TECHNICAL WRITING

TECHNICAL WRITING NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ENG 352.453 BRENDA Y. MOORE, Ph.D. JOHN A. FEAIRHELLER, JR P.O.BOX 18087 Newark, NJ 07191-8087 (973) 596-3000 Fax: (973) 596-3461 web.njit.edu/~jaf8 July 12, 2008 Mrs. Pamela M. Kaithern, Mayor West Cape May Borough Hall 732 Broadway West Cape May, NJ 08204 Re: Proposal Technical Writing – Assignment 7 New Jersey Institute of Technology Course Number ENG 352.453 Dear Mayor Katherine: In conversation with the Borough Public works foreman, David Carrick I learned that the Borough has a significant volume of unaccounted for water in the operation of its water distribution system. The Borough’s water distribution mains were replaced beginning in 1988 and during that process all un-metered services were found as the old mains were shut off. The Borough’s water system should result in unaccounted-for water of less than 5% except during period of new water main construction or metering periods during which major fires occur. In anticipation of the Borough seeking proposals to evaluate the existing water use data and develop strategies to reduce unaccounted-for water, I provide the accompanying proposal. If you have any questions regarding this proposal or wish to receive a proposal of differing scope please feel free to contact me. Very truly yours, John A. Feairheller, Jr. Enclosures TECHNICAL WRITING NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ENG 352.453 BRENDA Y. MOORE, Ph.D. JOHN A. FEAIRHELLER, JR P.O.BOX 18087 Newark, NJ 07191-8087 (973) 596-3000 Fax: (973) 596-3461 web.njit.edu/~jaf8 PROPOSAL July 12, 2008 Borough of West Cape May 732 Broadway West Cape May, New Jersey 08204 Re: Unaccounted for Water Study Borough of West Cape May Project File No. 6946 This proposal is for the evaluation of existing water meter data, the development of methodologies to collect supplemental data and the development of strategies for the reduction of unaccounted for water to an acceptable level. I. History The City of Cape May established a municipal water system about 1886. Since, the City of Cape May is for the most part surrounded with bodies of salt water it chose to locate the water supply wells inland. Locating the mains inland necessitated the construction of transmission mains to bring the water to the City and the route of the water main was along Broadway through the Borough of West Cape May. The agreement that allowed Cape May City to build a water main along Broadway through West Cape May also gave permission for the residents of the Borough of West Cape May to connect or tap into the main along Broadway. A strange collection of water piping that was feed from the Broadway Main developed. In 1987 the Borough and the City entered in to an agreement that delineated the ownership of water mains within the Borough. -2Re: Unaccounted for Water Study Borough of West Cape May Project File No. 6946 The City of Cape May owns the Water Mains along Broadway, Stimpson’s Lane and Bayshore Road north of Sixth Street. The Borough of Cape May Point owns the water main that extends from Sixth Street and Bayshore Road to and along Stevens Street. ( See Attachment No 1) II. Water Supply The water supplied to the Borough of West Cape May is produced at wells owned by the City of West Cape May and also the Township of Lower Municipal Utilities Authority. All of the water supplied to the Borough of West Cape May must travel through water mains operated by the City of Cape May. The flow of water is measured by master meters installed on the transmission mains that lead into the Borough. The water transmission mains within the Borough then supply water to the City of Cape May, the Borough of Cape May Point and the Township of Lower. The flow of water out of the Borough is again measured by master water meters installed on the transmission mains. The Borough is billed for the volume of water that is measured entering the Borough minus that which is measured leaving the Borough. ( See Attachment No 2) III. Prior Investigations The percentage of unaccounted for water between November 1, 1991 and February 4, 1992 for the Borough of West Cape May was 60%. This followed a quarter with 49% unaccounted for water. The water supplied to the Borough at that time was metered at four locations. An impromptu test was conducted between April 2 and April 6, 1992 during which the Borough was disconnected from the Broadway water main with the exception of 94 property meters feed from the Broadway Main. During those four days the 94 users meters measured 74,000 gallons during which period the difference between the water entering and leaving the Borough on Broadway as measured by he Cape May City Master Meters was 354,000 gallons which on a quarterly bases is 6.3 million gallons. The City of Cape May objected to the manner in which the test was conducted, and in 1994 the City of Cape May revised the master meters at the Wilburham Park. These metering revisions were designed and implemented by Remington & Vernick Engineers working as the Municipal Engineer’s for the City of Cape May. -3Re: Unaccounted for Water Study Borough of West Cape May Project File No. 6946 IV. Unaccounted for Water Sources Unaccounted-for water is the difference between the measured volume of water received from sources and the measured volume of water delivered to customers. The sources of these differences include; water main leaks which are by their nature un-metered, fire hydrant use, unmetered customer connections, accounting errors, and meter inaccuracies. 1. Fire hydrants are un-metered high volume connections to the water system. Fire hydrants are used by fire personnel for training and vehicle maintenance as well as for fire fighting. Fire hydrants are also used as a water source by public and private construction activities. Fire hydrants are often used as a water source for the jetting of building pilings and roadway construction crews use to bring the roller up to weight for compaction and as a source of cooling. 2. Un-metered connections fall into two categories, authorized and un-authorized. The Borough might not meter it’s own water use since it would not be paying itself for the water. Un-authorized connection without meters occur when new development connects improperly to the water system without a meter or when property owners improperly makes repairs or additions to their plumbing and connects the new work to the wrong side of an existing water meter. 3. Accounting errors include meter that is read but not included in the billing records. This category also includes decimal point errors and unit errors. The moving numbers on the meter can start with 100 gallons or 10,000 gallons. The meter can be in gallons, cubic feet, acre-feet or liters. If the property was “winterized” by draining the water system drained at the meter it is possible that the meter was turned and now runs backwards. 