Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine September-October 2010

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WASTE WATER Solutions

Contents ISSN-0835-605X September/October 2010 Vol. 23 No. 5 Issued: October 2010 ES&E invites articles (approx. 2,000 words) on water, wastewater, hazardous waste treatment and other environmental protection topics. If you are interested in submitting an article for consideration in our print and digital editions, please contact Steve Davey at steve@esemag.com. Please note that Environmental Science & Engineering Publications Inc. reserves the right to edit all text and graphic submissions without notice.

FEATURES 7 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 28 30 36 38 42 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 61 64 66 68

Page 61

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- Editorial comment by Steve Davey Reducing communication costs for remote pumping stations Community uses wetland ponds to treat process water - Cover Story Optimizing water utility customer contact centres Fogging system solves wastewater plant odour problem Vancouver water plant chooses UV disinfection Energy management for water and wastewater plants Vacuum fed sodium hypochlorite disinfection offers several advantages BC water plant controls costs with instrumentation upgrade Recycling cutting fluids could save plant $2 million Safe remediation of an agricultural oil spill in Québec Using satellite data to monitor urban air quality Ten years after Walkerton, how is Ontario’s drinking water?

Desalination plant aids Australian water shortage New pipeline ensures Rankin Inlet’s water supply How a Manitoba water cooperative replaced eight water treatment facilities Cupric copper treatment system optimizes small wastewater treatment plants and lagoons Finding a way to replace fibre sewers helped establish trenchless technology centre Canada-wide certification introduced for environmental professionals Portable monitoring instruments solve sewer flow rate mystery Filtering pharmaceutical plant cooling tower water Using scientifically engineered wetlands to clean industrial wastewater Canada’s environment ministers launch biosolids initiative Innovative technology cuts soil remediation time and saves money Determining biodiversity’s economic value is vital to its sustainability Restoring Lake Erie’s Wheatley harbour

DEPARTMENTS

Page 12

Product Showcase . . . . . 70-74 Environmental News . . . 75-82 Professional Cards . . . . . .75-82 Ad Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

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Comment by Steve Davey

Voting can really impact your property value espite the drastic impact local decisions can have on individuals, only 38.6 percent of those eligible to do so voted during Ontario’s last municipal election.

This is indeed tragic, because voter apathy palpably makes it much easier for an influential few to lobby politicians, and push forward their own agendas. As many have found out, it would have been much easier for them to contribute to any debate, prior to a decision, than to try and have it overturned after the fact. As the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Recently, I was appointed to our cottage association board. Called Clear Lake, its very name conveys an image of clean clear water, surrounded by a pristine shoreline. Generally, this is the case.

However, seemingly innocent decisions by our municipal council to approve a rock crushing facility and more recently a motorcycle race course are having farreaching implications for residents and cottagers in the whole township.

Noise, defined as a pollutant and regulated by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, is becoming a major problem on our lake. The rock crushing facility is located about three km away from us.

While this seems like a long distance, mainly only trees and water separate it from our lake. When the crusher is operating, it sounds like our driveway is being graded. When citizens contacted the township last year to complain, they were told municipal noise restrictions only applied from 11 pm to 7am. So there was nothing to stop the crusher from operating outside these hours, even though, it was reportedly exceeding Ontario MOE noise guidelines.

In another part of our township, other cottagers face two pronged environmental assaults. Recently, municipal council approved an application for a dirt bike/motocross park that now hosts daily riders and sanctioned racing events. Apparently, council approved the track, even though an environmental impact study only looked at noise levels and other factors that related to the race site itself.

It is incredulous to believe that a proper Environmental Assessment would determine that the 118-130 decibels (dB) noise produced by several high performance motorcycles running full throttle,

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would get reduced to MOE guidelines within the short distance between the track and the unfortunate nearby cottagers. The Ontario MOE regulation for noise in a rural setting is 45 dB, measured at the nearest receptor (listener’s) property line. (Typical human conversation levels measure around 40 dB) It is also suspected that the racetrack is having a deleterious effect on water quality. At an association meeting, we were shown a video of a downstream plume of sand and dirt in the water, which is the suspected result of race track erosion. This plume is continually working its way through otherwise pristine wetlands and into a popular cottage lake.

To be sure, the impacts of a single rock crushing operation and a single racetrack are only felt by a relatively small number of individuals. However, the bigger issue, which council seems to have missed, is that by approving such activities without restriction it has set precedents for potentially dozens of similar facilities to be located within its boundaries.

To be fair, there are many government initiatives, such as septic system regulations, and shoreline construction setbacks, which have helped cottagers preserve lake water quality. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment will provide cottagers with Secchi disks which help determine algae levels. The Secchi disk, a black and white device named for Italian physicist Pietro Angelo Secchi, offers a simple way of testing a lake for oligotrophy (too few nutrients), mesotrophy (more nutrients) or eutrophy (too many nutrients).

Residents are encouraged to use them to monitor lakes in the area six times a season, from May to September, and to report their findings. To use the disk, which measures 20 centimetres in diame-

ter, cottagers lower it into the water on a string, preferably away from shore, and note the depth at which it disappears; then slowly raise it, this time noting the level at which it returns to view.

Once cottagers pass on their findings and their water samples, the ministry tests the water to determine the level of chlorophyll and algae. The higher the density of chlorophyll A, the more nutrient-enriched the water, and the less hospitable it is for fish and many other creatures in the food chain. This is a great program as it would be prohibitively expensive for the ministry itself to take samples from the thousands of lakes in the province.

Researchers at the University of Maine estimate that every one-metre decrease in water clarity may represent a 10- to 15percent decline in waterfront property values. For upscale cottage communities in Ontario – where prices often start at $500,000 to $1 million – environmental neglect could cost millions.

Ontario’s next municipal election will take place this October. This is the ideal time for all of us to question candidates about environmental issues and make them feel accountable to all of us for decisions they have made or will be asked to make in the next four years. Otherwise, try selling your dream cottage after a matted carpet of weeds begins to reach out from your shoreline, or if ear plugs become as necessary as sunscreen.

Steve Davey is Editor of ES&E Magazine. E-mail comments to steve@esemag.com September 2010 | 7

Letters to the Editor Dear Steve: I am aware that your publication, like many other magazines, receives articles from various sources, including equipment vendors.

There will, of course, be a variety of vendor opinions, depending on the products they offer. I myself have written for Environmental Science and Engineering Magazine.

Generally, a variety of different perspectives would help your readers have a good understanding of the market. However, the article titled “Emerging advances in level measurement” in your Summer issue, seems so out of date, I felt a need to comment.

While it does make a brief mention of some modern level technologies, without giving any indication of their use in wastewater treatment, it goes on to promote RF Admittance (generic term is RF Capacitance) as the best currently available technology. Many would agree that this technology fell out of favour years ago, due to its many application sensitivities compared to newer technologies.

Vendor objectives aside, (including our own), I am quite confident you could survey major treatment plants in Canada, and find common trends that run quite contrary to the suggestions for contact level measurement, stated in this article. RF level controls were used in the past, but were generally replaced by ultrasonic level measurements. Unlike RF devices, these have non contacting level measurement, and don’t have the application sensitivities that RF level measurement has.

This change was pioneered by the Canadian company Milltronics (now part of Siemens). To this day, non contact ultrasonic level measurement, made by a variety of different manufacturers, is the most widely used level technology in wastewater treatment plants. On the emerging side, you have a movement to another type of non contact level measurement that is radar (microwave) based. This is not mainstream yet, but I suspect most of the major level transmitter suppliers would confirm there is movement in that direction.

If there was a preference to use a contacting level technology for some reason, rather than RF with all its limits, Guided Wave (contacting) radar could generally be used, with better results and a similar cost.

Early versions of this approach were called TDR, a term still used in Europe, though Summer

Editor and Publisher STEVE DAVEY E-mail: steve@esemag.com Consulting Editor

TOM DAVEY

Sales Director PENNY DAVEY E-mail: penny@esemag.com Sales Representative DENISE SIMPSON E-mail: denise@esemag.com Accounting SANDRA DAVEY E-mail: sandra@esemag.com Circulation Manager DARLANN PASSFIELD E-mail: darlann@esemag.com Production Manager CHRIS MAC DONALD E-mail: chris@esemag.com

Technical Advisory Board Jim Bishop Stantec Consulting Ltd., Ontario Bill Borlase, P.Eng. City of Winnipeg, Manitoba George V. Crawford, P.Eng., M.A.Sc. CH2M HILL, Ontario Bill DeAngelis, P.Eng. Associated Engineering, Ontario Marie Meunier John Meunier Inc., Québec Peter J. Paine Environment Canada 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 e-mailed 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, Canada, L4G 3V6, Tel: (905)727-4666, Fax: (905) 841-7271, Web site: www.esemag.com Printed in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without written permission of the publisher. Yearly subscription rate: Canada $75.00 (plus HST).

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North America has typically adopted terminology like “ Guided Wave Radar”, more reflective of the technology advances, since the early TDR days.

Though there was a lot of detail about level switches (point level) in this article, I think it is also worth noting a trend away from this as well. There has been greater utilization of transmitters (continuous level) due to their flexibility, and additional information they provide when used with today’s powerful and cost-effective PLCs and telemetry systems.

These personal observations are not necessarily those of my employer. In the interest of full disclosure, I work for a company that manufactures all of the technologies mentioned above.

Kevin Martyn, Magnetrol Canada The authors respond: The article is intended to be a brief introduction of level technologies used in the water and wastewater market. All technologies have advantages and disadvantages. While I agree that ultrasonic continuous transmitters are predominately used in W & WW facilities, there are many applications where RF Admittance will perform as well, or better, than ultrasonic.

Guided wave radar transmitters are excellent for many applications, but do offer some disadvantages in respect to RF Admittance. Guided Wave Radar has dead zones at both the top and bottom of the sensor and can be questionable when measuring materials with low dielectric constants.

I would also like to point out that RF Admittance is not capacitance. Capacitance transmitters measure capacitance.

RF Admittance transmitters measure both capacitance and resistance, allowing RF Admittance to reject conductive coatings that have caused problems for capacitance transmitters.

I would also disagree that there is a trend away from using point level switches. It is simply best practice to provide a back up level switch for any application that has hazardous or environmentally risky materials. If you review standards for level measurements of these materials, a back up level switch is typically recommended. Sales of level switches continue to grow.

These are personal observations, and do not necessarily represent the views of my employer.

William Sholette, AMETEK Drexelbrook

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Water Treatment

Community uses wetland ponds to treat process water By Andy Valickis, P.Eng., and Holly Wirth, P.Eng. s you walk along a meandering wood chip path in West Elgin, Ontario, you can’t help but be impressed by the natural beauty of the place. An array of native plant species of all shapes and sizes adorns the perimeter of two large, interconnected ponds and the adjacent wetland. It’s a rural setting, complete with resident wildlife, including ducks, birds, fish, amphibians and small woodland creatures.

What is not evident is that this scenic backdrop serves a dual purpose. In addition to being a place of natural tranquility for wildlife and the community, these ponds are also an integral part of a recently completed $16.9 million water treatment plant.

For decades, most communities in Canada have used a common method to clean the ‘backwash’ or ‘process water’ that is cast off as a byproduct of the water treatment process. This backwash, which is loaded with suspended solids (silt, algae, etc.) and process chemicals (alum, polymers, chlorine, etc.) is typically stored in large clarifying tanks. It is sometimes further treated with chemicals, then the suspended solids are filtered or allowed to settle out. Remaining chemicals, such as chlorine, are then removed so the water can be returned to the original source.

West Elgin is one of the first in

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Canada to employ large wetland retention ponds to do the work of the clarifying tanks and chemicals. There are no chemicals added and no ongoing maintenance costs. And, once this polishing process is complete, most of the naturally-treated water simply exfiltrates back to the groundwater table.

In an age when many environmentally-friendly innovations tend to lean to-

no chemicals, ongoing operational costs will be virtually zero.

The original proposal to use retention ponds, as part of the community’s new water treatment facility, came from the engineers at Stantec Consulting Ltd. The company has had a significant amount of experience incorporating wetlands ponds in wastewater treatment facilities, but this was the first time it used these ponds

By opting for retention ponds, rather than a traditional backwash water treatment system, the community was able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in capital expenditures. ward the overly complex, West Elgin’s retention ponds represent a decidedly simple, almost nostalgic approach. And, in an era when it seems increasingly difficult to please even some of the people some of the time, the community’s latest green initiative is receiving positive attention from a wide range of stakeholder groups, including politicians, environmentalists, students, ratepayers, water industry experts and the media.

By opting for retention ponds, rather than a traditional backwash water treatment system, the community was able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in capital expenditures. Also, since the ponds are maintenance free and require

as part of the water treatment process.

“Because the West Elgin facility is a membrane facility, and there is an extremely low amount of chemicals used with these types of plants,” said Elvio Zaghi, of Stantec, “we had the wetlands pond alternative available to us. So we proposed this alternative to the community. Once the key players realized what they would be able to achieve with this approach, everyone was extremely supportive of the idea of incorporating these ponds as part of the new facility.”

Mindful of the larger significance these ponds would hold for West Elgin, Stantec made a special point of engaging the community in every phase of the

Water Treatment project. One of the first organizations involved was the West Elgin Nature Club, a local group founded in 1946. It played an active role in helping design the landscaping plan for the ponds, the layout of the wetland, where the paths should be located, etc.

The group also helped by recommending (and helping to plant) many of the native plant species currently growing in and around the ponds. A number of students from the local high-school helped with the planting process.

Before construction, Stantec undertook extensive, year-long hydrogeological testing in the area to observe water movement patterns. The new water treatment plant was being built on an entirely new site and the property the municipality purchased contained a provincially significant wetland. Whatever was to be built on the site could not negatively impact the wetland, or the natural setting of the area.

Incorporating retention ponds that exfiltrated the plant process water actually helped maintain the high groundwater levels in the wetland area, ensuring that the natural wetland nearby will last for

generations to come.

Key features of the project include: • The water treatment and retention ponds have been online since April 2009.

Incorporating retention ponds that exfiltrated the plant process water actually helped maintain the high groundwater levels in the wetland area, ensuring that the natural wetland nearby will last for generations to come.

• System was designed for the 20 year daily flow of 12,160 m3/d.

• 90% of the cost of the new water treatment facility was paid for by the CanadaOntario Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund, a partnership between the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.

• Wetland retention ponds were built to

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a depth of three metres, to allow fish and plants to survive the harsh winters.

• Discharge water from the retention ponds meets Ontario Ministry of the Environment guidelines.

• The water supply system was also one of the first ten systems in the province to achieve Drinking Water Quality Management Standard (DWQMS) accreditation.

• The water system provides water to the neighbouring municipalities of DuttonDunwich, Southwest Middlesex, Newbury, and the community of Bothwell in Chatham-Kent.

The retention ponds were built for a little over $150,000, whereas a conventional process water treatment system was estimated at $1,000,000. Also, involving citizen groups not only provided great community support, but using volunteers reduced landscaping costs.

Andy Valickis and Holly Wirth are with the Ontario Clean Water Agency, which provided management services for this project. For more information, E-mail: avalickis@ocwa.com Photo’s by Erin Valickis

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Water System Management

Optimizing water utility customer contact centres ourteen utilities from the United States and Canada participated in a Water Research Foundation project to develop and operate more efficient, comprehensive, and costeffective customer contact centres.

Specific objectives were to identify processes and technologies to improve performance, define techniques to increase customer satisfaction, and identify characteristics that would make call centre positions a “job of choice”.

The following areas were studied: • Out-of-industry trends in contact centres (literature review).

• The current state of water utility contact centres (structured interviews).

• Future trends and needs (utility manager interviews).

• Current best practices (case studies).

Currently, the business model for today’s water utility customer call centre is typically structured around a reactive, problem resolution mode, i.e., resolving billing and other complaints, answering questions, and handling field-related issues.

With the enormous advances in customer contact centre technologies and heightened awareness of the importance of customer service and satisfaction, water utilities can significantly expand and optimize the centre into a utilitywide resource to raise the levels of serv-

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14 | September 2010

Water utilities can significantly expand and optimize the centre into a utility-wide resource.

ice, promote customer satisfaction and, ultimately, reduce costs to the utility.

Research identified some high performing water utility call centres that currently demonstrate Best Practices in areas such as automation (AMR, selfservice, and electronic bill payment), outsourcing (cloud computing), personnel training and management, and making use of information gained from customer interactions.

Some utilities provide call centre

services to nearby utilities, taking advantage of economies of scale to acquire technology.

Applications and recommendations The final report contains both a written report and a toolkit (enclosed on a CD) for water utilities to use in planning for and optimizing their customer contact centre. Presented in a concise format, the toolkit includes an outline of the current state of these centres, trends in customer contact centres, characteristics of the water utility customer contact centre of the future, case studies, and best practices and processes for achieving high levels of customer satisfaction.

The optimization toolkit consists of four components: self-assessment tool, benchmarking tool, improvement plan tool, and a resource guide. It contains recommendations that are size differentiated, so a utility will see different recommendations depending on whether it is a small, medium, or large utility.

This toolkit was tested at seven utilities, ranging in size (population served) from 49,000 to 1.2 million.

