wso new twist on uv-t measurement …892be042-fca9-4add-99d5... · technology deep dive: new twist...

TECHNOLOGY DEEP DIVE:

New twist on UV-T measurement

Page 24

wsoWATER SYSTEM OPERATOR

March 2014 www.wsomag.com

Managing Our Most Valuable Resource

TM

BRIGHT IDEAS:

Innovative financing in Lowell, Mass.6

Robert TagertProduction Supervisor East Vincent Township, Pa.

Commitment by Collaboration

TEAMWORK AND DEDICATION BRING A PARTNERSHIP DIRECTORS AWARD FOR A PENNSYLVANIA TEAMPage 18

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE:

Filter efficiency in Freehold, N.J.

Page 30

QUALITY LEADERSPlant: Fifteen and Counting Page 8For the water utility servicing one of Minnesota’s Twin Cities, the Partnership provides a motivation and a method to improve every facet of operations. BY JIM FORCE

Plant: A New Direction 6Consolidating distribution under the street and utility division lets the North Chicago water plant focus on producing a quality product and increasing efficiency.BY TRUDE WITHAM

Plant: Commitment by Collaboration Page 18Operators at a Pennsylvania facility rely on teamwork and dedication to achieve excellence and a Partnership for Safe Water Directors Award.BY TRUDE WITHAM

ON TAP Page 5

Try It. Buy It. Maybe it’s time for the water profession to embrace more fully a recruiting and training technique that has worked well for numerous other industries.BY TED J. RULSEH, EDITOR

@WSOMAG.COM Page 6Visit daily for news, features and blogs. Get the most from WSO magazine.

WINNING THEM OVER Page 14

Learning by DoingInterns at the water and wastewater utility in Denton, Texas, gain valuable skills while helping staff members perform essential tasks.LINDA J. EDMONDSON

BRIGHT IDEAS Page 16

Tricks of the TradeA Massachusetts water utility applies innovative financing to complete a cost-saving solar energy project with no increase in rates.BY DANIEL J. LAHIFF AND ROBERT S. LITTLE, P.E.

PROJECTS AND AWARDS Page 23

TECHNOLOGY DEEP DIVE Page 24

A New Twist on UV-T MeasurementAquionics offers a UV-C LED light source with a single lamp and sensor in a compact package designed for versatility.BY TED J. RULSEH

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE Page 30

Free FlowingNew filter media at the water treatment plant reduces energy costs, improves flow-through and lowers chemical usage for the Township of Freehold, N.J.BY LISA BALCERAK

PRODUCT FOCUS Page 32Tanks, Structures and ComponentsBY CRAIG MANDLI

CASE STUDIES Page 36Tanks, Structures and ComponentsBY CRAIG MANDLI

INDUSTRY NEWS Page 39

PRODUCT NEWS Page 40Product Spotlight: Vertical booster pumps save space, conserve energyBY ED WODALSKI

WORTH NOTING Page 42People/Awards; Education; Events

Coming Next Issue: April 2014

FOCUS: ACE14 Pre-Show Issue/Product Preview

�� On Tap: From prison to the water business?

�� Quality Leaders – Operator: Mark Riggsby, Denmar Correctional Center, Hillsboro, W.Va.

�� Quality Leaders – Plant: Award-winning performance in Spring Hill, Tenn.

�� Quality Leaders – Agency: Distribution excellence in Harvest, Ala.

�� Winning Them Over: Award-winning educator in Rio Rancho, N.M.

�� Technology Deep Dive: ALDRUM G3 drum thickener from Alfa Laval

�� Sustainable Practice: Triple bottom line at Palm Bay Utilities, Fla.

Contents March 2014

ON THE COVER:The staff at the Shady Lane Water Treatment Plant in Pennsylva-nia’s East Vincent Township has overcome challenges like high turbidity from rain events, algae blooms, and mostly manual operation. The operations staff, led by Robert Tagert, production supervisor, has tackled them all and achieved success. (Photography by K. Scott Kreider)Go ahead, take

a closer look.

A New Twist in Butterfly Valve TechnologyWe launched a whole new world in thermoplastic butterfly valve technology. Based on extensive customer feedback we received from industry leading professionals like yourself, our revolutionary BYV Series butterfly valve has patent pending features the competition can’t match.

For more information on the BYV Series butterfly valves or to arrange a product demonstration, call Hayward Flow Control at 1-800-429-4635 or visit us online at haywardflowcontrol.com.

We launched a whole new world in thermoplastic butterfly valve

from industry leading professionals like yourself, our revolutionary

Hydrodynamic disc for increased flow performance

Engineered hand lever design for enhanced strength and UV performance

Robust 1-piece valve body construction in PVC, CPVC or GFPP materials

Over-sized liner face maximizes flange surface contact

Easy visibility disc position and flow rate indication

Blow out proof stem

Overmolded or field mounted 316SS Lugsavailable

ISO 5211 top flange for ease of actuation

72-spline interlocking throttle plate with 19 locking positions

Ergonomic grip and lockout

Hayward is a registered trademark of Hayward Industries, Inc. © 2014 Hayward Industries, Inc. Thermoplastic Valves | Actuation & Controls | Strainers | Filters | Bulkhead Fittings & Tank Accessories | Pumps

30135 HAY_Butterfly_Valve_ad_WaterSystems_March.indd 1 2/17/14 1:43 PM

QUALITY LEADERSPlant: Fifteen and Counting Page 8For the water utility servicing one of Minnesota’s Twin Cities, the Partnership provides a motivation and a method to improve every facet of operations. BY JIM FORCE

Plant: A New Direction Page 26Consolidating distribution under the street and utility division lets the North Chicago water plant focus on producing a quality product and increasing efficiency.BY TRUDE WITHAM

Plant: Commitment by Collaboration Page 18Operators at a Pennsylvania facility rely on teamwork and dedication to achieve excellence and a Partnership for Safe Water Directors Award.BY TRUDE WITHAM

ON TAP Page 5

Try It. Buy It. Maybe it’s time for the water profession to embrace more fully a recruiting and training technique that has worked well for numerous other industries.BY TED J. RULSEH, EDITOR

@WSOMAG.COM Page 6Visit daily for news, features and blogs. Get the most from WSO magazine.

WINNING THEM OVER Page 14

Learning by DoingInterns at the water and wastewater utility in Denton, Texas, gain valuable skills while helping staff members perform essential tasks.LINDA J. EDMONDSON

BRIGHT IDEAS Page 16

Tricks of the TradeA Massachusetts water utility applies innovative financing to complete a cost-saving solar energy project with no increase in rates.BY DANIEL J. LAHIFF AND ROBERT S. LITTLE, P.E.

PROJECTS AND AWARDS Page 23

TECHNOLOGY DEEP DIVE Page 24

A New Twist on UV-T MeasurementAquionics offers a UV-C LED light source with a single lamp and sensor in a compact package designed for versatility.BY TED J. RULSEH

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE 0

Free FlowingNew filter media at the water treatment plant reduces energy costs, improves flow-through and lowers chemical usage for the Township of Freehold, N.J.BY LISA BALCERAK

PRODUCT FOCUS Page 32Tanks, Structures and ComponentsBY CRAIG MANDLI

CASE STUDIES Page 36Tanks, Structures and ComponentsBY CRAIG MANDLI

INDUSTRY NEWS Page 39

PRODUCT NEWS Page 40Product Spotlight: Vertical booster pumps save space, conserve energyBY ED WODALSKI

WORTH NOTING Page 42People/Awards; Education; Events

Coming Next Issue: April 2014

FOCUS: ACE14 Pre-Show Issue/Product Preview

�� On Tap: From prison to the water business?

�� Quality Leaders – Operator: Mark Riggsby, Denmar Correctional Center, Hillsboro, W.Va.

�� Quality Leaders – Plant: Award-winning performance in Spring Hill, Tenn.

�� Quality Leaders – Agency: Distribution excellence in Harvest, Ala.

�� Winning Them Over: Award-winning educator in Rio Rancho, N.M.

�� Technology Deep Dive: ALDRUM G3 drum thickener from Alfa Laval

�� Sustainable Practice: Triple bottom line at Palm Bay Utilities, Fla.

Contents March 2014

ON THE COVER:The staff at the Shady Lane Water Treatment Plant in Pennsylva-nia’s East Vincent Township has overcome challenges like high turbidity from rain events, algae blooms, and mostly manual operation. The operations staff, led by Robert Tagert, production supervisor, has tackled them all and achieved success. (Photography by K. Scott Kreider)Go ahead, take

a closer look.

A New Twist in Butterfly Valve TechnologyWe launched a whole new world in thermoplastic butterfly valve technology. Based on extensive customer feedback we received from industry leading professionals like yourself, our revolutionary BYV Series butterfly valve has patent pending features the competition can’t match.

For more information on the BYV Series butterfly valves or to arrange a product demonstration, call Hayward Flow Control at 1-800-429-4635 or visit us online at haywardflowcontrol.com.

We launched a whole new world in thermoplastic butterfly valve

from industry leading professionals like yourself, our revolutionary

Hydrodynamic disc for increased flow performance

Engineered hand lever design for enhanced strength and UV performance

Robust 1-piece valve body construction in PVC, CPVC or GFPP materials

Over-sized liner face maximizes flange surface contact

Easy visibility disc position and flow rate indication

Blow out proof stem

Overmolded or field mounted 316SS Lugsavailable

ISO 5211 top flange for ease of actuation

72-spline interlocking throttle plate with 19 locking positions

Ergonomic grip and lockout

Hayward is a registered trademark of Hayward Industries, Inc. © 2014 Hayward Industries, Inc. Thermoplastic Valves | Actuation & Controls | Strainers | Filters | Bulkhead Fittings & Tank Accessories | Pumps

30135 HAY_Butterfly_Valve_ad_WaterSystems_March.indd 1 2/17/14 1:43 PM

4 WATER SYSTEM OPERATOR


Published monthly by COLE Publishing, Inc.1720 Maple Lake Dam Rd., PO Box 220, Three Lakes, WI 54562

Call toll free 800-257-7222 / Outside of U.S. or Canada call 715-546-3346Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. CST

Website: www.wsomag.com / Email: [email protected] / Fax: 715-546-3786

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: A one-year (12 issues) subscription to WSOTM in the United States and Canada is FREE to qualified subscribers. A qualified subscriber is any individual or company in the United States or Canada that partakes in the consulting, design, installation, manufacture, management or operation of water treatment systems. To subscribe, return the subscription card attached to each issue, visit wsomag.com or call 800-257-7222.

Non-qualified subscriptions are available at a cost of $60 per year in the United States and Canada/Mexico and $150 per year to all other foreign countries. To subscribe, visit wsomag.com or send company name, mailing address, phone number and check or money order (U.S. funds payable to COLE Publishing Inc.) to the address above. MasterCard, VISA and Discover are also accepted. Include credit card information with your order.

ADDRESS CHANGES: Submit to WSO, P.O. Box 220, Three Lakes, WI, 54562; call 800-257-7222 (715-546-3346); fax to 715-546-3786; or email [email protected]. Include both old and new addresses.

Our subscriber list is occasionally made available to carefully selected companies whose products or services may be of interest to you. Your privacy is important to us. If you prefer not to be a part of these lists, please contact Nicole at [email protected].

ADVERTISING RATES: Call 800-994-7990 and ask for Kim or Phil. Publisher reserves the right to reject advertising which in its opinion is misleading, unfair or incompatible with the character of the publication.

EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE: Address to Editor, WSO, P.O. Box 220, Three Lakes, WI, 54562 or email [email protected].

REPRINTS AND BACK ISSUES: Visit www.wsomag.com for options and pricing. To order reprints, call Jeff Lane at 800-257-7222 (715-546-3346) or email [email protected]. To order back issues, call Nicole at 800-257-7222 (715-546-3346) or email nicolel@cole publishing.com.

CIRCULATION: Average circulation is 33,038 copies per month.

© 2014 COLE PUBLISHING INC. No part may be reproduced without permission of publisher.

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AmTech Tank Lining & Repair .. 25

Aquionics, Inc. ....................... 23

Assmann Corporation of America .......................... 7

Blue-White Industries ............... 4

Flygt – a Xylem Brand ............. 15

Hayward Flow Control ............ 2

Pollardwater ........................... 44

Proco Products, Inc. ............... 31

Sanitaire – a Xylem Brand ...... 13

Tank Connection Affiliate Group 7

WEDECO – a Xylem Brand ...... 11

Xylem ..................................... 17

Advertiser Index March 2014

www.pumpershow.com

Education Day: Feb. 23, 2015Exhibits: Feb. 24 - 26, 2015Indiana Convention Center,

Indianapolis, Ind.

W hen interviewing water system operators for stories for this magazine, I usually ask, “How did you get involved in this profession?” Surprisingly often, the answer is some varia-tion on, “I needed a job.”

Sure, many people choose the water business out of pure interest, or out of a passion to do good for the environment and community. But oth-ers — some of whom “grow up” to be outstanding operators and leaders — come into the profession almost by chance. They get a job, they take an interest, they stay. And they make it a career.

And maybe right there is a partial answer to the challenge the indus-try faces in recruiting new people to replace the many veterans planning to retire in the coming years. In a couple of words: internships and apprenticeships.

Magnet for the young

Internships are common in just about every indus-try. They’re offered to high school, technical college or university students as part of their preparation for careers. Certainly some water utilities offer them. Consider the story in this issue of WSO about an excellent internship pro-gram for college students in Denton, Texas.

Why are internships especially valuable for the water professions? Because young people don’t gravitate toward water careers the way they do toward electronics, computer programming, engineering, banking, graphic design or journalism. Amid all the “glamour” fields, the water business isn’t on the radar. So, why not let more young folks try it out?

Traditional recruitment tools — talking to guidance counselors, exhibiting at job fairs, conducting tours — are fine as far as they go, but they rarely go far enough. How about offering internships, real hands-on work for a summer, to kids who simply “need a job”?

These days especially, many students, high school or college, do need jobs. A water system that advertised for summer internships would almost surely get a flood of inquiries. So you take in the applications. You screen for those who seem suited for a profession that involves science, math, and mechanical and technical aptitude. And you choose the best candidates. You end up not just showing young people a career or telling them about it. You let them experience it long enough to take genuine interest.

Stepping it up

If you want to up the ante, how about, instead of or in addition to intern-

ships, actual apprenticeships? There’s a lot of talk in the industry about the need to elevate the stature of water professionals, such as by calling them “technicians” or “specialists” instead of operators. What raises stature more than a program that treats the career seriously, in the same manner as plumbing, electrical, carpentry and other skilled trades?

My own state (Wisconsin) is among those that offer apprenticeships, in this case for wastewater treatment operators. These three-year paid apprenticeships consist of 90 percent on-the-job training and 10 percent classroom instruction. Apprentices learn directly under the supervision

of experienced operators. Program organizers believe it creates a high-quality pipeline for future professionals.

Internships and apprenticeships can be great for experienced staff as well as the young people they help train. It can only be satisfying for a longtime operator to teach a young person about the career he or she loves. Playing the role of mentor also helps operators reaffirm their convictions about the profession. And the enthusiasm of a young, curious person has a way of rubbing off on someone older.

Time to act?

At least one water agency leader, Bruce Bartel, treatment manager for NEW Water in Green Bay, Wis., sees apprenticeships as part of the answer to a growing shortage of operators. “People in the field aren’t get-ting any younger,” he says. “It’s time for people in our profession to step up. I keep hearing that we need to get young people involved in wastewa-ter treatment. I think this is a great way to do it.”

Through internships and apprenticeships, the water industry could create, collectively, thousands of part-time and full-time jobs for ener-getic young people looking for work and a career direction. From where I sit, these programs look like an excellent way to bring high-quality people into the water business. wso

Try It. Buy It.Maybe it’s time for the water profession to embrace more fully a recruiting and training technique that has worked well for numerous other industries

ONTAP

BY TED J. RULSEH, EDITOR

Traditional recruitment tools — talking to guidance counselors, exhibiting at job fairs, conducting tours — are fine as far as they

go, but they rarely go far enough. How about offering internships, real hands-on work for a summer, to kids who simply “need a job”?

“We’re met with a new challenge each day.Whether it’s the sewer or water department ...we take our jobs very seriously, andthe key thing is knowing that we’re incompliance and not polluting our waters.”

Jeff ChartierAn Original Environmentalist

SUPERINTENDENTTown of Bristol (N.H.) Sewer

and Water Department

Every day is Earth Day.™

Read about original environmentalists like Jeffeach month in Treatment Plant Operator.

FREE subscription at www.tpomag.com

wsomag.com March 2014 5


Published monthly by COLE Publishing, Inc.1720 Maple Lake Dam Rd., PO Box 220, Three Lakes, WI 54562

Call toll free 800-257-7222 / Outside of U.S. or Canada call 715-546-3346Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. CST

Website: www.wsomag.com / Email: [email protected] / Fax: 715-546-3786

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: A one-year (12 issues) subscription to WSOTM in the United States and Canada is FREE to qualified subscribers. A qualified subscriber is any individual or company in the United States or Canada that partakes in the consulting, design, installation, manufacture, management or operation of water treatment systems. To subscribe, return the subscription card attached to each issue, visit wsomag.com or call 800-257-7222.

Non-qualified subscriptions are available at a cost of $60 per year in the United States and Canada/Mexico and $150 per year to all other foreign countries. To subscribe, visit wsomag.com or send company name, mailing address, phone number and check or money order (U.S. funds payable to COLE Publishing Inc.) to the address above. MasterCard, VISA and Discover are also accepted. Include credit card information with your order.

ADDRESS CHANGES: Submit to WSO, P.O. Box 220, Three Lakes, WI, 54562; call 800-257-7222 (715-546-3346); fax to 715-546-3786; or email [email protected]. Include both old and new addresses.

Our subscriber list is occasionally made available to carefully selected companies whose products or services may be of interest to you. Your privacy is important to us. If you prefer not to be a part of these lists, please contact Nicole at [email protected].

ADVERTISING RATES: Call 800-994-7990 and ask for Kim or Phil. Publisher reserves the right to reject advertising which in its opinion is misleading, unfair or incompatible with the character of the publication.

EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE: Address to Editor, WSO, P.O. Box 220, Three Lakes, WI, 54562 or email [email protected].

REPRINTS AND BACK ISSUES: Visit www.wsomag.com for options and pricing. To order reprints, call Jeff Lane at 800-257-7222 (715-546-3346) or email [email protected]. To order back issues, call Nicole at 800-257-7222 (715-546-3346) or email nicolel@cole publishing.com.

CIRCULATION: Average circulation is 33,038 copies per month.

© 2014 COLE PUBLISHING INC. No part may be reproduced without permission of publisher.

Get Socialwith

www.facebook.com/WSOmag

www.twitter.com/WSOmagazine

www.plus.google.com

www.youtube.com/WSOmagazine

AmTech Tank Lining & Repair .. 25

Aquionics, Inc. ....................... 23

Assmann Corporation of America .......................... 7

Blue-White Industries ............... 4

Flygt – a Xylem Brand ............. 15

Hayward Flow Control ............ 2

Pollardwater ........................... 44

Proco Products, Inc. ............... 31

Sanitaire – a Xylem Brand ...... 13

Tank Connection Affiliate Group 7

WEDECO – a Xylem Brand ...... 11

Xylem ..................................... 17

Advertiser Index March 2014

www.pumpershow.com

Education Day: Feb. 23, 2015Exhibits: Feb. 24 - 26, 2015Indiana Convention Center,

Indianapolis, Ind.

W hen interviewing water system operators for stories for this magazine, I usually ask, “How did you get involved in this profession?” Surprisingly often, the answer is some varia-tion on, “I needed a job.”

Sure, many people choose the water business out of pure interest, or out of a passion to do good for the environment and community. But oth-ers — some of whom “grow up” to be outstanding operators and leaders — come into the profession almost by chance. They get a job, they take an interest, they stay. And they make it a career.

And maybe right there is a partial answer to the challenge the indus-try faces in recruiting new people to replace the many veterans planning to retire in the coming years. In a couple of words: internships and apprenticeships.

Magnet for the young

Internships are common in just about every indus-try. They’re offered to high school, technical college or university students as part of their preparation for careers. Certainly some water utilities offer them. Consider the story in this issue of WSO about an excellent internship pro-gram for college students in Denton, Texas.

Why are internships especially valuable for the water professions? Because young people don’t gravitate toward water careers the way they do toward electronics, computer programming, engineering, banking, graphic design or journalism. Amid all the “glamour” fields, the water business isn’t on the radar. So, why not let more young folks try it out?

Traditional recruitment tools — talking to guidance counselors, exhibiting at job fairs, conducting tours — are fine as far as they go, but they rarely go far enough. How about offering internships, real hands-on work for a summer, to kids who simply “need a job”?

These days especially, many students, high school or college, do need jobs. A water system that advertised for summer internships would almost surely get a flood of inquiries. So you take in the applications. You screen for those who seem suited for a profession that involves science, math, and mechanical and technical aptitude. And you choose the best candidates. You end up not just showing young people a career or telling them about it. You let them experience it long enough to take genuine interest.

Stepping it up

If you want to up the ante, how about, instead of or in addition to intern-

ships, actual apprenticeships? There’s a lot of talk in the industry about the need to elevate the stature of water professionals, such as by calling them “technicians” or “specialists” instead of operators. What raises stature more than a program that treats the career seriously, in the same manner as plumbing, electrical, carpentry and other skilled trades?

My own state (Wisconsin) is among those that offer apprenticeships, in this case for wastewater treatment operators. These three-year paid apprenticeships consist of 90 percent on-the-job training and 10 percent classroom instruction. Apprentices learn directly under the supervision

of experienced operators. Program organizers believe it creates a high-quality pipeline for future professionals.

