State of the District 2023

The following is the second annual State of the District report which will be delivered at the last Board meeting of the fiscal year, but going forward, will be delivered during the May Board meeting each year. The purpose of this report is to provide a snapshot of the condition of important aspects of the business.

• ADEQ update
  • Effective May 29, 2023, responsibility for regulatory and assistance functions such as facility inspections and annual permitting has been delegated from ADEQ, (Arizona Department of Environmental Quality), to PDEQ, (Pima County Department of Environmental Quality). In other words, from a state agency to a county agency. Annual reporting such as the Customer Confidence Report will still be sent to ADEQ.
• Agency reports
  • All agency repo

rtrts were submitted however one quarterly report was submitted one day past the due date. Our procedure has been adjusted to submit the report by the last day of the month rather than waiting until the deadline of the 10^th of the following month to avoid a re-occurrence.

• Line breaks
  • During fiscal year 2022-2023, we experienced four service line leak repairs and 2 main line breaks. In all cases, the break was repaired as quickly as possible with minimal water loss or additional damage due to the leak. Pavement repairs were also completed within two weeks of the leak repairs.
• Current projects
  • The capital projects focus for this year has been upgrading our manual-read meters and activating the FlexNet equipment for reading. We completed the process of removing all manually read meters and now all are read using radios. The programming work to connect the meter reading software to the billing software has been more time-consuming than expected but is moving forward. We had difficulty receiving meters and radio transmitters for the meter upgrade project and needed to carry over some approved funds to the following fiscal year.
  • Once the new SCADA radios were linked to the new antennas mounted on three flagpoles in the District, signal strength was rated as exceptionally strong, and the network provides excellent system control without the frequent outages experienced with the old network setup.
  • The rear parking lot was developing low spots and potholes due to the non-compacted fill dirt that was brought in during renovation of the building. Our contractor removed a large section of pavement and approximately 2 feet of fill dirt then installed good quality fill dirt mixed with cement powder and compacted before repaving. They are scheduled to apply a seal coat later this week to the entire rear lot.
• Future projects
  • The District will continue to focus on upgrading meters and radio units for the next year until all customers have equipment which is compatible with the FlexNet system for meter reading.
  • WLB Engineering will be making recommendations for upgrades for Calle Tres and Canoa Ranch booster stations which will be constructed over the next two years.
  • An inspection of our water storage tanks has been scheduled for September. They will clean the bottom of each tank and divers will do a full inspection. If any issues are found that require repair, they will be included in the next capital budget.
• Quarterly equipment maintenance
  • Quarterly maintenance/inspections are currently being performed on all well pumps, generators, backhoe, and dump trailer. Monthly inspections are performed on all fleet vehicles and smaller equipment.
• Water level at Cotonia Well (Water levels are checked on a quarterly basis by Freeport personnel)
  • In May 2023, static level was 286 ft In May 2022, static level was 286 ft
• Water level at Well 2
  • In May 2023, static level was 232 ft In May 2022, static level was 235 ft
• Arsenic level
  • Natural arsenic level at Cotonia well is 16 parts per billion. The allowable limit for drinking water is 10 parts per billion so our raw water passes through the treatment plant to remove arsenic. Water leaving the treatment vessels is free of arsenic so there is a 40% blend ratio set up so that the water going into the distribution system has a level of between 7 and 8 parts per billion.
  • The last of the ArsenX media was removed and replaced with BayOxide. We anticipate not needing another media change until the fall of 2024.
• Lead and Copper
  • Samples were collected in July and customers and the state were notified that all samples were within accepted parameters. Lead and Copper samples are done every 3 years to meet ADEQ requirements.
• Chlorine levels
  • As a ground water system that is not under the influence of surface water, the District is not required to add chlorine to the water. However, we do add a small amount of chlorine after the arsenic removal process to ensure there is no bacteria within the piping system. Water is tested throughout the system each month for the presence of total coliform bacteria and there have been no detections for many years. The chlorine level throughout the system is kept between .4 and .7.
  • On June 7, 2023, the chlorine reading at the west side rest area was .39 and on the east side was .31.
• Storm damage
  • On July 16^, 2022, the office received some damage from a violent thunderstorm. The rolling gate on the north side of the parking lot was pushed off its track and the block wall required repair at the anchor point. The repairs were completed, and the south side gate was also reinforced to avoid a future occurrence. Some window screens also required repairs but there was no major damage at any facility.
• New Water Services
  • New water services were installed in February for the new GV Fire District building that is under construction.

There have been meetings to discuss development in 27South but until Pima County installs a sewer line, they cannot begin development