Attachment_A.pdf
PDF 3 MB Posted
- Solicitation number
- ITB 25-076
- Issued by
- Lee County, Fort Lauderdale City, Florida
About this file
This document is a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Service Line Field Investigation and Identification developed by the City of Fort Myers Utilities in collaboration with Black & Veatch. The purpose of the SOP is to provide detailed instructions for contractors conducting field investigations to identify service line materials through meter box cleanouts and pipe material testing. The investigation process involves examining both public and private sides of water service lines using methods such as scratch tests, magnet tests, and lead swab tests to determine pipe composition (plastic, copper, galvanized iron, steel, or lead).
The SOP outlines specific responsibilities for the contractor, City of Fort Myers, Black & Veatch, and customers. Key responsibilities include customer notification, obtaining property access, conducting thorough investigations, documenting findings with photos, restoring investigation sites, and submitting results through an online survey tool. The investigation's primary goal is to create an accurate service line material inventory and improve predictive modeling. If lead service lines are suspected, the contractor must contact the city within 24 hours, and the city will provide educational materials to affected customers, with special attention to high-risk residents such as pregnant women and families with young children.
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Text version
A�achment A
Standard Operating Procedure Document No:
Service Line Field Investigation and Identification SOP
Revision No: 1.0
Page No: 1 of 7
1.0 PURPOSE
The purpose of this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is to provide the necessary information to instruct the Contractor on service line field investigations and pipe material identification through scratch test/magnet test/swab test of the exposed pipe.
2.0 SCOPE
This SOP explains how to conduct a field investigation of the service line material via meter box cleanouts and pipe material identification using scratch test/magnet test and, if needed, a swab test. Additionally, the SOP describes dealing with service line disturbances such as leaks, shifted piping, and the restoration of the sites to their original status. This SOP also outlines each party’s responsibility during the process.
The goal of the field investigations is to provide verified material information for the service line inventory and to improve the accuracy of the predictive model.
3.0 RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITIES
Contractor is responsible for:
• Ringing the doorbell to alert the customer to the start of the field inspection.
• Conducting field investigations including filling out electronic forms to log material type, taking photos of the site before, during, and after the meter cleanout is complete, adding photos to the electronic forms, and restoring the site as close as possible to the state before activities.
• Alerting the customer to the results of the inspection and where to find more eductional information about lead via a door hanger.
City of Fort Myers is responsible for:
• Developing specific content using templates provided by Black & Veatch for customer notifications, educational materials, and door hangers with identified materials.
• Printing and distributing notification materials explaining the field investigation process and providing utility contact information (i.e. website, phone number, etc.) to customer if they have questions or concerns.
• Providing targeted materials for high-risk residents, such as pregnant women and families with infants or young children.
• Alerting appropriate staff or contractors if issues are found on the private side or public side of the service line that require maintenance.
and Identification SOP
Page No: 2 of 7
Black & Veatch is responsible for:
• Providing the City with templates for customer notifications and educational materials.
• Identify a selection of sites for field investigations including back up sites.
The Customer is responsible for:
• Responding to the City’s notification request for access to private property to conduct inspections.
• Allowing field staff access to their property (external) and service line to conduct the field investigation.
• Following all Contractor instructions to ensure safety for the customer and Contractor.
4.0 PROCEDURE
4.1 Pre-Field Investigation Activities:
1. Black & Veatch will provide the City with example notification materials and public education materials.
2. Black & Veatch will identify a selection of sites for field investigations and the City of Fort Myers will either verify access to both the utility-side (public) and the customer-side (private) of the service line in the easement (Right-of-way) or request permission to access the service line on the customer’s property.
3. The City of Fort Myers will prepare notification materials and mail them to selected customers and provide the customer with information on the project that explains why the inspections are needed and how the inspection will be performed including accessing the meter box on their property.
4. The Contractor will confirm all safety requirements for field work such as PPE and safety procedures are followed, and field personnel are aware of any safety concerns related to the field investigation activities.