Internships and apprenticeships can be great for experienced staff as well as the young people they help train. It can only be satisfying for a longtime operator to teach a young person about the career he or she loves. Playing the role of mentor also helps operators reaffirm their convictions about the profession. And the enthusiasm of a young, curious person has a way of rubbing off on someone older.

Time to act?

At least one water agency leader, Bruce Bartel, treatment manager for NEW Water in Green Bay, Wis., sees apprenticeships as part of the answer to a growing shortage of operators. “People in the field aren’t get-ting any younger,” he says. “It’s time for people in our profession to step up. I keep hearing that we need to get young people involved in wastewa-ter treatment. I think this is a great way to do it.”

Through internships and apprenticeships, the water industry could create, collectively, thousands of part-time and full-time jobs for ener-getic young people looking for work and a career direction. From where I sit, these programs look like an excellent way to bring high-quality people into the water business. wso

Try It. Buy It.Maybe it’s time for the water profession to embrace more fully a recruiting and training technique that has worked well for numerous other industries

ONTAP

BY TED J. RULSEH, EDITOR

Traditional recruitment tools — talking to guidance counselors, exhibiting at job fairs, conducting tours — are fine as far as they

go, but they rarely go far enough. How about offering internships, real hands-on work for a summer, to kids who simply “need a job”?


@wsomag.comOVERHEARD ONLINE

‘‘Every time I give a tour, people say, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’

They think we just treat toilet water. They’re shocked at what we’re doing with electricity.”What Are the Top 10 Water Sector Technology Innovations?www.wsomag.com/featured

Visit the site daily for new, exclusive content. Read our blogs, find resources and get the most out of WSO magazine.

CHASING LEAKS

Utilities Organize Races for Fix-A-Leak Week

This year, WaterSense and its partners celebrate the fifth annual Fix-a-Leak Week with the theme “Chasing Leaks,” which has spurred several organizations throughout the country to organize fun runs and timed race events. Find out what’s involved in such an event — from pre-race promotions to event budgets, and learn how utilities are bringing attention to non-revenue water loss. www.wsomag.com/featured

HIGH RIVER HEROES

Water Plant Operators Fight FloodingWater plant operators in the small town of High River, Alberta, became local heroes this past summer for their actions during one of Canada’s costliest natural disasters. As floodwaters penetrated the town, facility supervisor Chad Moore and operator Colin Andrews made the eleventh hour decision to hunker down at the water plant as the river crested. Read their story and find out what they learned through the experience. www.wsomag.com/featured

STUDY GUIDE

Prepare for Fluoride Dosing QuestionsAre you studying for a state operator license? Are you dealing with test anxiety? If so, or if you just want to test your skills, take a look at this study guide on fluoride dosing. You’ll find sample questions and answer explanations to prepare you for test day. Just remember to breathe, and you’ll be fine. www.wsomag.com/featured

Emails & Alerts

Join the Discussion

Visit www.WSOmag.com and sign up for newsletters and alerts. You’ll get exclusive content delivered right to your inbox, and you’ll stay in the loop on topics important to you.

www.facebook.com/WSOmag www.twitter.com/WSOmagazine


@wsomag.comOVERHEARD ONLINE

‘‘Every time I give a tour, people say, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’

They think we just treat toilet water. They’re shocked at what we’re doing with electricity.”What Are the Top 10 Water Sector Technology Innovations?www.wsomag.com/featured

Visit the site daily for new, exclusive content. Read our blogs, find resources and get the most out of WSO magazine.

CHASING LEAKS

Utilities Organize Races for Fix-A-Leak Week

This year, WaterSense and its partners celebrate the fifth annual Fix-a-Leak Week with the theme “Chasing Leaks,” which has spurred several organizations throughout the country to organize fun runs and timed race events. Find out what’s involved in such an event — from pre-race promotions to event budgets, and learn how utilities are bringing attention to non-revenue water loss. www.wsomag.com/featured

HIGH RIVER HEROES

Water Plant Operators Fight FloodingWater plant operators in the small town of High River, Alberta, became local heroes this past summer for their actions during one of Canada’s costliest natural disasters. As floodwaters penetrated the town, facility supervisor Chad Moore and operator Colin Andrews made the eleventh hour decision to hunker down at the water plant as the river crested. Read their story and find out what they learned through the experience. www.wsomag.com/featured

STUDY GUIDE

Prepare for Fluoride Dosing QuestionsAre you studying for a state operator license? Are you dealing with test anxiety? If so, or if you just want to test your skills, take a look at this study guide on fluoride dosing. You’ll find sample questions and answer explanations to prepare you for test day. Just remember to breathe, and you’ll be fine. www.wsomag.com/featured

Emails & Alerts

Join the Discussion

Visit www.WSOmag.com and sign up for newsletters and alerts. You’ll get exclusive content delivered right to your inbox, and you’ll stay in the loop on topics important to you.

www.facebook.com/WSOmag www.twitter.com/WSOmagazine

Toll-free: 888-357-3181Why Assmann? See our website: www.assmann-usa.com

Assmann Corporation • Garrett, IN 46738Fax: 888-TANK FAX (826-5329) E-mail: [email protected]

Manufacturing facilities in Garrett, IN and Marshall, TX

• Double Wall • Vertical • Horizontal • Conical• Secondary Containment • Feed Stations • Fork Liftable Containers • Open Top • Miscellaneous Tanks • Accessories/Fittings

Keeping it GREEN since 1979

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When you specify Tank Connection, you have selected the top performance water storage tanks and systems available in the market today. TC is the only tank manufacturer worldwide that designs, fabricates and installs all types of steel storage containment systems including BOLTED RTP, FIELD-WELD, SHOP-WELD and HYBRID tank construction.

www.tankconnection.com u Parsons, KS 67357PH: 620.423.3010 u Inquiry: [email protected]

QUALITYLEADERS

PLANT

STORY: JIM FORCEPHOTOGRAPHY: KATE PURDY

FIFTEENAND COUNTINGFor the water utility servicing one of Minnesota’s Twin Cities, the Partnership provides a motivation and a method to improve every facet of operations

FIFTEENAND COUNTING F

or 15 consecutive years, St. Paul (Minn.) Regional Water Services (SPRWS) has been honored with a Director’s Award from the Partnership for Safe Water. But that doesn’t mean St. Paul is resting on its laurels.

Its remarkable record, matched by only a dozen other water utilities in the nation, serves only to motivate the team to keep improving the efficiency and performance of

the McCarrons Water Treatment Plant and the distribution system. Having met high stan-dards for turbidity control, and having sharply reduced taste and odor complaints, the agency now aims for even more pristine water, better treatment process control, greater source water protection, watershed improvement and more.

Jim Bode, supervisor of water quality, explains that, having met the Partnership’s Phase 3 requirements for a decade and a half, St. Paul is striving for Phase 4 recognition at the McCarrons plant and for Partnership Phase 1 classification for its distribution system.

St. Paul (Minn.) Regional Water Services, McCarrons Water Treatment PlantBUILT: | 1922, expanded 1937 and 1958TREATMENT CAPACITY: | 132 mgdSERVICE AREA: | City of St. Paul and 10 suburbsPOPULATION SERVED: | 415,000SOURCE WATER: | Mississippi River, 10 wellsTREATMENT PROCESS: | Conventional with granular activated carbon filtrationINFRASTRUCTURE: | 12 pumping stations, 14 elevated storage tanks, 7 reservoirsSYSTEM STORAGE: | 121.5 million gallonsANNUAL BUDGET: | $58 millionWEBSITE: | www.stpaul.gov

The lobby of the customer service area at the McCarrons Water Treatment Plant includes a model of a one-inch water service.



A long journeyStanding at the large tabletop model of the SPRWS system in the tile-

floored central room of the 1922 vintage filtration building, Bode and Che Fei Chen, water-quality specialist, point out how raw water moves more than 17 miles from the Mississippi River to the McCarrons plant.

Two 60-inch underground conduits transport river water to a chain of small lakes — Pleasant, Sucker and Vadnais — north of the plant. The water passes from lake to lake through a series of underground conduits and surface channels. Finally, from Lake Vadnais, it flows through a pair of 90-inch underground conduits to the plant on Rice Street in the north-ern part of the city.

Sucker and Vadnais lakes and their shorelines are owned and pro-tected by SPRWS; swimming and boating are prohibited. Swimming is permitted in Pleasant Lake, although motorized boating is not. The pub-lic accepts the prohibitions, Bode says, especially in the post-9/11 era.

The surface water is supplemented by groundwater drawn from a series of 10 wells, drilled from 438 feet to 465 feet deep into the Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer. The well water cools the surface water and adds

mineral content, which aids in soft-ening and flocculation. On an annual basis, the ratio is about 90 percent surface and 10 percent well water.

Tough standards

At the plant, the incoming flow is coagulated with aluminum sulfate, then mixed with slaked pebble lime in a rapid-mix system to begin the softening step. After a three-stage flocculation process and sedimenta-tion, the water is recarbonated with carbon dioxide.

Next come 24 biologically active granular activated carbon filters con-taining FILTRASORB 300 carbon from Calgon Carbon Corporation, remov-ing particulate and enabling the plant to meet stringent turbidity standards. The filters, rebuilt and upgraded in 2006, also have dramatically reduced taste and odor complaints from the plant’s population base of 415,000.

Bode brings up a spreadsheet on his computer showing that before the filters were installed, taste and odor complaints could run as high as 250 per year — almost one customer phone call per business day. Now, the

“After we installed the oxygenation system at Vadnais Lake, our raw water DO and redox potential both increased, improving coagulation

and flocculation at the plant. The floc particles settle better.”JIM BODE

Alexis Rossow, lab technician, tests water at the Beebe Road PumpingStation.

The 440-foot-tall 1928 Highland Water Tower, made of brick, Kasota stone, and Bedford stone, is still used today.

Tom Blanchard, maintenance worker, works on pipes for the plant’s Vantage hydronic boiler (Fulton).

complaints number about one per month. “Our raw water tends to have a musty, beet taste to it,” Bode says. “It’s not a health risk, but the reduction in taste makes this a less stressful atmosphere to work in. Aesthetics are a big deal here.”

The filters still contain the original GAC media: “We haven’t had to replace any carbon yet. The bacteria are very diverse and still very active. As long as they’re happy, we’re happy.”

Finally, the product water is disinfected with chlorine, delivered as liquid by railcar and gasified via evaporation at the plant. It is ammoniated to form chloramines, which maintain the chlorine residual throughout St. Paul’s lengthy distribution system. “Chloramines are much more stable

TOWARD THE OPTIMUM The St. Paul Regional Water Service’s McCarrons Water Treatment

Plant is one of only 13 facilities in the United States to receive Director’s Award status from the Partnership for Safe Water for 15 consecutive years. It means the plant has continuously met the requirements for commitment to process optimization, collection of baseline and annual data to document performance, and publication of a self-assessment report on progress toward process excellence.

The Partnership’s centerpiece is a self assessment procedure by which plant teams systematically analyze, identify and correct factors that could limit treatment system performance. The utility must honestly and openly examine its treatment plant to locate areas for improve-ment. The water system then sets an action plan and begins work on those improvements.

The results of the self-assessment are reported to the Partnership, and a team of utility peers evaluates the report to determine whether the water plant is making enough progress toward treatment optimization to warrant a Director’s Award.

Says Jim Bode, water-quality supervisor for SPRWS, “The goal is stable operation — no big swings in turbidity, chlorine or pH. The Partnership never lets you sit on your hands. You’re always stretching, reaching for new goals.”

Adds Che Fei Chen, water-quality specialist, “The Partnership gives you a realistic view of all your treatment processes. It provides you with tools to help you do your best.”

Bode points to another benefit of the Partnership: “The training has promoted coordination between the operations staff and maintenance staff, who have different levels of knowledge and expertise. Now they have the same vision and goals.”

The utility’s operations staff numbers 40. Steve Schneider is general manager. Besides Bode and Chen, key team members include Rich Hibbard, civil engineer; Jim Graupmann, production division manager; Chuck Kavaloski and Phil Zollinger, water production supervisor II; and Keith Anderson and Chad Wrightson, water production supervisor I.


and persist throughout our system, preventing regrowth,” Bode says.

The chlorinators and ammoni-ators are from Severn Trent Services and Evoqua Water Technologies. The chemical feed pumps are Pulsafeeder.

For finished water storage, St. Paul maintains 111.5 million gal-lons of capacity in 14 elevated stor-age tanks and seven ground-level or underground reservoirs.

Always improving

Excellent turbidity performance and effective taste and odor con-trol are just two examples of con-tinuous process improvement at St. Paul. Just about all aspects of the treatment plant and distribu-tion system are constantly ana-lyzed for better performance. The plant’s automation system is a good example.

“We installed a SCADA system in 1998,” says Bode. “We’re con-stantly trying to upgrade the alarms, operator interface and architecture. Two years ago, we brought in Larry Larsen as a staff SCADA administra-tor, and we are making a full network switch from a Data Highway Plus network to Ethernet. That will improve our data processing speed, partic-ularly in our chemical feed pumps and low- and high-service pumps, as well as our pressure readings in the distribution system and effluent monitoring for water-quality control.”

In the past, SCADA services were contracted out, but Bode prefers someone on staff working on improvements eight hours a day: “We have better control. It’s a very positive development.” The utility is also moving toward faster cellular connec-tions for remote pump stations, tanks and towers: “We have been operating on privately licensed radio.”

Another initiative is source water improvement. In 2011, aiming to combat eutrophication, the agency installed an oxygenation system (Mobley Engineer-ing) containing 3,000 linear feet of porous-hose oxygen diffusers in Lake Vadnais. It has worked, and a similar system is being installed in three of the deepest sections of Pleasant Lake. The diffusers can deliver 100 per-cent oxygen, keeping the water and sediment zones of the lakes in an oxi-dized state and tying up phosphorus in the bottom sediment.

“Our raw water has low turbidity with moderate natural organic material concentration,” says Bode. “After we installed the oxygenation system at Vadnais Lake, our raw water DO and redox potential both increased, improving coagulation and flocculation at the plant. The floc particles settle better.”

Better distribution

St. Paul is taking steps toward more efficient and effective operations in a number of other areas, including the distribution system, a 1,200-mile network of mostly older 6-inch cast-iron pipes.

Rich Hibbard, civil engineer, says the utility is also taking part in the Partnership’s Water Distribution System Optimization Program at the Phase 1 stage. At present, the emphasis is on main breaks, pressure levels and chlorine residual.

Hibbard says the team has done “a pretty good job” over the last 30

years documenting main breaks, which have run as high as 149 per year and occur mostly during the city’s frigid winters. The data goes back to 1980. The utility is now using the data to make correlations among a number of factors to estimate the likelihood that a given line will break.

Through a statistical model, SPRWS aims to predict potential breaks based on the size and age of pipe, the location in specific pressure zones, the operating pressure, soils and land use. “The idea is to predict the probability that a main will break, and that will help us make huge strides in our capital improvement plan,” Hibbard says.

Meanwhile, St. Paul is focusing a similar microscope on pressure issues. The distribution system contains 16 pressure zones, relatively iso-lated from each other. At present, pressure readings are taken at booster stations, but the Partnership standards include continuous monitoring of pressure zones. “We plan eventually to monitor pressures at the lowest and highest points in each of the zones,” says Hibbard. “We’re setting up a pilot project to do that, using Telog HPR 32 pressure recorders that can read pressure up to 20 times per second and can pick up daily fluctua-tions. If that runs smoothly, we’ll probably expand the program.”

Hibbard plans to use public park facilities to test the program, tapping into their plumbing systems and recording data via wireless signals: “It’s possible that pressure issues have been causing some of our main breaks.”

Looking ahead

Despite the progress and the honors, SPRWS looks ahead to new chal-lenges and requirements. Bode mentions continued efforts to eliminate nitrification in the distribution system and to remove phosphorus from the source water supply, along with continued improvements in turbidity reduction, controls strategy, disinfection, solids thickening and dewater-ing, and filter backwash water profiling. The utility also keeps an eye on

The crew at the Production Division of the St. Paul Regional water treatment plant.

“The goal is stable operation — no big swings in turbidity, chlorine or pH. The Partnership never lets you sit on your

hands. You’re always stretching, reaching for new goals.”JIM BODE

potential regulations, especially those limiting lead and copper. “Changes in those rules could be a challenge for us,” Bode says.

In late 2013, SPRWS issued a request for proposals for an asset man-agement master plan for the plant and distribution system. “We expect a report back in May detailing what things need to be fixed first,” Bode says. “We want to look at the condition of the plant and whether we would have room for ozone for disinfection if needed. Our clarifiers are old and don’t have flowmeters on them. Our softening and settling processes are outdated, and they limit our capacity.”

Bode, Hibbard and staff expect the next round of improvements to help drive SPRWS toward President’s or Excellence Award recognition associated with Phase 4 in the Partnership for Safe Water program. “It will be tough, but we’d like to get there,” says Bode. The beat goes on. wso

FEATURED PRODUCTS FROM:

Calgon Carbon Corporation800/422-7266www.calgoncarbon.com

Evoqua Water Technologies866/926-8420www.evoqua.com

Fulton315/298-5121www.fulton.com

Mobley Engineering865/494-0600www.mobleyengineering.com

Pulsafeeder, Inc., A Unit of IDEX Corp.585/292-8000www.pulsafeeder.com

Severn Trent Services866/646-9201www.severntrentservices.com

Telog Instruments, Inc.585/742-3000www.telog.com

Jim Bode, water quality supervisor


and persist throughout our system, preventing regrowth,” Bode says.

The chlorinators and ammoni-ators are from Severn Trent Services and Evoqua Water Technologies. The chemical feed pumps are Pulsafeeder.

For finished water storage, St. Paul maintains 111.5 million gal-lons of capacity in 14 elevated stor-age tanks and seven ground-level or underground reservoirs.

Always improving

Excellent turbidity performance and effective taste and odor con-trol are just two examples of con-tinuous process improvement at St. Paul. Just about all aspects of the treatment plant and distribu-tion system are constantly ana-lyzed for better performance. The plant’s automation system is a good example.

“We installed a SCADA system in 1998,” says Bode. “We’re con-stantly trying to upgrade the alarms, operator interface and architecture. Two years ago, we brought in Larry Larsen as a staff SCADA administra-tor, and we are making a full network switch from a Data Highway Plus network to Ethernet. That will improve our data processing speed, partic-ularly in our chemical feed pumps and low- and high-service pumps, as well as our pressure readings in the distribution system and effluent monitoring for water-quality control.”

In the past, SCADA services were contracted out, but Bode prefers someone on staff working on improvements eight hours a day: “We have better control. It’s a very positive development.” The utility is also moving toward faster cellular connec-tions for remote pump stations, tanks and towers: “We have been operating on privately licensed radio.”

Another initiative is source water improvement. In 2011, aiming to combat eutrophication, the agency installed an oxygenation system (Mobley Engineer-ing) containing 3,000 linear feet of porous-hose oxygen diffusers in Lake Vadnais. It has worked, and a similar system is being installed in three of the deepest sections of Pleasant Lake. The diffusers can deliver 100 per-cent oxygen, keeping the water and sediment zones of the lakes in an oxi-dized state and tying up phosphorus in the bottom sediment.

“Our raw water has low turbidity with moderate natural organic material concentration,” says Bode. “After we installed the oxygenation system at Vadnais Lake, our raw water DO and redox potential both increased, improving coagulation and flocculation at the plant. The floc particles settle better.”

Better distribution

St. Paul is taking steps toward more efficient and effective operations in a number of other areas, including the distribution system, a 1,200-mile network of mostly older 6-inch cast-iron pipes.

Rich Hibbard, civil engineer, says the utility is also taking part in the Partnership’s Water Distribution System Optimization Program at the Phase 1 stage. At present, the emphasis is on main breaks, pressure levels and chlorine residual.

Hibbard says the team has done “a pretty good job” over the last 30

years documenting main breaks, which have run as high as 149 per year and occur mostly during the city’s frigid winters. The data goes back to 1980. The utility is now using the data to make correlations among a number of factors to estimate the likelihood that a given line will break.

Through a statistical model, SPRWS aims to predict potential breaks based on the size and age of pipe, the location in specific pressure zones, the operating pressure, soils and land use. “The idea is to predict the probability that a main will break, and that will help us make huge strides in our capital improvement plan,” Hibbard says.

Meanwhile, St. Paul is focusing a similar microscope on pressure issues. The distribution system contains 16 pressure zones, relatively iso-lated from each other. At present, pressure readings are taken at booster stations, but the Partnership standards include continuous monitoring of pressure zones. “We plan eventually to monitor pressures at the lowest and highest points in each of the zones,” says Hibbard. “We’re setting up a pilot project to do that, using Telog HPR 32 pressure recorders that can read pressure up to 20 times per second and can pick up daily fluctua-tions. If that runs smoothly, we’ll probably expand the program.”

Hibbard plans to use public park facilities to test the program, tapping into their plumbing systems and recording data via wireless signals: “It’s possible that pressure issues have been causing some of our main breaks.”

Looking ahead

Despite the progress and the honors, SPRWS looks ahead to new chal-lenges and requirements. Bode mentions continued efforts to eliminate nitrification in the distribution system and to remove phosphorus from the source water supply, along with continued improvements in turbidity reduction, controls strategy, disinfection, solids thickening and dewater-ing, and filter backwash water profiling. The utility also keeps an eye on

The crew at the Production Division of the St. Paul Regional water treatment plant.

“The goal is stable operation — no big swings in turbidity, chlorine or pH. The Partnership never lets you sit on your

hands. You’re always stretching, reaching for new goals.”JIM BODE

potential regulations, especially those limiting lead and copper. “Changes in those rules could be a challenge for us,” Bode says.

In late 2013, SPRWS issued a request for proposals for an asset man-agement master plan for the plant and distribution system. “We expect a report back in May detailing what things need to be fixed first,” Bode says. “We want to look at the condition of the plant and whether we would have room for ozone for disinfection if needed. Our clarifiers are old and don’t have flowmeters on them. Our softening and settling processes are outdated, and they limit our capacity.”

Bode, Hibbard and staff expect the next round of improvements to help drive SPRWS toward President’s or Excellence Award recognition associated with Phase 4 in the Partnership for Safe Water program. “It will be tough, but we’d like to get there,” says Bode. The beat goes on. wso


Calgon Carbon Corporation800/422-7266www.calgoncarbon.com

Evoqua Water Technologies866/926-8420www.evoqua.com

Fulton315/298-5121www.fulton.com

Mobley Engineering865/494-0600www.mobleyengineering.com

Pulsafeeder, Inc., A Unit of IDEX Corp.585/292-8000www.pulsafeeder.com

Severn Trent Services866/646-9201www.severntrentservices.com

Telog Instruments, Inc.585/742-3000www.telog.com

Jim Bode, water quality supervisor


T he Water Utilities Department in Denton, Texas, is proud of educating its community about water conservation,

water protection and nonpoint source pollution.

The staff regularly provides school, college, community and professional groups with tours of the drinking water and wastewa-ter treatment plants. But Denton’s educational mission goes farther, to include a robust internship pro-gram that gives learning opportu-nities to as many as five college students each year.

University contactsThe Denton Public Works staff

works closely with the University of North Texas, Texas Woman’s University and North Central Texas College, according to David Hunter, manager of watershed

protection and industrial pre-treatment for Denton’s Environ-mental Services and Sustainability Department.

“We are part of the curriculum for all three of these institutions and regularly reach out to them about internship opportunities,” says Hunter. Whether the intern-ships are paid or voluntary, stu-dents learn about the operation of the water plants by supporting the staff members: 15 in the two water plants, 21 in the wastewater plant, eight in the lab and eight in indus-trial pretreatment.

Interns first learn how to han-dle simple operational tasks and may be trained to operate moni-toring equipment, perform labora-tory and field analyses, and use various computer models that explain surface water phenomena. Those who show strong interest

and aptitude gradually gain more responsibility.

Learning through challenges

Denton’s Lake Lewisville Water Treatment Plant and the newer Ray

Roberts Water Production Plant produce a combined 50 mgd for Denton’s 120,000 residents. Interns experience how the drinking water and wastewater treatment staffs work together on the department’s challenges. Lake Lewisville, one

of two water sources, lies 10 miles downstream from where wastewa-ter effluent is discharged.

“Our current watershed intern visits area schools to speak about these challenges and the impor-tance of our wastewater treatment program, while also completing research on toxicology of specific substances in the wastewater sys-tem,” says Hunter. “Another intern is doing some amazing things in our pretreatment program.

“We believe that water resource management — including drink-ing water, wastewater and storm-water — provides cool opportunities for interns to apply what they’ve learned in school to our day-to-day operations. They also get hands-on experience using some very sophisticated tools, several of which are the same as those used by NASA.”

The majority of Denton’s interns are about to graduate or are pursu-ing graduate degrees. The utility tries to provide high-potential interns with a small stipend. Those selected for internships may be in programs that require them

to complete research projects that are adaptable to water or wastewater operations. On occasion, interns may be assigned research projects that benefit the utility, such as studies on the fate and transport of emerging contaminants.

WINNINGTHEM OVER

Learning by DoingInterns at the water and wastewater utility in Denton, Texas, gain valuable skills while helping staff members perform essential tasks

BY LINDA J. EDMONDSON

Intern Benjamin Cruz deploys monitoring equipment at the plant raw water intake in Lewisville Lake. Interns are trained to program, deploy and retrieve monitoring devices and analyze and interpret the data at monitoring stations around the city. This intern went on to become a public health officer in the U.S. Air Force.

“We believe that water resource management — including drinking water, wastewater and

stormwater — provides cool opportunities for our interns to apply what they’ve learned in school to our day-to-day operations.”DAVID HUNTER

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Championing careers

While encouraging careers in water or wastewater, Denton staff members try to ensure that tour groups and interns understand how public water utilities connect, and that water careers involve many disciplines such as finance, eco-nomics, computer science, engi-neering, purchasing, genetic testing and even forensic science. They proudly point to one former intern who went on to a career as a Navy entomologist and environmental health officer.

“I end every tour with a dis-cussion of all the careers available in water utilities,” says Kathy Gault, SCADA-regulatory coordi-nator in the Water Production Department. “Although it’s still a male-dominated area, the number of women in the field is definitely increasing. I started my career in wastewater almost 25 years ago and moved to drinking water 17 years ago.” Three of the city’s cur-

rent interns are women.Hunter says the utility eventu-

ally wants to bring in even more interns, including one or two from high schools. The effects of recent droughts across the state, and an increase in zebra mussels in inland waters, have created more reasons to have interns. Hunter envisions them helping the staff address needs such as financial and risk projections for water usage and conservation scenarios.

“I’m a true cheerleader for water-related careers,” says Hunter. “No matter where you go in the world or what level of economic success you obtain, you will always need to flush a toilet or get clean drinking water. Which means, from a job standpoint, there will always be rewarding careers in drinking water and wastewater treatment.” wso

WSO welcomes stories about your public information and education efforts for future “Winning them Over” articles. Send your suggestions to [email protected] or call 715/277-4094.

Intern Mendie Schmidt (foreground) works with Denton staff member JoEtta Dailey as they sample benthic macro-invertebrates in a stream. Data interns gather has been used in several state and federally funded research projects and in joint projects with universities, engineering firms and federal agencies. Upon college graduation, this intern was hired by the Denton Water Utilities department.


In today’s economic climate, generating new revenue is a challenge for almost any municipality. Upgrades, repairs and new infrastructure are continuous needs, and they require funds. Yet rate and tax increases — unappealing in the best of times — are even more difficult in a slow

economy.Facing this dilemma, the City of Lowell, Mass., found a solution in a

creative approach at its drinking water utility. The Lowell Regional Water Utility (LRWU) serves 135,000 residents and businesses in Lowell, Dracut, Tyngsboro and Chelmsford, purifying more than 4.6 billion gal-lons of water per year.

The city and utility used innovative financing to install a solar photo-voltaic (PV) array on the roof and grounds of the water treatment facility. The project created a new revenue source through the sale of Solar Renew-able Energy Credits (SRECs) and saves energy costs by reducing power purchases from the electric utility. The $2.2 million project was com-pleted on budget and went online on May 28, 2013.

Low-interest financing

The City of Lowell retained the Woodard & Curran engineering firm to provide planning, engineering design and permitting, as well as public bidding, construction oversight and funding assistance for installing the 610 kW PV array. The firm had identified the opportunity and evaluated the feasibility of using a PV system to reduce costs and bring in revenue.

ABC Soils, a Massachusetts-based Women Business Enterprise, joined the team for on-site construction observation. Acting in concert, the city and Woodard & Curran obtained a $2.2 million low-interest State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan for the project. Lowell’s status as an Environmental Justice Community, and the fact the project involved renewable energy, qualified the city to have 19 percent of the loan principal, about $400,000, forgiven.

Last year, 89 clean-water and drinking water projects in 67 communities, regional water supply and wastewater treatment districts were awarded more than $512 million in low-interest SRF loans to fund projects to improve water quality, upgrade or replace aging sewer infrastructure,

and cut treatment facility energy consumption.

The 2 percent interest SRF loans, administered by the Massa-chusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust, will fund 54 clean-water proj-ects totaling more than $391 million and 35 drinking water initiatives totaling nearly $121 million.

Thirty-two of the projects, worth some $337 million, are for renewable energy or green infra-structure projects, or green com-ponents of projects. Those projects involve energy-efficiency upgrades to treatment plants and the on-site installation of renewable energy technologies, such as solar cells and hydroelectric power.

“The projects supported by SRF funding help communities across the state improve water quality in our rivers, lakes and estuaries, and also protect the public health,” says Rick Sullivan, state energy and environ-mental affairs secretary. “The renewable and energy efficiency measures included in the projects will also help to cut air emissions from treatment plants and stabilize municipal energy costs.”

Innovative application

The solar array in Lowell applied an existing and rapidly improving technology to increase revenue and drive down costs. It incorporates the latest solar technology, including online monitoring that allows Lowell personnel to track energy production in real time.

Unlike many municipal solar projects that are owned and operated by third parties, the City of Lowell owns its array and can take full advan-tage of the state’s SREC Program. SRECs represent the renewable attributes of solar generation, bundled in minimum denominations of 1 MWh. The Massachusetts Solar Carve-Out provides a means for SRECs to be cre-ated and verified. It also allows electric suppliers to buy the certificates to meet their solar renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requirements.

In the early planning stages of the project, a feasibility study included a financial analysis of the various options, helping the city determine the best alternative. A Project Evaluation Form eventually helped Lowell obtain the SRF loan through a competitive application process.

Although cities and towns procure many solar projects through power purchase agreements (PPAs) with large solar development firms, Lowell

BRIGHTIDEAS

Tricks of the TradeA Massachusetts water utility applies innovative financing to complete a cost-saving solar energy project with no increase in rates

BY DANIEL J. LAHIFF AND ROBERT S. LITTLE, P.E.

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The solar panels incorporate the latest technology, including online monitoring of energy production.

The project included trenching for the electrical cable.

The solar array In Lowell applied an existing and rapidly improving technology to increase

revenue and drive down costs. It incorporates the latest solar technology, including online monitoring that allows Lowell personnel to track energy production in real time.

procured its project under Massachusetts General Law (MGL) Chapter 149, typically used for building construction contracts. This procurement method allowed the city to take advantage of the low-interest SRF program.

All power generated by the solar array will be used on site, reducing the utility’s electric bills.

Counting benefits

With construction complete, the city and the LRWU own and operate the solar array and directly see the financial rewards: an estimated $150,000 per year in electricity savings and SREC revenue. Furthermore, the added revenue allowed the PV project to be built and other capital upgrades made without increasing rates.

The PV array is expected to produce more than 400 MWh of sustain-able electricity per year, about 12 percent of the power needed to operate one of the utility’s high-lift pumps. This saves more than $50,000 per year and eliminates related emissions from fossil-fuel generation.

The project also has significant benefits in public perception. The portion of the array in front of the treatment facility is highly visible from busy Massachusetts Route 110 and serves as a showpiece that clearly dem-onstrates commitment to green energy.

After funding was awarded, there was limited time to complete the design; meet the approval, bidding and award deadlines; and receive SRF funding and principal forgiveness. Teamwork enabled design and bid-ding to be completed and the construction contract awarded within the aggressive timeframe. Through favorable bid pricing and a beneficial construction climate, the city was able to expand the system’s power pro-duction capacity to generate more revenue and further offset energy con-sumption without exceeding the original project budget.

With the revenue from SRECs and electricity savings, the city bene-fits financially from an existing space that had been underutilized. The new revenue will allow citywide improvements that will bring benefits to residents and business owners without increasing their rates.

ABOUT THE AUTHORSDaniel J. Lahiff is executive

director of the Lowell (Mass.) Regional Water Utility. Robert S. Little, P.E., is a vice president with Woodard & Curran in Andover, Mass. He can be reached at [email protected]. wso

The $2.2 million solar installation was completed on budget and went online in May 2013.

WSO welcomes stories about your plant and system innovations for future “Bright Ideas” articles. Send your suggestions to [email protected] or call 715/277-4094.


COMMITMENT BY COLLABORATIONOperators at a Pennsylvania facility rely on teamwork and dedication to achieve excellence and a Partnership for Safe Water Directors Award

STORY: TRUDE WITHAMPHOTOGRAPHY: K. SCOTT KREIDER

QUALITYLEADERS

PLANT

Tucked away in the woods of East Vincent Township along Pennsyl-vania’s Schuykill River, the Shady Lane Water Treatment Plant has seen its share of challenges: lack of automation, high turbidity from rain events, algae blooms and the demands of meeting Part-nership for Safe Water goals.

The operations staff has tackled them all and achieved success through dedication and teamwork. The plant received the Partnership Directors Award in December 2012 after implementing measures to improve operations. Operator suggestions included adding an alum dos-ing chart to improve chemical use efficiency and installing a measuring device on sedimentation baffle walls to measure sludge levels.

“When treatment challenges occur, the operators meet during the shift change to discuss issues and help each other through them,” says Robert Tagert, production supervisor. “They have a lot of years of collec-tive experience. They conduct jar tests to make sure they’re optimizing chemical feeds, and they consult log books to see what they did in the past to solve the problem.”

Shady Lane Water Treatment Plant, East Vincent Township, Pa.FOUNDED: | 1917POPULATION SERVED: | 15,000SERVICE AREA: | Montgomery and Chester countiesSOURCE WATER: | Schuykill RiverTREATMENT PROCESS: | ConventionalDISTRIBUTION: | 270 miles of water mainsSYSTEM STORAGE: | 8.4 million gallonsKEY CHALLENGE: | Meeting future growth and regulatory demands, achieving Phase IV of the Partnership programWEBSITE: | www.amwater.com/paaw

“We have spikes in the river water quality from rain events. The quality can change from very clean water

to very high turbidity in a short time.”ROBERT TAGERT

The Shady Lane facility is designed to deliver 3.7 mgd. It received asignificant upgrade in 1998.


The team works well together. “If an operator is busy with a problem, another team member will chip in to help,” says Tagert.

Rebuilt filters

Built in 1917, the 3.7 mgd conventional filtration plant serves about 15,000 customers in Montgomery and Chester counties. Pennsylvania American Water took over operations in 2001. The plant completed a two-phase upgrade in 1998, adding a new intake and piping. All four filters were rebuilt with new media and underdrains, improving turbidity levels and increasing filter efficiency. The plant switched from lime to sodium hydroxide feed for pH adjustment and replaced dry alum with bulk liq-uid alum to cut turbidity.

Despite the upgrade, challenges remain. “The filters are small, as is the 60,000-gallon clearwell,” says Tagert. “The plant’s footprint hasn’t changed, so adding new equipment can be a challenge.” Still, the facility performs well for an old plant: “The staff does great work, and it takes very little management for them to do a good job.”

Water from the Schuykill River flows into a deep well. Raw water is pumped from there (Peerless Splitcase pumps) into the plant, where alum, potassium permanganate and chlorine are injected via chemical feed pumps (Milton Roy). The water passes through a static mixer before entering six mixing basins. After polymer addition, the water enters the primary set-tling tank, where a vacuum system removes settled floc. Next, the water enters four secondary settling basins, the four filters, and finally the clearwell, where it is injected with chlorine, 25 percent sodium hydroxide

and zinc orthophosphate. The finished water pumps

(Peerless Splitcase), filters and other equipment are automated. “This involved a lot of wiring and programming,” says Tagert. “We installed several water-quality analyzers and improved our chemical feed systems for better monitoring and control.” Other improvements include better filter backwash controls and automation of the raw water system (vacuum priming system, flow pacing on chemical feed system and more monitoring devices).

Experienced team

A staff of eight keeps the plant humming 12 to 24 hours a day depend-ing on water demand. During the hot, dry summer, demand nearly dou-bles. Tagert, a Class A, E wastewater operator, has been with the plant for five years. Other team members are:

• Jeff Chamberlain, production superintendent, Class A, E water operator’s license, 41 years with the plant.

• Sandra Weiss, water-quality supervisor, Class A water operator, 24 years.• Plant operators Bruce Call (Class A, E, 25 years), Keith Crump

(Class A, E, 15 years), Barry Holzhauser (one year).• Ed Harrington (Class A, 24 years), and Richard Dunlap (Class A,

20 years), maintenance relief operators.During a typical day, operators start up the plant, open valves, turn

“ When treatment challenges occur, the

operators meet during the shift change to discuss issues and help each other through them.” ROBERT TAGERT

Plant operator Keith Crump primes the raw water pumps to start up the treatment plant for the day.

Maintenance relief operator Richard Dunlap runs a manganese test on a water sample in the lab at the Shady Lane plant.

on the pumps, take lab samples, manually backwash the filters and inspect the chemical feeders. The on-site lab performs wet chemistry tests for tur-bidity, alkalinity, pH, hardness, iron, manganese, color, zinc, orthophos-phate and chlorine residual. Compliance samples are sent to a company lab in Illinois and bacteria samples to a company lab in Exeter, Pa.

Operators perform light maintenance, such as maintaining water-quality analyzers, changing chemical feed tubing and greasing and rebuilding pumps. The local American Water maintenance division staff assists when needed. “These staff members are located throughout Pennsylvania, but our primary maintenance services team member, Bill Fox, is based in Yardley, Pa., and covers the southeast part of the state,” says Tagert.

Some projects have been contracted out, such as installing a vacuum priming system, a flow orifice on the backwash line to control backwash flow to the filters, and new exterior LED security lighting. The plant con-ducts in-house safety training, and operators attend outside classes to meet or exceed the required continuing education units. The company also brings in training consultants through the state and national AWWA.

“We don’t conduct plant tours because of the plant’s age,” says Tagert. “It’s just not designed to have children touring the facility, but we’ve had some local officials take tours. We attend community days, where we set up a table and field questions. We also conduct presentations for local businesses and women’s groups.

Operation challenges

The plant’s greatest challenge is turbidity. “We have spikes in the river water quality from rain events,” says Tagert. “The quality can change from very clean water to very high turbidity in a short time.”

Ten inches of rain fell in June 2013, including three inches in one day. “This created a spike above 600 NTU,” says Tagert. “These spikes last a short time, then settle down around 200 and gradually drop from there. Our normal finished water turbidity is 0.03 to 0.04 NTU, which is well below the Partnership goal.”

Despite high rains, flooding has not been a problem. “The plant sits up pretty high from the river, and I imagine it is just over the floodplain,” Tagert says. “I’m told that during Hurricane Agnes in 1972 the water came close to flooding the plant, but never reached it. Our intake and deep well, which are located right at the river, do flood out from time to time, but this has not created any issues for us.”

An air burst system helps remove debris from the intake screens, a big help during high turbidity and in fall when the leaves start dropping. During dry conditions, the river drops and the raw water pH increases. Operators adjust the alum feed and reduce the sodium hydroxide feed to lower the pH. When algae blooms occur, operators adjust the treatment chemistry; the blooms have not caused any taste or odor issues.

On the grow

A future challenge will be dealing with growth as people move from neighboring Philadelphia. Says Tagert, “Growth in 2012 was a little over two percent, but the economy is picking up, and there are more housing developments going in and commercial construction.” Permitted for 3.7 mgd, the plant averages 2.8 to 3.0 mgd. During peak demand in the sum-mer, the flow rises to 3.5 mgd.

A GOOD JOURNEYThe Shady Lane Water Treatment

Plant earned the Partnership for Safe

Water Directors Award in December

2012 for completing Phase III of the

program. American Water manage-

ment recognized the team for its

commitment to high-quality water.

“We had a celebration at the

plant and invited local and state

officials,” recalls Robert Tagert, plant

production supervisor. “Some

people from our corporate office

also attended.”

The plant is one of 32 Pennsylva-

nia American Water facilities that

have received the Directors award.

“A little over a year ago, our

water-quality supervisor, Sandra Weiss, set us on the path to achieving

Phase III by gathering a few years’ worth of data and preparing the

application,” says Tagert. “She asked the operations team for sugges-

tions on how the plant could be improved.

“The program made us look more in depth at our operations. We

went through each step with everyone sitting down and talking about it.

Some improvements were done right away, while others required

budgeting for and purchasing equipment.

“Sandy referred to it as a journey. It was a good journey that we all

took together. The end result was definitely worth what we put into it, as

it helped make everyone better operators and showed how much we

care about the water we are providing to our customers. The improve-

ments we are making will lead to more efficient operation and will

ultimately cut costs.”

Dunlap measures river levels at the water plant’s intake.

Robert Tagert, production supervisor, displays his Directors Award.


“We currently rely on the plant, four wells and interconnects with two neighboring water systems [Pennsylvania American Water Norristown and Phoenixville Borough Water] to supply our additional water needs,” Tagert says.

Another challenge will be completing Phase IV of the Partnership pro-

gram. In the meantime, team members will keep doing what they do best: providing exceptional quality water to the community. “They have a lot of pride in what they do and in having such high-quality water going out,” says Tagert. “It’s a great team that communicates well, and I’m proud of them.” wso

“They have a lot of pride in what they

do and in having such high-quality water going out. It’s a great team that communicates well, and I’m proud of them.” ROBERT TAGERT


Milton Roy, LLC800/693-4295www.miltonroy.com

Peerless Pump Company800/879-0182www.peerlesspump.com

The staff at the Shady Lane Water Treatment Plant includes, from left, Keith Crump, plant operator; Robert Tagert, production supervisor; Bruce Call, plant operator; Richard Dunlap, maintenance relief operator; Barry Holzhauser, plant operator; and Ed Harrington, maintenance relief operator.

I. Kruger wins contract for ACTIFLO system in water plant expansion

I. Kruger, a Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies company, won a con-tract with the City of Lake Oswego, Ore., managing partner for the Lake Oswego-Tigard Water Supply Partnership, as part of a $250 million pro-gram to upgrade, upsize and modernize the water supply system serving the two communities. The 38 mgd water treatment plant expansion will include two 20 mgd ACTIFLO high-rate ballasted clarification systems. The installation includes the first full-scale sludge waste volume reduc-tion system (high-concentration sludge system) in the United States. The ACTIFLO process is to be in operation in October.

