20070611Comments.pdf

SCOTT WOODBURY
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
PO BOX 83720
BOISE, IDAHO 83720-0074
[phone]
IDAHO BAR NO. 1895
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Street Address for Express Mail:
472 W. WASHINGTON
BOISE, IDAHO 83702-5983
Attorney for the Commission Staff
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF
UNITED WATER IDAHO INc. TO AMEND
AND REVISE CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC
CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY NO. 143
TO INCLUDE BRITTANIA HEIGHTS
CASE NO. UWI-O7-
COMMENTS OF THE
COMMISSION STAFF
COMES NOW the Staff of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, by and through its
Attorney of record, Scott Woodbury, Deputy Attorney General, and in response to the Notice of
Application, Notice of Modified Procedure and Notice of Comment/Protest Deadline issued on
May 9 2007 , submits the following comments.
BACKGROUND
On April 23, 2007, United Water Idaho Inc. (United Water; Company) filed an Application
with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (Commission) requesting authority to amend and revise
its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity No. 143, as amended, to include an area located
on McDermott Road in Canyon County, Idaho identified as Brittania Heights. The Brittania
Heights subdivision is located in the vicinity of United Water s existing Belmont Heights service
area. The Application of the Company includes a legal description and map of the Brittania Heights
subdivision.
STAFF COMMENTS JUNE 8, 2007
The developer of Brittania Heights, Patriot Capital Partners LLC, has requested that United
Water extend domestic water service facilities to the area. As represented in the Company
Application, the proposed development of Brittania Heights is not within the authorized service
territory of any other water utility under the jurisdiction of the Commission nor, it states, will it
interfere with the operations of any such utility. United Water submits that the extension into this
area is consistent with the public convenience and necessity. Water service facilities will be
extended to the area pursuant to United Water s Rules and Regulations governing extensions.
ANALYSIS
Brittania Heights consists of two residential lot subdivisions. Phase I is designed for
approximately 34 lots and Phase II is designed for approximately 105 lots. It is adjacent to United
Water s existing non-contiguous Belmont Heights service area.
The water supply for Brittania Heights will come from two wells located in the adjacent
Belmont Heights subdivision that is already being served by United Water. Both domestic water
and fire protection will be provided from these wells. Lawn watering in the Brittania Heights
subdivision will be provided by an alternate irrigation source, not from United Water. United Water
has performed analysis to determine that it can support the subdivisions without any additional new
water supply. Attachment A is a copy of a letter and analysis provided by United Water to the
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality confirming adequate existing water supply.
Under United Water Rules and Regulations Governing Non-Contiguous Expansion
Belmont Heights, which will be the source of supply for Brittania Heights, was required to advance
source of supply to United Water. The source of supply costs that were advanced are subject to
refund as customers connect to the water system and begin taking service. In accordance with
Section 14 of the Residential or Multiple Family Housing Non-Contiguous Water System
Agreement between United Water, Idaho, Inc. and Thueson Construction and Development
(developer of Belmont Heights) dated August 1 , 2001
, "
latecomers" who use the Source of Supply
developed for Belmont Heights must reimburse Thueson over a period of 15 years until the amount
STAFF COMMENTS JUNE 8, 2007
of the original advance is paid off.l Thus, Britannia Heights, as a latecomer, may be required to
reimburse Thueson if the amount of Belmont Heights ' original advance has not yet been recovered.
The Brittania Heights subdivisions will be served by extending a 12-inch off-site water main
approximately 3,425 feet from the Belmont Heights subdivision (1 580 feet Powerline Road, 1 845
feet McDermott Road). No other off-site facilities will need to be installed to provide service other
than the associated 12-inch isolation valves. The developer will contribute these off-site facilities.
All on-site facilities will also be contributed by the developer.
Generally in a new subdivision, the facilities to be contributed to United Water by the
developer include the off-site and on-site mains, valves, services, and fire hydrants as required by
United Water Rules and Regulations. United Water will provide the meter for each service
pursuant to its Rules and Regulations. No facilities are proposed to be advanced to United Water
for the Brittania Heights I and II subdivisions. There are not any special facilities required to serve
the subdivisions, so accordingly there will be no Special Facilities Agreement.
The requested expansion area lies within the City ofNampa Area of Impact. However, the
nearest N amp a municipal water facilities are located along Happy Valley Road, approximately
1/2 miles west of the proposed Brittania subdivision. The City does not currently provide water
service in this area and has provided a letter consenting to service of the area by United Water. (See
Attachment B).