For more information, visit www.waterresearchfoundation.org

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Odour Control

Fogging system solves odour problem hen the discharge point of a three-mile force main was changed from a pump station to the treatment plant in Suffolk County, New York, the odours got so bad even the operators complained.

“It was awful,” says Ron Warren, Director of Operations and Maintenance at the county’s 2.6 million gallon a day Sewer District #11 facility in Coram on Long Island. “It was not just your normal hydrogen sulfide odour, but we had a lot of mercaptans, as well. We had to switch the force main back to its original discharge point until we could find a solution.”

Warren explains that the original decision to move the force main discharge point was made for cost-saving reasons.

“We needed to reduce the head pressure (of the force main) on that pump station, plus we had a lift there of some 12 feet.

It just made sense to take the main directly to the plant and avoid that lift.”

In doing so, however, odours became

W

Lift stations and wet wells are excellent applications.

more concentrated and simply overwhelmed existing odour control devices.

“In the old arrangement the odours had been somewhat diluted, but when we connected the main to the plant, our existing odour system simply couldn’t pull the air fast enough,” Warren explains.

Pumping the discharge point back to its original location wasn’t an efficient permanent solution either because it was using an additional 10 horsepower.

“The odours were too concentrated for the existing chemical scrubber, and we had tried carbon,” says Warren, “but

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Odour Control when we hooked up a hydroxyl ion fogger we got immediate results; there were no odours.â&#x20AC;?

O-MEGAÂŽ systems from Vapex Inc., Florida, utilize air, water and power to generate a hydroxyl ion fog that is injected into the odorous space through a special atomizing nozzle and reacts with the odorous compounds. Unlike a scrubber system, there is no need to withdraw odorous air from the structure and pass it through a separate odour-control scrubbing process, because the reacted mist simply condenses back into the water stream. No hazardous chemicals are purchased, handled or stored.

Lift stations and wet wells are excellent applications because they act as the reaction chambers. The hydroxyl ion fog can also reduce hydrogen sulfide corrosion within the structure, break down grease, and kill biofilm.

The fogging systems are available in a variety of sizes, with a range of nozzle output rates and coverage areas.

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Russ Galati, plant operator, and Mike Polinice, maintenance mechanic, inspecting the odour control system.

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September 2010 | 17

Water Treatment

Metro Vancouver’s newest water plant uses UV as primary disinfectant By Arthur Ouyang etro Vancouver’s drinking water comes from three wa t e r s h e d s : S ey m o u r, Capilano and Coquitlam.

The Seymour and Capilano sources supply 70% of the region’s demand for drinking water.

With new quality standards now in place, chlorine, which was used at the Seymour and Capilano reservoir, could no longer effectively cope with the high level of turbidity occurring on rainy days, while achieving Metro Vancouver’s goal of minimizing chemical residuals in drinking water. An alternative was required.

The brand new Seymour-Capilano Water Filtration Plant can provide up to 1.8 billion litres of water every day when fully operational. It uses filtration to reduce turbidity and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection for its primary disinfection.

Lime and carbon dioxide are added prior to distribution to adjust alkalinity and

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Twenty-four UV K143 reactors were installed.

add corrosion protection to the water system. Sodium hypochlorite is added for secondary disinfection. Therefore, the consumption of chlorine required for

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disinfection is greatly reduced.

Metro Vancouver selected ITT Wedeco as the supplier of the ultraviolet disinfection equipment. Through a detailed evaluation process, it was identified that the low pressure high intensity UV lamp technology provided a favourable life cycle cost when compared to other available UV technologies.

Twenty-four UV K143 reactors were installed, one per filter, to meet present demand. Each reactor consists of four rows with twelve lamps, with additional space for a fifth row for future expansion to a total of 500 MGD. The K143 12/5 Unit can treat a maximum 20 MGD flow rate and it can be easily adjusted to the water demand by advanced control sequences and various lamp outputs. The system has saved the plant on the cost of energy through its dose-various pacing control.

An effective disinfection technology, the ultraviolet system does not change the chemistry of the water, does not generate by-products or residuals, has no effect on odour and taste, and does not use any hazardous chemicals in the process.

Arthur Ouyang is with ITT Water & Wastewater.

E-mail: hui.ouyang@itt.com

18 | September 2010

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Introduction of NEW 2- and 3-Way Valves

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Energy Conservation

Driving value with energy management in water and wastewater environments By Ivan Romanow he volatile price of energy has put increased pressure on executives in energy-intensive industries. It is now more important than ever to understand a plant’s needs and to cut out wasteful consumption wherever possible so that companies can improve the predictability of energy usage.

The main pressure driving companies to focus on energy management is the need to reduce costs in operations. Plant managers often underestimate the opportunity to reduce costs through an effective energy management strategy. This is especially critical in energy-intensive plants where energy can account for as much as 25% of total operating costs. In such a scenario, the ability to cut even a small percentage of total energy consumption can result in significant savings for the organization.

Other market pressures are the need to maintain system reliability and avoid outages, and the desire to be a leader in sustainability.

The top strategies for energy management are: • Redesigning/optimizing processes to be energy-efficient.

• Including energy management in company initiatives.

• Creating or improving collaboration across functional groups.

• Incorporating energy management when designing new processes and production changes.

Energy management is not just about tracking consumption through utility bills but is also about how effective companies are in considering energy in operational decision-making. Including energy management in enterprise-wide initiatives ensures that all employees have “skin in the game” when it comes to energy management.

Best practices for energy management 1. Process. One of the best practices for companies is to put in place an efficient process to enable the success of their energy management initiatives. Establish short-term and long-term goals for plants/facilities or remote site locations.

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20 | September 2010

Energy Data + Production Context = Information.

Standardizing processes is about understanding the best practices, capturing those practices and implementing them across the plant(s); understanding which energy data to collect, where to collect from, how frequently to collect the data, and how to use the data to make effective decisions. This process will enable companies to equip employees with the right energy information at the right time to take corrective and preventive actions.

2. Organization. One of the common challenges is the level of awareness among employees about managing energy throughout the plants. Another is that the employees on the plant floor do not have a lot of influence and control when it comes to making energy management decisions. And, often, a lack of collaboration between corporate engineering and plant engineering groups makes the process very slow.

Establishing corporate teams to ensure the success of an energy management program is important, but companies need to ensure that the strategies established in the boardrooms are implemented efficiently on the plant floor.

Establishing roles and responsibilities across the functional teams will ensure that the corporate goals are well communicated to employees.

While driving accountability for en-

ergy consumption is critical, rewarding the plants/departments which achieve their goals fosters an energy-aware culture across the organization.

3. Knowledge Management. There are two ways to manage knowledge throughout the enterprise: manual data collection (very cumbersome), and automatic collection of energy data which are then stored in a central location. Ensuring employees have access to both realtime and historical energy data helps to develop an understanding of the trends in energy usage in a plant.

Many large organizations are turning to Historian systems to manage historical data. A Process Data Historian system is a specialized database that allows for large amounts of data to be archived and readily retrieved in far less time than a traditional database. This enables seamless access to both real-time data and historical trends of processes and energy management, leading to more informed decisions and better energy utilization.

These products are designed with an open-architecture, allowing them to be easily combined out of the box, allowing a faster time-to-solution.

While having energy information is critical, the next step is to utilize the information to optimize operational processes (maintenance, production, etc.)

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Energy Conservation to reduce energy consumption.

Energy data and asset condition data can be used together to schedule maintenance activities.

For example, if there is a motor or pump that is utilizing more energy than it is rated for, this can be flagged for a scheduled maintenance.

4. Performance Management. Effective measuring of energy management performance is essential. This enables plants to benchmark themselves internally across functional groups or sister plants, as well as externally against industry standards. This allows management to continuously monitor and measure the success of the energy management programs and to make future decisions on using the program in other areas or plants within the enterprise.

5. Technology. Most of the energy in all plants is consumed by the equipment in the plants. Investing in energy efficient hardware such as variable frequency drives (VFDs) and energy efficient lighting is extremely helpful in reducing energy consumption. For example, VFDs can be used to save energy on rotating equipment such as fans, pumps and conveyors, by controlling the speed of a motor through adjusting the power supplied to the equipment. This has been identified as a major source of energy waste.

Consultants provide value through plant audits, helping executives to understand gaps in energy management processes, and they also provide some critical recommendations on the steps required to make a plant more energy-efficient.

Energy management tools help companies to collect energy data automatically, providing real-time insight into the energy processes that aid in operational decision-making. They allow companies to collect critical energy information such as energy consumption, energy costs, and energy efficiency, and enable them to drill down to data per plant or remote locations. This information is critical in making decisions on efficient energy usage.

Statistical process control software allows companies to establish limits, and alerts management when the processes are out of control limits. Investing in analytics, dashboards, and alert manage-

www.esemag.com

ment, provides the right energy data to the right person at the right time to enable decision-making.

Combining energy management with asset management enables maintenance to include energy consumption data while scheduling their activities. Similarly, the integration of energy consumption data with Advanced Process Control allows plant operators to include critical information related to energy usage and cost in the optimization process, along with other variables on the plant floor, to

achieve the optimal balance of output, quality, and energy efficiency.

Dashboards and analytical solutions will enable executives to understand the real value from a huge amount of energy data collected, and to present the data to the appropriate employees for efficient decision-making.

Ivan Romanow, CET, is with GESCAN, a division of Sonepar Canada. E-mail: ivan.romanow@sonepardis.ca

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September 2010 | 21

Disinfection

Vacuum fed sodium hypochlorite disinfection offers several advantages rganizations and associations have regulated the use and storage of chlorine to the point that alternatives have been explored for water disinfection for the past 20+ years. One result is the use of liquid sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl).

Although NaOCl requires more storage space than gaseous chlorine, it can be handled more easily and it creates fewer maintenance problems than other disinfectants. It also provides residual disinfection and lower capital costs.

Commercial grade NaOCl is corrosive, relatively unstable, and very caustic. Personnel who handle NaOCl need to take the same precautions as they would for any caustic material. NaOCl emits oxygen when it degrades, but it will react to most acidic materials, which will combine to release chlorine gas. In case of an NaOCl spill, the material can be easily diluted with water and will naturally degrade to oxygen and salt, usually within 72 hours.

The Delivery System Currently, there are two techniques used to feed NaOCl. Traditionally, metering pumps of either the diaphragm or peristaltic type have been used, but there has been a growing interest in the last several years in vacuum dosing.

Pumps Pumps have been the usual method of dosing NaOCl, but experience has identified a number of constraints to this technology: 1. Pumping a liquid requires that the lines throughout the system are pressurized, so pumping NaOCl can be dangerous to personnel in the case of a line break.

2. Diaphragm pumps are prone to gasification, which will form a vapor lock, and eventually cause crystallization, which will jam the operating mechanism in the pump’s wet end.

3. Suction piping should be kept short in order to guard against gasification. This requires that NaOCl solution tanks are in the same enclosed area as the pump and inside the plant.

4. All dosing pumps, either diaphragm or peristaltic in design, must be continu-

O

22 | September 2010

A typical Reliant liquid dosing system.

ously checked for crystallization within the wetted parts. These flexible parts can split and cause contamination of the environment and danger to personnel.

Pumps are the least expensive method of feeding NaOCl, unless the cost considerations of personnel safety, maintenance, clean-up, repair and possible spill alleviation are taken into consideration.

Vacuum Feed Systems Vacuum dosing is similar to the process used to feed gaseous chlorine, ammonia and sulfur dioxide, and recent advances have improved on that technology. In a vacuum feed system, a properly sized and placed ejector or induction mixer produces the required vacuum to draw the NaOCl through the dosing system. The caustic flow is then metered, using a V-notch rate valve controlled by an electronic flow sensor, into the feedwater. There is never high pressure in the caustic lines, nor is there a requirement for a vacuum regulator in the feed line.

Advantages of a vacuum feed system include: • Increased operator safety compared

to pressure systems.

• A wide range of flow – 3 to 20,000 GPD. • High accuracy – +/-2% of actual feed.

• 100:1 turndown ratio.

• No air binding possible.

• Caustic storage and ejectors can be located outside of the disinfection building.

• No pressurized caustic lines.

• Few moving parts, thus less maintenance and down time.

One inherent disadvantage of the vacuum system is the potential for scaling at the contact point between the chemical and the motive water in the injector. This can be avoided by accounting for the scaling potential during the design phase.

Water softeners can be installed ahead of the injector to completely eliminate this problem, or various automatic injector switchover schemes can be included in the design of the vacuum feed system.

For further information, E-mail: parmar.s@SPDSales.com

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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©2008 Gorman-Rupp of Canada Limited. Gorman-Rupp of Canada Limited is an ISO 9001:2000 Registered Canadian Company.

Water Treatment

BC water treatment plant controls costs with instrumentation upgrade By Vijay Acharya reater Vernon Water, in the Regional District of North Okanagan, British Columbia, supplies drinking water to agricultural and non-agricultural customers in the Greater Vernon area. In 2005, AEKWL, a consortium of Associated Engineering and Kerr Wood Leidal, was hired as consultants to work with Greater Vernon Water to begin constructing a new water treatment plant at the existing reservoir and pump station site.

Completed in June 2006, the new plant supplies 40 million litres of drinking water per day to 35,000 customers in the Greater Vernon area.

The plant intakes water from Kalmalka Lake, using four pumps. This raw water is then passed through UV reactors and is further disinfected with sodium hypochlorite, which is generated on site. The disinfected water is discharged into the pressure grid of the city, and into a 14-million-litre-capacity reservoir.

In designing the new treatment plant, engineers strived for cost-effectiveness and efficiency throughout the project.

This included a streamlined design/build phase, followed by safe operation. Another requirement was to work with the least number of suppliers possible without sacrificing quality, durability or reliability. The project required level, flow, and pressure instrumentation.

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A SITRANS Probe LU measures sodium hypochlorite levels.

By selecting one network for the electrical, control, and instrumentation systems, engineers could quickly focus on the design portion of the project and specify all the necessary components to ensure long-term reliability of the system.

Grant Whitehill, a Delpro sales representative, worked with Siemens engineers, the systems integrator Turn-Key

Raw water inflow is measured by a SITRANS FUS1010 clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter.

24 | September 2010

Controls, and project engineers to provide a Totally Integrated Automation solution from Siemens. From network cables to instrumentation, engineers were able to work with one company for 95% of the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s instrumentation needs, satisfying engineering requirements through all three phases of the project.

The Profibus network was the network of choice for several reasons. It can handle both instrumentation and electrical control on one network; it is proven, with over 30 million nodes worldwide; it works well in multi-vendor applications; all instruments can be configured over the bus using one configuration package, SIMATIC PDM; and it allows flexibility between products and keeps wiring and installation costs low.

Engineers were able to work with one supplier for all level, pressure, and flow instrument requirements, including: 1. Ultrasonic transmitters (SITRANS Probe LU) continuously measure the level of sodium hypochlorite. Three units are installed on three separate tanks. The SITRANS Probe LU is a two-wire, looppowered ultrasonic transmitter. It has a compact design, with sensor and electronics in one enclosure, and is easy to install. The swivel head aligns the conduit for easy wiring and adjusts for optimal visibility.

It offers a high signal-to-noise ratio and patented Sonic Intelligence signal processing. The narrow beam angle allows operators to position the sensor exactly where it is needed. It is easy to set up on site with as few as two parameters.

In this application, it was wired directly into the Profibus network for centralized commissioning and control from the control room. A built-in alpha-numeric display is visible through the transparent lid for on-site confirmation of the measurements.

2. Clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeters (SITRANS FUS1010) continuously monitor the inflow rate of raw water into the plant on two intake lines. The non-intrusive ultrasonic flowmeters are easy to install and commission. They simply clamp

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Water Treatment on the pipe’s exterior. The transducers are installed in reflect mode, offering the advantages of wide beam technology and the “zeromatic” function. This helps the flowmeter perform more reliably with a stable zero point.

Automatic zero adjustments can be performed without stopping the flow.

The 4-20 mA analog output is converted directly into the Profibus network, providing centralized monitoring and control.

3.Electromagnetic flowmeters (SITRANS F M MAG 5100W with SITRANS F M MAG 6000 electronics) measure the finished water flow pumped out from the plant to the storage reservoir. This model of flowmeter is accurate to +/- 0.25% of the flow rate.

The Sensorprom feature allows verification of the accuracy of the flowmeter and the transmitter in-line without taking the meter out from the installation. The Verificator function checks the magnetism properties and coil insulation of the flowmeter’s sensor and compares with data stored in the Sensorprom at the factory. Verificator also allows detection continued overleaf...

www.esemag.com

A SITRANS FM MAG 5100W electromagnetic flowmeter and SITRANS F M MAG 6000 electronics measure treated water flow.

September 2010 | 25

Water Treatment

All instrumentation is connected directly into the Profibus network, providing monitoring and control in one location.

of any noise in the cables and helps certify the installation.

4. Differential pressure transmitters (SITRANS DSIII) monitor pump discharge pressure, grid pressure, the level of brine tanks, and the level of the finished water reservoir. This transmitter has advanced diagnostics features and an accuracy of +/- 0.075% of reading. It can be programmed locally, using three

pushbuttons, without the need for handheld devices or a laptop. The transmitters have seven basic measuring cells covering a complete range of applications, thus reducing the number of spares required.

