Assorted Water Utilities & Y2k work.

http://www.swrcb.ca.gov/y2k/epaeid.pdf

Guts of analysis,,,completed and un-completed minor issues left plus Contingency plans: ELDORADO IRRIGATION DISTRICT. 8/16/1999?

SNIPS: p.1 (3/20 pdf): 1. SYSTEM OVERVIEW The utility featured in this case study is the El Dorado Irrigation District (EID), a publicly-owned water supply and wastewater treatment utility based in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in California. EIDs history dates back to the Gold Rush era when water was needed for mining, but the district was formally established in 1925 for agricultural purposes. Today EID provides water and wastewater services for agricultural, commercial, institutional, and residential customers. EIDs service area covers approximately 200 square miles, and includes 29,100 water customers and 12,240 wastewater customers. EID is governed by a Board of Directors that consists of five elected officials.

The Board is responsible for all of the utilitys activities including recommending rate changes and approval of all major funding decisions. Annual revenues for the district were $33.0 million in 1998. Its total expenditures for 1998 were $39.5 million, $19.8 million of which were for the operating budget, and $8.2 million of which went to capital improvements. EID has three water treatment plants that are fed from multiple covered and uncovered reservoirs in the Sierra Nevada. The water treatment plants are gravity fed from these reservoirs, and most of their water distribution is also gravity feed. Their average daily demand is 30 million gallons, but it is significantly lower in the winter (10 to 12 MGD) since much of their water is used for agriculture. However, if the temperature drops below freezing, their water demand can double or triple in the winter because farmers spray their crops with water to keep them from freezing and many homeowners turn on their outdoor faucets to keep their pipes from bursting. EIDs wastewater operations include two treatment plants, 56 sewage pumping stations, and a reclaimed water system.

Their plants process an average of four million gallons per day, which is slightly higher in the winter and lower in the summer. EIDs water and wastewater treatment plants have gone through extensive renovations in the past decade and are now highly automated. The plants can run on automatic most of the time, so they only need one eight-hour shift of operators, and the rest of the time the plants are unmanned. This automation makes the plants easier to operate, but it also means that they are relying upon many automated systems, and there are few manual overrides should anything go wrong. Another technique that has reduced the burden of Y2K remediation is that EID uses as little customized software as possible, because this allows them to utilize the free or inexpensive upgrades that off-the-shelf software manufacturers often provide. They do not use GPS to synchronize computer systems and equipment, so this reduces the number of dates that they have to test for in their Y2K preparations. 2. MOTIVATING FACTORS EID began work on the Y2K problem in 1997 and has invested a great deal of time and a limited amount of direct expenditures in the project since. While it can be difficult to justify spending money on something for which the typical return on investment cannot be calculated, EID has had a number of factors motivating it on this project. If EID did not go through the remediation process, the results could be disastrous. Sewage could flow in the streets or back up into peoples homes, and drinking water could cease to flow, could go untreated, or could be contaminated. All of these scenarios pose p.9 (11/20 pdf):

9 5. BUSINESS SYSTEMS 5.1 Basic Business Hardware and Software 5.1.1 Inventory All computerized office hardware, such as PCs, copiers, and fax machines, was inventoried for compliance assessment. Some business hardware that had to be inventoried, was outside of the offices, such as the hand-held meter readers, which record the meter readings at customer sites and then load the data into the billing database. There were many different business software applications to inventory.

Every different software application on every computer at EID was recorded into a database by the Y2K Project Manager for compliance assessment.

EIDs bank is an important link in its business systems. If its bank has Y2K problems, it will greatly affect EIDs ability to do business. EID cannot control the bank since it is external to EID, but it will be discussed, along with EIDs other business partners, in section 7, External Influences.

5.1.2 Assessment/Testing EID checked the Y2K compliance of their office equipment either by forcing the date forward to critical rollover dates, or by contacting the manufacturer. As with the PCs in their plants, they found that the 486-based PCs in their offices were not compliant. They also found that their ten Toshiba laptop computers were not compliant either. EID received assurance from IBM, though, that their AS 400 computer, which EIDs financial and customer billing software reside on, was compliant.

The hand-held meter readers were partially non-compliant because, while they would continue to function through the year 2000, they only used two-digit years. The customer billing software they were installing, though, used four digit years. The interface between the meter readers and the software was therefore incompatible.

