DATE: 10/02/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
2024-71
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
SUBJECT:
CREATION OF A NEW CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT FOR THE
REPLACEMENT OF HACH INSTRUMENTATION AND ANALYZERS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to create and fund an operations/maintenance capital improvement project to replace Hach's obsolete instrumentation and analyzers used in the water and sewer treatment process.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council:
a. Authorize the creation of a new capital improvement project titled Obsolete Hach Instrumentation Replacement.
b. Authorize an appropriation of $575,000 from the Water Utility Fund 570 and $255,000 from the Sewer Utility Fund 572 to the newly created project titled Obsolete Hach Instrumentation Replacement.
That the Corona Utility Authority review, ratify, and to the extent necessary, direct that the City Council take the above actions.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The Utilities Department uses online instrumentation and analyzers in the treatment process for water and wastewater. Staff estimates there are a total of 297 analyzers installed in the City’s water and wastewater treatment facilities. Approximately 177 (60%) of these analyzers are obsolete and no longer supported by the manufacturer.
ANALYSIS:
The Utilities Department recommends the replacement of all obsolete Hach analyzers for water and wastewater facilities to ensure ongoing regulatory compliance and operational efficiency. The City’s exclusive standard for instrumentation and analyzers is Hach products. Hach provides third-party manufacturer calibration and support for these regulatory compliance analyzers annually. Hach has provided reduced maintenance pricing, which was increased because of the obsolete equipment still in use. To reduce ongoing maintenance costs, the Department is committed to replacing obsolete units out of production and no longer supported. Hach has provided the following estimated values, including shipping and sales tax, for the replacement of this equipment. These prices reflect a discount of 15% to 40%, depending on the product type.
Utility Device
Count
Estimate
Water 99 $575,000
Sewer 78 $255,000
Total 177 $830,000
The City has an existing purchase order authorization for Hach products; therefore, today's recommended action is to create and fund a capital improvement project to track expenses related to this project and ensure proper capitalization of the City’s assets.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended actions will result in an appropriation of $575,000 from the Water Utility Fund 570 and $255,000 from the Sewer Utility Fund 572 to the newly created capital improvement project titled Obsolete Hach Instrumentation Replacement. There is sufficient working capital in the Water Utility Fund 570 and Sewer Utility Fund 572 for the recommended actions.
Fund Requested
Appropriation
570 $575,000
572 $255,000
Total $830,000
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15301 of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Action (CEQA), which states that “operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the CEQA determination” and is therefore exempt from CEQA. This action involves replacement of existing instrumentation and analyzers to maintain public health and safety and therefore is exempt from the requirements of CEQA. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: KATIE HOCKETT, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES