1999 06 16 BAWA MinutesMINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE BAYTOWN AREA WATER AUTHORITY
June 16, 1999
The Board of Directors of the Baytown Area Water Authority, Harris County,
Texas, met in regular session on Wednesday, June 16, 1999, at 7425 Thompson Road,
in the BAWA Conference Room with the following in attendance:
Robert L. Gillette, President
Knox Beavers, Board Member
Roy L. Fuller, Board Member
Absent: Dan Mundinger, Vice President
Peter R. Buenz, Secretary
The meeting opened with a quorum present, and the following business was
conducted.
Consider Approval of the Minutes for the Regular Meeting Held May 19, 1999
Board Member Beavers moved to approve the minutes for May 19, 1999; Board
Member Fuller seconded the motion. The vote follows:
Ayes: Board Members, Beavers, Fuller, and Gillette
Nays: None
Receive Update on Plant Expansion
Herb Thomas, Plant Manager, stated that pilot testing has been in progress for a
couple of months with much brain storming between BAWA and Camp, Dresser,
McKee (CDM) staff. CDM and BAWA staff members have been looking at various
concepts as these relate to BAWA and plant improvements. Today, BAWA is on
course for a November 1999 bond sale for Phase I construction to add 6.5 mgd flow.
Construction should commence in the second quarter of 2000 with expected completion
in 2001. The cost for Phase I construction is estimated to be approximately
$8,000,000.
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Minutes of the BAWA Meeting — June 16, 1999
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In November 2001, BAWA should be in a position to sell approximately
$7,500,000 for the start of construction for the ozone process with expected completion
in the third quarter of 2003.
In November 2003, the plan is to sell bonds for the final phase for construction of
plant improvements. Construction is planned to begin the first quarter of 2004 and to
be complete in the first quarter of 2005. The overall cost to construct the three phases
is expected to be approximately $19,500,000. More definitive numbers will be available
at the time of the bond sales.
Fred Pack, Utilities Director for the City of Baytown, explained that Phase I was
geared toward plant expansion and the addition of another basin is being considered to
add an additional 6.5 million gallons per day capacity to the plant. This will involve
upgrading the various pump stations to pump the added capacity. At the forebay pump
station, pumps, motors, and electrical will be replaced. At the transfer pump station
where the water is taken out of the plant and pumped to storage, new pumps and
motors will be installed. The new basin will include several sections and two new filters.
Miscellaneous electrical modifications will be needed for the new pumps and motors.
New chemical feed systems will be installed, and all chemicals will be stored in one
location for greater efficiency. A large portion of Phase I is the instrument and control
panels for the operator to run the plant from the control room.
Phase II is geared toward ozone which will involve an ozone generator that will
be in a building and two trains to bubble the ozone into the water. Ozone will probably
be located to the west of the plant.
Phase III entails upgrading the remainder of existing equipment. This phase will
include a generator and an additional electric pump to replace the diesel -driven pump.
The generator will allow the flexibility of pumping whatever amount of water is
necessary. The canal pump station needs upgrading —both the pump and the
electrical. All of the electrical will be examined for replacement.
Mr. Thomas noted that while the main emphasis is to add capacity to the plant, it
is important to add ozone to enhance the quality of the product and to continue to add
reliability to the plant.
Tony Brown, Plant Superintendent, spoke to the need to refurbish the
administration building prior to Phase I. The operator's room, where the new computer
system will be housed, leaks very badly. The windows throughout the building leak.
The leaks in the control room and laboratory have caused the floor tile to deteriorate
due to the water. Also, the doors throughout the building do not close. The main focus
needs to be on the control room. Consideration is being given to enclosing the entire
filter desk by putting a roof over it and placing glass in front of the filters to address that
leak and to provide a dry place for the new equipment for the filter back wash controls.
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Minutes of the BAWA Meeting — June 16, 1999
CDM will continue with design, and the BAWA staff will work with Finance to
further define what the needs are. An item will be placed on a future agenda for a vote
by the Board to sell bonds.
Risk Management Program
Several years ago, EPA developed a risk management program whereby certain
industries, cities, or other entities storing certain chemicals must develop a risk
management program to inform the public of the danger and what is involved with these
chemicals in the event of a leak or spill. BAWA and the wastewater treatment plants
were involved because of the use of chlorine, ammonia, and sulfur dioxide. Eight plans
were developed that represent a tremendous amount of work. Estimates to have this
work contracted were in excess of $100,000.
Representatives from Bayer and Exxon agreed to assist BAWA with this project.
Armando Martinez, BAWA Laboratory Operator, and Adam Landriault, with the
Wastewater Division, collaborated their efforts with Bayer and Exxon representatives for
eight months. Both did an outstanding job. Paula Mulvihill did all the typing and the
submittal to EPA. Exxon and Bayer representatives recognized the quality of the
BAWA brochure and modeled their brochure on what Paula had created. The submittal
has been made and Sterling Municipal Library is printing the brochures for distribution.
The brochures will be available at the plants, the library, and the Emergency Operations
Center for the City. The brochure provides different scenarios for different types of
leaks. The EPA has accepted the report. The Board requested that a letter of
recognition be drafted for the Board to recognize the employees.
Mike Daws, Finance Director, noted that the demand account for BAWA is at
Citizens Bank and Trust while the City of Baytown's is at Baytown State Bank. The City
of Baytown recently accepted proposals for a depository bank and included BAWA's
demand account in that request; therefore, BAWA receives the same rate as the City.
Utilizing the same bank makes for more efficient operations.
Ozone Pilot Plant
The ozone pilot plant has been in operation for two months. Ron Burton runs the
pilot plant. CDM instructs Ron as to which tests to run. He operates the pilot plant as
instructed by CDM, gathers samples and forwards the samples for testing. The pilot
plant will determine whether the BAWA plant can go to ozone and furnish data on how
to size the various plant components. Based on those findings, recommendations will
be made to the Board on whether this will be a good project for BAWA. The pilot
program will continue through September or October. A few weeks will be allowed to
compile all the data and then CDM will report back to the Board.
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Minutes of the BAWA Meeting — June 16, 1999
Adjourn
There being no further business to be transacted, the meeting was adjourned.
Robert L. Gillette
President
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