Respect the Marks

Every digging project requires a call to 811. Calling 811 a few days prior to digging gives utility and cable companies time to mark and protect their lines.

Just call 8-1-1. A representative will take your address and the location on your property where you plan to dig. The affected utility companies will be notified and send a professional locator to the digging site to mark the approximate location of the underground lines. Sometimes, just by looking at maps, they'll be able to tell it is safe to dig and you'll receive an email telling you no marking is necessary and you can begin your project.

If lines are marked, you should respect the marks and dig carefully around them.

Have lines remarked for each separate project. A foot one way or another can make a difference.

Even if you have hired a contractor, make sure they called 8-1-1 before beginning your project. Ask them. Ask to see the all-clear email if no one has come out to mark lines.

There are more than 170,000 unintentional hits of underground lines annually across the country, and one out of every three of those incidents are the result of not calling 811. Hitting an underground utility line can cause serious injuries, disrupt service to entire neighborhoods, and potentially result in fines and repair costs to you.

Visit www.va811.com for more information

City's Green Roof

Green Roof on the Effluent Filtration Building

The green roof on the top of the Effluent Filtration Building at the Wastewater Treatment Plant was installed in the fall of 2010. It cost $80,000 to install the plants on the 6,000 square foot roof.

The plants are sedum, alliums, and euphorbia, selected for their ability to withstand drought, wind and sun. They have shallow root structure, making them ideal for roof landscaping where a deep soil is not possible. The plants also provide many months of flowering blooms.

Green roofs reduce urban heat from roof top reflections, reduce stormwater run-off, absorb air pollution, protect the roof from UV ray degradation, provide a natural habitat for birds and small animals, reduce the heat load to the building in the summer and provide additional insulation in the winter.

The next goal is to install a green roof on the new Ultraviolet Disinfection Facility, a 2,000 square foot surface, for an estimated cost of $35,000. This project is scheduled for fall 2012. The project construction manager is Arcadis and engineers are Greeley and Hansen.

Meter Reading - It's All Done Electronically Now

Imagine driving by every single home, apartment and business in the city of Richmond, Henrico County all the way to the Goochland county line, and parts of Hanover every single month – at 20 mph?

That’s what the employees of the city of Richmond Department of Public Utilities’ Meter Reading Department do in order to electronically collect the data necessary to send out accurate water and gas bills to customers.

Years ago, it was an even more daunting task when meters were manually read by gas and water service technicians who had to walk into every yard to read the meter. With the advent of computers, a city vehicle equipped with a mobile data collector can record the readings transmitted by antennas on gas and water meters as the vehicle slowly passes the location.

As each neighborhood is scanned block by block, the computer shows the meters that were missed and each missed location is immediately revisited. If the meter still doesn’t register, a gas and water service technician visits the location the following day to investigate and fix the problem. Typical problems include old antenna batteries – they have an average lifespan of 7-10 years, the water meter well is flooded from a recent rain, or the customer has cut or damaged the wire to the antenna.

A typical day’s route might drive by anywhere from 5,000 to 20,000 meters and take as long as 10 hours to complete. On some routes, it’s necessary to drive through alleyways behind houses or pull into driveways in order to pick up the signal.

Typical types of antennas found on water and gas meters.

A service technician loads a computer with the day's route on it into the data collector strapped to the passenger seat.

Instead of a service technician in your yard, you're more likely to catch a glimpse of a city vehicle driving slowly down your street on meter-reading day.

City Reduces Fluoride Levels in Drinking Water

The city of Richmond Department of Public Utilities has reduced the fluoride levels in the drinking water treatment process from 0.90 milligrams per liter (mg\l) to 0.70 mg\l of water, effective March 1, 2011.

This comes as a result of a January 2011 recommendation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In a joint press release, HHS proposed "that the recommended level of fluoride in drinking water can be set at the lowest end of the current optimal range to prevent tooth decay." This replaces the previous recommended range of 0.7 to 1.2 milligrams per liter. The reasons for the change include the increased access of Americans to more sources of fluoride. The new guidance updates and replaces recommendations provided in 1962 by the U.S. Public Health Service.

"Reducing the fluoride dose will not require a change in the city's drinking water treatment process and comes at no increase in cost," said Bob Steidel, director of the Richmond Department of Public Utilities. "Based upon the EPA and HHS recommendation, we want to ensure that we are doing everything we can to maximize the health benefits of our city's drinking water fluoridation process."

Dr. Donald Stern, Richmond City director of Public Health, noted that "the U.S. Centers for Disease Control considers water fluoridation one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century due to its contribution to improved dental health. Extensive literature review has shown that the new fluoridation standard is best to prevent disease while avoiding excess fluoride exposure."

For more information about national and state drinking water regulations for fluoride, visit the EPA website, the Center for Disease Control, or the Virginia Office of Drinking Water.

DPU Receives NBP EMS Certification

The city of Richmond's Department of Public Utilities received National Biosolids Partnership (NBP) certification of its environmental management system following a verification audit report by NSF International Strategic Registrations on Jan. 14, 2011. DPU is the 32nd organization and second in Virginia to achieve NBP certification.

To learn more about the city's biosolids program, visit our web page.