2004 Annual Report
Bonita Springs Utilities

 Work in Progress

(Above) The board of directors honored some of the students whose artwork is featured in the 2005 Water Conservation Calendar: (students, left to right) Tasha Corley, Carla Garcia, Elizabeth Szilagyi, Masha Koroleva, Hanny Zuniga, Emily Gruver and Alyssa Showens. BSU board members are (middle row, left to right) Henry Hochstetler, Bob Bachman, Paul Attwood and Harvey Haines, and (back row) Frank Liles, Bob McGrath, Dave McKee and Marc Ciaffone.

BSU thanks the member-customers who selected the 12 drawings for the 2005 calendar from 278 entries: Don Keylon, William Lonkart, David Smith, Shirley Thompson, Ken Shivel and Darren Boole.

2004 WORK IN PROGRESS

• Work to permit and plan the utility’s second water reclamation facility was underway during 2004. In early 2005, the final permit was secured, and groundbreaking took place in March on the 165-acre site east of I-75. The $58 million facility is designed to treat up to 12 million gallons of wastewater per day and is scheduled to be on line in early 2007. In combination with the existing plant’s 6 million-gallon-per-day capacity, it will meet the needs of Bonita Springs as development continues.
• Bonita Springs Utilities provided uninterrupted service to its member-customers during Hurricane Charley and the days that followed. Despite electrical outages, the utility supplied potable water to roughly 20,000 homes and businesses, and wastewater-treatment services to more than 16,000 customers nonstop throughout the storm. Many employees worked 24 hours straight, and generators were used to keep 300 lift stations in operation. Power was restored to most of the utility’s 60-square-mile service within five days, and BSU was able to assist Lee County Utilities with supplies of potable water and the Island Water Association with work crews on Sanibel Island.
• The fourth edition of the Water Conservation Calendar features the artwork of Bonita Springs area elementary school students and encourages member-customers to use water wisely year-round. Two of the students have had their artwork featured in previous BSU calendars: Carla Garcia debuted with a kindergarten drawing in the 2003 calendar, and her work was chosen for both the 2004 and 2005 calendars. Tasha Corley, whose drawing is on this year’s calendar cover, also had her work in the 2004 calendar.
• BSU implemented the first of three planned rate adjustments, a step that protects the best interests of member-customers for the long term, in September 2004. New technology and security requirements, increased operating costs and capital projects needed to accommodate the area’s ongoing growth made the new rates necessary. The second adjustment will go into effect this September.
• BSU has installed 15,000 backflow prevention devices on its member-customers’ water-service lines at no charge. These devices, which are becoming standard practice for water utilities throughout the country, prevent possible contamination from water flowing backward through water meters into BSU water mains when there is a loss of pressure in the system. They are a critical element in protecting our water system and ensuring public safety.
• During 2004, the number of BSU member-customers who registered to pay their bills online, doubled. More than 1,100 now enjoy the convenience of www.bsu.us.
• The utility will work to secure a site for a new water storage tank in the western part of its service area to increase storage capacity and enhance water pressure throughout the system.