To check whether software was compliant, as with most equipment, they could usually find the information on manufacturers web sites. Software was also double checked when possible by moving the date forward on PCs and then testing all the capabilities of the software. Testing could be helpful, but used alone it can also be misleading since malfunctions can be minor in scope and can easily escape detection.

Therefore, even when critical business applications were tested, documentation was obtained from the manufacturer.

Many applications were found to be non-compliant. EIDs customer service and billing software packages were non-compliant, although they were already in the process of replacing these before beginning their Y2K project.

Even software that is relatively new, such as M

icrosofts Windows 98, can have some minor compliance issues.

P. 10 (12/20 PDF): 10 5.1.3 Remediation All of EIDs 486-based PCs had to be replaced. Getting funding for all of these was difficult, especially with the ten Toshiba laptops that had to be replaced at the same time. When they first asked Toshiba if there was any way to fix their laptops, they said there was not. However, when they checked with Toshiba again later, they found that Toshiba had designed a chip that could be installed in the laptops to make them compliant. Installing ten chips was much less expensive than replacing ten computers.

This was not the only the case where a manufacturer or vendor changed its statement on Y2K, so EID found that it was very helpful to keep checking back with critical partners.

Instead of buying new meter readers, EID decided to keep the current meter readers and to use an interface bridge in the customer billing software that would translate the two digit years of the meter reader to four digit years. This option was available in the version of customer service software that they purchased. The purchase of new customer service and financial software packages were expensive, totaling about $1.2 million together.

However, EID had already decided to purchase both of these upgrades before the Y2K Project had begun, so the funding had already been allocated.

In 1997 as they were analyzing bids from suppliers of financial software, they learned of the Y2K bug and made compliance a criteria in their RFP.

The financial software was installed in April 1998 but the customer service software was not scheduled to be installed by the year 2000 until they found that their current system was not compliant.

Y2K motivated them to upgrade their customer service software earlier. If they had not already funded and planned these upgrades before the start of the Y2K project, they would have had difficulty in completing these upgrades before the end of the year. HTE, the company that sold them the financial and customer service software, has not yet given EID assurance that their software is completely compliant, because it is still in testing. However, if any problems are found, EID will be notified, and HTE will supply them with a fix.

Other software applications that were found to have compliance issues could usually be fixed by a free upgrade or patch if the software was relatively new, or by buying a full upgrade to the newest version if the software was outdated.

All operating systems were upgraded to Windows 98 or Windows NT. EID is currently assessing which Windows NT Service Pack to install.

There are several Service Pack upgrades available free of charge from Microsoft, but Microsoft has wavered on the Y2K compliance status of each, making it difficult to determine which to install before Y2K.

The latest Service Pack is not always the best, because newer ones may have bugs that can corrupt data or applications.

For statements on the latest Y2K compliance statuses of Microsoft products go to the Microsoft web page at

(http://www.microsoft.com/technet/year2k/product/product.asp).

To check that all of their new and upgraded software and hardware is compliant, they plan to rent out a trailer at a system testing facility this summer where they can run a Y2K test.

For a few thousand dollars, these facilities contain hardware to allow full scale testing of computer and software systems.

........SNIP ..............

P.11 (13/20 pdf): 6. PUBLIC RELATIONS EID receives many calls and letters from customers who are worried about Y2K. Some customers want to know how EID is preparing, and what they can do to prepare in case EID encounters disruptions due to Y2K. EID has a standard letter that they send in response to any inquiries, which outlines the work they are doing to prepare for Y2K, and states that they will be as ready as they can be, but cannot guarantee that there will not be problems.

They also address phone inquiries directly. Many of these customers want to know not only how they should prepare for a water/wastewater failure, but how they should prepare for other contingencies as well.

EID staff generally tell these people to prepare as they would for any natural disaster, and they refer them to the Red Cross or other emergency relief agencies for further inquiries.

EID has also sent a general Y2K notice out with their billing, and they plan to send another one this summer. This notice not only informs customers about EIDs Y2K Compliance Project and their state of readiness, but encourages their customers to take an active community interest [in Y2K] and to stay informed about Y2K issues.

By having an informed public, EID hopes to stem any Y2K related irrational fears that could cause public hysteria in the face of minor Y2K problems.

EID is also keeping its employees informed by sending them notices about what to expect from Y2K. ...............................

P.16 (18/20 pdf)

9. REMAINING Y2K TASKS As of early June, EID had finished the bulk of its Y2K preparations, although there were still some tasks to be completed. From the action plan described earlier, Phase I was complete. Most of Phase II and much of Phase III had also been completed.

The only remaining task in Phase II is the ongoing customer awareness building. This includes responding to inquiries as they come in, and sending Y2K notices out with their billing.

In Phase III there are several tasks to be completed. The testing of EIDs customer billing software is being performed remotely, and the schedule is out of their control.

This summer, though, EID plans to do some software testing of their own at a special testing facility.

There are still a few remediation tasks to be completed. The telephone switch at EIDs recreation area is scheduled to be installed this fall since they plan to wait until after the main tourism season. The central radio repeater also still needs to be replaced, and it is scheduled to be installed this summer. Before performing some remediation tasks, EID must receive funding approval from the Board. There are ten non-compliant PCs that need funding approval before being replaced, and there are also three generators awaiting approval, not including the possible replacement of another generator that is currently being tested for capacity.

EIDs other remaining tasks pertain mostly to contingency planning and preparation. EID is in the midst of writing their Y2K contingency plan now, and they are still deciding on some elements of the plan, such as whether to shut down their water treatment plants on December 31, and whether to put their wastewater treatment system on generated power that night.

EID employees are currently receiving SEMS training, and staffing plans for New Years Eve are being finalized.

A draft of the Y2K contingency plan is scheduled to be completed this summer, after which it will be practiced and revised as necessary.

Final last minute preparations for the Year 2000 rollover include stockpiling chemicals, fuel, and other supplies, and ensuring that an adequate number of staff are ready to respond to any problems. ................

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), September 05, 1999

Answers

Cherri, thanks for the link. Nice to know at least one local water company is willing to publicize their efforts. I'm still going through it, but one additional comment I noted: "they plan to top off all tanks at the end of December". Who else is planning to that? I heard some local govt official (can't remember who) warn the public NOT to do that because the gas stations will run out. Will deisel suppliers be able to stock up for their institutional customers? I'm guessing not.

Good luck to EID in getting any fuel the last week of December.

-- Margaret J (janssm@aol.com), September 05, 1999.

Urk, spelling-impaired today.

-- Margaret J (janssm@aol.com), September 05, 1999.

Cherri, thanks for the informative post. If these issues are true for all water co's, things could get very thirsty in January. Then again, if all water co's are this forthright and proactive, there may still be hope.

Nice find, and thanks for taking the time to post it.

-- semper paratus (always@ready.now), September 05, 1999.

Thanks,

What amazes me in these water discricts is the amount of detail they went into with their effort to find all of the potential problems, and thry actually found problems and fixed them that didn't even have anything to do with Y2K! It is a relief to see their work spelled out in such detail.

Cherri

-- Cherri (sams@brigadoon.com), September 05, 1999.

"There are several Service Pack upgrades available free of charge from Microsoft, but Microsoft has wavered on the Y2K compliance status of each, making it difficult to determine which to install before Y2K."

Thanks for the Great Post Cherri!

Just have to wonder what kind of disconnect Microsucks is going through. It was only a year and a half ago that Bill G. said "no problem". Oh and they are LATE with their 10-Q at the rate they are going it will be submitted by the next quarter. I am very interested in what their disclosure will say.

The utility seems like a smaller one, they should post some information about Los Angeles, their system is to be completed in November. Doesn't sound like a cut and dried project.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), September 05, 1999.

Also see this link for a table of the Y2K readiness (as of July) of water/wastewater treatment facilities in the largest American cities:

http://www.senate.gov/~y2k/hearings/990715/chart4_tbl.gif

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), September 05, 1999.

From: Y2K, ` la Carte by Dancr near Monterey, California

There may be quite a few water companies that are working hard like this one. I suspect, thought, that there are far more like mine.

-- Dancr (addy.available@my.webpage), September 05, 1999.

"Cherri", LOL!, ROTFLOL! Looks like you got hit in the head by the "doomerang"! Please do not incite any more panic than necessary! Don't forget to punch that timeclock . . . you're getting time-and-a-half this weekend! Happy shilling.

-- Puddintame (achillesg@hotmail.com), September 05, 1999.