Concerns about the year 2000 computer glitch, known as Y2K, were first relayed to West Virginia towns at the August 1998 statewide mayors' conference. Even though many areas of concern, such as traffic signals and elevator malfunctions, do not apply to Shepherdstown because of its size, there were several items that required attention. These include: town water and sewer services, emergency services (police, fire protection, and radio communications), and Y2K readiness of town computer systems. These areas have been evaluated in consideration of possible electrical and telephone outages that may result from Y2K computer failures.

SEWER AND WATER SERVICES

The municipal sewer and water services are manually operated and do not depend on any Y2K susceptible computer control systems. Some data recording functions at the water treatment plant use computers, but these are not critical to the proper operation of the plant.

The town sewer treatment operation relies on gravity flow of waste to the lowest collection point from which it is pumped to the treatment plant. When the plant was upgraded several years ago, back-up generators were provided to operate the pumps. These consist of two 135-kilowatt generators. Even though generators were started weekly to verify satisfactory operation, actual operation of the pumps under generator power had not been tested in recent years. As a result, a complete overhaul of the emergency power generation system was undertaken this year. One of the power transfer switches is being replaced as a result of this overhaul. Several hundred gallons of diesel fuel are stored on-site for operation of the generators. This would provide a 4 to 5-day fuel supply.

The town system distributes water to about 1,200 residents of Shepherdstown and surrounding areas. This requires about 350,000 to 400,000 gallons per day. Water is treated and pumped daily to fill the water storage tank of 1,000,000-gallon capacity. This is done over two daily work shifts with overtime authorized, if necessary, to top off the tank each night. During the year end holiday break, water use is estimated to be 250,000 to 300,000 gallons, because Shepherd College would be closed. Since the water and sewer facilities are located together on Princess Street, the same generators could be used to power both pumping operations. A permanent electrical connection from the sewer pumping station emergency generator to the water treatment facility will be installed by December 31, so that the generators can readily be used to power the water supply pumps.

Extended power interrupts to Shepherdstown are extremely rare because Allegheny Power has four main lines into the area, and because the water/sewer facility is a high priority for power restoration in the event of an outage. In recent years, only one significant power outage has occurred affecting the water/sewer facility. This lasted for a period of 6 hours. On that occasion, and on other occurrences of shorter duration, the sewer pumps operated on auxiliary generator power, and the water pumps were operated on extended shifts when power was restored. This major outage and some of shorter duration were caused by trees falling across the service lines. The town has begun a routine tree maintenance program to remove dead limbs and dead trees before they cause a power interruption.

The Potomac River is susceptible to episodes of contamination from agricultural and industrial waste sources, as well as sewage system overflows from municipal systems, upstream of Shepherdstown. The State of Maryland Department of Natural Resources monitors water quality in the river and alerts downstream users of hazardous spills when pumping should be suspended. The town has the capability to draw water from Town Run in the event of an extended water quality emergency.

In an emergency situation, the town would be in a position to set up temporary water stations for outlying residents who may be affected by water shortages due to drought, power outages, contamination, etc. This capability was tested this summer when water was provided to households and areas outside the town's normal service area that were affected by the drought.

EMERGENCY SERVICES -- POLICE, FIRE PROTECTION, COMMUNICATIONS

The Shepherdstown Police Station and the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department are both connected by radio with the Jefferson County Emergency Communications Center. In the event of loss of normal telephone communications, both locations would serve as local command centers for emergency communications. Radio relay for emergency communication recently experienced a real-world test when the main telephone cable out of the Shepherdstown relay station was knocked out in early September. The Shepherdstown Police Department was able to monitor the exchange 876 relay station for incoming 911 emergency calls and to relay them via radio to the Jefferson County Emergency Center. In addition, the Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department acquired a radio-equipped van from government surplus that can be used as a mobile emergency communications center.

The Shepherdstown Police Department currently has fuel storage capability of 500 gallons of gasoline in a fairly new above-ground tank which is filled weekly. This provides about a 2-week supply under typical use conditions.

The Shepherdstown Volunteer Fire Department relies on commercial vendors (e.g. Sheetz and Southern States) to supply diesel and gasoline for emergency equipment.

COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT

The town's office computers were replaced in July 1999 with new Y2K compatible equipment. No other Y2K susceptible equipment is used by the town.

CONCLUSION

This report documents considerable progress during the past year in preparing our town for Y2K and, more importantly in my opinion, making the town much more aware of the necessity for planning and periodically checking our capability for responding to other possible emergencies. I welcome suggestions from our residents on other needed actions that would improve the emergency readiness of our community.

As a further independent check on the town's Y2K readiness, the town's insurance carrier reviewed town operations on April 20, 1999, and was satisfied with the results. The West Virginia Public Service Commission also performs utility compliance reviews every 60 days. The last review was completed August 31, 1999, with no deficiencies noted.

last updated Nov. 26, 1999
URL: http://www.intrepid.net/y2k-shepherdstown/Shepherdstown.html

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