Benefits of using one supplier By choosing Siemens instrumentation for this project, Greater Vernon Water only needed to deal with one sup-

plier of electrical, instrumentation, control, and SCADA systems, including WINCC, Siemens PLC, MCC and Smartdrives. This made implementation of integrated plant operations easy and provided centralized visualization and control.

It is easy to troubleshoot any of the Profibus devices with the help of Siemens PDM (Process Device Manager) software. The devices can be adjusted, calibrated and diagnosed from a central location, which reduces physical visits to the equipment, thus saving time and improving operator safety.

In addition to providing the instrumentation, Siemens was the only vendor that could connect the UV system HMI to the central SCADA system in the control room on Ethernet. This allows the operator to visualize and intervene in the UV operations from the control room instead of going to the UV reactors, saving running time and maintenance costs.

Vijay Acharya is with Siemens Canada Limited. For more information, E-mail: vijay.acharya@siemens.com

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Industrial Wastewater

Recycling cutting fluids in a manufacturing facility can save $1.9 million over 20 years By Michael Kowalczyk utting fluids are primarily used in manufacturing facilities where milling or CNC (computer numerical controlled) machines are present. The main purpose of a cutting fluid is to cool and extend the lifespan of tooling used in the machining process.

Most cutting fluids have an almost infinite life cycle. The main reason they are disposed of is because they become tainted with unwanted tramp oils and metal cuttings. which provides an environment for bacteria to grow in. When bacteria are present in a cutting fluid it becomes rancid and unusable from a health and safety perspective, and can also become unacceptable for other reasons, such as concentration, pH and alkalinity.

Recycling allows for the reconditioning of cutting fluids to restore them to their original condition.

Recyclers use various methods to restore cutting fluids. Tramp oils are skimmed from the surface, magnetic separators and paper filter media are used to extract particulates, and an oil coalescer is used to ensure tramp oils that were not removed by the skimmer are removed from the cutting fluid. At this point, the concentration of the fluid must be adjusted, either to raise or lower the current concentration in the recycler.

Most cutting fluids are anti-bacterial by

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Typical stand-alone cutting fluid recycler which is approximtely 3X3 metres.

ting fluid in most of its machining operations. Since there is only one type of cutting fluid being used at this particular facility, there is no concern that the recycler would experience cross-contamination with two or more fluid types.

Typical cutting fluid recyclers are standalone machines that can be positioned in an unused corner of a facility or any other accessible location.

With an overall estimated 70% efficiency, the manufacturer is expected to save $95,000 a year on cutting fluid expenses. nature; adding new make-up fluid helps ensure that any remaining bacteria are eliminated.

Manufacturers of cutting fluid recyclers typically report that they can save an operation up to 90% on new cutting fluid make-up and disposal of spent cutting fluid.

Case study – auto parts An auto parts manufacturer in the Niagara Region is using a soluble oil cut28 | September 2010

After reviewing each process in the facility, it was calculated that the manufacturer was spending approximately $135,000 a year on new make-up fluid and off-site disposal of cutting fluids.

The manufacturer decided to implement a cutting fluid recycler process. The cost for engineering services, purchase of a cutting fluid recycler, and installation and training, was in the order of $60,000.

After four months of operation, it was

determined by the manufacturer’s lubrication and oil operator that the cutting fluid recycler was achieving real-world efficiencies close to 75%. With power consumption, filter paper replacement, and an annual diaphragm pump change, this efficiency drops, albeit marginally.

With an overall estimated 70% efficiency, the manufacturer is expected to save $95,000 a year on cutting fluid expenses. Industrial operations typically look for a buy-back on equipment of two to three years, but the cutting fluid recycler in this case was expected to pay for itself in less than eight months.

Cutting fluid recycling is not only feasible and environmentally friendly, but it can also help companies cut costs significantly. Other than normal maintenance and an annual expected pump replacement, a cutting fluid recycler’s typical lifespan can easily reach 15 to 20 years. In this case, it equates to savings in the order of $1.4 to $1.9 million.

Michael Kowalczyk, A.Sc.T., is with R.V. Anderson Associates Ltd. E-mail: mkowalczyk@rvanderson.com

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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Peacock Solutions

Comprehensive Brands /ŶĚƵƐƚƌLJ džƉĞƌƟ ƐĞ ƉƉůŝĐĂƟ ŽŶ ŶŐŝŶĞĞƌŝŶŐ Service & Repair Centres Ϯϰͬϳ ŵĞƌŐĞŶĐLJ ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞ WĞĂĐŽĐŬ͛Ɛ ƌĞƉƵƚĂƟ ŽŶ ĂĐƌŽƐƐ ĂŶĂĚĂ ŝƐ ďƵŝůƚ ŽŶ ŽƵƌ ŬŶŽǁůĞĚŐĞ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ ŝŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĞƐ ĂŶĚ ƚŚĞ ĂďŝůŝƚLJ ƚŽ ŝĚĞŶƟ ĨLJ ƚŚĞ ƌŝŐŚƚ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚ ĨŽƌ LJŽƵƌ ĂƉƉůŝĐĂƟ ŽŶ͘ 'ƌĞĂƚ ǁŽƌŬ͘ 'ƌĞĂƚ ƉƌŽĚƵĐƚƐ͘ 'ƵĂƌĂŶƚĞĞĚ͘ /ƚ͛Ɛ ǁŚĂƚ LJŽƵ ǁŽƵůĚ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ĨƌŽŵ WĞĂĐŽĐŬ͘

Pumps

Flow Measurement

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'ĂƐ DŽŶŝƚŽƌŝŶŐ – Ambient & Personal

Ϯ Θ ϰ ǁŝƌĞ DĂŐŶĞƟ Đ &ůŽǁ DĞƚĞƌƐ EŽŶͲ/ŶƚƌƵƐŝǀĞ hůƚƌĂƐŽŶŝĐ ^Ds ŝī ĞƌĞŶƟ Ăů WƌĞƐƐƵƌĞ ŽƌŝŽůŝƐ DĂƐƐ &ůŽǁ WĂĚĚůĞ tŚĞĞů͕ W ĂŶĚ ^ŝŐŚƚ &ůŽǁƐ

Pressure, Temperature & Level Measurement

t dĞĐŚŶŽůŽŐŝĞƐ ďLJ ,ŽŶĞLJǁĞůů

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ŵĞƚĞŬ 'ĂƵŐĞƐ Θ ŝĂƉŚƌĂŐŵ ^ĞĂůƐ ŵĞƚĞŬ ^ƵďŵĞƌƐŝďůĞ >ĞǀĞů h ^ǁŝƚĐŚĞƐ Θ dĞŵƉĞƌĂƚƵƌĞ ^ĞŶƐŽƌƐ

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Site Remediation

Safe remediation of an agricultural oil spill in Québec n June 2006, Groupe C. Laganière was contacted by the CEO of a private greenhouse flower farm near Montréal, asking for emergency containment solutions in the aftermath of a significant oil spill on the production site.

A team of environmental professionals was immediately deployed, and investigation of the site revealed that the source of the contamination was a damaged piping system linking an old tank to an out-of-use indoor furnace.

It was presumed that the 5,000-gallon-capacity outdoor tank was full of fuel oil prior to the spill. In the past, the tank had been used to heat the greenhouses, but it had been abandoned while still full about 15 years earlier, when the previous management had installed a new, natural-gas-powered heating system.

Within less than two days, the oil, which was a solid red colour due to a

I

Photo one.

very early stage of degradation, (see photo one) had spread linearly up to 400 m from the tank location. It had contaminated soils and surface water on the

property over an area of about 140 m², including the mechanical room and the sides of the two main greenhouses.

Emergency response followed, with

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Site Remediation two phases of environmental assessments and remediation work. Phase I lasted from June to October 2006, while Phase II started in May 2007 and was successfully completed by December 2008.

As further investigations indicated that the piping had been damaged deliberately, the farm’s insurance company was also called in. During the 2-1/2 years of coordination and pollution monitoring and removal at the site, more than 20 environmental professionals, health and safety specialists, and representatives of various parties, including the insurance company, farm administration, the Québec environment ministry (MDDEP), Environment Canada, city clerks, and neighbouring landowners, provided expertise and their requirements, resulting in an efficient and sustainable clean-up of the property.

Managing this case was very complex, due to the large amount of contamination, the required compliance with municipal, provincial and federal laws and regulations, and the agricultural nature of the property.

The property covers an area of about

Photo three.

phy of the site, underground run-off water flows in a 600-m-long drainage ditch, located on the southwest side of the property. Surface waters in this ditch are then discharged into a Hydro-Québec easement ditch, located another 350 m further in the same direction. This ditch finally flows over a distance of 395 m continued overleaf...

20,375 m², and the greenhouses occupy 65% of that space. Sedimentation in the area is composed of a sand backfill (0.15m thick), lying on an argillaceous silt more than 5 m deep.

The farmland is relatively flat, and its elevation is 35 m. Depending on the season, the groundwater level is between 0.5 and 1.4 m deep. Because of the topogra-

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September 2010 | 31

Site Remediation

Photo two.

into the municipal sewer system.

The calibrated watershed of the drainage ditch has an area of 109,675 m², and the estimated discharge rate between April and June is 115 litres/minute.

Added to this is the discharge rate of the watering/drainage system for the irrigation of the greenhouses, which is around 62 litres/minute.

Environmental remediation - Phase I It took about three days for the administration and employees of the farm to see and smell traces of contamination around and inside the main greenhouses, since the incident happened on a weekend. By the time they realized what was happening, the primary affected area was a 400-m line following the natural waterway on the property.

When Groupe C. Laganière’s emergency response team arrived, the contaminants had reached a drain used to collect residual waters for irrigation inside the greenhouses (see photo 2). As this drain was connected to a ditch, it was only a matter of a few hours before an additional surface area of 450 m2 was contaminated as well.

The immediate intervention plan, approved by the MDDEP, called for retrieval of the red-coloured fuel oil from the excavations and drainage ditch. The abnormally rainy month of June 2006, combined with the high level of water used by the farm for its commercial activities, had helped to spread the contamination and complicated the remediation 32 | September 2010

process. If the farm had not reacted quickly, the contamination would have continued to spread at a very fast rate.

The emergency environmental operations team was able to contain further migration of the contaminants in the surface waters by strategically digging a 700-mlong ditch along the natural migration line from the leak. PAHs and PH C10-C50 absorbent cushions were then aligned in it.

These were able to absorb about 50% of the surface pollutants that were present in the ditch when emergency operations started, then up to 95% of the new water flowing in. (See photo 3) Specialists also proceeded with dismantling the tank and its piping system and removed contaminated soils around it. A total of 274 tons of contaminated soils, mostly from around the tank and the greenhouses, was removed and safely disposed at a soil treatment facility in Québec. By the end of June, a total of 7,953 litres of oily water had been pumped out of the drainage ditch with a vacuum truck and sent to a treatment centre in Montréal.

The remaining fuel oil, floating on the surface, was also taken away with the absorbent materials, and by August 2006, 10 barrels of contaminated absorbent cushions were sent to another treatment and recycling facility. Even after these emergency removals, however, analytical results revealed that the remaining soil and water were definitely contaminated beyond the level allowed by the MDDEP for an agricultural property.Therefore, a fully integrated decontamination solution was required.

Fieldwork was then suspended for the winter, which allowed for full preparation for Phase II in the spring. A multiaspect and sustainable environmental mitigation/remediation plan had to be developed, and reviewed and approved by the Québec MDDEP and the city authorities before the start of Phase II. Environmental remediation - Phase II By the spring of 2007, the complete remediation plan had been established and approved by the MDDEP. In Québec, it is mandatory to submit remediation plans to the government when an authorization certificate is requested. In this case, such a certificate was required, and delivered, to allow on-site water treat-

Photo five.

ment (see photo 4). The plan called for a six-step approach to get the farm back into production.

The goal of Phase II was to reach a degree of contamination concentration equal to or better than criterion A, which applies to agricultural properties. Residual soils must be analyzed to determine whether all the contaminated soils have been effectively removed from the property. Surface waters must be treated until their level of contamination meets levels allowed by the city and province for discharge to the public sewer system. Finally, all work must be coordinated to meet safety and health requirements for everyone admitted into the area.

The components of the six-part plan were: 1. Construction of a containment pond. Remediation of the site required that the new drainage ditch be dried out completely, in order to collect the contaminated soil and mud at the bottom.

To do so, Groupe C. Laganiere had to build two dikes, upstream and downstream, on the existing natural ditch, to contain water and prevent the ditch from being constantly filled with new water, which would immediately be contaminated. The residual surface water in the containment ditch (400 m long) was pumped into the treatment unit and treated until clear of contamination.

New water (rain and residual irrigation water) naturally flowing into the ditch was collected through a 2-in. pipe at the up-

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Site Remediation stream dike. It was also directed into the treatment unit for pre-emptive treatment, safely confined while analyzed in an accredited laboratory, then discharged downstream, upon confirmation that the contamination level was meeting the city and MDDEP criteria, as specified by the certificate of authorization.

Water collected upstream and discharged downstream without penetrating into the ditch always presented admissible (extremely low) levels of contamination and did not require additional treatment cycles. It joined the multipletreatment decontaminated waters at the downstream dike and continued its natural flow toward the municipal sewer system.

2. Management and purification of surface water in the pond. Water gathered in the containment pond was pumped out with a submersible 12 gal/min pump and treated with an UltraSorber™ CARB-LP-170 activated charcoal filtration system that discharged into a sanitized container for PAHs, MAHs, BTEX and PH C10-C50 chemical analysis. The system has proved highly efficient, and after thousands of cycles with this on-site treatment device, the water finally met the city and MDDEP criteria for discharge into the city’s sewer system.

The water that kept flowing into the pond during the soil remediation step was treated. The containment pond temporarily dried out, but it then kept being filled again with wastewater from irrigation of the greenhouses. This water was treated the same way throughout the process.

3. Contaminated soils remediation.

The remediation technique chosen at this site was by a vacuum truck, but, by December, the weather got far colder than average for the month and it was replaced by a hydraulic excavator. (see photo 5) A total of 570 tons of contaminated soil was excavated from the entire length of the new ditch, of which 198 tons presented a contamination level within the B-C criteria (MDDEP), while the remaining 372 tons were contaminated beyond the C level. The authorized level for an agricultural property in Québec is A. 4. Contaminated soils and hazardous waste management. The contaminated soils excavated and sampled to determine their level of contamination were, www.esemag.com

Photo four.

as provided by the certificates of authorization, safely sent to an accredited treatment centre in Montréal, along with the sand and activated charcoal from the water treatment unit.

5. Reshaping the containment ditch.

Following the remediation and disposal

of contaminated soils, and confirmation that residual soils were passing the A contamination level, the temporary containment pond was dismantled. To ensure that the previous ditch would act as an efficient and sustainable natural continued overleaf...

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Site Remediation

Photo six.

drain, 500 tons of crushed stone were put along it to stabilize it and limit erosion.

For the same reason, the ditch embankments were seeded. (See photo 6) 6. Environmental follow-up. During the decontamination fieldwork, Groupe C. Laganiere closely and rigorously monitored the sampling protocol, health and safety programs, the excavated/ pumped/treated/shipped waters, soils and

hazardous materials, as well as the property restoration and strategic landscaping step.

This was essential, due to the complexity of managing this case, with high levels of risk for workers and third parties, and widely-spread, serious contamination.

Applying an environmental remediation plan is no easy task, and the plans

must remain flexible and adaptable to the environment, the weather, the characteristics of the field, and the spread, speed, level and type of pollution. The main challenge is to determine the optimal soil decontamination and water treatment techniques, with limited information at the moment of decision-making.

In this case, the criminal oil spill on the farm had stopped its activities for months, and it was crucial to bring it back to profitability as quickly as possible.Treating water on-site and performing multiple analyses to segregate the soils (treating 198 tons as B-C and 372 tons as more than C, rather than disposing of 570 tons as more than C) helped make the remediation plan successful, sustainable and yet affordable at less than $2 million.

This major flower producer and exporter was able to return to profitability quickly, with its major asset unlocked from any environmental liability.

For more information, E-mail: valerie@gr-laganiere.com

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Biology

Studies predict tipping points for species extinctions hat if there were a way to predict when a species was about to become extinct, in time to do some-

W

thing about it?

Findings from a study by associate professor John M. Drake, at the University of Georgia , and Assistant Professor Blaine D. Griffen, at the University of South Carolina, may eventually lead to such an outcome. Their study also has implications for understanding drastic, even catastrophic, changes in many other kinds of complex systems, from the human brain to entire ecosystems.

The paper, “Early warning signals of extinction in deteriorating environments,” describes a study of the fluctuations in experimental populations of water fleas (Daphnia magna) undergoing environmental stress, until they reach a tipping point beyond which they do not remain viable. The study is unique in its careful comparison of these stressed populations with other, healthy populations, in the context of new theo-

ries about dynamic systems undergoing transitions at a tipping point, particularly a phenomenon known as “critical slowing down.(CSD)” “This is the first experimental demonstration of critical slowing down in a biological system,” said Drake. He explained that critical slowing down is a term used to describe a pattern in data that has previously been observed in physics and Earth sciences, but until now has been only a theoretical possibility in biology. It describes the decreasing rate of recovery from small disturbances to a system as it approaches a tipping point. When a system is close to a tipping point, it can take a long time to recover from even a very small disturbance. This also is the first time the theory has been applied to extinction.

The experiment featured populations of water fleas that were assigned to either deteriorating environments (in this case, declining levels of food) or stable environments (the control group). The experiment lasted for 416 days, when the last

population in the deteriorating environment group became extinct. Depending upon the amount of food they received, populations in the deteriorating environment group reached the population viability tipping point after approximately 300 days. Populations in the control group never reached it; those populations persisted.

The researchers next looked at a variety of statistical indicators, early warning signals that could detect the onset of CSD and thereby predict the approach to a tipping point. They compared the indicators with the timing of the decrease in food and with the achievement of the tipping point, mathematically referred to as a “transcritical bifurcation.” They found that each of the indicators showed evidence of the approaching tipping point well before it was reached.

For more information, E-mail: jdrake@uga.edu

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September 2010 | 35

Air Pollution Monitoring

Using satellite data to monitor the quality of urban air By Daniel Spitzer, Gray O'Byrne, Natty Urquizo and Bojan Bojkov ir quality in major Canadian cities continues to improve, but the negative health impacts of air pollution remain a serious issue. Urban development and transportation planners, as well as municipal health officers, realize that more is needed than just monitoring air pollutant concentration levels at a few critical sites. For a full assessment of the health impacts, detailed information is required about the levels of the air pollution over populated areas and public facilities such as parks, schoolyards and sports fields.

Installation, maintenance and operational costs of extended air quality monitoring networks are considerable.

Fortunately, space technologies can offer innovative yet practical and cost-effective solutions. In the past decade, new earth observation satellites were designed and launched to provide daily maps of global and local distributions of major air pollutants. New methodologies are being developed to exploit this rich source of environmental information.

In North America, A-MAPS Environmental Inc., based in Ottawa, has specialised in applications of environmental satellite remote sensing. The company has developed a new approach to provide municipal planning and health offices with essential information on urban air

A

Figure 1. The upper display shows rerouting traffic from Hwy 417 (white arrows) through a densely populated residential area in the western part of Ottawa (yellow arrows) with several school, sport, and medical facilities. Displayed on the central map is the average change in Air Quality Index (AQI) for a three-day period in July 2008 in the area surrounding the affected roads. Pollutant concentration levels decreased (blue-green colours) in the vicinity of the closed highway section, but increased (yellowâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;red colours) along the roads where the traffic was rerouted. The AQI scaling, original and modified traffic parameters and dates are indicated in the legend on the right hand side. In the lower panel, a report displays health impacts on the local population. The health benefits in the areas along the closed highway section are overshadowed by the adverse impacts on population health in the densely populated residential area, where the pollutant levels have significantly increased.

pollution issues. Years of scientific research, in co-operation with several universities and other innovative Canadian enterprises, preceded the development and launch of this product.

Air quality mapping Data collected by earth observation satellites are distributed by national and international space agencies such as the Canadian Space Agency, NASA and the

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36 | September 2010

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Air Pollution Monitoring European Space Agency. Processing the atmospheric remote sensing data requires detailed understanding of atmospheric physics and chemistry.

Using the satellite observation data does not mean that traditional air quality monitoring networks will become obsolete. On the contrary, creating reliable air pollutant distribution maps requires adjustment of the satellite data by using the results of air pollutant concentration measurements at several ground level sites. Subsequent interpretation of the data is based on complex geospatial and emission dispersion models.

These efforts result in detailed, hourly distribution of digital maps of harmful air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone and small particulates. The air quality mapping products in GIS formats are presented through interactive graphical user interfaces or web applications.

Development of such web applications for the National Capital Region (Canada) was funded by GeoConnections/Natural Resources Canada.

To disclose the vast amount of information concealed in the air pollution databases, geospatial analysis of the data is needed, so the company developed a graphical user interface called MAGIQA (Map Analysis Graphical Interface for Quality of Air) that enables analyses and easy presentations of air pollution data.

The software includes conversion of any environmental records into GIS mapping formats. Specific time periods and areas can be selected on screen within the mapped region for processing and analysis. Moreover, series of imagery can be viewed as an animation.

The analyses include standard statistical and custom-designed functions such as averaging, maximum, minimum, standard deviation, percentiles, and critical pollutant level exceedancies. This information is presented in mapping and other graphical formats, which can be displayed, printed and saved.

Assessing air pollution health impacts One of the key concerns of municipal planners is evaluating the consequences of different city development and land use scenarios. Particularly important is considering the implications for public health. Another product developed by AMAPS Environmental, in co-operation with Risk Sciences International, is a www.esemag.com

customized interactive graphical interface that enables direct assessments of the impacts of urban road traffic emissions on population health.

Different traffic control scenarios can be tested by modifying traffic volumes and speeds on selected roads or in entire neighbourhoods. The consequences of such changes in terms of air pollution and health impacts can then be reviewed and evaluated in mapping and tabular formats.

Development of the new population health assessment tool was funded by the European Space Agencyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Data User Element program (www.esa.int/due). An example of an application of the interface, showing the consequences of traffic rerouting from a busy highway section to a residential area in Ottawa, is shown in Figure 1.

Since 2007, the City of Ottawa has introduced a regional air quality mapping system based on satellite remote sensing, ground-level air quality measurements and geospatial modelling. This unique system comprises an interactive air quality mapping website and interfaces for data analysis and health impacts assessments. Concentration levels of NO2, NO,

O3, PM2.5 and CO are measured hourly at several locations by monitoring instruments, and then recorded and processed for further mapping of the air pollutant concentration distributions over the entire National Capital Region.

Along with local measurements, the mapping process is supported by data from the National Air Pollution Surveillance system and from the Aura/OMI atmospheric satellite sensor. All collected and processed data are then used as inputs into a geospatial model, allowing air pollutant distribution maps to be generated and presented hourly in GIS formats.

To expand the air quality information system, the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Community Sustainability department will include a new specific module that will provide detailed information about air pollution on busy streets.

Daniel Spitzer and Gray O'Byrne are with A-MAPS Environmental Inc. Natty Urquizo is with the City of Ottawa, and Bojan Bojkov is with the European Space Agency.

September 2010 | 37

Drinking Water

Ten years after Walkerton, how is Ontarioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drinking water?

By Juli Abouchar, Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP t has been 10 years since the Walkerton tainted-water tragedy killed at least seven people, sickened about 2,500 others and singlehandedly curtailed the provincial governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;self-regulationâ&#x20AC;? philosophy.

The report of the Walkerton Commission laid out a detailed blueprint for rebuilding public confidence in the safety of the provinceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drinking water supplies. Many of Justice Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recommendations in that report have been fully implemented.

There are now mandatory drinking water standards; a source-water protection planning process; better training and certification of operators; licensing of all municipal residential drinking water systems; regular review and revision of drinking water standards; licensing, accreditation and inspection of testing labs; more vigilant enforcement; and greater public transparency through the annual reports issued by both the minister of the environment and the chief drinking water inspector.

The province has announced that all of Justice Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 121 formal recommendations have been implemented, or at least the enabling legislation needed to implement them has been passed.

I

However, the text supporting those recommendations also included a number of additional suggestions and sound guidance that would address several unresolved questions about drinking water: 1. Who will pay for source protection implementation? So far, the province has largely paid the costs involved in developing source protection plans. How-

ever, there is no commitment to cover costs to implement those plans.

The Walkerton Report recommended that the provincial government ensured that sufficient funds were available to complete the planning and adoption of source protection plans. Justice Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor did not recommend that these costs come exclusively from provincial coffers, and he recognized that components might have to come from municipal water rates charged to water users and effluent dischargers. Ontario has yet to develop a comprehensive plan to ensure the necessary funds are available.

2. When will full-cost accounting be implemented? Justice Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor recognized the linkage between â&#x20AC;&#x153;full-cost accounting and recoveryâ&#x20AC;? and safe drinking water, and the importance of financial sustainability to the health of all Ontarians.

Coincident with the Inquiry, the province passed the Sustainable Water and Sewage Systems Act, which would require municipalities to institute fullcost accounting and recovery for water and wastewater services. Aware of this legislation, Justice Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor had expected that implementing regulations would follow. Even though the Act was

38 | September 2010

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Drinking Water passed in 2002, the province has not passed the implementing regulations.

This is one of the missing pieces in the clean water puzzle.

Full-cost accounting and cost recovery plans are important to financing source protection and infrastructure renewal.

The new Water Opportunities Act would require water sustainability plans. These would provide for performance indicators and targets and financial plans and strategies to maintain and improve water service. These tools should assist the province and municipalities to implement full-cost accounting and recovery with less provincial prescription. They allow for consideration of issues faced by small, remote and rural municipalities.

Meanwhile municipalities are developing financial plans as required by the Safe Drinking Water Act regulations, which are currently being phased in.

3. What about water quality on First Nation reserves? Recognizing that the inquiry was under the Ontario Public Inquiries Act, Justice O’Connor made some recommendations at the request of First Nations. He encouraged the federal government and First Nations to adopt drinking water standards for reserves that are at least as stringent as standards off-reserve in Ontario.

He observed that there were no legally enforceable drinking water standards for First Nation reserves, and also observed 22 high-risk First Nation water systems. Things have changed very little in the past 10 years. There have been inexplicable delays, even in developing the simple enabling legislation. And 40 years later, the spectre of mercury pollution in the English-Wabigoon river system may be rising again.

Ottawa hopes to make good on its long-standing promise that First Nation reserves will have access to the same quality of drinking water that the rest of us enjoy. On May 26, 2010, the federal government introduced Bill S-11, the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Act, which will allow it to draft legally enforceable drinking water standards for First Nation communities. The enabling legislation would also allow for “regional flexibility,” with the enabling regulations likely to vary from province to province.

In an unusual move, the government’s proposed legislation was first tabled in the Senate, rather than the House of Commons. Background information on the bill is posted prominently on the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) website, and touted in government press releases, so we expect this is something the government intends to pursue, although Bill S-11 had not yet passed second reading when the Senate adjourned for its summer break.

Although the federal Protocol for Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Communities already sets out standards for the design, operation and maintenance of drinking water systems, there is no legislative framework to ensure compliance. To fill this gap, Ottawa says it will review provincial and territorial regulations “to identify areas that can be adapted into federal regulations, while at the same time, allowing for regional differences, and recognizing the unique water challenges facing many First Nation communities.”

Bill S-11 would allow the adoption of a wide range of regcontinued overleaf... www.esemag.com

September 2010 | 39

Drinking Water ulations: • standards for the quality of drinking water on First Nation lands; • protection of sources of drinking water; • location, design, construction, modification, maintenance, operation and decommissioning of drinking water and wastewater systems; • monitoring, sampling and testing of drinking water and wastewater, and the reporting of results; • emergency measures in response to the contamination of water on First Nation lands; • training and certification of system operators; and • making remediation orders where standards have not been met.

Provincial and territorial drinking water standards could be incorporated by reference into the federal regulations to be promulgated under the Act. These harmonized rules could enhance opportunities for First Nations to coordinate training or even share water treatment and distribution systems with off-reserve communities.

Walkerton is now the site of a state-of-the-art operator training facility.

The Act would automatically apply to all First Nation communities, except selfgoverning First Nations that are operating under comprehensive self-government agreements with the government of Canada. However, self-governing First Nations could be made subject to the leg-

islation following written agreement with the minister.

Once the legislation receives royal assent, Ottawa will consult with First Nations, regional First Nation organizations, the provinces and territories, and other stakeholders on the development of the

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Drinking Water regulatory regime. These discussions would also address compliance and enforcement mechanisms. The proposed legislation follows at least some of the recommendations made by the Office of the Auditor General, the Expert Panel on Safe Drinking Water for First Nations, and the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples.

The Bill has already triggered some opposition. According to Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Ain-chut Atleo, “First Nations [would] need infrastructure, training and support to meet the requirements of the new regulations. Regulations without the capacity and financial resources to support them will only set up First Nations to fail and to be punished for this. In my view, we must address the ‘capacity gap’ as well as the ‘regulatory gap’.”

Chief Atleo also said that Bill S-11 could negatively affect First Nation water rights. According to section 6 of the proposed legislation, regulations made under the act prevail over any laws or by-laws made by a First Nation, as well as over the land claims agreement or self-government agreement to which a listed aboriginal body is a party.

These provisions were the subject of some concern during the recent first reading debate in the Senate.

First Nations Water and Wastewater Action Plan extended At the same time that Bill S-11 was introduced, Ottawa announced a twoyear extension of the First Nations Water and Wastewater Action Plan to invest an additional $330 million in water and wastewater facilities. The action plan is also funding the National Assessment of First Nation Water and Wastewater Systems to provide a more accurate account of water and wastewater needs. The results of the assessment should be available later this year.

Between 2006 and 2012, Ottawa will have invested over $2.3 billion in First Nation water and wastewater infrastructure, including the First Nations Water Management Strategy ($270 million), the Plan of Action for Drinking Water ($60 million) and the First Nations Water and Wastewater Action Plan ($660 million).

Another $183 million was allocated to drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects to address health and www.esemag.com

safety priorities in 18 First Nation communities as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan. In addition, all First Nation community sites now have access to a trained, community-based water monitor or an environmental health officer to sample and test drinking water quality at tap.

According to INAC, as of March 2010, 114 First Nation communities across the country were under drinking water advisories and 49 First Nation

water systems were classified as “highrisk,” down from a peak of 193 high-risk systems in 2006.

For more information, E-mail: jabouchar@willmsshier.com

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September 2010 | 41

Water Supply

Desalination plant aids Australian water shortage

By Angus W. Stocking s Australia suffers through one of the most serious and sustained droughts in its history, cities are devising increasingly innovative responses.

Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, has been operating under permanent water restrictions. To take advantage of the port city’s abundant salt water supply, South Australia Water (SA Water) commissioned a daily 100-gigalitre-capacity, reverse osmosis desalination plant to supplement the freshwater supply, take pressure off the existing rainwater catchment system, and allow water levels to regenerate. When completed, the plant will supply from one-quarter to one-half of Adelaide’s water needs and will be Australia’s biggest desalination plant.

After a lengthy qualification process, the Adelaide Aqua consortium (ACCIONA Agua, United Utilities, McConnell Dowell and Abigroup Contractors) was short-listed. SA Water invited three organizations to provide detailed fixed-price estimates and other design details in order to make a decision based on three factors: design efficiency and sustainability, minimal environmental impact, and overall cost of construction, operation and maintenance.

To provide the level of detail requested, Adelaide Aqua had to fast-track design within 12 weeks. The consortium contracted with Hatch Associates to carry out front-end engineering and design (FEED).

Hatch opted to do this work based on a 3D model, for two reasons. First, building a model was the best way to get truly accurate cost estimates. With a model, material take-offs could be based on pre-designed and proven piping layouts, and plant layout could be optimized with 3D tools and comparison of different options. Second, the 3D model could be used to visualize plant impact on the environment, the community, and a culturally important site.

Using Bentley’s PlantWise software, the Hatch team generated a 3D model of the reverse osmosis process building, intake pump station, outfall energy recovery shaft, and other utility buildings

A

42 | September 2010

The impact of the long drought on vegetation is clearly visible in these vegetation anomaly images. Where vegetation, both crops and native plants, is less dense than average, the images are brown. Regions that are more densely vegetated than average are green. Image courtesy NASA.

within the allocated schedule. Material take-offs modeled in excess of 300 pieces of equipment and 550 major piping process lines. The estimating process took 40% less time than anticipated.

One aspect of the model work, the piping material take-offs, was especially significant when it came to estimating cost. In desalination plants, two major expenses are specialized stainless steel pipe, and large-bore (up to 2 m diameter) glass-reinforced plastic pipe. By using the model, Hatch was able to optimize plant design for the most efficient use of these expensive materials.

The site itself created design challenges, as it was bound on one side by the creek identified as culturally important and was on steeply sloped land, with a height difference of 30 m from the shoreline to the main access road. The design team was able to compare multiple options to arrive at a system that made the best use of gravity and available access.

To mitigate the effects of saline concentrate release, a detailed diffusion plan was also devised. Rapid virtual prototyping was used to determine the most efficient layout; after a base reverse osmosis process building layout was defined, three additional building layouts were created and evaluated against the base for overall costs, efficiency, appearance and other factors.

Reverse osmosis is an energy-intensive process. In fact, so much energy is required that making the case for a desalination plant on sustainability grounds can be difficult. To counter this, energy recovery devices were included in the process building and outfall shaft, and solar energy panels will be installed on the process building roof. The energy recovery devices use energy stored in the brine to boost the output of the highpressure pumps feeding the reverse osmosis units. In the outfall shaft, energy recovery turbines will produce electriccontinued overleaf...

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Water Supply

Artist’s rendition of the finished desalination plant.

ity and return power to the grid for use by the process plant. The solar panels will power street lighting on site.

Modeling under pressure Alex Stanojevic, with Hatch, credited the 3D model as a key factor in winning

the Adelaide bid. He noted significant advantages to deploying 3D modeling: • When the model was completed, the team could bulk-upload the materials take-off from PlantWise into the material control system. This included piping

and structural commodities, and was the main tool for developing accurate cost estimates.