5. The Contractor will not disturb the meter box on private property outside of the Right-of-Way unless written permission has been granted from property owner.
4.2 Field Investigation Activities
1. When arriving onsite, the Contractor will put into place any required traffic control procedures.
2. The Contractor will first ring the customer’s doorbell. If the customer answers, the Contractor will notify them that field investigations are beginning. If there is no answer, the Contractor will proceed with investigations.
3. The Contractor will locate the meter box for field investigation and service line identification purposes. A photo of the site will be taken prior to disturbing the meter box.
and Identification SOP
Page No: 3 of 7
4. The Contractor will clean out the meter box to expose the service line material on both the public side and the private side of the water meter. This involves removing soil from a portion of the pipe surfaces to identify their material type.
a. If the meter cleanout process does not reveal the service lines on both sides of the meter, then the contractor should gently excavate the soil immediately adjacent to the meter box using a hand tool until the line is uncovered.
5. Once pipe is exposed on both sides of the meter, the Contractor will conduct the following activities in both locations to identify the pipe material:
a. Take photos of all work activities, including location and condition of the exposed pipe.
b. Remove dirt from the surface of the pipe to expose at least a few inches of clean pipe surface.
c. Identify the pipe material.
i. If the material is determined to be plastic (typically blue, white, grey or black), it likely has the material type printed on the side of the pipe for a more definitive description. Examples of plastic pipe that may be used as service lines are pictured below:
Proceed to Step 7.
ii. If the material appears to be metallic, additional steps are required to further examine the line for material classification.
1. Gently scratch the area using a flat head screwdriver or a coin; do not use a knife or anything that could damage the pipe.
2. Next use a strong magnet and document if it attaches to the pipe or not.
and Identification SOP
Page No: 4 of 7
iii. If the scraped area is shiny and silver and the magnet did not stick to the pipe, the service line may be lead.
1. Use a lead swab to confirm the presence of lead (example of lead test kit below). Press the swab against the cleaned pipe, follow swab test instructions and observe if a color change has occurred at the end of the swab (red or blue per swab manufacturer’s instructions).
2. If a line is suspected lead, the contractor must contact the City at (230)
321-7225 no later than 24 hours following identification of a potential lead line.
An example of a lead service line is shown below:
Source: Wikimedia Commons and Identification SOP
Page No: 5 of 7
iv. If the scraped area is copper in color, like a penny (or green-patina like the
Statue of Liberty), and a magnet did not stick to the pipe, the service line is likely copper. A picture of a copper service line is shown below:
v. If the scraped area remains a dull gray and a magnet sticks to the surface, the service line is likely galvanized iron or steel. A picture of a galvanized iron pipe that may be used as a service line is shown below:
6. The Contractor will notify the customer of the material type by placing a filled-out doorhanger on the front door. The door hanger will include details on where they can find educational materials about lead materials.
7. If a leak is caused, the Contractor will be responsible for fixing a leak and will contact the City of
Fort Myers alerting them to the leak.
8. The Contractor will address all restoration/clean up after meter box cleanouts, ensure no safety hazards such as open holes, or access to the service line exists, and fill in any disturbed areas around the meter box. A photo of the investigation site will be taken after the restoration is complete.
9. The Contractor will record and submit all required information and photos related to the field investigation using the City’s lead service line identification survey tool.
a. The service line identification survey can be found here:
https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/280c9c00f26d455bab90ff786b6d7cff and Identification SOP
Page No: 6 of 7
5.0 PROCESS MAP
and Identification SOP
Page No: 7 of 7
6.0 REFERENCES
1) http://www.cbcwa.com/resources/how_to_test_for_lead.php
2) https://www.lslr-collaborative.org/uploads/9/2/0/2/92028126/howtocheckservicelinelead_18.01.23.pdf
3) https://apps.npr.org/find-lead-pipes-in-your-home/en/#intro
4) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-141/subpart-I
5) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lead-service-line-id-2.jpg
7.0 REVISION HISTORY
Rev
No.
Prepared By Date Approved By Date Description
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .