“As Executive Director of the Public Works Agency,
my focus is achieving extraordinary results that will improve the safety
and quality of life for our community.”
Each year it is my privilege to introduce our Annual Consumer Confidence Report. Its primary purpose is to provide you with information about the quality of your drinking water and the importance of conservation. In this report, we also talk about new developments within the Public Works Agency and projects that are essential to our community’s safety, health, and quality of life. Here’s a snapshot of some of our more ambitious programs and initiatives, current and future:
Water Conservation
While the drought in California is officially over, we regard conservation as an important and ongoing initiative. We plan to replace grass with drought tolerant landscaping in our street medians and other public areas to help the city conserve water and reduce maintenance costs while providing aesthetic benefits to the community.
Water Infrastructure
We are modernizing one of our oldest pumping stations, which is slated for completion in 2018. We are also revitalizing and improving our main water infrastructure and wastewater including the repair of a major water pipeline called the Orange County Feeder.
“Fill It From The Tap” Initiative
The City is launching a new campaign to encourage residents to drink Santa Ana’s award winning tap water, save money and reduce their carbon footprint by reducing unrecycled plastic water bottles that end up in our landfills, streams, waterways and ocean.
Automated Meter Infrastructure (AMI)
Once funding is secured through a bond, we plan to replace our current water metering system with an automated meter infrastructure called AMI. Smart metering will help the city reduce operational costs and improve service reliability. It will provide real time information on water consumption, better detect leaks, prevent water waste, and save money for residents.
LED Lights
Within the next twelve months, the city is converting its traditional streetlights to LED lights. Advantages to this new citywide program include improved lighting, especially in underlit areas of the city, dimming capabilities, a number of safety features, and substantial reduction in energy costs. This savings in energy costs would be leveraged to fund the $13 million capital cost of the program.
Safe Mobility Santa Ana
Santa Ana ranks as the fourth most populated city in the nation, and as such, has a high rate of injuries and fatalities involving pedestrians and cyclists. One of the city’s highest priorities is to substantially reduce this rate with a goal of reaching zero fatalities. We plan to achieve this through the city’s comprehensive program called Safe Mobility Santa Ana (SMSA), which was adopted by City Council last November. SMSA is primarily based on the principles of “Vision Zero,” an initiative that has proved successful across Europe—and is now gaining momentum in major American cities such as New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
It is designed to slow the speed of vehicles, widen sidewalks, create safe bike lanes, and provide multiple means of mobility. Our team of engineers and grant writers have collaborated closely and were able to secure over $40 million in outside grants that would be leveraged toward implementing some key features of SMSA.
The Public Works Agency has enjoyed tremendous success in securing outside sources for funding to subsidize our infrastructure budget. Over the last three years, we have secured well over $80 million in various state and federal grants for conservation, safety and multimodal transportation projects. Our track record and ongoing emphasis on exploring any and all outside grants—which is predicated on our extensive research, master planning, and multi-agency collaboration—will ensure additional funding for our major infrastructure programs in the years to come.
Sustainable Mobility and Roadway Transformation (SMaRT-Santa Ana)
A sustainable pavement program will be possible through the implementation of SMaRT. Goals include maintaining an excellent pavement network, protection of over $72 million in pavement investment, repaving streets that are in poor condition within 3 to 5 years, financial sustainability, implementation of master plans for bicycles and pedestrians, citywide traffic safety improvements, and the repair of sidewalks and expansion of the ADA infrastructure.
City-Wide Fiber Optics Enterprise
The City is working on a citywide fiber optics enterprise to bring next generation technology and the capability of transferring lots of data quickly. Broadband access may be gained in several ways, and can overcome geographical and financial barriers to connect the community to a wide range of educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities and resources.
Looking to the future is what we do. Our goal is to be proactive, innovative and efficient. But Public Works can’t do it alone. We invite your participation by letting us know what we can do better. Together, we can ensure quality of life, well-being and a sustainable future for all Santa Ana residents and businesses. Sincerely,
Fred Mousavipour
Executive Director
Public Works Agency
City of Santa Ana