Audit Report on the Oversight of the City Water Distribution System By the Department of Environmental Protection

March 5, 2003 | MJ02-163A

Table of Contents

    AUDIT REPORT IN BRIEF

    This audit determined whether the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) maintained up-to-date records for the City’s water distribution system and implemented security measures in the water tunnel shafts. The DEP Bureau of Water and Sewer Operations (Bureau) is responsible for maintaining and protecting City drinking water.

    DEP generally maintained up-to-date records regarding the City’s water distribution system. Also, DEP has implemented security measures in the water tunnel shafts. Of the 50 field cards we sampled and reviewed, all of the information contained on the cards had been entered in the new centralized computer system. However, field cards for the Jamaica water distribution system in Queens are not updated promptly. As a result, DEP workers have to rely on the manual records more when performing work in that area than in other areas of the City.

    In reviewing DEP’s implementation of the new computerized mapping system, we noted that the contract, slated to cost a maximum of $6.3 million and to take five years, has been extended more than seven years beyond the original completion date at an additional cost of $3 million. However, we reviewed documentation contained in the contract file and verified that all changes were documented and approved by DEP officials, and that the additional work identified in the change orders was not included in the original contract terms.

    We made two recommendations, both of which are listed below.

    • DEP should take steps to eliminate the backlog of field cards to be entered in the Geographic Information System (GIS) for the Jamaica, Queens, area.
    • If OMB should approve the project to put the City’s entire water system on GIS, we suggest that the new agreement include the provision that the vendor make any future new product or upgrade to the system available to DEP at a discounted rate.

    DEP agreed to implement the report’s recommendations.

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