• Substantial time savings were realized, compared to traditional 3D modeling. The estimated 750 hours of modeling time

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44 | September 2010

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Water Supply was cut to 450 hours using PlantWise.

• The ability to explore various options and instantly reroute the piping systems was very helpful. Three different plant layout options were developed in two days, and the team was able to consistently reroute more than 550 pipelines in less than two minutes. Also, the software allowed the team to immediately compare material take-off quantities and associated cost differences.

• Project setup, with minimal application configuration, took two days in PlantWise versus an estimated six weeks to build in a conventional 3D environment.

• The ability to review the design using Bentley Navigator with intelligent information enabled greatly enhanced team coordination and allowed review by principals in remote locations.

• The model allowed the use of Bentley Interference Manager, which greatly increased confidence in piping layouts.

• The ability to import the PlantWise model into PlantSpace enabled detailed design and analysis.

The work carried out by Hatch was

The ability to explore various options and instantly reroute the piping systems was very helpful.

successful, and Adelaide Aqua was awarded a AU$1.4 billion contract to build the desalination plant, which is expected to start providing water to Adelaide in December 2010.

In a 2009 press release, Adelaide Aqua suggested that the plant eventually could be expanded, and, two years after initial completion, could be producing as many as 3 gigalitres per day. That

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September 2010 | 45

Water Supply

New pipeline will ensure Rankin Inlet’s water supply

By Clay Peck, CEPIT n 2009, the government of Nunavut contracted FSC Architects & Engineers (FSC) and Resource Management Strategies Inc. (RMSi) to complete a water supply capacity, consumption and conservation study for the hamlet of Rankin Inlet.

The hamlet and residents had become concerned about the dropping level of their primary water source, Nipissar Lake, which is located 1.5 km northwest of Rankin Inlet and provides water to the town through an underground piped utilidor system. Rankin Inlet has seen a steady increase in population over the last 15 years, from 1,845 in 1994 to 2,499 in 2009. The purpose of the study was to determine if the volume reduction in Nipissar Lake was a result of climatic variables or increased municipal consumption.

The first step in the study was to accurately survey the current water level of Nipissar Lake and compare it with known water levels from a previous study, to determine the actual drop in volume. A 1995 survey had determined the volume of the lake to be 3,469,780.00 m3. FSC’s survey in 2009 found the volume to be 2,809,259.60 m3, for a difference of 660,520.40 m3.

Next, climatic variables were analyzed for the region. Historical precipitation rates were analyzed for the years between 1981 and 2008. As there were

I

no obvious trends showing an increase or decrease in the amount of precipitation in the region, the conclusion was that climatic variables were not affecting the water level of Nipissar Lake.

After the volume calculation and climatic variable analysis, FSC determined that the volume reduction in Nipissar Lake was due to the increase in water usage caused by population growth. The lake’s natural recharge rate fails to meet Rankin Inlet’s water usage. Using the two known water volumes, an annual volume decrease of 44,035 m3/year was determined.

The same data were used to calculate that Rankin Inlet’s annual water usage was 355,824 m3/year. The difference between these two numbers is the maximum discharge available from Nipissar Lake that will not negatively affect the lake volume and create a water deficit.

In effect, 311,789 m3/year is the maximum rate of discharge that Nipissar Lake can sustain, and this amount has already been reached and surpassed.

Based on the projected population increase of Rankin Inlet and its current water usage, Nipissar Lake could fail to be an adequate source of water as early as 2015. This date could be extended by reducing the amount of water withdrawn from the lake, but even the best-case scenarios show Nipissar Lake failing to be

an adequate water source by 2022.

Rankin Inlet is at the point where water conservation and reduction methods will not stop the current water deficit, so the lake will have to be artificially filled to maintain safe water levels within the next five years.

Pipeline system design Following this study, the government of Nunavut contracted FSC Architects & Engineers earlier this year to provide a schematic design report for a pipeline system to augment natural replenishment of Nipissar Lake. The system will connect First Landing Lake and Nipissar Lake to fill Nipissar Lake artificially and satisfy Rankin Inlet’s water demand for a minimum period of 20 years.

There were several factors that had to be considered in the design requirements, including population growth, water demand, seasonal constraints, length and size of the pipeline, and pump size and capacity.

FSC analyzed population growth rates of 2%, 2.5% and 3%. For example, with a current population of 2,499 and a 3% population increase over each of the next 20 years, the population of Rankin Inlet is projected to be 4,649 in 2030.

With this scenario, and with the current consumption rate of 469 litres consumed per day (LCPD), Rankin Inlet would consume 795,818 L/day. This would re-

Rankin Inlet map of proposed pipeline from Lower Landing Lake to Nipissar Lake.

46 | September 2010

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Water Supply long, and the pipeline will be constructed of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) for optimal flow capacity, durability, flexibility and cost. After analysis, FSC recommended a 4-inch, 75-hp pump and a 200-mm pipeline. These are the best options in terms of both system cost and functionality, and will meet the design requirements of Rankin Inlet water consumption.

Augmentation of the natural replenishment of Nipissar Lake will be in operation by the pumping season.

The proposed pump and pipeline system will ensure that the hamlet will have a clean, safe and reliable water source for the next 20 years, and will begin to eradicate the current water deficit.

Portable pump curve for Rankin Inlet.

sult in a shortfall of 484,029 L/day.

The pump and pipeline system needs to be a seasonal operation, to avoid the potential ice conditions of the spring and fall. In the design report, FSC anticipated a three-month pumping season, from mid-June to mid-September.

To maximize pumping operations and reduce costs, FSC recommended a

trailer-mounted diesel pump connected to the floating suction intake and pipeline with flexible connectors. This will enable the pump to be stored for the winter, when it is not in use. The pump size and power ratings will depend on the pipeline route, size and material, and the chosen pump rate.

The proposed route will be 4,350 m

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Water Treatment

How a Manitoba water cooperative replaced eight water treatment facilities

By Michèle Rochon embina Valley Water Cooperative (PVWC) is a pioneer in the sustainable sharing of water resources across communities where sources are limited. Formed in 1991, it includes one city, eight towns and nine rural municipalities, and now serves 50,000 people in Manitoba. The PVWC is a model of stakeholder cooperation and water infrastructure optimization.

Manitoba is unique in water infrastructure for several reasons. Larger communities in the province depend on surface water sources, usually making small water systems not viable, because surface water woes, such as THMs, colour, turbidity or parasites, are difficult to treat at that scale. Though Manitoba is well known for floods, it also faces the likelihood of drought every four or five years.

On the upside, located at the downstream end of the Hudson Bay watershed, Manitoba receives fresh water from Alberta, Saskatchewan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Ontario. At the geographic centre of all things North American, the province is ideally situated to lead in “wet” industries such as livestock production and processing.

For the most part, small communities have been able to sustain themselves in the face of rural depopulation because of the opportunities created by the abundance of water. But, with most of this water going to the sparsely populated north and east, it doesn’t help “Agro” Manitoba, the south, which is considered a chronic drought area.

Enter the PVWC. What began as a rough concept in the drought years of the ’80s became the first regional water cooperative in Manitoba and perhaps one of the earliest in Canada. Originally, it replaced eight local water treatment facilities which produced very poor quality water. Farms and small towns now have access to piped water, a benefit that is reflected in property values and boosts rural economies.

P

48 | September 2010

The PVWC has three modern treatment facilities, numerous reservoirs, pumping and booster stations, and hundreds of kilometres of water transmission pipelines. The infrastructure covers an area of about 7,000 sq km and supplies water exceeding the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. “In fact,” says Gord Martel, CEO of the PVWC, “we can handle pretty much any regulation they throw at us now.”

Fertile ground for a water cooperative Agro Manitoba was well-suited for this initiative from the start. The communities are all located in one of the flattest regions in the world. Distribution between communities has been as easy as would be expected when there are no mountains, or even hills, in the way.

Many small communities and farms were operating with limited infrastructure or none at all. They all had the same problems. They either relied on chronically dry wells or wells with difficult water (contaminated, hard or untreatable). If they were without a well, they relied on surface water and wrestled with its associated treatment challenges.

They faced water shortages in an area where irrigation was critical to the local economy, and they had very limited resources with which to improve systems individually.

The co-op is now fully user-financed and regulated through the Manitoba Public Utilities Board. Without the co-op, each municipality would have to shoulder the administrative, maintenance and operational burdens of its own system.

Martel reports that, over the years, one of the greatest challenges in operating the shared system has been keeping up with changes in regulations. This has been the case for most owners of water supply systems in Canada since Walkerton.

Costs associated with upgrades necessitated by growth and stringent regulations were often more than the individual municipalities could handle, even when sharing the burden. Martel

says what made this easier for the co-op has been an established process of costbenefit analysis and a culture of sharing among stakeholders. Users and owners are accustomed to the idea of give and take.

He adds: “Regulators love us, because they only have to work with one entity when regulating and monitoring multiple communities and farms.”

Operating on the assumption that all members would need to see balanced benefit across the region to continue supporting the cooperative, the PVWC has always conducted surveys of people who live along the pipelines.

Capacity was recently tripled at the water treatment facility in Morris, a town of 1,700, located 50 km south of Winnipeg on the Red River. This is the second largest facility in the co-op. The Morris plant is one of the first surface water treatment plants in Canada to use a multi-membrane process, and it has become the benchmark for surface water treatment in Manitoba.

Morris needed additional capacity and higher water quality, and to remove direct reliance on the river. This was achieved by constructing a large storage pond that could store clean water for up to a year. This flexibility would help the co-op survive river events, which are significant and frequent in Manitoba.

Over the years there have been oil slicks, emergency dumps by industrial facilities upstream in the US, and a number of contamination events. The province is also bracing for “the Big One,” the onein-a-thousand-years Red River flood, which forecasters say could happen at any time.

The importance of flexibility By nature, a water cooperative is a master plan. One of the distinguishing factors in Pembina Valley, however, has been its flexibility. A master planning study in 2003 identified numerous ways to expand each facility, and conceptualized various pipeline twinning and booster pumping alternatives, complete

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Water Treatment

The Morris plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nanofiltration system.

with cost budgets.

The Roland reservoir and pumping station, which were developed shortly after the study, can draw from the Morris or Stephenfield plants, or both, and can feed pipelines to either Winkler or Stephenfield, or both. This component of the system can transfer spare capacity among the three regional subsystems, or maintain service to a district in the event that another component in that district must go offline for repairs.

The PVWC model and other provinces The benefits of a cooperative in the case of Agro Manitoba are clear: improved and varied water sources in a chronic drought area, and access for smaller communities to better treatment technologies and to more qualified operators who are not always available in a rural area.

What we are seeing in many provinces is the concept of â&#x20AC;&#x153;forcedâ&#x20AC;? amalgamation or regionalization; in other words, provincial policy may lead to the joining of small municipalities into a larger (regional) municipal structure, with the new structure assuming responsibility for water and wastewater services.

So, fertile ground or not, the spirit of the cooperative concept is spreading, clearly in some cases in a top-down fashion. Communities may not always feel the â&#x20AC;&#x153;loveâ&#x20AC;? that the PVWC gets from regulators, but the results have the potential to be comparable in the long term. www.esemag.com

Pembina Valley still has to run a tight ship to manage debt and wait patiently for the financing needed for further interconnections. In recent years, users have been diligently implementing water conservation measures, causing a reduction in the volume of sales for the co-op.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is hardly a change we can stand in the way of,â&#x20AC;? says Martel. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So, instead, we have to manage our way through it as we always have.â&#x20AC;?

Michèle Rochon is with Genivar.

E-mail: michele.rochon@genivar.com

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September 2010 | 49

Wastewater Treatment

Cupric copper treatment system optimizes small wastewater treatment plants and lagoons esigners, owners and operators of wastewater treatment systems must deal with many issues in order to ensure acceptable environmental performance as well as reasonable capital and operating costs. The objective in selecting a wastewater treatment system for a resort, a small community, a food processing complex, or for livestock manure, must be to provide long-term, satisfactory and costeffective performance.

Using a wastewater additive containing cupric copper ions is a way to avoid the most common problems that can plague small wastewater treatment plants and lagoons, including: noxious odors from fermenting organics; slow decomposition of organic waste; algae competing with bacteria for nutrients; excessive energy consumption for aeration; and, effluent discharge outside acceptable parameters.

Cupric copper products, which are

D

formulated to self-disperse quickly and evenly in wastewater without precipitation, are capable of disposing of these issues responsibly and economically.

Properly formulated cupric products stop algae growth and odor-producing bacteria by penetrating the cell wall of target organisms, disrupting their metabolism and reproductive process. They can remove dangerous pathogens like E.coli, fecal coliform, salmonella and others.

Fortunately, beneficial organisms are more tolerant to cupric ions, so they remain to perform their digestion function.

Fermenting organic waste commonly produces noxious gases like ammonia, hydrogen sulphide, methane and sulphur dioxide. By adding cupric ion formulations as described, fermenting liquid waste can be decomposed with little or no noxious gas production. Furthermore, the handling characteristics of the waste can be improved by maintaining a uniform liquid mass with predictable vis-

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50 | September 2010

Cupric copper ions regulate bacteria species in liquid organic wastes.

cosity. This facilitates clarification and uniform digestion. It also adds to its value as an organic fertilizer.

If the waste is discharged back into the environment, the treatment will provide a reliable means of meeting water quality standards.

These products suppress species of bacteria that produce greenhouse and other nuisance gases, yet have little detrimental effect on other fermentation and BOD/COD reducing bacteria. Bacteria levels in pre-discharge tanks, or lagoons, respond quickly to treatment due to the hydrophilic nature of properly formulated products.

In many applications, effluent discharge regulations may not be the primary reason for treatment. This additive easily achieves and maintains odor control. It also provides other benefits such as reversing and preventing solids buildup, as well as reducing the population of pathogenic bacteria. Copper sulphate is not used in these applications simply because it is unable to maintain a biologically active copper ion. It, therefore, precipitates quickly in this harsh environment.

Cupric copper ions regulate bacteria species in liquid organic wastes, as follows: 1. Ammonia-producing bacteria. This

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Wastewater Treatment type of bacteria uses extra-cellular enzymes to cut ammonia from molecular strings. They are mostly aerobic and are sensitive to copper. Therefore, biologically active cupric copper ions play a key role in controlling entire populations of these bacteria. The right form of copper ion in the mass remains in its active ionized form to kill ammonia-producing bacteria, and allows other carbon dioxide (CO2) producing aerobic bacteria to survive.

2. Nitrifying bacteria. This type of bacteria ingests molecular strings containing ammonium compounds and produces an odorless precipitate by using oxygen (O2) from those compounds. This bacteria is exclusively aerobic and considered more resistant to low levels of copper. Another important characteristic of these bacteria is that they are developmentally inhibited by the presence of ammonia gas. Cupric ions can give nitrifying bacteria an opportunity to thrive, by reducing the populations of ammonia-producing bacteria.

3. Sulphur-reducing bacteria. This mainly anaerobic digesting bacteria uses sulphate (SO 4) instead of O2. The result

www.esemag.com

is that instead of having CO2 as a byproduct, these bacteria produce hydrogen sulphide gas (H2S). In liquid waste, active cupric copper reacts with H2S, changing it to a new sulphurous precipitate, copper sulphide (CuS). CuS is quite stable and normally will not re-dissolve. By means of converting H2S and by killing sulphur-reducing bacteria with a cupric ion, H2S emissions can be eliminated.

4. Methanogenic bacteria. This type of bacteria is anaerobic in nature and, generally, can only survive in areas where oxygen is extremely scarce. This species draws oxygen from water for its digestion process. The result is methane (CH4). Cupric ions, that are self-mixing and capable of reaching the depth of the mass, reduce this population. This halts and reverses waste solidification and reduces methane gas emissions.

5. Anaerobic production of methane gases. If the mass is totally starved of oxygen, both in O2, and SO4 forms, then the bacteria will not be able to digest carbohydrates as a methane string (CH4O), a very noxious gas. Cupric ions reduce

this type of gas production by killing the excess bacteria population, leaving oxygen resources at par to reduce the BOD of the mass.

Benefits of cupric copper additive Typical benefits of using a cupric copper additive are: significant odor reduction; elimination of algae; clarification of water; elimination of worms, or snails; 90% BOD reduction; stabilization of pH; 100% faecal/E.coli bacteria regulation; 90% total suspended solids reduction; 78% ammonia reduction.

Compliance with effluent standards These systems are typically used in single or multiple lagoons, or in continuous trenches containing fermenting waste. Cupric ion additives may be injected at any point in the treatment process depending on site-specific conditions and objectives. Cupric ion additives have been successful in single lagoons, clarifying ponds, effluent polishing ponds, and sludge beds.

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September 2010 | 51

Infrastructure Renewal

Developing a better way to replace black fibre sewer pipes helped establish a trenchless technology centre

By Dr. Mark Knight n the early 1990s, the City of Waterloo, Ontario, began experiencing premature failures of sewer laterals constructed of black fibre pipe (also known as Orangeburg or Bermico pipes) that had been in service for less than 20 years.

