WINTER 1998 VOLUME VIII, NO. 16

~rural 1999 ANNUAL CONFERENCE

MARCH24 -26 At the

PENN STATER CONFERENCE CENTER STATE COLLEGE, PA

Conference Highlights.

• Over 30 Various Training Sessions

• Computer Labs for Hands-On Instruction

• Tour of the State College Water Plant

• DEP Regional Workshops • 2nd Annual Source Water

Conference • Comedy magician entertainment • Consumer Confidence Report

Workshop

Something fo r Everyone!

Registration Information inside this issue of The Keystone Tap.

The Time

Is Now! Register Today!

This page now available for your COLOR AD. Call (800) 653-PRWA (in PA) or (814) 353-9302 for more information and to reserve for your ad today.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

BOB BLOUGH Prestdenr

Jenner Area Joiot Sewer Auth.

MARTIN BECK Vice Presidem

Boro. of Wellsboro, PA

DAVE QUINN Secretat)'

White Haven Mun. Auth.

JOH N MCCREADY Treasurer

Williamstown Boro Municipal Autl\ority

GUY SHAFFER Assistant Sec.· Treas. Walker Twp. Wnter

DIRK GRISSJNGER Director

Ferguson Twp. Aurhorit)'

BLAJN£ RHODES Director

Venango Warer Co.

TERESA RISSMILLER ______ NRWA Director_

Mt. Joy Twp. Aurh.

STAFF STEPHEN M . KRCHNAVY

Execwive Director

DICK EYLER Chief Financial Offic-er

KATHYM. FYE Office Mcmager

BOBDECKE.R Wastewater 1i·aining Technician

MIKE DILL Pmgram Specialist

CHUCK GROFF Wa~tell'(lter Technician

JOEL JORDAN

JANE SMJTH-DECJ< ER Groun(/w(ller Tecfmicia 11

ROGER MILLIRON Water Teclmicia11

JUDY MUEHL Water Developmelll Coordinator

CHRIS SHUTT Water Conset>·lltion Teclmician

DON MUIR Wmer Consen,atiou Teclmicirm

DONNA MILLER Member.<hip Services

JOHN HOOD Etluatian Directat·

JENNIFER SNARE AdministratiOil Sen•ice.<

Cove~ Photo: Doe in Rickeus Glen State Park Photo courtesy ofCommonwealt/1 Media Services

Pennsylvania Rural Water Association would like to invite you to prepare a short article about your water/wastewater system or other topics which would be of interest to our readers. We also welcome articles from our Associate members. Share your news with us.

Send your ariicles with black and white photographs, if available, to: PRWA, 138 West Bishop Street, Bellefonte, PA 16823, Telephone 814-353-9302/Fax: 814-353-9341/email: prwa@prwa.com

Septic Tank Maintenance . . .... . ... . .... . ..... . ..... ....... . ... _ . . .. . . _ .. . .... . .. 2 Featured Wastewater System . .. Burgettstown Smitb Township . .. • . . ... . ... . . ... . .. .. . .4 Future Confidence Building .... . .... . ... . . .. ... . ... .. . . . . .... . .... . ...... • .. . . .. . 7 Simple Sealing System Unblocks Building Ban .. ... . .. .. . . .... • . .. . ... . ... .. . . ... . .1 3 PRWA Hires New Water Circuit Rider . . ..... . .... ..... . .. . .. . ...... . .... . ........ 16 Wastewater and Disease ... . ... .. .. .. .. . . . ... .. ... . . .. . . . ....... _ . . .. . .... .. . .. .18 Unexpected Ugrade . .. ..... . . . ... . .. .. . . ... . .. . ...... . . . .... . ... .. . . .... . .. . . .19 1999 Examination Announcement .. . . ... . . . .. . .. .. ... . ... .. .. . ....... . .... . .... .. 20 So You Want to be Certified ...... .. ... . .. .. ... . .. .. ... . ....... ... . . .. . ...... .... 2 1 For Sale . . . . .. . ...................... . ..... . .... .. .... . ................. . . .. . 22 1998 Spot1ing Clays and 3-D Archery Shoot ... .. .. . . .. . ... . .. . ... . ....... .. .. . .. . . .42 PRWA Operator/System Survey . . . .... ... . .. . ..... . . .. .... .. ........... . ... .. .43-44 PRWA Does Golf . .. ..... ... .. . ... . .... .. . . .. . . . . . .. . .. .. .......... . .. . .. .. .. .46 Water Quality Standards Regulations .... . ... . .... . . . ....... . . ...... . ......... .. . .47 Featured Sewer Authority ... McConnellsburg Sewer Authority ... . . . .... . . . ........ .. .48 PRWA Conference . . .. . . . . . . .. ........ . ... .. . ..... ..... ... .. . . ... . . .. .. . ... 53-57 PRWA Welcomes New Education Coordinator . ...... . . . .. . ... . ... . . . • . . ....... .. ... 60 New PRWA/DEP Partnership .. .. ....... . ... .. .. .. .. .. .. . . . . . .... . . .. ... . ... _ .. . 62 Public Water Supplier . ... .. . .. . ... .. ........... .. ... . ... .... ... . .... . .... .. . . . 63 Operator Certification Public Meetings .. .... ... .. . .. .. .. .. . . . .. .. .... • . . .... .. . 63

Greetings From President . .... . . ... .. . . . ............. . . . .... . . . .. . ... . .... . ..... . 2

What's on Tap ... . .. . ....... .. .... . ..... .. . . . . .... .. . .... . ....... . . . . .. . . . . . . . 9 Country Boy Chuck ... . . .... . ...... .. ... . . . .... . .. . . . ... . ...... . .... . ........ . 11 Grit Collections . ... .. . .... . .... . ... . .... . ... . ...... . ......... . . .. ... . . . ..... . 23 Itchee & Scratchie . ... . .. .... . . .. .. ... .... . .. .. . . . . ... .. . • ..... .... . . . . .. ..... 25 Consider the Source .. . .... . .. ... ... . . .. ... . . . . • . .. • .. .... . . .. ..... . . . ........ . 29 Here Is What People Are Saying About PRWA . .. . . . . . ... . . ..... . ... . .... . . . . . 29, 50, 51 PRWA System Members . . . ... ... . . . ... . .... . .. ... ... . .... . ... . .... . ..... ... .. . 31 Pau·on Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . ...... ... . .... ...... .. . 35 Associate Members .. . .... . ... . . . ...... . .......... . . . ....... .. ....... . .... . .. . 36 Pennsylvania Outdoors . . . .. . . . ...... . .... .. .. . ... . .. . ... . . ... . ............. .. . 37 From Our Point of View .. . ... .. . ... .... . .. . ...... . . . . .. . . . . . . .... .. ... . ... .. .. .40 County by County . . . Line by Line .. .. ..... . . . ... . .. . .. . .. ..... . ... . .. . ..•..... .41 Here & There and Then ....... . ......... .. .. . .... .. ... . ... • .......... . .. .. . ... .49 Across the Great Divide ... Looking Up Your Source . .... . .... . ...... . . . . .. ... .. ... . 52 One More Thino ...... .. .......... . ........ . ... .. . ... .... . . ... .. . ... .. . . . . .. .. 61 Membership Application . .. .. .... . . .. ... . ........ . ... . ... .. .... . ...... .. .... . .. 64

The Official Publication of the Pennsylvania Rural Water Association is published qua11erly for distribution to representatives of rural and municipal water and wastewater util ities, individual and associate members. legisla­tive delegation. other re lated agencies. other industry associations <U1d friends of PRWA. Alticles and pho­tographs are encour<1gcd. Submissions ru1d advettising. should be directed to PRWA. 138 W. Bishop Sr. . Bellefonte, PA 16823. Phone 800-653-PRWA, fax 814-353-9341, or email: prwa@p,wa.com.

Pem\Sylvania Rural Water Advertising Rates Member Non-Member

Size Per Issue 4 Issues Per Issue 4 Issues

Full Page $ 250.00 $ 900.00 Half Pagc 150.00 540.00 Quarter Page 120.00 430.00 13usiness Cnrd I 00.00 360.00 Full Page-Color (Inside front or Back Cover)

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Septic Tank Maintenance

Homeowners wanting to take good care of their septic systems should make note of the following items that should never be flushed down the drain or toilet. These items can overtax or destroy the biological digestion taking place within the system or clog pumps and pipes. Take care not to flush the following:

coffee grounds dental floss disposable diapers kitty litter sanitary napkins tampons cigarette butts condoms gauze bandages fat, grease, or oil paper towels

and NEVER flush cherrricals that could contaminate surface and groundwater, such as: paints varnishes thinners waste oils photographic solutions a

Greetings From President Bob by Bob Blough

Dear PRWA Friends and Family:

Have you seen or heard anything new about PRWA lately? There have been some new programs and faces added to the rural water family. The new programs have allowed some members of the staff to move to new positions. These people moving to new and exciting positions have allowed us to add more staff, with many years of experience, to better serve our membership.

PRWA has established a good relationship with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). This has enabled us to expand our services to the state-wide membership; from wellhead proection to wastewater treat­ment. The resources available to us from the NRWA and the DEP will allow us to provide you with more train­ing and technical assistance.

This past year has been an exciting one for us. The hard work and continued success. of the programs provided to you by the staff and board of directors of PRWA, and the continuing teamwork with DEP, will help us to rpo­vide the rural systems of Pennsylvania with a sound investment in our future.

I want to welcome the new staff members to the association. May your career with PRWA be long and fruitful. Thanks to DEP for providing a means to make this possible.

We have much to be thankful for this year. May you all have a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year! a

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Future Confidence Building

Questions arise about whether dealers will benefit from new confidence reports.

Public and private water systems soon will be required to provide consumer confidence reports (CCRs) to cus­tomers detailing the quality of th e water. Some exp erts say the POU industry may see a jump in business as consumers becom e m ore concerned about water. Other experts are not so sure.

The water u·eatmeot industry is debating whether a federal ru le requirin g water utilities to disclose the contents of their water supply will result in a wave of new customers.

Beginning in October 1999, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will require most water systems to pro­vide consumers with an annual report on the quality of their drinking water.

A.divers.e grou.P of industry players­manufacturiJ1g companies, Wall Street investors and small dealerships - predict the requirement will result in a financial boom.

But the Water Quality Association (WQA) and dealers in California - who have operated under a similar state-man­dated requiremeJlt - say it will not gener­ate additional revenues.

Nearly 90 percent of peop le in the United States receive water from systems that will have to provide consumer confi­dence reports, or CCRs. The fi rst CCRs are expected to be mailed to consumers within 14 months of the effective date of the regulation.

Mandated by an amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), CCRs must detail contaminants in drinking water and information on health risks. The reports will let people know what contaminants are in drinking water.

The E nvironm ental Working Group (EWG), a Washington, D.C.-based lobby­ing organization, using EPA records, esti­mates 18,542 water systems serving 45.6 million customers fell below EPA conta­minant standards during 1994 through 1996. CCRs must clearly provide details on violations, including tbe length of time

by James Denn, Water Technology

the system has not been in compliance with EPA standards.

However, while CCRs wi ll increase con­sumer awareness, CCRs also may frighten some consumers.

Jeff Ellingsen, owner of Ever West Water Conditioning , Richl a nd, WA, thinks CCRs will help his business.

"The public .is concerned about the qual­ity of the water," he says. '"They will either go after the city or go to a water treatment dealer. It could start a stam­pede."

CCRs will requiJe systems to monitor and inform consumers about the presence of more than 80 contaminants. But the presence of even non-health threatening amounts of some dangerous substances such as arsenic, asbestos, cynanide, lead, mercury and radium could signal dru1ger in the minds of most consumers.

And the chance of a negative consumer reaction could be even greater among the millions of people who receive water from systems with health violations or with more contaminants than allowed by EPA s tandards, according to some experts.

Rank and file dealers hopeful Water treatment dealers with the most to

gain from CCRs are in states with a high level of uti lities that do not comply with EPA standards. Thirty-two states have a greater-than-average percentage of non­compliant systems. according to EWG.

According to EWG's study in 1996, De laware had the highest percentage of water systems with health violations or not meeting EPA health standards - one out of four.

Kevin Mitchell, owner of Aqua Pure, M ilford, DE, says his region suffers from poor water quality and that CCRs will create work for his company. "I think it wi ll help generate more calls and more opportunities," he says.

Michael J. Bag ley, owner of Aspen Water and Ice, a water store in Chandler, AZ, sees CCRs as an opportunity to expand his business. Roughly 1.2 million people in Arizona receive water from sys-

terns with health violations, according to EWG.

''I think it's going to drive more people to POU or bottled water," says Bagley. "People are losing confidence in munici­palities. Once they have tried bottled water they wi 11 not resort back to tap water."

According to EWG's study, one out of every five water systems in Kansas are not in compliance with EPA rules. More then 250,000 people in Kansas receive water from non-compliant systems.

Wall Street is hot on CCRs The predicted reaction of consumers to

CCRs is leading a number of Wall Street analysts to speculate that consumers will rush to fix perceived problems with their water, primarily by purchasing point-of­use (POU) systems and other types of water treatment products.

''We suspect it will be a big driver,'' says Christopher Whitmore, an associate ana­lyst at BT Alex Brown Inc., New York City. "I t's goi ng to drive bottled water sales, or under-the-sink units or some kind of home-filtration equipment-"

Sinc.e Januru·y the market value of pub­licly traded companies in the water treat­ment industry - the value of outstanding shares -climbed $3.9 billion to $62.2 billion. Investor anticipation of CCR ben­efit spinoffs is one reason for the increase.

CCR-inspired demand was one reason why Palm Desert, CA-based U.S. Filter Corp. shelled out $1.51 billion worth of stoc k to acquire Culligan Water Technologies Inc. in June.

"There is no question it will be pro­found ," says U.S. Filter spokesman Tim Traff about CCRs impact. "That is why we were so attracted to Culligan. The rise of consumer awareness is going to (pro­mote) substantial growth."

Waterlink, Inc., Canton, OH, believes the public wiU become more concerned about water quality as a result of CCRs, and utilities will be under pressure to improve water quality.

"While util i ties struggle to catch up,

conTinued on page 8

Future Confidence Building continuedfrom page 7

there probably will be a big boom in home filtration,'' says Waterlink spokesman Marla Jeane Maling.

