florida water resources journal - february 2015

News and Features

18 2014 FSAWWA FALL CONFERENCE RECAP18 General Information, Contests 22 Sponsors24 Awards 29 BBQ and Incoming Chair Reception

42 2015 FWPCOA Officers and Committee Chairs List48 FSAWWA Legislative Day in Tallahassee55 FSAWWA Drop Savers Contests58 News Beat59 FSAWWA Awards

Technical Articles4 Alternative Technologies for Indirect Potable Reuse in Southeast Florida—J. Philip Cooke,

Benjamin J. Stanford, Enrique Vadiveloo, and Tara VanEyk15 Reclaimed Water Storage: A Dirty Little Secret—Matthew S. Love and Jeffrey S. Lowe32 Groundwater Replenishment Performance and Operations: Lessons Learned During

Clearwater’s One-Year Pilot—Tracy Mercer, Janice “Nan” Bennett, Robert Fahey, Emilie Moore,Dave MacNevin, and Jarrett Kinslow

52 Lessons Learned in Operation of an Aboveground Reservoir at the Peace River Facility—Mike Coates, Sam Stone, and Noah Olenych

Education and Training9 Florida Water Resources Conference

31 TREEO Center Training37 FWPCOA Training Calendar39 ISA Water/Wastewater and Automatic Controls

Symposium41 CEU Challenge45 AWWA/AMTA Membrane Technology Conference49 FWPCOA State Short School51 FSAWWA Training57 FWPCOA Online Training Institute

Columns30 Certification Boulevard—Roy Pelletier44 Reader Profile—Patrick J. Lehman46 FSAWWA Speaking Out—Mark Lehigh50 C Factor—Thomas King59 Spotlight on Safety—Doug Prentiss Sr.

Departments59 New Products60 Service Directories63 Classifieds66 Display Advertiser Index

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President: Richard Anderson (FSAWWA)Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority

Vice President: Greg Chomic (FWEA)Heyward Incorporated

Treasurer: Rim Bishop (FWPCOA)Seacoast Utility Authority

Secretary: Holly Hanson (At Large)ILEX Services Inc., Orlando

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For Other InformationDEP Operator Certification: Ron McCulley – 850-245-7500FSAWWA: Peggy Guingona – 407-957-8448Florida Water Resources Conference: 888-328-8448FWPCOA Operators Helping Operators:

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Volume 67 February 2015 Number 2

ON THE COVER: A reservoir holdsreclaimed water that will be pumped into astorage tank in Port Orange. (photo: St.Johns River Water Management District)

Florida Water Resources Journal • February 2015 3

The implementation of ocean outfall leg-islation in Florida has created agroundswell of reuse master planning

and process investigation in the southeasternportion of the state. Municipalities must prepareto shut down their ocean outfalls and reuse 60percent of the outfall baseline flow for a benefi-cial purpose by 2025.

The City of Hollywood (City) owns and op-erates the Southern Regional Wastewater Treat-ment Plant (SRWWTP) that utilizes an openocean outfall to discharge secondary effluent. Aspart of legislation passed in 2008, the City is re-quired to implement 20.4 mil gal per day (mgd)of additional reuse “on an annual basis” begin-ning in 2026, based on outfall flows from 2003-2007. This requirement excludes the existingirrigation system, which provides public accessirrigation water to golf courses within the City.

In response to this impending deadline, theCity investigated options for reuse requiredunder the new law. Three options were initiallyidentified:� Expanding the public irrigation system� Recharging the Biscayne aquifer� Recharging the Floridan aquifer

Serving coastal cities with a high ground-water table, the City’s SRWWTP has a salty ef-fluent, rendering it unsuitable for irrigationreuse without reverse osmosis (RO) treatment;additionally, the required irrigation piping net-work would need to be extended well beyondcity limits, escalating the estimated cost of im-plementing the mandated reuse to $1 billion. Ef-fluent going into the Biscayne aquifer, thepredominant source of drinking water for all ofsoutheast Florida, would require a costly suiteof advanced treatment, including microfiltra-tion (MF), RO, and ultraviolet advanced oxida-tion processes (UV-AOP) before injection intothe high-quality aquifer, with total dissolvedsolids (TDS) < 500 mg/L.

After a review of the legislation, discussionswith regulatory agencies, and exploration ofavailable options, the Floridan aquifer rechargewas identified as a potentially more cost-effec-

tive and environmentally-friendly direction forthe City (Figure 1).

Due to the brackish quality of the Floridanaquifer (TDS > 500 mg/L), alternative treat-ment processes using ultrafiltration, ion ex-change, ozone, and UV-AOPs, as well asbiofiltration, were examined as an alternative tothe full-advanced treatment approach ofMF/RO and UV-AOP that are currently the

Alternative Technologies for Indirect Potable Reuse in Southeast Florida

J. Philip Cooke, Benjamin J. Stanford, Enrique Vadiveloo, and Tara VanEyk

J. Philip Cooke, P.E., is a senior associate,Benjamin J. Stanford, Ph.D., is director ofapplied research and corporate water reusepractice leader, Enrique Vadiveloo, P.E., isan associate, and Tara VanEyk, P.E., is aprincipal engineer with Hazen and Sawyerin Hollywood.

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When faced with an im-posed reuse mandate, theCity of Hollywood devel-oped a treatment approachthat demonstrates emergingcontaminant oxidationwithout reverse osmosis,which has the potential togreatly reduce costs andcarbon emissions.

Figure 1. The Floridan aquifer is a deeper,more saline body of water, with high levels of

total dissolved solids, requiring reverse osmosismembrane treatment to achieve potable water

quality. Recharging the Floridan aquifer (ratherthan the Biscayne) means that reverse osmosis

treatment may not be needed in the reusetreatment scheme, drastically reducing power

consumption, mitigating carbon footprint, andsaving significant capital dollars.

Continued on page 6

4 February 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal


customary treatment in potable reuse applica-tions. Due to its inherent salinity, raw waterfrom the Floridan aquifer requires nanofiltra-tion (NF) or RO membrane treatment toachieve potable quality, allowing the City toconsider less-expensive recharge processschemes at the reclamation facility without re-dundant RO or NF membrane treatment. Ifsuccessfully permitted, this reuse project utiliz-ing Floridan aquifer recharge could potentiallysave the City about $100 million dollars in cap-ital costs over Biscayne aquifer recharge andabout $800 million in capital costs over irriga-tion-level treatment and expansion of the pub-lic access irrigation system.

Pilot Study Program Objectives and Guidelines

Based on the specific characteristics of theSRWWTP effluent and the aquifer water quality,a customized plan of study was developed toachieve acceptable emerging contaminant oxi-dation using treatment technologies that aremore cost-effective and have a smaller carbonfootprint than MF/RO/UV-AOP treatment. Thegoal of the pilot project was to demonstrate theability to reliably produce water that satisfiesregulated primary and secondary drinkingwater standards (with the exception of certainconstituents naturally present in the Floridanaquifer, such as sodium and chloride) and re-moves unregulated emerging contaminants.

After considering the impacts associated withBroward County code compliance, the projectteam approached the County with the treatmentconcept. The Broward County EnvironmentalProtection and Growth Management Division(BCEPGMD) suggested that certain water qual-ity requirements for aquifer recharge may bewaived based on demonstration of reasonableemerging contaminant oxidation. As a result, thepilot study was designed to meet this goal usingalternative treatment technologies that are fullyprotective of the environment, have reduced car-bon emissions, and are more cost-effective, whilebeing predicated on regulatory waivers for chem-ical oxygen demand (COD), TDS, chloride,sodium, and phosphates. Two treatment strategieswere employed, as depicted in Figure 2.

Approach to Evaluating Undefined Contaminant Removal

Since Florida currently does not haveemerging contaminant regulations, California’sTitle 22 Groundwater Replenishment ReuseDraft Regulation was used to determine the ef-ficacy of the different treatment schemes. A listof emerging contaminants was developed basedon the California Department of Public Health(CDPH) Title 22 Groundwater ReplenishmentReuse Draft Regulation (2011, and updatedMarch 28, 2013). The CDPH draft regulation fo-cuses on indicator compounds from nine func-tional groups, requiring demonstration of a logremoval for five of the nine functional groups, asfollows: � 0.5-log removal for at least three indicators

in functional groups (A) through (G)� 0.3-log removal for at least one indicator in

functional groups (H) or (I)

Removal as a basis for determining treat-ment reliability is limited in that it relies on in-

1: UV-AOPThis process scheme included secondary-treated effluent from the SRWWTP, followed by deep bed filters(DBF), ion exchange (IX) for total organic carbon (TOC) removal, IX for ammonia removal, UV-AOP, andbiological activated carbon (BAC) filters.

2: Ozone/UVThis process scheme includes secondary-treated effluent from the SRWWTP, followed by DBF, IX for TOCremoval, IX for ammonia removal, ozone, BAC filters, and UV.

Figure 2. Pilot Treatment Strategies

Table 1. Emerging Contaminant Indicator Compounds

The pilot was operated for a duration of 10 months,not including construction and startup.

Continued from page 4

Continued on page 8


fluent concentrations, which can be low foremerging contaminants and are often below de-tection limits, thereby understating removal. Asa result, log removal should be used alongsideother guidance markers for treatment reliabil-ity. Therefore, for this pilot study, the drinkingwater guideline values presented in the Aus-tralian Guidelines for Water Recycling docu-ment and the “comparison values” presented inthe WateReuse Foundation report (WRF-05-005, 2010) were used alongside log removal todetermine the efficacy of the process schemesfor emerging contaminant oxidation.

For the pilot study, indicators for eachfunctional group were chosen, as presented inTable 1, based on initial testing of the secondaryeffluent to allow determination of log removalto the greatest extent possible. Though not in-

cluded in any of the Title 22 functional groups,N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and 1,4-dioxane are considered emerging contaminants,which may be regulated in the future, and thuswere also monitored as part of this study, sincedestruction/removal of these compounds is al-most entirely governed by UV photolysis andadvanced oxidation, respectively.

It should be noted that the California reg-ulations are designed to be protective of lowTDS groundwater that is consumed directly asdrinking water upon withdrawal without anyadditional treatment or disinfection (e.g., viaprivate wells). Thus, the California regulationsprovided a conservative point of comparison forthe Hollywood pilot study, which tested treat-ment strategies tailored for the recharge of ahigh TDS aquifer where desalting (high pressuremembranes) will be required before use asdrinking water. The membrane processes willfurther remove other constituents that may re-main in the recycled water.

The pilot test was operated for a durationof approximately 10 months (not includingpilot construction, startup, and decommission).Throughout the study period, the pilot plantoperated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, withthe exception of scheduled monthly equipmentcleanings. The pilot used portable treatment sys-tem containers on site at the SRWWTP, treatingsecondary effluent from the facility and return-ing the final process water to the head of theplant after sampling.

Results

Pilot-scale testing of both novel approachesdemonstrated that an effluent quality that com-plies with state regulations and removes emerg-ing contaminants can be achieved, whileoffering additional benefits to the public and theenvironment by way of substantially reducedcosts and carbon emissions.

Both piloted treatment strategies success-fully oxidized emerging contaminants wellbelow the targeted limits. All primary and sec-ondary drinking water standards were met, withthe exception of those indicted in Table 2. Pre-sented in Table 2 are pilot process results for keyregulated parameters and those parameters inwhich waivers will be sought based on thedemonstrated emerging contaminant removaland the expected water quality of the receivingwater body (Floridan aquifer).

The pilot test found that both strategies areviable options for recharge in Broward County tosatisfy the new state reuse requirement. The 20-year present value of the treatment necessary forfull compliance with state recharge regulations isestimated to be $190 million, while full treatmentcompliance with Broward County regulationshas an estimated present value of $590 million.However, this pilot testing achieved an effluentquality that complies with state regulations andremoves yet-to-be-regulated emerging contami-nants at a present value in the range of $290-330million, which is half the cost of currently estab-lished full-advanced treatment methods utilizingMF/RO/UV-AOP (Figure 3). The annual opera-tion and maintenance (O&M) costs of the pilotedtreatment strategies ($6.8-8 million annually)would also be half that of MF/RO/UV-AOP treat-ment methods ($16.2 million annually). This ap-proach offers additional benefits to the publicand the environment by way of substantially re-duced carbon emissions. Meeting BrowardCounty standards through full-advanced treat-ment would release an estimated 26,000 tonnesof annual carbon emissions, while the pilotedtreatment schemes would release less than half asmuch (12-14,000 tonnes).

Future Applications

As growing demand strains existing drink-ing water supplies and increasingly stringentwastewater effluent standards lead to more ad-vanced wastewater treatment, indirect potablereuse is becoming a feasible scenario for moreutilities. A majority of potable reuse schemes inoperation or being planned in the United Statesmake use of AOPs and RO to ensure maximumcontaminant removal. This pilot developed twopotable reuse schemes where RO or NF mem-branes are not incorporated at the reuse facility,potentially reducing carbon emissions and savingmunicipalities significant capital and O&M costs.

The City is currently debating the publicpolicy implications of various treatment optionsand their impacts on the appropriate regulatoryagencies. Utilization of a tailored approach toreuse promises a solution that is the most pro-tective of public health and the environment. ��

Table 2. Pilot Process Summary Results of Key Regulated Parameters

Red Background: Based on demonstrated emergingcontaminant removal, waivers will be sought fromthe BCEPGMD.

Figure 3. Pilot Technique Present Value and Carbon Emissions



Reclaimed water (RCW), in general, is acomplex commodity; when there is anabundance being produced, there is lim-

ited demand, and when there is excess demand,there is insufficient supply. The solution seemsstraight forward—lots of storage—and thus, thedevelopment of large, open-top, wet weather stor-age ponds to hold the valuable resource. But, thissimple solution has a dirty little secret, laden withnutrients and exposed to sunshine: algal bloomsthat complicate treatment and distribution.

Several municipalities along the west coastof Florida have been dealing with the effects ofalgal blooms in their storage ponds. The algaecan’t be sent into the distribution network di-rectly because it fouls the downstream irrigationsystems and results in increased maintenanceand frustrated customers. Although the solutionseems simple on the surface, the problem ismultifaceted. Simply chlorinating the water toeradicate the algae can require large doses ofchemicals and promotes the production of tri-halomethanes (THMs), while still leaving algalstructures and debris to foul the downstreamsystems. Reprocessing the water within thewastewater facility can be expensive and unsuc-cessful; returning the water creates operationalchallenges for each unit process, adds opera-tional cost, and comingling the water within thecompliance zones can result in recontaminationof the effluent.

Pilot Study

In response to these operational issues andcustomer complaints, the Manatee County Util-ities Department (County) implemented an ag-gressive program to address the algae producedin its storage ponds. The first step of the pro-gram started with the enumeration of the algaegenerated in the storage ponds to identify thetype and size of the target material. The Countyoperates eight individual ponds, most of whichare unlined for seasonal storage, with a total vol-ume of 728 mil gal (MG).

Each pond was sampled to determine thetotal cell numbers present and their species. Inall cases, blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria) werethe most abundant phylum of bacteria presentin the RCW sampled, constituting, at a mini-mum, 80 percent of algae present by cell quan-tity. In the remaining 20 percent of the algaeenumerated, yellow-green algae, green algae, di-

atoms, flagellates, and blue-green algae werepresent in varying concentrations. Blue-greenalgae are able to reduce nitrogen and carbondioxide in aerobic conditions. This lends to algalgrowth in open-top RCW storage ponds, giventhe presence of nitrogen in the effluent of waste-water treatment processes and the abundance ofsunlight available in the Florida climate.

A particle distribution was also performedon the samples collected from the storageponds. Typical RCW industry practice wouldsuggest solids larger than 200 microns must beremoved in order to prevent clogging of resi-dential irrigation systems. However, the Countywould like to accommodate microirrigation sys-tems, which have greater removal requirements.Manufacturers of microirrigation system com-ponents recommend a filtration removal of 74microns to prevent discharge orifice bridgingand subsequent clogging of microirrigation sys-tems. This filtration criterion is also recom-mended for microirrigation systems in theUniversity of Florida’s Institute of Food andAgricultural Sciences (IFAS) publications:Media Filters for Trickle Irrigation in Florida,Screen Filters in Trickle Irrigation Systems, Set-tling Basins for Trickle Irrigation in Florida, andPrinciples of Microirrigation; and Oregon State

University’s publication, Drip Irrigation: An In-troduction.

Florida sands typically range in size from50 to 350 microns, with a size distribution of 80percent < 275 microns, 60 percent < 200 mi-crons, 25 percent < 150 microns, and 10 percent< 75 microns. Abundant quantities of sand arecommonly found in unlined storage pondwater, which are typically used for reclaimedwater storage at treatment facilities in the state.

The volume of particles was calculated permilliliter, assuming the particle size is the parti-cle’s true diameter, such that a particle is a cleansphere. The particle volume for each diameterwas multiplied by the corresponding particlecount. This analysis illustrates the volume ofparticles that have the opportunity to be filteredbased on the filter mesh size and sample results.For example, a 50-micron screen would have theopportunity to collect approximately 45 percent

Reclaimed Water Storage: A Dirty Little SecretMatthew S. Love and Jeffrey S. Lowe

Matthew S. Love P.E., is senior processengineer, and Jeffrey S. Lowe P.E., iswastewater practice leader, with McKim &Creed in Tampa.

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Table 1. Summary of Manatee County Seasonal Storage Ponds

Continued on page 16

of the particle volume from the County’s pondwater. Decreasing the filter screen size from 50to 25 microns allowed the County the opportu-nity to collect approximately 20 percent moreparticle volume. Therefore, it was anticipatedthat the use of a 25-micron filter screen wouldgive the County the opportunity to capture 65percent of the particle volume within the stor-age ponds, based on the samples and the re-maining particles not resulting inmicroirrigation fouling. This increased capturealso reduces the potential for disinfection up-take, reducing chemical dosing costs. It shouldbe noted that algae size, type, and enumerationcan vary geographically, seasonally, and be basedon pond depth and nutrient loading, and there-fore, should be evaluated on a case-by-case basisgiving consideration to these parameters.

Screening Technology

The second step of the County’s programwas to evaluate several screening technologies todetermine the most effective equipment to usein the removal of the suspended solids from theRCW returned from the storage ponds. The

County conducted evaluations and pilot stud-ies of several separate technologies.

The Salsnes Filter™ is designed to provideprimary treatment at wastewater treatmentplants and other applications such as membranepretreatment, food and dairy, the fishing indus-try, pulp and paper, manure dewatering, andtanneries. The filter removes solids by use of acontinuously looped synthetic mesh screen thatis offered in a compact and covered system pro-viding a small footprint and odor containment.The mesh screen is available from 840 micronsdown to 30 microns. Solids are removed fromthe screen by use of an air knife and a periodichot water wash, which is activated to removesolids that may adhere to the mesh. The screen-ings are collected in a hopper that feeds an augerpress, which dewaters the screenings to 25-40percent solids.

The pilot study utilizing the filter was con-ducted at the County’s Southwest Water Recla-mation Facility (SWWRF) from Sept. 30, 2009,through Oct. 7, 2009. During the pilot study,three mesh screen sizes were utilized (250, 90,and 55 microns) and samples were collected andanalyzed. In summary, the mesh screen sizes uti-lized during the pilot did not remove significantamounts of solids until the 55-micron screenwas used.

Based on the results of the pilot study anddiscussion with vendors, the filter is not antici-pated to provide adequate removal of algae.With this type of filter, the general rule of thumbis for 25 percent of the particles to be larger thanfilter mesh size. The vendor of the filter con-cluded that, based on the algae particle size, aproper mat will not form for effective algae re-moval; therefore, this filter was eliminated fromfurther consideration in this project.

The Nova Water Technologies Ultrascreen®Microfilter is used for tertiary filtration and uti-lizes rotating stainless steel mesh screens. Themicrofilter uses dynamic tangential filtrationwith gravity providing the driving hydraulichead condition to remove solids from the water.This means that since the filter media is rotating,filtration occurs at an angle less than 90 degrees,making the 15- to 25-micron mesh functionallysmaller (similar to 10 microns) than whenstanding still. Continuous rotation presents aclean filtration surface for the incoming flow atall times. Hydraulic loading rates may be as highas 16 gal per minute (gpm) per sq ft.

The biomass layer accumulates on the sur-face of the American Iron and Steel Institute(AISI) 316 stainless steel mesh and strains outincreasingly finer solids. When the influent levelin the feed box rises to a preset depth, a level sen-sor actuates operation of the wash water pump.The back of the screen mesh is sprayed by low-

pressure water, at 20 to 60 pounds per sq in (psi),for a typical 5- to 10-second period. Each diskhas a dedicated spray header for efficient wash-ing. The Nova filter was pilot-tested at theSWWRF from July 16, 2009, to August 3, 2009,where the unit demonstrated that it was effectiveat removing particles larger than 25 microns.

The Westech SuperDisc™ is very similar tothe Nova screen, with the exception that the discutilizes a fine woven fiberglass screen as the fil-ter media. The vertical discs are attached to ahorizontal drum-type rotor, which acts as thecenter axis around which the discs rotate. Eachfilter is fabricated from a number of fiberglasscassette and screen sizes between 10 to 60 mi-crons. The disc was pilot-tested at the SWWRFfrom Sept. 1, 2010, to Sept. 5, 2010. The unitperformed similarly to the Nova filter, with theexception of the backwash cycles. At the smallermesh sizes and higher loading rate, the back-wash cycle became too frequent; in some in-stances, the time between cycles was less thantwo minutes. The Nova filter was selected as thebasis of design.

Process Modification

The third step in the program was to con-sider process improvements to reduce con-tributing nutrients. Currently, the County’sNorth Water Reclamation Facility (NWRF) andSoutheast Water Reclamation Facility (SEWRF)operate Carrousel® Systems with anoxic reactorsto achieve nitrogen and biological oxygen de-mand (BOD) and biological nutrient removal tomeet advanced secondary RCW standards. How-ever, SWWRF is a conventional type-I activatedsludge biological process that maintains a lowsolids retention time (SRT) in order to avoidconverting incoming ammonia into nitrites andnitrates. The resulting effluent is high in nutri-ents that feed algal growth in the seasonal storageponds on site. The County has performed anevaluation and has begun the design process toconvert the existing SWWRF facility from theconventional activated sludge process to a Mod-ified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) process. The mod-ification will facilitate the conversion and theremoval of nitrogen from the effluent and reducenutrients available for the growth of algae.

The final step of the program is addressingoperational issues that surround the RCW re-turn from the seasonal storage ponds. The in-take structures that provide water to the pondreturn pump stations are generally at or belowthe existing pond’s bottom and are conducivefor pulling sediments from the bottom of thepond. Likewise, the intake structures have a 2-in.grating at the inlet to serve as a course screenprior to water being drawn into the pump sta-



tion wet well. This grating provides little pro-tection for aquatic life, such as fish and turtles.At low pond levels, it is also possible to intakeduckweed and other plant life that typically ex-ists in the upper 18 in. of the pond’s total depth.

At SWWRF, the existing 2-in. intakescreenings are being replaced with 1-in. screen-ings. The 10 States Standards recommendscreen opening sizes no larger than 1 in. for barscreens to a headworks, which provides a prac-tical basis for sizing the intake screens. An eval-uation of projected velocities under thisupgrade was conducted, assuming that thescreens were 50 percent blinded by solids undermaximum flow conditions at all three intakes.The velocities ranged from 0.31 ft per second(fps) to 0.4 fps, falling below the recommendedstandard of 1 fps to protect aquatic life. AtNWRF and SEWRF, the County elected to go astep further by modifying the pond bottom witha concrete apron to control debris and by in-stalling passive Johnson Screens with ½-in.wedge wire openings. Like the grate replace-ments at SWWRF, these screens protect aquaticlife and address potential sediment, algae, andsticks from entering the pump station.

As a part of the ongoing lake filtration proj-ect at each facility, the pond return piping isbeing modified to discharge into the effluenttransfer wet wells. Under the existing pond re-turn configuration, RCW from the seasonalstorage ponds is returned to the influent side ofthe tertiary filtration, which consists of tradi-tional traveling bridge sand media filters orcloth media filters. Neither the cloth media norsand media filters handle the heavy loading ofalgae returned from the seasonal storage ponds.This greatly reduces the County’s ability to re-turn RCW from the storage ponds during peri-ods of high RCW demand and low productionof RCW from the treatment process. Given thatthe stored water has been returned into thewastewater treatment process train and mustagain comply with the domestic wastewater per-mit, it must now be retreated to meet effluentquality limits. The new configuration will negatebringing water into the wastewater facilities“compliance zone.” Monitoring requirementswill be less stringent and will accommodate re-turn water back to the RCW system at an in-creased rate. This will allow the County to meethigh RCW demands.

The County is just completing the first in-stallation of the gravity filters and other im-provements at the NWRF. The initial resultsfrom the first system installed have been verypromising and the process improvements haveyet to be implemented. Installations at other fa-cilities are in various stages and will be in oper-ation in the near future. ��



Peggy Guingona (left), FSAWWA executive director, is shown with Kim Kowalski, conferenceco-chair; Stacey Smith, conference registration staff; and Rick Ratcliffe, conference co-chair.

Attendees getting ready to vote for the "Best of the Best” People'sChoice Tasting.

The Florida Section of the AmericanWater Works Association (FSAWWA) held itsfall conference November 30 through Decem-ber 4 at the Omni Orlando Resort at Champi-onsGate. The success of the yearly event wasbecause of the dedicated service and selfishvolunteerism of the Manufacturers/AssociatesCouncil (MAC) and its conference planningcommittee. The conference was attended bymore than 1390 people, included water utilityexecutives and managers, engineers, educators,manufacturers, consultants, operators, andothers from the water profession.

There were plenty of opportunities tomeet old colleagues and make new friends atthe continental breakfasts, lunches, meet-and-greet receptions, golf tournament, thePoker Night and Happy Hour, and the BBQchallenge and reception to welcome the in-coming chair, Mark Lehigh.

Opening General Session

Back by popular demand was the open-ing general session on Monday afternoon.The keynote speaker, Jim Davidson, offered apresentation entitled, “Rally Your Resilience:Reach Your Summits in Business and Life.”

Jim is a resilience expert, expedition leader,author, and speaker. He presented lessonslearned from his mountain-climbing adventuresthat inspire people to be flexible and able to

adapt to any situation. His motivational keynoteshared practical tips and compelling lessons.

Other speakers included visiting AAWAofficer David E. Rager, association treasurer,and Jackie Torbert, association director.

BBQ Challenge and Incoming Chair’s Reception

On Monday evening, the conferenceheld the first-ever BBQ Challenge, which wasopen to all attendees. It was also an opportu-nity to introduce and welcome incomingchair Mark Lehigh.

Technical Program

Monday offered specialty workshops: En-gineering Laws and Rules (presented by Dr.Fred Bloetscher), Water Distribution Sympo-sium, Ozone Issues and Solutions, and How toUse Hydraulic Tools to Make Your Job Easier.

Tuesday and Wednesday technical ses-sions focused on the conference’s theme, “Re-liability in a Changing Environment.” Topictitles included: Membranes (two sessions),Water Treatment Solutions, Energy Reduc-tion Solutions, Issues with Indirect PotableReuse: A Solution for Florida, AlternativeWater Supply Solutions, Risk and Reliability:How Much at Risk are Our Facilities?, andDistribution System Issues and Solutions.

Exhibits

The exhibit hall, which had 180 boothspaces, gave attendees another chance to net-work and learn about the latest and most in-novative products and services in the waterindustry. Company personnel were availableeach day to help attendees pick the productsthat will help them solve their problems andmeet future challenges.

“Best of the Best” People’s Choice Tasting

This was another first-year event for theconference. Water stations were located in theexhibit hall and attendees tasted water sam-ples from the 12 regions and voted for thebest-tasting water. Votes were tallied and thedeclared 2014 People’s Choice Tasting winnerwas Bay County Utilities.

Meetings

The FSAWWA Executive Committeeheld its meeting on Sunday morning, fol-lowed by the board of governors in the after-noon, with 33 board members present. Thisis where the real work of the section isplanned for the following year. Other meet-ings were also held by the organization’scouncils and committees. There’s a group for

2014 FSAWWA Conference: Another Successful Event by the

Manufacturers/Associates Council!

2014 FSAWWA Conference


2014 FSAWWA Conferencealmost every water topic. Meetings are alsoheld at other section events throughout theyear.

Water Summit

The sixth annual Florida 2030 WaterSummit topic was "2015: The Year ofWater.” It was an opportunity to hear fromstate Sen. Alan Hays on issues related towater resource policies and how Amend-ment 1 may impact the drinking water in-dustry. The attendees had the opportunityto weigh in on the strategies and initiativesthat are viable options for consideration bythe state and local governments and waterauthorities.

Roy Likins Scholarship Golf Event

The golf event was held on December3. The net proceeds, made possible by thegenerosity of the event sponsors and themore than 80 golfers who participated, willbe donated to the Roy Likins ScholarshipFund.

Awards

The section’s annual business luncheonand awards ceremony celebrated the currentroster of statewide officers and welcomed thenew officers for 2015. Awards were also givenfor the top programs and to the outstandingindividuals in the water field. See pages 24-29 for award recipients.

Contests

Several contests, with both team and in-dividual competitors, were held.

Water Bowl � Winner: University of Central Florida

The University of Central Florida re-gained the title of Water Bowl champions atthe 2014 Young Professionals Water Bowl. Thewinning team consisted of Andrea Cumming,Samantha Jeffery, and Cassandra Smith. Theuniversity provided three teams to competefor the title in the single elimination compe-tition format. Three teams from the Univer-sity of Florida also participated in the contest.

The contest is modeled after the clas-sic “College Bowl” television quiz show.Team members were asked questions re-lated to the water industry, encompassingwater chemistry, operations, and design oftreatment systems.

The event was moderated by Josen-rique Cueto (FSAWWA Young Profession-als Committee chair) and Greg Taylor(Region III) served as judge.

Poster Contest � Winner: University of Central Florida

David T. Yonge, E.I., from the Univer-sity of Central Florida, was the 2014 FreshIdeas Poster Contest winner. He presentedhis poster entitled, “Assessing Hollow-FiberMembrane Performance Using Bench-ScaleLaboratory and Pilot-Scale Field Methods.”David’s win was impressive because hecompeted with 18 other poster presenta-tions.

By winning the competition, David re-ceives a trip to ACE15, AWWA’s annual con-ference and exposition, to be held in June in

Water Bowl Poster Contest Meter Madness

Ductile Iron TapFun Tap Backhoe Rodeo

Cassandra Smith, Andrea Cumming, andSamantha Jeffery, from the University of Central Florida, display their trophy.

David T. Yonge, from the University of Central Florida,with his poster.

Contestants Anna Hoang, Brian Rodriguez (winner), and Bruce Miller with Mike George.

The team from Bonita Springs Utilities Inc. won first place. The team from City of St. Cloud won first place.

Mike George presents thefirst-place medal to LeslieKlein from City of St. Cloud.

And the winners are:



Anaheim, to compete with contest winnersfrom across North America.

Operator Events

Meter MadnessBack as the 2014 Meter Madness cham-

pion was Brian Rodriguez of the Florida KeysAqueduct Authority. He assembled a watermeter in 49 seconds, ahead of Bruce Miller andAnna Hoang. Brian qualifies to go to ACE15 inAnaheim to compete in the national contest.

Meter Madness is a competition whereparticipants receive a bucket of meter partsfor a specific water meter to assemble againstthe clock. To make is more interesting, threeto six miscellaneous parts are included in thebucket. After assembly, the meter must workcorrectly and not leak.

Tapping ContestsUsing skill and dexterity, as well as

speed, teams of four compete for the fastesttime while they perform a quality drill andtap of pipe under available pressure. Twotaps are allowed per team. The Fun Tap isthe simpler version of the two contests.

The judge and moderator for theseevents was Mike George.

Ductile Iron Tap Winners� First Place: St. Cloud Soldiers, City of St.

Cloud � Second Place: Bonita Springs Utilities Inc.

Fun Tap Winners� First Place: Bonita Springs Utilities Inc. � Second Place: City of St. Cloud� Third Place: City of Clearwater

Backhoe RodeoBackhoe operators show their expertise

by executing challenging lifts and drops ofvarious objects in the fastest time.� First Place: Leslie Klein, City of St. Cloud� Second Place: Josh Pizzato, Charlotte

County� Third Place: Bo Reyaso, Charlotte County

All four operator contests have beenheld for a very long time and are open topublic and commercial field operatorsworking in the state of Florida. ContactMike George at (352) 200-9631 for moreinformation. ��

Conference Attendees

Enjoying theMany Events

That Were Held

PASSING THE

GAVEL

Carl R. Larrabee Jr. receives aplaque for hisservice as2014 sectionchair.

Mark Lehigh,the incomingsection chair

for 2015, receives thegavel from

outgoingchair, Carl R.

Larrabee Jr.





Platinum Sponsors

Gold SponsorsSilver Sponsors

• ISCO Industries• University of Florida TREEO Center

• Crom LLC• Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc.• Mueller Co.• Parsons Brinckerhoff• Pure Technologies

• Sunshine 811• Tetra Tech Inc.• Trihedral Inc.• U.S. Water Services Corp.• Willdan Financial Services

• Black & Veatch• Blue Planet Environmental

Systems Inc.• Cardno• CDM Smith• CH2M HILL• Consolidated Pipe & Supply Co.• Garney Construction• Haskell Co.• Hazen and Sawyer PC• HDR Engineering Inc.• HD Supply Waterworks• PC Construction• R & M Service Solutions LLC• Reiss Engineering Inc.• Thames & Associates

• American Cast Iron Pipe Co.• Ferguson Waterworks• Hydra Service Inc.• Sigma Corporation• The Ford Meter Box Co. Inc.• Wager Company of Florida Inc.

Kim Kowalski with Wager Company of Florida Inc. andChristopher Jarrett with American Cast Iron Pipe Co.

Mark Burgess with Reiss Engineering, Mike George with R&M Service Solutions, Branon Thames with Thames& Associates, Sandra Kiser with HDR Engineering Inc., Ana Maria Gonzalez with Hazen and Sawyer, andAmanda Schwerman with Black & Veatch.

Elisa Turner with Kimley-Horn, Mary Thomas with Parsons Brinckerhoff, Bryan Sinkler withTrihedral, and Emilie Moore with Tetra Tech.

StephanieWest withUniversity of FloridaTREEOCenter.

ConferenceSponsors

The section thanks all of the sponsors for their generous support of the conference.

Premier Sponsors

FloridaSection

AWWA GEORGE WARREN FULLER AWARD

Richard T. Anderson is the recipient of this award for his distinguished serv-ice in the water supply field and sound professional skills. Anderson has servedmany positions in FSAWWA. Hewas the brains behind the forma-tion of Region IV, the Public Af-fairs Council chair, and ultimatelyserved as chair of the section. Heis the current Finance CommitteeChair, and most recently was thefall conference’s BBQ chief of op-erations. He will be recognized atthe Fuller Award Breakfast at the2015 AWWA Annual Conferencein Anaheim.

