HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-20-004 - DWQMS - Management Review Summary for 2019REPORT TO: Community & Infrastructure ServicesCommittee
DATE OF MEETING: March 9, 2020
SUBMITTED BY: Greg St. Louis, Director, Gas & Water Utilities 519-741-2600X4538
PREPARED BY: Angela Mick, Manager, Quality Management & Water Programs 519-
741-2600X4408
WARD (S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT:January 29, 2020
REPORT NO.: INS-20-004
SUBJECT: Drinking Water Quality Management Standard (DWQMS):
Management Review Summary for 2019
__________________________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
THAT the 2019 City of Kitchener Drinking Water Quality Management Standard (DWQMS):
Management Review Summary for 2019Report be received for information.
BACKGROUND:
TheSafe Drinking Water Act, 2002 and Regulation 188/07, requires the City of Kitchener to be
licensed to operate and maintain Kitchener’s water distribution system. Some of the licensing
requirements include the development and management of a Quality Management System
(QMS) and Operational Plan as well as communication to the owner. The City of Kitchener
became licensed in August, 2009 with a Financial Plan submitted in July, 2010. The licence was
renewed in 2019.
Section 19 of the Safe Drinking Water Actimposes a statutory standard of care on persons who
oversee the municipal drinking water system: “…every person who, on behalf of the municipality,
oversees the accredited operating authority of the system or exercises decision-making authority
over the system”. This standard of care includes Council since they have decision-making
authority. Part of the standard of care includes requiring system owners to undertake financial
planning and implement theDrinking Water Quality Management System (DWQMS).
REPORT:
The purpose of this report is to inform Council as the decision-making authority about the status
of the drinking water system on an annual basis. The Kitchener water distribution system meets
the requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act. There are specific areas that must be
reported per regulatory requirements, which include; but are not limited to consumer feedback,
results of infrastructure review, results of audits and summary of maintenance.
The DWQMS requires Top Management to “report the results of the management review, the
identified deficiencies, decisions and action items to the Owner”. Top Management is defined
*** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. ***
Please call 519-741-2345 or TTY 1-866-969-9994for assistance.
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as “a person, persons or group of people at the highest management level within an Operating
Authority that makes decisions respecting the QMS and recommendations to the Owner
respecting the subject system or subjects systems”.The Owner of the water utility is the
Corporation of the City of Kitchener, represented by City Council.
The 2019Management Review was completed with Top Management: Denise McGoldrick,
General Manager, Infrastructure Services, Greg St. Louis, Director, Gas & Water Utilities, and
Tammer Gaber, Manager, Operations (Gas & Water).The Management Review report is
attached, and highlights of the results can be found in the executive summary on pages 2and 3
of the report.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
The recommendation of this report supports the achievement of the city’s strategic vision through
the delivery of core service.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
N/A.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM – This report has been posted to the City’s website with the agenda in advance of the
council / committee meeting.Drinking Water Quality Management Policy is available on
Kitchener Utilities Website.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Denise McGoldrick, General Manager, Infrastructure Services.
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KitchenerUtilities
City of Kitchener Drinking Water Distribution
System
Drinking Water Quality Management
Standard
Management Review – 2019
The contents of this document are the intellectual property of Kitchener Utilities and cannot be reproduced
and/or distributed to any individual or organisation without the written authorization of Kitchener Utilities.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part A - Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3
Purpose............................................................................................................................................... 3
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. 3
Background ......................................................................................................................................... 5
Other Related Water Quality Reports ................................................................................................. 6
Quality Management System Policy .................................................................................................... 6
Part B – Management Review ................................................................................................................ 8
System Description .............................................................................................................................. 8
Water Infrastructure Program .............................................................................................................. 8
Incidents of Regulatory Non Compliance ............................................................................................ 9
Incidences of Adverse Drinking Water ................................................................................................. 9
Deviations from Critical Control Points Limits and Response .............................................................. 11
Effectiveness of the Risk Assessment Process ........................................................................................ 13
Results of Internal and External Audits ............................................................................................... 14
Continuous Improvement ................................................................................................................ 145
Operational Performance ................................................................................................................... 16
Raw Water Supply and Drinking Water Quality Trends ...................................................................... 16
Follow-up on Action Items from Previous Management Reviews ....................................................... 17
Status of Management Action Items Identified Between Reviews ........................................................ 17
Changes that could Affect the Quality Management System ............................................................... 17
Consumer Feedback ........................................................................................................................... 17
Resources Needed to Maintain the Quality Management System ....................................................... 21
Results of the Infrastructure Review .................................................................................................. 22
Summary of Maintenance ................................................................................................................. 22
Effectiveness of Maintenance ............................................................................................................. 26
Operational Plan Currency, Content and Updates ............................................................................. 27
Staff S
uggestions ................................................................................................................................ 27
Other ................................................................................................................................................ 27
Appendix ............................................................................................................................................. 30
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PART A - INTRODUCTION
Purpose
The purpose of this report is to inform the decision-making authority about the status of the
drinking water system.The Drinking Water Quality Management Standard (DWQMS) under the
Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) requires management to reviewand
evaluate the continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the Quality Management
System at least once a calendar year and that the results of the management review, identified
deficiencies, decisions and action items are provided to Council as the ‘Owner’ of the drinking
water system.
Executive Summary
Highlights of the report are:
Year TwoWater Infrastructure Program (WIP) maintenance end of year achievements
(specific areas of improvement identified by WIP):
o Cleaned approximately 139km of watermain.
o Discoloured water complaints below 2016 pre-cleaning numbers(105 complaints
for 2019).
o 40 broken valves and/or failing valves were replaced which allows for quicker
isolation for water emergencies.
o Approximately 750 valves were proactively operated (10%); the majority were
within the cleaning area and the 2019 reconstruction areas. Operating valves
ensures that they will work when they are needed in an emergency or for
construction activities.
o Completed spring and fall maintenance of fire hydrants.
o Underground utility locates – continued to meet regulatory requirements with a
combination of in-house and contract staff (14,727 locates completed).
o Approximately 2,350 services are protected by Backflow Prevention (BFP) – total,
focus is on high risk use.
An inspection of approximately 135 air relief valves in chambers occurred resulting in the
replacement of five air relief valves and elimination of associated chambers in late
2019/early 2020.
There were 90 watermain breaks in 2019, which is less than the 5-year average of 95.
The 5-year average dropped due to 2014 (a very cold year) no longer counting.
Replaced approximately 5,000 aging water meters.
Implemented a mobile work management system for the Water Meter Shop to improve
data accuracy, turn around time for general meter service orders and billing.
Unaccounted for water was 11.0% (overthe 10% target). The unaccounted for water
generally fluctuates around 10% (9-12%, with 10% being the 10 year average).
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Pressure reducing valve maintenance was completed.
Installed an auto flusher at the end of Strasburg Road to improve water quality.
Rolled out a mobile solution for reporting watermain breaks to improve customer
communication.
Rolled out new processes for vacuum excavation work which increased efficiency.
Third party construction activities damaged a 600mm Regional watermain on April 25
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which caused pressure issues to 60% of the City (pressure zone 4) and over 10,000m of
water loss. KU emergency response minimized disruptions and damages.
The Region of Waterloo’s Strange Street Water Pumping station was offline starting in fall
2019 for installation of a manganese treatment system, which is suspected todecrease
discoloured water issues in the surrounding area. The station upgrades should be
complete by 2022.
Completion of the Four Utility Review which ensured that the organizational structure
was properly set up to support the collaboration and asset management opportunities
outlined in the WIP. Impacts relating specifically to water include cross training of
Construction and Maintenance Staff and diversion of some gas work to a different group
to increase capacity for water related maintenance activities. A dedicated QMS Specialist
for the drinking water system was filled in 2019. The role was previously split between
gas and water.
Initiation of re-vamped training programs – maintenance and operation program was
completed along with DWQMS Awareness, Cut and Cap and Final Connection Training
and Subdivision Inspection training.
Non-compliance received in early 2020 for new watermains not being mapped within 12
months of replacement – see additional information under Areas of improvement for
2020.
Replaced watermains as outlined in the 2019 City of Kitchener Road & Utility Capital
Forecast.
The Quality Management System (QMS) Operational Plan was brought to Council for re-
endorsement.
The Municipal Drinking Water Licence and Drinking Water Works Permit were renewed
in 2019.
Areas of improvement for 2020 are:
Proceed with improvements to the As-built process in conjunction with Engineering. A
work plan has been developed to address a non-compliance associated with the length
of time to map as-builts and additional resources may be required to manage. See
Incidence of Regulatory Non-Compliance section for additional information.
Restart the hydrant painting program with an extensive backlog of hydrants to be
painted (estimate of 750).
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Roll out AMANDA for better tracking of Backflow Prevention/Cross Connection
program.
Develop mobile solutions in conjunction with the CityWorks team for water valve field
inspections to minimize data entry, provide faster deficiency follow-upand free up
resources.
Continue with air relief replacement program, prioritized based on results of the chamber
inspection program.
Proceed with staff recruitment for two (2) Utilities Distribution Technicians as approved
through the budget.
Continue with two additional water training programs – Construction and Response
(Emergency/urgent) to cross-train staff.
Complete an Automated Meter Reading (AMR)/Advanced Metering Infrastructure
(AMI)/Advanced Metering Analytics (AMA) Feasibility Study.
Continue with identification of water driven or water only projects.
Background
One of recommendations from Justice O’Connor’s Part Two Report of the Walkerton Inquiry
was “The Ministry of the Environment should require the owners of municipal water systems to
obtain an owner’s licence for the operation of their waterworks”. Justice O’Connor also
recommended that the Owners and Operating Authorities of these systems implement a quality
management approach to operations and management. As a result of these recommendations a
Drinking Water Quality Management Standard (DWQMS) under the
was released in October 2006.
Theand , requires the City of Kitchener to be
licensed to operate and maintain Kitchener’s Water Distribution System. Some of the licensing
requirements include the development and management of a Quality Management System
(QMS) and Operational Plan as well as communication to the Owner. The City of Kitchener
became licensed in August 2009 with a Financial Plan submitted in July 2010.
Section 19 of the imposes a statutory standard of care on persons who
oversee the municipal drinking water system: “…every person who, on behalf of the
municipality, oversees the accredited operating authority of the system or exercises decision-
making authority over the system.” This standard of care includes Council since they have
decision-making authority as the ‘Owner” of the system. Part of the standard of care includes
requiring system owners to undertake financial planning and implement a QMS.
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Other Related Water Quality Reports
The City of Kitchener Summary Water Report – January 1st to December 31st 2019 (INS 020-
003) is a regulatory report provided to Council, which provides a summary of drinking water
including adverse water quality incidences and water volume.
The Kitchener Distribution System prepares an annual summary of the number of tests taken
within the distribution system as well as the range of the results. A copy of this report is
available on the Kitchener Utilities website.
The Kitchener Distribution System is part of an Integrated Urban System, meaning the Regional
Municipality of Waterloo is responsible for water treatment and the development and
operation of a trunk water network to distribute treated water to Kitchener, Cambridge,
Waterloo, Woolwich and Wilmot. There is a variety of groundwater supply wells (80%),
treatment facilities as well as a Grand River (20%) source. The Region of Waterloo’s water
infrastructure system is complex, consisting of numerous supply sources, pressure zones,
reservoirs and pumping stations. Ensuring sufficient pressure and quantities to meet current and
planned growth requires a long-term, co-ordinated strategy. The Region provides annual
summaries for each supply and the information is available on their website with a link available
at the Kitchener Utilities website.
A portion of Kitchener (River Ridge area) is supplied by the City of Waterloo. Kitchener supplies
water to a small section of Waterloo (Ira Needles area) and water travels through the Kitchener
distribution system to Breslau (Woolwich). The City of Waterloo’s water quality report is
available on their website.
Quality Management System Policy
Kitchener Utilities owns, maintains and operates the City of Kitchener’s Drinking Water
Distribution System. At Kitchener Utilities, we are committed to supplyingthe City with safe
drinking water. We work together as the City of Kitchener and the Region of Waterloo to keep
water matters top of mind. We are committed to these principles:
1. Quality
Kitchener water is safely treated and regularly tested according to government legislation and
regulations for the consistent delivery of safe, quality drinking water. We are committed to
maintaining and continually improving the Quality Management System, and complying with
applicable legislation.
2. Trust
Trust us to look after your water needs by delivering quality water and reliable service.
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3. Value
Tap water is the most economical choice.
4. Communication
We will communicate openly with the public concerning matters of drinking water quality.
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PART B – MANAGEMENT REVIEW
System Description
The scope of the waterworks begins at the point where treated water enters the watermain
from the treatment facilities, and ends at the property lines of the consumers. There is no
storage, chlorine boosting, secondary disinfection or pressure boosting within the control of the
waterworks.
At the end of 2019, the waterworks consists of approximately:
897.8 km of distribution watermain – 766 km Kitchener owned, 25 km Dual owned
(joint ownership between Kitchener and Region) and 107 km Regional owned (22 km is
untreated).
67,630 water meters in service.
4,500 hydrants (not including private hydrants).
7406 valves (not including service valves or hydrant valves) – 6,904 Kitchener owned,
135 Dual and 367 Regional.
(See Appendixfor a map at end of this document)
The waterworks system has the following permits and licences:
Municipal Drinking Water Licence
Drinking Water Works Permit
Financial Plan
Operational Plan
The Licence and Permit were renewed in 2019.
Water Infrastructure Program
The Water Infrastructure Program (WIP) was initiated in spring 2017. Year 2 of maintenance-
related work included (2019):
Watermain cleaning program - cleaned 139km of the City.
Valve maintenance and replacement programs – operated approximately 750 valves and
replaced 40 broken or failing valves.
Hydrant operation and maintenance (minor gap) – as a pilot program, fall dips were not
completed on every hydrant, rather completed on a quarter of the hydrants based
largely on spring inspections and known plugged hydrants. Results of the pilot program
were reviewed and determined to be successful.The plan going forward will be to only
complete dips on hydrants that require it – in 2019; this was 10% of the hydrants.
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Underground utility locates – continued to meet regulatory requirements with a
combination of in-house and contract staff (14,727 locates completed).
Approximately 2,350 services are protected by Backflow Prevention (BFP),
approximately 2,400 still require protection.
Incidents of Regulatory Non Compliance
A Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) inspection was completed January
8 and covered February 1, 2019to December 31, 2019. The Ministry identified a Non-
Compliance – The owner did not have up-to-date documents describing the distribution
components as required. Condition 3.5 in Schedule B of the DWWP requires the City to update
the map within 12 months of any additions, modifications, replacements or extensions to the
distribution system. For further clarification, the 12-month clock starts when a watermain is
commissionedand the public is able to consume the water from the respective watermain.
Action:Work Plan was submitted to the Ministry outlining corrective actions to meet the
requirements. A follow-up meeting to determine whether corrective actions were effective has
been scheduled for May. The new Work Plan represents a higher level of service for the
production and cataloging of as-recorded information. Additional resources may be required to
meet the requirements and could be accomplished with resource sharing with the Engineering
Division.
Incidences of Adverse Drinking Water
There were 26 Adverse Water Quality Incidences (AWQI) during the year, two of which
resulted in self-imposed Boil Water Advisories (BWA).
Of the low chlorine AWQIs (8 total)
o Three were in areas of new subdivisions with no houses yet built. Along with dead
ends, KU proactively flushes new areas until there are homes built and water is
being used.
o A new auto flusher was installed at one of these locations - at the end of Strasburg
Road (a long dead end).
Total coliform AWQIs (14 total)
o All were on temporary sampling locations.
Lead:
o 2 distribution system AWQIs (hydrants) – the same hydrant was sampled twice.
The hydrant had leaded ports and was on a street scheduled for reconstruction.
o For private side exceedances, the City is not obligated to complete any additional
corrective actions other than reporting, unless directed under the Medical Officer
of Health.
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Two self imposed boil watery advisorywas implemented - one at a property due to a
sanitary service pipe damage andthe second was due to potential contamination from
sewer damage during a watermain break.
There were four locations with lead exceedances in the plumbing system, with two
separate instances of exceedances(resamples). Since less than 10% of samples had lead
exceedances, we can continue to complete a reduced lead sampling program in 2020.
The Summary Water Report – January 1st to December 31, 2019 report (INS 020-003)
discusses water quality compliance further.
Action: No further action required – for information only
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Deviations from Critical Control Points Limits and Response
There were 90 watermain breaks in 2019, which is less than the 5-year average of 95. Of
the 90, 10 were deemed to be Category 2. Category 2 watermain breaks require
bacteriological sampling upon completion. The 5-year average decreased due to one of
the high watermain break years being outside this window. Watermain breaks are
weather dependent due to the frost movement with colder winters resulting in more
breaks. Incident debriefs are completed for watermain breaks. This information helps to
determine priorities for replacement due to condition.
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Unaccounted for water for was 11.0%; theMECP target is 10%. Water loss includes
water used for construction watermain commissioning (e.g. new mains and replacement
mains), water for temporary main supply during reconstruction, and wateruse for
reactive flushing(e.g. discoloured water). The 10-yearaverage for Kitchener is 10%,
although the percentage fluctuates.
Action: No further action required – for information only
Effectiveness of the Risk Assessment Process
A risk assessment was completed on July22, 2019. The purpose of the risk assessment
was to brainstorm potential risks and identify counter measures, where appropriate. The
following is a summary:
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o Reviewed risks with critical control points and discussed new potential risks:
Damage caused by private development encroaching onto city property
Contractors completing hydrant, curb stop maintenance
Succession of Kitchener Utilities staff
Lack of as-builts along LRT corridor
o Preventive or Control measures changed in each risk, which was discussed. New
information for the four new risks above. Revise risk assessment table.
o Risk score changed for risk C13. Revise critical control point procedure. Remove
CCP for risk C13.
o Removal of infrastructure along LRT corridor due to it causing confusion in the
fieldusing ArcReader.
o Region well houses in the past did not have back flow prevention devices for their
services. Possibility of investigating.
o Review requirements for manganese and iron, which may be coming into Ontario
regulations shortly.
o Accidently creating a non-municipal year round residential drinking water system.
Summary of Cross Connection Program (includes the Bulk Water Fill) as of end of the
year: 2,350 services are protected by Backflow Prevention (BFP).
Action: For Information Only
Results of Internal and External Audits
External:
An external audit (on-site verification audit (Stage 2)) was completed by a certified
external auditor (SAI Global) in August 2019. No non-conformances were found.Five
opportunities for improvement were identified – these included:
o Ensure that the operational plan is available for viewing by the public at the
principal office of the owner and one other publicly accessible location in the
geographical area served by the subject system as per the Directors Direction.
o Ensure that the Document Control procedure for document retention of
operational plans is 10 years, for those that were subject of an audit by an auditor
for the accreditation body as per the Directors Direction: Minimum Requirements
of Operational Plans.
o Consider linking the relevant aspects of the DWQMS to the utilities activity
matrix.
o Ensure relevant aspects of the DWQMS are regularly communicated with
Operating Authority personnel to promote ongoing awareness.
o Consider communicating Opportunities for Improvement (OFI’s) to the owner
including preventive actions that are part of the results of the internal audit
summary report.
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Internal:
21 total opportunities for improvement were identified from internal audits. As of
December 4, 2019,
o 12 (57%)of these opportunities have been acted upon and implemented;
o 2 (10%) of these opportunities could not be implemented; and
o 7 (33%) of these opportunities are still being investigated.
7 total preventive actions were identified from internal audits. As of December 4, 2019,
o 5 (71%) of these opportunities have been acted upon and implemented;
o Zero of these opportunities could not be implemented; and
o 2 (29%) of these opportunities are still being investigated.
Zero non-conformances and zero non-compliances were found during the internal audits.
Two non-conformances and one noncompliance were found outside of the internal
audits.
Field audits were conducted for the first time.
7 internal audits were conducted in this audit season:
o Watermain Breaks field audit
o Hydrant Operating Checks field audit
o Element 1, 2 and 3 audit
o Element 4 and 6 audit
o Element 12, 19 and 21 audit
o Subdivision Inspections for New Development process audit
o Record Keeping and Record Changes process audit
Continuous Improvement
Opportunities for improvement come from other avenues as well, such as external audits, staff
suggestions, public concerns, management reviews, or the risk assessment meeting. In total,
excluding the results from internal audits, there were:
61 opportunities for improvement, of which:
o 38 (62%) were acted upon and implemented;
o 6 (10%) could not be implemented; and
o 17 (28%) are still being investigated.
26 preventive actions identified, of which:
o 15 (58%) were acted upon and implemented;
o 2 (8%) could not be implemented; and
o 9 (34%) are still being investigated.
36 documents/processes were either created or revised, a summary of which is provided
to staff.
Action: Continual Improvement Log is updated monthly to discuss new items, track process and
circle back to determine the effectiveness of implementation.
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Results of the Emergency Response Training/Testing
Emergency training for additional management staff placed into the on-call rotation was
completed May 7, 2019.
Staff emergency training did not occur in 2019 but it was postponed due to revamping
the program and was scheduled in 2020 (training is every 3 years).
The April 25, 2019 Charles St watermain event was used as a debrief.
Debriefs are also completed for selected events. For example, debriefs after Boil Water
and Drinking Water Advisories are completed to improve our processes.
Action: No further action required – for information only
Operational Performance
Ongoing work with the Region for the Zone 2 and 4 Optimization – this will improve
water pressures and supply in the southeastern end of the city. The majority of the work
is Regional; however, there is coordination work with the City. This work is dependent
on timing of development in the areas and as development proceeds, additional sections
of the main are installed. Valves and temporary bypasses are installed to keep water
circulation in sections of the Regional main. A section of new watermain was installed on
Old Huron Rd in fall 2019 to prepare for this work.
The Region’s Zone 4 Trunk Watermain project includes the installation of 750mm
concrete pressure pipe watermain from the Mannheim Water Treatment plant across the
southern portion of the City. Work commenced in 2017 and is ongoing. A section of the
newly installed watermain between the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant and Bleams
Road is temporarily being used as a Zone 5 watermain while the Ottawa St watermains
are out of service.
Future upgrades to Strange St Pumping station (anticipated in 2019-2020) will include
additional treatment for manganese, which will decrease discoloured water issues in the
surrounding area. The decreased supply may affect the watermain cleaning program if
additional water conservation is required.
Action: No further action required – for information only
Raw Water Supply and Drinking Water Quality Trends
There are known seasonal issues with the water supply:
Fall - Grand River temperature changes may cause odour challenges in the source water,
which may increase flushing requirements.
Winter – temperature extremes may cause more watermain breaks in the system.
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Action: No further action required – for information only
Follow-up on Action Items from Previous Management Reviews
Mobile project with direct data entry for water valves–scheduled for spring 2019.
Action: project was moved to March 2020
StatusofManagementActionItemsIdentifiedBetweenReviews
There were no items identified between the management reviews.
Action: No further action required – for information only
Changes that could Affect the Quality Management System
MECP has a draft guidance document regarding the roles and responsibilities of the ORO
(Overall Responsible Operator) and OIC (Operator in Charge). Impacts are not yet
known.
MECP has proposed changes to the Watermain Disinfection Procedure which may impact
construction activities.
The Federal government has a manganese limit, however the current provincial
regulations, which Kitchener is, required to follow only has an aesthetic limit. It is
anticipated that the province will follow suit with a maximum allowable concentration.
The Strange Street upgrades are being complete in anticipation of this regulatory change.
There are indications that the lead maximum allowable concentration will be reduced,
which will likely increase the number of lead tests that are above the limits. Customers
are not required to complete any corrective actions when elevated lead exists. The City is
required to flush and resample if there is a lead adverse in the distribution system. The
City tracks street with lead or suspected lead and includes them as part of the
considerations for replacement. It is most cost effective to replace a number of lead
services as part of a road reconstruction project, rather than individual services.
Action: No further action required – for information only
Consumer Feedback
The number of customer water complaints has increased from 2017, but decreased from
2016. Of these complaints, discoloured water has been the most common over the last
three years.
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KU tracks the problem, cause and remedy for each complaint. The percentage of
discoloured water complaints has been decreasing since the watermain cleaning program
began in 2016.
Pressure complaints are largely internal issues (softeners, internal plumbing).
Other complaints include water hardness, no water, odour/taste, air in lines (white
water), customer sample requests.
The watermain cleaning process does cause generate additional complaints (see below
map for area).
