LA Tech Engineers Always on the Cutting Edge

[Dawgpix]

I think Dwayne is the only one old enough to know......

thanks, Champ . . .

[ChipDog]

The company I work for is the engineer for a sewer district and a water district. We finally convinced the sewer district that it was time to up their rates after 20+ years of something like a $12/month sewer bill. They also had not taken out a bond since the original one to build the system. All of the repairs and major jobs were handled within their budget.

The water district on the other hand, is currently spending money left and right upgrading their system. Two new 300,000 gallon elevated storage tanks, new treatment plant, and about 25,000' of new lines are going to be built within a two-year timeline.

There is no need raise taxes - yes our water bill is a tax - there is plenty of money to do the important things if we could just stop the politicians from squandering our money on social programs!

[jellidawg]

There is no need raise taxes - yes our water bill is a tax - there is plenty of money to do the important things if we could just stop the politicians from squandering our money on social programs!

The problem with that is most water and sewer districts only get "tax money" (or Federal grants) based on need and inability to pay on bonds because of the number of customers they serve. Even most of the Clean Water money that LADEQ has available is a long-term loan (at 0.95% interest). Also, there are some utility providers out there that are not tied to a municipality general fund. They must be self-generating. I understand that some municipalities provide water and sewer service and they use additional revenue from the increased rates in their general fund, but not all providers are like that. If rates aren't being raised to provide revenue to something besides water or sewer departments, I disagree that rates shouldn't be raised. They should at least keep up with inflation, but most of the time, EPA makes changes to the treatment regulations that cause plant upgrades that provide better water or sewer effluent.

[Champ967]

A fee for service does not a tax make. If you don't want to have a water bill, then turn off your faucet.

What sort of social programs does your local water district offer?

[TechAlum05]

The problem with that is most water and sewer districts only get "tax money" (or Federal grants) based on need and inability to pay on bonds because of the number of customers they serve. Even most of the Clean Water money that LADEQ has available is a long-term loan (at 0.95% interest). Also, there are some utility providers out there that are not tied to a municipality general fund. They must be self-generating. I understand that some municipalities provide water and sewer service and they use additional revenue from the increased rates in their general fund, but not all providers are like that. If rates aren't being raised to provide revenue to something besides water or sewer departments, I disagree that rates shouldn't be raised. They should at least keep up with inflation, but most of the time, EPA makes changes to the treatment regulations that cause plant upgrades that provide better water or sewer effluent.

+1

[JuBru]

There is no need raise taxes - yes our water bill is a tax - there is plenty of money to do the important things if we could just stop the politicians from squandering our money on social programs!

Naive.

[Nuke Dawg]

I am the Newcomb in the story. Dr. Allouche and his team will be coming to Slidell in March for a demo and to collect data. He and a team came in right after Katrina to conduct research concerning the effects of salt water intrusion on underground utilities and the cumulative long term effects. His predictions were spot on. we're looking forward to participating fully.

Nuke

[ChipDog]

Naive.

Yes - but don't beat yourself up about it.

I too was once that way until I got to start seeing some of the real waste.

[JuBru]

Yes - but don't beat yourself up about it.

I too was once that way until I got to start seeing some of the real waste.

Nice try on the attempt to turn that on me, but you failed.

[Champ967]

I too was once that way until I got to start seeing some of the real waste.

There are several steps you can take if you're concerned about waste from your local water district --

Fix leaky faucets.
Take a short shower instead of a bath.
Turn of the water while you brush your teeth.
Install low-flo toilets, or put a brick in your tank.


I'm sure you can come up with some more ways to fight waste from the water utility serving your community.

[turbodawg]

There are several steps you can take if you're concerned about waste from your local water district --

Fix leaky faucets.
Take a short shower instead of a bath.
Turn of the water while you brush your teeth.
Install low-flo toilets, or put a brick in your tank.


I'm sure you can come up with some more ways to fight waste from the water utility serving your community.

LDHH's Revolving Loan Program - which helps fund capital improvements to public water systems in the boot-shaped state - is a social program...

[Champ967]

LDHH's Revolving Loan Program - which helps fund capital improvements to public water systems in the boot-shaped state - is a social program...

Then we may have different understandings of what constitutes a social program.

Development and maintenance of public infrastructure strikes me more as a "core" govt function.

But there's another forum for discussions like this ... wanna meet over there?

[ChipDog]

Nice try on the attempt to turn that on me, but you failed.

Sorry. I didn't realize we were on opposite sides of the fence.

Which city government do you feel is doing a good job in this area?

A city had a community center with a swimming pool for its residents of a certain neighborhood. The water line, also owned by that same city, that serviced the community center was in such poor condition that often the pool was not usable. The engineer's estimate to replace the problematic section of the water line was $150,000. Instead of letting a project to replace the water line, the city let and completed a $174,000 project to add waterpark-type features to enhance the enjoyment of the pool.

This probably disappointed local engineering firms, certainly excited the architect that handled the pool improvements, certainly guaranteed the re-election of a city councilperson, AGC was happy because money was spent on construction, a building contractor was happy, civil contractors were in the same boat with the consulting engineers, and taxpayers never new what happened.

I fell on the same side of the fence with taxpayers and non-architects on this one.

[jellidawg]

Sorry. I didn't realize we were on opposite sides of the fence.

Which city government do you feel is doing a good job in this area?

A city had a community center with a swimming pool for its residents of a certain neighborhood. The water line, also owned by that same city, that serviced the community center was in such poor condition that often the pool was not usable. The engineer's estimate to replace the problematic section of the water line was $150,000. Instead of letting a project to replace the water line, the city let and completed a $174,000 project to add waterpark-type features to enhance the enjoyment of the pool.

This probably disappointed local engineering firms, certainly excited the architect that handled the pool improvements, certainly guaranteed the re-election of a city councilperson, AGC was happy because money was spent on construction, a building contractor was happy, civil contractors were in the same boat with the consulting engineers, and taxpayers never new what happened.

I fell on the same side of the fence with taxpayers and non-architects on this one.

Do you think that could the "enhancement" project was paid for by a certain type of grant? If it was a grant, that is what it was meant to do, enhance. They also have grants for waterline improvements. There is a difference. The civil engineers that did the plans for the waterline should have secured funding for the waterline project, as I am sure that the architect did for the swimming pool enhancements.

[champion110]

Do you think that could the "enhancement" project was paid for by a certain type of grant? If it was a grant, that is what it was meant to do, enhance. They also have grants for waterline improvements. There is a difference. The civil engineers that did the plans for the waterline should have secured funding for the waterline project, as I am sure that the architect did for the swimming pool enhancements.

Then find out if it was a federal grant, state grant, private grant, or private grant given government incentives for giving grants. All come in some form from tax money. If it was totally private, dig a little and see what tax breaks they get too.....