24 December 2014 • Florida Water Resources Journal


Annual Section AwardsThe Florida Section AWWA honored outstanding individuals and organizations in the state’s water

industry at the annual awards luncheon. Recipients of this year’s awards are noted and/or pictured on thefollowing pages. (photos: Patricia Delaney)

Above: Richard Anderson receives the Fuller Award pinfrom AWWA visiting officer David Rager.At left: Anderson’s wife, Kristi, and two children, Rachel andZachary, were present at the luncheon where he receivedhis award.

ALLEN B.ROBERTS JR.

AWARD

Patrick J. Lehman receivedthis award for hisoutstanding service as amember who contributedthe most to the section byproviding valuable supportto its programs throughoutstanding leadership,

creativity, and service in the water-related fields, particularly in theresolution of problems and the implementation of activities within thesection and AWWA.

ROBERT L. CLAUDY AWARD

Christopher Jarrett was the recipient ofthe award for his efforts in promotingwater quality in the industry, thecommunity, and the section.

CHARLES HOGUE AWARDTom Hogeland was honored by the Manufacturers/Associates

Council (MAC) with the Charles Hogue Award as the MAC individual member of the year.

SERVICE AWARDSThe following were honored for their service to the Florida Section.

• Greg TaylorRegion III Chair, 2013-2014

• Christopher JarrettChair - Administrative Council,2012-2014

• Jennifer McElroyChair - Public Affairs Council2013-2014

• Patrick LehmanChair - Utility Council2010-2014

• Tyler TedcastleTrustee, 2011-2014

Pictured are Tyler Tedcastle,Christopher Jarrett, Greg Taylor,and Patrick Lehman.

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2014 25

Edward Bettinger, Region I

Christine Ellenberger, Region II

Kunal Nayee, Region III

Lisa Rhea, Region IV

Oscar Rubio, Region VI

Don Hamm, Region IX

Monica Autrey, Region XII

REGION CHAIRS VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD

This award honors individuals who have contributed their timeand talent to the success of the region.

Beth Waters, Region VIIValerie Schulte, Region VIII

Terri Holcomb, Region X Richard Davis, Region XI

Administrative Council – Barika Poole

Public Affairs Council – Greg Taylor

NOT PICTURED:Manufacturers/Associates Council – John CoreyOperators Council – Christopher WetzTechnical and Education Council – Holly KremersUtility Council – Christopher Pettit

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

Cristina Ortega-Castineiras wasnamed the youngprofessional of the year.

FloridaSection


Kristopher Samples, Region VAccepted by Ron Cavalieri.

NOT PICTURED:

COUNCIL CHAIR AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE This award honors distinguished service by a council or committee chair who has

made the most significant contribution to the council.


GOLD WATER DROP AWARDS

Recipients are honored for 50 years of AWWA membership.

Peter E. Robinson

SILVER WATER DROP AWARDSRecipients are honored for 30 years of AWWA membership.

John T. BellMichael E. BurtonKenneth D. ColenGlenn E. ForrestMark A. Gabriel

José GonzalezNoel J. GrantJohn C. HealeyRobert J. KellyJoseph A. Kowalski

Thomas F. MooreTak-Kai PangRalph E. ReigelspergerM. Rebecca TravisKeith Vandegrift

Damann L. Anderson Mark A. Burgess

William JohnsonRichard Johnson

Mark A. Gabriel

The following also achieved life member status:

Michael Z. Brooks

Earl T. Fleming

Richard L. Johnson

William D. Johnson

Richard W. Stenberg

Ian C. Watson

LIFE MEMBERAWARDS

Awardees have 30 years ofAWWA membership and are65 or older.

James T. Cowgill

Award for Dedicated Serviceto the Executive Committee

Frederick Bloetscher

WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM AWARDS

The following utilities earned the first-place award in their respective divisions.

Division 2 – Bay County Utility Services

Accepted by Donald Hamm.Division 3 – City of Riviera Beach Utility District

Accepted by (second and third from left) Allan Davis and Larry Brown.

Richard S. Ratcliffe

NOT PICTURED:


NOT PICTURED:Division 1 – Ozello Water Association

Division 6 – Broward County Water and Wastewater Service Operations Division

Division 4 – Bonita Springs Utilities Inc., Distribution and Collection

Accepted by Lance Reighter and Michael Prescott.

Division 5 – City of West Palm Beach Water Distribution

Accepted by Sam Heady.

Division 8 – Hillsborough County Public Utilities Department

Accepted by Mark Lehigh, Richard Cummings, and Sureshdath Maharaj.

ROY W. LIKINS SCHOLARSHIP

The scholarships are awarded each year by the section to out-standing graduate or undergraduate college students enrolled inan accredited Florida institution who are pursuing a degree re-lated to the drinking water industry. The scholarship is namedfor the late Roy Likins, former president of Palm Coast UtilityCorporation and a lifelong member of the American WaterWorks Association, who served as section chair andsecretary/treasurer, as well as Region IX chair with the FloridaWater & Pollution Control Operators Association.

Eric Antmann, University of Miami - $5,000Yue Hu, University of Florida - $5,000Andrew Johnson, Florida Gulf Coast University - $5,000Colleen Baublitz, University of Florida - $2,500Paul Biscardi, University of Central Florida - $2,500Tracy Fanara, University of Florida - $2,500Laurel Smith, University of South Florida - $2,500Raul Velarde, University of Miami - $2,500

Pictured are Yue Hu and Colleen Baublitz.

OPERATORS SCHOLARSHIP

The Operators Council provides scholarships to studentsupgrading a drinking water or distribution system operator license

or pursuing a degree related to the drinking water industry.

Andrew Hauck, in environmental engineering at the University of CentralFlorida, receives his award from Steve Soltau, Operators Council chair.


FloridaSection


WATER CONSERVATION AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

Public Education

Show of Excellence –Medium UtilityCity of OcoeeCity of Ocoee UtilityBuilding: InteractiveWater ConservationDemonstration

Accepted by DavidWheeler.

Show of Excellence –Mega UtilityOrange County UtilitiesWater DivisionWater ConservationScavenger Hunt

Accepted by CarmenSantiago and Terri Thill.

Best in Class – Large UtilityOrlando Utility CommissionProject AWESOMEAlternative Water andEnergy Supply;Observation, Methods,and Education

Accepted by RobTeegarden.

Meritorious – Large UtilityPolk County Utilities

7 Rivers Festival

Meritorious – Medium UtilityCity of North Port Utilities

Water Conservation Education and Awareness Campaign

Meritorious – Medium UtilityCity of Saint Cloud

2013 Water Quality Report

Demand Management

Show of Excellence – Other (Public University)University of Florida

Conserve Florida Water Clearinghouse Program

Accepted by Kenneth Friedman, Randy Switt, Jim Heaney, Miguel Morales,and Scott Knight.

Show of Excellence –Medium UtilityCity of Stuart

Customer Service Web PortalAccepted by Nick Corey.

Best in Class - Medium UtilityToho Water Authority

Florida Water Star Pilot ProgramAccepted by Rodney Tilley.

Comprehensive Program

Best in Class – Other (Regional Water Supply)Tampa Bay WaterDemand Management PlanAccepted by Dave Bracciano.


“Groundwater Replenishment Performanceand Operations: Lessons Learned During

Clearwater’s One-Year Pilot”

Tracy Mercer, Janice “Nan” Bennett,Robert Fahey, Emilie Moore,

David MacNevin, and Jarrett Kinslow


Water for People Exhibitor Fundraiser

Recognition of Gold Sponsors

• Blue Planet Environmental Systems Inc. • Hazen and Sawyer PC • Municipal Water Works Inc.

Hazen and Sawyer award accepted byGrace Johns.

“Environmental Impact and Cost Assessment of Ion Exchange Drinking Water Treatment for Organics Removal in Florida”

Adib Amini, Youngwoon Kim, Jie Zhang, Treavor Boyer, and Qiong Zhang.

Pictured are David MacNevin and Emilie Moore.

Pictured are Steven J. Duranceau and Paul Biscardi.

“Optimization of Conventional Surface Water Treatment for Hollow-Fiber Ultrafiltration”

Paul Biscardi and Steven J. Duranceau

BEST PAPER AWARDS

Inaugural Barbeque Spices Up Incoming Chair ReceptionMonday’s grand finale at the FSAWWA

fall conference was the first Barbeque Cook-Off Competition and incoming chair’s re-ception to honor the section’s 2015 sectionchair, Mark Lehigh. Jeff Nash cooked up theidea of holding it at the fall conference aftervisiting the Georgia Section AWWA annualconference. Jeff and Richard Andersonworked many months to make this fun eventhappen.

Six company teams proud of their meat-cooking skills participated in the competition:Omni Hotel, Haskell, Hillsborough County,Garney Construction, Stanley HydraulicTools, and Veolia Water NA. As the conferenceattendees feasted on the BBQ, judging took

place in three categories: chicken, pork ribs,and pork butts. Garney Construction won thechicken category and Haskell won the porkribs and butts categories; the overall cham-pion trophy also went to Haskell. Officialjudges for the contest were Sam Willis andDwight Parker, who are certified BBQ judges,and Kim Kowalski, who was the conferenceco- chair.

A special thank you to the sponsors thatmade this event happen: AECOM, ACIPCO,ARCADIS, CH2M HILL, DFW Plastics,Hazen and Sawyer, and HDR.

The BBQ event will be back by popular de-mand at the 2015 FSAWWA fall conference, tobe held at Renaissance Resort at SeaWorld. ��

Richard Anderson with judges Kim Kowalski, Sam Willis, and Dwight Parker.

A lovely setting for the BBQ event.Garney Construction with thechicken category trophy.

Haskell is proud of its trophies for pork butts andribs and as overall champion.

Inaugural Barbeque Spices Up Incoming Chair Reception

Mark Lehigh, incoming sectionchair.


1. What is the flow rate in cu ft per second(cfs) of a 1.0-mil-gal-per-day (mgd)stream of water?

a. 1.55 cfs b. 8.34 cfsc. 2.32 cfs d. 92.84 cfs

2. A potable water flow meter reads 205 galper minute (gpm) for 10 hrs/day, 140gpm for 6 hrs/day and 85 gpm for theremainder of the 24-hour day. What isthe total daily flow in mgd?

a. 0.64740 mgd b. 0.1372 mgdc. 0.2142 mgd d. 0.1870 mgd

3. What is the flow rate in cu ft per minute(cfm) of a 1 mgd stream of water?

a. 1.55 cfm b. 8.34 cfmc. 7.48 cfm d. 92.84 cfm

4. What is the weight of a cu ft of water?

a. 92.8 lbs b. 8.34 lbsc. 62.4 lbs d. 7.48 lbs

5. Which repair kit is designed for use withchlorine ton containers?

a. "A" kitb. "B" kitc. "C" kitd. None of the above.

6. What is the weight relationship ofchlorine liquid compared to water?

a. Water weighs more than liquid chlorine.b. Liquid chlorine weighs 2.5 times more

than water.c. Water weighs 1.5 times more than

liquid chlorine.d. Liquid chlorine weighs 1.5 times more

than water.

7. What will the pressure gauge read on thesuction of a pump if the pump is locatedat floor elevation of the tank and the tankhas 15 ft of static water level?

a. About 58 pounds per sq in. (psi)b. About 9.5 psic. About 6.5 psid. About 17 psi

8. A rectangular flume is 20 ft long by 10 ftwide; the water is 7.5 ft deep and movingat a velocity of 0.75 ft per second (fps).How many gal of water will the flumedeliver in 4 hours?

a. 13,590,000 gals b. 6,058,080 galsc. 1,960,158 gals d. 247,310 gals

9. Which has a higher pH: sodiumhydroxide or aluminum sulfate?

a. Aluminum sulfateb. Sodium hydroxidec. They are both the same.

10. What test is typically performed toidentify toxicity on wastewater effluentdischarged to open bodies of water inFlorida?

a. Carbonaceous biochemical oxygendemand (CBOD5)

b. Total suspended solids (TSS)c. pHd. Bioassay

Answers on page 44

Readers are welcome to submitquestions or exercises on water or wastewater treatment plantoperations for publication inCertification Boulevard. Sendyour question (with the answer) or your exercise (with the solution) by email to:[email protected], or by mail to:

Roy PelletierWastewater Project Consultant

City of Orlando Public Works DepartmentEnvironmental Services

Wastewater Division5100 L.B. McLeod Road

Orlando, FL 32811407-716-2971

Certification Boulevard

Roy Pelletier

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Challenged by the demand for affordable,safe drinking water and the need to re-duce the impact of a high urban density

on the coastal environment, the City of Clear-water investigated potable reuse through a pilottesting program for groundwater replenish-ment. Goals of this project include improvinggroundwater levels within the City through therecharge of the aquifer with purified water andminimizing the impact of potential increases ingroundwater withdrawal from the City’s exist-ing wellfields. The Southwest Florida WaterManagement District (SWFWMD) is providingsupport and funding for the ClearwaterGroundwater Replenishment Project as an al-ternate water supply that beneficially uses re-claimed water to help meet the Tampa Bayregion’s water supply needs.

To demonstrate the performance and reli-ability of the water purification process, the Cityconducted a one-year pilot of the water purifi-cation treatment system from June 2013 to June2014. This article presents a summary of per-formance results from the treatment system.The results are presented after a brief descrip-tion of the pilot treatment train.

Treatment Approach

The water treatment processes included inthe purification process (Figure 1) were ultrafil-tration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO), advancedoxidation process (AOP) with hydrogen perox-ide and ultraviolet (UV), and membrane con-tactors to remove dissolved oxygen (DO) to helpcontrol the potential for metals mobilizationfrom the aquifer formation. Reclaimed waterwas received from the City’s Northeast WaterReclamation Facility. Piloting included an ex-tensive water quality sampling and analyses pro-gram.

Groundwater recharge regulations includethe requirement that the treatment process shallprovide multiple barriers for organics andpathogens and that additional pollutant reduc-tion for parameters reasonably expected to posea risk to public health due to acute or chronictoxicity be provided. Based on available aquifercharacteristics and groundwater quality data,the projected injection zone for the rechargewells at this time is within the undergroundsource of drinking water (USDW) in lower zoneA of the upper Floridan aquifer, which is likelyto have total dissolved solids (TDS) between 800

and 3,000 mg/L. This requires a minimum of 12months of data from a pilot test per Chapter 62-610.564(3) of the Florida Administrative Code,in addition to multiple regulatory requirementspertaining to water quality. Requirements arediscussed in the individual results sectionswhere appropriate.

Results

Treatment process results are presentedwithin the following summary categories: fulltreatment and disinfection requirements, drink-ing water standards, microorganisms, muta-genicity, microconstituents, and compatibilitywith native groundwater in the aquifer. Impor-tant operational insights gained during testingare interwoven into the discussion of each unitprocess.

Full Treatment and Disinfection Requirements

Total Organic CarbonSampling results indicated that the treat-

ment train provided effective treatment for re-moval of total organic carbon (TOC). Typically,the treatment train reduced TOC by more than99 percent from about 10 mg/L in the reclaimedwater (RW-1) to below a detection limit of 0.06mg/L in the purified water (PW-1). The TOC isregulated according to the full treatment and dis-infection requirements given in 62-610.563(3)(d)to not exceed 3.0 mg/L (monthly average), withno single sample exceeding 5.0 mg/L.

Groundwater Replenishment Performanceand Operations: Lessons Learned

During Clearwater’s One-Year PilotTracy Mercer, Janice “Nan” Bennett, Robert Fahey, Emilie Moore,

Dave MacNevin, and Jarrett Kinslow

Tracy Mercer, M.B.A., is public utilitiesdirector, Janice “Nan” Bennett, P.E., is publicutilities assistant director, and Robert Fahey,P.E., is utilities engineering manager, withCity of Clearwater. Emilie Moore, P.E., issenior project manager, Dave MacNevin,P.E., Ph.D., is project engineer, and JarrettKinslow, P.E., is project manager, with TetraTech Inc. in Tampa.

F W R J

Figure 1. Groundwater Replenishment Pilot Process Flow Diagram and Sampling Points


Total Organic HalidesSampling results indicated that the treat-

ment train provided effective treatment for re-moval of total organic halides (TOX). Earlier inthe pilot study, TOX samples were typicallytaken after the sample taps had been wipeddown with sodium hypochlorite and flushed.High TOX levels in the purified water droppedafter sample tap bleaching and coliform sam-pling were moved to the end of the order ofweekly parameter samples collected (Figure 2).The practice of bleaching and then flushing thesample tap may have introduced some TOXthat were not naturally present in the purifiedwater, increasing the observed value.

The TOX are regulated according to the fulltreatment and disinfection requirements givenin 62-610.563(3)(e) to not exceed 0.2 mg/L(monthly average), with no single sample ex-ceeding 0.3 mg/L.

Drinking Water Standards

Disinfection ByproductsSampling results indicated that the treat-

ment train provided effective removal of disin-fection byproducts (DBPs). The DBPs,including total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) andhaloacetic acids (HAA5), are regulated to thelevels listed in the Primary Drinking Water Stan-dards. The maximum contaminant level forTTHMs is 80 µg/L, and for HAA5 is 60 µg/L.

Haloacetic AcidsThe treatment train consistently reduced

HAA5 below the maximum contaminant level(MCL) of 60 µg/L to less than 10 µg/L startingfrom reclaimed water concentrations rangingfrom approximately 30 µg/L to 60 µg/L. TheHAA5 are the sum of five regulated haloaceticacids: monochloroacetic acid, dichloroaceticacid, trichloroacetic acid, monobromoaceticacid, and dibromoacetic acid.

Total TrihalomethanesThe treatment train consistently reduced

TTHMs to between approximately 50 µg/L and125 µg/L, starting from reclaimed water con-centrations ranging from approximately 150µg/L to 300 µg/L (Figure 3). The TTHMs are thesum of four regulated trihalomethanes (THMs):chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibro-mochloromethane, and bromoform, and theTTHM levels were above and below the 80 µg/LMCL.

The pilot process was sampled for TTHMsin January 2014 to investigate the possibility ofreducing TTHMs and to identify the portionsof the treatment process that were removingmost of them. Figure 4 shows the results of thesystem profile by location in the pilot plant. Theprofile includes two sample points before thepilot plant: post filters (after the reclaimed waterfilters) and postchlorine contact chamber. Thesampling location MF-F-1 represents reclaimedwater that has passed through the reclaimedwater storage tank and before the membrane fil-tration step with UF membranes.

The total THMs in MF-F-1, 190 µg/L (cor-responding to reclaimed water), were greaterthan the levels after the chlorine contact cham-ber, 89 µg/L, and after the reclaimed water fil-ters, <1 µg/L. This suggests that moving thepilot treatment source from the reclaimed waterstorage tank to the contact chamber effluentcould reduce TTHM concentrations by nearly50 percent. Assuming a corresponding 50 per-cent reduction in purified water TTHMs, thepilot treatment system would be capable ofbringing the TTHMs below the MCL.

Typically, the whole pilot treatment processreduced the TTHMs by about 50 percent. Thisreduction was not attributable to one singleprocess, but rather several processes working inseries. The RO removed about 25 percent ofTTHMs, with no significant difference by typeof THM. The UV and hydrogen peroxide ad-vanced oxidation process (UVAOP) removedabout 30 percent of TTHMs, with chlorodibro-momethane being much higher (85 percent re-moval) than the other species and no significant

Figure 2. Total Organic Halides in Reclaimed Water and Purified Water Figure 3. Total Trihalomethanes in Reclaimed Water and Purified Water

Figure 4. Profile of Trihalomethanes Through the Treatment Process



removal of chloroform. Equalization tank 2 al-lowed for UVAOP water to fall a short distanceinto the tank, providing natural aeration that re-moved approximately 20 percent of all TTHMs.

The membrane contactor removed about 30percent of TTHMs.

These differences in removal by THM typeprovide insight into the specific role of each unitprocess in removing THMs. Nevertheless, relo-

cating the source from the reclaimed water stor-age tank to the chlorine contact chamber efflu-ent would probably be adequate to addressTTHM levels in the purified water.

Microorganisms

PathogensSampling results indicated that the treat-

ment train provided effective removal of all in-fectious pathogens tested. The purified waterand reclaimed water were sampled for multipletypes of pathogens in accordance with 62-610.564(4)(b), including enteroviruses, Cryp-tosporidium, giardia, and helminths. Largevolumes of water were passed through samplefilters, with 100 L of reclaimed water (RW-1)and purified water (PW-1) filtered on site andsent to a commercial laboratory for analysis.Table 1 summarizes the pathogen counts fromtesting.

A small amount of nonviable helminth ovawere observed in the purified water on Oct. 8,2013, and Dec. 3, 2013; however, since thesehelminth ova were nonviable, they would notpresent any risk of infection.

Coliform BacteriaSampling results indicated that the treat-

ment train provided effective treatment for re-moval of coliform bacteria. The purified waterand reclaimed water were sampled for total co-liforms and Escherichia coliform bacteria on aweekly basis using a presence/absence method.In the purified water, neither total coliform bac-teria nor E.coli were detected after 51 weeklysamples. In the reclaimed water, E.coli werepresent in one out of 51 weekly samples andtotal coliform in 11 out of 51 weekly samples.

Maintaining Ultrafiltration PerformanceThe primary filtration process for physical

removal of pathogens in the treatment train wasUF. Chemically enhanced backwashes were car-ried out on a daily basis (high pH) and a weeklybasis (low pH). Through the course of pilot test-ing, the UF membranes accumulated moderatefouling, as shown by the increase in transmem-brane pressure (TMP), as shown in Figure 5.The pilot ran for approximately five months be-fore requiring the first clean-in-place (CIP).High pH cleaning was effective for removingTOC from the membranes; low pH cleaning waseffective in removing iron fouling.

Toward the end of the pilot testing period,the UF membrane fouled very rapidly after each,requiring three CIPs within a one-month pe-riod. In order to address this buildup offoulants, a procedure of repeated chemically en-hanced backwashes (CEBs) over a few hours led

Figure 5. Ultrafiltration Transmembrane Pressure Continued on page 36


Table 1. Pathogen Counts for Reclaimed and Purified Water


to significant drops in TMP by more than 7pounds per sq in. (psi), dropping to near origi-nal levels, with the low pH CEB resulting in agreater than 5 psi drop. This suggests that thelow pH CEBs may have removed large masses ofaccumulated iron fouling. With more frequentlow pH CEBs, it is anticipated that fewer CIPswould be required. An autopsy of the UF mod-ule confirmed that iron had been accumulatingon the UF modules.

This experience showed the importance ofkeeping the CEB program flexible and repeat-ing CEBs until the improvements in pressure di-minish entirely. If a CEB cycle shows asignificant decrease in TMP (i.e., >1 psi), theCEB cycle should be repeated until the decreasein TMP diminishes with each test. If the TMP isstill well above the clean startup pressure, an-other CEB solution should be tried. Otherwise,if the TMP drops to near the clean startup pres-sure, chemical backwashing should be discon-tinued and normal production resumed.

Maintaining Reverse Osmosis PerformanceThe RO was the secondary filtration

process for physical removal of pathogens in thetreatment train, and the primary treatmentprocess for removal of microconstituents. TheRO membranes operated smoothly during theyear of pilot testing, with some scaling observedin the third stage. Evidence from a membraneautopsy and a “canary” element indicated thatthe scale was calcium phosphate. This scalingwas removed using a combination of high pHand low pH CIPs. The RO process was con-verted from three-stage to two-stage during thetesting and successful testing results supporteduse of two-stage operations as a more robust ap-proach for the full-scale design.

MutagenicitySampling results indicated that the treat-

ment train produced water without significantobservable mutagenic effects. Mutagenicity test-ing was performed as required by FAC 62-610.564(4)(c). The “Ames Test” (EPA600/4-82-068) was selected as the mutagenicitytest method since it has been in widespread useover the past 30 years, is relatively easy to carryout, and is partly quantitative. A standard com-mercial test kit was used for all mutagenicitytesting. Each test kit incorporated standard, 96-well microplates and five different strains of sal-monella bacteria. Each sample was exposed tofive different types of bacteria (T-97a, T-98, T-100, T-102, and T-1535) so that several differ-ent base pair and frame shift mutations can beinvestigated.

The reagents were prepared, then distrib-uted into each microplate and incubated at 37°Cfor five days. Mutagenicity was indicated by apositive color change from purple to yellow,which indicated that the reverse mutation of thebacteria by the sample had allowed synthesis ofthe histidine reagent. The kit included a sterileblank, reagents, and a positive control to per-form necessary quality controls. Potential mu-tagenicity was quantified by counting thenumber of wells that change color and compar-ing the results to the control blank using statis-tical significance tables. Mutagenicity testingwas performed in triplicate and plate counts foreach sample averaged.

A summary of the mutagenicity test resultsby location, date, and strain of test bacteria isshown in Table 2, with the level of mutagenicityindicated by color. Early tests had shown somesigns of mutagenic effects in the purified water;however, during these tests (Oct. 8, 2013, andOct. 22, 2013) it was observed that sodium

bisulfide was underdosed, therefore allowingperoxide, an oxidant added to support theUVAOP process, to remain unquenched in thepurified water. When peroxide was fullyquenched, with a slight sulfide residual of about0.5 mg/L left over, no significant mutagenic ef-fects were observed (Nov. 19, 2013, and Jan. 24,2014)

MicroconstituentsThis section includes the results of mi-

croconstituent sampling and UVAOP chal-lenge testing for destruction ofmicroconstituents N-nitrosodimethylamine(NDMA) and 1,4 dioxane.

Microconstituent SamplingThe pilot water purification process was

designed to be effective at removing a wide va-riety of unregulated organics and small molec-ular weight compounds known asmicroconstituents. The microconstituents ana-lyzed include compounds spanning a broadrange, such as pharmaceutically active agents(drugs and antibiotics), personal care products,and hormones. Reclaimed water, purified water,and target aquifer injection zone water sampleswere analyzed for 62 different microconstituentsin October 2013 and January 2014.

The results indicated that some microcon-stituents were present in the reclaimed water,but in the purified water, all microconstituentspresent, except one, were removed by the pilotprocess to below the reporting limits. The min-imum reporting limit is the smallest measuredconcentration of a substance that can be reliablymeasured by using a given analytical method.Over the course of five separate sampling events,30 out of 62 microconstituents were detected inthe reclaimed water.

Sampling results have indicated that thetreatment train is effectively reducing nearly allmicroconstituents tested to below minimum re-porting levels; these microconstituents areshown in Table 3. In the purified water, none ofthe 62 microconstituents were detected for fourout of the five sampling events; however, onecompound, atenolol, was found in the purifiedwater in one sampling event (January 2014).Similarly, in the lower zone A of the upper Flori-dan aquifer, none of the 62 microconstituentstested were detected.

Atenolol, which is a high blood pressuremedication, was the only microconstituent thatwas detected in the purified water. In January2014, it was detected in the reclaimed water at aconcentration of 75 ng/L. The pilot treatmenttrain removed 79 percent of atenolol from thewater, resulting in a purified water concentra-tion of 16 ng/L; this concentration is above the

Table 2. Summary of Mutagenicity Results for Reclaimed Water and Purified Water



FWPCOA TRAINING CALENDAR

SCHEDULE YOUR CLASS TODAY!

* Backflow recertification is also available the last day of BackflowTester or Backflow Repair Classes with the exception of Deltona

** Evening classes

*** any retest given also

FEBRUARY2-17 ....Wastewater Collection C, B** ..................Miami-Dade ......$225/2559-12 ....Backflow Tester ........................................Deltona ............$375/405

27 ....Backflow Tester Recert*** ........................Deltona ............$85/115

MARCH2-5 ....Backflow Tester ........................................St. Petersburg ....$375/405

9-13 ....Reclaimed Water Field Site Inspector ....Deltona ............$350/38016-20 ....Spring State Short SchoolSpring State Short School ....................Ft. Pierce

April13-15 ....Backflow Repair ........................................St. Petersburg ....$275/30513-16 ....Backflow Tester ........................................Pensacola ..........$375/40513-17 ....Reclaimed Water Field Site Inspector ....Orlando ............$350/38013-17 ....Water Distribution Level 3, 2 ..................Deltona ............$275/30513-17 ....Reclaimed Water Distribution C ..............Deltona ............$275/305


May4-7 ....Backflow Tester ........................................Deltona ............$375/405

18-21 ....Backflow Tester ........................................St. Petersburg ....$375/40518-22 ....Stormwater Level C, B ..............................Deltona ............$260/280


You are required to have your

own calculator at state short schools

and most other courses.

Course registration forms are available at http://www.fwpcoa.org/forms.asp. For additional information on these courses or other training programs offered by the FWPCOA, please

contact the FW&PCOA Training Office at (321) 383-9690 or [email protected].



analytical laboratories minimum reporting limitof 5 ng/L. Without a regulatory limit foratenolol, some other point of reference isneeded in order to understand the significanceof the reported concentration.

In order to quantify the risk of adversehealth effects from unregulated chemicals, theNational Research Council states that a marginof safety (MOS) can be used. This MOS is theratio of a contaminant-specific risk referencevalue and the concentration of the contaminantin the purified water. An MOS>1 suggests thatthe contaminant in the water is unlikely to posesignificant risk of adverse health effects. A riskreference value for atenolol of 70,000 ng/L1 wasrecently reported in the potable reuse literature.Since the concentration of atenolol measured inthe purified water was 16 ng/L, the MOS is4,375, indicating that 16 ng/L of atenolol is notlikely to pose significant risk of adverse healtheffects. Atenolol was added to the UVAOP chal-lenge testing program.

Ultraviolet and Hydrogen Peroxide AdvancedOxidation Process Challenge Testing

The UVAOP process is intended to reduceconcentrations of microconstituents that re-main after RO. Concentrations of microcon-stituents are very low and often variable due tochanges in community use of products andtreatment plant performance. Consequently, itcan be difficult to show that the UVAOP processis reducing microconstituents as intended. Tem-porarily spiking the concentration of a few tar-get contaminants above background levels raisesthe influent and effluent concentrations highenough to be measured, allowing UVAOP per-formance to be quantified.

Sampling results indicated that the UVAOPprocess met the log removal goals for NDMA at1.4 log removal and 1,4-dioxane, or 0.5 log re-moval. These goals and target contaminantswere based on the California Department ofPublic Health (CDPH) draft criteria for ground-water recharge with reclaimed water, and arewidely used as a benchmark for measuringUVAOP performance in groundwater rechargeapplications.

The NDMA was removed below detectionlimits at all peroxide doses tested for all but onesample that still met the 1.4 log removal target.Removal to detection limits corresponds to atleast 2.6 log removal, well above the 1.4 log re-moval value target. The NDMA removal isbased on UV irradiation only and does not re-quire any peroxide addition.

On average, 1,4-dioxane was removed be-yond the log removal target of 0.5 log removal,for tested peroxide doses greater than 2 mg/L(Figure 6). The removal of 1,4-dioxane was de-

Table 3. Microconstituent Concentrations

Figure 6. Log Removal of 1,4-Dioxane Versus Peroxide Dose for the Ultraviolet and Hydrogen Peroxide Advanced Oxidation Process



pendent on peroxide dose, with higher doses ofperoxide providing greater degrees of removalof 1,4-dioxane. The 1,4-dioxane is destroyed byhydroxyl radicals (OH•) that are formed whenUV light splits hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) mol-ecules.

Atenolol was included in the third andfourth rounds of challenge testing since it wasdetected once in the purified water at 16 ng/L.Atenolol removal during spike testing exceededthe 0.5 log (68 percent) removal requirementfrom the CDPH Groundwater ReplenishmentReuse Draft Regulation (2011) at the lowest per-oxide dose tested, 0.8 mg/L. The UV-based AOPchallenge testing provided additional data to in-form potential changes to the UV-based AOPoperating conditions, if a higher level of treat-ment is desired. Atenolol was the only nonregu-lated microconstituent identified in the purifiedwater. Follow-up investigation of records founda temporary underfeed of peroxide on the dayof sampling that was the likely cause of reducedatenolol destruction.

Compatibility with Native Groundwater inan Aquifer

After the treated water passes through theUVAOP process, additional treatment was ap-plied to adjust its water quality to be compatiblewith the quality of the groundwater in lowerzone A of the upper Floridan aquifer. The tar-get aquifer injection zone includes limestonewith traces of arsenopyrite (FeAsS) mineral.One goal of post-treatment was to increase thecalcium carbonate stability of the treated waterto mitigate the potential for dissolution of lime-stone in the aquifer. Another important goal ofpost-treatment was to reduce the oxidation re-duction potential (ORP) of the treated watersuch that arsenic dissolution does not occur. Ex-perience with aquifer storage recovery (ASR) inFlorida has shown that oxygenated water canmobilize mineral-bound arsenic from the rockformation into groundwater. Therefore, post-treatment targets the removal or conversion ofany residual oxidants in the treated water.

Calcium Carbonate StabilitySampling results indicated that the post-

treatment process improves the calcium car-bonate stability of the water; however, dosingcontrol was important to limit the precipitationof calcium carbonate scales in the purified waterpipe. Before post-treatment, the process waterwas characteristic of RO permeate, with pH 5.5,calcium 5 mg/L as calcium carbonate, alkalinity10 mg/L as calcium carbonate, and calcium car-bonate precipitation potential (CCPP) of -110mg/L as calcium carbonate. The negative CCPPindicates that this water would tend to dissolvecalcium carbonate. While passing through the

membrane contactor, much of the dissolved car-bon dioxide was removed from the water, in-creasing the pH to 6.5, while maintaining thesame levels of calcium and alkalinity, and in-creasing the CCPP to -15 mg/L as calcium car-bonate. After the membrane contactor,approximately 70 mg/L of carbon dioxide wasinjected into the solution under pressure, fol-lowed by 75 mg/L as calcium carbonate of lime,increasing the total calcium to 80 mg/L as cal-cium carbonate, the pH to 7.25, the alkalinity to100 mg/L as calcium carbonate, and CCPP -10mg/L as calcium carbonate.

Earlier in the pilot study, the pH was ad-justed to 7.75, and closer to zero CCPP, byadding less carbon dioxide. However, at thesetargets, the pH was more difficult to control, andthe purified water line would frequently grow afilm of calcium carbonate scale and result inhigh turbidity above 10 nephelometric turbidityunits (NTUs). It seems that the lime slurry didnot have adequate time and driving force tocompletely dissolve into solution. Presumably,the instability in pH near 7.75 was due to some

combination of instability in carbon dioxide ad-dition at low flow rates, and the lower pHbuffering capacity of water near pH 8. Presum-ably, swings in pH could have led to the onsetof calcium carbonate precipitation.

When the carbon dioxide dose was in-creased, and pH dropped to 7.25, pH stabilityimproved, calcium carbonate scale formationdiminished, and turbidity dropped below 10NTUs. The CCPP should be maintainedslightly negative in order to avoid clogging thepurified water line and potentially scaling theaquifer, increasing well pressures. Similarly,the CCPP should be increased as much aspossible beyond the negative starting point of-110 mg/L calcium carbonate to reduce thepotential for limestone dissolution in theaquifer. One possible alternative that couldavoid the turbidity issues and, potentially, therapid scale formation, would be to substitutecalcium chloride and caustic soda for lime.Preliminary desktop calculations indicate thata calcium chloride/caustic soda substitution

Figure 7. Trace Dissolved Oxygen Sensor Readings From the Post-Treated Purified Water and theMembrane Contactor Effluent



could be up to six times more expensive thanthe current calcium carbonate addition ap-proach.

Oxidation Reduction PotentialThe membrane contactors and sodium

bisulfide chemical feed work together to reducethe oxidation reduction potential of the waterby removing DO or converting oxidizing species(chlorine, peroxide) from the water, whichcould potentially cause undesirable mobiliza-tion of arsenic or other metals in the aquifer.

OxidantsThe membrane contactors routinely re-

moved most of the DO from the purified water.The DO entered the membrane contactors atnear 100 percent saturation (6-9 mg/L), and wasremoved down to 100 parts per bil (ppb) or lessof DO, with the capability of operating near 1ppb of DO. Figure 7 shows the trace DO levels inppb over time. Proper air calibration and zero-ing of trace DO meters were essential to themeasurement of DO at ppb levels. While oper-ating the membrane contactor, in order to max-imize performance, it was important tomaintain adequate sweep gas flow rate and ad-equate vacuum on the sweep gas line (less thanapproximately -27 inHg).

The DO readings were lower and more re-peatable when they were taken before post-treatment chemical addition. Before January2014, the trace DO sensor was drawing off of thepurified water line, after lime addition andbisulfide addition. After January, the DO sensormembrane was replaced and set to run only onwater received immediately after the membranecontactor and before chemical addition. Whenthe old sensor membrane was removed, it ap-peared to have a yellow hue and some precipi-tate, indicating that some of the post-treatmentchemicals may have interfered with the sensor.Therefore, two trace DO sensors should be in-stalled on a full-scale system: one before post-treatment chemical addition (and potentialchemical interference) and one after chemicaladdition.

After sodium bisulfide addition, the chlo-rine residual was consumed within seconds tobelow the detection limit of field instrumenta-tion. Approximately 1.2 mg/L of chloraminescarry through the membrane contactors untilthe point of sodium bisulfide addition.

Hydrogen peroxide reacted slowly withsodium bisulfide, typically requiring about 30minutes to reach completion. If insufficientsodium bisulfide was added, it was used up andresidual peroxide remained. Underfeeding ofsodium bisulfide and incomplete quenching of

peroxide appeared toimpact early muta-genicity tests. Hydro-gen peroxide wasadded upstream at aresidual of about 2mg/L, as a part of theUVAOP. During theadvanced oxidationprocess, only abouthalf of the added per-oxide was consumed,and the remaining 1mg/L of peroxidepassed downstreamthrough the mem-brane contactors untilsodium bisulfide wasadded.

Sodium bisulfideaddition is importantfor quenching re-maining oxidants inthe water and reduc-ing the overall ORPbefore injection intothe aquifer. The feedrate of bisulfideneeded to be moni-tored throughout theusage of each barrel of

chemical. As the barrel of chemical aged, itturned from a yellow color to a red color, and ahigher chemical feed rate was needed to neu-tralize peroxide completely. After initial muta-genicity tests indicated that more sulfide feedwas required to quench peroxide, the sulfidedose was increased such that, after 30 minutes,peroxide would be quenched and a 0.5 mg/Lsulfide residual would remain.

Rock Core Testing and Aquifer Recharge TestingRock core and aquifer recharge testing were

being studied concurrently with the pilot purifi-cation process. Rock core testing consisted ofrunning purified water through native rock coresamples with varying amounts of post-treatment.Arsenic release data indicated a direct correlationbetween DO removal and arsenic mobilization,supporting DO removal as a control strategy forarsenic mitigation. Water quality samples col-lected from lower zone A of the Floridan aquiferduring the recharge test indicated that native ar-senic levels decreased with decreasing DO con-centration and increasing sulfide content,supporting the selected treatment approach ofDO removal and sulfide addition.

Summary

Results from the City’s groundwater re-plenishment show that the facility produced pu-rified water that reliably met drinking waterquality standards. The water also consistentlymet all water quality requirements from the2012 Full Treatment and Disinfection Require-ments [Florida Administrative Code (FAC)Chapter 62–610.563(3)].

Important lessons learned affecting the op-erations of the groundwater replenishmenttreatment train will be incorporated into full-scale design of the groundwater replenishmentwater purification and aquifer recharge systems.In the next several years, multiple Florida utili-ties are anticipated to implement full-scalegroundwater replenishment programs. Sharingof best practices and operational lessons learnedwill help Florida utilities move confidently to-gether into a future of sustainable, abundantwater supplies.

References

1 Trussell, R.R. et al., 2013. “Potable Reuse: Stateof the Science Report and Equivalency Crite-ria for Treatment Trains.” WateReuse ResearchFoundation. Alexandria, Va. ��



Earn CEUs by answering questions from previous Journal issues!

Contact FWPCOA at [email protected] or at 561-840-0340. Articles from past issues can be viewed on the Journal website, www.fwrj.com.

Members of the Florida Water & Pollution Control Association (FWPCOA) may earncontinuing education units through the CEU Challenge! Answer the questions published onthis page, based on the technical articles in this month’s issue. Circle the letter of eachcorrect answer. There is only one correct answer to each question! Answer 80 percent ofthe questions on any article correctly to earn 0.1 CEU for your license. Retests are available.

This month’s editorial theme is Alternative Sources for Water Supply. Look aboveeach set of questions to see if it is for water operators (DW), distribution systemoperators (DS), or wastewater operators (WW). Mail the completed page (or aphotocopy) to: Florida Environmental Professionals Training, P.O. Box 33119, Palm BeachGardens, FL 33420-3119. Enclose $15 for each set of questions you choose to answer(make checks payable to FWPCOA). You MUST be an FWPCOA member before you cansubmit your answers!

Operators: Take the CEU Challenge!

1. The proposed injection zone for the recharge well isa. the upper Floridan aquifer.b. the boulder zone.c. outside the designated underground source of drinking water.d. the surficial aquifer.

2. Which of the following processes was not included in thepilot treatment system?a. Reverse osmosis b. Hydrogen peroxidec. Nanofiltration d. Ultraviolet

3. The authors conclude that relocating source water from thereclaimed water storage tank to a___________________would probably be adequate to address final totaltrihalomethanes concentrations.a. chlorine contact chamber b. ultrafiltration filtratec. nanofiltration permeate d. reverse osmosis permeate

4. Toward the end of the pilot testing, frequent _____________resulted in a reduction in ultrafiltration transmembranepressure.a. high pH cleaningb. chemically enhanced backwashesc. cartridge filter replacementd. feed water pH reductions

5. Prior to injection, treated water must be stabilized to avoidleaching of ______________ from limestone in the aquifer.a. calcium b. chloridec. arsenic d. manganese

Groundwater Replenishment Performance and Operations: Lessons Learned During Clearwater’s One-Year Pilot

Tracy Mercer, Janice “Nan” Bennett, Robert Fahey, Emilie Moore, Dave MacNevin, and Jarrett Kinslow

(Article 2: CEU = 0.1 DW/DS)

___________________________________________SUBSCRIBER NAME (please print)

Article 1 ________________________________________LICENSE NUMBER for Which CEUs Should Be Awarded

Article 2 ________________________________________LICENSE NUMBER for Which CEUs Should Be Awarded

If paying by credit card, fax to (561) 625-4858

providing the following information:

___________________________________________(Credit Card Number)

___________________________________________(Expiration Date)

1. Reverse osmosis treatment of the Southern Regional WastewaterTreatment Plant effluent would be required prior to irrigation usebecausea. greater reduction of coliform is required.b. reuse is only economically feasible if energy recovery is

implemented.c. only reverse osmosis can remove existing emerging contaminants.d. plant effluent is salty.

2. Both pilot effluent strategies produced effluents that comply withcurrent limits for which of the following parameters?a. Chloride b. Total dissolved solidsc. Total organic carbon d. Chemical oxygen demand

3. Recent Florida ocean outfall legislation requires municipalities tobeneficially use ___ percent of their wastewater effluent by 2025.a. 20 b. 40c. 60 d. 80

4. Which of the following processes is not common to both of the pilottreatment strategies?a. Ion exchange b. Biologically active carbon filtersc. Ultraviolet d. Ozone

5. Full-scale implementation of the pilot strategies offers which of thefollowing advantages?a. Better effluent water quality for all measured parameters.b. An $800 million capital savings compared to the Biscayne aquifer

recharge.c. Substantially lower carbon emissions.d. No regulatory permit required.

Alternative Technologies for Indirect Potable Reuse in Southeast Florida

J. Philip Cooke, Benjamin J. Stanford, Enrique Vadiveloo, and Tara VanEyk

(Article 1: CEU = 0.1 DW/DS/WW)


2015 FWPCOA OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRS

CORPORATE OFFICERS• President Tom King

(321) [email protected]

• Vice-President Scott Anaheim(904) [email protected]

• Past President Jeff Poteet(239) [email protected]

• Secretary-Treasurer Rim Bishop(561) 627-2900, ext. [email protected]

• Secretary-Treasurer-ElectMike [email protected]

REGIONAL OFFICERSRegion 1• Director Odis Carter


• ChairNot available at press time

• Vice Chair Not available at press time

• Secretary-Treasurer TomWalden(850) [email protected]

Region 2• Director Pam Morgan

(904) 247 [email protected]

• Chair Josh Parker(904) [email protected]

• Vice Chair Larry Johnson(904) [email protected]

• Secretary-Treasurer DavidAshley(904) [email protected]

• Secretary-Treasurer-ElectRalph (Andy) Bowen(904) [email protected]

Region 3• Director Russ Carson

(321) 749-5914 [email protected]

• Chair Kevin [email protected]

• Vice Chair Glen [email protected]

• Secretary Wendell Maxwell(321) 863 [email protected]

• Treasurer Bobby Potts(321) [email protected]

Region 4• Director Kenneth Enlow


• Chair Kimberly Ciranko(727) [email protected]

• Vice Chair Kelvin Melton(813) [email protected]

• Secretary Debra Englander(727) [email protected]

• Treasurer Janet DeBiasio(727) [email protected]

Region 5• Director Stephen Utter


• Chair George Horner(772) [email protected]

• Vice Chair Val Santos• Secretary-Treasurer

John Lang(772) [email protected]

Region 6• Director Phil Donovan


• Chair Pat Lyles(561) [email protected]

• Vice Chair Vince [email protected]

• Secretary-Treasurer Patti Brock(561) [email protected]

• Secretary-Treasurer-Elect Jessica Hill(954) 232-1235

Region 7• Director Renee Moticker


• Chair Nigel Harris(954) 921-3288 Ext. [email protected]

• Vice Chair John Feaster(954) [email protected]

• Secretary Linda Vargas(954) [email protected]

• Treasurer Tim McVeigh(954) [email protected]

• Secretary-Treasurer-ElectLaurence K. Duemmling(305) [email protected]

Region 8• Director Jon Meyer


• Chair Justine Martin(239) [email protected]

• Vice Chair Fred Gleim(239) [email protected]

• Secretary-Treasurer JackGreen(239) [email protected]

• Secretary-Treasurer-Elect Derick Galvan

Region 9• Director Jim Smith


• Chair Jamie Hope(352) [email protected]

• Secretary Frank Kelsey(386) [email protected]

• Vice Chair (West) Tom Mikell• Vice-Chair (East) Scott Ruland


• Treasurer Ron Cartwright(800) [email protected]

• Secretary-Treasurer-Elect JeffElder(386) [email protected]

Region 10• Director Albert Montalvo


• Chair Cindy [email protected]

• Vice Chair Charles Nichols(863) [email protected]

• Secreatry-Treasurer Kather-ine [email protected]

• Secretary-Treasurer-ElectNathan Silveria(863) [email protected]

Region 11• Director Athena Parslow


• Chair Dan Dashtaki• Chair-Elect Kevin Young


• Secretary-Treasurer Scott Stoll(407) [email protected]


• Secretary-Treasurer-ElectJohn Nalencz(407) 599-3563

Region 12• Director Gerry Schoonmaker


• Chair John McRae Wolfe(813) [email protected]

• Vice Chair Patrick Murphy(813) [email protected]

• Secretary/Treasurer SteveSaffels(813) [email protected]

Region 13• Director Tom Ewbank

[email protected]• Chair Mike Osborn• Vice Chair Tyler Todd• Secretary Arnold Gibson


• Treasurer Linda Andrews(386) [email protected]

STANDINGCOMMITTEE CHAIRSAWARDS AND CITATIONS

Renee Moticker(954) [email protected]

CONSTITUTION AND RULESTom King(321) [email protected]

CUSTOMER RELATIONSNorma Corso(941) [email protected]

DUES AND FEESTom King(321) [email protected]

EDUCATIONArt Saey(954) [email protected]

ETHICSOdis Carter(850) 875-4045 [email protected]

HISTORICALAl Monteleone(352) [email protected]

JOB PLACEMENTJoan Stokes(407) 293-9465

MEMBERSHIPRim Bishop(561) 627-2900 Ext. [email protected]

POLICIES AND PROCE-DURES

Mike [email protected]

PROGRAM AND SHORTCOURSE

Jim Smith(386) [email protected]

PUBLICITYJanet DeBiasio(727) [email protected]

SYSTEMS OPERATORSRaymond Bordner(727) 527-8121 [email protected]

WEBSITEWalt Smyser(561) 586-1671 [email protected]

SPECIAL COMMITTEE CHAIRSAUDIT

Tom King(321) [email protected]

EXAM CONSULTANTBill [email protected]

FWRJ/FWRC Tom King(321) [email protected]

[email protected]

NOMINATINGRaymond [email protected]

OPERATORS HELPING OP-ERATORS

John Lang(772) 770-109 [email protected]

SAFETYPeter M. Tyson(305) [email protected]

SCHOLARSHIPRenee Moticker(954) [email protected]

EDUCATION SUBCOMMITTEESBACKFLOW

Glenn Whitcomb(386) [email protected]

CONTINUING EDUCATIONJoseph Habraken(863) [email protected]

INDUSTRIAL PRETREAT-MENT

Janet DeBiasio(727) [email protected]

PLANT OPERATIONSJamie Hope(352) [email protected]

RECLAIMED WATERScott Walden(407) 836-6865/(407) [email protected]

STORMWATERTom King(321) [email protected]

ADMINISTRATION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Not filled at this timeTRAINING COORDINATOR

Shirley Reaves(321) [email protected]

WEBMASTERWalt Smyser(561) [email protected]

FWRC/FWRJ APPOINT-MENTS• Third-Year Trustee RaymondBordner


• Second-Year Trustee Jeff Poteet(239) [email protected]

• First-Year Trustee David Denny(386) [email protected]

• Member Rim Bishop(561) 627-2900, ext. [email protected]

Member David Clanton(386) [email protected]

• Member Tom King(321) [email protected]

• Member Al Monteleone(352) [email protected]

• Member Glenn Whitcomb(386) [email protected]

For more information on officers and committee chairs, visit the association website at www.fwpcoa.org.

Certification BoulevardAnswer Key


FWRJ READER PROFILE

Patrick J. LehmanPeace River

Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority

(Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties)

Work title and years of service.I have been executive director since

1997. I started at the Authority in 1992 as anengineer.

What does your job entail? I serve as the Authority’s chief executive

staff officer reporting directly to the board ofdirectors. I administer the policies anddirection of the board, oversee all staff,maintain operation and maintenance of allfacilities, plan on future infrastructure,implement budgets as established by theboard, and maintain the Authority’sfinancial standing and credit rating.

What education and training have youhad?

I graduated from the University of Iowawith a B.S. in civilengineering and anM.S. in environmentalengineering. I am alicensed professionalengineer in Florida.

What do you like best about your job? I like overseeing the plans being

implemented, from a concept to the actualinfrastructure that will serve futuregenerations.

What organizations do you belong to? AWWA (life member), WEF, American

Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), andAssociation of Metropolitan Water Agencies(AMWA).

How have the organizations helped yourcareer?

I’m always amazed how all utilities,whether large or small, share the sameissues. The interaction with otherprofessionals through variousorganizations, and particularly AWWA,provides opportunities to see how othershave addressed an issue, and it helps tobuild relationships.

What do you like best about the industry? Being in the water business for 40

years, it is gratifying to see end results thatare for the public good. Along the way, theinteraction with many professionals in theindustry and policy makers has taught meto appreciate the public service weprovide.

What do you do when you’re notworking?

My hobbies include volunteer activities,etc. I am a rotten golfer and an even worsefisherman. My wife, Julie, retired last summer,so travel plans seem to keep popping up,mixed with the joy of being grandparents andspoiling the grandkids. ��

From page 30

1. A) 1.55 cfs1,000,000 gpd divided by 86,400 seconds/day dividedby 7.48 gal/cu ft x 1.0 mgd = 1.547 cfs

1,440 minutes per day x 60 seconds per minute =86,400 seconds per day

2. C) 0.2142 mgd(205 gpm x 10 hours/day x 60 minutes/hour) + (140gpm x 6 hours/day x 60 minutes/day) + (85 gpm x 8hours/day x 60 minutes/hour)

123,000 gpd + 50,400 gpd + 40,800 = 214,200 gpd ÷1,000,000 = 0.2142 mgd

3. D) 92.84 cfm1,000,000 gpd divided by 1,440 minutes/day dividedby 7.48 gal/cu ft = 92.84 cfm/mgd

4. C) 62.4 lbs8.34 lbs/gal x 7.48 gal/ft3 = 62.38 lbs/ft3

5. B) “B” kitWhen leaks in chlorine ton containers occur, promptcorrective action is required by trained, competentpersonnel with special equipment. The ChlorineInstitute Emergency Kit B is used to repair an array ofleaking conditions in ton containers. The “A” kitcontains equipment for fixing leaks on a 150-lbcylinder; the “C” kit is for tank cars.

6. D) Liquid chlorine weighs 1.5 timesmore than water.Chlorine is a clear amber-colored liquid, about 1.5times heavier than water. Gaseous chlorine isgreenish-yellow, about 2.5 times heavier than air.

7. C) About 6.5 psiEach ft of water generates 0.433 psi 15 ft of water x 0.433 psi = 6.495 psi

1 psi ÷ 2.31 ft of water = 0.4329 psi per ft of water

8. B) 6,058,080 galsLength, ft x width, ft x depth, ft x 7.48 gal per cu ft = gal10.0 ft x 20.0 ft x 7.5 ft x 7.48 gal per cu ft = 11,220 gal

0.75 fps ÷ 20.0 ft = 0.0375 seconds0.0375 seconds x 11,220 gal = 420.7 gal per second420.7 gal per second x 60 seconds per minute = 25,242 gpm

4 hours x 60 minutes per hour= 240 minutes in 4 hours

25,242 gpm x 240 minutes = 6,058,080 gal in 4 hours

9. B) Sodium hydroxideSodium hydroxide (caustic) is an alkaline with a pHtypically greater than 12. Aluminum sulfate (alum) is an acid with a pHtypically below 4.0.

10. D) BioassayBioassay, or whole effluent toxicity (WET), is used asa tool for evaluating the potential harmful effects ofeffluents discharged into surface waters. Althoughquantities of pollutants can be analytically determinedin samples, these measurements may fall short ofactually identifying toxic discharges. Aquatic toxicitytests offer a more direct measure.

Lehman receives theAMWA Gold Award

from its president,Charles Murray


Whew! What a great fall conference wehad this past year. The Manufactur-ers/Associates Council (MAC) Con-

ference Committee really put together an eventpacked full of entertainment and value that at-tracted 1,396 attendees. Congratulations to theMAC and kudos for all their hard work and vol-unteer efforts!

Let’s talk BBQ! The incoming chair’s re-ception and first-ever BBQ Challenge was ahuge success. Six teams (Omni Hotel, Haskell,Hillsborough County, Garney Construction,Stanley Hydraulic Tools, and Veolia Water NA)competed, while Haskell came away with theoverall champion trophy and bragging rights forthis year. I think the real winners were the at-tendees! That was some tasty BBQ provided byall the teams. The menu included chicken, porkribs, and pork butts (yes, I like pork butts and Icannot lie). Thanks to Richard Anderson andJeff Nash for planning, organizing, and pullingthis off. I can’t wait to see what they put togetherfor next year’s event; knowing them, it will bebigger and better. If you have some thoughts orideas for this event, Richard would love to hearthem. You can find his contact information onthe FSAWWA webpage.

And how about that opening general ses-sion! Thanks to Kim Kunihiro and PeggyGuingona for bringing in Jim Davidson, whowas such a dynamic speaker. Jim was descendingMount Rainier in Washington state in 1992 witha friend when a snowbridge collapsed anddropped them into a glacial crevasse. He gave agripping tale of survival and the strength it takesto keep climbing despite impossible odds. Jim, ahydrogeologist by trade and mountain climberextraordinaire, captivated the audience, whilegiving inspiration and motivation for all of usto use in our everyday lives. Grab a copy of hisbook, “The Ledge,” because it’s a great read. Ifyou missed this event you better mark down theopening session for the conference later thisyear—it’s bound to be special.

Another first at the conference was the “Bestof the Best” people’s choice water tasting contest.This event engaged all the attendees who enjoyed

some of the best water from across the state. BayCounty Utility won out and will hold the brag-ging rights for the year. Congratulations!

Water For People fundraisers were in fullforce thanks to Barika Poole and Christine El-lenberger. The exhibitors raffle was a big hit,and of course the fan-favorite “Duck Race” hadeveryone at the edge of the pool. Once again,Greg Taylor was master of ceremonies, whilehead duck wrangler Tyler Tedcastle made surethe ducks went down the lazy river—and mostimportantly—came back. This event providedthe perfect opportunity for everyone to net-work and have some fun, and ultimately, pro-vide clean, safe water to areas of the world inneed.

The exhibit hall was maxed out this yearwith over 180 exhibitors. A “premier sponsor-ship” bundle was newly introduced and was abig success. The bundle included ConferencePlatinum, Golf Eagle, and Poker Royal Flushsponsorships. Thanks to American Cast IronPipe Company, Ferguson Waterworks, SigmaCorporation, Hydra Service Inc., The FordMeter Box Co. Inc., and Wager Company ofFlorida Inc. for being the first to take advantageof this bundle. There always seems to be a flurryof activity around the exhibit hall and this yearwas no different. Attendees took full advantageof the opportunity to see new products, tech-nologies, and systems firsthand.

The highlight of the awards luncheon hadto be the Fuller Award presentation to RichardAnderson. Richard continues to provide out-standing leadership and service to the section.Congratulations to him and all the award win-ners. It was great to see a full house on hand torecognize all the achievements and cap off an-other great year!

The sixth annual 2030 Water Summit was abig hit. Those remote control voting deviceswere a nice added touch. Two great keynotespeakers and policy makers were there to discussAmendment 1, the Florida Water and LandConservation Amendment, and its impact onthe water industry. This summit specifically fo-cused on the top five initiatives, their successes,and upcoming challenges. Thanks to Jackie Tor-bert for putting together a program that will as-sure our success as utilities and a water industrymoving forward.

The workshops, technical sessions, andsymposia gave all attendees the opportunity tostay current on relevant topics and new tech-nologies. This is the heart and soul of what we

do. I want to give a big thanks to Dr. FredBloetscher for championing a technical sessionsecond to none.

Competitions at the conference this yearincluded the Backhoe Rodeo, Ductile Iron andFun Tap Contests, and Meter Madness. Theseare fun and lively competitions among munici-palities. It’s impressive to watch the skill theseprofessionals put on display, coupled with theenergy and excitement of competition; I love towatch and am in awe every year. A big thank youto Mike George and all the volunteers that madethis happen. Great job!

Upcoming Events

We have several other events that are com-ing up this year, too. They include the BusinessPractices and Leadership Workshop, to be heldat FSAWWA headquarters in St. Cloud; AWWAFly-In in Washington, DC; FSAWWA LegislativeDay in Tallahassee; Regional Meeting of SectionOfficers (RMSO) in Key Largo; and our twelveregion taste tests.

We will also be presenting the FSAWWAdistribution awards. When presenting theseawards in the past, it’s been a humbling experi-ence to see how important it is to the receivingutility. This award and its presentation givesutilities an elevated presence in front of theirboard, council, or commission. It is no surprisethat the utilities make this a focal point everyyear. The award highlights the unseen work thatgoes on every day to maintain a safe and reliabledrinking water system.

All of these events represent your member-ship benefits in action. They help with public re-lations for your local community, offer anopportunity for networking and education,offer professional development, and provide avoice for industry leaders to the nation’s law-makers.

Please visit the FSAWWA website atwww.fsawwa.org for more information and tosee what upcoming events you might be inter-ested in attending, or for which you might be-come an active volunteer. Remember, these areyour benefits—put them to action and let themwork for you. ��

Mark LehighChair, FSAWWA

Spotlight on the FSAWWA Fall ConferenceFSAWWA SPEAKING OUT


FREE BBQ DINNER

� Monday, March 16, 4:30 p.m. �

COURSES

SCHEDULE

Florida Water & Pollution Control Operators Association

FWPCOA STATE SHORT SCHOOLMarch 16 - 20, 2015

Indian River State College - Main Campus

– FORT PIERCE –

Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester ..........................$375/$405

Backflow Prevention Assembly Repairer ......................$275/$305

Backflow Tester Recertification ......................................$85/$115

Basic Electrical and Instrumentation ............................$225/$255

Facility Management Module I ......................................$275/$305

Reclaimed Water Distribution C, B & A ........................$225/$255(Abbreviated Course) ................................................$125/$155

Stormwater Management C & B ...................................$260/$290

Stormwater Management A .........................................$275/$305

Utility Customer Relations I, II & III................................$260/$290

Utilities Maintenance I & II ............................................$225/$255

Wastewater Collection System Operator C, B & A ......$225/$255

Water Distribution System Operator Level 3, 2 & 1 ......$225/$255

Wastewater Process Control ........................................$225/$255

Wastewater Sampling for Industrial Pretreatment& Operators................................................................$160/$190

Wastewater Troubleshooting ........................................$225/$255

Water Troubleshooting ..................................................$225/$255

CHECK-IN: March 15, 20151:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

CLASSES: Monday – Thursday........8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Friday........8:00 a.m. to noon

For further information on the school, including course registration forms and hotels, download the school announcement at www.fwpcoa.org/fwpcoaFiles/upload/2015SpringSchool.pdf

3209 Virginia AvenueFort Pierce, FL 34981

For more information call the

FWPCOA Training Office 321-383-9690

FWPCOA STATE SHORT SCHOOL


The FWPCOA core has become a smallgroup of members who reappear yearafter year to manage and set policy for

the rest of the membership. I am reaching outto all the members of FWPCOA to help us ad-dress the issue of the future of the organization.

One of the issues is how we structure ourtraining programs to best support our mem-bers, which has been affected by several factors.For years the competition for your continuingeducation unit (CEU) dollars was limited, so weput on short schools, provided correspondenceclasses, and supported CEU innovations. We arecontinuing to look at some dynamic changes tostay in the game and provide our members withthe best service.

I have been discussing the idea of a summitfor each of our chaired disciplines and will beinviting the leaders of the industries we support

through our training programs. I will discussthis idea at the next Education Committeemeeting. We need to involve local leaders inwater, wastewater, stormwater, and reuse, as wellas the collection and distribution system lead-ers, at our state meetings.

I will propose inviting a different leader ofeach discipline to each state meeting (and covertheir expenses) to let them see how our organi-zation works and the benefits of our services. Wehave discussed bringing new talent and leadersinto FWPCOA; we need a plan to initiate thatmovement.

We need more high schools offering a resi-dence course similar to the one at Heritage HighSchool in Brevard County. This year, several ofthe students graduated high school and passedthe water exam as part of their curriculum. Asthe average age of our operations personnelgrows older, we need this kind of cooperative ef-fort to bring young people into our industry.

With the onslaught of new providers andcuts to most utility training budgets, we have ad-justed our training offerings to meet the needsof our members. We now provide online courses(see our ad in this issue), correspondencecourses, and a program to bring courses to your

utility via “on the road” training. The new webi-nar venture needs more committee support totake off and be what our past executive directorTim McVeigh envisions, and further discussionson how we can help him are needed.______________________________________

With the holidays behind us we are workingon a new line of action figures based on utilityworkers. If you want to have your craft made fa-mous, contact me at [email protected]. I havenew molds prepared for “Joe the WastewaterTreatment Plant Operator.” He or she (Jolene)comes with a weir brush, sample bottles, and autility tool belt. We have suggestions for “Kay theWater Plant Technician” and even one for thestate board of directors (although the suggestionfor the board member can’t be mentioned here).

We have also attempted some joint ven-tures for educational toys. We worked with theFlorida Department of Environmental Protec-tion to design a “See and Say” toy for rules andregulations. The only problem is that there areno batteries that last long enough for the an-swers. We scaled it down some and now youpoint the little hand at the rule and it says, “Seeyour district office for clarification.”

We also have a new Xbox game called“Game of Thrones” based on toilet trivia fromaround the world. It comes with some mini-games like “Raise the Seat Before You Pee,”and “My Toilet Runneth Over,” and my fa-vorite, “Over the Rim” (based loosely on RimBishop’s childhood aim). ______________________________________

I want to give mention to all of the honorarylife members in the association. The people nom-inated for this honor have given their time to pro-mote FWPCOA. Those I have met have all beendeserving of this honor. It would be fitting if theregions periodically reminded their members ofthose honorary life members at their meetingsand events. I would also remind the directors andregion members to keep someone in mind tonominate when an opening occurs. Please put thethought into this that it deserves; honorary lifemembers cherish their roles. ��

Thomas KingPresident, FWPCOA

Like Deja Vu all Over Again: Me Writing Another C Factor Column

C FACTOR


The Peace River Manasota Regional WaterSupply Authority (Authority) water pro-duction facility is located in DeSoto

County near Arcadia. The facilities include a 48-mil-gal-per-day (mgd) conventional surfacewater treatment plant, 120-mgd water intake onthe Peace River, 6.5 bil gal (BG) in off-stream rawwater storage (two reservoirs), and 21 aquiferstorage and recovery wells. The facilities cur-rently serve an average finished water demand ofabout 25 mgd in Charlotte, DeSoto, and SarasotaCounties, and the City of North Port.

The large-volume off-stream storage andthe ability to harvest water at high rates enablesa seasonal resource (wet season flows in thePeace River) to reliably meet most of the drink-ing water needs in three counties, while pre-serving the freshwater flow needed to supportthe Charlotte Harbor estuary. Water is with-drawn from the Peace River on a flow-basedschedule, with most water harvested during thesummer months, providing adequate storedsupplies for the dry season.

Four years of management and operationaldata for this off-stream reservoir have shown thelevel of effort, challenges, and cost required tokeep this off-stream reservoir system in top op-erating condition.

Peace River Reservoirs

The Authority has two off-stream rawwater reservoirs (Figure 1).

Reservoir 1 was constructed in the late1970s by general development as an 85-acre in-ground water storage facility. Essentially, Reser-voir 1 is a manmade lake with a capacity ofabout 500 mil gal (MG), and little detailed in-formation is available on its construction otherthan bottom topography.

Reservoir 2 construction commenced inDecember 2007 and was completed in July 2009.Reservoir 2 is a 640-acre aboveground im-poundment with a live-storage capacity of 6 BG.The impoundment is formed by a highly engi-neered earthen berm approximately 4 mi inlength. The berm is about 200 ft wide at thebase, 35 ft high, and 15 ft wide at the crest. Itwas constructed using a balanced cut-and-fillsystem whereby nearly all of the material tobuild the berm was excavated from the interiorarea of the reservoir. Specialty materials, such ascoarse sand used for the internal drainage sys-tem and bentonite for the interior slurry wall,were imported off site.

Figure 2 shows the cross section of theReservoir 2 berm, highlighting the engineered

features of the embankment, including soil ce-ment on the interior slope for erosion protec-tion, an 80 mil high-density polyethylene(HDPE) liner and bentonite slurry wall thatkeys into the underlying Miocene clays (about50 ft below land surface) on the interior face ofthe berm to minimize leakage, an internaldrainage system to improve safety and stability,and vegetated exterior slope for stability anderosion protection. The embankment (interiorand exterior) and immediately surrounding areaalso includes 105 piezometer stations monitor-ing water levels in the embankment and shallowperimeter groundwater system, 14 stationsmonitoring flow in the embankment drain sys-tem, five extensometer sites to monitor move-ment in the soil cement, and 46 survey stationsto monitor movement in the embankment.

Exterior Slope Maintenance

The exterior of the reservoir includes ap-proximately 50 acres of turf on a 3:1 slope. Theturf covering the slope is considered a structuralelement of the embankment due to its impor-tance in minimizing erosion. Initial installationof the cover on the exterior slope in the reservoirconstruction contract called for seeding; how-ever, the reservoir contractor quickly discoveredthat keeping the slope dressed (free of erosion)while the vegetation took hold was not cost-ef-fective, and it was proposed to sod the embank-ment instead. The sod type (Bermuda grass) waschosen based on its extensive root system and re-ported ability to hold soil under potential over-topping conditions in the reservoir.

The Bermuda grass, however, has notthrived on the well-drained embankment, andwhile there are areas on the embankment where

Lessons Learned in Operation of an Aboveground Reservoir

at the Peace River FacilityMike Coates, Sam Stone, and Noah Olenych

Mike Coates, P.G., is deputy director, SamStone is land and environmental servicesmanager, and Noah Olenych is anenvironmental specialist with Peace RiverManasota Regional Water Supply Authorityin Lakewood Ranch.

F W R J

Figure 1. Two Off-Stream Raw Water Reservoirs


this grass has remained in a serviceable condi-tion, large areas of the turf stopped growing andwere being naturally replaced by less desirable,weedy vegetation. In spite of recommendationsby turf experts visiting the site, herbicide and fer-tilizer applications produced little improvement.Erosion (Figure 3), primarily resulting fromheavy wet season rainfall in these areas, has beenan ongoing maintenance issue and repairs oftenmust be made by hand due to soggy embank-ment conditions, which preclude use of mostequipment on the slope. An additional challengehas been to secure the repair areas so that waterfrom upslope doesn’t cause another washout atthe same site before the repairs take hold.

Early erosion repair efforts often requiredmultiple attempts. Current repair methods havebeen far more successful and include good com-paction of fill material, careful sod placement(eliminating gaps), installation of temporarysod strips above the repair areas to divert waterfrom upslope, and regular watering until the re-paired sod is established. All repairs since theinitial sod installation have been done usingBahia rather than Bermuda sod, as experiencehas shown that Bahia grass provides superiorcoverage and erosion resistance under the well-drained embankment conditions.