The stakes are high. If Wall Street is wrong about CCRs, the market value of many companies could tumble. If that happens, companies might nor be able to finance future growth, including new plants, new products and additional acqui­sitions. Mos t recent acquisitions have been fueled by the rise in market prices.

The POU industry has been largely stag­nant since the mid-l980s. Industry experts predict there will be 25 percent fewer water treatment dealers within three years, largely as a result of the rise in the "do-it­yourself' market and the overall consoli­dation of the industry.

U.S. Filter predicts CCRs will result in a need for new dealers. It has not specified how many dealers it plans to add, howev­er.

"The typical (consumer) is not up to speed on the technology," says Traff. "I think these equipmem sales will be fol ­lowed by service contracts and opportuni­ties for dealers. A majority of this equip­ment will be installed." 'The tap water disclosure rules will cre­

ate demand in the household." says Tom Burnett, an analyst with Institutional Research Service, New York City. "When rhe housewife starts to see the disclosure label on water ir will have some impact. ·Mrs. X ' is going to make sure the water is better."

But consumers may not pay attention to CCRs. Raelynn Witting, an exercise phys­iologist at the Women's Wellness Center, Orl ando, FL, did not notice when her water utility mailed its water quality reporl.

Witting could not recall seeing the report even though she is concerned about Orlando's water quality. She has a POU filter in her house to improve the taste of the water.

Doubts exist Not all Wall Street types are sure CCRs

will mean more business. Leone Young, 3J1 analyst at Smith Barney in New York

City, is not certain CCRs will result in a business boom.

Young says while CCRs may create dis­satisfied consumers, the reports also may create a group of satisfied customers in cases where water system quality is high.

WQA executive director Peter J. Censky does not think CCRs will result in a flood of new sales for POU dealers. Censky notes that a California CCR requirement in place since 1989 failed to generate extra sales.

"We have seen consumer confidence repotts around," says Censky. "To a great extent they fall in the lead-balloon catego­ry. They have general ly been a bo-hurn kind of thing."

According to the EPA, a focus group created to develop CCR guidelines found many people were indifferent to the prospect of receiving information about water quality.

Many people do not understand - and don't want to Jearn - about the chemistry of water unless it poses a clear health risk, some experts say.

Censky believes the experts on Wall Street are wrong about CCRs' impact on the industry. "Wall Street isn't that aware of the pysche of the water utility and water consumers,'' says Censky. I just don't see it as being that big of a splash. lr is not going to flood the switchboard with calls."

Utilities on the wa tch The 55 ,479 water syste m operators

required to produce and make CCRs available are not sure whar effect CC!Rs will have on their industry. The mandate will cost the industry more than $20 mil­lion.

"It's one of those things where it's wait and see what happens," says Jack Hoffbuhr, executive director of the Amer ican Water Works Association (AWWA), Denver, CO. "The jury is out whether it will engender more support for changes."

Hoffbuhr says CCRs will generate some dissatisfied consumers, especia!Jy those in systems that are in violation. "I think you will see some backlash against the utili­tjes," he says. ''But what form it will take (POU, bottled water), I don't know."

The AWWA is concerned about the bad

image a poor CCR could create for a water system. CCRs will pose problems for utilities that have not kept customers informed about water quality issues.

But Hoftbnhr says CCRs do not have to create problems for the utility. The reports can update customers about water quality.

"Using CCRs as the base of a program to involve the consumer is what water quality is aJI about," says Hoffbuhr. "if the utility takes that advice and uses the tool as a whole kit, you will see more con­sumer support."

Hoffbuhr does nor want consumers to fix the water problem themselves by pur­chasing water treatment equipment if the utili ty can solve the problem quickly. lf a quick-fix is not avajlable, then Hoffbubr says the consumer has the right to solve the problem.

"But if that's the response, then it is not a healthy response for the utility," says Hoffbuhr. "(A consumer) acting on their own is not a vote of confidence for the utility."

EPA officials are working to identify how many systems violate federal stan­dards. They are trying to determine if small systems - serving less than 10,000 customers - are more likely to be out of compliance than larger systems.

"Wall Street is thinking people will see things in the waler and go out and buy a POU," says Hoffbuhr. "But there might not be any health impact at all."

Looking for more information on this topic? Please visit waternet.com and click "article archives." Use the following sug­gested keywords in an article search: SDWA, consumer confidence and Wall Street. (j

''What's On Tap'' by Chris Shutt

Ok. How are you all doing today? I suppose you want to get back to the water audit. Let's go back to the last issue. There are questions we were asking ourselves and 1 said I would explain each question. Before I do that, let's review what we already know.

1. We found our unaccounted for gallon amount in our first part. 2. Then we took this amount and subtracted our storage. 3. This brought down our amount but not enough.

"Alright." Now let's look at Part 2 of our audit. We'll go through the questions one at a time.

1. Did we flush hydrants dUJing this period of the audit? A. Do you know how many gallons a minute your hydrants can flow? If so, that's great! All you have to do is cal­

culate the G.P.M. x the amount of time you had the hydrant open. If you don ' t know the G.P.M. and don't have a hydrant test kit; just give PRWA a call and ask for Don Muir or myself and we will send you a sample flow chart to use to calculate your flows.

2. Were there any fi res? A. The Fire Company can help with this. Their trucks have meters and they also know how much each truck

pumps and holds. So you can get an idea of how much is used from this. B. Also, if you have a flow (G.P.M.) on your hydrants, you can estimate the time spent on hydrants and come up

with a figure there. C. And if you get along with your fire company, (this is if the engine room is not metered) ask them to keep a clip­

board and write down each truck fill with a date and time. 3. Did you flush that sewer line out?

A. If so, how many times did you fill the "Jet-Vac" truck and how many gallons does it hold? B. If you used a fire hose and hydrant, take how many G.P.M. x the amount of time open.

4. Did the street sweeper fill the tank? A. If you have the fill source metered, that's great. B. If not, how many gallons does the tank hold and how many times does it fill?

5. Do you use water at the plant? A. Everything at the plant needs to be metered.

1. Back wash water 2. Sampling Water 3. Wash down water 4. Water to your monitors 5. Water used for domestic use

B. Not only does your plant need to be metered, but everything in town that you serve water to needs metered. You don' t need to bill them, just meter them so you know where everything is going. Examples: Schools , Churches, Cemeteries, Pools, Fairs, Borough buildings, Authority owned buildings, Sewer plant

6. How many leaks do you have and did you calculate the gallons lost per day and the amount of days? A. This may be difficult, but if you look back at your pump Mig records, you can get an idea of the number of gal­

lons and the number of days it ran. 7. Do you have blow-offs and bleeders?

A. The proper way is to meter these. B. If not, you need to calculate the amount.

continued on page I 1

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Country Boy Chuck by Chuck Groff

Hey guys. How's it going? Hope ya'11 had a great holiday season. I sure did. Put on an extra inch of fat. But just to keep me warm over the winter I assure you! How did your hunting season go? Any wallhangers harvested out there in Rural Waterland? Send us a picture for the Keystone Tap. Maybe enclose a lit­tle lie, er .. story with it.

As I travel around the state, one of the biggest problems I encounter is mistrust of certified operators from their Boards/Councils/Authorities. People in power, trust in your operators. They are professionals. See that they are given the time, money, and confidence to do their job as they are trained and State Ce1tified to do. Listen to their ideas. They do this every day. There are a lot of good solutions to problems that waste away because those in power don't want to here from their operators. Start now; it can save you big money. No one knows the system like them! Trust is where it's at.

I read in the paper back in the fall where another person lost his life in a sewer line trench cave in. Tragedy, it could have been prevented. We will be having a training session on trenching/shoring at our '99 Conference.

Plan now on attending the "1999" Conference. Check out the information in this issue of the Keystone Tap. This Conference will be better than last year's! If you haven ' t been there yet, what are you waiting for, a personal invite? Well here it is. Come - March 24, 25, and 26 to the Penn Stater Conference Center, State College, PA. See ya'll there. G

What's on Tap? continued from page 9

8. Did you drain your storage for any reason? If so, you need to subtract this amount also.

AJJ·ight! Now that we have all these things figured out, let's subtract this amount from our "unaccounted for" gallons. Ok, what did you get? Is it close? Or is it still way up there? Well, let's see just what the percentage of unaccounted for water is.

Formula: Difference x 100 =% Total pumped of produce

Take the difference (which is your new "unaccounted for" amount) and divide it by the total gallons pumped or pro­duced. Then multiply it by 100 and you will get the percentage of yom unaccounted for water.

Is your percentage about or below 1 0%? If it is 10% or below, then you're doing a great job. If it's above 10%, it's time to do leak detection! And I'll leave that for another ti me. So remember, "be proud of what you do and do it well."

P.S. Did you know that a person can survive without food for 30 days but less than a week without water? G

GeoServices, Ltd. Consulting Geologists &. Hydrogeologists

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Ground Water Supply Development Environmental Site Assessment

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Office 1525 Cedar Cliff Drive Camp Hill, PA 17011

Phone: (717) 303-2660 Fax: (717) 303-2666

jl ju[[-service engineering firm serving Pennsy[vania :M.unicipa[ C[ients

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Utilizing GIS

6 Corporate Headquarters: 3020 Columb1a Avenue, Lanmter, PA 17603

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MALATESTA HAWKE & MCKEQ\1 LLP 100 North Tenth Street P.O. Box 1778 Harrisburg. PA 17105 (717) 236-1300 Web Page: http://www.mhm.Jaw.com

Contact: Louise A. Knight Thomas J. Sniscak LiUian S. Harris

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Simple Sealing System Unblocks Building Ban By Gary J. Winton, Manager, Perkasie Borough Authority, Perkasie, Pennsylvania

Like a lot of growth-oriented areas, we weren't very happy when the Pennsylvania State Department of Environmental Protection placed our Regional Treatment Authority and its six contributing communities under a morato­rium on additional connections. Our prob­lem was that every time it rained , our 4 mgd sewage treatment plant received flows of approximately 6 mgd or more. Until this figure could be substantially reduced, building would be at a standstilL Almost 200 potential owners, some from Allentown and Bethlehem,PA 18 miles to our north , some from Philadelphia 18 miles to our south, their plans already approved, could not proceed.

Capital funds were also extremely limit­ed. Over the immediate future, there would be no money for treatment plant expansions, pipeline replacements, over­flow structures or similar solutions.

Instead, a simple manhole sealing sys­tem broke the bottleneck.

Repeated flow measurements show tbat the selected stainless steel-banded pleated polyisoprene seals, installed inside man­hole chimneys, by themselves, consistent­ly s topped 80% of our total Inflow and Infiltration.

As a res ult, the s tate now allows the

addition of 1 building for every 3.2 Cretex chimney seals installed. Our area has resumed its desirable controlled growth rate. No other system improvement has been required.

Studies locate problem At the start of our sealing program, our

Authority was providing water supply and sewer treatment services to 3,351 equi va­lent dwelling units. About half our sani­tary lines dated back to 1908. Only the newer sections were made of PVC and other modern construction materials; the balance consisted of clay tile and non­reinforced concrete. The shallow depth of many lines , many only 2 feet under­ground, many only 4 or 5 feet, subjected them to breaking up and collapsing under the stresses of increasingly heavy traffic working against non-rippable rigid blue shale subsoils. The Town of Perkasie, for example, at 10,000 people largest of the six municipalities served, contains 166,137 linear feet (31.5 miles) of 6 to 12 inch sanitary pipelines and 746 manholes. The latter units are made of brick, stone or precast concrete. They average 48 inches in diameter and 2 to 12 feet in depth. Most were built between 1908 ancll947.

To determine 1 & I he re, we initially

Materials ready for the sealing which has been so effective in reducing I & I in Perkasie PA. The seal itself is at right; a collapsible form, left, is used to add a vertical surface to some manhole cones.

metered flow at 8 manholes, l for each of the town's 8 drainage basins. The study ran for 3 months. March I through May 31, 1991. Dry periods established our base figures; instantaneous increases during rain events showed the amount of inflow; levels for 3 days following rains showed the amount of rain-induced infiltration.

Within the 90 days, we experienced the desired cross-section, including some completely dry periods, some days with minor amounts of precipitation, and 3 storms of more than J inch each.

F low data compared to water use data determined the extent of I & I in each basin and the order of corrective priotity, worst basin to best. .Our key turned out to be the instanta­

neous changes in flow during rains, where whatever inflow was experienced could be pinpointed as coming through the only portions of the collection system irrunedi­ately exposed to rain - that is, the covers, frames aDd connecting seals which make up the top portion of each manhole. Of the total I & I , we found 80% was entering the system through these upper or c him­ney portions of the manholes. In our worst areas, inflows averaged 56 gallons (80% of the total I & I), infiltration 14 gallons per day (20%) per foot of pipe.

Symposium suggests solution To help determine what would be the

most cost -effective way to stop this inflow, the Authority Board sent me as Authority Manager to a 5-day professional symposium on "Upgrading Your Sanitary Sewer Maintenance Program". Sponsored by the College of Engineering of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, it was attended by 72 professionals and taught by 25 experts from all over the United States.

From 25 years of experience, I had long thought that drilling and caulking the chimneys would be effective in stopping inflow. It hadn ' t been. In every case shown us, frost and traffic stresses dis­rupted the sealants, opening pathways for water.

continued on page 14

Simple Sealing System continued from page 13

Now what? One of those who addressed the prob­

lem, a professional engineer from Cretex Specialty Products , Waukesha WJ, pre­sented a number of resul ts from users of their manhole chimney seals . In every case, these pleated steel-banded polyiso­prene devices had accommodated freeze­thaw and traffic movements, expanding and contracting to repeatedly stop inflow which ran toward manholes along sub­grades and, before installation, had pene­trated through cracks and holes in the chimney areas. I remember being very much impressed with the simplicity, econ­omy and efficiency of the Cretex system. There was no question in my mind that our employees, working in two-person teams, could in about 20 minutes handle an installation which would similarly solve our I & I problems.

I & I reduced 80% Our Authority Board, too, was impressed

with the system's obvious effectiveness, its ease of installation, its ease of seal extension should a street be repaved and the manholes raised -and the ease of removal and transfer to another manhole should the original manhole be aban­doned.

To test the system for ourselves, we installed Cretex seals on all the manholes in a small subsystem where inflow cou ld be proven (or disproven) to originate with our manholes, not our piping. The basin selected served 230 homes. All piping here was of new PVC; all manholes had frames and covers.

Studies made in January 1995 estab­lished a base water intake average of 171 gallons per day per dwelling unit. Before seal installation, sewage flow measured out to an average of 840 gallons per day per dwelling unit.

In February 1995, water usage remained at 171 gpd, with sewage flow increasing to 1,054 gpd per dwelling unit. In March, water usage sti ll averaged 171 gpd and sewage discharge 639 gpd.

In early April, we installed the selected Cretex internal chimney seals on 54 of the subsystem' s 57 manholes (the other 3

Worker trowels quick-setting concrete into the collapsible form. A two-employee Borough crew requires about an hour for this step; another two-employee Borough crew installs each seal in 5 to 10 minutes.

extended well above ground in backyard easements and historically had shown no signs of leakage).

Over the next 3 months, water intakes averaged 168 gallons per day per house­hold unit.

Sewage flow in April was reduced from its pre-installation average of 844 gpd to 165 gpd.

In May, sewage flow averaged 180 gpd. In June, sewage flow averaged 157 gpd,

for a 3-month after- installation average of 167 gpd.

In July, we presented these figures along with a demonstration to a group of offi­cials from various sewerage authorities and from the State Department of Environmental Protection.

Our site was a manhole located in a parking lot where we knew from the many centering cracklines that inflow existed. Then we had a worker spread a thin layer of powdered green dye atop the pavement located at the far end of the parking lot, several hundred yards beyond the cracks. Our llrain" came from a garden hose d irected onto the distant dyed area. Within 5 minutes, green water could be seen flowing into the manhole through cracks between its frame and base structure.

Then we installed a typical Cretex inter­nal chimney seal on the test manhole. We resumed our "rain". Nothing happened inside the manhole. The leaks had been

stopped. And they've remained stopped ever since!

172 new homes permitted On the basis of this demonstration and

on tbe detailed before- and-after flow data, the DEP agreed in writing that every Cretex installation would credit Perkasie with a very conservative 275 gpd of effec­tive increased sewage capacity, and that for every 3.2 seals installed I new dwelling unit could be accommodated.

Since then, the Town of Perkasie alone, as our area leader and demonstration site, has installed Cretex seals on 225 of its manholes, a llowing for the completion and attachment of 70 new dwelling units.

The five other communities served by our Regional Authority (populations 1,000 to 5,000) have followed with similar pro­grams. To date, they have installed another 327 seals, clearing permits for another 102 new dwellings.

We have con tinued to monitor flows continually. In July of this year, for exam­ple, the Last month for which figures are available, each dwelling unit within the sealed areas drew and discharged 167 gal­lons per day.

Handle own installations As hoped for, employees drawn from our

regular maintenance staff have handled all seal installations. Our usual crew consists

continued on page 15

Simple Sealing System continued from page 14

of a foreman and two installers working with a dedicated half-ton flatbed truck which mounts a power washer, two 30-gallon water drums, a ventilator blower and a generator.

On-site, each manhole cover is removed in turn, the ventilator hose placed and the manhole walls power-washed -steps which take about 10 to 20 minutes, depending on depth of the manhole.

On brick manholes, the workers place a pre-made round plywood form inside the manhole chimney and pour quick-setting concrete to fill the space. The seals could be installed without the concreting, but with brick the new ring assures us of a solid, smooth surface. Most manholes require only about 1/3rd of a bag of con­crete for this purpose.

AU-concrete chimneys are patched , where necessary, with quick-sett0g cement.

The power washing/concreting step takes about an hour; the crew thus pre­pares about 8 manholes per day.

For installation, the form is removed and one installer stands inside each manhole in turn, positioning and holding the pre-sized 15-pound accordion-pleated seal. The sec­ond installer now places an adjustable stainless steel band around the top of the

System installation is completed with tightening by a scissors-type expansion tool of several adjustable stainless steel bands. Note that this sealing system eliminates the need for any worker to enter any manhole.

seal and another around the bottom. Tightening the two bands holds the seal permanently in place. In 5 to I 0 minutes, the job is done, the manhole cover replaced, and the seal attained.

We inspect all installations once a year. There has been no displacement, no leak­age and, in only a few cases, any need for such minor adjustments as tightening the steel bands. Where jet- cleaning and tele­vision inspection of the pipelines and manhole floors have been necessary later, we have noted that the chimney sealing

systems have retained their integrity.

Continued low-cost effectiveness Based on our observations plus the expe­

riences of others since the Cretex system was patented in the early 1980's, we expect to continue to attain the same excellent results for 50 years or more!

Our total average cost per manhole of only $3 J 0 for both components and instal­lation has provided us with by far the most economical method we know of to control inflow- cheaper than expanding the plant, cheaper than replacing the man­holes, and certainly far cheaper than tear­ing up the streets to replace manholes and piping.

We haven ' t seen anything as good, as easy to do or as cost- effective for stop­ping inflow - and we've continued to do a lot of research.

The state allowance of 3.2 to 1 is still in effect, allowing us to permit good, contin­ued, managed community growth. 6

In place since 1995, the Cretex seals continue to provide effective stoppage of all chiTr-ney-area I & f. Based on observations here and elsewhere, engineers expect the system to remain efficient for 50 years or more.

PRWA Hires New Water Circuit Rider October 1, 1998

Roger C. Milliron, Jr. is a native of the New Kensington area and has lived in this area his whole life. He received a B.S. degree in Environmental Resource Management from Penn State University. Roger worked as a chemical technician for PPG Industries and co-inventor of the PPG patent. In l998 Roger began working for the Allegheny County Health Depat1ment as Environmental Health Specialist II. Although he had to work in the Food and Housing divisions, Roger finally al1'ived at the Public Drinking Water Program where he was able to obtain his water works operators license.

In 1995, Roger accepted a position as a Water Authority Manager at a smface water treatment plant, then in 1996 he moved to a position as a Water Plant Manager at a ground water facility utilizing softening and green sand filtration. In the spring of 1998, Roger was hired by the State Department of Community and Economic Development as a pat1-time instructor of the Sacramento course "Small Water Systems".

Roger and his wife, Beverly, reside in Arnold, Pa and he has an 8-year-old stepson, Justin. Roger also shares his home with a plethora of common and unusual pets - including a 3 foot American Alligator. Some people might think this guy is crazy, but this crazy guy stands ready to assist you with your water system problems - everything from treatment, O&M problems, management violations and any other water related problems which might come up. 6

~~~tl~ It

.~-i hflact\ lftl.. ~ soltWat,e wah tJ!w,Ff,ltw:e Builtin

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Sludge Blanket Level Monitors Interface Level Analyzers Flowmeters

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Satellite Offices

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Rochester, New York 706/421 -0874

Wastewater and Disease Some historical notes

1700BC Ahead of h.is time by a few thousand years, King Minos of Crete had running water in his bathrooms in his palace at Knossos. Although there is evidence of plumbing and sewerage systems at several ancient sites, including the cloaca maxima (or great sewer) of ancient Rome, their use did not become widespread until modern times.

1817 A major epidemic of cholera hit Calcutta, India, after a national festival. There is no record of exactJy how many people were affected, but there were 10,000 fatalities among British troops there alone. The epidemic then spread to other countries and to the U.S. and Canada in 1832. The governor of New York quarantined the Canadian border in a vain attempt to stop the epidemic. When cholera reached New York City, people were so frightened they either fled or stayed inside, leaving the city streets deserted.

1854 A London physician, Dr. John Snow, demonstrated that cholera deaths in an area of the c ity could all be traced to a common public drinking water pump that was contarninated within ao area of the city with sewage.

1859 The British Parliament was suspended during the summer because of the stench coming from the Thames. As was the case in many cities at this time, storm sewers carried a combination of sewage, street debris, other wastes, and storm water to the nearest body of water. According to one account, the river began tO "seethe and ferment under a burning sun."

1892 The comma-shaped bacteria that causes cholera was identified by German scientist Robert Koch during an epidemic in Hamburg. His discovery proved the relationship between contaminated water and the disease.

1939 Sixty people died in an outbreak of typhoid fever at Manteno State Hospital in Illinois. The cause was traced to a sewer line passing too close to the hospital's water supply.

1940 A valve [that was) accidentally opened caused polluted water from the Genessee River to be pumped into the Rochester, New York, public water supply system. Approximately 35,000 cases of gastroenteritis and six cases of typhoid fever were reported.

1955 Water containing a large amount of sewage was blamed for overwhelming a water treatment plant and causing an epidemic of hepatitis in Delhi, India. An estimated 1 million people were infected.

1961 A worldwide epidemic of cholera began in Indonesia and spread to eastern Asia and India by 1964; Russia, Iran, and Iraq by 1966; Africa by 1970; and Latin America by 1991.

1968 A four-year epidemic of dysentery began in Central America resulting in more than 500,000 cases and at least 20,000 deaths. Epidemic dysentery is currently a problem in many African nations.

1993 An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, claimed 104lives and infected more than 400,000 people, making it the largest recorded outbreak of waterborne disease in the U.S.

Sources: Pipeline, Summer 1996; Vol. 7. No. 3.; Plumbing and Mechanical Magazine; Environmental Engineering and Sanitation, 4th ed., by J. Salvato; and Water and Wastewater Engineering, vol. 1, Fair, Geyer, and Okun. 6

The dates are set for PRWA's 1999 Annual Conference.

March 24, 25, 26, 1999 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel

Unexpected Upgrade After trying unsuccessfully for years to convince the mem­

bers of Boro Council to purchase a computer to upgrade opera­tions at their plant, the operators a the Nanty Glo Wastewater Treatment Plant finally got one.

On the morning of August 11, 1998 the plant operators at the Nanty G!o Wastewater Treatment Plant noticed that influent flows were almost down to 0 MGPD. When they began to investigate, they found that an 18 inch main line inside a man­hole was completely blocked. After pat1ially opening the line and allowing the water levels to drop inside the manhole the operators found something very large was blocking the line. After several attempts, the men finally were able to remove the large blockage. Along with an 18 inch computer monitor the men a lso retrieved a laptop computer. The local police are investigating this "unexpected upgrade." a

Greg O'Farrell, Operator and Tony 0/savsky, Assistant Operator

COPPELLA & ASSOCIATES 29 EDGEWOOD ROAD

BRADFORD, PA 16701-2714 814/368-6635

A Proven Pennsylvania Water/Sewage Billing Software that Interfaces to Sensus AutoRead/RadioRead Systems.

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The System is invaluable when there is any billing or payment problems with customers since all the customer's history is in one place. This helps

the auditors, customers, and the secretary, save time and money.

May we show you a better way to do Billing? http://users.penn.com/--coppeUa e-mail coppella@penn.com

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

STATE BOARD FOR CERTIFICATION OF SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT AND WATERWORKS OPERATORS

1999 EXAMINATION ANNOUNCEMENT

Examination Dates:

April 24, 1999- Applications must be received, complete and correct, no later than February 8, 1999.

November 6, 1999 - Applications must be received, complete and correct, no later than August 23, 1999.

Applications may be obtained from and must be returned to the Department of Environmental Protection, Certification and Licensing, PO Box 8454, 400 Market Street, 2nd Floor, Rachel Carson State Office Building, Harrisburg, PA, 17105-8454, telephone (717) 787-5236, by the established cutoff dates stated above (not postmarked). Information regarding the certification examination can be obtained by contacting this same address and telephone number.

Copies of course completion certificates and transcripts must accompany the application to be counted toward total experience.

Laboratory experience is acceptable as operating experience when accomplished in conjunction with plant operation and the applicant can adequately demonstrate that interpretation and application of laboratory data is used by the applicant in order to control plant processes.

Applicants requesting two examinations (water and sewage) must be examined in the Hanisburg area.

Qualified applicants will receive a "Letter of Notification" approximately three weeks prior to the examina­tion. This letter must be presented at the examination center for admission to the examination.

All applicants will be notified of examination results within 75 days after the examination date.

Information on training courses can be obtained by contacting the Depmtment of Environmental Protection, Technical Training, PO Box 8467, Harrisburg, PA, 17105-8467, telephone (717) 787-1458.

The sewage and water treatment plant operator examination consists of 100 multiple-choice questions. A for­mula conversion table is provided with the examination package at the test site.

If you are a person with a disability and require accommodation to take the sewage treatment plant or water­works operator exam, before the examination cutoff date, please contact the board at (717) 787-5236 or through PA AT&T Relay Services at 1-800-654-5984 (TO D) to discuss how the board may accommodate your needs.

Revised 8/98

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DON JOHNSTON, President

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SINCE 1919

PITTSBURG TANK & TOWER CO., INC OFFERS THE FOLLOWING SERVICES:

PAINTING • DRY OR SCUBA INSPECTION • REPAIR

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Using the Ripcord Smoker for INFLOW ANALYSIS helps identify the problems that threaten our supply of

clean water by locating the source of inflow.

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''So You Want to be Certified"

The Board of Certification has released the second edition of the proposed operator rules and regs. If you don't have a copy, PRWA has copies available for your review. Give us a call to get your copy .. . remember this legislation has a direct impact on X.QY as an operator or X.QY as a facility owner. It will change how things are done.

717/252-3908

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WATER MAIN TAPS- 314" THROUGH 20" LINE STOPPING SERVICES

R. D. 2, Box 68 Cool Creek Road

Wrightsville, PA 17368

Giving away a 55-gallon drum of Ferrous Chloride Solution (iron salt). Contact: Cornplanter Township, Floyd W. McDonough, Jr. at (814) 676-1744. Call for a copy of the MSDS (material safety data sheet).

For Sale - Peerless 5HP turbo water pump. 50 gal­lons a minue at 240ft. All complete. Used one season. Contact: High Car Wash & Spring Water, Inc., Samuel E. High Jr., Owner, 727 Furance Hills Pike, Lititz, PA 17543, (717) 626-8318.

The dates are set for PRWA's 1999 Annual Conference.

March 24, 25, 26, 1999 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel

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Grit Collections by Bob Decker, Wastewater Training Technician

Well it is that time of year again when that old man winter is placing his burden upon us. The air is cold, the days can be dreary, what can go wrong on the collec­tion and distribution systems will happen on the worst kind of days. But, you know it's also a time to look back at what has been accomplished throughout the past year and the people we have met and worked with.

Being the holiday season, I would like to take a moment to give a sincere thank you to all of the folks that have helped me this past year. The training sessions that were brought to the operators across the state could not have happened without the countless hours of preparation and dedication from many people. They included, engineering firms, PADEP, system managers and operators. These people have committed themselves to the continuing education efforts for all.

A special thanks goes to all of the staff at PRWA for helping out with the training effort.

Happy Holidays to all of you and your families. Wishing you all the best for the New Year! <I

since1946

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ITCHEE AND SCRATCHIE #8 In the Series

And here we go again, folks. Another sojourn in the lives of ltchee and Scratchie. And it all starts because Steve has too much time on his hands, now that he is "The Man." His big thought last month was, "My existence on this rock is miserable, why shouldn't Chuck's be? I think

:1@ he could use a little "variety" in his life. Now where did the office girls put the number for that Agway place?" Poor Chuck. Life as he knows it will cease to exist. Just hang on and pay attention.

Chuck Groff, the PRWA wastewater tech was traveling to Waymart Mun. Authority at the request of Randy Skates, the PRWA Wastewater Operator of the Year. As he rounded another s-turn in the road he saw a sight that should only be held by the strong and God. It had been a long road trip from Coon Hollow and the liquid "lunch in a Mason jar" was catching up to the boys. There they were, on their knees, at the edge of the moun­tain laurel paying homage to a couple flat rocks in front of them. Chuck took notice there was three of them as he drove closer. Some funny looking short guy, not quite as dirty looking, clresswise, as Itchee and Scratchie. "I've seen that guy somewhere before," he said to himself and slowed clown to observe the proceedings. It looked like the two nincompoops were teaching the other guy how to forage under rocks for snacks. He felt it was in his best interest to just continue on down the road and leave the education of the funny looking guy to the two Munchie Masters.

At the Waymart M.A. plant, Randy was having a bad day. It had rained all night, the I&I had the flow up, the creek behind the plant was pushing its banks, a big tree limb had come down over the fence, and because the grass needed mowing, the riding tractor would not strut, and Frank Sargent of the Waymart Water Authority was on his way over to change out the leaking fire hydrant at the wastewater plant. And it was about to get worse. A lot worse.

Minutes after Chuck's atTival, the noise statted. Low at first, but the roru· gradually increased. You know, the sound of a car with no muffler and the engine screaming, in low gear because that is the only way to run it when the transmission is slipping and about to go. Here they come, followed by their ever present cloud of smog. "Who is the guy tied to the roof rack beside the spare tire?" Chuck wondered aloud. "Lets git fixxin thangs boys. Steve said ya'll needed help wif stuff. Whats furst?" Itchee drawled as he climbed out the back window. The passenger side doors are the only ones to work, but they had to be left open as the outside handles had rotted off and could only be opened from the inside. This is the side Scratchie exited from. (The fact will be seen latter on in our story.)

Randy had already dug out the fire hydrant and pipe the day before, but due to the all night rain the hole was quite sloppy. The bolts holding the joints of the pipe together were corroded too bad to turn off, so Randy had just returned with a sledge hammer and cold chisel to cut them off. Itchee said, "We' ll do thet," and they both jumped into the hole. It took them about five seconds of rolling around in the hole to get themselves covered with mud. Only then were they ready to work. Randy, having read about these two in previous Keystone Taps, had ran to retrieve a pair of long handled pliers to hold the chisel with. He didn' t want any injuries on his job site. Ha ha, ha ha. Itchee held the chisel and Scratchie tapped it with the sledge hammer. Patience is not his most endearing quality. After about the third or fourth tap, Scratchie had enough and swung from above his head. He misses the chisel of course. Now they are in a tight hole, so the handle of the sledge is close to

continued on page 26

ltchee and Scratchie continued from page 25

Scratchie's chest on the end of the swing. But this makes the handle too long now causing the head of the ham­mer to come down about six inches on the other side of the pipe. The pipe now becomes a fulcrum, and the force of the head coming down raises the far end of the handle up at excessive speed. Whup. Uhh. Right on the bottom of Scratchie's chin. Ow, that had to hurt! There was nothing to do except laugh at someone else's mis­fortune. After a short recovery time, Scratchie spewed out the expected expletive deletes, grabbed the sledge, and gave it a heave backwards over his head. Like it was the sledge's fault. Thunk. Uhhhh. Remember the guy on top of the Jeepster? He now speaks in a higher frequency. God, that had to hurt! Good thing he was numb from the liquid lunch.

"Oh me gosh, we forget Bernie," they both exclaimed and scrambled out of the mud. One started ripping of the duct tape holding his arms to the roof rack while the other dug around in the back seat for a set of wire cut­ters. Snap. "Dang thet thang" said Itchee as he tried to dislodge the lf2 double coil spring trap they had set in the backseat for the critter living in the Jeepster. After cutting Bernie's feet free, they rolled him off the roof rack. Yep, wump, on the ground he goes. They just rolled him off! Only then did everyone recognize the D.E.P. emblem on Bernie's shirt. Bernie Hopbottom! Oh no, a member of the "16th floor club" at the Harrisburg D.E.P. office. Randy just started muttering something about another life while looking into the sky. Itchee and Scratchie carried Bernie into some shade along the fence and left him.

"Was nexed?" asked Itchee. Randy, not having sufficient time to recover from the first series of disasters, started on about the tribulations of the riding tractor. "We'll fixx thet," said Itchee. Have we heard this once already? "Scratchie, beck our otto mobile down here aside thet thang so's we can reecb ourn tools." Scratchie almost backed over the tractor because he had let the passenger side door open, right? And that was the side the tractor was on. Anyhow, he positioned it about the back of the Jeepster so they had room to work. They must have done something 1ight as when they hit the key the engine came to life. Scratchie reached over to give it some gas and when he hit full throttle he also hit the hydrostatic transmission lever, engaging the tractor in for­ward. Full speed, of course. Out across the yard it goes, with t11e passenger side door attached to the hood, and the boys in hot pursuit! Sploush!!! Oh no, the creek was up. Due to the boys aversion to water, they tried to stop. But the rain had the grassy bank area quite slippery. Yep, double splash. Fortunately, the creek was still small and only about three foot at the deepest. Just looked nasty. Now, it had scum film downstream from these two clowns. And with their falling a foam trail was forming. Randy just shook his head, turned, went into the plant, locked and barricaded all the doors. Chuck fished out the tractor, then Itchee and Scratchie, loaded them into the Jeepster and sent them back to Coon Hollow. Bernie Hopbottom, he loaded up, took him to a local choke and puke for some hot coffee. Bernie swore he would never touch "shine" again since he was hurting soooo bad from it, especial ly in the lower area of his body!

Bernie and Randy both look upon Chuck as their savior. Bernie, because he took him home to Harrisburgland, and Randy, because Chuck ridded him of the affiliation Steve Krchnavy sent down upon him called Itchee and Scratchie!

Can you see him now! Sitting behind his desk, plotting to send poor Chuck to Coon Hollow. Strange things happen in Coon Ho1low at night ... G

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Consider the Source by Joel Jordan

Ahhh, Winter in Pennsylvania. Much too cold for this California boy. Oh well, what can you do.

By now you've all heard that Jane Smith-Decker has joined the Source Water Protection Program here at PRWA. For the next year or two, Jane and I will be spending a lot of time visiting communities that have devel­oped wellhead protection plans along with assisting others to develop their own plan. Our goal is to get a good assessment of what your needs are in regard to wellhead protection. As with all PRWA programs, we are here for you and your water system. Please, help us by letting us know your ideas for training sessions, on-site tech­nical assistance, educational material and conference as they relate to the source water protection program.

Speaking of the Conference (we weren't, but . . . ), the Annual PRWA Conference is just around the corner. This, of course, means we will also have the 2nd Annual Source Water Protection Conference concurrently with the PRWA Conference. The Source Water Protection Conference is for representatives of either Wellhead or Watershed Protection Committees that have developed or are developing a Plan. New this year, Wednesday March 24 will be dedicated to surface water issues, such as watershed management and reservoir management. Thursday March 25 will be dedicated to groundwater protection issues. Please, plan on sending a Committee member (Council member, Board member, local resident, etc) to one or both of these two days.

P.S. If you haven't seen the movie "A Civil Action", take the time. It's a true story about contamination of a community's groundwater supply. a

Here is what people are saying about ~ ~"\AAa ~~

Port O' Call Recreational Club ~ ~ ~ ~ 108BayStreet - - - -

Butler. PA 16002 (412) 586·9448

September 24, t 998

Steve Krchnavy. President Pennsylvania Rural Water Association 138 West Bishop Street Bellefonte, PA 16823

Dear Mr. Krchnavy. I would like to commend Chuck Groff, Wastewater Technician, on the excellent

job he did on the smoke testing at our mobile home park, Port O'Call Subdivision. At a time when we were in a real bind and needed to get this smoke testing done, Chuck made time in his busy schedule to come to our aid.

I would also like to suggest that a class possibly be held in the future on smoke testing, as I myself was unaware on its procedure.

Since we are trying to obtain financing from Pennvest for our sewage plant project, Chuck suggested that it would probably be a good idea if you could possibley write a letter for us so we may forward it to Pennvest lo inform them that PRWA was here lor smoke testing.

Sincerely yours,

TA6Y»<t:Ji. J. J'; Ad-f~J

Thomas S. Whitling, President

I

ELKLAND BOROUGH COUNCIL

Phone 8 14·15~~7322 Fa., 8 t4-258-7771

Mr. Steve Krchnavy PA Rural Water Association 138 West Bishop Street Bellefonte, PA 16823

Dear Sieve,

October 12, 1998

195 Parkhurst Street Elkland, PA 16920

On behalf of the Elkland Borough, I would like to express our appreciation to the PA Rural Water Association for letting us use the smoke testing equipment. We now have a starting point on our I & I Plan. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. We also would like to give a special thank you to Chuck GroH for his technical assistance.

I

Sincerely, 11 I!. r ~ON\~ e J{~.p\(,.,~~v, ':>-- .

Rand/{ Knickerbocker, Sr. Plant Manager

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PENNSYLVANI~ OUTDOORS Snakes in Pennsylvania

by Andrew L. Shiels, Fisheries Biologist, PA Fish & Boat Commission

Pennsylvanians are·like people through­out the United S tates and around the world in their perceptions of and interac­tions with snakes. Few other animals evoke such polaJ·ized emotions as fear, admiration, intrigue and ignorance. Throughout history snakes have played integral roles in mythology and folklore. Far too often when a person encountered a snake, the snake did not s urvive the experience. Snakes have often been char­acterized as evil or sinister. On the con­trary, snakes do not possess such human characteristics. Their mission in life is to eat, grow and survive to reproduce, thereby continuing their species. Snakes are animals of which people usually have strong opinions. Often those opinions have been handed down through the gen­erations like heirlooms instead of being based on personal experience. However, more people are beginning to realize that snakes are an important part of the ani­mal k.inodom and play a specific and spe-

o . cialized role in the overall scheme of hfe.

'I\venty-one species of snakes are con­sidered to be native to Pennsylvania. Each species bas evolved to occupy a specific niche in our natural envir~n­ment. Although they do indeed provide tanoible benefits to man, they are worthy <> of respect and protection simply because they are wild animals and a part of the natural heritage of Pennsylvania.

Biology Snakes possess a well-developed skele­

tal structure and are therefore considered vertebrates. Like lizards and turtles, their bodies are covered with scales, which also classifies them as reptiles. Snakes and other repti les are poikilo thermic, whic h is derived from Greek terms

meaning ''variable temperature." This snakes are prey for predatory birds, some means that their body temperature mammals, and even other snakes. depends largely on the temperature of Growth

their surroundings. Snakes must move Snakes, like most animals, grow rapidly into and out of various temperature zones early in life. Their bodies enlarge until to regulate their bodily func tions proper- the skin must be shed for growth to con-ly. Basking in the sun is vital to physio- tinue . Young snakes can shed four or logical processes such as temperature more times per year during their fi rst two regulation, digestion and egg develop- years of life. As adults they may shed

ment. only once or twice per year. Snakes that Snakes do not have limbs that allow are about to shed typically disp lay a

them to reach out and touch things, so cloudy or bluish appearance to their eyes, they need to be able to monitor their caused by the old skin and the lymph environment by some other meth od. fluid secreted beneath it in preparation They possess a forked tongue that flicks for shedding. The firsr rattle segment in in and out of the mouth to sample scent newborn rattlesnakes is called a button. molecules. The Longue transfers these Each time a rattlesnake sheds, a new rat-molecules to the Jacobsen's organ locat- tie segment is added at the base of the ed on the roof of the mouth. Chemical tail. Each shedding carries the button far-information is transferred to the brain, ther from the tail base. Because buttons which allows the snake to interpret the and rattle segments can easily be lost and smell. Scent trailing is used in locating shedding rates vary widely, counting rat-prey, finding mates and returning to tie segments is not an accurate way to hibernating areas. determine the age of a snake.

Reproduction Mating can occur from spring until fall,

depending on the species. Snakes give birth in one of two ways. Species that lay eggs, such as the black rat snake, are termed oviparous. Other species includ­ino oarter snakes, water snakes, and ~ ~ .

Pennsylvania's three venomous spectes oive birth to live young and are termed 0

ovoviviparous. Young are usually born or hatch in late summer or early fal l. Egg or embryo development ranges from eight to 12 months. Reproduction in ovovivip­arous species such as the timber rat­t1esnake first occurs at three to seven years after births. Some species may also bear young only at two-year to three-year intervals. The number of eggs or young produced by Pennsylvania snakes varies depending on the species. Northern ring­neck and worm snakes typically produce litters of one to six young, and, eastern hognose, eastern garter and northern brown snakes can produce litters of three dozen to four dozen young. Juvenile

Food, feeding Pennsylvania snakes have varied diets,

although all are carnivorous. Food choic­es include insects, worms. amphibians, reptiles, birds and small mammals. Some snakes display distinct food preferences. For example, eastern hognose snakes specialize in consuming toads and frogs . This snake is unaffected by the distaste­ful toxins rhat toads often secrete from their parotoid glands. Black rat snakes are excellent climbers and often forage on small birds or their eggs. Snakes are an integral part of the food web in any environment. As a predator, they are important in maintaining the fitness of the animals they prey on.

Nonvenomous snakes, such as garter suakes, grasp prey with their mouths and swallow it whole. Black rat snakes and milk snakes constrict their prey by encir­cling it's body, resulting in suffocnrion before consumprion. Black racers often

continued on page 38

Snakes continued from page 37

hold their prey down to the ground by the weight of their body, which also results in suffocati on. Venomo us snakes capture prey by striking it and injecting venom through two large modified teeth, or fa ngs. Venom is a modified saliva that contains digestive enzymes and toxic pro­teins that destroy cells, causes hemon·hag­ing and Ouid imbalance leading to shock and death. Prey struck by a venomous snake often travels a short distance before dying. The snake finds the dead prey by following irs scent trail.

Venomous, nonvenomous? There are J 8 nonvenomous and three

venomous snake species in Pennsylvania. Some key physical differences between these two groups of Pennsylvania snakes facilitates their identification. These char­acteristics do not necessarily apply to the differentiation of species not native to Pennsylvania.

A ll Pe nnsy lv ania native ve no mous snakes possess 1) an indentation or pit on each side of the head between the eye and nostril, 2) a vertically ell iptical eye pupil resembling that of a cat, and 3) a single row of scales on the underside of the taiL Of course, rattlesnakes usually display one or more rattles. However, these can be missing because of natural causes.

Nonvenomous Pennsylva ni a native snakes do not possess facial pits, their eye

pupils are round like a human's, and there is a double row of scales on the underside of the tail.

Head shape often presents problems in identification. Rattlesna kes and copper­heads have obviously flattened, triangular­shaped heads. However, some nonven­omous species can also at times display a flattened head. The average person often misinterprets head shape in snakes tnat one has seen. Therefore, it is wise to focus on the other characteristics when identify­ing snakes.

Venomous s nakes and people The three venomous species of snakes in

Pennsylvania are the northern copperhead, eastern massasauga rattlesnake, and tim­ber rattles na ke. R eports of venomous snakebites in Pennsylvania are rare. Bites usually occur while a person is trying to catch or carelessly handle one of these snakes. All of these species are usually non-aggressive and prefer to avoid con­frontation. Thus, they often quietly move away from an approac hing hum an or remain completely still and al low what they perceive as a threat to pass by.

Contrary to popular beJief, rattlesnakes do not always rattle when a person or ani­mal is near. WJ1en traveling through areas thought to contain venomous snakes, peo­ple can minimize the possibilities of an unintended encounter by using some com­mon sense. In the vast majority of encoun­ters with snakes, people have more than ample opportunity to stop, back up or oth-

erwise avoid the snake. Snakes tend to be found near cover such

as fallen logs, brush piles, rock walls, abandoned house foundations or rock ledges. They may be resti ng or lying in wait for prey. Encounters can be red need by watching where you place your hands and feet. One should try to walk around, rather than step over, fallen logs.

Sometimes a person's curiosity or fear can lead to poor judgment and possibly result in a snakebite. There are several signs and symptoms of envenomati on. They include fang marks, pain, and possi­bly a metallic or rubbery tas te in the mouth several minutes after a bite, with a tingling or numbness of the tongue. Other signs include significant swelling within 10 minutes of a bite.

Nausea, weakness and temperature change may occur. Black and blue discol­oration may appear

within three to six hours. If a person is bitten by a venomous

snake, there are several steps that should be taken. The s taff at th e Central Pennsylvania Po ison Center of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania recommends the followi ng do's and don 'ts in the event of a snakebite.

Do's I . Calm and reassure the victim, and

keep the victim immobile. 2. Call the Central Pennsylvania Poison

Control Center at 1-800-521-6110. 3. You may apply a light constricting

band above the bite area (be able to insert a finger under the band). Do not release the band unless it becomes too tight from swelling.

4. Move the victim to a medical fac ility without delay.

5. A tetanus shot may also be required.

Don ' ts l. Don't use ice, cold packs or sprays. 2. Do n ' t incise and s uctio n unl ess

directed by a physician. 3. Don' t use a tourniquet. 4. Don't give alcohol or any drugs. 5. Don 't wait to see if symptoms devel­

op. Immediately transport the victim to a medical facili ty.

Collecting or killing snakes

continued on page 39

Snakes continued from page 38

All snakes in Pennsylvania are protected by Fi sh and Boat Commission regu la­tions. Species that are not listed as Endangered, Threatened, or Candidate may be captured or possessed under spe­cific daily and possession limits (Consult the Summary of Fishing and Boating Regulations). Endangered or Threatened species such as Kirtland's snake, eastern massasauga and rough green snake cannot be caught, killed, possessed, imported to, or exported from Pennsylvania. The tim­ber rattlesnake is protected under addi­tional regulations and permits regarding seasons and possession limits. Specific questions about current regulations can be directed to any of the Commission's Regional Law Enforcement Offices or the Herpetology and Endangered Species Coordinator.

Coexisting with snakes

Snakes are an essential component of Pennsylvania's wildlife resources. Fear or negative attitudes about snakes often stem from a lack of knowledge of their habits and role in the ecosystem. A person's atti­tude about snakes appears to correlate to the relative nearness of a snake at any given time. For example, some people do not think twice about snakes until they show up in their backyard, shed or house. The majority of snakes appearing in these areas are nonvenomous, harmless and usually beneficia l to man. Still, it is understandable that when a snake is dis­covered near or in the house, people quickly seek a way to remove it.

Ideal1y, people should take precautions to prevent snakes from entering dwellings. Sealing openings and cracks especially at or near ground Jevel is an excellent preventive measure. Removing debris in the yard or moving the wood pile farther from the

house can also help. Snakes have biological needs such as food and cover that must be met for them to remain in a location. Tf those needs are not met, they move on.

Remember also that when people choose to locate a home or camp in the woods or wilderness, snakes "come with the teiTito­ry"

Increased awareness of snakes and their habits usually leads to a new appreciation of them and their part in our world. Field guides and life history books are great tools for bridging gaps in knowledge. For beginners, a trip to the reptile house of a local zoo armed with a field guide is a good way to make the transition between printed pictures and live animals. The next time you see a snake in the backyard or crossing a road, respect it for what it is, what it does and allow it to continue on its wayt (;

~ Yl!tfv!~ ~rural~ ::S • Water Au<;l•t• & Sizing .

Cfl • Meter Test1~9 & Mapp1ng !::>. •. Uti

111ity Loc~~~uhotion

... To ·free

~ 1-800-825-9283 ~ 700·76 BROADWAY, WESTWOOD. NJ 07675

GROUP

Afchit~cts • Eng)neers ~ Surveyors

1 000 Commerce Park Drive

P.O. Box 487

Williamsport, PA 17703·0487

Phone (717} 323·6603

FAX (717} 323·9902

E Mailldg@larsondesigngroup.com • web site www.larsondesigngroup.com

wants to hear

from you. -----;::::-

------

From Our Point of View Questions & Answers Supplied by PRWA Associate Membership

We have asked our Associ ale Members to provide us with Three Questions most commonly asked of them by the smaU system per­sonnel. Our questions and answers are provided by: Browns Hill Sand & Glass Block, CSE Corporation and Coppella & Associates.

Brown Hill Sand & Glass Block Q : Why can't we use any river sand

in our sand filters? A: Filter sand is st:.,ed so thm it will noT

pack tight, wlticlt would prevem water from draining through. Filler sand is also angular and irregular shaped, allowing water rn drain through 1/te void spaces but close enough ro cmch and !told any effluent.

Q: W hy is sili ca sand and gravel r equired in drinking watet· sys­tems? What is manganese green­sand tor'!

A: Silica sand and ,"{rm•el doe.~ nnt alter or add anything 10 the taste of waTn: Manga11ese .~rrensand is used to remot·e sulubh•-t ru11 man.f?.ane~e and l1ydrugen ~ufjide (twn wa1e1: Al:;u radiu111 a11cl ur.Hmi<.

Q: Is there a sandhlac;ting sand we can use to clean wat<'r tanks and equipment that doel>n·t create a huge cloud of dust'1

A: Yes, 11 e now lw1·e sa11ds H·ith an addiTll'e llllll!d "pH'I'<'nl" in bh{( k beauty and silica~. IT reduces 1·isible du:;T hy ./(J</o <lltd l'remh~tiJ/e dust bv 90%. It IS m>pmn·d by most counJ.l' l1ealtl1 deparllllenl.\ nnd mokcs sand· blasting jobs II'Ork a lor hetre1:

CSE Corporation Q: Define a Confined Space? A: OccupaTional Safely and Health

Administration of Labor 29 CFR 1910. 146 Permit-Required Confined Space Standard means a space that: ( 1) Is large enough and so config­ured that an employee can bodily enter and peJform assigned work; and (2) Has limited or restricted means for emry or exit (jor example, ranks, vessels, digesrors, manholes, vaults and pits that may have limited means of entry.): and (3) Is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.

Q: Defin e Permit-Required Confined Space Entry?

A: Occupa1ional Safety and Health Administration of Labor 29 CFR /910.146 Permit-Required Confined Space Standard defines a permit· required confined space as one or more of the following characteris­tics: ( 1) Contains or has a potential TO contain a. hazardous atmosphere: (2) Contains a material that has the potenlial for engulfing an entrant; (3) Has cu1 internal cOtifiguration such that an entrant could be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly con verging walls or by a floor which slopes downward and rapers to a smaller cross-section; or (4) Contains any oTher recognized serious safety or health hazard.

Q: Wbat is meant by a Hazardous Atmosphere?

A: Occupmional Safety and Health AdministraTion of Labor 29 CFR 19/0.146 PermiT-Required Confined Space Srondord de.fines a Hazardous Atmospltere as: An atmosphere tltat may expose employees tv the risk vf demh, inca­pacitalion. impairmellf of ability to se~t:rescue (that is, escape unaided

from a permit space), injury, or acwe illness from one or more of the following causes: ( 1) Flammable gas, vap01; or mist in excess of 10 percent of its lower flammable limit (LFL); (2) Airborne combustible dust at a concentration that meets or exceeds its LFL; (3) Atmospheric oxygen concemra­tion below 19.5 percent or above 23.5 percent. (4) Atmospheric concentration of any substance for which a dose or a permissible exposure Limit is pub­lished in Subpart G, Occupational Health and Environmental Control, or in Subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances, of this part and which could result in employee exposure in excess of its dose or per­missible exposure Limit; (5) Any other amwspheric condition that is immediately dangerous 10 life or health.

Utility Billing Coppella & Associates

Q: How do I cut mailing costs for my water or sewage billing?

A: For municipalities or authorities that have over 600 customers in one zip code area, use class certification and print ow cards in zip code order for a 25% reduction in postage cost.

Q: What about tenants that do not pay their water/sewage bills and then the lien is against the landowner?

A: When printing delinquency or shut­off notices, also print the notice that is addressed to the landlord with the tenant's information.

Q: How do I cut costs on accepting payments at our office or other location on water/sewage bills?

A: Install the automatic bank draft fea­ture wiTh your billing software. No time is wasted at the window and the payments are direct deposited in your bank account. (J

County by County • • • Line by Line • • •

by Judy Muehl, Water Development Coordinator

When you receive this magazine, we will probably have snow on the ground and 1 will be sliding around Pennsylvania again. The holidays will be around the corner and our annual conference will be only three months away- I hope you can make it out to State College to join us this year! As usual, we will have interesting seminars, an exhibit hall full of the latest and best equipment and services, and of course we always have a lot of fun.

I have a little story to tell you ...

I was at a local church in Greene County for a public meeting on a Water 2000 project recently. When I arrived I proceeded to set up my video camera and a young couple graciously offered to help. As we were working they ask who I was and what I was doing there. I went into my speech about economically distressed areas, low to moderate income areas, and contaminated and depleted groundwater supplies. To my surprise, the young man, who turned out to be the local minister of the church, said "You should come and give a sennon here at the church that contamination, pollution, and depletion sound like pretty powerful stuff!"

It is "pretty powerful stuff" As we watched the aftermath of flooding caused by Hurricane George, we couldn't help but realize how destructive water can sometimes be to our existence. Working in this job the past year, I have realized how destructive the lack of water can be to human life.

At this same meeting, in that beautiful church, we heard how a young man, while hauling water home to his farm, panicked when a deer walked onto the road. He slammed on the brakes, the water in the tank on the back of his pickup truck shifted, the truck flipped over and the young man was killed. If he and his family would have had an adequate, safe water supply, he would probably still be with us today.

An elderly woman in Indiana County wrote a letter two years ago to agenices and other officials saying that she had hauled water to her home for years, but now she lived alone and had arthritis and hauling water was difficult for her. She said she hoped that she would see water run into her home before she died .... she died last spring without ever seeing that happen.

Fire Departments in areas of southwestern Pennsylvania have up-to-date fire equipment, but many times they have to watch their neighbor's house go up in flames because they don 't have the water to fight the fires. Those of us who have safe, adequate drinking water need to be thankful.

The people in areas of the state with depleted and contaminated water supplies need to be provided with the same basic necessity at a reasonable cost. Most of these areas right now are economically depressed and if water is made available, it would not only improve the health of the residents, but it would also provide the infrastructure for development which would provide Jobs in these areas.

During this holiday season, if you happen to see your federal or state legislator, tell him about Water 2000 and the need in certain areas of our state for safe, adequate, reasonably priced water. It won't cost you anything .. . but it will make you feel real good!

Have a wonderfu 1 holiday and hopefully I' 11 see you at the conference March 24-26, 1999! a

1998 Sporting Clays and 3-D Archery Shoot

The 3rd Annual Sporting Clays and 3-D Archery Shoot was held September 18th, at the beautiful Warriors Mark Shooting Preserve. The event keeps growing each yeaJ as we bad a total of 24 shooters registered this year. Great weather was with us as Dave Vadas from Gibson Thomas Engineering took top honors in the clays shooting again, and Alan Minning from Continental and Jerry Filius from PA DEP taking second and third respectively. Lunch was a glutinous affair with PRWA's own Chuck Groff eating the most Prime Rib and corn on the cob. Following lunch, Herb Mattern from East Petersburg Borough Authority prevailed over the hotly contested 3-D archery contest, winning top honors by two points over Bob Schwalm from

Sporting Clays Winners

(excl uding PRWA staff and board members) were thrown into a hat and the winners were drawn. Bob Simpson, Bob Pressler of Ferguson Twp., Alan Minning of Continental, and Kevin German of Lehigh County Authority were the lucky winners of the bird hunt. Easton Inc., and Lohman Game Calls donated various door prizes including hats, shirts, videos and game calls. Names were also drawn until all of these items were gone; everyone was a winner and went home with something. The above men­tioned sponsors also supplied the beautiful tro­phy's awarded to the top shooters in each event. (;

From all of us, Thank You Sponsors!!!

Exeter Supply and Michael Hozella of Exeter Supply captured third place. While competing in th e 3-D shoot, both Chuck and PRWA's Office Manager, Kathy Fye learned this: "FOAM IS GOOD".

As a special note, Exeter Supply Co., Inc., L B Water Service South Inc., Uni-Tec Consulting Engineers, Inc., and a "Special Friend of Rural Water", sponsored a 4-man, 16 bird hunt using the 1995, 1996 and 1997 PA State Champion Pheasant Hunting Dog which was held later that same afternoon. AU of the shooters names

Please photo copy this double-sided survery- or- tear it out to complete and return to PRWA.

PENNSYLVANIA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION Operator/System Survey

By returning this survey form you will be entered in a special prize drawing to be held at our Annual'Conference. March 2~-:26; .1999.

.. . .

Pennsylvania Rural Water Association 138 W. Bishop Street Bellefonte, P A 16823 FAX: 814-353-9341

Return by fax or mail no later than :Ne"'ember 30, 1998: deadline extended to 12/30/98.

I . What type of system do you represent? (check below) Water Wastewater Both - --

2. Number of service connections (check below) 0-150 151-1500 1501-5000 >5000 - -- --

How helpful is the following On-Site Technical Assistance for you:

Very Helpful Somewhat Helpful Not Helpful

Water: Operation & Maint. --

Leak Detection --Line Location Meter/Pump Repair - - --Disinfection --Filter Plant Oper. Budgets & Rates Source Protection - - --

Wastewater: Treatment Process Control - -Collection Systems I & I Smoke Testing -- - -

What could PRWA offer you as a benefit that we do not currently offer?

If PR W A conducted a confidential survey of wages for office staff, managers and operators, would you participate? __yes no

Do you have internet access? __ _ E-Mail?

Who receives the information that PR W A sends out? _operator office other

****************************************************************************** What is your systems greatest training need? (Be Specific)

Would your system pay for extensive training in the following areas? __ operations and maintenance __ management __personal development __ board training __ computer (what type) _ _________ _

Would you prefer training sessions to be: _ Yz day _ full day

What distance are you willing to travel to a session? 30 miles 60 miles 90 miles or more

If you don't attend PRWA training sessions - tell us why you don't.

******************************************************************************

Would you participate in one or more of these PRWA events if held at different locations around the state? _fishing derby _golf tournament _clay shoot

Your suggestions ------------------------------

Circle your response: Strongly agree Strongly disagree

1. I am generally pleased with my membership in PRWA. 2 3 4 5

4. I am very pleased with the benefits I receive from PRWA. 1 2 3 4 5

5 .. : PR W A has provided me with good access to associate members. 1 2 3 4 5

6. I recommend membership in PRWA to others. 1 2 3 4 5

Additional comments and suggestions are encouraged:

Your Name (required for prize drawing) ------ --------- ----System Telephone __________ _

(fhis section is optional unless you want to be entered in the prize drawing)

QUAD THREE GROUP, INC. Architects· Engineers • Environmental Scientists

37 North Washington Street

Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701

Areas of Specialization:

Treatment • Storage • Distribution • Rates

Collection • Conveyance • Treatment

Transmission • Distribution • Substations • Rates

E-Mail: engineering@q3g.com

Web Site: http://www.q3g.com

. Services:

Community Facilities Roadways and Bridges Water Supply and Distribution Sewer Collection & Conveyance

Offices:

Gwin E ngineers, Inc. Neilan Engineers, Inc.

General Engineering, Inc. E ADS Architects, Jnc.

Surveying/Mapping Sewage Treatment

Water Treatment Architecture

Altoona Somerset &

P ittsburgh Clarion

Somerset

Scranton 717-342-5200

Hazleton 717-454-8718

Pittsburgh 412-37 4-9955

1-800-788-0982

FORD TEST BENCHES FOR NEARLY 100 YEARS FORD HAS PROVIDED

THE WATER WORKS INDUSTRY WITH

PRECISION WATER METER TEST BENCHES.

"Indianapolis" style, 10 station, single row, test bench

The Ford Meter Box Company, Inc. P.O. Box 443, Wabash, Indiana 46992-0443 Phone: 219-563-3171 I Fax: 800-826-3487

PRWA Does Golf For those who don't remember, the two previous

golf outings were delayed by rain. Well this year there was no rain, it was a frost delay. 1 guess Mother Nature is telling us we start too early.

Once again the PRWA golf circus went to a new town. This time we were at the Fernwood Resort in the Poconos. The autumn colors are great in the moun­tains. As mentioned above, we had a late start due to frost but that allowed everyone some extra coffee and time to socialize. It's amazing how golfers accept delays and remain in good spirits.

When play did start the competition was hot and heavy. The teams were evenly matched due to some handicapping by PRWA. We added a new wtinkle just to give each team a level playing field. Long drives and short putts paid off. The winners were surprised because they weren' t used to winning. Fernwood Resort

Each year this event gets bigger and better with the help of the players and especially our sponsors. To our associate members a BIG Thank You. A special call to Main Line Distributors for sponsoring the golf towels that were given to each participant. Thanks Steve Connor.

We would also like to thank the staff at Fernwood, Ken, Mandy, Rich & Bill for your help and patience in making our outing a suc­cess. Next time the circus goes to the northeast your place is at the top of the list.

The location of next years event is yet to be determined, but we wiJl find a place and announce it at our annual conference in March of '99. Keep an eye out for the circus could be coming to a course near you. Again thanks to everyone who helped make this outing a fun day and come back next year.

(A special note to Klemm, at no time did SK hurt anyone but his swing did blow leaves off the trees.)

From the board and stag of PRWA we would like to thank the following sponsors of the PRWA Golf Outing:

Members of the winning group (left to right}: Angelo, Woody, Joe

Acer Engineers Badger Meter CSE Corp. EBAA Eichelbergers En tech Glace Associates LIB Water Larson Design Group Main Line Distributors Metrotech Mueller Natgun National Road Quad Three Group Sensus U.S. Filter (J

Rural &

Small Municipal

Wastewater Systems

Technical Bulletin

WWB-13 Septmeber 1998

National Rural Water Association 2915 S. 13th Street Duncan, OK 73533

Water Quality Standards Regulation Advanced Notice of Proposed RuJe Making (ANPRM)

On July 7, 1998, USEPA pubushed in the Federal Register an Systems solicit comments on revi­sions to the Water Quality Standards (40 CFR Part 13 1 ). This begins a lengthy review and discus­sion on the nations water quality standards possibly leading to a revised n1le. Written comments on the ANPRM must be submitted by midnight, January 4, 1999.

Background The USEPA and USDA announced the Clean Water Action Plan on February 14, 1998. This plan

advances the watershed approach for improving water resources. By refining designated uses and integrating water quality criteria, USEPA believes that the Clean Water Action Plan can be better implemented.

The present use of broad use classifications and lists of associated chemical crite1ia may be too gen­eral and too narrow for some water bodies. This general approach reflects the Jack of information for basins and water bodies. But recent scientific advances have added to the ability to assess environ­mental impacts related to changes in water quality. Bio-assessment criteria for bio-accumulative­chemicals, sediment quality criteria and toxicity assessments all will allow better understanding of the ecological condition of water resources.

Objectives In publishing the ANPRM, USEPA is hoping to identify possible amendments to the existing regula­

tion, and new guidance or policy that may be needed to address three objectives. They are (1) to elim­inate ban-iers and develop incentives to states implementation of watershed-based water quality plan­ning and management; (2) to enhance state capacity to incorporate cun-ent criteria and water quality assessment science into their water quality standards program, and (3) to improve the efficiency and effects of the nationaUstate program.

Areas For Comments: • Uses

1. Does USEPA need to further clarify existing use protection provisions? 2. Should the regulatory definition of "existing use" be modified? 3. USEPA believes that an evaluation of attainability must be at the heart of any discussion to char­

acterize designated uses in greater detail than has been the norm. Is this an appropriate assump­tion?

• Criteria Water quality criteria are developed to protect aquatic life and human health and in some cases wildlife from harmful effects of pollution. USEPA seeks a broad view of all water quality criteria and requests comments on all aspects.

• Antidegradation 1. What changes or clarifications could be made to the current tiered approach to protecting waters

under antidegradation that would streamline and enhance implementation? 2. Ts national guidance on antidegradation implementation methods needed?

• Mixing Zones The concepts of mixing zones as a regulatory tool to address the incomplete mixing of wastewater discharges in receiving waters has been embraced by USEPA. USEPA's gu idance on mixing zones is very detailed but the regulation only indicates that states may adopt mixing zone policies and that such policies are subject to review. USEPA is soliciting comments on a more definitive requirement for mixing zone policies and design of such policies.

• Wetlands as Waters of the U.S. 1. Should waters of the U.S. be defined in the regulations? 2. Should USEPA provide explicit reference in the regulation to the applicability of water quality

standards regulation? 3. Are changes needed to facilitate the development of water quality standards for wetlands"

Conclusion This ANPRM calls for a detailed and comprehensive review of the cun-ent water quality standards.

This is an opportunity for all interested parties to provide information aod comments oo the rule. Small community wastewater systems will be impacted by changes in water quality standards. For more information, small systems should contact their state r ural water associations.

Featured Sewer Authority McConnellsburg Sewer Authority

The McConnellsburg Sewer Authority (MSA), is located in the Fulton County seat of McConnellsburg and serves the town, portions of Todd Township and Ayr Township witb 1559 taps. Several industries are also served by MSA. The plant was first constructed in 1970-71.

It is an activated sludge-extended aeration plant with an average flow of .345 mgd. This flow is handled by one lift station, an equalization tank, two aeration basins, two circular clarifiers, and two chlorine contact tanks. Sludge is digested in a 400,000 gal. aerobic digester and land applied to agricul­ture fields.

Mark "Longbeard" Weller and "Punch" Hopkins

The MSA board consists of Jack Fields, Stanley Kline , Estie Paylor, Albert Dingleman, and Wanen Keefer. The MSA plant is beautifully maintained

and operated by: Mark Weller, chief oper­ator, G ary Hopkins , operator, Robert Hopkins, operator, and Doris Strait, man­ager. (J

McConnellsburg Sewer Authority WWTP

The plant underwent the following upgrades: 1979 - built a 150,000 gal. EQ tank 1985 - added a large storage shed 1986- expanded lab 1991 - updated lift station 1992- upgraded pumps and blowers at EQ

tank 1994 - upgraded pennitted flow from .3

mgd to .6 mgd.

McConnellsburg Sewar Authority view of front top of digester

''HERE & THERE and THEN'' by Mike Dill

Winter is here, the ho-ho season and all that, the pundits say it will be bad, well in com­- parison to the last few, anything with snow or cold will be bad. If you ski there is never

enough and if you shovel there's always too much. By conference time we can make a ...... better determination of how good or bad the white season was.

Speaking of conference, the '99 edition is coming together well and we are planning some new things to make your stay more enjoyable, more educational, more oppmtunities to view the exhibits and more chances to get in on the cash. Remember- must be present to win. We are trying to have something for everyone. Be it council, board, secretary, operator, manager, administrative or what ever job you do with your system, we are trying to have some topics of interest to you. This year, with thanks to Max at State College Water, we have a tour of the borough's water plant.

The main focus of conference is you and your opportunity to share thoughts and ideas with others from around the state. This thing called networking works. Exchanging ideas on operational problems, equipment, procedures, accounting, inventory, the list goes on forever, with fellow professionals is the best part of confer­ence. Some of the best ideas or solutions have come from casual conversations while having coffee in between the scheduled functions. It pays to get around and exchange information. Twenty-five years ago, a former top executive of one of the big computer companies said no body will ever have a need for a computer at home. Just ask Bill Gates about the PC and home. The water industry is changing, in some cases faster than we like and sometimes not fast enough, but the idea is to look at new ideas, advanced technologies, hear people talk about their experiences and team from it. Conference is the best place do this because of the amount of people in one place at one time. Come prepared to eat, drink and have fun, but also bring an open mind for you might hear, see or learn something that can make your job easier and you more valuable to your system. Education is a life long experience, don't pass up an opportunity to learn .... remember, water is our most precious resource, we need it to survive. (J

The dates are set for PRWA's 1999 Annual Conference.

March 24, 25, 26, 1999 Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel

Here ~=m=~~t pe~ple are saying about ~ n 1 .. n·• Pennsylvania Rural Water Association I

138 West Bishop Street Bellefonte, PA 16823

Attn : Steve

Dear Steve: The Duncan Township Municipal Water Authority

wants to thank you for sending Chris Shutt to help us locate a major water leak which has been a great help to us.

We certainly appreciate what you have done for us.

Si~cer~ly, • d. ),:fluJi<j.. .j;t, -r~tf.tl ..... Shirley <fv. Borden, Secretary Duncan Township Municipal Water Authority

September 9, 1998

E-mail m essage:

From: Richard Eliason Subject: Thanks For Leak Detection

Steve. Today, Chris Shutt was of great assistance to us

in helping to locale a major leak which we then got shut off. We have been having an ongoing effort to uncover leaks that have been very difficult to find. We have been having a near emergency drought situation here in Chapman Township and want you to know how much we appreciate PRWA's assis­tance and our membership in PRWA.

Thanks again. Richard Eliason, Secretary Chapman Township Water Authority

ARENDTSVILLE BOROUGH P.O. Box 5089

Arendtsville, PA 17303 7 17-677-6009

FAX 7 17-677-4348

August27, 1998

M r. Steve M. Krchnavy, Executive Director Pennsylvania Rural Water Association 138 West Bishop Street Bellefonte, PA 16823

Dear Steve: We would like to thank Pennsylvania Rural Water Association and especially

Chuck Groff for assisting us in the recent smoke testing of our wastewater sys­tem. We tested our system in one day and detected several locations where repairs are necessary.

This is a great service for small boroughs with limited resources. We under· stand lhal this testing would be several thousand dollars if done through other sources. Again, thank you again for your assistance and a special thanks to Chuck.

~ John M. Jacobs Borough Supervisor

f

JENKS TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS 1-2 Pine Street, Box 436 Marienville, PA 16239

(814) 927-2233

September 11 ,1998

PA Rural Water Association Mr. Joel B. Jordan, Groundwater Technician 138 West Bishop Street Bellefonte, PA 16823

Dear Mr. Jordan· The Jenks Township Supervisors would again like to thank you lor the inform­

ing presentation given on September 2, 1998, at the Jenks Township Municipal Authority's meeting. The Supervisors wished me to inform you that they are in full support of the Wellhead Protection Program. and would like to take the neces· sary steps to fonn a committee to proceed.

We would appreciate it il you would contact us with what steps we need to initi­ate. You may also feel free to cal us at (814) 927-2233. Thank you tor your help with this project.

~;erely, '-...._

{)/.tM,t~ c:J!Jn--., Eleanor Tom, Secretary Jenks Township

ell

CC: Richard Hall, Marienville Water Supply Co. James Wilson, Jenks Township Municipal Authori ty

r

McVeytown Borough P.O. Box 32 1

McVeytOwn, PA 17051 ~ Tel. (717) 899-6323

September 3, 1998

Pennsylvania Rural Water Association 138 West Bishop Street Bellefonte, PA 16823

Gentlemen:

.9 .•

We recently had smoke testing done on our sewer lines by Chuck Groff. Our Authority would like to thank you for providing this service. We were able to locate some problem areas and are working on correcting these situations.

Also, Chuck was most helpful in explaining the process to our employees. Plus, his patience in dealing with some upset residents was greatly appreciated. His thoroughness in going around the borough helped make the whole project successful.

Steve Boozel. our plant operator. has commented many times on how obliging and accommodating Chuck, Chris Shut1 and other employees have been since Steve started work a year ago. Your organization has been a big help to him.

Many thanks for the great services provided and the great employees.

Sincerely yours,

~-~Q,._~~~- ....

Barbara B. Stiver Borough Secretary

1-

Here is what people are saying about ~ r-wa ~= Mt. Jewett Borough Authority f- 0 0 4

P.O. BOX 441 MT. JEWETT. PA 16740

(8 14) 778-5664

August 19, 1998

PA Rural Water Association Attn: Don Muir 138 West Bishop Street Bellefonte, PA 16823

Dear Don: As Chairman of the MI. Jewett Borough Authority, I would like to express our

sincere appreciation to you and PRWA lor the quick response last week locating the main line along Route 6\hat is now under construction.

The construction crew hil the main last week, causing interruption and a loss ol water that is sparse during this lime of year. With your assistance, we now have 1 · · a more accurate mapping of the main line as well as the service lines in this area of construction.

It's comforting to know that there are qualified individuals on the PRWA staff available on such short notice. Again, thank you for your services and prompt attention.

Sincerely,

;J~·Jkr-William J. Sluga Chairman

cc: Steve Krchnavy PRWA Executive Di rector

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Across the Great Divide ••• Looking Up Your Source

by Jane Smith-Decker

After reading the nice write-up that the folks at PRWA put into the fall issue of the Keystone Tap announcing my appointment as the Groundwater Technician for Easter PA, I felt a sense of peace. All these years of uncertain rambling seem to have finally culminated into a career.

When told of my latest endeavor with PRWA, my mother was quiet. I asked her why she didn't congratulate me and she said she wanted to see how it turns out first. Still mad at me for going to the quarry when I was lit­t1e, (she had almost forgotten), my mother has always been puzzled at my choice of occupations. What mother doesn't wait for is the day when she can say, meet my daughter, the sewage planning specialist?? I think that she, like I, can breathe a sigh of relief as I seem to have found a unique and sometimes amusing occupation that has some promise of lasting. At PRWA, there is a good group of people to work with and oppo1tunities to put my experiences to work trying to make a difference by managing water resources.

You may ask what all this has to do with you. When you meet me as I come around pestering you about groundwater protection plans, planning committees, source protection, watershed delineations and such, you will discover that I love a challenge. Working with small governments can be a challenge, all with interesting stories to tell. Things like how do I get my neighboring municipalities to go along with this plan? And, how are we going to pay for this? And when I am going to find the time to get committees together, etc. Well, to coin an old phrase, I have "been there, done that." (You asked for it.)

By listening to everyone concerned and understanding their individual situations, I combine an understanding of water treatment, sewage treatment and solid waste management with a knowledge of state and federal regu­lations and creative financing. My attempt is to get people to work together. Having acquired an extensive background in watershed management, I have practical experience in getting the most unlikely of bedfellows to work together toward a common goal.

Speaking of watershed management, there are rumors of the possible availability of grants to perform surface water protection. I f you have a combination of groundwater and surface water sources, we may be able to come up with a comprehensive watershed management plan for your entire source. And, if you have a question con­cerning the use of reservoir management to reduce treatment costs, just give me a holler.

Keep in mind that source protection is a preventative approach to water supply protection. A plan will help you assess the existing quality of your source water and use some planning methods to protect that quality. It will not get that junk yard out of your watershed but will help you to quantify the quality of your water supply. If in the future the junkyard affects your source, you will have obtained the hard evidence necessary to deter­mine the extent of damage to your system. In an effort to stop small problems from becoming large, an ongoing watershed monitoring program can be established and a contingency plan developed to react to emergencies quickly, and, with as little disruption to your customers as possible. As they say, proper planning prevents poor performance.

Feel free to call me at 1-800-653-PRWA to get more information. I will see what I can do to help you protect your water supply. In the meantime, here's looking up your source! a

PENNSYLVANIA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Mark your calendar now for:

MARCH 24 - 25 - 26

Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel State College, PA

This year's PRWA Conference will feature many exciting training seminars and activities including:

* Hands-on Computer and Internet Training * Consumer Confidence Report Workshop * Source Water Protection Conference * Numerous Training Seminars * DEP Regional Workshops

* Water Plant Tour * Large Exhibit Area * $4000 in Cash Prizes * "Pride of Pennsylvania" Water Tasting Contest

* The "famous" One-Pound Pork Chop Banquet Dinner

Look for details in this issue of the "Keystone Tap".

Calling all . . .

Wellhead I Watershed Protection CommiHees

2nd Annual PADEP I PRWA Source Water Protection Conference

To be held in conjunction with the

PA Rural Water Annual Conference March 24- 26, 1999- Penn Stater Conference Center

Highlights:

Wednesday March 24, 1999- Surface Water Sessions - PA DEP Source Water Assessment Program updates - Implementing a Watershed Management Plan - Watershed Susceptibility Q & A - Reservoir I Impoundment Management

Thursday March 25, 1999- Groundwater Sessions - PA DEP Groundwater Program updates - Effective Public Education - Zoning I Ordinance issues - GIS & Wellhead Protection

Plan on sending a Committee member to one or both days.

Look for your Conference registration information in this Keystone Tap.

Joel Jordan or Jane Sn1ith-Decker 1-800-653-PRWA

IMPORTANT!!

Pennsylvania Rural Water Association Annual Business Meeting

DELEGATE REGISTRATION FORM

Every System Member with a population of 15,000 or less is considered a voting member. Please take a few minutes to complete this form to let us

know who will be the designated Delegate to represent your system's vote at the Annual Business Meeting which will be conducted at 11:15 am on

Wednesday, March 24, 1999 at the Annual Conference.

Please return this fo1m to us via fax (814-353-9341) or by mail no later than Friday, March 12, 1999.

Delegate's Name:

Title: --- - - - - - - ------------------

System Name:-- - - - - ------------------

Address:

Phone: Fax: - ---------------------

Call us with any questions: (800-653-PRWA)

Pennsylvania Rural Water Association Annual Conference

"PRIDE OF PENNSYLVANIA" - Water Tasting Contest

If your water system would like to participate in the "Pride of Pennsylvania" contest, bring to the conference one gallon of your system's water in a glass

container. Drop the water off at the Registration Desk when you check-in for the Conference. Al1 water must be handed in no later than 3:00pm

on Wednesday, March 24, 1999. Please attach the name of your system securely to the container.

Conference attendees will decide who's is the "best tasting water".

Due to preparation of a numbered ballot for voting - your system MUST pre-register for the contest by faxing this form (814-353-9341) to the

PRWA office by Friday, March 19, 1999.

There will be NO ON-SITE REGISTRATIONS for this contest !

_ __ YES, we think our System has the best tasting water. Register us for the "Pride of Pennsylvania'' Water Tasting Contest.

System Name:----------------------------------------

Address:

City/State/Zip: _____ _ ______________ _

"PRWA TRIBUTE TO EXCELLENCE" - 1999

Water System of the Year Presented to a water system for recognition of a job well done in providing the highest quality of water and service to it's customers.

Decision Maker of the Year Presented to an elected or appointed board member of a water or wastewater system who has shown dedication and perseverance to go "above and beyond" while acting effectively in critical situations and demonstrating knowledge and genuine concern for the system they serve.

Wastewater System of the Year Presented to a wastewater system for recognition of a job well done in providing the highest quality effluent to the environment and service to their customers.

Woman of the Year Presented to a female employee of a water/ wastewater system who has shown dedication, perseverance and above average skills while acting effectively in critical situations and demonstrating knowledge and genuine concern for the system she serves.

Richard C. Miller Memorial Awards for Water and Wa~tewater Operators Presented to an operator of a water and wastewater system who has shown

dedication and perseverance to go "above and beyond" while acting effectively in critical situations and demonstrating knowledge

and genuine concern for the system that they serve.

• Letter of Nomination should include information such as: Number of years of service, training related to position held, outstanding achievements, and a general statement of why you feel this person should receive this award.

• Additional Information Requested: Letters of recommendation from other individuals with knowledge of this nominee's performance. An example would be: Chairman of the Board, Accountant, Engineer, Mayor, or Community Leader, Water or Wastewater Operator, Secretary or Bookkeeper.

• Letters need not be typed or of great length but should be neat and provide support to the nomination. If you have any questions, please contact the PRWA office at (800) 653-PRWA or FAX (814) 353 -934 1.

All systems nominating personnel for "Tribute to Excellence" awards must be PRWA member s.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING NOMINATIONS IS: FEBRUARY 19,1999.

Award Name:

Nominee's Name (if applicable):

System -----------------------City:

Phone: Fax: --------------------------------------------

Operator Certification Update November 1998

Board's Second Draft of Proposed

Due to cons iderable public input, the Pennsylvania State Board for Certification of Sewage Treatment Plant and Waterworks Operators has substantially redrafted the proposed amendments to the Pennsylvania Sewage Treatment Plant and Waterworks Operators' Certification Act. Th is redraft will be open for another round of public participation to encourage all interested parties to provide input on the proposal. The Board re-wrote its proposed

amendments to include these twelve points:

J . Operators making process contro l decisions must be certified.

2. Continuing education for certified operators is essential for certification renewal and must be read ily available.

3. Penalty provisions for certified operato rs shou ld not duplicate the penalty provisions provided by other en vi ron mental acts. Operators should not be held responsible for conditions beyond their control.

4. A realistic certification program is needed for operators of nontransient noncommunity water systems.

5. While the Board does not wish to transfer enforcement powers to the DEP, a judicial decision requires the separation of enforcement powers and the power to hear appeals. As a resu lt, the DEP must have the authority to initiate certificati on suspension and revocation actions and implement

enforcement provisions of the act. The Board will hear all appeals to DEP's actions.

6. It is the Board's desire to use an advisory committee to obtain public and regulated community assistance in drafting regulations.

7. To address future treatment technol­ogy and federal regu latory changes, the Board needs the flexibility to change certification classifications and experience requirements. Therefore, only general classifications based on size will be provided in the proposed leg islati on. Subclassifications and exper ience requi re ments will be defined in regulations.

8. Certification renewal periods and fees for the exam should be reason­able. Examinations should be fa ir and

reflect the skills and abilities needed to properly operate a treatment sys­tem.

9. Site specific certificates should be issued to operators of small water sys­tems where baseline knowledge can be demonstrated.

10. Non-certifjed p rofessional engi­neers will be prov ided operator certifi­cates only after meeting appropriate educational, testing and experience requirements.

11. Changes to the current legislation are essential to improve the operator certification program. Federal guide­lines are important, however; they are only secondary to the program's need for improvement.

A copy of the second draft of the proposed legislation can be found on the Internet at http://www.dep.state.pa.us/ dep/deputate/waterops/ proposed322.htm or call 1-877-PAGREEN or 1-877-724-7336

12. The Board recognizes the concerns of the regulated community about grandparenting of existing non- certi­fied operators. New fede ral require­ments mandate that nontransient non­community operators be certified. The Board will examine this issue carefu l­ly and take a realistic approach that is appropriate and in the best interest of the operators, while complying with the applicable federal requirements.

EPA Issues Draft Guidelines for Operator Certification

To implement the amendmems of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Environmental P rotection Agency issued draft guidelines for the drinking water operator certification programs io March 1998. These guidel ines con­tain the minimum requirements for each state's drinking water certification program. States are required to meet these requirements by August 2000 or lose twenty percent of the state's annu­al drinking water grant. This could mean a loss of $5-$6 million dollars a year for future construction and improvement of water systems,

The second draft of the Board's pro­posed amendments to the certification legislation includes the requirements of the EPA guidelines. The Board decided to apply these federal guidelines to both the drinking water and wastewater operators' certification program. This was done for two reasons. First, the federal guidelines for operator certifi­cation incl ude many of the Board 's proposed program improvements. Secon d ly, it wou ld be difficu lt to administer the operator cert ification program as separate programs. For these reason the Board decided it was in the, best interest of the operators to draft proposed amendments to the leg­islation covering both drinking water and wastewater operators. These new amendments and future regulations will establish the same core requirements for each program.

A copy of the second draft of the pro­posed legislation has been provided to E PA for review and comments. The Board is now beginning second round of pub lic review and comment. The Board anticipates submitting the final proposed amendments to the legislature by ear ly spring 1999.

Comparison of Proposed Legislation and the Federal Guidelines

Requires aJI nootransient noncommunity water system operators to be certified

DEP has the ability to revoke and suspend certification and take other appropriate enforcement actions

Requires approved continued education as a condition for certification renewal based on the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed by the operator

Requires certification classifications be created that reflect the system 's complexity, size and water source

Renewal period not to exceed three years

Requires all operators making process control decisions to have a valid certificate

Requires an available certified operator for each operating shift

Requires all applicants for certification to demonstrate the appropriate knowledge, skills and abi lities needed to operate their system and take and pass an examj nation

Requires high school diploma or equivalent experience for new certification applicants

Allows for 3 year grandparenting period for nontransient noncommunity operators

Establishes a self funded program to assure sufficient resources to carry out the program

Eliminates automatic certification for Registered Professional Engineers

Establishes duties and responsibilities for system owners and operators

Establishes enforcement provisions and penalties for owners and non-certified operators making process control decisions

Requires all wastewater certified operators to meet the same basic requirements as drinking (;

Board Legislation

•

•

•

•

• • • •

• • • • • •

•

EPA Guidelines

• •

•

•

• • •

•

• • •

•

PRWA Welcomes New Education Director

John Hood wiU be joining the staff of PRWA in December. He brings a long and varied background in operator training and class development.

John has been teaching water treatment courses for the DCA and DEP since 1990. For the past several years he has held the position of Area Representative for tbe Northwest District of DEP, scheduling classes and evaluating instructors and courses. He has also been active in the DEP Outreach Technical Assistance Program, assigning instructors and overseeing Outreach Sites.

John holds both an A I Water Operators License and an A I Sewage Treatment Plant Operators License. He was awarded the AWWA 1991 Pennsylvania Operator's Meritorious Service Award for assistance to smaJl systems.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Resources Management from Geneva College and has done considerable research on water treatment plant operalions and training. He and his wife Mary have three grown children and four grandchildren.

John will be evaluating current PRWA training and developing new operator and management training that will meet Certification Board and DEP requirements. If you would care to comment on current training or training seminar development, call PRWA at 1-800-653-7792 or email training@prwa.com. a

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814.943.5214

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One More Thing • • • by Steve Krchnavy, Executive Direccor

Over ten years ago I left my seemingly safe position at Brackenridge Borough to become the Pennsylvania Rural Water Association Circuit Rider. I had no idea what the next ten days would bring yet alone the next ten years. I started off travel ing around to the small and rural systems of Pennsylvania with great enthusi-asm, an e nthusiasm I still have today. 1 met hundreds of conscientious and dedicated water and wastewater operators, managers and decision-makers. 1 provided hours of on-site technical assistance, put together numerous training seminars, traveled miles of highways and mountain roads, stayed in a multitude of motels with lumpy beds, ate many "meals" that defy description and had one heck of a time doing it al l.

During this time I began to realize what Pennsylvania Rural Water Association and its members cou ld accomplish. On six-hour drives across 1-80 I began to dream. Dream about all the things that we could do to meet the needs of small water and wastewater systems in the state. With a lot of hard work and help from our Board, Staff and System Members, I am delighted to say we have made many of these dreams come true.

Growing to meet your needs this year, PRWA has added new technical assistance programs, hired additional staff and purchased equipment for the members' use. Two new programs that have been added by developing a partnership with DEP are the Water Conservation Technical Assistance Program and a second Groundwater Protection Program that will augment the highly successful PRWA Wellhead Protection Program.

The Water Conservation Technical Assistance Program is manned by an old favorite at PRWA, Chris Shutt, and a new colleague, Don Muir, who worked I I years with Heath Consu ltants. This program can provide systems with a complete water aud it, rate analysis, training on leak detection and line location equipment, system leak detection survey, random meter testing and recommendations for reduction of unaccounted for water. All you need to do is fi ll out the Water Audit Questionnaire that will be arriving at your system or call Chris or Don for more details.

As you may recall, in September of 1997, Judy Muehl, who was the original PRWA Groundwater Protection Technician, moved to the Water2000 Program to help communities currently without safe drinking water develop plans and assist with funding opportunities. Judy is available to meet with local officials to discuss your local needs.

The PRWA Groundwater Protection Program has been very successful and has initiated many innovative ideas such as the Water Supply Area highway s igns. Joel Jordan, the current Groundwater Technician, brings his technical and regula­tory background expertise to PRWA for the membership to utilize. Joel also worked with Judy oo the award winning Mars School District Wellhead Protection Plan. As of September of 1998, another Groundwater Technician was added to the PRWA Staff, her name is J ane Smith-Decker . Jane brings a fresh approach to assist you with wellhead protection. She has an extensive watershed management background and is very familiar with the fi ve-step wellhead protection pro­gram. Call Joel or Jane to set-up a meeting to develop a plan in your system.

Heard about Consumer Confidence Reports (CCR's)? They will be due to the public by October 1999 for your 1998 cal­endar year. Well if you need some information, PRWA has a template for you to start reviewing while we wait for the final DEP guidelines. Mike Dill has been studying CCR's and can help you. Mike is also available to provide on-site technical assistance in your water system; call to set-up an appointment with Mike.

Filling the large shoes of Chris Shutt as Circuit Rider is Roger Milliron . Roger is very experienced with surface and groundwater treatment and can assist you with regulatory questions . He also has a few unique "pets" that you may want to ask about on hi s next technical assistance visit. Roger and all of the PRWA staff can be reached by calling 1-800-653-PRWA.

The coming year wi ll bring us the new revised add ition of the Operators Certifica..tion Act. No matter how you s lice it, certification training and continuing education for operators will be in the Act as mandated by the 1996 revisions of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. To position PRWA to help you meet these requirements, I am proud to announce that J ohn Hood has joined the PRWA staff as Education Director. John has been a DCA/DEP trainer since 1990 and worked

continued on page 62

NEW PRWAIDEP PARTNERSHIP ASSISTS ALL WELLHEAD PROTECTION COMMUNITIES

The Pennsylvania Rural Water Association successful ly initiated a Wellhead Protection Program in 1992, one of the first states to do so. One Groundwater Technician (GWT) has trav­eled the entire state providing technical assistance to water systems developing Wellhead Protection Plans. The GWT assists the system with the formation of a steering committee, an on-site contami­nant inventory, management options and future planning considerations. The pro­gram has worked effectively with PA Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) staff to provide train in g to water systems on the wellhead protection program. In cooperation with many other organizations the GWT has assisted in development of educational materials and approval of the state Water Supply Area signs.

The PRWA Groundwater Program has assisted over I 00 community water sys­tems in PA in development of Wellhead Protection Plans. The next step for most

One More Thing continued from page 61

communities is to implement an effective local wellhead protection program. A pro­gram involves the local community in actively minimizing the risks to the water s uppl y, both short term and long term. This includes the financial structure for such a program . This is an ongoing process that may take years to implement and should conti nue for the li fe of the water supply. PA DEP has assisted com­munities by outlining the minimum ele­ments that should be contained in a local wellhead protection program.

1999 will be another exciting year for the Wellhead Protection Program in Pennsy l vania . The PA Rural Water Association and PA Department of Environmental Protection have developed a partnership aimed a further assisti ng groundwater systems that have developed wellhead protection plans and wish to implement an effective program. This agreement will provide systems with on­s ite technical assistance from PRWA in any phase of wellhead protection program

implementation including completing plans to receive DEP approval. This assis­tance is available to ALL wellhead protec­tion commu nities. Thi s agreement also includes an Annual Wellhead Protection Conference for all systems that are devel­oping wellhead protection plans and implementing programs. The purpose of the Annual Wellhead Protection Conference is to provide WHP commun i­ties from across PA with " real world" experience in development and imple­mentation of programs and the necessary tools to achieve this goal. Currently, this conference will be held in conjunction with the PRWA Annual Conference, March 24, 25 & 26 , 1999 at the Penn Stater Conference Center and Hotel, State College, PA. If you are interested in developing a

Wellhead Protection Program or need assistance in implementing an effective program in your community, call Joel Jordan or Jane SmithDecker at 1- 800-653-PRWA. a

with the DEP Outreach Technical Assistance Program assigning instructors and overseeing Outreach sites. His task will be to develop new training in many new and exciting areas. John will also work to qualify all PRWA training for certifica­tion and CEU's. If you have a training idea or want to host a training session, call John or drop him an Email by visiting the PRWA website.

PRWA Website? Yes, PRWA is now avai lable to you via the Internet at www.prwa.com. You can register for training seminars and the upcoming PRWA Annual Conference. Email the staff and browse the site for information and links to

other water and wastewater related sites. The PRWA Staff now carries laptop computers and we will be learning better ways to assist you while we are on-site in your system.

We have also purchased a new round of line location and leak detection equipment as our o ld equipment was just plain worn out.

Over the past two to three years, the PRWA Wastewater guys, Bob Decker and Chuck Groff, have received a tremen­dous amount of requests for Infiltration & Inflow on-site technical assistance. To expand our technical assistance capabili­ties, we are looking to have a sewer-line television camera for use by the Members in the Spring of 1999.

What's on the agenda for 1999? More Training! More Technical Assistance! The things that PRWA was here for in 1988 and will continue to be here for many years to come!

One More Thing ...

Please don't forget the Annual PRWA Conference March 24-25-26 in State College. If you have not attended "The Time Is Now" to come and spend three days learning with your peers in a relaxed atmosphere. If you have attended before " the Time is Now" to register early and get prepared! a

Public Water Supplier: The Pennsylvania Rural Water

Association in partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is initiating a Water Conservation/Water Accountability program for public water suppliers. The program will consist of a system audit to deternline percent unaccountable for water and water production costs, a water leak detection survey and leak detection train­ing, a cost recovery analysis for repaired leaks, a rate study to determine needed revenue for operation, and providing water conservation information/education for customers. All parts of the program will be completed at no cost to you.

The on-site training program is struc­tured as follows:

• Review a questionnaire completed by the water supplier and compare it with the Annual Water Supply Report or other available sources of information. Verify the information provided and make appropriate corrections.

• Review the distribution system map and verify the distribution system location. Provide supplier with training on locat­ing distribution lines and locate lines as necessary.

• Train suppliers on the use of equipment

to locate line leaks. • Develop a report detai ling leaks found. • Develop a report on money saved by

conducting water audits, leak surveys and repairing leaks.

• Complete a rate analysis to determine the system's financial capacity.

• Provide water conservation recommen­dations and consumer educational mate­rials.

• Provide/discuss the following water sys­tem planning documents: (I) Pennsylvania Water System Self­Assessment Guide, (2) Public Drinking Water System Business Plan Manual, (3) Water Supply Planning Grant

Information. A stipulation of the program is that your

system agree to initiate a leak detection program and performance yearly water audit for the next 5 years, and that your system be willing to consider other recom­mendations to improve system capability through water conservation methods (e.g. develop a schedule for meter installation and recalibration, refine and maintain dis­tribution system map, repair leaks, work with large industrial/commercial users on water conservation, etc.)

Some of the benefits of this program are

as follows:

• Distribution maps will be updated to help meet state requirements.

• Reducing unaccounted for water can reduce operating costs, thus better enabling you to comply with new SDWA requirements.

• Improved reliability of service, thus reducing customer complaints and mak­ing customers more amenable to neces­sary rate increases.

• Facilitate regionalization of desired. • System will be better able to meet the

e li gibility requirements for State Revolving Loans Funds offered through PENN VEST for construction projects.

To perform the audit, we will need access to all meter reading records, pump­ing records, utility records, and chemical purchases for the previous 13 months or 5 quarters depending on your billing cycle. For the leak detection training and survey, we require one person from your system to be dedicated to the survey. If your system is interested in participat­

ing in this program, please contact either Don Muir or Chris Shutt to schedule a meeting to further discuss the program.

Operator Certification Public Meetings

Dec. 21 Jan. 5 Jan. 6 Jan. 21 Jan. 26 Jan. 27

DEP South Central Regional Office, Harrisburg, PA Sheraton Inn Pittsburg North, Mars, PA Days Inn, Meadville, PA Best Western, Exton, PA Genetti, Willian1sport, PA Ramada Inn, Wilkes-B arre, PA

Mission Statement The Pennsylvania Rural Water Association is dedicated to providing professional technical support, certified system training, reliable and timely information and other valuable benefits to the rural and small water and wastewater systems throughout the Commonwealth.

Why should you join? PRWA System Member Benefits: * Access to Pennsylvania Rural Water Association's

Technical Assistance Library, slide presentations and vi dens

* Periodical discounts given to members only- offered through PRWA Associate Members

* Access to technical equipment * Yearly subscription to the PRWA magazine, "The

Keystone Tap" * Information on all PRWA Training Sessions * Discount on PRWA Annual Technical Conference * Technical assistance provided by registered circuit

riders at no charge * Legislative updcr(es pertaining to water/wastewater

systems " Quarterly " Members Oi11y" Newsletter * Quarterly " Membership Mailout" packed full of

current happenings

PRWA Associate Members Benefits: * Yearly subscription to magazine PRWA's "The

Keystone Tap" ,, Discount on advertising rates in PRWA's "The

Keystone Tap" * Advertising in PRWA's " Industry Contact Booklet" * Information on all PRWA's Training Sessions * Discount on PRWA Annual Technical Conference * Quarterly "Members Only" Newsletter * Invitation to PRWA Annual Associate Member's

Luncheon * The chance to offer PRWA's members special

discounts to promote your product

PRWA - " Your Source f or Water/Wastewater Technical Assistance & Training"

Membership Application Please print or type

SYSTEM/COMPANY NAME ________________________________ ___

ADDRESS ________________________________________ __

CITY ---------------------- STATE _____ ZIP ______ _

CONTACT PERSON ________________________________ ___

PHONE NUMBER----------------- COUNTY ____________ _

FAX NUMBER __________________________________________ _

EMAIL ADDRESS ______________________________________ ____

WEBSITE ADDRESS -----------------------------------

Water System Membership -----------­(S175.oo per year)

Wastewater System Membership _________ __ ($175.00 per year)

Joint Water/Wastewater System Membership _______ _ ($225.00 per year)

Associate Membership _____ __ ($200.00 per year)

Community Facilities Roadways and Bridges Water Supply and Distribution Sewer Collection & Conveyance

Gwin Engineers, Inc. Altoona and Alburtis

General Engineering, Inc. Clarion

(3) Locations To Serve You CONNEAUT LAKE, PA Phone (814) 382-8196

NEW DERRY, PA Phone(412)694-2900

ORMSBY, PA Phone(814)465-3520

Surveying/Mapping Sewage Treatment

Water Treatment Architecture

Neilan Engineers, Inc. Somerset and Pittsburgh

EADS Architects, Inc. Somerset

www.eadsgroup@gwinengineers.com 1-800-626-0904

Our index J·

goes way beyond • HtaO

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Pennsylvania Rural Water Association 138 West Bishop Street Bellefonte, PA 16823

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Indiana, PA 15701