EDITORIAL COMMENT BY STEVE DAVEY
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER STEVE DAVEY steve@esemag.com MANAGING EDITOR PETER DAVEY peter@esemag.com SALES DIRECTOR PENNY DAVEY penny@esemag.com SALES REPRESENTATIVE DENISE SIMPSON denise@esemag.com ACCOUNTING SANDRA DAVEY sandra@esemag.com CIRCULATION MANAGER DARLANN PASSFIELD darlann@esemag.com DESIGN & PRODUCTION MIGUEL AGAWIN production@esemag.com
TECHNICAL ADVISORY BOARD Archis Ambulkar, Jones and Henry Engineers, Ltd. Gary Burrows, City of London Jim Bishop, Consulting Chemist, Ontario Patrick Coleman, Black & Veatch Bill De Angelis, City of Toronto Mohammed Elenany, Urban Systems William Fernandes, City of Toronto Marie Meunier, John Meunier Inc., Québec Tony Petrucci, Stantec, Markham
Environmental Science & Engineering is a bi-monthly business publication of Environmental Science & Engineering Publications Inc. An all Canadian publication, ES&E provides authoritative editorial coverage of Canada’s municipal and industrial environmental control systems and drinking water treatment and distribution. Readers include consulting engineers, industrial plant managers and engineers, key municipal, provincial and federal environmental officials, water and wastewater plant operators and contractors. Information contained in ES&E has been compiled from sources believed to be correct. ES&E cannot be responsible for the accuracy of articles or other editorial matter. Articles in this magazine are intended to provide information rather than give legal or other professional advice. Articles being submitted for review should be emailed to steve@esemag.com. Canadian Publications Mail Sales Second Class Mail Product Agreement No. 40065446 Registration No. 7750 Undeliverable copies, advertising space orders, copy, artwork, proofs, etc., should be sent to: Environmental Science & Engineering 220 Industrial Pkwy. S., Unit 30 Aurora, Ontario L4G 3V6 Tel: (905)727-4666 Website: www.esemag.com
Doing more with less requires innovative thinking and a system wide analysis
T
he footprint of treatment solutions is becoming more important as facilities need to add more processes and increase capacity. Adopting new technologies and innovative designs that build on existing infrastructure means plants can remove more contaminants to lower legislated limits without expanding in size. Sudbury, Ontario’s wastewater treatment plant is a good example of squeezing more capacity and improved treatment out of existing infrastructure. Built in 1971, it has gone through a series of upgrades to increase its capacity, remove fine grit and screenings, improve phosphorus removal and install dechlorination capability. Throughout this evolution, engineers had to deal with space constraints and increase efficiency in areas such as energy consumption, maintenance and operating costs. For a full history of the plant, see the article on page 34. By investing into energy saving equipment and software, utilities are recognizing additional efficiencies beyond lower electricity bills. One utility surveyed as part of the Canadian Water & Wastewater Association’s pumping optimization study saved $125,000 due to reduced main breaks, in addition to another $125,000 due to lower electricity costs and system leakage. Read about this study on page 51. Water and wastewater treatment accounts for a large amount of the energy used by cities and towns. Toronto Water, which is the City of Toronto’s largest user of energy, has established a 20-year energy optimization plan (EOP) to optimize consumption and costs. Both the CWWA survey and Toronto Water’s plan are meant to be shared with other utilities. As methods to improve efficiency are tested, tweaked and verified, others can use them. Lou Di Gironimo, general manager, Toronto Water, says that he hopes that Toronto’s EOP can also adapted by other utilities to develop their own energy plans. Read about the full plan on page 62. While initiatives to improve wastewater treatment plant performance and cut energy costs are important, they can easily be nullified by unwanted sewer inflow and infiltration (I/I), which adds completely unnecessary loading. In their article on page 42, authors Barbara Robinson and Dan Sandink provide a detailed analysis of an Ontario research project that showed “unacceptable” high rates of sewer inflow and infiltration in new subdivisions. They describe the extent of this problem and outline causes, both technical and procedural. Recommended actions to help ameliorate the issue are also outlined. To not address the I/I issue would be analogous to a homeowner spending considerable money on a high efficiency HVAC unit, upgrading insulation, caulking, weather stripping, etc., hoping to save money, only to leave windows open. It simply does not make sense.
A Supporting Publication of
Steve Davey is editor and publisher of ES&E Magazine. Email: steve@esemag.com
6 | October 2017
Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine