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Technology Stocks : Discuss Year 2000 Issues -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Mansfield who wrote (2505)	8/30/1998 10:25:00 AM
From: John Mansfield	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9818

amwa-water.org - DISCUSSION FORUM 'Posted by John Carman on August 27, 1998 at 12:10:57: On August 25, 1998, the Utah Y2K Users Group sponsored a forum on Y2K issues at the Little America Hotel in SLC, UT. The Y2K Users Group, which appears to be a cosortium of concerned individuals and organizations chaired by a senior executive with Intermountain Health Care, organized the forum to focus on utility issues. There were 4 panels with 4 industry representatives on each panel. The industries represented by the panels were: 1) Electrical, 2) Water, 3)Gas and 4) Telecommunications. Mike Leavitt, the Govenor of Utah gave the keynote address and Senator Bob Bennett spoke during the lunch break. The water panel was composed of three large wholesale drinking water utilities and one small system. The first question asked referred to potential liability issues. No large retail operations or wastewater representatives were on the panel. The following day, I received a phone call from our State regulatory agency inquiring whether or not we were aware of the problem. I am uncertain whether or not this type of information is relevant to this forum. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

To: John Mansfield who wrote (2505)	8/30/1998 10:26:00 AM
From: John Mansfield	Respond to of 9818

'Does your system have a formal Year 2000 preparedness program? That was the first question asked of AMWA members last week during a conference call with staff from the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, chaired by Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah). The special committee is planning hearings on how services in all sectors of the economy will cope with the inability of some computer hardware and software to manage the change from December 31, 1999, to January 1, 2000. Although major concerns have been voiced over the potential for financial system glitches and electricity service failures at the start of the new millennium, the committee is also surveying other vital sectors including the drinking water community. AMWA representatives John Sullivan of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, L.D. McMullen of the Des Moines Water Works, Little Rock's Jim Harvey, and John Carman of the Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake City each explained the scope and status of their Year 2000 (Y2K) programs to the special committee staff. In general, according to the call's participants, a Y2K preparedness approach includes: (1) raising awareness of potential problems, (2) conducting an inventory of computer systems and equipment containing programmable logic controllers, (3) assessing the findings of the inventory, (4) establishing a methodology for tests and repair/replace actions, (5) recording findings and actions, and (6) developing contingency plans if Y2K problems occur. The conference call, set up by AMWA staff after preliminary discussions with the special committee, also included Patrick Banegas of the Anthony, New Mexico, Water and Sanitation District and Rick Jacobson of EMA Services, Inc. According to Jacobson, about 30 percent of all intelligent devices in water and wastewater systems that use the data function have Y2K compliance issues. Banegas told participants that small systems, in general, were far less prepared than larger systems and could benefit from both an awareness campaign and a utility checklist designed to walk systems through the inventory, assessment,testing, repair and planning phases of Y2K preparedness. amwa-water.org