Public Works Agency
www.santa-ana.org/public-works
Item # 10
City of Santa Ana
20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Staff Report
March 19, 2024
TOPIC: Automated Metering Infrastructure Project
AGENDA TITLE
Approve an Appropriation Adjustment and an Amendment to the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Capital Improvement Program to Add Funds to the Automated Metering Infrastructure Project (Project No. 16-6460) (Non-General Fund)
RECOMMENDED ACTION
1. Approve an appropriation adjustment to transfer $1,300,000 from Water Utility Production & Supply, Miscellaneous Operating Expenses account and $1,550,000 in Water Meter Services, Contract Services – Professional account, to the Acquisition & Construction, Water Utility Capital Projects, Water Capital Project expenditure account. (Requires five affirmative votes)
2. Approve an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Capital Improvement Program to include $4,500,000 in construction funds for the Automated Metering Infrastructure Project. (Project No. 16-6460)
GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLIES: No
DISCUSSION
The Public Works Agency’s Water Resources Division (Division) oversees and maintains the daily operations of the City’s water and sanitary sewer systems. The water system is comprised of approximately 480 miles of water main, 21 groundwater wells, seven pump stations, ten reservoirs with a storage capacity of 49 million gallons, four pressure regulating stations, and seven connection points to the Metropolitan Water District. The system has an average daily demand of 30 million gallons from its roughly 45,150 metered service connections.
On November 17, 2020, the City Council approved a $30,386,503 expenditure plan for the delivery of the Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Project. The AMI Project, which is currently underway, will replace or retrofit all of the existing, manually-read water meters with smart meters capable of communicating water consumption and
Automated Metering Infrastructure Project
March 19, 2024
4 1
1 0
other system information to both the utility and the customer. Additional components of the AMI Project were the installation of communications equipment to receive water system data, billing software system upgrades, and other software integrations to allow for full utilization of available water data.
Finding cost-effective solutions to maintain and improve the City’s water system infrastructure is a priority for the Division. To date, the Division has been awarded $1,500,000 in grant funds from the Federal Bureau of Reclamation, $4,000,000 in grant funds from the California State Natural Resources Agency, and a $10,117,365 low- interest loan from the California State Water Resources Control Board for the AMI Project. While the Division pursues additional funding mechanisms, additional funds are needed to continue moving the project forward. The approval of the recommended action will transfer $4,500,000 in funds previously appropriated to other Water Resources Division projects in order to meet current needs (Exhibit 1).
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds for this action have been transferred from previously-approved funds for the SA-2 Vault Improvements (Project No. 19-6496; $300,000), Fisher Park Neighborhood Water Improvements (Project No. 19-6429; $700,000), and SA-1 Hydrogenerator Upgrade (Project No. 21-6462; $650,000). To continue with the delivery with these and other water capital improvement projects, staff is exploring water bond debt financing options.
Approval of the requested Appropriation Adjustment will transfer $1,300,000 from Water Utility Production & Supply, Miscellaneous Operating Expenses account (No. 06017640-63001) and $1,550,000 in Water Meter Services, Contract Services – Professional account (No. 06017646-62300), to the Acquisition & Construction, Water Utility Capital Projects, Water Capital Project expenditure account (No. 06617647- 66301).
The following table summarizes the funds budgeted and available for expenditure to deliver this project. Any remaining balances not expended at the end of the current fiscal year will be presented to the City Council for approval to carry forward to FY 2024-
25. Fiscal
Year
Accounting Unit-
Account #
Fund
Description
Accounting Unit, Account
Description
Amount
Appropriation Adjustments
2023-24 06617647-66301
(16-6460)
Acquisition &
Construction
Water Utility Capital
Projects, Water Capital
Project
$2,850,000
Previously Approved Transfer
Automated Metering Infrastructure Project
March 19, 2024
4 1
1 0
Fiscal
Year
Accounting Unit-
Account #
Fund
Description
Accounting Unit, Account
Description
Amount
2023-24 06617647-66301
(From 19-6496,
19-6429, 21-6462
to 16-6460)
Acquisition &
Construction
Water Utility Capital
Projects, Water Capital
Project
$1,650,000
Total $4,500,000
EXHIBIT(S)
1. CIP Worksheet
Submitted By: Nabil Saba, Executive Director of Public Works Approved By: Tom Hatch, Interim City Manager