SOMEBODY FLIPPING ONE FUCKING SWITCH WOULD HAVE KEPT AUSTIN IN WATER

[TexasEd 8066]

Actually reading the pass-down report would have taken time away from what I imagine the priorities were.  Surfing pron or playing call of duty.

[zman13 179]

Improvements, hiring at Austin Water likely remedies for boil-water notice - Austin MonitorAustin Monitor

 

The city appears likely to approve a special budget item that will pay for more than a dozen new hires and operational software improvements at Austin Water.

City Council’s Austin Water Oversight Committee voted unanimously Thursday to support the recommendations of staff that were the result of the investigation into what caused a three-day boil-water notice in early February for customers of the utility. That vote moves the proposed expenditure forward for a vote at a future Council meeting.

City leaders had considered making a bill credit to customers part of the after-action steps, but recent memos from Austin Water have supported making investments in staff, equipment and software instead. The cost for those improvements, including 16 full-time positions, is expected to be around $2 million.

Earlier this week, Austin Water released the report detailing its internal investigation into how the turbidity, or cloudiness, of water coming out of the Ullrich Water Treatment Plant increased far past allowable levels on the evening of Feb. 4, leading to the shutdown of the plant and the boil-water notice the next day.

The report found the three-person overnight team monitoring the plant overlooked notices of equipment issues that needed their attention, misdiagnosed the cause of the increasingly cloudy water, and failed to inform supervisors of the problems that accumulated over the course of the 12-hour shift that ended at 7 a.m.

When the next day’s team took over that morning, they quickly noticed and diagnosed the problems and the plant was shut down in about two hours.

Stephanie Sue, water treatment operations manager for the utility, said the incident shows a clear need for Austin Water staff to work on training around following standard operating procedures.

“It is sad and it’s frustrating that the inaction by this team that night was the direct cause of the boil-water notice and impacted the lives of the citizens of the city of Austin,” she said. “And above that it’s unfair that the staff that is doing great quality work and are hard-working at my plant are now having to suffer the intense scrutiny that’s being brought by this boil-water notice.”

It was the city’s third boil notice since late 2018.

Sue said that changes to practices including making it possible for supervisors to remotely check in on plant monitors will help prevent a repeat of the episode. But she said a severe shortage of workers and open positions has put excess pressure on her staff.

“The business of running a water treatment plant is not something we can automate. It’s not something robots can do, so it’s something where we have to rely heavily on our people and invest in our people to be successful,” she said.

“We are very challenged with our workforce right now. We have numerous vacancies and we have a market study happening right now that’s shown on the operations side that we are not competitive with other utilities, not to mention other businesses in Austin that pay more for less responsibility.”

Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter said she wants Sue and other water utility leadership to report back with a timeline for the planned improvements and hiring, with details about other possible information gaps that need to be addressed.

“The piece that confounds me is with the supervisory side, in particular in 2022 there are systems that enable alarms to be sent to supervisors but we didn’t have autonomous notifications going out to supervisors,” she said. “Why didn’t we have that set up, and where else don’t we have that set up where we need it in our plant?”

Following the disclosure that a team member involved in the problem had said “weak crews talk to supervisors” as an explanation for why there was no notification of the deteriorating conditions, Council Member Ann Kitchen said training and work to change culture and attitudes may be necessary.

“I’m trying to get an idea if what we’re talking about is a lack of knowledge or a lack of recognition of what the issue was, as opposed to not understanding the importance of bringing in supervisory assistance,” she said. “I would hope that drilling down into that kind of an attitude or culture can be addressed, in addition to what’s going on just with the knowledge base.”

Edited April 4, 2022 by zman13

[Hefeweizen 5311]

Haha I know that lady from when she was at Arcadis.  That explains a lot since she doesn’t have an operational background…

[Guest Lobo]

Which lady?

[Deej 76759]

On 3/30/2022 at 4:09 PM, TexasEd said:

Actually reading the pass-down report would have taken time away from what I imagine the priorities were.  Surfing pron or posting on Surly.

Fixed

[Hefeweizen 5311]

22 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Which lady?

Stephanie Sue.  Water treatment operations manager.  She was a design engineer when I dealt with her a few years ago.

[WBT 20561]

1 hour ago, zman13 said:

“And above that it’s unfair that the staff that is doing great quality work and are hard-working at my plant are now having to suffer the intense scrutiny that’s being brought by this boil-water notice.”

It was the city’s third boil notice since late 2018.

Sue said that changes to practices including making it possible for supervisors to remotely check in on plant monitors will help prevent a repeat of the episode. But she said a severe shortage of workers and open positions has put excess pressure on her staff.

“The business of running a water treatment plant is not something we can automate. It’s not something robots can do, so it’s something where we have to rely heavily on our people and invest in our people to be successful,” she said.

Torbush.

1. What is unfair about it?  I had a boss that used to say that you'll be fine if you do your job well but if you screw up you get help and you may not like it.
2. How the hell have they not had remote access to process monitoring/control data until now?  What year is this?
3. That's a terrible attitude toward automation.  Plants should be automated as much as possible.  Computers don't screw up nearly as much as operators do.

[Scheiss Meister 8407]

2 hours ago, Hefeweizen said:

Stephanie Sue.  Water treatment operations manager.  She was a design engineer when I dealt with her a few years ago.

Lots of engineers think that their engineering degree makes them operators by default.  Just because you can draw it up doesn't mean you can run it.

[Scheiss Meister 8407]

2 hours ago, WBT said:

Torbush.

1. What is unfair about it?  I had a boss that used to say that you'll be fine if you do your job well but if you screw up you get help and you may not like it.
2. How the hell have they not had remote access to process monitoring/control data until now?  What year is this?
3. That's a terrible attitude toward automation.  Plants should be automated as much as possible.  Computers don't screw up nearly as much as operators do.

1.  Shitting on the crew that did it right during the day shift because the night shift shat the bed is stupid.  Leadership responsible for the night shift, yes, but not those who did their jobs correctly, then recognized and corrected the problem shortly after the start of their shift.

2.  I can't speak to the capabilities of that particular system, but it sounded to me like such notification was available, but someone opted not to implement it.

3.  To a point.  Sensors generally don't let you know when they fail.  Depending on where a failure occurs, the faulty reading can look like everything is ok when it isn't.  If you have automation getting one or more faulty inputs, you get faulty automation.  Good operators are needed to monitor automation.  It also sounds like that system is automated, and functioned as it was set to function.  When new conditions arose, operator input was needed, but not provided.

Automating surface water and wastewater treatment is not as easy as it sounds.  There are many changing conditions that change in different ways and combinations, and it is not easy to anticipate every eventuality. 

[freyguy 4267]

Sounds like the culture from top-to-bottom needed to be cleaned out, as they were all outdated and complacent.

Clarifying water to a drinkable state is an established process that's been around for a long fucking time.  It hasn't changed that much.  So things like automation, fault detection, preventive maintenance and having a strong process control system in place only make sense in order to improve reliability.  If you skimp on any of that, then you're setting your entity up for failure.

If you don't have the mental capacity to embrace technology, then you should go play intramurals....those fuckers should be fired on the spot.  (not directed at you Herr Scheiss, but the goons at Austin Water)

Edited April 5, 2022 by freyguy

[Biff Tannen 45673]

On 3/30/2022 at 3:04 PM, atomheartbevo said:

I feel like we should go out and hire some Navy vets who managed various water/circulation/etc. systems on submarines or aircraft carriers, because they seem like they wouldn't overlook a lot of stuff and/or would act immediately to correct problems.

[Scheiss Meister 8407]

7 minutes ago, freyguy said:

Sounds like the culture from top-to-bottom needed to be cleaned out, as they were all outdated and complacent.

Clarifying water to a drinkable state is an established process that's been around for a long fucking time.  It hasn't changed that much.  So things like automation, fault detection, preventive maintenance and having a strong process control system in place only make sense in order to improve reliability.  If you skimp on any of that, then you're setting your entity up for failure.

If you don't have the mental capacity to embrace technology, then you should go play intramurals....those fuckers should be fired on the spot.  (not directed at you Herr Scheiss, but the goons at Austin Water)

Not taken as being directed at me.  You are correct about the leadership clean up.  But the way municipalities work, the three schmucks on duty will be canned and everyone above them will be tasked with preventing the problems they allowed in the first place.

My experience with automation is that it is a force multiplier, but not a substitute for brains.  It is also quite expensive, if done correctly, and taxpayers generally bitch a lot about paying for a good automation system. 

[atomheartbevo 89647]

https://www.kxan.com/news/memo-austin-water-anticipates-drought-water-restrictions-soon/

Quote

 In a memo to Austin council members, Austin Water’s interim director said staff anticipates drought response stage one regulations will be triggered “in the near future.” 

This would be the first water restriction stage since November 2018 when Austin entered its base water conservation stage.

Quote

The combined storage of Lake Buchanan and Lake Travis will soon fall below 1.4 million acre-feet, which will trigger the regulations, interim director Robert Goode wrote in the May 20 memo. Lake Travis is at its lowest level since 2015 at about 16 feet below average. 

The main change under state one restrictions is the reduction of automatic irrigation hours, the memo said. Hours will be limited to between 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. 

