Mayors Water Council
Newsletter of the Mayors Water Council of The United States Conference of Mayors
Winter 2008
St. Louis Public Utilities Commissioner Dr. Visintainer
P.e., Mayors Water Council Q&A interview
September 2, 2007
Q. How does the city finance the drinking water infra-
St. Louis (MO) was named as having the "Best Tasting City
structure?
Water in America" in June at the 75th Annual Meeting of The
U.S. Conference of Mayors. St. Louis competed in a field of
A. As an enterprise fund of the city, all water system opera-
93 cities. Over 100 mayors attending the 75th Annual Meet-
tions and infrastructure improvements are financed through the
ing participated in a blind taste test involving five finalist cities:
revenue generated by the utility. Some infrastructure improve-
Anaheim (CA), Colorado Springs (CO), Long Beach (CA), St.
ments are cash financed while others are funded through the
Louis (MO), and Toledo (OH). St. Louis was selected by the
sale of revenue bonds.
Q. What is the rate structure of the various customers?
mayors as the winner. St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay accept-
ed the award trophy and a check for $15,000 as the winning
A. Metered customers presently are covered under a three-
city. Veolia Water of North America was the sole Corporate
tiered declining block rate structure. Quarterly usage is billed
Sponsor of the City Water Taste Test competition.
at $1.19/ccf for the lowest consumption. The quantity charge for
St. Louis has a long tradition of providing public water sup-
the largest consumption tier in a quarter is billed at $0.71/ccf.
ply to the city and surrounding area. It is blessed with a plentiful
Most residential customers are billed on a quarterly flat rate
supply of water, and the Chain of Rocks Water Treatment Plant is
basis, which is calculated on number of rooms in the house,
situated on the banks of the Mississippi River just four miles south
plumbing fixture count and a frontage foot irrigation charge.
of the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.
Within the last ten years there have been two rate increases
The Mayors Water Council visited St. Louis to learn more
for the city, a 9.0 percent increase in 2003 and a 4.5 percent
about how the city Public Utilities Department turns the "Big
increase in 2004. The current revenue stream is being evalu-
Muddy" water into the "Best Tasting City Water in America."
ated as we speak with respect to its adequacy. I believe that
Public Utilities Commissioner David Visintainer, P.E., participat-
this analysis will indicate that further increases will be required
ed in a Q&A session.
to meet upcoming infrastructure improvement and renewal
Q. Can you describe the city's drinking water treatment
needs.
plant and distribution system?
Q. How do you turn "Big Muddy" water into the "Best
Tasting City Water in America"?
A. The city is served by two large surface water treatment
facilities, one on the Mississippi River and the other on the Mis-
A. As you can imagine, we sometimes have to deal with
souri River. The plants, which have a combined capacity of
some challenging and highly variable raw water conditions!
300 million gallons per day (MGD), have an average day pro-
Fortunately, we have a combination of flexible, well-designed
duction of 145 MGD and peaks of well over 200 MGD. These
treatment works; dedicated and vigilant employees; and good
treatment works were originally placed in service in 1895 and
operational practices to address these challenges. Every effort
1929, respectively, but have been extensively modernized and
is made to provide our customers with the highest and most
upgraded several times since.
consistent finished quality possible. We believe that our two
Service is provided to a resident retail population of approx-
purification processes which have the most impact on aesthetic
imately 360,000 people; to a large commercial, institutional
water quality, including taste, are lime softening and continu-
and industrial base; and to four large wholesale customers.
ous treatment with activated carbon.
Q. Does the city employ a formal asset management pro-
The distribution system is composed of 1240 miles of mains
gram at the drinking water system?
ranging in size from 4 inches to 84 inches in diameter, 26,500
valves and 14,900 fire hydrants. System storage occurs in two cov-
A. The asset management program utilized within the water
ered, finished water storage reservoirs totaling 130 MG capacity.
system is very well developed in some areas but still a work
One storage facility was newly replaced in the last eight years
in progress in others. We have a very detailed and accurate
and the second was upgraded, including a seismic retrofit.
depiction of our assets, especially for the distribution system,
At the present time, emphasis is being given to continued
included in our geographical information system (GIS). Our
renewal of distribution system components as well as seismic
hardening of critical facilities.
see INTERVIEW on page 16
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