Upgrades at Strange Street Pumping Station (late fall 2019) will reduce the source of iron
and manganese entering the system. The 2019 cleaning program focused on cleaning this
area prior to the pumping station coming back on line.
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All Water Quality Complaints
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Discoloured Water Only Complaints
Action: Continue with proposed watermain cleaning area in 2020. The 2020 area consists of
113 km of watermain plus 17km leftover from 2019 for a total of 130km.
Resources Needed to Maintain the Quality Management System
A mobile solution for inspection data entry would decrease administrative burden –
working towards a mobile water valve program in 2019 but there are a number of
programs that could be mobile.
Proper completion of paperwork is an on-going struggle (e.g. valve replacements). Time
is spent checking and filing paperwork to ensure that record changes and regulatory
paperwork associated with field activities is being filled out and submitted. Additional
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training was provided to staff regarding the importance of proper record keeping as well
as appropriate record keeping techniques (e.g. not using white out or pencil).
Action: No further action required – for information only
Results of the Infrastructure Review
Individual project selection is based on a number of factors including condition
(watermain break history), material, criticality, watermain size, presence of lead services,
shallow mains, and other infrastructure needs (storm, sanitary, road).
2019 reconstruction projects werelargelycompleted as per the 2019 Road & Utility
Capital Forecast, however some projects will carryover into 2020.
The Region replaces some Kitchener infrastructure as part of their projects (Kitchener
funds).
2020 projects were finalized.
Meetings were held with Asset Management and Engineering staff at both the City and
the Region to determine future project needs.
Issue papers are brought forward as part of the budget process, additional funding
requests related to maintenance and water-only capital projects. The majority of water-
only projects are included as part of Regional roadwork to minimize disruptions to
citizens and be cost effective.
Action: No further action required – for information only
Summary of Maintenance
Watermain cleaning - The watermain cleaning area is shown below. The green area was
largely completed over 2018, pink was completed in 2017. The next map shows the
proposed 2020 area (includes a remainder of the 2019 area). The purpose of watermain
cleaning is to remove iron and manganese build up in the watermains.The iron and
manganese cause discolouration in the water. Although iron and manganese are naturally
occurring and not health related, discoloured water causes a public perception of issues
with the drinking water. Provincial health related regulations might be coming in the
near future.
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Approximately 139 km of watermains were cleaned. The planned area was to clean 106
km of watermains but due to water restrictions in 2018,approximately 50km from 2018
were added to the 2019 program. Approximately 6 days remain in the 2019 area, which
will be carried forward to 2020. Watermain cleaning activities were suspended in the
late fall due to Regional Strange St work.
A valve turning/exercising program was completed for 750 valves – the majority of
valves were operated in the watermain cleaning area with additional valve operation in
areas of reconstruction.
Hydrant maintenance - spring was completedon all hydrants. The 2018 pilot of only
completing a fall dip on hydrants based on spring inspections was a success and
continued for 2019.Approximately 450 hydrants or 10% of hydrants were dipped in the
fall.
Hydrants are flushed to maintain chlorine residuals was completed in spring and fall.
New development areas are flushed until the subdivision is built-up.
There were 40 broken or failing water valves replaced.
Leak detection survey – 1/3 of city completed each year. Follow-up is completed on
potential leaks. Approximately 300km of mains were surveyed resulting in the
identification of possible service leaks: 4 possible watermain breaks, one of which
surfaced and was repaired prior to finalizing the report. The potential main leaks were
identified on Viewmont Close, which was confirmed and repaired; Dailmer was
confirmed not to be a break and Woolwich st (confirmed to be a valve leak, whichwas
repaired). There were 15 possible hydrant leaks – 10 of which were repaired by
tightening/draining and the other 5 were not leaking.
Staff inspected 132 new connections on the watermains and 69 cut and caps. This does
not include tapping new services or witnessing old service abandonment. This work
requires 48 hours to schedule and is driven by new development and watermain
replacement work.
Anodes are installed on existing watermains whenever they are exposed (e.g. watermain
breaks, valve repairs, hydrant repairs).
Pressure Reducing Valves (PRVs)were inspected in 2019.
An auto flusher was installed at the end of Strasburg Road watermain to improve water
quality.