Miox chemical generators deployed to Philippines for disaster relief

Miox Corporation partnered with Operation Blessing International for disaster relief in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. Six Miox BPS portable sodium hypochlorite generators and one SANILEC 6 sodium hypochlorite generator were deployed. The seven drinking water treat-ment units have a combined capacity of 500,000 gpd.

Engineered Treatment Systems to supply UV system for MolineThe City of Moline chose Engineered Treatment Systems to install a

UV disinfection system with eight ETS SX-635-16 drinking water reac-tors, each installed after an existing filter in the drinking water treatment plant. The units are third party validated in accordance with the U.S. EPA Guidance manual.

Flowserve wins order for desalination plant equipment

Flowserve Corporation won a multimillion dollar order from M.N. Larnaca Desalination to provide a complete pump package and energy recovery devices at Larnaca, a 15.9 mgd seawater reverse osmosis desali-nation plant in the Republic of Cyprus. The project will use the compa-ny’s Calder Dual Work Exchange Energy Recovery units with Flowserve DMX pumps in the high-pressure feed service.

Xylem wins $2.7 million contract for New Jersey stormwater drainage system

Xylem won a $2.7 million contract to supply the equipment and technol-ogy for a stormwater drainage system to protect against future storm damage along Route 35 on the New Jersey coastline. The system is a key part of a $265 million reconstruction program that follows the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. The drainage system will consist of 47 Flygt Slimline pumps and 27 smaller Flygt submersible N-pumps in nine pump stations at intervals along a 12-mile stretch of road that was severely damaged by the storm. Flygt MultiSmart pump controllers will ensure effi-cient operation of the system. Each pump station will be able to move 25,000 to 35,000 gpm. The system is to be in operation before summer 2014.

Calgon Carbon wins 10-year reactivation service contract in Glendale, Ariz.

Calgon Carbon Corporation and the City of Glendale, Ariz., signed a 10- year contract for reactivation services for activated carbon used to treat the city’s drinking water. The contract is expected to involve about 1.25 million pounds of activated carbon per year. It was the third 10-year reactivation con-tract the company secured in Arizona since the beginning of 2012. (Phoenix and Scottsdale were the others.) To support these and other projects in the region, the company built a new reactivation facility in Gila Bend, Ariz. wso

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“We currently rely on the plant, four wells and interconnects with two neighboring water systems [Pennsylvania American Water Norristown and Phoenixville Borough Water] to supply our additional water needs,” Tagert says.

Another challenge will be completing Phase IV of the Partnership pro-

gram. In the meantime, team members will keep doing what they do best: providing exceptional quality water to the community. “They have a lot of pride in what they do and in having such high-quality water going out,” says Tagert. “It’s a great team that communicates well, and I’m proud of them.” wso

“They have a lot of pride in what they

do and in having such high-quality water going out. It’s a great team that communicates well, and I’m proud of them.” ROBERT TAGERT


Milton Roy, LLC800/693-4295www.miltonroy.com


The staff at the Shady Lane Water Treatment Plant includes, from left, Keith Crump, plant operator; Robert Tagert, production supervisor; Bruce Call, plant operator; Richard Dunlap, maintenance relief operator; Barry Holzhauser, plant operator; and Ed Harrington, maintenance relief operator.

I. Kruger wins contract for ACTIFLO system in water plant expansion

I. Kruger, a Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies company, won a con-tract with the City of Lake Oswego, Ore., managing partner for the Lake Oswego-Tigard Water Supply Partnership, as part of a $250 million pro-gram to upgrade, upsize and modernize the water supply system serving the two communities. The 38 mgd water treatment plant expansion will include two 20 mgd ACTIFLO high-rate ballasted clarification systems. The installation includes the first full-scale sludge waste volume reduc-tion system (high-concentration sludge system) in the United States. The ACTIFLO process is to be in operation in October.

Miox chemical generators deployed to Philippines for disaster relief

Miox Corporation partnered with Operation Blessing International for disaster relief in the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan. Six Miox BPS portable sodium hypochlorite generators and one SANILEC 6 sodium hypochlorite generator were deployed. The seven drinking water treat-ment units have a combined capacity of 500,000 gpd.

Engineered Treatment Systems to supply UV system for MolineThe City of Moline chose Engineered Treatment Systems to install a

UV disinfection system with eight ETS SX-635-16 drinking water reac-tors, each installed after an existing filter in the drinking water treatment plant. The units are third party validated in accordance with the U.S. EPA Guidance manual.

Flowserve wins order for desalination plant equipment

Flowserve Corporation won a multimillion dollar order from M.N. Larnaca Desalination to provide a complete pump package and energy recovery devices at Larnaca, a 15.9 mgd seawater reverse osmosis desali-nation plant in the Republic of Cyprus. The project will use the compa-ny’s Calder Dual Work Exchange Energy Recovery units with Flowserve DMX pumps in the high-pressure feed service.

Xylem wins $2.7 million contract for New Jersey stormwater drainage system

Xylem won a $2.7 million contract to supply the equipment and technol-ogy for a stormwater drainage system to protect against future storm damage along Route 35 on the New Jersey coastline. The system is a key part of a $265 million reconstruction program that follows the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012. The drainage system will consist of 47 Flygt Slimline pumps and 27 smaller Flygt submersible N-pumps in nine pump stations at intervals along a 12-mile stretch of road that was severely damaged by the storm. Flygt MultiSmart pump controllers will ensure effi-cient operation of the system. Each pump station will be able to move 25,000 to 35,000 gpm. The system is to be in operation before summer 2014.

Calgon Carbon wins 10-year reactivation service contract in Glendale, Ariz.

Calgon Carbon Corporation and the City of Glendale, Ariz., signed a 10- year contract for reactivation services for activated carbon used to treat the city’s drinking water. The contract is expected to involve about 1.25 million pounds of activated carbon per year. It was the third 10-year reactivation con-tract the company secured in Arizona since the beginning of 2012. (Phoenix and Scottsdale were the others.) To support these and other projects in the region, the company built a new reactivation facility in Gila Bend, Ariz. wso

Projects & Awards

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Monitoring UV light transmittance (UV-T) is important to con-trol of disinfection in drinking water systems. A new offering from Aquionics is designed to provide highly stable UV-T read-ings under all water conditions over an extended lifetime.

The company says its PearlSense T254 unit is the first UV-T monitor to incorporate a UV-C LED light-source in place of a conventional mer-cury lamp. Use of a single lamp and sensor in place of multiple lamps and sensors adds consistency to readings.

The unit can be installed directly into a pipe (as in most drinking water plants) or in open channels. It can also be used offline for purposes such as grab sample testing. Dan Shaver, business development manager with Aquionics, talked about the device in an interview with Water System Operator.

wso: Why is accurate UV-T measurement important in drinking

water disinfection?Shaver: Having the most accurate indication of changes in water qual-

ity helps a drinking water plant operate a UV disinfection system at the optimum performance, and at the most efficient UV dose. The ability to take accurate measurements enables them to make changes on more than a weekly or monthly basis. Accurate measurement translates to better results.

Getting the best performance out of a UV system and getting the best disinfection is a function of three variables. The UV transmittance of the water is one. The others are flow rate and lamp intensity. If you don’t mea-sure those three parameters together, you’re missing out on running your system at the most cost-effective rate.

wso: Historically, how have water systems measured UV-T?Shaver: There are two basic ways. A lot of plants, during the design

phase of their UV systems, have acquired a ballpark figure of their UV-T based on historical values. That means they would be running their sys-tem based on one value that is fixed for all time. A step up from that would be taking grab samples, having the UV-T measured in their on-site lab or in a commercial lab, and making modifications to their process

1. The PearlSense technology comes in a handheld unit for use inlaboratories or for field grab samples.

2. The PearlSense unit is most often used in inline configurations. Thesingle LED light source simplifies measurement and enhances accuracy.

A New Twist on UV-T MeasurementAquionics offers a UV-C LED light source with a single lamp and sensor in a compact package designed for versatility

BY TED J. RULSEH

1

TECHNOLOGYDEEP DIVE

2

“We’ve tried to offer a very simple, plug-and-play UV-T measurement instrument so plants that may

historically have thought they didn’t need to measure UV-T online will instead say, ‘Why don’t we?’ ”DAN SHAVER

based on the changes they see in those samples. That method is only as good as the frequency of sampling and measuring.

wso: How does your device differ from other inline instruments

for UV-T measurement?Shaver: There are various instruments on the market that measure

UV-T online and give real-time values for changes in water quality. They operate in various ways to deliver the most accurate UV-T readings. Most of these devices use mercury lamps or flash lamps as light sources. They’re generally programmed to look at a sample in the water about once a minute, with the light source on continuously.

We feel our instrument with a single UV LED light source simplifies the process. A big benefit of an LED is that you don’t have to run the light

source continuously to get accurate readings. When you turn the LED on, it’s instantly on at full power. So you only need to turn the LED on when you’re taking a measurement. If you want to take a UV-T measurement once per minute, you only have to turn that LED on for the instant when you take the reading. Lamp life is not a factor because you’re turning the LED on when you need it and then turning it off. You can power cycle it as many times as you want. It doesn’t affect the quality of the light, and there is no warmup time.

wso: What is the benefit of using just one lamp and one sensor in

the instrument?Shaver: We’re able to use a single lamp and a single sensor because

an LED is so small and has such a stable output. With only one sensor, we don’t have to compensate for variations in sensor tolerance. It gives an accurate measurement, and it also enables us to design a product that is very compact. It fits in the palm of your hand. There is no need for, say, a large box next to the UV reactor.

wso: How does this device function when configured for inline

UV-T measurement?Shaver: We provide adapters that allow an operator to tap the device

directly into a pipe at the inlet to the UV reactor. The footprint is so small that it’s easy to tap it into a standard connection and then run the com-munications back to the control panel.

A 4-20 mA analog signal comes out of the instrument. Users can take that signal, tie it into their control panel, and use that to make changes in UV output based on the fluctuations they see in the water quality. If they wish, they can set up an algorithm to allow the changes to be made auto-matically. If they don’t have large fluctuations in water quality, they might just check it every morning and know where their system needs to be running that day. Then if there were big spikes up or down in UV-T, the system could alert them by way of an alarm.

wso: Does this device require maintenance when mounted in

inline configurations?Shaver: It has the ability to clean itself automatically when it’s

mounted in a pipe. You don’t have to take it out of the pipe to clean it. It has a wiper system so that every time the LED turns on to take a sample, a cleaning function is also performed to keep the quartz windows clear of fouling and make sure the measurements remain accurate. Also, the use of an LED means that no annual lamp replacement is required.

wso: Is this instrument mainly for surface water systems where raw water quality is more variable?

Shaver: We think every utility should measure UV-T regardless of the water source. Yes, there will be more fluctuations in surface water than in groundwater, but if a plant runs disinfection equipment based on a historic UV-T number and they’re not able to track changes in real time or on a frequent basis, they could be missing out on energy savings by not running their system as efficiently as possible. We’ve tried to offer a very simple, plug-and-play UV-T measurement instrument so plants that may historically have thought they didn’t need to measure UV-T online will instead say, ‘Why don’t we?’ The technology is simple, the maintenance is extremely low, the footprint is small and it’s affordable. We’re trying to make it accessible to everybody.

wso: In what circumstances might a utility use

a hand-held version of this technology?Shaver: A consultant could use a hand-held unit

to go into the field and take individual samples, such as in the early stages of designing a UV system. Or they may need to take samples during the evaluation phase of a UV system installation. Some plants may

opt to have the technology on hand to take measurements on grab sam-ples and use the resulting values as a basis for running their system. wso

“We’re able to use a single lamp and a single sensor because an LED is so small and has such a stable output. ... It gives you

an accurate measurement and it also enables us to design a product that is very compact.”DAN SHAVER

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www.tpomag.comDedicated to Municipal Wastewater Professionals


A NEWDIRECTIONSTORY: TRUDE WITHAMPHOTOGRAPHY: TAYLOR GLASCOCK

When the City of North Chicago consolidated the water, street and engineering divisions into a single public works department in 2011, the goal was to cut costs, create effi-ciencies and increase communication.

The distribution crew merged with the street crew to form the street and utility division. That has been good for the staff at the North Chicago (Ill.) Water Treatment Plant. “Now the water plant team only has to focus on plant operations and not distribution,” says Josh Wheeler, city engineer and public works director. “Not only can they spend all their time producing quality water, but the allocation of resources is much more efficient.”

Since 2011, the 16.4 mgd conventional treatment plant has completed an impressive number of improvements, including energy efficient light-ing and variable-frequency drives (VFDs), that have saved $200,000 a year on electricity. In 2012 and 2013, the plant upgraded the SCADA sys-tem, cleaned the intake, switched from chlorine gas to liquid chlorine, refurbished the sludge tanks and replenished (topped off) the media in the facility’s 11 filters.

In spite of all these changes, the transition has been smooth. “There has been no negative impact,” says David Soto, water plant foreman. “It’s really wondrous how it all works. Before, we operated the plant as needed,

but in a 20th century rather than a 21st century manner. We were being reactive, and now we’re proactive.”

The finished water quality has improved too. “Our sedimentation tanks are completely clean, so by the time the water gets to the filters, it’s pretty good quality with low turbidity,” says Soto. Average finished water tur-bidity is 0.04 NTU, well below the 0.15 NTU limit.

Highly experiencedA team of 10 handles the North Chicago plant, which

serves about 20,000 people (4,100 metered customers). Treatment consists of chlorination at the intake on Lake Michigan, screening, chemical addition, rapid mixing, flocculation, coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, fluorida-tion and chlorine disinfection.

The team’s experience and training contribute to the plant’s success. “Almost all our employees started their careers here or arrived early in their careers, and when they came, they stayed,” says Wheeler, who has been with the city for two years. As city engineer, he is the sole employee in the engineering division and oversees the newly consolidated Public Works Department.

Consolidating distribution under the street and utility division lets the North Chicago water plant focus on producing a quality product and increasing efficiency

QUALITYLEADERS

PLANT

“It’s really wondrous how it all works. Before, we operated the plant as needed, but in a 20th century rather than a 21st century manner. We were being reactive, and now we’re proactive.”

DAVID SOTO

Soto started in the street department in 1979 and became an operator a year later. He was promoted to assistant superintendent and then distri-bution foreman; he moved to his current position in 2011. He holds a Class A license. Reporting to him are:

• Jerry Gray Sr., senior operator, Class A license, 25 years with the plant• Operators Emmanuel Henry, Class A, 23 years; Kenneth Edmonds,

Class C, 12 years; Dewayne Roberson, Class A, 12 years; Tim Cole-man, Class A, 14 years; and Clifford Young, Class A, 17 years

• Quintin Hampton Sr., head mechanic, 27 years• Fred Taylor, electrician, nine years• Michael Clayborne, maintenance II, nine yearsThe plant’s six operators work eight-hour shifts, Tuesday through Sat-

urday or Sunday through Thursday. They add chemicals, check rotating equipment, run hourly tests, backwash filters and maintain tank levels and pressures. They also perform minor repairs on valves, pumps and other equipment.

Operators can take continuing education classes from the AWWA and seminars from the Illinois Potable Water Supply Operators Association and the North Suburban Water Works Association. The plant offers on-the-job training when needed for certification or to learn new equipment. OSHA training is provided by Safety and Training Consulting.

Steady improvements Built in 1936, the North Chicago plant was upgraded in the 1950s,

1970s and 1990s. In 1991, the plant added a centrifuge (Centrisys Corp.) to dewater the alum sludge. “We have an auger [also Centrisys] that trans-fers the dried product to a 10-cubic-yard box, which a waste company

North Chicago (Ill.) Water Treatment PlantBUILT: | 1936POPULATION SERVED: | 20,000 (4,100 metered customers)SERVICE AREA: | City of North Chicago (6 square miles)SOURCE WATER: | Lake MichiganTREATMENT CAPACITY: | 16.4 mgdTREATMENT PROCESS: | Conventional, with centrifuge and surge tankDISTRIBUTION: | 70.68 miles of pipeSYSTEM STORAGE: | 4 million gallonsKEY CHALLENGE: | Implementing future upgradesANNUAL BUDGET: | $6.75 million (plant and distribution)WEBSITE: | www.northchicago.org

Quintin Hampton Sr., head mechanic, works on a raw water pump at the North Chicago Water Plant (U.S. MOTORS/Nidec Motor Corporation).

picks up and takes to the landfill,” says Soto. “By centrifuging rather than pumping to the wastewater treatment plant, we’ve been able to reduce our sludge handling cost from $300,000 to $30,000 a year.”

An unusual addition was a surge tank in 2006. The plant partnered with Abbott Laborato-ries (now AbbVie) in North Chi-cago to add a 30,000-gallon surge tank that would prevent water surges to AbbVie facilities and the entire distribution system.

The North Chicago plant sup-plies AbbVie with raw water directly from Lake Michigan. A sudden pressure change can affect AbbVie’s pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Explains Wheeler, “Sudden changes in pressure in distribu-tion cause sudden water main breaks. The surge tank reverses the flow of water, which causes the level in the tank to drop. The change in water flow reduces pres-sure based on the effects of fric-tion within the pipe. Since we installed the surge tank, concerns at AbbVie have been reduced, and breaks in the system now mostly occur due to age rather than pressure surges.”

In 2011-12, new traveling water screens (FMC Corp.), high-service pumps (Peerless Pumps and Goulds Pumps) with

VFDs, and screw pumps further improved plant operations. In 2013, the plant upgraded the buildings (new roof, repainting), replaced the flocculator motor and sedimentation pumps, cleaned the intake and refurbished the sludge tanks.

“Previously, we had 18 to 19 feet of sludge in the tanks,” says Wheeler. “Our disposal cost was $75,000 a year, and our labor cost, which included overtime, was $25,000. Our new proactive maintenance program cuts that by 75 percent.”

Easier operationThe upgrades have improved operators’ lives. “The new SCADA sys-

tem has made it easier to run the plant,” says Soto. “We used to have to walk around every hour and check the equipment, but now we have alarms that alert us to any problems.”

Cleaning of the intake solved a zebra mussel problem. Wheeler observes, “We had installed a chlorine line in our intake line, but the chlorine line stopped working about two years after it was installed, and hadn’t func-tioned for about 10 years. We cleaned the intake line only when absolutely necessary. When the line needed cleaning again in 2012, we had Lindahl Marine clean it and also remove the broken chlorine line.

“Our new policy is to inspect the intake line yearly and clean it if needed. That will improve water quality, extend pump life and reduce overall costs.”

The buildings look better, too. “We’ve improved the plant’s aes-thetics, and we have great pride in the way it looks,” says Wheeler. “The city plans to provide tours during Public Works Week in May each year and start an annual tour program with the local schools.”

A few challenges

With the upgrades came a few challenges. Soto states, “Before the SCADA system upgrade, the operators controlled everything manually,

so they had to get used to operating and monitoring the equipment through the SCADA.” Hands-on training helped them come up to speed on the system’s Wonderware software (Invensys).

“Our filters are now on auto/remote and controlled through the SCADA,

David Soto,water plant foreman

Josh Wheeler, city engineer and public works director, with a mural of the water treatment process.

The North Chicago treatment plant on Lake Michigan has seen substantial improvements since 2011, including a SCADA system upgrade.

but when they backwash, the operators still open the valves manually,” Soto says. “We’re responsible for a lot of water, so we need careful operator atten-tion to the filters.”

The addition of a 1 MW natural-gas-fueled emergency generator in the next few years will provide peace of mind. “We have two power lines coming into the plant now, so if we have a power failure on one line, the other can run the plant,” says Wheeler. “If we lose both lines, we would have a problem. Con Ed has us on their priority list, and we have a water tower that would keep us going for a day or two.”

Innovative group

The operations team has found ingenious ways to improve plant per-formance. “We were the first plant in the area to have a centrifuge,” says Wheeler. “We call it the dinosaur because it has a 26-inch bowl, unlike the new ones that have a 19-inch bowl. It was taking a long time to fill up, so Quintin Hampton came up with good ideas to improve operation, which is why we don’t have sludge problems now.”

Hampton moved the polymer feed line from the centrifuge intake and connected it to the head of the sludge pump. The pump now acts as a mixer so that the water begins to separate from the sludge before it enters the machine. That results in a drier product.

Hampton also provided cross-training to operators for sedimentation tank cleaning and centrifuge operation, improving operator versatility. “He continues to impart his knowledge of the plant to others to prepare the next generation for maintaining the plant as he nears retirement,” says Wheeler.

Meanwhile, electrician Taylor kept an old meter reading system oper-ating. “The system started breaking and the parts and batteries for it were no longer available,” says Wheeler. “So Fred called a few of the con-tractors he used to work for who were doing demolition work at some old factories, and they said he could help himself to any discarded SCADA system parts.” Taylor retrieved four functional Allen-Bradley input cards and three output cards, saving the plant about $10,000.

Taylor was also instrumental in rehabilitating the plant’s lighting sys-tem with money from a $20,000 grant, reducing the electric bill by 25 to 30 percent.

Wheeler observes, “Soto, Hampton and Taylor are the innovators. They are the ones who initiated projects like the chlorine gas to liquid change, the lighting efficiency switchover and the SCADA upgrade, as well as submitting ideas for future projects. They continually provide

The operators’ greatest strength at the North Chicago Water

Treatment Plant is self-reliance.

“When someone calls in sick, someone else will automatically

step up and fill in,” says David Soto, plant foreman. “They have a

sheet that’s filled out weekly so they can keep track of who is working

when, and they self-regulate to make sure the job is covered.”