Black fibre pipes, 51 to 200 mm (2 to 8 in.) in diameter, are compressed paper fibre tubes that are vacuum-impregnated with bituminous coal tar pitch to form a pipe composed of approximately 25% fibre stock and 75% bitumen.

During World War II, governments mandated limited domestic use of steel to aid the war effort. This, and the lower manufacturing cost of black fibre pipe compared to steel, clay and concrete pipes, led to the rapid usage of black fibre pipe for sanitary laterals, drains and conduits. It remained a popular choice for sewer laterals following the end of the war and until the late 1960s,

I

when plastic pipes were introduced.

During the 1950s and 1960s, a period of rapid growth in the City of Waterloo, approximately 4,000 residential sewer laterals constructed of black fibre pipe were installed.

Soon after the installation of those laterals, homeowners began experiencing sewer back-ups due to the collapse of pipes. Initially, the failed house laterals were replaced by new pipes, using open-cut excavation from the houses to the streets. The open-cut construction took several days to complete, was disruptive to both homeowners and city residents, and cost approximately $6,500 per lateral.

Since the homeowner owned the lateral, the construction cost was shared between the homeowner and the City.

Due to the large number of premature failures and construction issues, it decided to assume the full cost of replacing

failed black fibre pipe sewer laterals. As a result of this decision, it had to assume a $26-million liability.

In 1994, the City of Waterloo and the University of Waterloo entered into a partnership to explore low-cost, less disruptive methods of replacing black pipe sewer. This partnership led to replacing the failed laterals by pulling a pipe bursting tool, which was attached to a high-density polyethylene pipe, from a small excavation made inside the basement to a small excavation made at the street.

The new trenchless construction method allowed the lateral replacement to be completed within a day, with little disruption to residents. It also reduced the cost of a lateral replacement from $6,500 to $4,500. The $2,000 cost savings for each lateral reduced the City‘s replacement liability by approximately $8 million. To date, the City estimates that the

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Infrastructure Renewal use of pipe bursting for lateral sewer replacement has saved at least $4 million.

The creation of CATT The success of the City of Waterloo’s partnership with the University of Waterloo, and the use of trenchless technology, led to support for the development of a research centre devoted to helping municipalities solve their buried infrastructure problems, including operating, condition assessment, repairing, rehabilitating, and replacing potable water, wastewater and stormwater pipelines, using limited financial and personnel resources.

In 1994, the Centre for the Advancement of Trenchless Technologies (CATT) was founded at the University of Waterloo through a partnership between the University, the City of Waterloo, the National Research Council of Canada, and 25 founding municipalities, industrial equipment and material suppliers, contractors, consultants, and gas company members.

CATT, with the help of its members, has also developed trenchless technology short courses that promote the use of good practices and design of success-

Black fibre pipes are compressed paper fibre tubes that are vacuum-impregnated with bituminous coal tar pitch.

ful trenchless projects. These short courses have been delivered across Canada, the US and Malaysia. CATT has produced a Cured-in-Place-Pipe Good Practices course and Cured-inPlace-Pipe Good Practices Manual for the North American Society for Trenchless Technology, which is planned to be released in the fall of 2010.

CATT’s current research efforts involve investigating and developing cost-

effective, innovative tools and procedures to improve the maintenance, rehabilitation and replacement of aging sewers, water mains and other components of water and wastewater infrastructure.

Dr. Mark Knight is with the Centre for the Advancement of Trenchless Technologies.

E-mail: maknight@uwaterloo.ca

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September 2010 | 53

Human Resources

Environmental professional certification – how important is it?

Events such as the Canadian Environmental Conference and Tradeshow, provide much needed learning opportunities for environmental professionals.

ith recent events such as the BP oil spill, environmental professionals and employers alike are beginning to realize how past and current practices affecting the environment have the potential to put the public at risk.

Additionally, industry personnel have become acutely aware of the need for specific competencies, skills, and training within the workforce. In a sector where the range of specialization is vast, the development of certification with strong regulatory support takes time.

For over a decade, ECO Canada (Environmental Careers Organization) has offered professional certification through seven designations that formally recognize the unique skills and knowledge of environmental practitioners. To date, this is a voluntary certification program; it will only be able to wean out those who

W

54 | September 2010

simply claim to be environmental professionals once it has full backing from the environment industry in its entirety.

At the 2010 GLOBE Conference, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between ECO Canada and the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ). The document demonstrates a mutual understanding of the growing need for professional standards and certification that are recognized both locally and internationally.

In May, the project lead for the Nova Scotia Ministry of Environment announced his support for the proposed Licensed Environmental Site Practitioners (LESP) Program, stating that the province of Nova Scotia would recognize ECO Canada’s certification, among others, as qualification to sign reports related to contaminated sites.

In August, ECO Canada’s seven des-

ignations merged to form what is now the Environmental Professional (EP) designation, which demonstrates an environmental professional’s commitment to accountability and career development, as well as their desire to remain on top of current practices. It also offers third party validation of an individual’s environmental competencies, as certified members are measured against industry-verified National Occupational Standards for environmental employment.

Supplying environmental assurance In becoming certified, all environmental professionals are required to abide by the Environmental Professional Code of Ethics. The Approvals Board ensures adherence to this, in addition to monitoring the application of disciplinary measures and overseeing the professional development of certified members.

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Human Resources There is a strict disciplinary process, with clearly detailed procedures should a complaint be filed against a certified member. This process also provides guidelines for disciplinary measures that may be applied in cases where a certified member is found to have contravened the EP Code of Ethics.

What are National Occupational Standards?

Occupational standards consist of the competencies required to perform work in a particular occupation. They are a set of statements describing the standard acceptable skills and knowledge requirements of professionals. National Occupational Standards (NOS) are considered the benchmarks against which people of a particular occupation measure their level of performance and competency.

They are the backbone of the certification process.

ECO Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Occupational Standards for environmental employment are compiled using a process that relies heavily on broad-based input from people working in environmental fields. Using this bottom-up approach, in conjunction with the guidance of senior environmental experts, ensures that the standards are of high quality and relevance. This creates an accurate depiction of current and emerging competencies in the many subsectors of environmental employment.

The NOS for Environmental Auditors, developed by ECO Canada, are consistent with national and international standards for environmental auditors. The NOS for Greenhouse Gas Professionals are aligned with the international standards in this field (ISO 14064 parts 1, 2, and 3, ISO 14065, ISO 14066).

NOS are updated approximately every five years to ensure that they remain accurate and reflective of the current realities of environmental employment.

What about post secondary institutions?

As environmental employment continues to develop and mature, defining the scope of environmental professional activities and competencies benefits not only the environmental workforce, but also serves to inform the academic community of the emerging needs of the labour market. www.esemag.com

Currently, 16 post-secondary institutions across Canada are integrating EP certification into the environmental programs they offer, thereby assisting their students in graduating as Environmental Professionals in training (EPt). Partnerships such as these are seen as one key way to promote the growth and recognition of the environmental profession.

What does the future hold for EP? In conjunction with the successes of this year, new initiatives have focused on building the community of Environmental Professionals in locations across Canada. Eight regional chapter leaders have been selected to build up connections, opportunities, and recognition of the designation in their province.

The first annual general meeting of each chapter of Environmental Professionals will take place between September 2010 and June 2011, in conjunction with a networking lunch and workshop.

For more information, E-mail: jreynen@eco.ca

Flow Troubleshooting

Mount the ultrasonic sensor on the outside of metal or plastic pipes and this new PDFM 5.0 Portable Doppler Flow Meter shows flow rate instantly. It is recommended for wastewater, sludge, slurries, chemicals and abrasives. It takes just a few minutes to setup: enter the pipe diameter and the Greyline PDFM 5.0 will display, totalize and data log flow.

It includes 4-20mA and USB outputs.

The rechargeable NiMH battery powers the unit for at least 24 hours.

Tel: 888-473-9546 Fax: 613-938-4857 Email: info@greyline.com Web: www.greyline.com

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September 2010 | 55

Wastewater Collection Systems

Portable monitoring instruments solve sewer flow rate mystery

Sensors were installed in seven different manholes for three to five days.

he Glen Walter Sewage Collection System, located in the Township of South Glengarry, Ontario, was built to service 1,080 customers in 1989. At the time, the population was 850 but by 1995 the sewage treatment plant had already reached capacity.

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Sensor installed in manhole inlet pipe.

56 | September 2010

Shawn Killoran became Operations Manager in 1999 and, along with the Mayor and Council, he immediately had concerns about the excess flow.

The Township started by video taping all of the lines in the collection system.

The pipe work was found to be in good condition, so significant infiltration was

unlikely. Mr. Killoran realized he had to rethink their approach and find a way to leverage technology. He decided to monitor flow in high volume areas within the collection system. The Township selected Stingray Level-Velocity Loggers from Greyline Instruments because they are portable, work in partially-filled pipes, and enable technicians to retrieve wastewater flow data without entering manholes.

The study of the Glen Walter system was conducted from May 16 to June 9, 2006. The ultrasonic sensors were installed in seven different manholes, for periods of three to five days. To capture detailed flow information, the Township set the Stingrays to take readings at 10 second intervals.

To deploy each unit, a township technician selected a manhole location, attached a stainless steel bracket in the influent pipe, then mounted the sealed, ultrasonic sensor into it. The technician connected the sensor cable to the watertight electronic logging unit and hung it inside the manhole. The logger recorded the date and time, water level, velocity, and temperature.

During the study, the Township

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Filtration

Filtering pharmaceutical plant cooling tower water

By Marcus Allhands ighly sophisticated processes are used to produce pharmaceuticals, and cooling is a very important component of these processes.

The twin-cell water cooling tower at a large pharmaceutical plant also serves as a wet air scrubber for odour control.

Plant engineers recently discovered that the small 400 gpm side-stream, four-bag filtration system on their 5,300 gpm cooling tower system did not provide the protection needed for heat exchangers, condensers and vessel cooling jackets, scattered throughout their facility, in addition to an 800 ton chiller.

Also, changing the bags based on a differential pressure alarm was labor-intensive and not always done consistently.

So, they began looking for a fullstream filtration system to filter the 5,300 gpm flow, with a 40-50 psi operating pressure down to 100 microns. Space on an outdoor concrete pad was very limited. To make matters worse, the concrete pad’s surface was partially flat and partially inclined. Two pumps moved water from the cooling tower basin up to an 18” header located about six feet above the concrete pad. A third pump was to be added when the filtration system was installed to provide a backup.

Designing a solution When designing mechanical filtration equipment, adequate hydraulic capacity must be provided to maintain reasonable velocities through the inlet and outlet flanges to minimize static pressure losses.

Insects, sand, leaves, dust, pollen, cottonwood seeds and algae, as well as man-made debris such as paper, cups and grass clippings, influence water quality greatly. The filter flux must be of appropriate value to meet the specific conditions of filtration degree, TSS loading, and type of solids. Filter flux is defined as the flow rate per unit area of screen media, i.e., gpm/in2 of usable screen surface.

Filters with a small footprint and large screen area were chosen to meet the specific demands of this application.

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58 | September 2010

Orival ORG Series Automatic Self-Cleaning Filters.

Five Orival Model ORG-080-LS automatic self-cleaning filters were mounted on a 16” manifold.

A 16” pneumatically actuated by-pass valve, incorporated into the manifold system, can be opened automatically should the filtration system controller sense a fault in the filtration process. The controller also has a set of dry contacts for connecting an alarm system for fault situations. An 8” manual butterfly valve was located at each filter inlet and outlet to allow the isolation of any individual filter for maintenance or repairs.

Normally, the hydraulic piston, used to move the self-cleaning mechanism (dirt collector) linearly inside each filter, and the rinse valve are operated by the water and pressure in the system.

However, these filters would possibly operate during winter months when freezing would be a problem. Therefore, available industrial pressurized air is used to pneumatically operate the pistons and rinse valves.

The piston and rinse valve actuator on each filter are filled with a glycol mixture that connects to an accumulator

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Filtration tank. This tank is partially filled with the glycol mixture and then the tank is pressurized with the industrial air supply. A solenoid valve bleeds air from the tank, lowering pressure and, thus, allows the rinse valve to open and the piston to operate when signaled by the controller to initiate a cleaning cycle.

Cleaning cycles automatically occur when a 7 psi pressure differential develops across the inlet and outlet manifolds, or when a preset timer lapses. Filter No. 1 goes through its 15 second cleaning cycle, and then Filter No. 2, and so on sequentially until all five filters have cleaned themselves. Each filter remains online at all times with no disruption of the filtration process.

A design/build firm installed the filtration system, mounting the entire package about 12 feet above ground level on a mezzanine built on-site. This overcame the uneven concrete pad problem and put the filters close to where cooling water enters the building. Each filter is equipped with a liquid-filled pressure gauge and a 3-way selector valve. This allows the inlet pressure, out-

let pressure and rinse chamber pressure to be conveniently observed, with one gauge on each filter unit eliminating variations between gauges. Using these pressures allows diagnostics to be run on each filter.

Prudent use of appropriate chemical additives, routine blowdown, and proper filtration have resulted in exemplary performance, with no maintenance issues or process interruptions.

Dr. Marcus Allhands is with Orival.

E-mail: filters@orival.com

Orival self-cleaning filters.

Understanding Biological Conditions at the Treatment Process.

Troubleshooting the Sequencing Batch Reactor Michael H. Gerardi, Brittany Lytle For years, operators have learned that they have little control over lagoon and fixed film sewage treatment systems. Tested in short-course situations by the author over the last fifteen years, this guide gives operators a new understanding of how wastewater treatment processes with lagoons and fixed films function, and demonstrates that operators can have greater control over them than previously thought. It directs the material at operators instead of design and consulting engineers, while reducing the jargon, chemical equations, and kinetics; and provides necessary information for understanding biological conditions at the treatment process.

978-0-470-05073-6 | Paper | 216 pages | August 2010 | $65.95 For more Environmental Engineering titles please visit

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September 2010 | 59

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Biosolids Management

Environment ministers launch biosolids initiative

Annually, Canadians produce more than 660,000 tonnes of municipal biosolids, some of which is land applied as an agricultural fertilizer. (Photo courtesy Terratec Environmental Ltd.)

he Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) is the major intergovernmental forum in Canada for discussion and joint action on environmental issues of national concern. The 14 member governments work as partners in developing nationally-consistent environmental standards and practices.

Currently, Canadians produce more than 660,000 metric tons of municipal wastewater biosolids each year. The annual cost of biosolids management is approximately 50% of the total operating cost of wastewater management.

To study and make recommendations on issues related to biosolids management at the national level, CCME established the Biosolids Task Group (BTG) in 2008. The desired outcome of BTGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work is that local governments and other biosolids generators manage biosolids under a harmonized national policy and regulatory framework that clearly addresses issues of risk; defines beneficial use; instills public confidence; and protects the environment and human health.

Municipal wastewater biosolids and septage are including in the scope of the BTG work, but not separate industrial and commercial biosolids derived, for example, from pulp and paper processing.

The initial work of the BTG included:

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www.esemag.com

developing an inventory of emerging substances of concern in Canadian biosolids; conducting an analysis of greenhouse gas emissions associated with biosolids management approaches and the development of a method to calculate emissions; and a review of current Canadian legislative frameworks for biosolids.

The greenhouse gas emissions calculator and a literature review on emerging substances of concern have been completed and are available on the CCME website.

Municipal biosolids sampling study Although various studies in other jurisdictions have demonstrated the presence of substances of interest, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), in biosolids, a Canadawide study to identify and inventory these substances in biosolids had not been done until now. The BTG first commissioned a literature review of available information and existing research. Subsequently, an analysis of biosolids and septage samples from 11 wastewater treatment plants in Canada was carried out.

The final report of the project will provide: a list of emerging substances of concern present in Canadian biosolids; a comparison of the effectiveness of different biosolids treatment processes for removal of emerging substances of con-

cern; and data on levels of these substances in Canadian biosolids.

The analysis of the biosolids and septage samples includes 57 pharmaceutical compounds, 11 fragrances, three alkylphenolics (including Bisphenol A), nutrients, and the 11 metals which are commonly regulated in Canadian biosolids.

BEAM greenhouse gas emissions calculator A consideration of increasing importance, when evaluating biosolids management practices, is the impact of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The objective of the project was to develop a GHG calculation methodology for Canadian municipal biosolids generators and managers. This would evaluate the environmental impacts of current and future biosolids and sludge management options, such as land application, composting, incineration and landfilling, with or without energy recovery, including anaerobic digestion.

A literature and background review was undertaken to support subsequent development of the GHG calculator tool.

The literature review identified GHG sources (debits) and offset (credits) opportunities associated with biosolids management, determined and corrobocontinued overleaf...

September 2010 | 61

Biosolids Management rated GHG emission factors, and summarized international GHG protocols.

Biosolids management practices were summarized for over 40 Canadian jurisdictions.

Based on the information gathered through the literature and background review, a simplified GHG calculator spreadsheet tool, known as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Biosolids Emissions Assessment Modelâ&#x20AC;? (BEAM), was developed.

Data and information for the validation phase of the project were solicited from nine Canadian municipalities. Participants were selected, based on their current biosolids management practices, their leadership, the availability of data, and to provide regional representation across Canada. Data and information received from these municipalities were used to populate the BEAM and determine net GHG emissions (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per dry tonne biosolids) from their biosolids management practices.

Consultation with the participating municipalities provided valuable feedback that was used to refine the data and information requirements to optimize

62 | September 2010

the BEAM model.

BEAM provides a flexible, userfriendly model that can be applied to biosolids management scenarios across Canada. As market incentives for GHG emissions reductions develop further, documentation using BEAM, combined with an independent verification step, could lead to the generation of marketable carbon credits.

Legislative framework review Part of the mandate of the BTG is to develop a Canada-wide approach for the management of municipal biosolids focusing on policy and regulatory harmonization. One of the key steps to achieving this goal was to undertake a federal and provincial legislative review, with the objective of outlining the current regulatory framework, and identifying commonalities, inconsistencies, and duplications.

To obtain the information required, a BTG subcommittee designed a survey which included a questionnaire and a series of comparative tables of standards and requirements. Federal and provincial representatives of each jurisdiction on the BTG responded to the survey, and the results were compiled and analysed.

The result of the survey is a picture of the current Canadian legislative framework, including a description of the roles and responsibilities of the different jurisdictions, the procedure for approving biosolids, applicable standards and requirements, and compliance and monitoring.

Analysis of the survey information indicates that certain policies (e.g., concerning pathogens, organic contaminants) are quite similar across the country; whereas others (e.g., application rates, separation requirements) vary between provinces.

Biosolids management A Canada-Wide Approach for Biosolids Management will be developed from these projects and from additional work to be carried out by BTG. Public consultation and information exchange will be an important component of its development. It is expected that the work will be carried out by the individual jurisdictions during 2010 and 2011.

For more information, visit www.ccme.ca

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

For further information, please contact: Judy Earl, Envirogate Event Management, Tel: 416-920-0768, Fax: (416) 920-0620, E-mail: judy@templegateinfo.com Or, visit www.envirogate.ca, to download the full program.

Site Remediation

Innovative soil remediation technology saves time and money By Patrick Hicks

Wavefront’s Primawave sends powerful bursts of remediation fluids underground to effectively and efficiently contact contaminants. (Photos by Scott Lennon)

nderground remediation projects can be costly and timeconsuming for land developers. Managers often encounter difficulties getting remediation fluid into close contact with target contaminants. Numerous injection points are frequently required, with fluid coming to the surface instead of going underground, a phenomenon commonly known as daylighting. Reaching contaminants in hardto-access areas, such as under buildings, can be especially challenging.

Edmonton-based Wavefront Technology Solutions has developed an innovative process called Primawave that works with remedial injection equipment already being used on-site. The technology helps treat sites quickly, while reducing costs by as much as 40%.

Fewer injection points Primawave works by using powerful bursts to disperse remediation fluid underground to reach contaminants effectively and with pinpoint accuracy. It helps reduce the number of injection points with its increased efficiency, while still reaching contaminants over a large area.

The process emerged from academic research that Wavefront President and CEO Brett Davidson conducted at the University of Waterloo in 1997. He managed a group headed by Dr. Maurice Dusseault, called the Porous Media Re-

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64 | September 2010

search Institute, which studied the flow of fluids underground. In particular, his group examined cold, heavy oil production, the stability of boreholes, and anecdotal information about how earthquakes can increase fluid flow in heavy oil fields in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Their research eventually connected them with Dr. Tim Spanos at the University of Alberta, who had developed his own theory about liquid flow. The trio proved in a laboratory that sending controlled bursts of fluid underground could increase the flow of oil to extraction wells. Patents were obtained and a company was formed around the technology shortly afterwards.

Field trials were conducted in Alberta from November 1998 to February 1999.

The trials provided very positive firsttime-out results, demonstrating that the technology could increase oil recovery by up to 34%.

After successfully marketing the technology to oil producers across North America, Wavefront decided to apply the technology’s principles to facilitate underground remediation projects. The principles of increasing the flow of fluids underground for the purposes of extracting oil were the same for increasing the distribution of remedial fluids underground. Instead of using pulses to “sweep” oil from underground, the technology could facilitate remediation fluid

being placed in close contact with contaminants.

Underground remediation projects often require numerous injection points because the fluid does not spread readily to affected areas. Instead, it passes underground through the path of least resistance, leaving contaminated areas untouched, unless another injection point is established.

Standard piping or fittings are used to connect Primawave tools between the injection pump and a standard injection well or direct-push injection point. Primawave sends out powerful bursts of injected fluid up to 600 times per minute, depending on subsurface flow characteristics. The fluid is forced to move through the ground with greater uniformity, regardless of permeability or soil variability.

Davidson compares how Primawave works to a water hose with a kink in it.

The pressure from the tap drives the water from the end of the hose at about 50 to 55 pounds per square inch. With a kink in the hose, energy builds behind the kink.

“The host acts like an accumulator,” says Davidson. “People think that more pressure is being created but that’s not possible. You can’t create pressure when it’s still coming from your house. What you’re doing is storing energy.”

When the kink is released, the stored

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Ecosystems

Determining biodiversity’s economic value vital to its sustainability By Josée Thibeault n order to emphasize the international year of biodiversity enacted by the UN and UNESCO, environmental scientists presented their reflections as part of a seminar organized by the eco-counselor of the University of Québec at Chicoutimi, in January 2010.

Experts are struggling to find a definition that grasps biodiversity’s complexity as it encompasses a diversity of species, ecosystems, microorganisms, genes, and even populations. It also remains hard to measure biodiversity’s economic value.

During the last few decades, the discourse on biodiversity has grown in importance. It was initiated in 1992 with the Biodiversity World Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was then that the world biodiversity convention was created and ratified by more than a hundred countries.

In order to significantly reduce biodiversity loss, Kalemani Jo Mulongoy, the Principal Officer in charge of Scientific, Technical and Technological Matters for the Secretariat to the Convention on Biological Diversity, suggested that setting clear goals and quantitative objectives could help slow down biodiversity loss. For instance, in the period from 2010 to 2020, our governments could put forward a plan to reduce ocean acidification and decrease total deforestation and overfishing by 50%.

According to Mr. Mulongoy: “We are currently in an irreversible period of biodiversity loss. In 2005, we came to the conclusion that we have lost approximately 30% of biodiversity due to anthropogenic perturbations to the ecosystems”.

Amazonian forest degradation and the ever-growing expansion of North and South African deserts are the most serious environmental problems humanity is facing. The idea of creating protected areas comes as a solution to help preserve these natural ecosystems, while providing an opportunity for furthering our knowledge of biodiversity.

The market value of biodiversity In a context where populations, consumption, and global warming are in-

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66 | September 2010

Kalemani Jo Mulongoy suggested that setting clear goals and quantitative objectives could help slow down biodiversity loss.

creasing considerably, protecting natural habitats is of utmost importance. The question remaining is how to define the economic value of biodiversity in a capitalist system.

According to Jean Cinq Mars, Québec’s Sustainable Development Commissioner, the problem must be analysed with regard to the central components of sustainable development: biodiversity and planning. The main utilitarian function of biodiversity is to provide human populations with environmental services such as oxygen production, carbon sequestration, food production, and even the enjoyment of a beautiful landscape. These services are natural processes that can be categorised as public and private goods.

For Jean Cinq Mars, the biggest challenge remains the evaluation of these environmental goods. “How to define the territory of a watershed? How does one evaluate the amount of carbon sequestered? What are the acceptable limits of habitat exploitation?”, he asks.

In Québec, there is no policy ensuring the sustainability of regional ecosystems.

For example, in aquatic ecosystems, cyanobacteria is always proliferating, because of the presence of phosphorus due

to improper use of chemical fertilisers.

Laval University bioethics researcher, Louis-Étienne Pigeon, presented a valuation model, which was different to liberal and utilitarian ones.

The strength of this model lies in its ability to harmonize the needs of different human populations with the preservation of nature. The approach aims to establish clear preservation goals by soliciting the involvement of local populations through symposiums, public debates, and public gatherings.

Biodiversity must be preserved by educating citizens. The survival of biodiversity relies on deep individual change in behaviour and societal transformations. “Let us biodiversify our daily lives”, said Michèle S. Jean, the President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, at the conclusion of this symposium.

This article is adapted from a presentation given by Josée Thibeault on a recent symposium on eco-counselling, held at the University of Québec in Chicoutimi.

E-mail: josee_thibeault@yahoo.ca

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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Remediation

Restoring Lake Erieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Wheatley Harbour

he Ontario Ministry of the Environment recently announced that the ecosystem at Lake Erie's Wheatley Harbour has been restored, removing it from a list of environmental hot spots. The harbour, located just east of Point Pelee, was desig-

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nated a Great Lakes Area of Concern under the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1985. The remediated area is about 21 hectares in size and encompasses the harbour and the adjacent Muddy Creek wetland.

In terms of the volume and dollar

value of fish caught and processed, Wheatley Harbour is a major freshwater commercial fishing port on Lake Erie.

This includes being home to the largest fish-processing centre on the Great Lakes, with products shipped across Canada, the United States, and around

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68 | September 2010

Senior Municipal and Senior Geotechnical Engineering Positions PINTER & Associates Ltd. is looking for dynamic, productive, passionate engineers to head up the municipal and geotechnical departments.

If you are interested in personal development, in being on the ground floor in organization development, in being able to put forth your vision and guide departmental development on your terms, then you will be interested in what PINTER has to offer.

Please apply at: www.pinter.ca Tel: 306-244-1710 Fax: 306-933-4986 #4-320 Jessop Ave Saskatoon, SK S7N 1Y6 Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Remediation the world.

The success of early industry at the harbour took a toll on the environment. Permanent large-scale docks destroyed fish and wildlife habitat. Decades of unrestricted wastewater discharges from fish and vegetable processing plants contaminated the water with high levels of nutrients.

PCBs from fish processing waste accumulated in the sediment of the wetland and harbour over time. Fish and wildlife populations declined, contaminants accumulated in fish, causing health-based restrictions on eating the fish. Poor water quality and high nutrients from fish processing waste also caused the growth of undesirable algae.

Past industry was not the only cause of contamination. Agricultural runoff and faulty private septic systems in the Muddy Creek watershed caused excessive nutrient and bacterial contamination.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Environment Canada initiated the Wheatley Harbour Remedial Action Plan in 1987, to define and deal with the area's environmental legacy. Key results included: • Local industries responded to the new legislative requirements by investing more than $4 million to upgrade their wastewater treatment facilities.

• Forty homeowners in the Muddy Creek watershed took advantage of $250,000 in federal grants to upgrade their faulty septic systems.

• Local landowners, with help from the Essex Region Conservation Authority and the Essex County Stewardship Network, planted a total of 850 metres (2,789 feet) of native trees, shrubs and other vegetation as buffers along Muddy Creek.

This work helped to stabilize eroded stream banks and to filter phosphorus, nitrogen and other contaminants from agricultural sources. These buffer strips of vegetation also provide food and shelter for a variety of fish and wildlife.

• The Ministry of the Environment and Environment Canada assessed the contaminated sediment and found the low levels of PCBs were having no impact on local fish and wildlife. Over time, clean sediments have covered over the contaminated sediment, forming a natural cap.

Governments had created stricter regulations for industrial wastewater treatment in the 1970s and 1980s which had already helped control wastewater discharges by the time Wheatley Harbour was designated an Area of Concern.

Environment restored Water quality in Wheatley Harbour and Muddy Creek has improved significantly as a result of actions taken to control and improve industrial wastewater, agricultural runoff and other sources of water pollution.

There are no new sources of PCBs entering the harbour.

Phosphorus and bacteria levels have declined in response to stewardship actions taken by landowners to reduce agricultural sources of contamination. E. coli bacteria that were entering the water have been significantly reduced due to upgrades to private septic systems.

Today the ecosystem is restored and Wheatley Harbour has been removed from the list of Great Lakes hot spots.

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Package Treatment System ACG Technology’s package treatment system offers performance and durability. It provides sewage treatment within a small footprint. Aeration, mixing and settling can be accomplished in compact, easily transported ISO containers, ideal for remote locations. Provides flexibility of adding future parallel units, an economical means of meeting the needs of any growing sewage loads.

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MBR technology ADI Systems Inc. offers leading-edge anaerobic membrane biological reactor technology, featuring Kubota’s award-winning submerged membrane units in the process. This technology produces the highest-quality effluent in a small footprint and can be used alone or paired with an ADIMBR to meet the strictest discharge limits.

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Tel: 1-800-232-7385 Web: www.wilbert.ca

American Public University offers more than 70 affordable online degrees, including Environmental Sciences, with concentrations in Environmental Planning, Environmental Sustainability, Environmental Technology & Management, Global Environmental Management, and more. Classes start monthly with flexible weekly schedules. Learn more at www.studyatapu.com/enviro.

Tel: 877-777-9081 Fax: 304-724-3780 E-mail: info@apus.edu Web: studyatAPU.com/enviro

ASCO’s new low power valves are now available with the reliability you expect, but at the lowest power rating ever – only 0.55 watt! You can install more devices on a process plant bus network, or use them in remote locations with solar/battery sources.

Tel: 519-758-2700, Fax: 519-758-5540 E-mail: ascomail@asco.ca Web: www.ascovalve.ca

Alberta Wilbert Sales

American Public University

ASCO Valve Canada

Electronic platform

Phoenix Panel System

Phoenix Underdrain System

The Numatics G3 Fieldbus is the next generation electronic platform that allows easy access to I/O connections.

The G3 Fieldbus is the only pneumatic valve manifold on the market today to contain a graphical display used for configuration/commissioning and diagnostics.

E-mail: marketing@numatics.ca Web: www.numatics.ca ASCO Valve Canada

• Upgrades and optimizes all types of filters • Installs directly over existing underdrain system • Eliminates the need for base gravel layers • Improves backwash flow distribution • Provides longer filter runs and lower turbidity effluent Tel: 403-255-7377, Fax: 403-255-3129 E-mail: info@awifilter.com Web: www.awifilter.com AWI

• Optimizes all types of filters • Extremely low profile; lowest available • Manufactured from corrosion-resistant stainless steel • Variable custom orifice sizing • Custom hydraulic design • Guaranteed uniform air scour distribution • Rapid, low-cost installation Tel: 403-255-7377, Fax: 403-255-3129 E-mail: info@awifilter.com Web: www.awifilter.com AWI

70 | September 2010

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

New rain logger

Infrastructure Summit

This system acts as a barrier, preventing personnel from falling to lower levels. It can protect employees with little or no training, special maintenance or gear. As it is free-standing it does not require engineered anchor points or surface penetration. The galvanized base and powder-coated rails prevent corrosion, for extended product life.

Tel: 800-265-0182, Fax: 905-272-1866 E-mail: info@cdnsafety.com Web: www.cdnsafety.com

Telog’s new RG-32 lowcost, wireless, battery-powered rain logger works with most tipping bucket rain gauges. Rainfall data is wirelessly delivered to a password-protected website for you to view. It is small, easy to install, with up to a 5 year battery life.

Tel: 905-829-0030, Fax: 905-829-4701 E-mail: support@can-am.net Web: www.can-am.net

Don't miss the opportunity to engage in lectures, workshops and forums at the National Infrastructure Summit, January 26 – 28, 2011, in Regina, Saskatchewan. Topics for discussion will include assessments, needs, best practices, the importance of partnerships and solutions to better position municipalities for the 21st century.

Tel: 306-777-6769, Fax: 306-777-6803 E-mail: sharmatiuk@regina.ca Web: nisummit2011.ca

Canadian Safety

Can-Am Instruments

Dissolved air flotation

The AquaDAF® Clarifier High-Rate Dissolved Air Flotation System is a viable alternative to conventional settling and DAF clarifiers. It is highly effective for treatment of a range of raw water characteristics, including troublesome waters exhibiting low turbidity, high TOC, colour and algae.

Tel: 201-794-3100 Web: www.degremont-technologies.com Degremont

Fixed and portable samplers Endress+Hauser’s water sampling line includes the Liquistation CSF48 stationary unit and the Liquiport CSP44 portable unit. The units accept “hot plug and play” inputs from up to two Endress+Hauser’s Memosens digital sensors to measure parameters such as nitrates, conductivity, oxygen, pH, ORP, turbidity or suspended solids.

Tel: 800-668-3199, Fax: 905-681-9444 E-mail: info@ca.endress.com Web: www.ca.endress.com Endress + Hauser

www.esemag.com

Denso Petrolatum Tapes Proven worldwide for well over 100 years, Denso Petrolatum Tapes offer the best, most economical, long-term corrosion protection for all above and below ground metal surfaces.

Requiring only minimum surface preparation and environmentally responsible, Denso Petrolatum Tape is the solution to your corrosion problems in any corrosive environment. For applications in mines, mills, refineries, steel mills, pulp & paper, oil & gas, and the waterworks industry. The answer is Denso!

Tel: 416-291-3435, Fax: 416-291-0898 E-mail: blair@densona.com Web: www.densona.com Denso

City of Regina

Multi-channel transmitter

The Liquiline CM44 is a four-wire multi-channel transmitter from Endress+Hauser, compatible with a full complement of digital Memosens sensors for all parameters. The large backlit screen, navigation wheel, dropdown menu structure and adaptive software make operation simple and intuitive.