A new process was developed for vacuum excavator work(generally curb stop related,
demolition)to better track locates and status of work.
Curb stop repairs were contracted out in the fall to better align resources (a crew is no
longer required).
Chamber inspections/pump outs for chambers containing air relief valves – approximately
135 occurred in 2019. Air reliefs are a potential risk to the system if they become
submerged and there is a watermain break or incident in the distribution system. In late
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2019/early 2020,five air relief valves were installed with boulevard configurations,
eliminating the chamber. The replacements were successful and moving forward, there
will be an air relief replacement program to eliminate this source of risk from the
distribution system.
A Watermain break app was rolled-out at the end of 2019. The intent of the app is to
provide real-time information to customers via website – for example the status of the
repair (under investigation, repair), suspected length of time for an outageand road
closures. If a watermain break is initially though to take 6 hours to repair and there are
issues, the information can be updated with a new time. The app also loops into popular
traffic apps for road closures and routes. Keeping traffic away from the area increases but
staff and public safety. Customers can also sign up for emails at
https://subscribe.kitchener.ca/subscribe
Hydrant painting was not completed in 2018.
Action: No further action required – for information only
Effectiveness of Maintenance
The effectiveness of the maintenance program is determined by the following factors:
Number of Adverse Water Quality Incidents
Water loss/unaccounted for water
Water quality complaints
Number of watermain breaks
There were 26 AWQIs.
Water loss/unaccounted for waterwas 11.0%.
The number of quality complaints was at 295, 36% of which were related to discoloured
water and 51% pressure (largely internal issues). The remainders included complaints
relating to hard water (new residents are not always familiar with hard water), and
general safety concerns. The watermain cleaning program has decreased the number of
complaints. A map of discoloured water locations is included at the back of the report. It
is anticipated that the Strange Street upgrades will decrease the volume of discoloured
water complaints and reactive flushing.
There were 90 watermain breaks in 2019, which is lower than the 5-year average of 95
breaks/year.
Action: No further action required – for information only
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Operational Plan Currency, Content and Updates
Over 35 associated work instructions were either created or significantly modified.
New procedure for Infrastructure Maintenance Rehab and Renal in September.
Document Control procedure was updated as per the External Audit.
Risk Assessment Procedure was updated as per the External Audit.
Review and Provision of Infrastructure procedure was updated to DWQMS 2.0.
Management Review procedure was updated to DWQMS 2.0.
Action: No further action required – for information only
Staff Suggestions
Staff suggestions are included under the new Continual Improvement section of the report.
Other
Water Meter Replacement - 5036 aging water meters were replaced. There are 67,608
meters in the system with a backlog of approximately 14,000 meters to be replaced
(replacement is targeted at 15 years for residential meters).
Kitchener Utilities in conjunction with Asset Management revised condition score criteria
for watermains. Score is based on watermain material, age, history of breaks, suspected
streets with lead, service break history and shallow infrastructure. Other considerations
including undersized mains, exposed infrastructure, water quality, potential loopings or
orphaned mains (small piece of iron sandwiched between plastic) are included, however
are not provided with a score. This is used with the criticality score to determine overall
scores.The scores are combines with those of other infrastructure (sanitary, storm and
road) to determine those, which are triple-funded replacement projects. Those
watermains that do not meet the requirements for triple-funded may be identified as
water only projects. Additional work to occur in 2020 to identify water driven projects.
Development growth is anticipated to continue with both new subdivision, site plans and
redevelopment, which creates on-demand inspection requirements for final connections,
tappings and cut and caps.
Water Consumption Trends – water consumption has increased in 2019 as it was
projected to do (population demand outpaces water conservation measures). It could be
that the trend may fluctuate a bit based on weather until population growth demands
outpace water conservation measures.
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It should be noted that the sanitary fees are based on the water consumption data so
when consumption declines, it impacts both the water and sanitary budgets.
Locates - Kitchener Utilities and their Locate Service Provider physically locate gas and
water infrastructure for contractors prior to construction and excavation work.
Approximately 14,727 locates were completed in 2019which is slightly below 2018
levels. Locate volumes are driven by customer requests and construction.
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Action: No further action required – for information only
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Appendix
Water Distribution System Map
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