They’re also highly motivated, says Josh Wheeler, public works

director: “It’s not an EPA requirement for them to be licensed, but they

all have their Class A, and they take pride in that. They work as a

team by communicating at each shift change. They make the next

operator aware of any anomalies and changes that occurred during

the previous shift, rather than leaving it up to the next guy to figure it

out and reinvent the wheel.”

Adds Soto, “They come in on time and do a great job. This helps

us as managers, because we don’t have to worry about the day-to-

day operation.”

SELF-RELIANT TEAM

“Soto, Hampton and Taylor are the innovators. They are the ones who initiated projects like

the chlorine gas to liquid change, the lighting efficiency switchover and the SCADA upgrade, as well as submitting ideas for future projects.”JOSH WHEELER

The team of the North Chicago Water Treatment Plant includes, from left, Josh Wheeler, public works director/city engineer; David Soto, water plant foreman; Quintin Hampton Sr., head plant mechanic; Emmanuel Henry, water plant operator; Michael Clayborne, water plant maintenance II; and Jerry Gray Sr., water plant operator.

(Continued on page 31)


Free FlowingNew filter media at the water treatment plant reduces energy costs, improves flow-through and lowers chemical usage for the township of Freehold, N.J.

BY LISA BALCERAK

W hen the 25-year-old filters at the Jackson Mills Road water treatment plant began to fail, the Township of Freehold water utility decided to upgrade the filter media as well as the fil-ter system.

By switching to manganese greensand plus filter media, the utility saves $10,000 in energy costs and $15,000 in chemical costs annually, while doubling the flow-through rate.

Freehold is a New Jersey bedroom community for New York City. The water utility has 11,600 service customers and an annual operation bud-get of $600,000. About $500,000 is invested back into the system through capital improvements, such as the filter rehabilitation project.

The township has 10 wells with capacities from 500 to 1,200 gpm and buys surface water (up to 880,000 gpd) from United Water. The utility combines and treats the water at three plants that total 8.14 mgd capacity. Five team members handle operations and maintenance of the plants and pipeline. All operators have T-1 to T-3 water treatment licenses.

Filter checks

The utility’s Jackson Mills Road plant, built in 1985, uses oxidation reduction treatment and is auto-mated with a SCADA system. Lime is used for pH control and chlo-rine oxidation. Previously, the plant used four multimedia pressure fil-ters with manganese greensand, anthracite and garnet as filter media for iron and manganese removal. Potassium permanganate was used

to recharge the greensand continuously. Each filter processed about 250,000 gallons before backwash.

The water utility annually inspected the filter vessel, and a lab checked the media for effective grain size. “The existing filter media was 25 years old and in good condition with grain hardness, effective size and uniformed coefficient near that of new material,” says Bob Koches, super-intendent of public utilities. “This is a true representation of how well the operators take care of the plant.”

However, in 2010, operators noticed some mounding of the media in a filter and possible drain problems during the air-wash cycle. The mound-ing indicated a break in the air line because the air was not coming up through the entire filter evenly. Realizing that the filter system had reached its useful life, the Freehold team decided to undertake total plant filter rehabilitation.

All four filters were vacuumed or shoveled by hand to remove media, and all internal filter parts were removed. A new air-wash system, sand strain-ers and influent/effluent lines were installed. The project cost $250,000, paid with capital fund savings and a 30-year loan from the township.

New filter media

Instead of returning to manganese greensand, the utility upgraded to manganese greensand plus because it is harder and more durable and requires fewer chemicals. “Manganese greensand is very soft and easily crushed, so we had to add sodium aluminate to harden it up,” Koches says.

“Manganese greensand plus has a manganese oxide coating and is extremely hard, so we don’t have to worry about the water pressures put on it. Also, the old filter media used potassium permanganate as a recharging agent. Now we just use sodium hypochlorite for recharging — it is cheaper and already being used for disinfecting. We’ve eliminated the need for potassium permanganate and sodium aluminate. The reduc-tion in chemicals saves $15,000 annually, and there is less labor for main-taining the chemical feed systems.

SUSTAINABLEPRACTICE

Beeh is shown at a SCADA monitoring station from which plant personnel control filtration and other processes.

“Our operators are really special. We’ve

created an atmosphere of letting them do the things they need to do on their own because they know the operation and maintenance best.”BOB KOCHES

Operators including Chris Beeh (left) and John McBride were involved in every step of filter rehabilitation at the Jackson Mills Road water plant.

“Potassium permanganate is time-consuming in its maintenance,” Koches says. “It turns everything a purple-brown color and takes up a lot of sur-face area. We were mixing batches in a large tank. The chemical feed sys-tems required daily readings and inspections because they ran constantly. Now we’ve eliminated those chemical feed systems and related maintenance.”

With the improved hardness of manganese greensand plus, the plant has increased flow-through between backwashes, saving up to $10,000 in energy because the backwash pumps run only half as often. “We are no longer concerned with head pressures on the filters because we don’t worry about crushing the harder greensand plus,” Koches says.

“This allows for quite a bit more flow-through and loading on the fil-ters, so we’ve doubled our capacity to 500,000 gallons between filter back-washes and reduced the related energy-consumption and water-wasting. In addition, fewer backwashes mean the plant is discharging less water into the sanitary sewer system, which is environmentally important.”

Operator care

Operators were involved in every step of filter rehabilitation. They worked closely with contractors during the changeover and learned about the new system and its capabilities. “Our operators are really special,” Koches says. “We’ve created an atmosphere of letting them do the things they need to do on their own because they know the operation and maintenance best. They enjoy making decisions on their own, and they take the water plant home with them every night. Our operators are just extremely into their jobs.” wso

WSO welcomes stories about your green and environ-mentally progressive initiatives for future “Sustainable Practice” articles. Send your suggestions to [email protected] or call 715/277-4094.


input for upgrades and enhancements, doing what they can to make the plant a top-of-the-line water facility.”

Future plans

The city has a five-year water plant capital improvement plan for future upgrades such as clearwell cleaning, transformer replacement, generator addition, centrifuge maintenance and other items to be bud-geted. The team is also looking to add UV disinfection. “That won’t hap-pen for three to five years, but with EPA regulations becoming more stringent, it will give us an extra measure of protection,” says Wheeler. “Why not plan for it now?”

One thing they won’t have to worry about is capacity. “We are run-ning at around 4 to 6 mgd, and we’ve never run at the permitted capacity,” says Wheeler. The city is not growing, and in fact, Wheeler is concerned about future water sales: “We have some smaller industries, but a lot have moved out. AbbVie is our number one water customer, and if they should leave, we would have excess water to sell.

“The city is over 100 years old and has gone through many changes. What was once a major industrial town is now reinventing itself and doing what it can to increase business and create residential areas that are suitable for second-time and not just first-time homeowners.”

Wheeler believes his purpose as public works director is to set an example for everyone else, so people will ask: How do you do what you do, and what can we do better? “This way, neighboring plants that are simi-lar in size and funding can learn from us,” he says. “I believe that the more you work as a team internally, the more you can work externally. It ends up being better for everyone.” wso


Centrisys Corporation877/339-5496www.centrisys.com

FMC Corporation866/860-4760www.fmc.com

Goulds Water Technology —a Xylem Brand866/325-4210www.gouldswatertechnology.com

Invensys Operations Management949/727-3200www.iom.invensys.com

Nidec Motor Corporation888/637-7333www.usmotors.com


Team members including Manny Henry made a successful transition from manual to automated plant operation.

(Continued from page 29)

Free FlowingNew filter media at the water treatment plant reduces energy costs, improves flow-through and lowers chemical usage for the township of Freehold, N.J.

BY LISA BALCERAK

W hen the 25-year-old filters at the Jackson Mills Road water treatment plant began to fail, the Township of Freehold water utility decided to upgrade the filter media as well as the fil-ter system.

By switching to manganese greensand plus filter media, the utility saves $10,000 in energy costs and $15,000 in chemical costs annually, while doubling the flow-through rate.

Freehold is a New Jersey bedroom community for New York City. The water utility has 11,600 service customers and an annual operation bud-get of $600,000. About $500,000 is invested back into the system through capital improvements, such as the filter rehabilitation project.

The township has 10 wells with capacities from 500 to 1,200 gpm and buys surface water (up to 880,000 gpd) from United Water. The utility combines and treats the water at three plants that total 8.14 mgd capacity. Five team members handle operations and maintenance of the plants and pipeline. All operators have T-1 to T-3 water treatment licenses.

Filter checks

The utility’s Jackson Mills Road plant, built in 1985, uses oxidation reduction treatment and is auto-mated with a SCADA system. Lime is used for pH control and chlo-rine oxidation. Previously, the plant used four multimedia pressure fil-ters with manganese greensand, anthracite and garnet as filter media for iron and manganese removal. Potassium permanganate was used

to recharge the greensand continuously. Each filter processed about 250,000 gallons before backwash.

The water utility annually inspected the filter vessel, and a lab checked the media for effective grain size. “The existing filter media was 25 years old and in good condition with grain hardness, effective size and uniformed coefficient near that of new material,” says Bob Koches, super-intendent of public utilities. “This is a true representation of how well the operators take care of the plant.”

However, in 2010, operators noticed some mounding of the media in a filter and possible drain problems during the air-wash cycle. The mound-ing indicated a break in the air line because the air was not coming up through the entire filter evenly. Realizing that the filter system had reached its useful life, the Freehold team decided to undertake total plant filter rehabilitation.

All four filters were vacuumed or shoveled by hand to remove media, and all internal filter parts were removed. A new air-wash system, sand strain-ers and influent/effluent lines were installed. The project cost $250,000, paid with capital fund savings and a 30-year loan from the township.

New filter media

Instead of returning to manganese greensand, the utility upgraded to manganese greensand plus because it is harder and more durable and requires fewer chemicals. “Manganese greensand is very soft and easily crushed, so we had to add sodium aluminate to harden it up,” Koches says.

“Manganese greensand plus has a manganese oxide coating and is extremely hard, so we don’t have to worry about the water pressures put on it. Also, the old filter media used potassium permanganate as a recharging agent. Now we just use sodium hypochlorite for recharging — it is cheaper and already being used for disinfecting. We’ve eliminated the need for potassium permanganate and sodium aluminate. The reduc-tion in chemicals saves $15,000 annually, and there is less labor for main-taining the chemical feed systems.

SUSTAINABLEPRACTICE

Beeh is shown at a SCADA monitoring station from which plant personnel control filtration and other processes.

“Our operators are really special. We’ve

created an atmosphere of letting them do the things they need to do on their own because they know the operation and maintenance best.”BOB KOCHES

Operators including Chris Beeh (left) and John McBride were involved in every step of filter rehabilitation at the Jackson Mills Road water plant.

“Potassium permanganate is time-consuming in its maintenance,” Koches says. “It turns everything a purple-brown color and takes up a lot of sur-face area. We were mixing batches in a large tank. The chemical feed sys-tems required daily readings and inspections because they ran constantly. Now we’ve eliminated those chemical feed systems and related maintenance.”

With the improved hardness of manganese greensand plus, the plant has increased flow-through between backwashes, saving up to $10,000 in energy because the backwash pumps run only half as often. “We are no longer concerned with head pressures on the filters because we don’t worry about crushing the harder greensand plus,” Koches says.

“This allows for quite a bit more flow-through and loading on the fil-ters, so we’ve doubled our capacity to 500,000 gallons between filter back-washes and reduced the related energy-consumption and water-wasting. In addition, fewer backwashes mean the plant is discharging less water into the sanitary sewer system, which is environmentally important.”

Operator care

Operators were involved in every step of filter rehabilitation. They worked closely with contractors during the changeover and learned about the new system and its capabilities. “Our operators are really special,” Koches says. “We’ve created an atmosphere of letting them do the things they need to do on their own because they know the operation and maintenance best. They enjoy making decisions on their own, and they take the water plant home with them every night. Our operators are just extremely into their jobs.” wso

WSO welcomes stories about your green and environ-mentally progressive initiatives for future “Sustainable Practice” articles. Send your suggestions to [email protected] or call 715/277-4094.


Plant infrastructure, including buildings and shelters, clarifiers, covers and domes, and tanks, form the storage side of most potable water treat-ment systems. Here are several of those products, along with coatings, linings and other components, that enable clean distribution.

Baffles

Building panel systemThe fiberglass (FRP) COMPOSOLITE building

panel system from Strongwell is strong, light-weight, corrosion-resistant and easy to install as an alternative to corrugated baffle wall systems. The design enables increased column spacing. For retrofits, panels can be mounted to existing columns or attached to H-beams or concrete walls for durability and cost savings. The system can be used with EXTREN structural shapes to form an all-FRP composite system (except for the stainless steel fasteners). 276/645-8000; www.strongwell.com.

Buildings/Structures

Fabric truss arch structureThe Hercules Truss Arch structure

from ClearSpan Fabric Structures can be built up to 300 feet wide and at any length. Its helical anchor pile foundation allows the fabric structures to be tem-porary or permanent and erected in a short time. Once a building has been shipped, up to 10,000 square feet can be installed per week. Build-ings can be easily disassembled and reinstalled. The structure is made from triple-galvanized structural steel tubing and high-density polyeth-ylene rip-stop fabric. 866/643-1010; www.clearspan.com.

Rigid-frame tension fabric building

Fabric buildings from Legacy Building Solutions use a durable rigid frame in place of hollow-tube, open web truss framing. The solid structural steel beams allow multiple coating options, including hot-dip galvaniz-ing, red oxide primer and powder coat. Build-ings can be customized for width, length and height. Structures can be modified to provide eave extensions and interior columns and can be engineered to handle additional loads for conveyors, sprinklers and other systems. The buildings have corrosion-free polyethylene fabric roofs. PVC fabrics are also available. The fabric allows natural light to perme-ate the structure; insulation can be added to meet energy codes. 877/259-1528; www.legacybuildingsolutions.com.

Chemical storage enclosure

Chemical storage enclosures from RM Products provide continuous noncorroding fiberglass material from floor to wall to ceiling. All buildings are factory assembled and ready to use upon delivery. Units can be relocated with a forklift or tilt-and-load truck. 800/363-0867; www.rmfiberglass.com.

Clarifiers

Microsand ballasted clarification process

The ACTIFLO microsand ballasted clarification process from Kruger USA combines microsand-enhanced floc formation and microsand-enhanced settling. It effectively treats low-turbidity mountain runoff, reservoir waters with algae, waters with high TOC, hard water, soft water, ground-water, flashy rivers, brackish water and seawater. The process uses mic-rosand as a seed for floc formation that later acts as a ballast. The ballasted floc settles rapidly, allowing compact clarifier designs with high overflow rates and short retention times. 919/677-8310; www.krugerusa.com.

Solids-contact clarifier

Hi-Tech solids-contact clarifiers from Kusters Water suit water and wastewater treatment appli-cations including raw water intake, turbidity removal, cold lime softening, metals removal and other types of high-rate clarification. Collectors and drives in various styles meet job-specific requirements. 800/264-7005; www.kusterswater.com.

Sodium hypochlorite generator

The SciCHLOR sodium hypochlorite generator with SciCELL technology from Scienco/FAST pro-duces hypochlorite on demand from salt, water and electricity. Its compact design includes an integral brine tank, chlorine storage tankage, control panel, multi-pass SciCELL unit and recirculation pump. The design creates a uniform chemical reaction, allowing the system to use a recirculating method for minimal operator attention, automatic production and consistent chlorine strength (up to 0.8 percent). As the hypochlorite is used, the water automatically refills the brine tank. 314/756-9300; www.sciencofast.com.

Water treatment plant

The Trident HS package water treatment plant from WesTech Engineering provides multi-barrier protection for difficult-to-treat surface water, groundwater, industrial process water and tertiary waste-water. It consists of packaged high-rate settling, adsorption clarification, mixed-media filtration and optional UV disinfection. It handles high raw-water turbidity and solids loading and achieves TOC reductions that can exceed 70 percent. 801/265-1000; www.westech-inc.com.

Coatings and Linings

Life-extending lining systemThe Raven 405 Series from Raven Lining

Systems provides long-term performance in damp

PRODUCT FOCUS: TANKS, STRUCTURES AND COMPONENTSBY CRAIG MANDLI

environments. Its 100 percent solids, zero-VOC polymers demonstrate adhesion, low porosity and high chemical and abrasion resistance. Its ultra-high build properties make it suitable for overhead and vertical application. It is used on new concrete to protect against corrosion and extend structure life, and can be used on deteriorated structures such as brick, concrete or steel. 800/324-2810; www.ravenlining.com.

Elastomeric polyurea lining system

Rhino Extreme two-component, rapid cur-ing, elastomeric polyurea lining system from Rhino Linings Corporation is formulated for colder substrates and extreme outdoor conditions where water, humidity or low temperatures may exist. When used over geotextile, it is a fast way to install a dependable sec-ondary containment area around tank fields. In less than a day, applicators can create seamless containment linings that cover thousands of square feet. The material offers high hardness and elongation and high tensile strength, and resists tears and abrasion. 858/450-0441; www.rhinolinings industrial.com.

Epoxy-modified cement mortar

RestoKrete No. 208 epoxy-modified cement mortar from Sauereisen is a substrate repair mate-rial and water-resistant barrier for preventing inflow and infiltration in concrete or brick sub-strates. It fills voids, irregularities and air pockets in concrete, is pumpable and sprayable, and is eas-ily applied by spin-cast or straight shot methods. It is also trowelable up to 1/2-inch thickness. 412/963-0303; www.sauereisen.com.

Modified epoxy

Dura-Plate 301, a solvent-free, surface and humidity tolerant two-pack modified epoxy from Sherwin-Williams, can be applied over damp steel without dew point restric-tions in treatment facilities with pipe galleries. It protects sweating pipes from corrosion and eliminates odors from coatings that contain high levels of solvent. It is suitable for marginal surface preparation, preventing damage to equipment such as treatment pumps and motors that can be affected by abrasive blasting. 800/524-5979; www.sherwin-williams.com/protective.

Covers/Domes

Floating bird ball blanketFloating bird ball blankets from Environmental

Controls Company (ECC) help solve difficult liq-uid storage problems. Hollow plastic balls placed on the surface of a liq-uid automatically arrange themselves into a close-packed formation to cover 91 percent of the surface area. 910/245-2241; www.eccllc.us.

Filter cover

Defender filter covers from Environetics prevent algae growth, con-tain odor and maintain operating temperatures. Opaque covers block UV light, prohibiting algae growth and keeping filters clean. A mechanical attachment system provides a positive seal for effective odor containment.

A low-profile design minimizes internal volume, reducing odor treatment require-ments. Covers isolate thermal air masses to maintain operating temperatures and eliminate freezing. Modular construction enables rapid installation. 815/838-8331; www.environeticsinc.com.

Flat cover system

The Composi-Cover flat cover system from Fiberglass Fabricators provides an alternative to alu-minum covers. It is easy to install, works on rectangular and round tanks and functions as an algae/weir cover system. It accommodates long, unsupported spans. The system includes large, lightweight access hatches and a variety of penetra-tion options. It resists chemicals, corrosion and UV. After installation, the cover requires minimal maintenance. 888/593-3552; www.fibfab.com.

Floating disc cover system

The LemTec Hexa-Cover from Lemna Technologies adapts to any pond or tank and offers odor, algae and evap-oration control and heat retention. It incorporates hexago-nal discs made of recycled polypropylene with interlocking edges and a buttressed profile that allows for self-leveling, adjustment and dispersion, ensuring maximum surface area coverage in all conditions. It installs quickly with low cost and little equipment. It has discreet discs that distribute themselves across the water surface to accommodate any basin equipment, piping or water level fluctuations. 612/253-2000; www.lemnatechnologies.com.

Doors/Hatches

Quick-opening manwayQuick-opening manways (watertight doors)

from Chase Associates provide access to con-crete and steel tanks and can be installed in new construction or retrofitted. They provide safe ground-level access during tank construc-tion and quick, secure entry over the tank’s life. In-swing styles seal an ASME flanged and dished cover against a liquid-tight, replaceable gas-ket. A hand-wheel release operates only when the tank is empty and pro-vides access within seconds without tools. Out-swing styles secure an ASME cover with threaded hand knobs. Security covers are available for tanks in public locations. Units are available in mild steel, stainless steel and other alloys. 888/626-9297; www.manways.com.

Safety gate

The XL Series adjustable self-closing safety gate from FabEnCo fits openings up to 60 inches at lad-derways, platforms, stairs, catwalks and mezza-nines. It is available in carbon steel and in aluminum and stainless steel for special applica-tions and environments. Finishes include galvanized and safety yellow powder coat. Custom gates can be made for unusual openings. Shipped complete, gates can be installed in minutes on all types of handrails (left or right) or to existing walls. 800/962-6111; www.safetygate.com.

(continued)


Stainless steel slide gate

The stainless steel slide gate from Hydro Gate com-bines the advantages of a cast-iron slide gate with the economy of a fabricated slide gate. The gate, frame, wedges and guides are made of durable and corrosion-resistant 304 or 316 stainless steel. The specially designed seal assembly, wedge system and resilient flush bottom seal provide low leakage in seated and unseated condi-tions. The zero leak rate exceeds AWWA C501 leak rate standards. 800/678-8228; www.hydrogate.com.

Port sliding wall penstock

Orbinox offers the Model MU square or rectangular port sliding wall penstock sealed on all four sides. It is used for on-off or control applications in wells, tanks and pipe outlets. It has carbon- or stainless steel construction with tight elastomer seals. It is available in a wide range of dimensions and for many pressure heads. 450/622-8775; www.orbinox.com.