4. A meter inaccuracy is the difference between the measured and actual water flow. The accuracy of a meter changes with the rate of flow. (See Attachment No 3) The total error is then dependant upon the total flow and how fast it occurred. Frequently the wrong size meter or type of meter and contribute to the volume of Unaccounted for water. 5. Water leaks add to Un-accounted for water and there are two characteristics of water leaks that make them identifiable. First, the water must go someplace. The water bubbling up out of the street or the high flow through the storm sewer in dry weather is always an indication of a water system leak. The second characteristic of a water leak is that it is not intermittent. The leak will occur 24 hours a day 7 days a week until found and fixed. Intermittent or variable Un-accounted for water volume cannot be due to a single undetected leak. -4Re: Unaccounted for Water Study Borough of West Cape May Project File No. 6946 Proposed Work V. The proposed work will be conducted in phases are described below. a. Evaluation of Existing Water Meter Data & Preliminary Report Upon acceptance of this proposal a meeting will be scheduled with your water department personnel gain knowledge of current water metering reading schedules and procedures as well as learn of changes to our water distribution system so that our water system maps can be brought up to date. Additionally, we will request detailed information regarding the master meters from the Water Department of Cape May City. An evaluation of water use patterns and unaccounted-for water will be made for the most recent five-years of water meter data that is available. The data necessary for this evaluation includes the master water meter readings, the volume of water billed to the Borough and the total volume of water measured by the customer water meters. The form and availability of the aforementioned measured water volumes will control the extent of the analysis possible. The maintenance records for the water distribution system and the water services will also be reviewed if made available. We will be available to witness a low flow observation if access to the master meters is granted by the City of Cape May. The low flow observation would be the collection of two sets of readings on the master meters at 3:00 am and 4:00 am. Our files include the net amount of water billed to the Borough on a monthly bases beginning in August 1987 through August 1995 as well as the Borough’s sanitary sewer flow as reported by the Cape May County Municipal Utility authority beginning in 1989. This data will be utilized as supplemental data to support or reject inferences that may be drawn from current data. This historical water supply data is from a time when the Borough was only partially served by municipal water and sewer systems. A preliminary report will be prepared based upon the data referenced above regarding the sufficiency of the data available and the time interval over which this review is being conducted. -5Re: Unaccounted for Water Study Borough of West Cape May Project File No. 6946 b. Collection of Supplemental Data The collection of supplemental data is the collection of additional water meter readings in the field by our personnel and personnel from your water department. This will occur only if authorized as additional work by the Borough. This Supplemental Data would be to address specific questions identified in the preliminary report. If collected the supplemental data and its analysis will be included in the Final Report & Recommendations. c. Final Report & Recommendations The final report will compare water volumes supplied to the Borough, the unaccounted-for volume, and the expected error in measurements. The report will provide opinions as to the five sources of the unaccounted-for water cited in section IV of this proposal. The report will identify procedural steps to be taken to minimize actual unaccounted for water and propose general changes to the water system that would improve measurement accuracy. V. Due Dates Three copies of the preliminary report will be submitted to the Borough Commissioners within 90 calendar days following the receipt of the water volume data cited in section V a of this proposal. The six copies of the final report will be submitted 45 days after the preliminary report or 60 days after the collection of supplemental data if authorized which ever is later. The Collection of Supplemental data is dependant upon the availability of Borough personnel, which must be present for meters readings to occur. Collection of Supplemental Data must be authorized at the Borough Commissioners meeting prior to the submission deadline for the final report. VI. Meeting Attendance The Engineer will be available to Final Report at either the regular Borough Commissioners meeting or at a workshop meeting of the Commissioners choosing. All other meeting attendance will be at the started hourly rates listed under Section VII b. - 6Re: Unaccounted for Water Study Borough of West Cape May Project File No. 6946 VII. a Engineer Fees Evaluation of Existing Water Meter Data The fee for evaluation of Water Meter Data will be lump sum in the amount of $X,XXX, and will be billable upon submission of the preliminary report. b Collection Plan for Supplemental Data The collection plan for supplemental data that is identified in Section I will be performed on an hourly bases. The hourly rate for the Engineer will be $120 per hour and $60 per hour for an Inspector ort Engineering Technician. c Final Report & Recommendations The fee for preparation of the Final Report Shall be lump sum in the amount of $X,XXX. This proposal is valid for a period of 90 days following the date of the offer. Offered By: ___________________________________ Date: _____________ John A. Feairheller, Jr., PE Accepted By:___________________________________ Date: _______________ -6copy Re: Unaccounted for Water Study Borough of West Cape May Project File No. 6946 VII. a Engineer Fees Evaluation of Existing Water Meter Data The fee for evaluation of Water Meter Data will be lump sum in the amount of $X,XXX, and will be billable upon submission of the preliminary report. b Collection Plan for Supplemental Data The collection plan for supplemental data that is identified in Section I will be performed on an hourly bases. The hourly rate for the Engineer will be $120 per hour and $60 per hour for an Inspector ort Engineering Technician. c Final Report & Recommendations The fee for preparation of the Final Report Shall be lump sum in the amount of $X,XXX. This proposal is valid for a period of 90 days following the date of the offer. Offered By: ___________________________________ Date: _____________ John A. Feairheller, Jr., PE Accepted By:___________________________________ Date: _______________ Return This Copy If Accepted and Signed. . Attachment No 1 . Attachment No 2 . Attachment No 3 .