According to the memo, here’s what stage one restrictions include: 

• Customers continue the once-per-week watering schedule for automatic irrigation. 
• Customers continue the twice-per-week watering schedule for hose watering.
• The number of available watering hours reduces from 15 hours to 13 hours. This includes hours from midnight to 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. to midnight. 
• These watering types have no restrictions: athletic field watering; drip irrigation; hand-held watering with hose; watering trees with automatic bubblers; automatic drip irrigation or with a soaker hose beneath the tree canopy and in vegetable gardens. 
• Commercial customers continue limiting the use of patio misters between 4 p.m. and midnight. 
• Commercial car washes can operate normally. 
• Residential car washes and outdoor surface washing are allowed with a positive shut-off valve or a bucket.

[Judge Roybeanbag 11819]

1 hour ago, atomheartbevo said:

https://www.kxan.com/news/memo-austin-water-anticipates-drought-water-restrictions-soon/

According to the memo, here’s what stage one restrictions include: 

• Customers continue the once-per-week watering schedule for automatic irrigation. 
• Customers continue the twice-per-week watering schedule for hose watering.
• The number of available watering hours reduces from 15 hours to 13 hours. This includes hours from midnight to 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. to midnight. 
• These watering types have no restrictions: athletic field watering; drip irrigation; hand-held watering with hose; watering trees with automatic bubblers; automatic drip irrigation or with a soaker hose beneath the tree canopy and in vegetable gardens. 
• Commercial customers continue limiting the use of patio misters between 4 p.m. and midnight. 
• Commercial car washes can operate normally. 
• Residential car washes and outdoor surface washing are allowed with a positive shut-off valve or a bucket.

What’s funny is most of us have been doing the above, all along.  Anyone who wasn’t should be kicked in their tiny balls.  

[atomheartbevo 89647]

June 6, stage one kicking in

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/come-june-6-austin-will-be-in-stage-1-water-restrictions/

[Samson's Wig 3191]

Gotta love that the cult of sports we maintain ensures that one of the biggest water consuming activities there is (watering athletic fields) will continue even in drought conditions. 

With the rates we pay for water to those criminals downtown they should be able to truck in more water than we could ever use.

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

8 hours ago, Samson's Wig said:

Gotta love that the cult of sports we maintain ensures that one of the biggest water consuming activities there is (watering athletic fields) will continue even in drought conditions. 

With the rates we pay for water to those criminals downtown they should be able to truck in more water than we could ever use.

Look if we don't start conversation now how else are we going to help shore up the 7.3 billion gallon loss in our water system due to leaky pipes each year? 

 

https://www.kxan.com/investigations/austin-water-utility-leaks-at-10-year-high/

Edited May 29, 2022 by Grade of D as in David

[freyguy 4267]

See, this stuff is hard.  Just give the city your tax $ and let them dig a shit ass tunnel and build more hike & bike trails.  That way we'll be cool, but still Austiny.

[TKthunder2 4988]

1 hour ago, Grade of D as in David said:

Look if we don't start conversation now how else are we going to help shore up the 7.3 billion gallon loss in our water system due to leaky pipes each year? 

 

https://www.kxan.com/investigations/austin-water-utility-leaks-at-10-year-high/

Seriously, with all this new tax revenue you’d think they’d start trying to fix up our infrastructure.  Water and power seem like no brainers.  The amount of water lost through shitty pipes is ludicrous.

[Deej 76759]

They were probably too busy raping and robbing people to flip the switch. 

Quote

An Austin Water employee is accused of raping and robbing a woman while on the clock June 3, according to an Austin Police Department arrest affidavit.

Corie Darian Cornist Jr., 31, faces charges of second-degree sexual assault and second-degree robbery by assault.

https://www.kxan.com/news/crime/city-employee-accused-of-rape-robbery-while-on-the-clock/

[Texas Jeff 1945]

On 5/29/2022 at 7:48 PM, TKthunder2 said:

Seriously, with all this new tax revenue you’d think they’d start trying to fix up our infrastructure.  Water and power seem like no brainers.  The amount of water lost through shitty pipes is ludicrous.

They are replacing all of the water pipes in my neighborhood.  Our current pipes were installed in the late 1940s and they would break 2-3 times per year, pouring water into the street.  My neighbor had designed water catching containers with pumps to redirect the water into his yard during these events.

It's just taking forever to do it.  They've been planning this for at least three years and the streets will need to be resurfaced after they finish.

The breaks and leaks were so bad that I'm a little worried for the trees after they fix the problem.  It will be nice to no longer have crews digging up yards at midnight to stop a leak.

[UTexasFight 9431]

13 hours ago, Texas Jeff said:

 It will be nice to no longer have crews digging up yards at midnight to stop a leak.

I know a guy if they need help digging a hole 

[atomheartbevo 89647]

5 minutes ago, UTexasFight said:

I know a guy if they need help digging a hole 

Does he dig the hole in advance?  

Because if he doesn't dig the hole in advance, somebody may come along and he may have to dig a few more holes and be there all fucking night.