Grating/Handrails

Fall protection grating systemThe fall protection grating system from The

Bilco Co. provides a permanent means of fall pro-tection for the company’s line of single and double leaf floor access doors, and meets OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.23 requirements. The system is constructed of lightweight aluminum grating and stainless steel hardware for corrosion resistance. It also features a stainless steel hold-open device that secures each panel in the full 90-degree position. The grating panel has a safety yellow pow-der-coat finish, making it durable, attractive and scratch-resistant. The system is available on all standard-size 300 PSF and H-20 reinforced access doors, and can be supplied on custom-size doors when specified. Retrofit kits are also available for installation on existing products in the field. 203/934-6363; www.bilco.com.

Molded grating

Molded grating from Fibergrate Composite Structures is certified to NSF Standard 61 for pota-ble water contact. It is available in numerous grating configurations and many panel sizes with various surface options. It is used in all phases of potable water treatment facilities, including filtration, water and chemical storage, and collection and treatment areas. It is corrosion resistant, requires mini-mal maintenance and is lightweight and easy to fabricate. It provides long service life and low life cycle cost. 800/527-4043; www.fibergrate.com.

Mixers

Horizontal submersible mixer The Amamix horizontal submersible mixer from KSB mixes and

homogenizes. It has a tandem mechanical sealing arrangement that seals

the shaft, while a leak-proof cable entry prevents water from wicking inside the motor. It has a close-coupled design, direct-drive motor, and cable plug that will plug and unplug without an electrician. It is resis-tant to clogging by fibrous material, and has extremely long maintenance intervals, as well as requiring minimized spare parts inventories. It only requires oil change intervals for every 16,000 operating hours or two years. 804/565-8372; www.ksbusa.com.

Stainless steel water mixer

The PWM100 water mixer from PAX Water Technologies has a self-install design; it is easily lowered through the tank hatch. It helps eliminate thermal stratification, reduce residual loss, lower disinfection byproducts and prevent ice formation. It uses a biomimetic nozzle that enables a vortex flow pattern inside storage tanks. It can self-right on a tank floor even on a sloped surface and is compact and easy to install and retrieve. The mixer is made of 316 stainless steel and is NSF/ANSI 61 cer-tified. 866/729-6493; www.paxwater.com.

Storage – Steel/Concrete/Plastic/Fiberglass

Bolted stainless steel tankBolted stainless steel tanks from American Struc-

tures can be used for water, wastewater, commercial and municipal storage applications. Bolted stainless steel provides sustainability with minimal maintenance. 715/235-4225; www.ameristruc.com.

Polyethylene tanks

Corrosion- and chemical-resistant polyethylene tanks from Assmann Corporation of America are made from virgin high-density crosslink or FDA-compliant linear polyethylene. They provide low-temperature impact resistance, are UV stabilized and come in many capacities and colors. Custom rotational molding, acces-sory fittings and custom colors are available. The tanks are certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 61 Drinking Water System Components – Health Effects for multiple potable water contact materials up to 140 degrees F. 888/357-3181; www.assmann-usa.com.

Prestressed concrete tank

Wire-wrapped prestressed concrete storage tanks from Caldwell Tanks are economical units constructed to comply with AWWA D110 and ACI 372. They are low-maintenance units for applications including potable water, municipal and industrial wastewater, and ther-mal energy storage. 502/964-3361; www.caldwelltanks.com.

Folding frame tank

Folding Frame Tanks from Husky Portable Containment are avail-able in steel or aluminum frames with size and material options (includ-

PRODUCT FOCUS: TANKS, STRUCTURES AND COMPONENTS

ing EXLON). Easy-lift handles are installed on all liners, making them quick to fold and allowing easy removal of liquids. Folding frames are also pinch-free. 800/260-9950; www.huskyportable.com.

Dry bulk storage silo

Welded, one-piece, dry bulk stor-age silos from Imperial Industries can be customized to the application. Bulk silos and tanks are cost-effective on maintenance, and save material handling costs over many years of use. Tanks are available in carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminum, in silo diameters to 16 feet, and in capaci-ties to 12,000 cubic feet. Paint finishes per the Imperial standard or cus-tomer paint specifications are available on carbon steel silos. Standard guardrail and ladder assemblies in aluminum, carbon steel and galva-nized steel ensure easy assembly and maintenance-free durability. 800/558-2945; www.imperialind.com.

Collapsible storage bladder

Collapsible storage blad-ders from MPC Containment are available in sizes from 250 to more than 210,000 gallons. They can be used for potable, gray or blackwa-ter. They are fabricated using mil-itary-grade materials and NSF-certified potable water-grade materials. All flexible bladders are available in custom designs and sizes and include fittings as required. 800/621-0146; www.mpccontainment.com.

Bolted steel tank

Bolted steel storage tanks from Supe-rior Tank Co. have modular design that allows them to be packed and easily shipped anywhere. Tanks up to 2 million gallons fit into a standard-size shipping container and are delivered directly to the job site. Tank kits come complete with hardware and fittings and are ready to erect. Panels arrive with factory-applied powder-coat finish. 888/221-8265; www.superiortank.com.

Potable water bolted tank

Potable water bolted RTP tanks from Tank Connection Affiliate Group are available with geodesic domes. The company fabricates and installs custom bolted RTP, field-weld, shop-weld and hybrid tank designs. 620/423-3010; www.tankconnection.com.

Glass fused-to-steel bolted storage tanks

Glass fused-to-steel bolted storage tanks from United Industries Group are coated inside and out with glass enamel that binds to the metal and forms a hard, chemically inert layer that permanently protects against rust, corrosion, undercutting, abrasion and stains. Modular con-struction allows easy transport and assembly, tank expansion, low main-

tenance, simple cleaning, long service life and fast, low-cost assembly. The tanks store potable water, raw water and wastewater with a surface that does not harbor or pro-mote bacteria and resists very low and very high temperatures. 949/759-3200; www.unitedind.com.

Bolted tank

Epoxy-coated, flat-panel bolted tanks from USA Tank offer a flat-seam, field-assembled design that eliminates flange connections and lap gaskets. Use of the latest sealant reduces the risk of bolted panel seam leaks. Tanks are erected from ground level with a jacking system, improving safety. Enduro Coat one-part, heat-curable fusion-bonded thermo-setting epoxy coating provides corrosion protection. 866/700-2500; www.usatanksales.com.

Water Towers/Components

Expansion jointThe 233-L and 234-L all-rubber high-lat-

eral expansion joints from Proco Products oper-ate up to 145 psig (nominal size dependent) or up to 250 degrees F (elastomer dependent) and can be specified for numerous piping system requirements. They are constructed of various elastomers with rubber-impregnated polyester tire cord and a reinforcing ring at the top of the arch to provide stability in large lateral offset conditions. The four-arch design can offer up to 8 inches of lateral offset, providing savings when attaching to a pipe system next to water tanks and reservoirs. 800/344-3246; www.procoproducts.com. wso


Jeff ChartierAn Original EnvironmentalistSUPERINTENDENTTown of Bristol (N.H.) Sewer and Water Department

“We’re met with a new challenge each day. We’re all cross-trained, and that means we can rely on each other for just about everything. We take our jobs very seriously, and the key thing is knowing that we’re in compliance and not polluting our waters.”


Read about original environmentalists like Jeff each month in Treatment Plant Operator.


New prestressed tank accommodates expected growthProblem

The influx of new residents, businesses and recreational users to the City of Pocatello, Idaho, made additional water storage necessary. The city wanted to take advantage of federal grant money to build a 1-million-gallon prestressed concrete water storage tank.

SolutionThe city chose a prestressed concrete tank design from DN Tanks

as the most cost-effective solution for an underground water storage life-line facility. With an inside diameter of 85 feet and a wall height of 26 feet, the tank was built using a poured-in-place corewall and a flat con-crete slab roof supported by 21 concrete columns, each 24 inches in diam-eter. All joints incorporated PVC waterstops to ensure a watertight structure. The 10-inch-thick corewall was circumferentially and verti-

cally prestressed using fully automated equipment. Located in the foothills south of town, the tank was unique in being fully buried so it would not detract from the natural scenery.

RESULTUpon completion, the

project gave the community safe, reliable water storage to accommodate recent and future growth. It will help facilitate new development expected in the area. 800/227-8181; www.dntanks.com.

Tight space adds challenge to water tank replacementProblem

The Watuppa Water Board of Fall River, Mass., needed to replace a water storage tank with a new 1-million-gallon tank. The confined site was close to a large cellphone tower and in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, raising concerns about construction traffic, equipment, noise, environmental issues and overall safety.

SolutionThe city and the Fay, Spofford and Thorndike (FST) engineering

firm devised a plan for demolition of the existing tank. Fisher Tank Company worked with FST to fabricate and construct the replacement tank, and to develop a construction plan to minimize impact on the neighborhood. They carefully planned for materials

delivery and lay-down and for placement of a large crane for setting the tank’s AWWA D-100 knuckle umbrella roof in place.

RESULTFisher worked with a local

paint contractor to make sure surrounding homes and prop-erty would not be affected by the painting of the tank’s exte-rior. The replacement tank was installed without incident. 610/494-7200; www.fishertank.com.

Covers provide algae and odor control Problem

The Penitencia Water Treatment Plant in San Jose, Calif., was replacing chlorine with ozone for primary disinfection. The plan was to reduce or eliminate chlorine feed at the head of the plant and so reduce formation of disinfection byproducts. Past attempts to reduce chlorine feed led to algae growth on the basins walls, launders and tube settlers, at times cre-ating taste and odor issues. However, if prechlorination were continued at the same rate to control algae, the benefits of ozonation would be reduced.

SolutionDistrict staff chose to cover the tube settler basins because the cost

could be recovered through hypochlorite reduction. Geomembrane Technologies provided its retractable, structurally supported covers over the tube settler basins. The cover system consists of a dura-

ble NSF 61-approved coated fabric cover tensioned over a series of low-profile aluminum arches. The covers block sun-light and can be quickly discon-nected and retracted to access tank internals for maintenance or inspection. Rainwater drains off the covers automatically.

RESULTThe covers met the plant’s requirements. Algae growth was controlled

and hypochlorite feed reduced. Tube settler cleaning was significantly reduced. The covers were installed on budget while the basins remained in service. 506/449-0993; www.gticovers.com.

CASE STUDIES: TANKS, STRUCTURES AND COMPONENTS BY CRAIG MANDLI

Town cuts THMs in potable water with removal system Problem

The Town of York, N.Y., (population 1,000) purchases its water from a neighboring town, which chlorinates lake water and stores it in concrete ponds. The water as received can be high in trihalomethanes (THM) due to chlorine reacting with the water’s natural organic mate-rial. To meet the U.S. EPA THM limit of 80 ug/L throughout the dis-tribution system, York officials needed to treat the water to eliminate the THMs created at the disinfection point.

SolutionAfter consulting with their engineer, town officials decided that the

GridBee THM removal system from Medora Corporation could provide the greatest percentage reduction at the tank, no matter what came in from the supplier. The system combines mixing and air-strip-ping technologies to remove THMs from the water and purge them through a venting system. A submersible pump pushes water through

the spray nozzles, where THMs are volatilized and removed through rooftop vents. A GridBee GS-12 submersible mixer ensures that the water exiting the spray nozzles is well mixed with the remaining water in the tank.

RESULTYork’s twin tanks (east and west)

measured the same amount of THMs in inflow water. The west tank, without the GridBee system, had no change in THM level in the out-flow water. The GridBee-equipped east tank measured a 62 percent reduction in THMs in outflow water, meeting the EPA rule. 866/437-8076; www.medoraco.com.

Epoxy lining refurbished an iconic water standpipeProblem

Restoration of the iconic standpipe and carillon at the University at Albany (N.Y.) was challenging given its location within a reflecting pool at the center of the busy campus. The project involved removal of lead-based exterior paint in accord with health and safety regulations. The project also required replacement of the interior lining system with a lin-ing specified to meet state health department regulations governing vola-tile organic compounds (VOCs) in drinking water.

SolutionScaffolding enclosed in plastic sheeting contained sandblasting

debris during interior and exterior renovation of the 251-foot high stand-pipe. Sandblasting equipment used low-decibel compressors, minimiz-ing the disruption of students and faculty. The 320,000-gallon tank was drained, rusted steel sections replaced, and the interior coated with Series FC22 Epoxoline from Tnemec Company, a 100 percent solids

epoxy lining certified under NSF/ANSI Standard 61. The interior coat-ing included a zinc-rich urethane prime coat for an extended mainte-nance cycle. Low-VOC white and metallic fluoropolymer coatings pro-vided exterior steel with UV light resistance and high color and gloss retention.

RESULT

VOCs were undetectable in water samples taken from the finished tank. The standpipe returned to service in September 2013. 800/863-6321; www.tnemec.com.

Water treatment plant restored using repair mortarProblem

The Raccoon Creek Water Treatment Plant in Summerville, Ga., was badly deteriorated. A thorough engineering study sought to deter-mine whether the plant could be repaired while in continuous opera-tion or had to be replaced.

SolutionThe study found that the plant could be repaired to optimal work-

ing condition using Megamix II from Xypex. The construction schedule was divided into three phases, allowing work to proceed while water treatment continued. More than 306,000 pounds of Megamix II

was used on the floccula-tion tanks and sedimenta-tion basins.

RESULTThe plant was restored

while remaining in ser-vice, saving millions of dollars for the communi-ties that depend on its out-put. 800/961-4477; www.xypex.com. (continued)


Inclined plate technology utilized for turbidity removalProblem

Meota, Saskatchewan, on the southwest shore of Jackfish Lake, is sur-rounded by recreational communities. The lake’s water poses challenges to communities that would like to use it for drinking water. Under nor-mal conditions the water is turbid from organic and inorganic com-pounds. Three new shallow infiltration wells were drilled nearby to take advantage of the soil’s natural filtration. However, the new water source contained high amounts of iron, manganese and TOC.

SolutionThe Unitized Treatment System from Tonka Water with inclined

plate technology (UTS-P) was installed. Coagulant is added to the raw water before it enters the UTS-P unit. As the water flows by gravity through the unit, it undergoes flocculation, sedimentation and media fil-tration. The water then travels to the sedimentation compartment and upward through stainless steel inclined plate settlers. The settlers offer

high solids separation efficiency and deliver clarified water to the Simul-Wash filtration compo-nent. The efficiency of the plates allows for a smaller sedimenta-tion compartment and a lower overall equipment footprint and cost. Solids in the sedimenta-tion compartment are periodi-cally cleared out through a sludge removal system.

RESULTMeota now has a highly efficient plant producing high-quality water with

minimal operator involvement. Before treatment, turbidity levels were 23 NTU; current levels are 0.063 NTU. 763/559-2837; www.tonkawater.com. wso

CASE STUDIES: TANKS, STRUCTURES AND COMPONENTS

WSO welcomes news about your water system for future articles.Send your ideas to [email protected]

It’s your magazine. Tell your story.

Neptune-Benson names CEONeptune-Benson, manufacturer of commercial aquatic filtration sys-

tems, ultraviolet disinfection systems and aquatics components, named Kenneth Rodi chief executive officer.

PRIMEX adds sales engineer

PRIMEX, formerly Control Works, hired Perry Baldwin as sales engineer. Based in Milford, Ohio, Baldwin has 30 years of engineering experience and 10 years experience in the wastewater control panel industry.

Bilco partners with Colt Group

The Bilco Co. partnered with Colt Group, a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of smoke and natural ventilation products for commercial buildings. Bilco will serve as a distributor for Colt’s line of products in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Krausz Industries opens Florida facility

Krausz Industries, manufacturer of the Hymax coupling, opened a facility in Ocala, Fla. The location will warehouse product for the water and wastewater industry and provide custom fabrication.

KDF Fluid Treatment celebrates 30th anniversary

KDF Fluid Treatment celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2014. Founded by Don Heskett in 1984, KDF produces filter media for water pretreatment, primary treatment and industrial applications.

LUDECA launches Keep It Running microsite

LUDECA launched its Keep It Running microsite, www.keepitrunning.com. The site supports the company’s new message of No Excuses for High Vibration, Misalignment and Unbalance. It includes blogs, video tutorials, white papers and maintenance technologies.

UV Pure revises wholesale channel

UV Pure Technologies, developer and manufacturer of UV water purification systems, revised its wholesale distribution channel. The company will provide wholesalers with direct pricing, next-day shipping of parts, technical support and training. The North American wholesale channel structure follows UV Pure’s termination of its nonexclusive mas-ter distribution agreement with 3M Purification.

Kohler donates generator to Seaside Park

Kohler Generators donated a commercial-grade, standby generator to Seaside Park, N.J., scene of two disasters. In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy swept away the borough’s boardwalk and nearby amusement park, destroying homes and businesses. In September 2013, the community’s rebuilding efforts were set back by a boardwalk fire. The generator will be used to provide power for the administration building at 1701 North Ocean Ave. The building serves as the command center and shelter during a crisis situation. wso

INDUSTRY NEWS

Perry Baldwin

Check out the latestProduct & Industry

NEWSat

wastewaterpr.comYour online source of the newest products

and information for the liquid waste industry


Inclined plate technology utilized for turbidity removalProblem

Meota, Saskatchewan, on the southwest shore of Jackfish Lake, is sur-rounded by recreational communities. The lake’s water poses challenges to communities that would like to use it for drinking water. Under nor-mal conditions the water is turbid from organic and inorganic com-pounds. Three new shallow infiltration wells were drilled nearby to take advantage of the soil’s natural filtration. However, the new water source contained high amounts of iron, manganese and TOC.

SolutionThe Unitized Treatment System from Tonka Water with inclined

plate technology (UTS-P) was installed. Coagulant is added to the raw water before it enters the UTS-P unit. As the water flows by gravity through the unit, it undergoes flocculation, sedimentation and media fil-tration. The water then travels to the sedimentation compartment and upward through stainless steel inclined plate settlers. The settlers offer

high solids separation efficiency and deliver clarified water to the Simul-Wash filtration compo-nent. The efficiency of the plates allows for a smaller sedimenta-tion compartment and a lower overall equipment footprint and cost. Solids in the sedimenta-tion compartment are periodi-cally cleared out through a sludge removal system.

RESULTMeota now has a highly efficient plant producing high-quality water with

minimal operator involvement. Before treatment, turbidity levels were 23 NTU; current levels are 0.063 NTU. 763/559-2837; www.tonkawater.com. wso

CASE STUDIES: TANKS, STRUCTURES AND COMPONENTS

WSO welcomes news about your water system for future articles.Send your ideas to [email protected]

It’s your magazine. Tell your story.

Neptune-Benson names CEONeptune-Benson, manufacturer of commercial aquatic filtration sys-

tems, ultraviolet disinfection systems and aquatics components, named Kenneth Rodi chief executive officer.

PRIMEX adds sales engineer

PRIMEX, formerly Control Works, hired Perry Baldwin as sales engineer. Based in Milford, Ohio, Baldwin has 30 years of engineering experience and 10 years experience in the wastewater control panel industry.

Bilco partners with Colt Group

The Bilco Co. partnered with Colt Group, a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of smoke and natural ventilation products for commercial buildings. Bilco will serve as a distributor for Colt’s line of products in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Krausz Industries opens Florida facility

Krausz Industries, manufacturer of the Hymax coupling, opened a facility in Ocala, Fla. The location will warehouse product for the water and wastewater industry and provide custom fabrication.

KDF Fluid Treatment celebrates 30th anniversary

KDF Fluid Treatment celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2014. Founded by Don Heskett in 1984, KDF produces filter media for water pretreatment, primary treatment and industrial applications.

LUDECA launches Keep It Running microsite

LUDECA launched its Keep It Running microsite, www.keepitrunning.com. The site supports the company’s new message of No Excuses for High Vibration, Misalignment and Unbalance. It includes blogs, video tutorials, white papers and maintenance technologies.

UV Pure revises wholesale channel

UV Pure Technologies, developer and manufacturer of UV water purification systems, revised its wholesale distribution channel. The company will provide wholesalers with direct pricing, next-day shipping of parts, technical support and training. The North American wholesale channel structure follows UV Pure’s termination of its nonexclusive mas-ter distribution agreement with 3M Purification.

Kohler donates generator to Seaside Park

Kohler Generators donated a commercial-grade, standby generator to Seaside Park, N.J., scene of two disasters. In October 2012, Superstorm Sandy swept away the borough’s boardwalk and nearby amusement park, destroying homes and businesses. In September 2013, the community’s rebuilding efforts were set back by a boardwalk fire. The generator will be used to provide power for the administration building at 1701 North Ocean Ave. The building serves as the command center and shelter during a crisis situation. wso

INDUSTRY NEWS

Perry Baldwin

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PR

INTS

clean. The Red is subject to wide variations in organic matter and hard-ness, related to weather and the nature of the watershed, Hall observes. Normal flows range from about 3,000 to 5,500 cubic feet per second.

The main feeder streams include the Otter Tail River, with generally high water quality; the Bois de Sioux River, with very poor water quality; and the Wild Rice River. “Every river system that feeds the Red is vari-able, depending on how much rain we’re getting at the time,” says Hall.

At the old treatment plant, which used lime and soda ash softening and dual-media filtration, the wide source water variations overwhelmed the process. At the time, the source water included about 60 percent river and 40 percent well water. Potassium permanganate and sometimes

activated carbon were fed at the river pumping station, but at times that wasn’t enough. When taste and odor problems arose, complaint calls came in bunches.

Reliable processThe MWH engineering firm (then known as Montgomery Watson)

designed the new treatment plant. The Moorhead team has steadily improved on the design with instrumentation and updates to the SCADA system, originally supplied by Instrument Control Systems (ICS).

One river pump station and two well pump stations deliver raw water directly into the plant. The waters mix in an influent chamber, and the flow then enters two 5.5 mgd softening basins (Infilco Degremont). Typi-cally, only one basin operates at a time, and when both operate, they work in parallel.

Water in the basins is fed with lime and soda ash, along with ferric sulfate as a coagulant and polymer for flocculation. Ammonia is also added in the softening stage for bromate control in the downstream ozo-nation process.

The WEDECO ozonation/recarbonation chamber (Xylem) has six cells fed with variable amounts of ozone and carbon dioxide, depending on raw water conditions. Residual ozone is sampled at various points in the chamber.

Before final filtration, fluoride is added, along with sodium hexameta-phosphate for heavy metal sequestration and corrosion control. The

Members of the MPS Water Division team are, back, from left, water plant staff members Dan Haman, Kris Knutson, Nate Halbakken, Troy Hall, Jason Yonke, Chris Knutson, Alan Neer, Chris Capecchi and Daryl Brahos; front row, distribution crew members Jared Heller, Chris Perlichek, Matt Andvik, Phil Shequen and Matt Mehl.

Moorhead (Minn.) Public ServiceFOUNDED: | 1896POPULATION SERVED: | 42,000TERRITORY: | Cities of Moorhead and Dilworth, Oakport TownshipCAPACITY: | 16 mgdSYSTEM STORAGE: | 7.9 million gallonsSOURCE WATER: | Red River (85%), Buffalo Aquifer (15%)TREATMENT PROCESS: | Lime/soda ash softening, ozonation,

dual media filtration INFRASTRUCTURE: | 190 miles of water mains, three water towers,

two ground storage tanks, two reservoirs on plant sitesKEY CHALLENGE: | Source water variabilityANNUAL BUDGET: | $4.5 million (operations)WEBSITE: | www.mpsutility.com

“When we look at the SCADA and see our water-quality trends, we want to

see flatlines — everything just humming along. Through teamwork, that’s what we’ve been able to accomplish.”TROY HALL

flow then enters two 5.5 mgd softening basins (Infilco Degremont). Typi-cally, only one basin operates at a time, and when both operate, they work

Water in the basins is fed with lime and soda ash, along with ferric sulfate as a coagulant and polymer for flocculation. Ammonia is also added in the softening stage for bromate control in the downstream ozo

The WEDECO ozonation/recarbonation chamber (Xylem) has six cells fed with variable amounts of ozone and carbon dioxide, depending on raw water conditions. Residual ozone is sampled at various points in

Before final filtration, fluoride is added, along with sodium hexametaphosphate for heavy metal sequestration and corrosion control. The

plant’s four dual-media filter cells each hold two feet of anthracite coal atop 12 inches of sand. The filtered water goes to the clear well, where chlorine is fed to combine with ammonia and form chlora-mines for disinfectant residual. The water is then delivered to the res-ervoirs and water towers (7.9 mil-lion gallons total system storage).

Ozone does itHall notes that ozonation is

the key to odor and taste control. “We ozonate at very high pH [at times 11 or higher] so that we benefit from some advanced oxidation,” he says. “Ozone has been a really big improvement since it came online in 1995. It helps break down the organic material. Sometimes we feed CO2 with the ozone as the pH is dropping down close to that of the product water. That helps with taste and odor, too.”

But it wasn’t technology alone that conquered the variability of Red River water. The plant staff’s diligence had a lot to do with it. “Since we started this plant, we have probably doubled or tripled the amount of online instrumentation,” says Hall. “Our SCADA gives us a lot of infor-mation about water quality and what’s happening in the process, and we’re constantly trying to improve that.”

The system’s programmable logic controllers and other control hard-ware are from Allen-Bradley (Rockwell Automation), and the SCADA software is from IntelliSys Inc. Online instrumentation in the treatment plant and water system includes:

• Three total chlorineanalyzers fromWallace&Tiernan (SiemensWater Technologies Corp.)

• Monochloramine/ammonia analyzer, five pH monitors, and eightturbidimeters from Hach Company

• Two pH controllers (CO2 auto control), four ozone analyzers and two conductivity meters from Rosemount Analytical (Emerson Process Management)

• Organiconlineanalyzerfroms::canMeasuringSystemsBenchtop lab equipment includes a turbidimeter and spectrophotometer

from Hach Company, total organic carbon analyzer from OI Analytical, an IC chromatograph from Dionex, now sold as Thermo Scientific – Water Analysis, and an Orion pH meter from Thermo Scientific – Water Analysis.

The team tests raw water for hardness and alkalinity every four hours and tests the finished water every eight hours. The ozone analyzers test the water in the ozone contact chamber every 20 seconds. Ozone dosage is adjusted manually based on monitoring for ozone residual. “We have to adjust the ozone feed rate as water quality changes — on a good day, just a couple of times; on a bad day, once an hour or more,” says Haman.

Water from Moorhead, Minn., won the first two “Best in Glass”

taste competitions held by the state section of the American Water

Works Association at its annual conference in September in Duluth.

The event includes a vendor show where water samples from

communities that enter the competition are subjected to a taste test

and a popular vote among the attendees. The field is narrowed to

the top three vote-getters, which go to a second round of tasting by a

panel of three from Minnesota section members and a celebrity judge.

“In both 2009 and 2010, we won both the popular and the panel

vote,” says Troy Hall, Water Division manager for Moorhead Public Service.

“The official winner is the sample selected by the panel of judges.”

Another honor awaits: The plant is to be featured during 2012 on

an episode of the Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs” program, showing

the process of cleaning the softening basins. Says Hall, “It has been

a fun year.”

“We don’t like to keep secrets

between positions. We expect all our operators to be very familiar with the SCADA. As a super-visor, I try to involve the operators so they can help me out with data analysis, maintenance tasks, or whatever happens to come up.”KRIS KNUTSON

Part-time water treatment plant operator Leslee Storlie uses a Thermix stirrer from Thermo Scientific – Water Analysis in a lab testing protocol.

Water treatment plant operator Dan Haman adjusts gas flow on ozone generator from WEDECO, a division of Xylem.

romWallaceWallaceW &Tiernan (Siemens

nalyzer, five pH monitors, and eighturbidimeters from Hach Company

auto control), four ozone analyzers and two conductivity meters from Rosemount Analytical (Emerson

s::can Measuring SystemsBenchtop lab equipment includes a turbidimeter and spectrophotometer










“In both 2009 and 2010, we won both the popular and the panel





the process of cleaning the softening basins. Says Hall, “It has been

The SCADA is programmed with the U.S. EPA ozone contact time (CT) requirements for disinfection. The ozone analyzers feed data directly into the SCADA, which calculates the actual CT value in real time. “In operations, we adjust the ozone, pH or whatever parameter is necessary to make sure the actual plant CT value is above the EPA requirements,” says Haman. “Once we meet the disinfection require-ment, 99 percent of the time the odor and taste issues are taken care of.”

As a teamThe staff’s success derives in part from the team atmosphere its lead-

ers try to create. “There’s a lot of overlap in the way we do things — a lot of cross-training,” notes Kris Knutson, water plant supervisor. “We don’t like to keep secrets between positions. We expect all our operators to be very familiar with the SCADA. As a supervisor, I try to involve the oper-ators so they can help me out with data analysis, maintenance tasks, or whatever happens to come up.”

Halbakken adds, “We communicate with each other. If one of us sees a problem, we alert the others. Everybody is always looking to keep the best product going out of the plant at all times. If that means someone has to be called at three in the morning to deal with a problem, everybody’s open to that. Everyone’s willing to help out.”

Notes Haman, “We try to work to each other’s strengths and shore up our weaknesses. For example, Nate is better at plumbing than I am, so I’ll give him plumbing jobs. In turn, he can give me data to analyze to find out when is the best time to order lime. We each have our little projects and our specialties.”

Hall cites SCADA work as an example of the team’s cooperation. “For the past decade, we have done all our SCADA work internally,” he says. “It’s not a perfect SCADA, but it has been built by people who really care about the end result. When we want to make a change in how a process works, we all work together.

“I’ve done some SCADA work in the office. Kris and Dan have done screen development for various purposes. It has evolved almost entirely in-house. We also select and install our own instrumentation.”

Problem solversTeamwork has helped the Moorhead staff resolve a variety of process

issues. Several years ago, pH variability was a constant challenge. Work-ing together, staff members made the correction by installing pH probes, making plumbing changes, and doing SCADA programming.

In another instance, rising non-carbonate hardness in the Red River was taking a toll on the soda ash feed pumps. A former operator located a peristaltic pump model (Watson-Marlow) that appeared better suited to the task. Operators, an instrument technician and electricians from the utility’s electrical side worked together to test and install the new pumps. “In a few months, we went from having to service the pumps every week to having almost no problems,” says Haman.

Another improvement involved installing a meter in the intake line to sample Red River water for conductivity as a way to predict total hard-ness in the river in real time. The team did the job, including data analy-sis and SCADA programming, entirely in-house, installing a used instrument purchased on the Internet for a few hundred dollars.

Future plans include installing instrumentation at the river pumping station, about three miles (two hours of in-pipe travel time) from the plant. “I’m excited about that,” says Haman. “We’ll be able to see changes in the water before it gets to the plant and so deal with them more effectively.”

Hall calls it a privilege to lead a staff with many and diverse talents. “The strengths of our people make it all work,” he says. “We try our best every day to use the strengths of the people we have.”

The results show up daily in the water glasses of Moorhead residents. wso

THE MPS TEAM

Staff members at the Moorhead Public Service water treatment

plant are:

• TroyHall,WaterDivisionmanager,19yearsofservice,ClassAlicense

• KrisKnutson,waterplantsupervisor,sixyears,ClassA

• NateHalbakken,leadwatertreatmentplantoperator,nineyears,

Class A

• JasonYonke,leadwatertreatmentplantoperator,14years,ClassA

• GenaDahl,waterplantchemist,fouryears

• DanHaman,waterplantoperator,sixyears,ClassC

• DarylBrahos,waterplantoperator,fouryears,ClassC

• ChristopherCapecchi,waterplantoperator,oneyear

• ChristopherKnutson,water

plant operator, one year,

Class D

• AlanNeer,waterplantopera-

tor, four years, Class A

• LesleeStorlie,part-timewater

plant operator, one year

• KevinYoung,part-timewater


MORE INFO:Emerson Process Management800/854-8257www.raihome.com

ERDCO Engineering Corporation800/553-0550www.erdco.com

HachCompany800/227-4224www.hach.com

ICSHealy-Ruff763/559-0568www.icshealyruff.com

Infilco Degremont, Inc.804/756-7600www.degremont-technologies.com

IntelliSys, Inc.800/347-9977www.intellisyssoftware.com

Modentic Industrial Corp.www.modentic.com.tw

MWHGlobal303/533-1900www.mwhglobal.com

OI Analytical800/653-1711www.oico.com(See ad page 29)

Rockwell Automation414/382-2000www.rockwellautomation.com

s::can Measuring Systems888/296-8250www.s-can.us

SiemensWaterTechnologiesCorp.866/926-8420www.water.siemens.com

ThermoScientific–WaterAnalysis800/225-1480www.thermoscientific.com/water

Watson-MarlowPumpsGroup800/282-8823www.wmpg.com

Xylem 704/409-9700www.xyleminc.com

“The strengths of our people make it all work. We try our best every

day to use the strengths of the people we have.”TROY HALL

Water Division manager Troy Hall

Reprinted with permission from WSO™ / January 2012 / © 2012, COLE Publishing Inc., P.O. Box 220, Three Lakes, WI 54562 / 800-257-7222 / www.wsomag.com

BRIGHT IDEAS:

Automated meter reading in Davie County, N.C. Page 36


Plant upgrades in Rockville, Md.Page 30

TECH TALK:

Keys to success with wireless SCADA

Page 38

Tastes Great!


January/February 2012 www.wsomag.com

MOORHEAD PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERS HIGH-QUALITY WATER FROM VARIABLE SOURCESPage 10

wsoManaging Our Most Valuable Resource

TM

Troy HallWater Division managerMoorhead, Minn.

TasTesGreaT!Technology and teamwork help Moorhead Public Service deliver consistently high-quality water from a highly variable source in Minnesota’s Red River

STORY: Ted J. RulSehPHOTOGRAPHY: John BoRge

The Red River is best known for periodic floods that afflict North Dakota, most notably around Grand Forks. Much farther south, in Moorhead, Minn., the river is known for something else, though mainly to the staff at the water treatment plant.

“Up here, it’s not a big river,” says treatment plant operator Dan Haman. “Local events can have a large impact on it. A rain event can often wash interesting water into the river, especially if the weather has been dry for a while.”

Years ago, that led to complaints from customers about odor and bad taste in the water coming from the tap. That no longer happens. In 1995, Moorhead Public Service added ozonation to its treatment process, and it proved to be a reliable cure. In fact, for the past two years, Moorhead’s water has been voted the best tasting in the state in a competition held by the Minnesota section of the American Water Works Association.

Troy Hall, Water Division manager, credits the treatment technology, along with a talented operations team, with keeping the process on track. “When we look at the SCADA and see our water-quality trends, we want to see flatlines — everything just humming along,” says Hall. “Through teamwork, that’s what we’ve accomplished.”

Variable sourceWhat the Moorhead team calls the North Treatment Plant (10 mgd

capacity) was built in 1995. The old 6 mgd treatment plant is now rarely used: The staff operates it periodically just to make sure it remains func-tional and available for emergencies. When the plant operates, it treats well water only.

The new plant, with 10 full-time and two part-time staff members, was designed specifically to deal with variable source water in the Red River. The utility also draws well water from the Buffalo Aquifer, but the river provides about 85 percent of the source water on an annual basis.

“There’s a reason it’s called the Red River,” says Nate Halbakken, lead treatment plant operator. Which is to say it’s not what one would call

Qualityleaders

PLANT

clean. The Red is subject to wide variations in organic matter and hard-ness, related to weather and the nature of the watershed, Hall observes. Normal flows range from about 3,000 to 5,500 cubic feet per second.

The main feeder streams include the Otter Tail River, with generally high water quality; the Bois de Sioux River, with very poor water quality; and the Wild Rice River. “Every river system that feeds the Red is vari-able, depending on how much rain we’re getting at the time,” says Hall.

At the old treatment plant, which used lime and soda ash softening and dual-media filtration, the wide source water variations overwhelmed the process. At the time, the source water included about 60 percent river and 40 percent well water. Potassium permanganate and sometimes




One river pump station and two well pump stations deliver raw water directly into the plant. The waters mix in an influent chamber, and the flow then enters two 5.5 mgd softening basins (Infilco Degremont). Typi-cally, only one basin operates at a time, and when both operate, they work in parallel.

Water in the basins is fed with lime and soda ash, along with ferric sulfate as a coagulant and polymer for flocculation. Ammonia is also added in the softening stage for bromate control in the downstream ozo-nation process.

The WEDECO ozonation/recarbonation chamber (Xylem) has six cells fed with variable amounts of ozone and carbon dioxide, depending on raw water conditions. Residual ozone is sampled at various points in the chamber.

Before final filtration, fluoride is added, along with sodium hexameta-phosphate for heavy metal sequestration and corrosion control. The


Moorhead (Minn.) Public Service

FouNDeD: | 1896PoPulATioN ServeD: | 42,000TerriTorY: | Cities of Moorhead and Dilworth, Oakport TownshipCAPACiTY: | 16 mgdSYSTeM STorAge: | 7.9 million gallonsSourCe WATer: | Red River (85%), Buffalo Aquifer (15%)TreATMeNT ProCeSS: | Lime/soda ash softening, ozonation,

dual media filtration iNFrASTruCTure: | 190 miles of water mains, three water towers,

two ground storage tanks, two reservoirs on plant sitesKeY CHAlleNge: | Source water variabilityANNuAl BuDgeT: | $4.5 million (operations)WeBSiTe: | www.mpsutility.com

“When we look at the SCAdA and see our water-quality trends, we want to

see flatlines — everything just humming along. Through teamwork, that’s what we’ve been able to accomplish.”TRoy hAll

plant’s four dual-media filter cells each hold two feet of anthracite coal atop 12 inches of sand. The filtered water goes to the clear well, where chlorine is fed to combine with ammonia and form chlora-mines for disinfectant residual. The water is then delivered to the res-ervoirs and water towers (7.9 mil-lion gallons total system storage).

ozone does itHall notes that ozonation is

the key to odor and taste control. “We ozonate at very high pH [at times 11 or higher] so that we benefit from some advanced oxidation,” he says. “Ozone has been a really big improvement since it came online in 1995. It helps break down the organic material. Sometimes we feed CO2 with the ozone as the pH is dropping down close to that of the product water. That helps with taste and odor, too.”

But it wasn’t technology alone that conquered the variability of Red River water. The plant staff’s diligence had a lot to do with it. “Since we started this plant, we have probably doubled or tripled the amount of online instrumentation,” says Hall. “Our SCADA gives us a lot of infor-mation about water quality and what’s happening in the process, and we’re constantly trying to improve that.”

The system’s programmable logic controllers and other control hard-ware are from Allen-Bradley (Rockwell Automation), and the SCADA software is from IntelliSys Inc. Online instrumentation in the treatment plant and water system includes:

• Three total chlorineanalyzers fromWallace&Tiernan (SiemensWater Technologies Corp.)

• Monochloramine/ammonia analyzer, five pH monitors, and eightturbidimeters from Hach Company

• Two pH controllers (CO2 auto control), four ozone analyzers and two conductivity meters from Rosemount Analytical (Emerson Process Management)

• Organiconlineanalyzerfroms::canMeasuringSystemsBenchtop lab equipment includes a turbidimeter and spectrophotometer



Water from Moorhead, Minn., won the first two “Best in glass”








“in both 2009 and 2010, we won both the popular and the panel





the process of cleaning the softening basins. Says Hall, “it has been

a fun year.”

“We don’t like to keep secrets

between positions. We expect all our operators to be very familiar with the SCAdA. As a super-visor, I try to involve the operators so they can help me out with data analysis, maintenance tasks, or whatever happens to come up.”KRIS KnuTSon

Part-time water treatment plant operator leslee Storlie uses a Thermix stirrer from Thermo Scientific – Water Analysis in a lab testing protocol.

Water treatment plant operator Dan Haman adjusts gas flow on ozone generator from WeDeCo, a division of Xylem.

Water plant supervisor Kris Knutson adjusts an ozone gas feed valve. ozonation has helped Moorhead Public Service correct recurring odor issues caused by source water variation. (gas fl owmeter by erDCo engineering Corporation, valve by Modentic industrial Corp.)

The SCADA is programmed with the U.S. EPA ozone contact time (CT) requirements for disinfection. The ozone analyzers feed data directly into the SCADA, which calculates the actual CT value in real time. “In operations, we adjust the ozone, pH or whatever parameter is necessary to make sure the actual plant CT value is above the EPA requirements,” says Haman. “Once we meet the disinfection require-ment, 99 percent of the time the odor and taste issues are taken care of.”

As a teamThe staff’s success derives in part from the team atmosphere its lead-

ers try to create. “There’s a lot of overlap in the way we do things — a lot of cross-training,” notes Kris Knutson, water plant supervisor. “We don’t like to keep secrets between positions. We expect all our operators to be very familiar with the SCADA. As a supervisor, I try to involve the oper-ators so they can help me out with data analysis, maintenance tasks, or whatever happens to come up.”

Halbakken adds, “We communicate with each other. If one of us sees a problem, we alert the others. Everybody is always looking to keep the best product going out of the plant at all times. If that means someone has to be called at three in the morning to deal with a problem, everybody’s open to that. Everyone’s willing to help out.”

Notes Haman, “We try to work to each other’s strengths and shore up our weaknesses. For example, Nate is better at plumbing than I am, so I’ll give him plumbing jobs. In turn, he can give me data to analyze to find out when is the best time to order lime. We each have our little projects and our specialties.”




issues. Several years ago, pH variability was a constant challenge. Work-ing together, staff members made the correction by installing pH probes, making plumbing changes, and doing SCADA programming.


Another improvement involved installing a meter in the intake line to sample Red River water for conductivity as a way to predict total hard-ness in the river in real time. The team did the job, including data analy-sis and SCADA programming, entirely in-house, installing a used instrument purchased on the Internet for a few hundred dollars.


Hall calls it a privilege to lead a staff with many and diverse talents. “The strengths of our people make it all work,” he says. “We try our best every day to use the strengths of the people we have.”

The results show up daily in the water glasses of Moorhead residents. wso

The MPS TeAM

Staff members at the Moorhead Public Service water treatment

plant are:

• TroyHall,WaterDivisionmanager,19yearsofservice,ClassAlicense

• KrisKnutson,waterplantsupervisor,sixyears,ClassA

• NateHalbakken,leadwatertreatmentplantoperator,nineyears,

Class A

• JasonYonke,leadwatertreatmentplantoperator,14years,ClassA

• GenaDahl,waterplantchemist,fouryears

• DanHaman,waterplantoperator,sixyears,ClassC

• DarylBrahos,waterplantoperator,fouryears,ClassC

• ChristopherCapecchi,waterplantoperator,oneyear

• ChristopherKnutson,water


Class D

• AlanNeer,waterplantopera-




• KevinYoung,part-timewater


MoRe InFo:Emerson Process Management800/854-8257www.raihome.com

ERDCO Engineering Corporation800/553-0550www.erdco.com

HachCompany800/227-4224www.hach.com

ICSHealy-Ruff763/559-0568www.icshealyruff.com

Infilco Degremont, Inc.804/756-7600www.degremont-technologies.com

IntelliSys, Inc.800/347-9977www.intellisyssoftware.com

Modentic Industrial Corp.www.modentic.com.tw

MWHGlobal303/533-1900www.mwhglobal.com

OI Analytical800/653-1711www.oico.com(See ad page 29)

Rockwell Automation414/382-2000www.rockwellautomation.com

s::can Measuring Systems888/296-8250www.s-can.us

SiemensWaterTechnologiesCorp.866/926-8420www.water.siemens.com

ThermoScientific–WaterAnalysis800/225-1480www.thermoscientific.com/water

Watson-MarlowPumpsGroup800/282-8823www.wmpg.com

Xylem 704/409-9700www.xyleminc.com

“The strengths of our people make it all work. We try our best every

day to use the strengths of the people we have.”TRoy hAll


Reprinted with permission from WSO™ / Month 0000 / © 2012, COLE Publishing Inc., P.O. Box 220, Three Lakes, WI 54562 / 800-257-7222 / www.wsomag.com




issues. Several years ago, pH variability was a constant challenge. Working together, staff members made the correction by installing pH probes, making plumbing changes, and doing SCADA programming.


Another improvement involved installing a meter in the intake line to sample Red River water for conductivity as a way to predict total hardness in the river in real time. The team did the job, including data analysis and SCADA programming, entirely in-house, installing a used instrument purchased on the Internet for a few hundred dollars.


Hall calls it a privilege to lead a staff with many and diverse talents.

Class A

• JasonYonke,Yonke,Y leadwatertreatmentpreatmentpreatment lantolantolant perator,14years,14years,14y ClassA

• GenaDahl,waterplantclantclant hemist,fouryouryour earsyearsy

• DanHaman,waterplantolantolant perator,sixyixyix ears,years,y ClassC

• DarylBrahos,waterplantolantolant perator,fouryouryour ears,years,y ClassC

• ChristopherCChristopherCChristopher apecchi,waterplantolantolant perator,oneyearyeary

• ChristopherK• ChristopherK• Christopher nutson,water


Class D

• AlanNeer,waterplantolantolant pera-




• KevinYoung,Young,Y part-timewater







One river pump station and two well pump stations deliver raw water directly into the plant. The waters mix in an influent chamber, and the


Public Service

Cities of Moorhead and Dilworth, Oakport Township

Red River (85%), Buffalo Aquifer (15%)Lime/soda ash softening, ozonation,

190 miles of water mains, three water towers, two ground storage tanks, two reservoirs on plant sites

activated carbon were fed at the river pumping station, but at times that wasn’t enough. When taste and odor problems arose, complaint calls came

The MWH engineering firm (then known as Montgomery Watson) designed the new treatment plant. The Moorhead team has steadily improved on the design with instrumentation and updates to the SCADA system, originally supplied by Instrument Control Systems (ICS).

One river pump station and two well pump stations deliver raw water directly into the plant. The waters mix in an influent chamber, and the

Members of the MPS Water Division team are, back, from left, water plant staff members Dan Haman, Kris Knutson, Nate Halbakken, Troy Hall, Jason Yonke, Chris Knutson, Alan Neer, Chris Capecchi and Daryl Brahos; front row, distribution crew members Jared Heller, Chris Perlichek, Matt Andvik, Phil




The event includes a vendor show where water samples from “We don’t like to Part-time water treatment plant operator Leslee Storlie uses a Thermix stirrer from Thermo Scientific






TASTESGREAT!Technology and teamwork help Moorhead Public Service deliver consistently high-quality water from a highly variable source in Minnesota’s Red River

STORY: TED J. RULSEHPHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN BORGE

The Red River is best known for periodic floods that afflict North Dakota, most notably around Grand Forks. Much farther south, in Moorhead, Minn., the river is known for something else, though mainly to the staff at the water treatment plant.

“Up here, it’s not a big river,” says treatment plant operator Dan Haman. “Local events can have a large impact on it. A rain event can often wash interesting water into the river, especially if the weather has been dry for a while.”

Years ago, that led to complaints from customers about odor and bad taste in the water coming from the tap. That no longer happens. In 1995, Moorhead Public Service added ozonation to its treatment process, and it proved to be a reliable cure. In fact, for the past two years, Moorhead’s water has been voted the best tasting in the state in a competition held by the Minnesota section of the American Water Works Association.

Troy Hall, Water Division manager, credits the treatment technology, along with a talented operations team, with keeping the process on track. “When we look at the SCADA and see our water-quality trends, we want to see flatlines — everything just humming along,” says Hall. “Through teamwork, that’s what we’ve accomplished.”

Variable sourceWhat the Moorhead team calls the North Treatment Plant (10 mgd

capacity) was built in 1995. The old 6 mgd treatment plant is now rarely used: The staff operates it periodically just to make sure it remains func-tional and available for emergencies. When the plant operates, it treats well water only.

The new plant, with 10 full-time and two part-time staff members, was designed specifically to deal with variable source water in the Red River. The utility also draws well water from the Buffalo Aquifer, but the river provides about 85 percent of the source water on an annual basis.

“There’s a reason it’s called the Red River,” says Nate Halbakken, lead treatment plant operator. Which is to say it’s not what one would call

QUALITYLEADERS

PLANT“When we look at the SCADA and see our water-quality trends, we want to

see flatlines — everything just humming along. Through teamwork, that’s what we’ve been able to accomplish.”TROY HALL

When we look at the SCADA and see our water-quality trends, we want to

see flatlines — everything just humming along. Through teamwork, that’s what we’ve been able to accomplish.”

TASTESGREATechnology and teamwork help Moorhead Public Service deliver consistently high-quality water from a highly variable source in Minnesota’s Red Riverhigh-quality water from a highly variable source in Minnesota’s Red River

STORY: TED J. RULSEHPHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN BORGE

QUALITYLEADERS

PLANT

BRIGHT IDEAS:

Automated meter reading in Davie County, N.C. Page 36


Plant upgrades in Rockville, Md.Page 30

TECH TALK:

Keys to success with wireless SCADA

Page 38

Tastes Great!


January/February 2012 www.wsomag.com

MOORHEAD PUBLIC SERVICE DELIVERS HIGH-QUALITY WATER FROM VARIABLE SOURCESPage 10

wsoManaging Our Most Valuable Resource

TM

Troy HallWater Division managerMoorhead, Minn.

POSTERS Starting At$35

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Featured in An Article?We provide reprint options

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1|Griswold high-head, self-priming centrifugal pumpsH Series high-head, self-priming pumps from Griswold Pump

Co. are available in 3, 5, 7 1/2, 10, 15 and 20 hp models with heads to 260 feet and flow rates to 325 gpm. Features include a closed impeller, mechan-ical shaft seal, stationary seal face and rotating seal face. 800/843-9222; www.griswoldpump.com.

2|Rockwell Automation PowerFlex 523 AC drivesThe Allen-Bradley PowerFlex 520 Series of compact AC drives

from Rockwell Automation are designed for easy configuration. Files can be uploaded or downloaded to the drive using a standard USB connec-tion. The drive also can be programmed through built-in human inter-face modules, which display data on the LCD screen with scrolling QuickView text and detailed explanations of parameters and codes. 414/382-2000; www.rockwellautomation.com/industries/water.

3|Industrial Test Systems hand-held photometer The eXact iDip hand-held photometer from Industrial Test

Systems uses Bluetooth Smart wireless technology to connect with an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, enabling test data to be shared via email, while the built-in GPS provides easy retrieval of water locations. 800/861-9712; www.sensafe.com.

4|Walchem pre-engineered pump systemsPre-engineered chemical feed systems from Walchem Pump

Systems have a chemical-resistant pump stand made from molded, UV-stabilized, linear low-density polyethylene. Components include calibra-tion columns, back pressure/anti-siphon valves, pressure relief valves, pulsation dampeners, gauges, ball valves and Y-strainers. Single, dual and redundant pump systems are factory assembled and hydrostatically tested. The auto-fill option enables the metering pump to fill the cali-bration column for applications when flooded suction is not available. Floor mount is standard with wall mount available. 508/429-1110; www.walchem.com.

5|DeZURIK severe service knife gate valveThe KSV severe service knife gate valve from DeZURIK Water

Control is designed for highly abrasive service. Features include ANSI B16.34 Class 150 and 300 pressure ratings, bidirectional dead end shut-off capability, bidirectional drip tight seal, bonnetless design for ANSI 300 service and hardened seat materials. 320/259-2000; www.dezurik.com.

Vertical booster pumps save space, conserve energy

VR Series stainless steel vertical multistage booster pumps from Franklin Electric are designed to deliver clean water under pressure with temperatures ranging from -5 degrees to 250 degrees F. The three-pump series is available with 3/4 to 10 hp models in flow rat-ings from 8 to 60 gpm and TDH to 750 feet. The pumps have a 1 1/2-inch NPT suction and discharge on the smaller series and 2-inch NPT on the larger flow series. Other connections are available. The pumps are designed with top access to the mechanical seal for easy replacement without disturbing the plumbing.

Applications include water supply and pressure boosting and water treatment (reverse osmosis) in municipal and industrial use.

Made of 316 stainless steel, the low flow, high-head pumps have a space-saving footprint (approximately 9 by 9 inches) that can be used in both retrofits as well as new construction.

“It’s a standard fit for most vertical multistage applications,” says Van Johnson, senior portfolio manager — surface pumps at Franklin Electric. “It’s designed to fit within the piping and footprint as a replacement for an existing system that is using a different manufac-turer’s pump. And for new construction, it’s a very clean install. It’s an inline design so you can plumb up to it.”

A unique feature of the pump is the operator does not have to adjust the vertical pump stack. “That’s done internally with the pump,” Johnson says. “All the operator has to do is attach the coupling to the rotor shaft and you’re ready to go. No adjustments are necessary.”

The pumps require little to no maintenance and use standard thrust motors. “No matter who the operator is dealing with as far as a motor manufacturer for his other products in the plant, he’ll be able to obtain that motor from his vendor,” he says.

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHTBY ED WODALSKI

PRODUCT NEWS

1

4

3 5

2

6|Thomas & Betts interconnection systemsRussellstoll interconnection systems by Thomas & Betts Corp.,

a member of the ABB Group, range from 20 to 600 amps. Maintenance free, they are fully polarized for exact voltage, frequency and phases. Solderless, pressure screw terminals and rear access, combined with take-apart housings, provide quick wiring access. 901/252-5000; www.tnb.com.

7|Palmer Wahl precision test gaugeThe PTG100 precision digital pressure gauge from Palmer Wahl

features fully temperature compensated accuracy from 32 degrees to 122 degrees F (0 to 50 degrees C). Available in accuracies of 0.5, 0.1, 0.05 and 0.025 percent of full scale, the 3.9-inch diameter dial model displays up to six digits on a backlit LCD screen, enabling the user to select up to nine engineering units, including models measuring over 36,000 psi. 800/421-2853; www.palmerwahl.com.

8|Endress+Hauser multiparameter transmitterThe Liquiline CM44x multichannel transmitter from Endress+

Hauser features EtherNet/IP connectivity for seamless integration with the Rockwell Automation PlantPax process automation system. The inte-grated Web server enables the operator to remotely view diagnostic data, perform configuration or access device parameters. The modular four-wire transmitter is available in one- to eight-channel expandable versions. 888/363-7377; www.us.endress.com.

9|YSI multiparameter instrumentsThe MultiLab IDS line of laboratory instruments and smart

sensors from YSI, a xylem brand, are designed to simultaneously mea-sure three parameters of pH, ORP, BOD, ISEs, conductivity or three of the same parameters. The instrument line includes the MultiLab 4010 (one channel), MultiLab 4010-2 (dual channel) and the MultiLab 4010-3 (three channel), as well as smart digital probes for optical-based BODs, pH, ORP and conductivity measurement. Using an adapter, ISE measure-ments and non-IDS pH or ORP sensors can be used with the 4010-2 and 4010-3. 800/765-4974; www.ysi.com. wso

The energy- and space-saving pumps work well with variable-speed drives because the curves are shaped so that you can hook one, two or three of these up together, Johnson says.

“Take an apartment building, for example, where everybody showers at 7 a.m., goes to work and comes back in the evening to wash dishes or whatever. You need the larger flow in the morning, so you probably have all your pumps kick on with the variable-speed drives, and the rest of the day you could only offer what’s required — a very small amount of water. So you’re saving energy and not run-ning all the pumps all the time when you don’t need them.” 260/824-2900; www.franklin-electric.com.

VR Series vertical multistage booster pumps from Franklin Electric

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PEOPLE/AWARDSThe Las Virgenes Municipal Water District received the District

Transparency Certificate of Excellence from the Special District Leadership Foundation for transparency in operations and governance. The district provides drinking water, wastewater treatment, recycled water and biosol-ids composting services to Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village and neighboring unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.

Christina Galliher was promoted to water treatment plant operator at

the Penn Yan Village (N.Y.) Water Treatment plant. WSO welcomes your contribution to this listing. To recognize members of

your team, please send notices of new hires, promotions, service milestones, certifications or achievements to [email protected].

EDUCATION

AWWAThe American Water Works Association is offering these courses:• March 10-14 – 2014 Membrane Technology Conference, Las Vegas, Nev.• March 19 – Part 1: Communicating with Customers about Lead and

Lead Service Lines, webinar• April 7-9 – Financial Management Cost of Service Rate-Making

Seminar, North Charleston, S.C.• April 9 – Watershed, Forest, and Source Water Protection, webinar• April 11 – Water Harvesting Systems and Application, Milwaukee, Wis.• April 30 – The Impacts of Nutrient Pollution on Drinking Water

Quality, webinarVisit www.awwa.org.

AlabamaThe Alabama Rural Water Association is offering an HDPR Pipe

Fusion class April 23 in Calera. Visit www.alruralwater.com.

ArkansasThe Arkansas Environmental Training Academy is offering these

courses:• March 12-14 – Basic Water Distribution, Paragould• March 16-31 – Advanced Water Distribution, Internet• March 17-20 – Applied Water Math (Night Class), Fort Smith• March 25 – Basic Water Math, North Little Rock• March 26 – Applied Water Math, North Little Rock• March 27 – PWS Compliance, North Little Rock• April 1-15 – Basic Water Math, online• April 1-3 – Advanced Water Distribution, North Little Rock• April 10-11 – ADH Plumbing Inspector School, Camden• April 16-30 – Applied Water Math, onlineVisit www.sautech.edu/aeta/. The Arkansas Rural Water Association is offering these courses:• March 12-13 – Water Specialized Training, Clarksville• March 25-27 – Basic Treatment, Lonoke• April 15-17 – Advanced Distribution, Lonoke• April 22-24 – Intermediate Treatment, Lonoke• April 29-May 1 – Basic Distribution, ClarksvilleVisit www.arkansasruralwater.org.

CaliforniaThe California-Nevada Section of AWWA is offering these courses:• April 9 – Water Use Efficiency Grade I Workshop, Rancho Cucamonga• April 24-25 – Two-Day Backflow Refresher, West SacramentoVisit www.ca-nv-awwa.org.

ColoradoThe Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association is offering a

Water/Wastewater Workshop on April 3. Visit www.rmwea.org.

FloridaThe Florida Section of AWWA is offering these courses:

WSO invites your national, state or local association to post notices and news items in the Worth Noting column. Send contributions to [email protected] Noting

March 17-20WATERCON 2014, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield, Ill. Visit www.

isawwa.org. March 23-26

Alabama Rural Water Association 36th Annual Technical Training Conference, Montgomery. Visit www.alruralwater.com. March 24-27

2014 California-Nevada Section AWWA Spring Conference, Disney-land Hotel, Anaheim, Calif. Visit www.ca-nv-awwa.org. March 25-27

EnergySMART 2014 Conference, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia. Visit www.energysmartconference.com. March 25-28

Wisconsin Rural Water Association 2014 Annual Technical Confer-ence, Hyatt/KI Convention Center, Green Bay. Visit www.wrwa.org. March 26-28

GLOBE 2014 Conference, Vancouver (British Columbia) Convention Centre. Visit www.2014.globeseries.com. March 30-April 2

Sustainable Water Management Conference, Curtis Hotel, Denver, Colo. Visit www.awwa.org/Sustainable14. March 30-April 2

Missouri Section 2014 AWWA Annual Conference, Osage Beach. Visit www.awwa-mo.org. April 6-8

North Carolina AWWA-WEA Spring Conference, Wilmington (N.C.) Convention Center. Visit www.ncsafewater.org. April 9

The Intermountain Section of AWWA is offering its 2014 Education Extravaganza Midyear Conference at the Karen Gail Miller Conference Center in Sandy, Utah. Visit www.ims-awwa.org.

April 21-24Alaska Section 2014 AWWA Annual Conference, Anchorage. Visit

www.awwma.org. April 24

Seventh Annual Water Distribution Conference, Addison, Ill. Visit www.isawwa.org.

EVENTS

• March 31 – Florida AWWA eLearning• April 9 – Disinfection of Distribution Water Mains, Orlando• April 30 – Florida AWWA eLearningVisit www.fsawwa.org.

IllinoisThe Illinois Section of AWWA is offering these courses:• March 27 – Chemical Properties, Safety and Security, Channahon• April 1 – How to Use Hydraulic Tools to Make Your Job Easier, Batavia• April 10 – Meters A to Z, Rockford• April 14 – GE Proficy iFix Offers More Than Pretty Pictures and

Alarms, webinar• April 15 – Safety Audit in the Plant, Elgin• April 22 – Effective Backflow Programs, Downers Grove• April 24 – ISAWWA Strategic Planning Implementation Workship,

Utica• April 24-May 29 – Utility Management 6-week Night Class, Westmont• April 25 – Virtual Water Accounting: Framework for Water Man-

agement in the Great Lakes, webinar• April 29 – Illinois Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network

Seminar and Tabletop Exercise, ElginVisit www.isawwa.org. The Environmental Resources Training Center at Southern Illinois

University Edwardsville is offering these courses: • March 28-May 2 – Water Operations Short School, ERTC - Edwardsville• March 31 – Class B Water Operations 1, Geneva• April 1 – Class B Water Operations 2, Geneva• April 2 – Class A Water Operations 1, Geneva• April 3 – Class A Water Operations 2, Geneva• April 15-18 – Cross Connection Control, Lake Bluff Visit www.siue.edu/ertc/.

MichiganThe Michigan Section of AWWA is offering its Limited Treatment

Short Course I & II March 25-27 at Higgins Lake. Visit www.mi-water.org.

New JerseyThe New Jersey Agricultural Research Station is offering these courses

at New Brunswick:• March 25-26 – Management Skills for Supervisors• March 28 – Effective Emergency Commiunications• April 8-10 – Motor Control Circuits: Wiring to Troubleshooting• April 11 – Customer Service Skills for Utilities• April 23 – Microbiology for the Non-Biologist• April 29 – Water and Wastewater Chemistry: Back to the BasicsVisit www.cpe.rutgers.edu.

New YorkThe New York Section of AWWA is offering these courses:• March 19 – Water Storage Tank O&M, Melville• March 24 – Basic Laboratory Skills, Poughkeepsie• March 26 – Basic Laboratory Skills, Troy• April 2 – Process Verification and Calibration, Kingston• April 4 – Process Verification and Calibration, Wayne County• April 8 – Concrete Water Tank Construction, Owego• April 9 – Hands-On Chlorination, Woodbury• April 9 – Water Storage Tank O&M, Troy• April 30 – Maintaining Water Quality in the Distribution System,

Peekskill• April 30 – Operator Ethics and Applications, TroyVisit www.nysawwa.org.

OklahomaThe Oklahoma Environmental Training Center is offering these courses:• March 14 – Open Exam Session, Stillwater• March 18-20 – D Water and Wastewater Operator, Tulsa• March 31-April 1 – D Water and Wastewater Operator, Midwest

City• March 28 – Renewal Training, Oklahoma City• April 1-3 – D Water and Wastewater Operator, Stillwater• April 4 – Open Exam Session, Tulsa• April 9 – General Refresher for Water Operators, Tulsa• April 9-10 – C Water Operator, Tulsa• April 11 – Open Exam Session, Stillwater• April 14-17 – B Water Operator, Tulsa• April 21 – General Refresher for Water Lab Operators, Stillwater• April 21-24 – C Water Laboratory, Stillwater• April 22-24 – D Water and Wastewater Operator, Tulsa• April 28-May 1 – A/B Water Laboratory, StillwaterVisit www.accuratelabs.com.

WisconsinThe University of Wisconsin – Madision Department of Engineering

Professional Development is offering a Cross-Connection Control and Backflow Prevention course March 24-28 in Madison. Visit www.epdweb.engr.wisc.edu.

The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee School of Continuing Edu-

cation is offering a Water Harvesting Systems and Application course April 11. Visit www4.uwm.edu.

The Wisconsin Rural Water Association is offering these courses:• March 19 – Small Water System Operator Certification Exam Review,

Cottage Grove• March 19 – Regulations Update, Cottage Grove• April 9 – Wells, Mount Horeb• April 9 – Distribution System O&M, Mount Horeb• April 17 – Wells, Green Bay• April 17 – Distribution System O&M, Green BayVisit www.wrwa.org. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is offering these courses:• April 1 – Groundwater Supply and Distribution, Chippewa Falls• April 15 – Groundwater Supply and Distribution, Fond du LacVisit http://dnr.wi.gov. wso

It’s your magazine.Tell your story.

WSO welcomes news about your water system for future articles.

Send your ideas to [email protected]

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We are both a manufacturer and a distributor for 50,000+ items used in your field operations. We employ specialists in every aspect of Water Operations, whether you need help with Chemicals, Dechlorination, Flow Testing, Pumps, Valves or any other equipment, we have the right products and personnel to help you get the job done right the first time.

Request our free catalog or visit our website for more details. If you don’t see what you are looking for, call us at 800-437-1146 and we will help you get what you need.

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