that while a system might have this lifespan, there are parts of that system that have a 20-year lifespan. “Many of the water districts that came into existence in the 1960s use products that are inferior to today’s products,” said Coltrane. “They are coming to the end of their life expectancy and need to be inspected, repaired or replaced.” One of the dangers of not planning and maintaining these systems is that the operations and maintenance costs of the system could exceed the service’s worth. However, by creating a plan that matches the life span of the system, municipalities can ensure they are able to replace system components as needed.
“If you have a 100-year lifespan on 100 miles of pipe, a very simple plan is to replace one mile of pipe per year,” said Coltrane. “What can happen is that people try to save money by replacing a half mile at a time, but then the replacement plan is twice the life expectancy of the pipe.”
Each year, cost of living adjustments reflect the corresponding inflation. Many of the small towns and rural water districts initially built their systems on grant funds, but without those same start-up grants available, the communities need to account for replacing systems at full price. “By raising water rates with the cost of living, municipalities can sufficiently support their operating costs and effectively maintain their system without a sudden raise of 50 percent or more to account for a budget shortfall,” asked Coltrane. Understanding the integrity of facilities and systems is the foundation for developing a planning document for the municipality.
Coltrane advises performing a root cause analysis and developing a comprehensive plan is essential for maintaining water systems. “Do not plan for the water system and ignore the tank,” said Coltrane. “Take a complete view of the entire system as well as population trends, regulations and risk factors.” One of the benefits of the comprehensive planning and incremental rate increases that reflect the cost of living is that these steps allow cities to maximize the efficiency of their funds. “Once they have done the work on planning, cities and districts can watch economic and material trends during implementation,” said Coltrane.
“In one case, we were saving 10-25 percent on materials off the standard bid process.” “Our culture is such that we want everything now, and it can be hard to think about the future. But we can’t take water for granted. By changing the way we think about water, we can sustain our quality of life and preserve this standard of living for our children and grandchildren. That’s something worth investing in,” added Coltrane.
More News and Articles
Aug 28, 2024
News
ITpipes Secures $20M to Transform Water Infrastructure Management
ITpipes announced it has secured $20 million in equity financing from Trilogy Search Partners and Miramar Equity Partners.
Known for its trusted and user-friendly platform, ITpipes …
Aug 26, 2024
News
Professor Dr.-Ing. Dietrich Stein
With deep sadness we announce the loss of our founder and partner Prof Dr Dietrich Stein at the age of 85.
Engineers around the globe are thankful for his dedication to the inventions in the fields of sewers, …
Aug 26, 2024
News
PPI Releases New Installation Guide for PE4710 Pipe
PPI’s MAB-11-2024 Covers HDPE Water Pipelines Up to 60-in. Diameter and 10,000-ft Long Pulls
Developed by the Municipal Advisory Board (MAB) – and published with the help of the members of the …
Aug 23, 2024
News
Faster wide-scale leak detection now within reach
Mass deployment of connected leak loggers is being made possible by the latest technology, writes Tony Gwynne, global leakage solutions director, Ovarro
Water companies in England and Wales are …
Aug 21, 2024
News
Kraken awakens customer service potential in water
The innovative customer service platform Kraken has made a successful transfer from energy to water. Ahead of their presentation at UKWIR’s annual conference, Portsmouth Water chief executive …
Aug 19, 2024
News
Predicting the toxicity of chemicals with AI
Researchers at Eawag and the Swiss Data Science Center have trained AI algorithms with a comprehensive ecotoxicological dataset. Now their machine learning models can predict how toxic chemicals are …
Aug 16, 2024
News
Goodbye water loss: Trenchless pipe renewal in Brazil
Pipe renewal in Brazil
How do you stop water loss through leaks in old pipe systems without major environmental impacts and restrictions? The answer: with trenchless technology, or more precisely …
Aug 14, 2024
Article
Impact of high-temperature heat storage on groundwater
In a recently launched project, the aquatic research institute Eawag is investigating how the use of borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) affects the surrounding soil, the groundwater …
Aug 12, 2024
News
Watercare completes East Coast Bays sewer link
Watercare has successfully finished the final connection on the East Coast Bays link sewer at Windsor Park in New Zealand.
Much of the East Coast Bays sewer link was installed using horizontal directional …
Aug 09, 2024
Article
Innovative water solutions for sustainable cities
Cities need to become more sustainable and use their water resources more efficiently. Managing water in local small-scale cycles is one possible solution. A new white paper by Eawag, the University …
Aug 07, 2024
Article
How digital technologies contribute to universal drinking water
Digital water technologies have an important role in ensuring universal access to safe drinking water by 2030, that is according to a new report from the World Health Organisation. …
Aug 05, 2024
News
Knowledge transfer on sustainable water infrastructure in India
India’s fast-growing cities need an efficient infrastructure for water supply and wastewater disposal. A research cooperation, is therefore supporting the development of a sustainable …
Contact
Shafer, Kline & Warren, Inc
11250 Corporate Ave
66219 Lenexa
United States
Phone:
+1 (913) 307-2527
Fax:
+1 (913) 888-7868