1 14. Owner shall be reimbursed in connection with use of the Source of Supply by
latecomers " that is , bona fide customers who use the Source of Supply and which
customers own a lot or property other than a lot in the Project, whereby costs, not in excess
of the original advance of construction costs in connection with the Source of Supply, may
be reimbursed to Owner over a period of fifteen (15) years from the date of transfer of the
Water Facilities. Owner shall not be entitled or receive any reimbursement after fifteen (15)
years from the date of this agreement.
STAFF COMMENTS JUNE 8, 2007
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Commission approve the Application for Certificate Amendment
and authorize construction of facilities and extension of service to Britannia Heights Subdivision in
Canyon County.
Respectfully submitted this n, day of June 2007.
Technical Staff: Rick Sterling
cy:b# 6-? hvrbt Scott Woodbury
Deputy Attorney General
i/umisc/comments/uwiwO7.3swrps
STAFF COMMENTS JUNE 8, 2007
DANIEL BROWN
Senior Project Engineer o~~.United Water
...s "'" e UNITED WATER IDAHO INC.
8248 West Victory Road, Boise, ID 83709
O. Box 190420. Boise. 1083719-0420
Tel: [phone] . Fax: [phone]
dan, brown(1!)unitedwater .com
April 13, 2007
Mr. Mark Mason , P.
Engineering Manager
State of Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality
1410 North Hilton
Boise , Idaho 83706-1255
Re: Brittania Subdivision
Dear Mr. Mason:
Phase 1 of Brittania Subdivision is a 34 lot development generally locateq on the
west side of McDermott Road and approximately 1800 feet south of Powerline
Road. Future phases will bring the total number of lots served to 139. Water
service will be provided through a 12-inch main extension from the Belmont
Water System.
We are hereby submitting current operating and equipment data, which
demonstrate the capacity of the Belmont Water System to support the addition of
Brittania Subdivision.
Operating data for July 10, 2006 shows the peak day usage of 64 000 gallons.
This was for 74 active customers, resulting in 865 gallons per customer (irrigation
water is available from a separate pressurized system). This equals an average of
601 gallons per minute over 24 hours. Data is not available for peak hour
demand , but using a factor of 2., peak hoar becomes approximately 1.202
gallons per minute. Typically, for a large system, we expect a factor of about 1.5;
however. in a small system like Belmont a factor of 2.0 is more appropriate. This
exceeds the peak hour demand quoted in the original Belmont Water System
engineering report, dated August 16, 2001 , for maximum instantaneous demands
without irrigation (see page 5), indicating some irrigation usage from the
customers is likely.
The domestic supply pump is designed to produce 350 gallons per minute. The
engineering report anticipated a 300 gpm pump and peak hour demand of 1.500
gpm, resulting in 200 residential customers serviceable from the Belmont Water
WWW.UNlTEDWATER.COM
Attachment A
Case No, UWI-07-
Staff Comments
06/08/07 Page 1 of 4
'0 ,
...
Mr. Mark Mason
Page 2
System. With the actual 350 gpm pump capacity and a somewhat lower peak
hour demand of 1.202 gallons per minute per customer, the maximum number of
customers to be served from this pumping unit is 291. This should be the
maximum number of customers to be served from this system until additional
pumping capacity is installed.
The current number of platted lots approved for service in the Belmont and
Lexington Meadows subdivisions is 110. Brittania Subdivision includes 139 lots
for all phases, bringing the total to 249 lots, which is serviceable from the
Selmont Water System as noted above. Thus, with the addition of this project,
the uncommitted capacity of the domestic source of supply is 42 lots.
In addition, the Belmont domestic well is currently in violation of the uranium
MCL and has been under Public Notification status since March 2006.
Consequently, we have requested the developer to notify lot buyers of the uranium
issue by providing them with copies of Untied Water s Consumer Confidence
Report (CCR) prior to closing. Please see the enclosed letter.
We appreciate your review and consideration of the above information and trust it
addresses your concerns. Please don t hesitate to call if you have any questions
regarding this matter.
Daniel Brown , P.
, ";"-
c: Scott Rhead, UWID
John Lee, UWI D
Attachment A
Case No. UWI-07-
Staff Comments
06/08/07 Page 2 of 4
...
ANALYSIS OF FIRE FLOW AVAilABILITY TO PROPOSED
BRITTANIA SUBDIVISION FROM THE BELMONT WEll
Adequate fire flow capacity to meet the needs of Britannia Subdivision
appears to be available from the Belmont Well water supply, as determined
from the following analysis.
EXISTING FIRE FLOW TEST RESULTS FOR lEXINGTON MEADOWS
The most recent fire flow test, from the Belmont Well , was conducted at the
fire hydrant located at Lot 22/Bl1 of Lexington Meadows Subdivision on
August 8, 2006, following the upgrade of the Belmont Fire Pump.
The results of that test were:
Static Pressure: 70 psi
Observed Flow: 1 688 gpm
Residual Pressure: 25 psi
The elevation of the fire hydrant is approximately 2,630 feet, resulting in a
hydraulic gradient line (HGL) of 2 688 feet at a flow of 1 688 gpm:
. 2 630 + 25 X 2.31 = 2,688 feet
The frictional head loss for this flow is estimated at 92 feet from the tee in
Hastings to the fire hydrant.
HI in 2 020 ft of 8"
(g)
688 gpm
;;;;;
85 ft
HI in 1 240 ft of 12" ~ 1 688 gpm = 7 ft
This indicates the HGL at the tee in Hastings is 2 780 feet, with a flow of
688 gpm.
PROJECTED FIRE FLOW AVAilABILITY TO THE PROPOSED BRITANNIA
SUBDIVISION
The frictional head loss for 1 688 gpm between the tee in Hastings to the
fire hydrant located at Mountain Pine and Eagle Cr is estimated at 36 feet.
HI in 215 ft of 8" (Q) 1 688 gpm = 9 ft
HI in 4 575 ft of 12" ~ 1 688 gpm = 27 ft
Attachment A
Case No. UWI-07-
Staff Comments
06/08/07 Page 3 of 4
This results in a HGL at the Mountain Pine and Eagle Creek fire hydrant of
744 feet:
. HGL
(q)
Mountain Pine & Eagle Creek = 2 780 - 36 = 2,744 feet.
The elevation of this fire hydrant in Britannia is 2 607 feet, leading to a
residual pressure of 137 feet or, 59 psi:
. 2 744 - 2 607 = 137 feet =;::. 137 /2.31 = 59 psi
CONCLUSIONS
As a result of the above analysis, it appears that adequate fire flow should
be available to the Britannia Subdivision from the Belmont Well water
supply without further modifications to the existing system or the addition
of a new water supply source.
Attachment A
Case No. UWI-07-
Staff Comments
06/08/07 Page 4 of 4
Michael J. Fuss, P.E., MBA
Public Works Director
Sheri L. Murray
executive Assistant
City of Nampa
Public Works Department
RECEIVED
MAY 2 1 2007
UNITED WATER
May 16,2007
Mr. Gregory P. Wyatt
Vice President & General Manager
United Water
O. Box 190420
Boise, ID 83719~0420
REGARDING: BRITTANIA HEIGHTS SUBDIVISION ONE AND TWO
Dear Greg:
This letter serves as an understanding that the City of Nampa does not object to United
Water s Belmont Heights water system serving Brittania Heights Subdivision One and
Two. This subdivision is located in Section 29, Township 3 North, Range 1 West, Boise
Meridian, Canyon County, Idaho. consisting of 1391015, with approximately 111.
acres.
If! can be of further assistance in regards to this matter, please do not hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
Michael J. Fuss, P .
Public Works Director
MJF/slm
cc: Jeffery L. Hess, Hawkins Companies
file
Attachment B
Case No, UWI-W~07-
Staff Comments
06/08/07
C:\Docum~nts and Settin~\mwrays\My Documents\cONTRACTS\United Water. Briuania Heights. Water.docCity of Nampa . 411 Third St. So.. Nampa. ID 83851 (20B)46S-f?420 fl,lssm~cltyofnampa.
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT I HAVE THIS 8TH DAY OF JUNE 2007 SERVED
THE FOREGOING COMMENTS OF THE COMMISSION STAFF, IN CASE
NO. UWI-07-, BY MAILING A COpy THEREOF POSTAGE PREPAID, TO THE
FOLLOWING:
GREGORYP. WYATT
UNITED WATER IDAHO INC
PO BOX 190420
BOISE ID 83719-0420
DEAN J MILLER ESQ
McDEVITT & MILLER LLP
PO BOX 2564
BOISE ID 83701
--1
(1 &n6--SECRETARY
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE