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HomeMy WebLinkAboutM1997-271 - 09/30/1997MOTIONS - 9~30~97 I-2, Motion adopting the report, findings, and recommendations of the Wesley Seale Dam Oversight Committee; that the City Manager be directed to submit to the Council within 60 days a plan for implementing the recommendations of the committee; and that the committee's work be concluded. ATTEST: City Secretary Mayor / ~' City of Corpus Christi M97 - 271 MI OJ:JL.M£1) REPORT OF THE CITY COUNCIL DAM OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE cCity of orpus Christi September 30, 1997 REPORT OF THE CITY COUNCIL DAM OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE GOALS OF THE COMMITTEE To create a chronology of the City's discovery, response and communication of the Dam problems. To conduct a thorough investigation pursuant to Article 11, Section 17, of the City Charter, of the City's discovery, response and communication of the Dam problems internally within the staff, with the City Council, and with the community, to determine if the City's staff and outside consultants handled the Dam problems in a reasonable and prudent manner. 3. To recommend changes as warranted by the results of the investigation. To conduct the Oversight Committee's duties in an open and frank manner, consistent with the belief that elected officials represent and serve the people. INTRODUCTION Based on the results of a soils test in April 1997 and a subsequent calculation of the estimated safety factors for stability of Wesley Seale Dam, the City's outside engineering consultants recommended on May 15, 1997 that the water level at Lake Corpus Christi not be allowed to exceed 91 feet as an interim measure. The lake is full at 94 feet above sea level. The consultants recommended that a detailed engineering investigation be undertaken to determine if the dam will be safe at full level, or if the interim limitation should be continued until any necessary modifications can be made to assure the safety of the dam at full level. The engineering investigation will take four to five months. Major modifications to the dam, if needed, could take at least two years to complete. Wesley Seale Dam was constructed in 1958 by the Lower Nueces River Water Supply District. For the first three years of operation, the lake was operated with a maximum water level of 88 feet. Subsequently, the lake was operated at a maximum water level of 94 feet. The Nueces River watershed is semi-arid, and much of the time the lake was not full. Following an unusually rainy period ending on June 30, 1993, a major drought extended over the next four years, finally ending in June 1997. During this period lake levels were Iow. On June 23, 1997 the lake rose to 91 feet. The spillway gates were set at 91 feet, and the lake began to spill. An additional 55,000 acre-feet of water could have been captured over the next few weeks if the lake level had been allowed to increase to 94 feet. Report of City Council Dam Oversight Committee Page 2 Public concern was expressed that the engineering investigation and any necessary modifications could have been done during the drought beginning in June 1993 so that loss of the opportunity to capture the additional 55,000 acre-feet of water could have been avoided. On June 26, 1997 the City Manager directed the internal audit staff to perform a review of five years of maintenance records for the Wesley Seale Dam, and the Mayor appointed a City Council Dam Oversight Committee. On July 31, 1997 the Internal Auditor issued a report of a review of five years of maintenance records, and copies were provided to the City Council. The City Council adopted a motion concerning the goals of the Dam Oversight Committee on July 22, 1977. The City Council authorized the Dam Oversight Committee to conduct an inquiry and investigation under Article II, Section 17, of the City Charter. The charge of the Committee is stated above under "Goals of the Committee". On August 12, the City Council adopted a motion expanding the Dam Qversight Committee to include all City Council Members, and establish a quorum requirement of three committee members. The Committee held public meetings on August 6, 8, 13, 19, and 26, and September 9, 16, 23 and 30 during which Committee members heard testimony from City employees and the public, asked questions, and discussed matters related to the history and oversight of Wesley Seale Dam. As a result of the work done by the internal audit staff and the dam oversight committee, a substantial amount of information about the operation, maintenance, and repair of the dam has been reviewed. The related processes including communications have been identified. A number of facts about the matters leading up to the current situation and controversy arising from the interim need to limit the elevation of the lake to 91 feet above sea level are now known with a great deal of certainty. This report includes findings of facts, conclusions based on facts, findings and recommendations by the Dam Oversight Committee. FINDINGS OF FACTS 1. The City acquired ownership of the dam in 1986. The Lower Nueces River Water Supply District financed and constructed the dam. The District was dissolved when the debt for construction of the dam was paid off. Until 1986, oversight of the dam was vested in a three member elected board of directors of the district. Generally during the history of the district, a district office with a full time engineer and a secretary attended to the district's responsibilities for stewardship of the dam. Records maintained by the district were extensive and meticulous. Report of City Council Dam Oversight Committee Page 3 When oversight by the district board was terminated in 1986, no process was established to enable the City Council to continue oversight of the dam. The internal processes revealed by the internal audit staff in the form of a flow chart, attached hereto as Exhibit "A", were not reduced to writing at the time. The internal processes provided for information flow to the City Council only if a problem involved the integrity of the dam, safety issues, or operations. There were breakdowns in the process as matters identified by outside engineering consultants and state agency dam safety staff as potential threats to the integrity of the dam were not reported to the City Council. When the City acquired ownership in 1986, there were no changes in staffing, budget, or organization of the water department. New communication protocols were not developed, and record keeping was greatly diminished compared to record keeping by the district. Annual Inspections were performed by outside consulting engineers beginning in 1970. The system of annual inspections identified deficiencies, and recommendations were made timely to respond to the noted deficiencies. Each report followed up on recommendations previously made. The inspection reports were formal reports easily reviewable by responsible parties. The same consulting firms performed the annual inspections and follow up work for a number of years, assuring continuity and familiarity with the dam. After 1986, communications about inspection deficiencies was lacking. Required communications were made to the State agency, but internal record keeping and communications were inadequate. Particularly, the City Council was not notified of the results of annual inspections. Since 1987, two major repair projects were not implemented in a reasonable time between the identification of the deficiency and the award of engineering and construction contracts. Corrosion of crest gates was identified by the outside consultants as the most important maintenance problem in 1987, and in 1988 a study of the crest gate situation was recommended. In 1989 this recommendation was characterized as a major recommendation, and in 1990 a proposed scope of work and cost estimate for the study was provided. The study Report of City Council Dam Oversight Committee Page 4 was accomplished in 1991, and construction plans for a major rehabilitation project were begun in 1992 and completed in 1995. A construction contract was awarded in 1994, and the rehabilitation work is nearing completion. Buttress cracking and differential movement of the buttress-stilling basin slab were identified in the annual inspection report dated October 1991 as problems needing additional engineering study. The report also stated that the north spillway floor slab appeared to be not level. These matters were also raised in subsequent annual inspection reports and in letters from the state agency dam safety staff. In 1992 the north spillway floor slab was surveyed; a heave was quantified and described in the survey. In 1993 the south spillway floor slab was surveyed, and it was determined that no heave existed there. The annual inspection report dated April 1993 contained an extensive review of these problems emphasizing that the additional engineering study previously recommended should be undertaken in the near future. In 1994 an outside engineering firm began preparation of a proposal for the additional engineering study, and the proposal was provided to the City in 1995. The study was authorized in October 1996, including the soil sampling and stability analysis completed in April 1997, which led to the May 15, 1997 report recommending limiting the lake level to 91 feet, modifying and expanding the scope of the study, and installing monitoring systems and equipment. This work is ongoing. 4. Communications with City Council were inadequate. Actions related to the award of contracts involving expenditures greater than $15,000 were the only matters involving the maintenance and repair of the dam that were communicated by staff to the City Council between 1986 and 1997. Capital improvement plans presented to the City Council by staff at various times from 1992 through 1996 described capital improvement needs of the utility systems, including the crest gate rehabilitation project, the bunger valve repair, and repair of the control building at the dam, but failed to include the need for additional engineering study of buttress cracking, differential movement of the buttress-stilling basin slab, and the heave in the north spillway floor slab. The City Council meeting consent agenda was used for the only two actions related to the additional engineering study of buttress cracking, differential movement of the buttress-stilling basin slab, and the heave in the north spillway floor slab. The first was a written recommendation in Report of City Council Dam Oversight Committee Page 5 January 1995 to the City Council for approval of a contract for the annual inspection of the dam, which was placed on the consent agenda and was not discussed at the City Council meeting. The second was a written recommendation in October 1996 to the City Council for approval of a contract for spillway structural and stability analyses, which was placed on the consent agenda and was not discussed at the City Council meeting. The latter item was also inappropriately identified with the crest gate rehabilitation project. Communications with public officials in the region were inadequate. Reports were not made to customers outside the City of Corpus Christi or to city and county officials in the seven counties served by the City's water supply about dam inspection results and dam repair projects. CONCLUSIONS BASED ON FACTS The dam is a unique asset, in magnitude and importance. The dam and its water supply reservoir deserve more attention than do many other assets. Written policies are needed, and measures to assure adherence to the policies are needed, if the dam is to receive the appropriate level of attention. The informal communications process failed. Relying on individual judgment by people, the informal process for operation and maintenance is not sufficient for an asset such as the dam. This is a systemic problem, which calls for assessing the need for more written policies throughout the organization. Acquisition of a major asset demands change in the way we do business. Adjustments in organizational structure, budget, staffing, and training are needed when additional responsibility is assumed. Also, written policies and procedures are needed. Failure to recognize this in 1986 resulted in the workload previously performed by district personnel to be either added to the workload of existing water department staff or left undone. Slow progress and inadequate communications were the result of judgement errors. The facts show that the needed repairs were identified, and actions were taken to accomplish those repairs. The shortcomings were delays and lack of reporting, not actual accomplishment of needed repair work. Timely reporting would have allowed the City Council to make decisions about priorities and scheduling. Report of City Council Dam Oversight Committee Page 6 FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE It is the finding of the Wesley Seale Dam Oversight Committee that the City's staff failed to act in a reasonable and prudent manner in regard to the discovery, response and communication of the Wesley Seale Dam problems. The Committee did not make a similar finding in regard to the outside consultants. RECOMMENDATIONS Wesley Seale Dam The City Manager shall provide monthly written and oral reports to the City Council on the progress of the engineering consultant on the work underway to install monitoring systems at the dam and to investigate the stability of the dam. The City Manager shall complete a corrected chronology of the City's discovery, response, and communication of the problems at Wesley Seale Dam in accordance with the first goal of the Wesley Seale Dam Oversight Committee. The City Manager shall conduct an operations analysis of Wesley Seale Dam management, operations, and maintenance. The City Manager shall create written policies and procedures regarding the oversight, management, operations, maintenance communication of conditions, reporting process, staffing, duties, records management and inspections of the Wesley Seale Dam. The City Manager shall develop a formal internal communications policy related to the Wesley Seale Dam. The results of each annual inspection of the dam shall promptly be reported to the City Council. This shall be done in writing and also orally at a City Council meeting. The internal processes such as identified in Exhibit "A" shall be formalized in a written policy. Report of City Council Dam Oversight Committee Page 7 Choke Cn~ The City Manager shall provide a written and oral report on the current status and condition of Choke Canyon Dam. The City Manager shall develop and maintain for City Records a chronology of the City's discovery, response, and communication of any problems that may arise at Choke Canyon Dam, if a similar situation arises. The City Manager shall conduct an operations analysis of Choke Canyon Dam management, operations, and maintenance. The City Manager shall create written policies and procedures regarding the oversight, management, operations, maintenance communication of conditions, reporting process, staffing, duties, records management and inspections of the Choke Canyon Dam. 10. The City Manager shall develop a formal internal communications policy related to Choke Canyon Dam. The results of each annual inspection of the dam shall promptly be reported to the City Council. This shall be done in writing and also orally at a City Council meeting. The internal processes such as identified in Exhibit "A" shall be formalized in a written policy. Other Recommendations 11. The City Manager shall develop an expanded internal audit program which shall consider written policies and procedures regarding the oversight, management, operations, maintenance communication of conditions, reporting process, staffing, duties, records management and inspections for all departments and major projects and infrastructure. 12. The City Manager shall initiate a program of operating department performance reviews. 13. The City Manager shall establish policies and procedures to inform area city and county officials about activities related to the dams and other significant issues. Report of City Council Dam Oversight Committee Page 8 14. 15. 16. The City Manager and City Secretary shall conduct a study of staffing needs for the City Council. The City Manager and City Secretary shall conduct a review of the current records management system to determine the need to update and expand current procedures for all departments and upper level management. The City Manager shall create written policies and procedures for the proper transition of infrastructure, property and/or projects to City ownership or operation. This report was adopted by the Committee September 30, 1997. ATTEST: City Secretary EXHIBIT "A" I EXHIBIT "A" EXHIBIT "A" EXHIBIT "A" EXHIBIT "A"