Beverly Hills Planning Efforts

Generating Work

Since 2016, Civiltec has enjoyed a strong working relationship with the City of Beverly Hills, Public Works Department. Specifically, our team focuses on assisting Water Resources and Operations with water system planning, design, and construction management. Sara Canché has been working directly with Beverly Hills during this time aiding in the ‘will serve’ process for new water customers. Her utility research and permitting skills have assisted greatly, here is a little bit about what she says is her day-to-day and how it has grown over the years.

“My function at the City is to assist the water resources manager Vince Damasse with the water will serve process. My job is to prepare the water fee letters for all new meter requests,” Sara says. Now how does that work? “The first step of the process is to send the water will serve form to the customer and request a copy of the building permit for the project along with plumbing, fire sprinkler, irrigation, and building plans. When I receive all the information from the customer, I add them to the project development log and create a project folder. And then I can start the draft fee letter. When the draft fee letter is complete, I send it to the customer for review. If the customer agrees with the letter, I prepare the final fee letter and send it to Vince for final review and signature and then he forwards the letter to finance for an invoice. When I receive the invoice from finance, I forward that with the final fee letter to the customer for payment. When I receive the payment receipt from the customer, I send the request for meter installation to the water operations department.” What a process! Sara says the job isn’t too difficult but just requires a key eye for detail and on the email inbox and phone to make sure to provide customers with information quickly. 

With Sara onsite and working with Beverly Hills staff frequently, it’s bound to impact our company’s knowledge of the City’s systems. Happily, it has aided in creating more work over the years and as such strengthening our relationship with Beverly Hills staff. “Since I started working here in 2017, I have over 450 requests for meters on the project development log for Civiltec.” Now planning and developmental services were just the beginning of this relationship. Over the years we have worked on over 60 projects from new development projects, creating a new water resources integration plan, creating an interconnected water system or “Developer Manual,” hydraulic analyses, water/sewer modeling, and several capital improvements which have addressed water system issues, designed water main replacement, pump station upgrades, and reservoir rehabilitation projects, providing contract documents, and providing bidding and construction support. Our knowledge of the Beverly Hills systems has grown and expanded over the years, and we are excited to continue seeing improvement projects from this fruitful relationship in the door now and in the future. 

Currently, Civiltec Staff is working with Beverly Hills staff to complete new water system standard drawings and updated technical specifications, analysis of the Cabrillo Reservoir storage expansion, new Zone 8 and Zone 9 pump stations, reservoir management systems for three large reservoirs, improvements to the AMR/AMI system and development of new groundwater sources. We are also analyzing the water system to handle new demands from several large developments and school expansions.

We greatly value this relationship with Beverly Hills and look forward to continuing to serve the Beverly Hills Public Works Department and the community.