Utilities, Companies Focus On Privatization

City Signs 20-Year O&M Contract

The City of Wildwood, NJ, has awarded Azurix a 20-year, $71 million operation and maintenance contract for water services. Under terms of the contract, Azurix will operate the city's water system, which has 12,000 connections. In the peak summer tourist season, when local beaches, boardwalks and amusement piers are in high demand, the city's water service coverage increases from 18,000 customers to approximately 120,000 and water usage increases from 2 mgd to more than 12 mgd.

Azurix is planning a number of improvements to the system, including automation, modernization of the pumping station and computerization upgrades, a company spokesman said.

"This public-private approach to managing Wildwood's water system will help us accomplish several goals," said Mayor Duane Sloan. "The economic benefits will help us provide some relief from future tax increases while maintaining consistency of service. It also provides new resources that can position the system to respond more efficiently to increased economic development and seasonal tourism."

California District Signs

Lamont Public Utilities District, serving 11,000 people south of Bakersfield, CA., has signed a $3.2 million operations and maintenance contract with ECO Resources, the contract operations subsidiary of Southwest Water Company.

ECO Resources assumed operation of the district's facilities on Feb. 1. The contract covers drinking water treatment and distribution, sewage collection and treatment and customer billing and services.

Tampa Bay Water Signs DBO Contract

A team led by USFilter was awarded a 15-year contract to design, build and operate (DBO) a 60 mgd regional water treatment plant for Tampa Bay Water. The $135 million agreement is one of the largest water treatment DBO contracts in the United States.

The contract includes approximately $79 million in capital costs and $56 million in operation and maintenance fees over the initial 15-year term and a five year option period. The agency will open and finance the facility.

For this project, US Filter's design, construction and operations expertise will be teamed with Camp Dresser & McKee's design skills and Clark Construction's specialty in design-build projects.

The team plans to use the ActifloRegistered process to treat water from the Hillsborough and Alafia rivers and Tampa Bypass Canal. A large-scale pilot testing program USFilter executed at the Lake Manatee Water Treatment Plant demonstrated that the technology offered better finished water quality, improved process reliability, reduced treatment costs and reduced space requirements over conventional flocculation/sedimentation.

The DBO contract is a relatively new form of public/private partnership in the water industry. The approach takes advantage of recently permitted long-term relationships between public utility owners and private service vendors. A DBO project challenges the traditional procurement approach by focusing on risk management and project performance, resulting in the owner contracting with a single, unified design, construction and operations team

Tampa Bay Water estimates its total project savings to be 21 percent or approximately $85 million over the 20-year life cycle of the project.

The treatment plant is the linchpin of Tampa Bay Water's master plan, which will develop 53 mgd by 2003 and an additional 58 mgd by 2008. The facility is scheduled to begin treating water by December 2002.

Operations Contract Awarded

The Southern Water and Sewer District of Floyd County, Ky., has awarded USFilter Operating Services a 20-year design, build, operate, finance (DBOF) contract to expand and oversee the operations and maintenance of its drinking water systems.

Valued at approximately $1.4 million annually, the contract calls for USFilter to finance, design and construct 21 miles of new water lines, three pumps and three tanks. The company also will handle system operations and maintenance for the next 20 years.

The Southern Water and Sewer District, recently formed with the merger between Beaver-Elkorn and Mud Creek water district, serves 3,800 customers with its 2 mgd drinking water plant, 200 miles of water lines, 13 existing pump systems and 24 tanks. The expansion will increase the district's customer base by 500.

USFilter began operations May 1 and plans to implement a management program to help integrate the Beaver-Elkorn and Mud Creek districts. The program will include an employee benefits component for district employees.

Companies Plan to Provide Wastewater Contract Services

The California Water Service Group has reached agreement with 7-H Technical Services Group Inc. to jointly pursue opportunities that include wastewater operations.

``One of Cal Water's strategic growth goals is to develop a wastewater service capability,'' said Peter C. Nelson, President and CEO of the California Water Service Group. ``Working with 7-H to jointly pursue opportunities with a wastewater component gives us that capability. 7-H brings decades of wastewater operating experience as well as a commitment to technological innovation and efficient operations. These attributes, combined with our experience in the drinking water sector, enhance our range of service offerings and competitiveness.''

7-H Technical Services Group Inc. is a privately held firm headquartered in Grass Valley, CA. Its founders have over four decades of experience in wastewater system engineering, construction, operation and finance. Among its technological innovations are the BioRaptor modular wastewater treatment plant, the internet-based Total Control 2000 remote control system and the Bio-Pure(TM) treatment process.

California Water Service Group is the parent company of California Water Service Company, CWS Utility Services and Washington Water Service Company. Together these companies provide regulated and non-regulated water utility services to over 1.6 million people in 62 California and Washington communities. California Water Service Group's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CWT".

Company Wins GAC Contract

American Carbon Services (ACS), headquartered in Voorhees, NJ, has been awarded a $4.1 million (Canadian) contract by The Regional Municipality of Peel, Ontario, Canada. ACS provides custom blends of virgin and reactivated granular activated carbon (GAC) for water treatment facilities in the U.S. and Canada.

Under the contract, ACS will remove anthracite and sand filtration media at The Regional Municipality of Peel's Lakeview and Lorne Park water treatment plants, and install new sand and GAC filter media. The change-out is part of the South Peel's Taste and Odor Project and is designed to improve the quality of the system's drinking water supply.

ACS is a business unit of American Water Resources, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Water Works Company, Inc. American Water Works, its subsidiaries and affiliates, provides water and wastewater service to more than 10 million people in 23 states and offers water management solutions to private and government entities throughout North America.