By Jason Dailey, Director, Public Works
In 2008, Cranberry bought 897 million gallons of water from the West View Water Authority. That same year, we sold 757 million gallons to Cranberry’s water customers. So what happened to the 140 million gallon difference between them? That’s what we’re trying to figure out.
Part of it is legitimate: flushing out the water lines, fighting fires, and system maintenance for example. Altogether, they represent maybe 8 or 10 million gallons.
Another part, we know, is from malfunctioning meters, particularly the large commercial kind that handle tens of thousands of gallons a day. If they’re out of calibration – which can happen over time – it can mean a lot of water isn’t being accounted for. So we have a program to test a third of the commercial meters every year and replace them if they need it. We’ve been doing that for some time now, and it’s saved the Township a lot of money.
But perhaps the most significant, and most easily remedied sources of water loss are leaks from underground pipes in the distribution system. A hole just 1/8 inch in diameter can result in 3,288 gallons of water lost every day – or about 1.2 million gallons a year. That’s over $6,500 at current rates – money that all the other ratepayers are having to make up for in their water bills. So we’re working hard to hold down those loses, which we estimate to represent about nine percent of all the water we buy. That sounds like a lot, and it is, although it’s only about half the average for water suppliers and way less than some of our older communities around Pittsburgh which lose as much as half their water through leaky pipes.
So here’s what we’re doing about it: for some time now, we’ve had a contractor come in and use a sophisticated listening device to pinpoint leaks all along the 170 miles of pipeline in our system. And every year he’s discovered leaks that amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost water. As a result, we’ve decided to have him come in and do his inspection twice a year. That means a leak which develops won’t have to wait another whole year before it’s discovered and repaired.
We think that second inspection will pay for itself many times over, saving our water customers a lot of unnecessary expense.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Searching for a sign
By Jason Dailey, Director, Public Works
There seems to be an exception to the general rule that what goes up, comes down. I’m thinking of traffic advisory signs, warning signs, regulatory signs, informational signs, marker signs, and so on. They seem to accumulate to the point where they can overwhelm any driver who is not already familiar with that particular stretch of roadway.
So how many signs do we have in Cranberry? And whose responsibility are they? Good questions, and nobody really knows the answers. But to find out, we’ve begun to take a systematic inventory thousands of official signs posted along Township roads – where they are, what they say, and what condition they’re in.
So we’ve got crews out with GPS equipment to record exactly where each sign post is located, what the sign says, and how easy it is to read. We’re using a tool we bought together with our local Council of Governments to measure each sign’s reflectivity. If it’s faded, it flunks the test and has to be replaced or taken down.
Part of the impetus for this project is Cranberry’s ongoing effort to catalog its assets – a project that began with our water and sewer system, and is now extending to our traffic signs. Another part is a long-overdue Federal Highway Administration mandate about road signs together with a timetable for states and local governments to get their acts together.
When it’s complete, we will not only know what we already have, we will also have a policy about posting new ones in cases where no specific state or federal mandates are available to guide us. And by then we will all have become fluent in sign language.
There seems to be an exception to the general rule that what goes up, comes down. I’m thinking of traffic advisory signs, warning signs, regulatory signs, informational signs, marker signs, and so on. They seem to accumulate to the point where they can overwhelm any driver who is not already familiar with that particular stretch of roadway.
So how many signs do we have in Cranberry? And whose responsibility are they? Good questions, and nobody really knows the answers. But to find out, we’ve begun to take a systematic inventory thousands of official signs posted along Township roads – where they are, what they say, and what condition they’re in.
So we’ve got crews out with GPS equipment to record exactly where each sign post is located, what the sign says, and how easy it is to read. We’re using a tool we bought together with our local Council of Governments to measure each sign’s reflectivity. If it’s faded, it flunks the test and has to be replaced or taken down.
Part of the impetus for this project is Cranberry’s ongoing effort to catalog its assets – a project that began with our water and sewer system, and is now extending to our traffic signs. Another part is a long-overdue Federal Highway Administration mandate about road signs together with a timetable for states and local governments to get their acts together.
When it’s complete, we will not only know what we already have, we will also have a policy about posting new ones in cases where no specific state or federal mandates are available to guide us. And by then we will all have become fluent in sign language.
We’re hitting the roads
By Jason Dailey, Director, Public Works
We’re getting aggressive about potholes this year, and we’re looking for help from vigilant residents.
Starting back in December, we had colder than normal temperatures with on-and-off snow that lasted almost a month. As a result, we’re beginning to see road damage earlier this year than we usually do – cracking, heaving, chunking; all the things that can take years off the life of pavement. And there’s still plenty of winter left.
Although we can’t do anything about the weather, we’re taking a proactive approach to keeping our roads from getting ruined. For one thing, we’ve got crews scheduled in shifts throughout the season. That means we have Public Works people on duty from 4:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night. And between storms, part of their assignment is to drive their normal snow routes to keep an eye out for cracks and other telltale signs of road damage. They’re pretty good at it, but the people who actually live on those streets monitor them even more closely. So we’re looking for residents to call our Customer Service Department and report any signs of road damage.
And that’s not just for record-keeping purposes; we’re sending crews out to make whatever repairs are practical, and to do them as soon as possible. The reason is that cracks widen, and as they do, more water gets in and pretty soon the freeze-thaw cycle blows your road apart, turning a minor repair into a much bigger project.
One way we’re addressing that challenge is with a new crack-sealing machine that we’re sharing with several other communities. It’s trailer-mounted and it cleans and fills cracks in one pass to keep more water from getting in. That can extend the life of a roadway another 3 or 4 years beyond its normal 10-12 year lifespan. And it seems to be working very well. So call 724-776-4806 and let us know when something needs attention. And if it’s a state road, call PennDOT at 1-800 FIX ROAD.
We’re getting aggressive about potholes this year, and we’re looking for help from vigilant residents.
Starting back in December, we had colder than normal temperatures with on-and-off snow that lasted almost a month. As a result, we’re beginning to see road damage earlier this year than we usually do – cracking, heaving, chunking; all the things that can take years off the life of pavement. And there’s still plenty of winter left.
Although we can’t do anything about the weather, we’re taking a proactive approach to keeping our roads from getting ruined. For one thing, we’ve got crews scheduled in shifts throughout the season. That means we have Public Works people on duty from 4:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night. And between storms, part of their assignment is to drive their normal snow routes to keep an eye out for cracks and other telltale signs of road damage. They’re pretty good at it, but the people who actually live on those streets monitor them even more closely. So we’re looking for residents to call our Customer Service Department and report any signs of road damage.
And that’s not just for record-keeping purposes; we’re sending crews out to make whatever repairs are practical, and to do them as soon as possible. The reason is that cracks widen, and as they do, more water gets in and pretty soon the freeze-thaw cycle blows your road apart, turning a minor repair into a much bigger project.
One way we’re addressing that challenge is with a new crack-sealing machine that we’re sharing with several other communities. It’s trailer-mounted and it cleans and fills cracks in one pass to keep more water from getting in. That can extend the life of a roadway another 3 or 4 years beyond its normal 10-12 year lifespan. And it seems to be working very well. So call 724-776-4806 and let us know when something needs attention. And if it’s a state road, call PennDOT at 1-800 FIX ROAD.
Hundreds shot in Cranberry!
By Jeff Schueler, Director, Public Safety
If you missed the H1N1 flu inoculation clinic on January 8 and 9, you’re not alone. Of the more than 12,000 doses available, only about 1,700 were actually administered. But it wasn’t because the clinic didn’t work out. In fact, it worked remarkably well – particularly in light of the fact that so much of its planning came right down to the wire.
News about the epidemic formerly known as swine flu had already become much more comforting by mid-December than it had been earlier in the fall. So the sense of urgency just wasn’t there. And by the time the state organized its mass inoculation clinics, including the one here in Cranberry, the vaccine was already available at pharmacies and doctors’ offices and work places.
But it was a good learning experience for everyone involved. For one thing, it confirmed how fortunate we are to have a facility like the Manheim Pittsburgh Auto Auction in our community; it worked out beautifully. For another, both days saw people from state and county agencies, as well as Cranberry’s own EMS and Public Safety, working at the clinic and doing so without tripping over one another, which is always reassuring. We also had help from a handful of local volunteers. And that experience made clear how important having volunteers to call on really is to making a clinic like that run smoothly.
So in a way, it’s good that the numbers were lower than originally projected; I’m not sure we would have had enough volunteers to keep things together if it had turned into a siege. So for us, the take-home lesson is that having a pool of people who can be contacted on short notice to help with urgent situations is going to be critical in responding to crises that arise in the future.
That need, as well as other lessons learned from the clinic, will be the focus of debriefings which the agencies involved have scheduled over the coming weeks. So when the next unforeseen event takes place, we expect to be even better prepared.
If you missed the H1N1 flu inoculation clinic on January 8 and 9, you’re not alone. Of the more than 12,000 doses available, only about 1,700 were actually administered. But it wasn’t because the clinic didn’t work out. In fact, it worked remarkably well – particularly in light of the fact that so much of its planning came right down to the wire.
News about the epidemic formerly known as swine flu had already become much more comforting by mid-December than it had been earlier in the fall. So the sense of urgency just wasn’t there. And by the time the state organized its mass inoculation clinics, including the one here in Cranberry, the vaccine was already available at pharmacies and doctors’ offices and work places.
But it was a good learning experience for everyone involved. For one thing, it confirmed how fortunate we are to have a facility like the Manheim Pittsburgh Auto Auction in our community; it worked out beautifully. For another, both days saw people from state and county agencies, as well as Cranberry’s own EMS and Public Safety, working at the clinic and doing so without tripping over one another, which is always reassuring. We also had help from a handful of local volunteers. And that experience made clear how important having volunteers to call on really is to making a clinic like that run smoothly.
So in a way, it’s good that the numbers were lower than originally projected; I’m not sure we would have had enough volunteers to keep things together if it had turned into a siege. So for us, the take-home lesson is that having a pool of people who can be contacted on short notice to help with urgent situations is going to be critical in responding to crises that arise in the future.
That need, as well as other lessons learned from the clinic, will be the focus of debriefings which the agencies involved have scheduled over the coming weeks. So when the next unforeseen event takes place, we expect to be even better prepared.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Cranberry’s Secret Enchilada
Glen Bell, founder of the Taco Bell restaurant chain, died this week. His passing may have taken with him the answer to one of the great secrets of our time: why is there no Taco Bell in Cranberry?
It is a persistent question – one that Township officials here have been asked for years. The underlying assumption seems to be that municipal authorities pick and choose which restaurants to open within their jurisdiction. So, according to that logic, Cranberry must have given Taco Bell the thumbs down for reasons that can only invite speculation. And we’ve heard some imaginative ones.
But the truth is we’ve never been approached by anyone who wanted to operate a Taco Bell here – either by Yum Foods, the parent company of the chain, or by any of its many franchise holders. If we had, they would have been shown the same courtesy as any other restaurateur.
For example, if they wanted to have a drive-thru window, they would be required to locate inside a shopping center or mall rather than directly fronting onto a highway. They would have to provide ample parking. They would have to pay an impact fee proportionate to the traffic they generate. And they would have to make sure their exterior signage, landscaping, and other features were consistent with our codes.
I admit it’s a fairly complicated process, but it’s one that lots of other businesses have successfully navigated here, including a number of Tex-Mex restaurants. So the mystery of Taco Bell in Cranberry remains as dark as a quesadilla smothered in chipotle empanadas.
It is a persistent question – one that Township officials here have been asked for years. The underlying assumption seems to be that municipal authorities pick and choose which restaurants to open within their jurisdiction. So, according to that logic, Cranberry must have given Taco Bell the thumbs down for reasons that can only invite speculation. And we’ve heard some imaginative ones.
But the truth is we’ve never been approached by anyone who wanted to operate a Taco Bell here – either by Yum Foods, the parent company of the chain, or by any of its many franchise holders. If we had, they would have been shown the same courtesy as any other restaurateur.
For example, if they wanted to have a drive-thru window, they would be required to locate inside a shopping center or mall rather than directly fronting onto a highway. They would have to provide ample parking. They would have to pay an impact fee proportionate to the traffic they generate. And they would have to make sure their exterior signage, landscaping, and other features were consistent with our codes.
I admit it’s a fairly complicated process, but it’s one that lots of other businesses have successfully navigated here, including a number of Tex-Mex restaurants. So the mystery of Taco Bell in Cranberry remains as dark as a quesadilla smothered in chipotle empanadas.
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