What! Is This Another Oops ? And More Of Our Money Wasted?
Mr Woodman,
Interesting to read your and Mr Clifton’s comments on the large meter replacement project. If I am reading the current Project Manager Report and the Danus Utilities contract extension (withdrawn from the current City Council agenda) correctly, the large meter replacement project is almost complete!! I seems that all but $6.00 of the $699,897.00 budgeted for the project has been spent or encumbered and Danus has replaced 22 of the 23 meters specified in their contract–HUBBA! HUBBA!
Now you guys are trying to bust my bubble with more inferences that all is not as it seems in the Public Utilities Department? That these meters may not have been installed properly and may not be working properly? Unfortunately, with all the management snafus in the department, it is all too easy to believe.
Mr Woodman, if I recall correctly, you mentioned once before that these meters require certain minimum lengths of straight pipe before and after the actual meter in order to function properly. Is this related to what you mean when you say they may be improperly installed? Seems like now would be the appropriate time for the City to do some checking–before the project is completely closed out. Maybe Councilman Ford can ask for another report that can be ignored by the Department head and City Manager.
Wish I had your level of expertise and experience–have lots of questions but nowhere to go for answers. If you get a chance, please look at the Change Order to the South Atlantic Ave and Ridgewood Ave Watermain Adjustments Project and tell me where on the plans I can find the addition of “Cap and Abandon Watermain” that was not in the original contract.
Thanks,
Mike Gardner
618 Ruth St
Port Orange, FL 32127
386-527-1959
manddgardner@cfl.rr.com
There is an example of an improperly installed large meter on Dunlawton just west of the Circle K next to the sidewalk that feeds the apartments. You need at least a 5 pipe diameter length of straight pipe before the meter and at least a 2 pipe diameter length of straight pipe after the meter as a general rule or it will not be accurate. This can vary slightly between manufacturers. You should check with manufacturer for proper installation. We have them all over like this. Take a picture and show it to council. You can google the information for proper installation of large meters.
As for the water main projects I would have to review the plans and talk to the project manager for an explanation. I can think of some possible scenarios for this but without reviewing the plans and talking to the project manager it would be conjecture. I doubt that I would be allowed to talk to anyone. I’m public enemy #1 to city management. They should bring the plans and explanation before council with enough advanced notice for them to be able to make an informed decision if they can trust what they are being told. We should all be very skeptical about anything coming out of management.
Hey folks I have an idea for a joint award that can be given to the city manager, the recently resigned ex-utilities director, and the remaining assistant utilities director affectionately referred to as the tree amigos. You can take this award link and modify it with a video , pictures, and narration of the dozens of improperly installed large compound meters at large condominium complexes and in the narration describe the millions of dollars of lost utilities revenues to date.
Do you think that might be why the agenda item for more money for large meter replacement to be installed by Danus Construction Company was just pulled from the consent agenda after this information that the Lifesaver hasso desperately tried to suppress for so long has finally been made known?
Clarification on large meter installation. If you have six in. diameter line 6×5 = 30 inches of straight pipe before meter. 6×2= twelve inches of straight pipe after meter. Valves, check valves and fittings such as 90 degree or 45 degree etc. fittings interfere with the accuracy of the meter due to slowing of velocity, turbulence and or cavitation. Even with a compound meter which is designed to measure a wide range of flows if you bolt a check valve on directly after the meter it can slow the velocity of the water enough to cause the meter to read low in some situations and it may not read at all in a low flow situation.
If the Woodman Report on the large meter debacle is found to have any merit, which I would say it does not only have merit but it is spot on, then who was driving this bus? Remember a large part of this has happened during Mr. Kisela’s tenure. At the last council meeting Mr. Kisela said he was assuming the position of acting utility director because he possesses all of that expertise. I suppose he was speaking about his stint as utility director in Fort Lauderdale and his previous private utility management assignment.
Kisela hired Jason Yarborough, his direct report who was over the public utility department and has been begging at the budgetary bowl for more money to ramp up these screwed up installations. Kisela hired him even though Yarborough did not directly apply for the job, has no employment application on record, had no background investigation performed on him, was forced to resign from his last utility directors position, and was just forced to resign for potentially recidivistic acts here at the City of Port Orange.
Yarboroughs assistant public utility director who has been with the city for over 25 years and is directly overseeing the large meter replacement program is the one that has gone on record repeatedly advocating these improper installations even though he has been warned about this repeatedly by various technical staff in the public utilities department time and time again. He is also close friends with the contractor that has been the sole vendor performing these installations as directed by city staff.
In the ensuing days there will be an internal review to determine the merit and findings of the allegations not only made by Mr. Woodman in his report, but by reputable public utilities technical staff that is supported by factory representatives of the meters installed, There are many that speculate whether this will be a fact finding or a whitewashing session, but by the people comprising this session, and the fact that some of the most technically astute individuals in the department that were against these installations from the start are not included in these sessions, it only raises suspicions that a cover up is underway. This is in the face of Lori Brown’s from channel 9 news coming to Port Orange to interview the city manager on this debacle.
If the city manager possesses the public utilities expertise that he has indicated at the council meeting, and he set up the management and facilitation of this ramped up large meter replacement program, and the city has potentially lost millions of dollars in lost revenue from unregistered water usage, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of dollars to go back and correct these installations, who do you think should be accountable for this?
The mayor and the city manager took a hard line about firing Tom Cinefro, a middle manager that was harvested as a scapegoat in the $411,000 overspending of a purchase order while working in a department that city council has acknowledged as being understaffed and over stressed. This large meter debacle dwarfs that and there is a clear line of responsibility with the city manager leading that list. If in fact Cinefro bears any responsibility for what they fired him for, there is no question, that Kisela, Yarborough, and the assistant public utilities director bear full responsibility for this metering debacle with Kisela leading the list.
Hopefully the city council does not allow him to spend untold tens of thousands of dollars bringing in another Range Rider or engineering consultant to put a little Vaseline petroleum jelly and a spin on this so they do not feel it when he and the mayor attempt to slip it up their and the taxpayer’s rectums. That would be a work of art because it would be the granddaddy of cover ups. Who knows maybe they secretly like taking it in the back door but us taxpayers don’t. We will have to see if this shit floats, but if it does than it only gets worse from there.
I have been researching large meter installation on the web. Anyone interested can also do this. There is a lot of information that you can find for yourselves. I was involved with large meter installation for the 36 years that I was with the city utilities department. I have been to meter schools and training. There are a number of the more highly experienced technically trained utilities workers that know how to properly install and maintain meters. One problem is that the people or person directly involved with the meter installation don’t have the knowledge and qualifications to be involved at the level that they are.
Anyone can consult the meter manufacturer and find out the proper installation. It’s that simple. Someone find out the what meters they are using, call or check with the manufacturer ands ask about the proper plumbing configuration for installation. That will shut down any attempt to cover anything up in it’s tracks. Someone needs to go out to these meters to take pictures and measurements then it’s over.
You don’t need $consultants$ or cover up committees. If someone trustworthy does what I just outlined they can’t weasel out of it. I know some people at the city that can be trusted to do an honest review of the meter installations These are some of the best and brightest technical award winning employees.
Mr Woodman,
I finally got out to look at the large meter installation west of the Circle K (see attached photo). You are 100% correct. Neptune recommends a minimum of 4 X pipe diameter of straight pipe upstream of the meter if a strainer is installed (one is installed in this case). As you can see there is no straight pipe between the strainer and the upstream elbow. Neptune also recommends 4 X pipe diameter of straight pipe downstream of the meter but I suspect that the downstream backflow preventer might suffice here?
You are also correct about the level of expertise needed to evaluate these types of meter installations. On a good day I can glue a piece of household PVC pipe or sweat a copper fitting and have them not leak (on a GOOD day) but I ain’t no plumbing expert. The real problem will crop up when it comes time to do something about these installations. Manager Kisela said at the last City Council meeting that because meters were not installed according to manufacturer’s directions “doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be inaccurate.” What kind of crap is that?! I ain’t no expert on city management either, but that kind of thinking is simply not acceptable.
Mike Gardner
618 Ruth St
Port Orange, FL 32127
386-527-1959
manddgardner@cfl.rr.com
Thank You for posting this. The truth exposed.
There is no straight line before or after this meter. In this case the check valve makes the situation worse. The check valve plate sits in the middle of the flow stream thus slowing down and or interfering with the flow velocity. The meters rely on velocity at flow rate for accuracy. There is a mathematical equation that uses quantity, velocity and area for calibrating meters like these and pipe sizing. In this case the flow hits a wall and has to flow around the check valve plate slowing the velocity and does not allow for calming of turbulence. In a low flow situation the flow isn’t great enough to fully open the check valve and the water just seeps through around the check valve plate taking the flow velocity to almost zero which wont turn the register as it should.
Meter accuracy relies on an even low turbulence flow at the proper velocity through the center of the pipe. That’s what the straight pipe before and after the meter provides. This photo is an example of this just being bolted together without due diligence and consideration to proper installation. This exercise in meter replacement is an illusion that we are actively replacing old meters to recover revenue. it looks good on the surface but it only makes the situation worse.
I and other current employee have preached about doing half ass work like this for years but we always have amateurs in management that won’t listen to what they consider lesser employees. We have other examples of money wasted on appearances instead of practicality.
Like that line in the Jimmy Buffett song, (All the stories we could tell if it all blows up and goes to hell.) I have worked in utilities for 41 years, 36 of them for Port Orange. I have done virtually every job in the business. I’ve been around the block a few times and I hope I learned a few things along the way.
Why would meter manufactures have specific installation directions? Is it to insure accuracy? These people spend a lot of money and hours doing research and development for their products. There has been a great amount of research and many studies done on this subject by universities, agricultural associations, utilities systems, the AWWA not to mention the manufacturers. They are all over the web.
That statement by the CM was almost ludicrous and flies in the face of years of testing, studies and research. I hope he is right for the taxpayers sake. So much for transparency. There is a fog bank moving in.