PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION

from 2023 Public Works Annual Report

STREETS

The Public Works Administrative Group includes the Director of Public Works, an Assistant Public Works Director, a Project Manager, a Construction Inspector, and an Administrative Support Group which is led by the Office Manager and includes an Operations Coordinator, two Administrative and Budget Coordinators, a part-time clerk, and a part-time custodian. The Administrative Support Group provides services to the Streets, Storm, Water and Sewer divisions of Public Works. This group provides support for these field divisions by handling purchasing, budgeting, customer service, software administration, invoice tracking/processing, travel, and training all with the goal of freeing up time from the field divisions and allowing them to focus on their core responsibilities which is to provide direct services to our residents and businesses within the city. This includes oversight and administration of 6 budgets (Water, Sewer, Storm, Streets, Water Service Line Insurance and Sewer Lateral Insurance). The Administrative Support Group is the main point of contact for residents as they request services from the city.

Accomplishments:

Created 3,716 work orders for the Streets/Storm Group

Processed 29 Flood Reimbursements

Submitted 72 Purchase Order Requests

Implemented new computer work order software.

WATER & SEWER DIVISION

Mission Statement

The Water and Sanitary Sewer Division provides high qualitydrinking water to our customers and treats wastewater to levels exceeding the discharge limits set by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. This is accomplished by planning, developing, maintaining, and operating the City’s water and sanitary sewer systems in a customer service-oriented, fiscally sound, and efficient manner.

2022 Retirements

Water Treatment Plant (WTP) & Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Staff

General

The City of O’Fallon’s Water and Sewer Division manages and is funded by two enterprise funds: water and sewer, and special revenue funds sewer lateral insurance fund and water service line fund. The water and sewer funds are generated from customer connection and usage fees; and sewer lateral and water service line funds are collected along with property taxes from each O’Fallon resident. These funds can only be used on projects and expenses to provide the specific service. For example, funds collected through water connection and usage fees can only be used on projects and expenses to provide water to those customers.

O’Fallon water customers pay a base rate for the first 1,000 gallons of water used, then a volumetric rate for every gallon they use afterwards. An average O’Fallon resident uses approximately 5,000 gallons of water a month which equates to $33.23 a month for water. An O’Fallon sewer customer pays a base rate for the first 4,000 gallons of water used, then a volumetric rate for every gallon they use afterwards. The average O’Fallon residential usage of 5,000 gallons of water a month which equates to $29.84 a month for sewer service. Please note that the City of O’Fallon bills bi-monthly, so water and sewer bills account for two months of usage.

Commercial and industrial customers pay a water and sewer rate based on the size of their water meter. Customers outside of the city limits pay a rate twice that of in-City customers. Some of our neighboring communities send their wastewater to O’Fallon to be treated at our wastewater treatment plant. Those communities pay for the flow they send to the city, which is metered for accuracy. One such community is the City of Lake St. Louis with the customers served by Public Water Supply District No. 2 of St. Charles County (PWSD#2). 24% of the sewage going to the City’s treatment plant comes from PWSD #2. This flow accounts for 20% of the revenue in the sewer funds.

In 2022, each City resident paid an annual fee of $30.00 for sewer lateral repair insurance and $12.00 for the water line insurance program that started in 2022.

Certification and Licenses

Among all the 54 Water/Wastewater Personnel they hold 56 licenses and/or certifications recognized by Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR); and other State ofMissouri authorities including the following top-level licenses:

4 - A-level wastewater operator licenses

5 - A-level water operator licenses

11-III-level distribution system licenses

2 - Professional Engineers

Water and Sewer Field Crews provide 24/7 emergency response services which include but are not limited to water main breaks, leaks, sewer back-ups, and snow removal.

O’Fallon Water

The O’Fallon Water System consists of a 6.0 million gallons per day, state-of-the-art Reverse Osmosis (RO) Membrane Water Treatment Plant fed by five alluvial wells. This water supply and treatment is complimented with four additional deep wells, three booster pump stations, high service pumps, four elevated storage tanks, three ground storage tanks and 191 miles of cast iron, ductile iron, transit, and PVC distribution lines. The Water System currently serves 13,278 customers. The City continues to provide an ample supply of water for its customers and continues to meet and exceed the treatment and distribution criteria prescribed and enforced by the State of Missouri. Staff continues to research and explore new processes to achieve greater efficiency within the system. The water system’s capacity can be expanded with emergency connections with the City of Wentzville and PWSD #2.