In 2012, the Authority began a proactiveprogram to convert all areas on the embankmentto Bahia grass. The resodding effort was con-ducted in the fall when the embankment was nottoo wet for light equipment but will still receivesome rainfall to aid in turf establishment. Figure4 shows the ongoing sod replacement effort.

Mowing of the embankment is required topromote healthy grass and to allow the inspec-tion of erosion features; many of these featuresare difficult to see, especially in uncut grass.These erosions can sometimes be detected bylooking for small deltas of sand that often form

where the embankment slope meets the toe ditchbelow an erosional feature. Mowing is scheduledtwice a month in the growing season subject toembankment conditions, and as-needed duringthe dry season. Fourteen cuts per year are aboutaverage, and mowing costs are billed per acre cut.Mowing in wet conditions can create new ero-sion issues, and as such, having an experiencedmowing contractor with adequate manpowerand appropriate equipment to get the job donewhen conditions are appropriate is essential. An-nual service costs are shown in Table 1.

Figure 2. Reservoir 2 Cross Section

Figure 3. Erosion Figure 4. Sod Replacement

Table 1. Annual Service Costs



Lessons Learned� Carefully consider appropriate embankment

cover vegetation in the design phase, andonce installed, be proactive in maintaining it.

� Erosion, especially during the summer, candevelop and grow quickly, so embankmentinspection must be frequent (every one totwo days and after every heavy rainfall event)and repairs should be expedited.

� Make careful repairs using good quality sod.Protect the repair areas from upslope runoffand irrigate until coverage is re-established.This will reduce the need for re-repair of thesame location.

� Select a well-qualified mowing contractorwith the experience, proper equipment, andmanpower to do a good job and stay onschedule. Low-bid might not work here.

Reservoir Roadway Maintenance

Approximately 5 mi of roadway are main-tained in conjunction with the reservoir. Thisincludes 4 mi of reservoir perimeter roads and a1-mi access road. The road surface is marl/shellmaterial. The perimeter roadway is elevated 2 to8 ft above the bottom of the toe ditch at the baseof the embankment and the surrounding landsurface. Steep side slopes on the embankmentbetween the toe ditch and perimeter road andpoor sod establishment/coverage along the

roadway edge have required considerable main-tenance, as heavy rains tend to wash out sectionsof this interior slope (Figure 5).

At several of the worst erosion locations,permanent low-profile gravel discharge struc-tures have recently been installed to deliver waterdirectly from the road to the toe ditch. Whilegravel discharge structures are not feasible every-where, Authority reservoir management staff haslearned through experimentation that successfulrepair on the interior slope of the roadway can beaccomplished by notching the road at the edge ofthe shell and filling the notch with quality soiland then with Bahia sod so that it is level with theshell road when complete. While repairs con-tinue, a multiyear program to make these changesaround the entire perimeter road is underway.

Mowing of the inside roadway slope is dif-ficult under normal circumstances, but it ismade more difficult by erosional features. Mow-ing here is conducted as part of the embank-ment mowing event and also includes the toeditch (see annual mowing costs in Table 1).Table 2 shows the costs for erosion repair, as wellas the multiyear program to reduce future ero-sion problems on the perimeter roadwaythrough the correction method described.

Lessons Learned� Avoid slopes greater than 3:1; they are diffi-

cult for all maintenance requirements. � The interface between the sodded side slope

and the roadway needs to be well-defined

and carefully constructed. Sod should bebedded in good soil and compacted level withthe road shoulder to prevent erosion.

� Specific stormwater discharge locations fromroadway to perimeter ditch (or swale) shouldbe contemplated in design.

Regulatory Compliance: Environmental

Multiple compliance efforts are included inthe management of the reservoir. These were gen-erally borne from the environmental resourcepermitting (ERP) process and involve monitor-ing of wetland water levels and shallow ground-water conditions adjacent to the reservoir, andmonitoring and management of wetland mitiga-tion areas. Such efforts were intensive in the firstfew years of operating the reservoir. These effortshave been reduced with time as wetland successcriteria were met, and evaluation of perimeterdata indicate that the reservoir is not having anydeleterious effect on nearby wetlands or shallowgroundwater conditions. Monitoring and re-porting efforts associated with the reservoir em-bankment safety are discussed separately.

Construction of the reservoir impactedabout 165 acres of wetlands. On-site mitigation(on the 6000-acre RV Griffin Reserve) resulted inthe restoration and enhancement of about 1055acres of wetlands. Maintenance, monitoring, andregulatory reporting associated with the mitiga-tion areas is conducted by outside contractorsand managed by Authority staff. These efforts areongoing for a sixth and possibly final year. Costsfor the program have declined through time asmany wetlands have reached their success criteriaand were released by regulators (see Table 4).However, some long-term effort to control ex-otics will continue on wetlands, even after release.

In addition to the mitigation effort, moni-toring of wetland water levels and surficialaquifer groundwater conditions around theperimeter of the reservoir is required. The effortincluded water level monitoring at 17 shallowwetland piezometers and 16 surficial aquifermonitor wells, and periodic water quality sam-pling at the surficial aquifer monitor wells. Datacollection and evaluation efforts were initiallyconducted through professional services con-tracts, but in recent years most data collectionhas been assumed by Authority staff.

The cost reduction from 2010 to today (seeTable 4) for the wetland mitigation program re-flects release of many of the wetlands by theFlorida Department of Environmental Protection(FDEP) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers asthese systems reached success criteria. Currentcosts for the perimeter monitoring reflect labora-tory costs for groundwater samples and evaluation

Figure 5. Interior Slope Washout

Table 2. Erosions Repair Costs



of data by consultants to meet annual reportingrequirements. Much of the perimeter program hasbeen eliminated because the monitored systemsshowed no impacts associated with the reservoir.

Lessons Learned� Initial monitoring costs tend to be high, but

can be reduced in time as success criteria aremet and understanding of the effect of thereservoir system on surrounding areas evolves.

� Audit monitoring programs. The FDEP hasbeen receptive to requests for reduction inmonitoring when presented with good sup-porting data.

Regulatory Compliance: Embankment (Safety)

Ensuring that the reservoir system functionssafely and as designed is a continuous and criti-cal effort requiring daily coordination among Au-thority staff, outside experts, and regulators. TheAuthority has one staff member dedicated solelyto monitoring reservoir and nearby conditions,collection and review of data, maintaining reser-voir monitoring equipment, scheduling repairs,and preparation of monthly compliance reports.

The embankment interior and exterior, andimmediate surrounding area, includes 105piezometer stations continuously monitoring waterlevels in the embankment and the shallow perime-ter groundwater system, 14 seepage flume stationsmonitoring flow from the embankment drainagecollection system, five extensometer sites intendedto monitor movement in the soil cement, 46 surveystations established to monitor movement in theembankment, and a weather station. Data frommost of the monitoring sites are collected, stored,and transmitted via an automated data acquisitionsystem (ADAS) to the Authority’s water resourcesoffice on site for review and assessment.

The ADAS system facilitates collection andprocessing of large volumes of data very effec-tively, and the data collection efforts haveproven to be worthwhile. Some issues with thesystem and exceptions to the “worthiness” of thedata collection effort are briefly discussed:

� The seepage flumes are intended to continu-ously measure water movement through theembankments drainage system, potentiallyidentifying leakage through the HDPE lineron the interior of the embankment. In addi-tion to the seepage flumes, there are sevenoutfall locations from the drainage systemwhere flow is manually measured twiceweekly by Authority staff. Iron bacterialslime from the perimeter’s surficial ground-water system also enters the internal drainsystem, regularly fouling the seepage flumesand making the electronic data from theseunits unreliable. In addition, seepage flumesare located in manholes and require confinedspace measures for service. Data collectedmanually at the outfalls however are consis-tent and reliable and show that the system re-sponds only to rainfall conditions thus far.

Table 4. Program Costs



� Extensometers on the soil cement flat plate (in-terior of the reservoir) consist of a high-tensionstainless steel cable with one end affixed to thesoil cement near the base of the embankmentand the other to a fixed monitoring stationnear the top of the embankment. These are in-tended to measure movement in the soil ce-ment. Experience has shown that theseinstruments are most effective at collecting de-bris at the water’s edge, and as resting locationsfor alligators; they also respond to thermal con-ditions. Aside from the conclusion that the soilcement is not moving, no other useful infor-mation has been obtained.

� The ADAS recording and communicationequipment is located in 21 National Electri-cal Manufacturers Association (NEMA) 4Xboxes at various locations along the crest andbase of the reservoir. The NEMA 4X was se-lected as a weatherproof box to keep mois-ture from fouling the electronic equipment;however, experience has shown that moisturecondenses inside these boxes, causing prema-ture failure of equipment. The installation ofvents in the boxes has alleviated the issue.

In addition to the ongoing monitoring pro-gram described, the ERP for the reservoir in-cludes specific engineering inspection, testing,and reporting requirements during operation ofthe reservoir system. An embankment perform-ance monitoring plan (MWH, July 31, 2009) de-

veloped for the Authority also contains specialtesting and monitoring of the system.

Table 5 identifies the physical special in-spections and monitoring (no ADAS) require-ments. Comparison is made between effortsrequired early in the reservoir operations(2010) and current ones (2013-2014). Some ofthese special inspections have been eliminatedor their frequency has been reduced after re-view of the data.

Table 6 shows a comparison of 2010 andcurrent costs for embankment monitoring, in-spection, and compliance reporting. Reductionsin embankment monitoring and reporting costsreflect a reduction in the frequency of somemonitoring, and Authority staff assuming in-creased responsibility for monthly reporting.None of these costs include Authority staff time.

Lessons Learned� Full-time staff with appropriate expertise is

needed to inspect, manage, and maintain thereservoir.

� Initial monitoring costs tend to be high, but canbe reduced with time as confidence is gained inreservoir operation and management.

� Iron bacteria are common in earthen embank-ments and can foul automated monitoringequipment in the seepage system. Hand meas-urement of flow at the outfalls is more effective.

� Extensometers on the interior soil cementhave produced interesting, but otherwise un-useful, data.

� The NEMA 4X boxes intended to protectreservoir monitoring electronics have insteadbeen a source of moisture condensation. Ven-tilation of the boxes has resolved the issue.

Conclusions

Active management of the Authority’s 6-BGoff-stream, aboveground reservoir helps keep thefacility in top operating condition. The manage-ment program includes care of over 50 acres ofembankment; 5 mi of perimeter and access road-way; environmental and groundwater monitor-ing of surrounding areas; management ofwetland mitigation areas; daily inspection of theembankment; extensive monitoring of in-, on-,and near-embankment conditions; and a host ofengineering inspections. A well-trained, experi-enced staff is critical to the success of this pro-gram. While this reservoir requires considerablemanagement and care, this facility has been es-sential to supporting use of seasonal resourcesfrom the Peace River as an environmentally sus-tainable, highly reliable public water supply.

Maintenance of the reservoir embankmentand roadway system has been a learning experi-ence. Lessons go back to the design phase in se-lection of the appropriate turf for localconditions. Prompt attention to, and quality re-pair of, any erosion, especially on the embank-ment, is critical as these erosions tends to growquickly. Because the majority of mowing takesplace in the wet season when the embankmentis most subject to damage by operation of heavyequipment, having a well-qualified mowingcontractor with appropriate manpower andequipment to get the job done timely and effec-tively minimizes repair needs.

In general, regulatory compliance has beenmore time-consuming and costly than expected;however, maintenance of wetland mitigation areas,and monitoring and reporting for permit compli-ance, has been significantly reduced through time,as have associated costs. Reductions are the resultof regulatory release of mitigated wetlands, elimi-nation of ineffective monitoring, and demonstra-tion that the facility is operating as designed andpermitted. The FDEP has been quite receptive torevisions and reductions in environmental moni-toring with appropriate supporting data.

Some monitoring has been found imprac-tical, such as the high-tech seepage flumes thatare continuously clogged with iron bacterialslime from the embankment drainage system.Hand measurement of flow at seepage outfallsis more useful and consistent. Extensometers onthe flat plate soil cement (interior of the reser-voir) are problematic to maintain as they areeasily fouled and have indicated that the soil ce-ment is not moving at those monitored loca-tions, which is visually obvious. ��

Table 5. Physical Inspections and Monitoring Requirements

Table 6. Costs for Embankment Monitoring, Inspection, and Compliance Reporting



News BeatGovernor Rick Scott has announced five

proposals for 20 projects totaling $77 millionthat were submitted to the Gulf Coast Ecosys-tem Restoration Council for considerationunder the council-selected restoration compo-nent portion of funding through the Resourcesand Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Oppor-tunities, and Revived Economies of the GulfCoast Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act).

Governor Scott said, “We’re committed toprotecting and restoring Florida’s estuaries,and these $77 million in projects will signifi-cantly bolster our efforts to protect and restoreour natural treasures. The Florida Departmentof Environmental Protection has workedclosely with local leaders and environmentalstakeholders to identify the projects that willbest benefit our critical ecosystems. Throughstate funding we’ve made major investments inthe Everglades and the Florida Keys, and withthis money, we’ll make similar investments innorth Florida’s estuaries and continue to makeFlorida’s environment a priority.”

These proposals address high-priorityrestoration needs in 10 major watersheds fromPerdido Bay to Tampa Bay. They also represent

the feedback received from numerous meetingswith stakeholders and citizens. Additionally,the proposals represent projects from the listof over 1,200 submissions to the Departmentof Environmental Protection’s online portal,which include:• The Apalachicola Bay Watershed Proposal

includes three major projects that would im-prove fresh water flows to the hydrologicallyimpacted bay. Also, an expansion of a naturalresource damage assessment oyster popula-tion rebuilding project, a marsh and oysterreef project, and an agricultural pollution re-duction project will help to restore the bayand assist affected oystermen. The fundingamount for this proposal totals $26.1 mil-lion.

• The Suwannee River Watershed Proposalwould provide $12.1 million in funds to ac-quire conservation easements in the FloridaForever Lower Suwannee River and GulfLess-Than-Fee Program and to implementan oyster-restoration project near Cedar Key,as well as an agriculture pollution reductionproject. These projects will restore and pro-tect water quality and habitats that sustain

the local communities whose economies de-pend on these vital resources.

• The Tampa Bay Watershed Proposal includes$6.9 million in funding for five projects,three of which are shovel-ready stormwaterprojects that would improve water qualityand habitat within the watershed. Also in-cluded in this proposal are Manatee County’sRobinson Preserve restoration and AlafiaBank Bird Sanctuary living shoreline instal-lations, which are two highly ranked projectsidentified in the Southwest Florida RegionalEcosystem Restoration Plan.

• The Northwest Florida Estuaries and Water-sheds Proposal is intended to complete thecurrent watershed planning efforts in thePanhandle and includes funding for design,permitting, implementation, and monitoringfor high-priority water quality and habitatrestoration projects that will be identifiedthrough these planning efforts. The fundingamount for this proposal totals $16.8 mil-lion.

Information about each proposal may befound at www.deepwaterhorizonflorida.com. ��


SPOTLIGHT ON SAFETYNew Products

Doug Prentiss Sr.

It is time once againfor the Florida WaterEnvironment Associ-

ation's Facility SafetyProgram Competition.

The FWEA Safety Committee invites you toparticipate in this event by submitting asafety award application and returning it toJudd Mooso at [email protected] by thedeadline on the application. Applicationsmay be obtained on the FWEA website orby email request to Judd.

Facilities from all over Florida willcompete for the opportunity to receive anaward recognizing the excellent safety pro-grams in the state.

Awards will be given for exemplarysafety programs in all categories (A, B, C,and D) for domestic wastewater treatmentplants. Each category will have a winner forfirst, second, and third place. The overall

winner will be nominated for the presti-gious George W. Burke Facility SafetyAward, a national award for safety presentedannually by the Water Environment Feder-ation.

The winners of the FWEA Safety Con-test will receive their awards at the 2015FWEA luncheon during the Florida WaterResources Conference. Winners will be no-tified prior to the conference in time tomake preparations for a representative to at-tend the FWEA luncheon.

Several important changes have beenmade to the program. All submissions mustbe made electronically; no hard-copy pro-grams will be accepted by mail. All winnersmust also attend the luncheon to accepttheir award. Additional information is onthe application or you may email Judd di-rectly with questions.

Doug Prentiss is the FWEA Safety Com-mittee vice-chair. ��

FWEA Safety AwardsThe Pipe Plug from Source One Environ-mental allows the user to terminate a lateral con-nection very near a main without any digging. Thetermination is handled through a residentialclean-out and does not require access to the main.The process has been tested to withstand up to 15psi. With the use of a cutting system, the line canbe reinstated at a later date with no digging as well.The plug can be applied by a one-person crewwith no disruption to sidewalks, streets, or traffic.(www.s1eonline.com)

�The t4 Underground program from t4 Spatial

provides a cloud-based, software-as-a-service solu-tion that makes all wastewater data and related as-sets searchable, visible, and immediately actionablefrom anywhere on any device. It enables PACP-com-pliant sewer inspection videos and data for sewernetwork analysis, maintenance planning, risk assess-ment, regulatory compliance, and distributed deci-sion-making. The program integrates and correlatesall past, present, and future wastewater inspectionvideos and data with a wastewater district’s existingGIS and CMMS data and requires no CAPEX andno in-house IT costs. (www.t4spatial.com) ��

ENGINEERING DIRECTORY

Tank Engineering And ManagementConsultants, Inc.

Engineering • Inspection

Aboveground Storage Tank SpecialistsMulberry, Florida • Since 1983

863-354-9010www.tankteam.com

ENGINEERING DIRECTORY

Showcase Your Company in the Engineering or Equipment & Services Directory

[email protected]

EQUIPMENT & SERVICES DIRECTORY

Contact Mike Delaney at 352-241-6006

18004431032 opt2


CentralFloridaControls,Inc.

Instrumentation Calibration

Troubleshooting and Repair Services

On-Site Water Meter Calibrations

Preventive Maintenance Contracts

Emergency and On Call Services

Installation and System Start-up

Lift Station Controls Service and Repair

Instrumentation,Controls Specialists

Florida Certified in water meter testing and repair

P.O. Box 6121 • Ocala, FL 34432Phone: 352-347-6075 • Fax: 352-347-0933

www.centra l f lor idacontrols .com

CEC Motor & Utility Services, LLC1751 12th Street EastPalmetto, FL. 34221

Phone - 941-845-1030Fax – 941-845-1049

[email protected]

• Motor & Pump Services Test Loaded up to 4000HP, 4160-Volts

• Premier Distributor for Worldwide Hyundai Motors up to 35,000HP

• Specialists in rebuilding motors, pumps, blowers, & drives

• UL 508A Panel Shop, engineer/design/build/install/commission

• Lift Station Rehabilitation Services, GC License # CGC1520078

• Predictive Maintenance Services, vibration, IR, oil sampling

• Authorized Sales & Service for Aurora Vertical Hollow Shaft Motors

Motor & Utility Services, LLC



Posi t ions Avai lable

Water and Sewer Utilities PositionsNEEDED in the TAMPA BAY AREA of FLORIDA

City of Tarpon Springs

Tarpon Springs is a historic small city of 24,500 located on the Gulf ofMexico on the west coast of Florida. The City of Tarpon Springs is com-pleting construction of a new Alternative Water Supply (Reverse Osmo-sis) Facility and an associated re-organization of utilities with newpositions. Career opportunities are available at multiple levels of the or-ganization. Positions include:

Wastewater Division Manager ($51k-$82k); Water Division Manager($51k-$82k); Environmental Scientist ($44k-$71k); Chief Utilities Me-chanic ($40k-$64k); Water Distribution Supervisor ($40k-$64k); Waste-water Collection Supervisor ($40k-$64k); Lead Water Plant Operator "A"($38k-$61k); Water Plant Operator "A" ($36k-$58k); Water Plant Opera-tor "B" ($34k-$55k); Instrumentation Technician/ Water Division ($34k-$55k); Lead Wastewater Plant Operator "B" ($36k-$58k); Operator Trainee(RO or WWTP) ($29k-$48k);

For more information on the position please visit: http://www.ctsfl.us/HR/humanresources.html

Closing Date for positions: Open Until Filled. Applications can be printedfrom online and filled out; or obtained from: City of Tarpon SpringsHuman Resources Department, 324 E. Pine Street, Tarpon Springs, Florida34689. Resumes MUST be accompanied by an application. An Equal Op-portunity and Affirmative Action Employer. DRUG FREE WORKPLACE

City of St. PetersburgWater Plant Chief Operator IRC30560

$49,338 - $78,187 DOQ - Closes 03-30/2015, 4:00 PM DST; Supervisory,technical work directing 24/7 operation of the potable water Cosme Plantin Northwest Hillsborough County, FL. Requirements: ability to performshift work and respond to emergency events; high school diploma/GEDequivalency, including math/science courses; State of FL DL; State of FloridaClass "A" Water Operator Certificate (out of state appointee may receive 5.5month grace period to achieve cert.) See detailed requirements atwww.stpete.org/jobs. EEO-AA-Employer-Vet-Disabled-DFWP-Vets' Pref

Utilities Treatment Plant Operations Supervisor$54,099 - $76,123/yr. Assists in the admin & technical work in the mgmt,ops, & maint of the treatment plants. Class “A” Water lic. & a class “C”Wastewater lic. req. with 5 yrs supervisory exp.

Utilities Treatment Plant Will Call Operator$18.29-$28.38/hour. Part time. Must have passed the C drinking water orwastewater exam.Apply Online At: http://pompanobeachfl.gov Positions are open untilfilled. E/O/E

DESTIN WATER USERS, INCWASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT OPERATOR

Destin Water Users, Inc. is currently taking applications for a WastewaterTreatment Plant Operator. This position is responsible for the overall op-eration and preventative maintenance of our 6MGD wastewater treatmentplant and its associated equipment. Operators are subject to work shiftwork and holidays as assigned. A minimum of "C" license and a validFlorida Drivers License are required for consideration. DWU offers a gen-erous benefits package and compensation will be commensurate with ed-ucation and experience. To apply: please visithttp://dwuinc.com/contact-us/career-opportunities/. EOE.

Water and/or Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators

The City of Edgewater is accepting applications for Water Treatment PlantOperators and Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators, minimum Class Clicense required. Valid FL driver license required. Annual Salary Range is$31,096 - $48,755. Applicants will be required to pass a physical and back-ground check. Applications and information may be obtained from thePersonnel Dept or www.cityofedgewater.org, and submitted to City Hall,104 N Riverside Dr, Edgewater, FL 32l32. EOE/DFWP

C L A S S I F I E D S


Palm Beach County - Utilities Assistant Director,Operations & Maintenance

Assists the Department Director in planning and directing the Operationsand Maintenance Divisions. Directs development and implementation oflong-range operating and maintenance policies, procedures and manage-ment systems. Provides input in the development and review of compre-hensive reports concerning the performance and efficiency of water andwastewater facilities. Oversees and directs the activities of subordinate pro-fessional, technical and support staff in Plant Operations and Maintenance,Lines and Lift Stations and other divisions/sections of the Department asassigned. Responds to County Commissioners, administrators, employ-ees, customers, developers, engineers and others regarding elevated cus-tomer complaints, departmental policies, procedures and issues relevantto the Operations and Maintenance Divisions. Represents the Departmentbefore the Board of County Commissioners and at Advisory Board/otherpublic meetings.The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners provides an ex-cellent benefits package, including medical, dental and life insurance aswell as vacation and sick leave, tuition reimbursement and participation inthe Florida Retirement System.

QUALIFICATIONS:Bachelor's Degree in Business/Public Administration, Engineering or re-lated field; minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible exec-utive, administrative or managerial experience in the utilities or publicworks field. Equivalency: Unrelated Bachelor's Degree and nine (9) yearsof related experience.

Visit www.pbcgov.jobs for job description and to apply online. May sub-mit scannable application/resume with any Veteran's Preference docu-mentation to Palm Beach County Human Resources, 100 AustralianAvenue #300, West Palm Beach, Florida 33406 Info 561/616-6888 Fax561/616-6893 (No e-mail applications/resumes accepted). Applica-tions/resumes must include Job ID number, and will be accepted no laterthan 5:00 p.m. on February 13, 2015. EO/AA M/F/D/V (DFWP)

Salary: $96,285 Annually, negotiable depending on qualificationsDepartment: Water Utilities/Operations and Maintenance

Location: 8100 Forest Hill Boulevard, WPBHours: 7:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Monday - Friday

Other: Valid Florida Driver's License and PBC Risk Management De-partment driving history approval prior to appointment.

THIS IS AN AT-WILL POSITION.

Project Engineer Water WastewaterDaytona Beach

McKim & Creed -Our Daytona Beach office is growing. The preferred candidate will have a BS degree in Civil or Environmental Engineering and a Florida PE. Must have 5 to 10 years of experience in water, wastewater and storm water design.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer (Minorities/Females/Disability/Veterans) and maintains a Drug Free Workplace

Apply online at www.mckimcreed.com/careers

Okeechobee Utility AuthorityOperations Director

The Okeechobee Utility Authority, an independent special district provid-ing water and wastewater services to areas within Okeechobee and GladesCounties. The OUA currently has approximately 9,500 metered water con-nections. The OUA owns and operates two water treatment plants, one re-gional wastewater treatment plant and five smaller wastewater packagetreatment plants.

The OUA is looking for a person with a strong background in various as-pects of utility work, either public or private. The applicant could havegained experiences through associated work such as engineering, facilitiesplanning or other likeminded assignments.

Background experiences could include personnel, operations, SCADA,treatment and or regulatory interaction. This position does interact withOUA personnel, customers, developers, vendors and others. The applicantshould have strong communication skills, both written and verbal, com-puter and office skills usually necessary for planning, budgeting and capi-tal improvement analysis. Minimum educational requirements are a highschool graduate or GED. Higher educational and or operator licensing area plus.

Applicants shall obtain an application and drug free workplace consentforms and view a benefits plan at www.ouafl.com, under Employment Op-portunities. Applicants may submit other information necessary to betterdefine their personal work experiences, education and licensing achieve-ments.

This position will be open until filled. Application review and interviewswill begin the week of February 16th.

Written Correspondence:Okeechobee Utility Authority

Attn: Janet McKinley100 SW 5th Avenue

Okeechobee, FL 34974 (863) 763-9460 X-212 Office

Electronic Correspondence: [email protected]

CITY OF MARGATEUTILITY OPERATIONS MANAGER

Applicant must have graduated from a four-year college or university witha degree in sanitary, civil or environmental engineering or related field,plus a minimum of eight (8) years of progressively responsible experiencein the operation of water, wastewater and reuse treatment, collection, trans-mission and distribution systems; including at least four (4) years in a su-pervisory or administrative capacity. Must be licensed as a ProfessionalEngineer (PE) and licensed in the State of Florida, or have the ability toobtain such license within 12 months of hire. Possession of State ofFlorida, water and/or Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator’s certificatesis preferred. Must possess a valid Florida Driver License. Competitivestarting salary $71,771. . Excellent benefits. The City of Margate is a par-ticipant in the Florida Retirement System and is an Equal OpportunityEmployer. Applications are available in Human Resources, Margate CityHall, 5690 Margate Blvd., Margate, FL, or may be down loaded from theweb site at www.margetfl.com. Completed, original applications must besubmitted to Human Resources. This position is open until filled.

Wanted a treatment plant operator Class CMinimum Qualifications: H.S diploma or equivalent. Possession of a classC wastewater treatment plant operator's license issued by the State ofFlorida and a Valid Florida Driver’s license. Send resumes to [email protected]

Water Plant ManagerSALARY: $71,427 - $82,784 NEG

The City of Hallandale Beach Water Pant is now seeking a Water PlantManager to perform professional supervisory work of substantial com-plexity in directing the operation and maintenance of a Class “A” drinkingwater treatment plant. Interested candidates meeting the minim require-ments should apply online at http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/jobs.

Plant EngineerExempt Position

Toho Water AuthorityKissimmee, FL

Career Opportunity

Toho Water Authority is seeking immediate applications for the positionof Plant Engineer. The position requires a four year degree in a technicalfield from an accredited university. A professional engineer’s license is de-sired, but not required. The position, utilizing water and wastewater treat-ment and equipment knowledge, applies asset management principals inprocess and physical condition evaluations of water and water reclama-tion treatment infrastructure.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:• In conjunction with Operations staff, identify recurring or problem

treatment facility assets that may be performance or condition relatedand identify process changes and/or equipment/structure improve-ments to address issues

• Develop budget requests as appropriate based on assessments of treat-ment facilities

• Support Operations staff in the analysis and implementation of cor-rective actions to address treatment performance and regulatory com-pliance issues

• Lead an energy management program at treatment facilities

The position must be able to communicate well verbally and in writing.Types of communication include:

• Development of reports• Negotiating agreements• Drafting agenda items for Board approval• Preparing and giving presentations to the Board, community groups

and at conferences• Project documentation including correspondence

The position requires working with and sometimes leading teams that mayconsist of TWA staff, other governmental agency staff (cities and coun-ties), engineering firms and contractors. The position requires the abilityto supervise non-professional administrative and technical staff. TohoWater Authority offers competitive benefits. Salary range is $65,988 –84,134. Toho is an Equal Opportunity Employer. For more informationand to submit an application, visit www.tohowater.com

Professional EngineerExempt Position

Toho Water AuthorityKissimmee, FL

Career Opportunity

Toho Water Authority is seeking immediate applications for the positionof Professional Engineer. The Professional Engineer position requires li-censure in the State of Florida. The position manages studies, permittingactivities, design and construction projects related to water, wastewater andreuse distribution and collection systems and water and wastewater facil-ity expansions, upgrades and process projects. This position may be as-signed other types of projects depending on the needs of the organization.The candidate must be able to communicate well verbally and in writing.Types of communication include:• Development of reports• Negotiating agreements• Drafting agenda items for Board approval• Preparing and giving presentations to the Board, community groupsand at conferences• Project documentation including correspondence

The position requires working with and sometimes leading teams that mayconsist of TWA staff, other governmental agency staff (cities and coun-ties), engineering firms and contractors. The position requires the abilityto supervise non-professional administrative and technical staff. TohoWater Authority offers competitive benefits. Salary range is $65,988 –84,134. Toho is an Equal Opportunity Employer. For more informationand to submit an application, visit www.tohowater.com


CDM Smith provides lasting and integrated solutions inwater, environment, transportation, energy and facilities topublic and private clients worldwide. As a full-service consult-ing, engineering, construction, and operations firm, we de-liver exceptional client service, quality results and enduringvalue across the entire project life cycle.

We are currently looking to fill Water/Wastewater Senior Project Manager openings in:

• Jacksonville • Fort Myers • Miami • Orlando • Broward/Palm Beach County

Successful candidates will have a Bachelors in engineering(Masters preferred), 10+ years of experience including proj-ect management experience, P.E. registration in Florida orability to obtain quickly.

We also have openings for a variety of other opportunities in our 10 Florida offices. For more information and to applyonline, please visit www.cdmsmith.com. Those interestedmay also contact Will Vereen at [email protected].

EOE Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Disabled

CDM Smith is Hiring in Florida!


Plant ManagerHillsborough County Public Utilities

For more information about this position and to APPLY please go towww.hccsb.org and select Job Opportunities.

CITY OF NEW PORT RICHEY, FLWWTP OPERATOR JOB OPENINGS

The City of New Port Richey Florida is accepting employment applica-tions for the position of Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator. Applicantsin possession of a Florida A, B, or C license are encouraged to apply. Atrainee may be considered for this position depending on the applicantpool. The pay range for this hire will be $14.64 to $20.49 depending on li-cense level. Please go to: http://www.cityofnewportrichey.org/Jobs.aspxto apply.

Martin County UtilitiesCome to the Treasure Coast and enjoy our good nature! Martin CountyUtilities has 2 opportunities available: a Chief Plant Operator and a Treat-ment Plant Operator. The qualified Chief Plant Operator will performtechnical & supervisory work in the operation of the water and wastewatertreatment plants. The Treatment Plant Operator is responsible for the safe& efficient operation of equipment used in purification process of the pub-lic drinking water supply.For additional responsibilities & qualifications, please visit our website atwww.martin.fl.us. Applicants must complete a Martin County Board ofCounty Commissioners job application for consideration. EOE/DFWP.

WTP & WWTP OPERATORTown of Lake Placid, FL

Minimum FDEP C License. $18-20/hr plus overtime, based upon experience. Day Shift 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Mon.-Fri. Visit www.lakeplacidfl.net/bulletin/employment.html or call (863) 699-3747.For further job description. EOE/DFWP. Open Until Filled.

Posi t ions WantedPHILIP LEON – Holds a Florida Dual license – B Water and C Waste-water with 14 years experience. Prefers the Miami to Marin County areasbut is willing to relocate including overseas. Contact 772-485-2775

Editorial Calendar

January ......Wastewater Treatment

February ....Water Supply; Alternative Sources

March ........Energy Efficiency; Environmental Stewardship

April............Conservation and Reuse

May ............Operations and Utilities Management;

Florida Water Resources Conference

June ..........Biosolids Management and Bioenergy Production

July ............Stormwater Management; Emerging Technologies;

FWRC Review

August........Disinfection; Water Quality

September..Emerging Issues; Water Resources Management

October ......New Facilities, Expansions, and Upgrades

November ..Water Treatment

December ..Distribution and Collection

Technical articles are usually scheduled several months in advanceand are due 60 days before the issue month (for example, January 1 forthe March issue).

The closing date for display ad and directory card reservations,notices, announcements, upcoming events, and everything elseincluding classified ads, is 30 days before the issue month (for example,September 1 for the October issue).

For further information on submittal requirements, guidelines forwriters, advertising rates and conditions, and ad dimensions, as well asthe most recent notices, announcements, and classified advertisements,go to www.fwrj.com or call 352-241-6006.

Arcadis Golf ..........................50

AWWA Membrane..................45

Blue Planet ............................67

CDM Smith ............................65

CEU Challenge ......................41

Crom ....................................17

Data Flow ..............................35

FSAWWA Drop Savers............55

FSAWWA Operators Awards ..59

FSAWWA Tallahassee Day......48

FSAWWA Training ..................51

FWPCOA Online Training ........57

FWPCOA Short School ..........49

FWPCOA Training ..................37

FWRC ................................9-14

Garney ...................................5

Gemini Group ........................23

GML Coating ....................48,58

Hudson Pump........................47

ISA ........................................39

Polston Technology ................21

Reiss Engineering ....................7

Stacon.....................................2

Tetra Tech..............................40

TREEO ..................................31

Xylem ...................................68

Display Advertiser Index

February 2014

Looking For a Job? The FWPCOA Job PlacementCommittee Can Help!

Contact Joan E. Stokes at 407-293-9465 or fax 407-293-9943 for more information.

– CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES –Classified ads are $18 per line for a 60 character line (including spacesand punctuation), $54 minimum. The price includes publication in boththe magazine and our Web site. Short positions wanted ads are run onetime for no charge and are subject to [email protected]

florida water resources journal - february 2015

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