Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility's Year 2000 Remediation Project.

• Author: Brys, Larry W.

Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility has taken the Y2K threat very seriously and implemented a project to prevent computer collapses and interruptions.

Anchorage is a mid-size, modern city with approximately 250,000 residents and a climate comparable to upper Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Since Anchorage's geographic location precludes the opportunity to participate in regional water and wastewater systems that could provide redundancy for backup, the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility (AWWU) is a stand-alone enterprise that must be able to provide consistent and uninterrupted service to its customers without external assistance. The Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility serves approximately 50,000 accounts consisting of single and multiple family dwellings, businesses, industrial, and military customers.

The Y2K Problem

The Year 2000 (Y2K) computer glitch is a date problem. It can cause a computer to mistake the year 2000 for 1900. This is probably the most pervasive problem but not the only problem and possibly not the most serious. Some computers may incorrectly determine that the year 2000 is not a leap year thereby causing additional problems. Furthermore, certain programming conventions may lead to problems around the turn of the century.

These are all real problems with a dramatic scope. The date rollover presents an impossible situation for many computers. If the computer's operating system does not intercept the problem and terminate the offending program, the whole computer will shut down. The computer could be a microprocessor in a piece of equipment that the owner never suspected was computerized. Indeed, the problem ranges far beyond what are traditionally thought of as "computers."

AWWU's Y2K Project

AWWU's Y2K project formally began in 1996, but programmers had known of the issue for some time. The project began by evaluating systems for Y2K compliance. It was determined that older systems were not compliant, while those developed recently were compliant. Even though AWWU originally planned to hire consultants to develop the Y2K plan, it became clear that internal resources could better and more economically develop this plan. AWWU is currently using a combination of outside consultants and internal resources to implement the plan. In 1997, AWWU inventoried its computer systems and began the final Y2K readiness assessment and remediation project.

There has been an obvious evolution of thinking regarding the Y2K problem. Initially it seemed like a simple, although extremely large problem. As industry understanding of the problem evolved, it turned out to be anything but simple. It now appears that even the industry's pessimists underestimated the pervasiveness of the problem.

As remediation of the problems discovered in the 1997 assessment nears completion, problems subsequently identified are still being addressed. These include issues such as problems with microprocessors in equipment that was not known to be computerized and dealing with failure of business partners, some who may have failed to adequately address their problems. As AWWU moves into 1999, it's Year 2000 program is on track and ahead of schedule.

The Y2K Compliance Strategy

Strategy Development. Formulating a Y2K strategy for AWWU was not an easy task. An information systems professional might hope to be able to rely on industry publications and the mass of information available on the Internet for insight. It seems the Y2K problem has brought out the technical tabloid writers en masse. The valuable information is diluted in a sea of doom prophesies, generalizations and redundant information. Everyone has something to say; most of which is very repetitive. Opinions range from "the sky is falling and not only that - it's worse, there are two layers and they will both fall," to "what's the big deal?"

It was incredibly difficult to determine which advice was credible. Moreover, no one knows what will happen on January 1, 2000. What is necessary and prudent, and what is just hype? AWWU determined that these decisions had to be made internally. These did not always align with standard industry thought, but AWWU felt a responsibility to choose internal strategies in which there was great confidence.

AWWU's Y2K program addresses the following objectives:

* finding and fixing potential problems;

* responding to evolving understanding of the Year 2000 problem;

* addressing user-developed systems - spreadsheets and PC databases;

* developing contingency options;

* testing;

* spending the correct amount; and

* developing a Year 2000 Statement.

Finding and Fixing Potential Problems. As its first line of defense, AWWU has adapted a strategy of locating and correcting Y2K problems. When the formal year 2000 effort commenced, the initial task was to inventory and evaluate its systems - itself an evolving task. This process refined understanding the issue and the overall strategy. AWWU went through several iterations before arriving at the final inventory and plan. In some areas, the inventory approach eventually took a backseat to a more global strategy. For example, with desktop workstations the concept of...