Tel: 800-668-3199, Fax: 905-681-9444 E-mail: info@ca.endress.com Web: www.ca.endress.com Endress + Hauser

Constructed wetlands

Liquid polymer technology

Leviathan™ is the workhorse of the BioHaven® range of floating islands. It combines concentrated floating wetland surface area with highvolume, low-cost aeration/circulation to bring nutrient-rich dead zones back to life. Canadian licensing opportunities are available. Call Bruce at Floating Island International.

Tel: 800-450-1088 www.floatingislandinternational.com

Fluid Dynamics’ dynaBLEND™ Liquid Polymer Dilution/Feed System eases the task of blending liquid polymers for wastewater processes because it has been designed to effectively activate all types of liquid polymers. Its non-mechanical mixing chamber also delivers an unequalled degree of reliability.

Floating Island International

Fluid Dynamics

Tel: 888-363-7886, Fax: 800-255-4017 Web: www.dynablend.com

September 2010 | 71

Product & Service Showcase

Portable guardrail

Water reservoir & tank mixer

The patented Hexa-Cover® system can be used on all kinds of liquids. It is the ideal solution for eliminating: • Evaporation • Organic growth • Emission • Odour The unique design makes the elements interlock by wind pressure and ensure that the Hexa-Cover tiles mechanically constitute a coherent cover.

Tel: 519-469-8169, Fax: 519-469-8157 E-mail: sales@greatario.com Web: www.greatario.com Greatario Engineered Storage Systems

P roduct & Service Showcase

Multiparameter meter

The YSI ProODOTM handheld DO meter provides extreme durability for the measurement of optical, luminescent-based dissolved oxygen for any field application.

PAX Mixer is a very innovative, simple mixer designed to mix water storage reservoirs and standpipes. It offers superior mixing performance with little energy consumption, easy installation, low capital cost. It eliminates stagnation and stratification, minimizes residual loss, prevents nitrification.

Tel: 905-660-9775, Fax: 905-660-9744 E-mail: michael@h2flow.com Web: www.h2flow.com H2Flow Tanks & Systems

Web: www.hoskin.ca

Hoskin Scientific

New jet aerators

In-place culvert relining

The YSI Professional Plus handheld multiparameter meter provides extreme flexibility for the measurement of a variety of combinations for dissolved oxygen, conductivity, specific conductance, salinity, resistivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, ORP, pH/ORP combination, ammonium (ammonia), nitrate, chloride and temperature.

Web: www.hoskin.ca

Streamliner CR relining pipe from Ideal Pipe is a strong, light, corrugated HDPE pipe designed to ‘streamline’ the upgrading of old metal culverts. In-place relining with Streamliner CR eliminates the trouble and expense of road reconstruction, while improving drainage through the culvert.

Tel: 800-265-7098 Web: www.idealpipe.ca

Hoskin Scientific

Ideal Pipe

Chemical-free water treatment

Hand-held DO meter

Based on the clogfree Flygt Npumps, the new Flygt jet aerator from ITT Water & Wastewater has become easier to install and maintain.

The major changes in the new generation jet aerators are: an improved lift in, lift out structure, and a strengthened stand equipped with rubber dampers. Available with up to three ejectors, the Flygt jet aerator is a flexible aeration solution for small- and mediumsized tanks.

Tel: 514-695-0100, Fax: 514-697-0602 Web: www.ittwww.com ITT Water & Wastewater

Perforated fine screen

Submersible transducer

WEDECO Ozone Generators from ITT Water & Wastewater eliminate pollutants, coloured substances, odours and micro-organisms without creating harmful byproducts. They are compact in design to reduce overall footprint, and provide reduced energy consumption per unit of ozone production.

Tel: 514-695-0100, Fax: 514-697-0602 Web: www.ittwww.ca

The ESCALATOR® Perforated Fine Screen, employed in wastewater and stormwater/CSO applications, gives continuous and efficient screening removal. It offers higher solids capture rate, lower head-loss, and easier retrofitting into existing headworks. See a demonstration at WEFTEC Booth #5439.

Tel: 1-888-638-6437 E-mail: sales@johnmeunier.com Web: www.johnmeunier.com

Ametek’s low cost submersible model 375 is a 1%, 2 wire, 420 mA transducer. A 316 S.S. housing and factory sealed cable provide liquid tight performance. Available calibrated for 13.8 to 692 ft of water. Desiccant vent filter is included.

It is distributed by Peacock, a division of Kinecor.

ITT Water and Wastewater

John Meunier

Kinecor

72 | September 2010

Tel: 1-800-313-3103, Fax: 905-890-0846 E-mail: marketing@kinecor.com Web: www.peacock.ca or www.kinecor.com

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

pH/ORP sensors

Metcon offers a variety of pre-engineered, dry chemical feed packages, with small foot prints and reduced maintenance, whether the application calls for KMnO4, lime, PAC, polymer, fluoride, alum or soda ash. Features include: continuous/batch operation; dust collection; no slurry handling; minimal field erection; super bag systems with optional automatic bag unloaders; elimination of slurry tank/mixer.

Tel: 905-738-2355, Fax: 905-738-5520 E-mail: metcon@metconeng.com Web: www.metconeng.com

SensoLyt® Sensors are specifically suited for continuous pH/ORP measurement, under the difficult conditions often found in sewage treatment. The sensors consist of a submersible housing with a builtin preamplifier and the appropriate combination pH or ORP electrode.

With our high-performance monitors, the sensors constitute an integrated, extremely reliable pH/ORP measuring system.

Tel: 905-738-2355, Fax: 905-738-5520 E-mail: metcon@metconeng.com Web: www.metconeng.com

Metcon Sales & Engineering

Metcon Sales & Engineering

Metering pumps Neptune™ Chemical Pump’s Series 500 Metering Pumps feature a Variable Oil Bypass™ stroke adjustment that allows for better valve performance than traditional variable-linkage designs. The pumps have capabilities to 80 gph (302 lph) simplex and 160 gph (605 lph) duplex, at pressures up to 3,000 psi (210 KG/cm).

Tel: 888-3NEPTUNE, Fax: 800-255-4017 Web: www.neptune1.com Neptune Chemical Pump

Odour control

Metering pump

Metering pumps

Parkson Corporation’s OHxyPhogg odour control system effectively breaks down fats, oils, and greases, virtually eliminating not only the buildup but the costly pumping and discharging of FOGs. The oxidant fog also reacts with H2S and other reduced sulfur compounds, removing the unpleasant odours.

Tel: 1-800-249-2140, Fax: 954-252-4085 E-mail: odor@parkson.com Web: www.parkson.com

The awardwinning delta® with optoDrive® provides diverse control and operating capabilities in a capacity range of 7.5 - 75 l/h, 362 psi - 29 psi.

The delta from ProMinent has many advanced features: pulsed or continuous dosing; automatic detection of airlock, low pressure and high pressure; and an automatic degassing option.

Tel: 888-709-9933, Fax: 519-836-5226 E-mail: sales@prominent.ca Web: www.prominent.ca/delta

Feature-rich and dependable Sigma series metering pumps from ProMinent help keep your chemical feed under control.

Sigma pumps operate in capacities of up to 1000 LPH and pressures up to 174 psi. Microprocessor controls are easy to use, with backlit LCD for rapid and reliable adjustment.

Parkson

ProMinent Fluid Controls

ProMinent Fluid Controls

Chemical injection equipment

Tel: 888-709-9933, Fax: 519-836-5226 E-mail: sales@prominent.ca Web: www.prominent.ca

Membrane bioreactor

Long-term water supply

Sanitherm has perfected containerizing their SaniBrane® MBR. The containerized SaniBrane is portable, provides excellent effluent on start-up, is operator friendly and comes pre-wired, preplumbed and tested. The system for anywhere needing reliable waste treatment with a small footprint!

SAF-T-FLO Chemical Injection manufactures a complete line of chemical injection equipment for all types of chemical feed systems. A large inventory of retractable and non-retractable injection quills and sampling probes is available to meet your needs. In addition, experienced technical sales staff can answer your questions or help solve your problems.

Tel: 800-957-2383, Fax: 714-632-3350 E-mail: gkline@saftflo.com Web: www.saftflo.com

Tel: 604-986-9168, Fax: 604-986-5377 E-mail: information@sanitherm.com Web: www.sanibrane.com

The book, Aquifer Storage and Recovery and Managed Aquifer Recharge Using Wells: Planning, Hydrogeology, Design, and Operation, provides an overview of ASR and MAR technologies that use wells to recharge aquifers. The lessons learned from existing ASR systems are presented to provide guidance for successful future implementation of the technologies. For more information, visit www.slb.com/mwre-book2.

E-mail: mbubel@slb.com Web: www.water.slb.com

SAF-T-FLO Chemical Injection

Sanitherm Inc.

Schlumberger Water Services

www.esemag.com

September 2010 | 73

Product & Service Showcase

Dry chemical feed

Remote data manager

Ultrasonic level measurement

Wastewater Pump Stations

The new remote data manager from Siemens, SITRANS RD500, integrates web access, alarm event handling and data capture and is suitable for the management and monitoring of remote installed process instruments, including flow, level, pressure, temperature and weighing. The user is able to monitor equipment from anywhere using a standard web browser by computer, PDA or smart phone.

Web: www.siemens.com/sitransrd500 Siemens

SITRANS Probe LU is a 2-wire, loop-powered, ultrasonic transmitter ideal for continuous level, volume, and flow monitoring in food storage applications, chemical storage vessels and open channels. The measurement range is up to 12 metres (40 ft) on liquids and slurries and it features sonic intelligence echo-processing including auto false-echo suppression.

Web: www.siemens.com/probelu Siemens

Energy-saving Smith & Loveless wastewater pump stations are ideal for collection system and WWTP influent pumping.

S&L stations arrive at the jobsite completely built and thoroughly factory-tested. Now available with expanded pump sizing: 4" - 12" piping (100-300 mm); horsepower: 1.5 to 300 HP; capacity: up to 50,000 GMP (3155 lps).

Tel: 913-888-5201, Fax: 913-888-2173 E-mail: answers@smithandloveless.com Web: www.smithandloveless.com

P roduct & Service Showcase

Remote water level monitoring

Access remote water data instantly using the Solinst STS Gold Telemetry System.

Built for Solinst Leveloggers, the system provides reliable remote site data collection using radio, landline, cellular or satellite communication. Intuitive software makes for simple setup, operation, and data management.

Tel: 905-873-2255, Fax: 905-873-1992 E-mail: instruments@solinst.com Web: www.solinst.com Solinst

NEW portable optical dissolved oxygen measurement system The Aquaread AquaPlus™ system is the only portable Optical DO system available which includes direct EC measurement for accurate salinity compensation. Automatic temperature and barometric pressure compensation are also included.

Tel: 905-238-5242, Fax: 905-238-5704 E-mail: sales@waterra.com Web: www.waterra.com Waterra Pumps

74 | September 2010

Smith & Loveless

Trickling filters

Peristaltic metering pumps Flex-Pro® is a high pressure, high accuracy, industrial peristaltic metering pump which provides feed rates of up to 171 GPH, and pressures up to 125 PSI.. The variable speed DC motor is brushless. It provides patented tube failure detection which will detect a wide range of chemicals (i.e., chlorine, acids, etc.) and not trigger falsely for condensation and washdown. Its turndown ratio is 1000:1.

Tel: 905-678-2882 Fax: 905-293-9774 E-mail: sales@spdsales.com Web: www.spdsales.com

Waterloo Biofilters® are efficient, modular trickling filters for residential and communal sewage wastewaters, and landfill leachate. Patented, lightweight, synthetic filter media optimize physical properties for microbial attachment and water retention. The self-contained modular design for communal use is now available in 20,000L/d and 40,000L/d ISO shipping container units - ready to plug in on-site.

Tel: 519-856-0757, Fax: 519-856-0759 E-mail: wbs@waterloo-biofilter.com Web: www.waterloo-biofilter.com Waterloo Biofilter

SPD Sales

Submersible mixing

Submersible pumps As a leader in submersible pumping station technology, Wilo offers a unique solution for grit and solid removal by pre-filtering the bigger solids to effectively eradicate the possibility of a pump blockage and to reduce power consumption. For more information, please send your request to info@wilo-canada.com Tel: 866-WILO-CDN, Fax: 403-277-9456 E-mail: info@wilo-canada.com Web: www.wilo-canada.com WILO Canada

Wilo’s mixers for water and wastewater applications are known for their durability and for the functionality of the propellers in slow, medium and high-speed applications. For more information, please send your request to info@wilocanada.com Tel: 866-WILO-CDN, Fax: 403-277-9456 E-mail: info@wilo-canada.com Web: www.wilo-canada.com WILO Canada

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Canadian students win 2010 Stockholm Junior Water Prize

Acoustic Panels, Enclosures & Products WE WELCOME YOUR INQUIRIES

Email: info@acousticproductsales.com Web: www.acousticproductsales.com Tel: (613) 551-6100

Danny Luong and Alexandre Allard with H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Gretchen McClain, president of ITT’s Fluid and Motion Control group.

Alexandre Allard and Danny Luong, from Canada, recently received the Stockholm Junior Water Prize from H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden. Their research on biodegradation of the plastic, polystyrene, won them the prize.

“Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is a great threat to the environment since it contributes to the spread of toxins such as styrene and bisphenol A into our waters.

We hope that our method will be widely used and consequently increase the water quality in the world,” said the winners after receiving the prize.

The international Stockholm Junior Water Prize competition brings together the world’s brightest young scientists to encourage their continued interest in water and the environment. Each year, thousands of participants in over 30 countries join national competitions for the chance to represent their nation at the international final held during the World Water Week in Stockholm.

• ANTHRACITE • QUALITY FILTER SAND & GRAVEL • CARBON • GARNET ILMENITE • REMOVAL & INSTALLATION 20 Sharp Road, Brantford, Ontario N3T 5L8 • Tel: (519) 751-1080 • Fax: (519) 751-0617 E-mail: swildey@anthrafilter.net • Web: www.anthrafilter.net

WFP receives funding from Foundation Water For People has received a $5.6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support their innovative Sanitation as a Business program.

The grant represents a significant investment over four years in this program, testing possible sustainable sanitation services in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. This groundbreaking program seeks to revolutionize the sanitation sector. It combines profit incentives for small local companies and income generation programs for poor households and schools, continued overleaf... www.esemag.com

Water treatment specialists for the resource and energy industries 604-685-1243 bioteq@bioteq.ca

www.bioteq.ca

6 6 6 6 6

Recover dissolved metals Remove sulphate Improve water re-use Comply with regulations Lower life cycle costs for water treatment September 2010 | 75

MARKHAM, ONTARIO 905-747-8506 weknowwater@bv.com www.bv.com

Specialists in a comprehensive range of Municipal, Environmental, Structural, Building, Water Resources, Transportation and Municipal Engineering Collingwood

Bracebridge

Email: info@cctatham.com

Orillia

Barrie

Web: www.cctatham.com

30+ Years of Water and Wastewater Solutions Wastewater Collection/Treatment Water Supply/Treatment/Storage/Distribution Environmental Site Assessment/Remediation Hydrogeological Investigations/Modelling Watershed/Stormwater Management Information Technology/Data Management

demonstrating a shift from unsustainable, subsidy-based sanitation programs toward sustainable, profitable sanitation services.

“This grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will allow us to test, improve and expand our entrepreneurial Sanitation as a Business program,” said Ned Breslin, Water For People CEO. “Ultimately, we seek to do more than bring sanitation to millions of people in developing countries. We seek to do so in a way that fundamentally transforms the sector. This model will challenge subsidy-driven, loan finance and passive private sector approaches to the global sanitation crisis.”

Water For People first began experimenting with these principles in Malawi, Africa, in 2008. Since then, sanitation entrepreneurs have developed ongoing maintenance relationships with households to service over 1,000 latrines. www.waterforpeople.org

CWWA appoints new Executive Director

3,000 Staff; 90+ Offices

1.800.265.6102 www.CRAworld.com

Worldwide Engineering, Environmental, Construction, and IT Services

Environmental Site Investigations and Remediation • Hydrogeologic Evaluations • Soil and Groundwater Remediation • Phase I/II Environmental Site Assessments • Site Decommissioning • Designated Substance Surveys • Expert Witness and Litigation Support • Peer Review • Asbestos and Mould Assessments

Since 1988

436 Elmstead Road RR1 Windsor, Ontario N8N 2L9 519.979.7300 Clarify the Issue Quantify the Data Defend the Position

Jennifer Jackson has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association.

She replaces T. Duncan Ellison who recently retired. Ms Jackson worked for twelve years with the City of Ottawa, where she provided direction on the Municipal Act, practised environmental law, and worked on waste management policy and funding.

Help for Pakistanʼs flood victims ITT Corporation, in partnership with Mercy Corps, donated five portable water treatment systems to the Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan in response to the recent flooding. The water treatment units, which have the potential to provide clean water to as many as 200,000 people, were donated by ITT and are being deployed through Mercy Corps’ large-scale humanitarian aid response.

Within hours of being notified of the Pakistan disaster, ITT authorized Mercy Corps to tap $62,000 of ITT's 2010 emergency response fund to support efforts to provide clean water to flood victims. ITT

76 | September 2010

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

is also matching all its employee donations to Mercy Corps’ Pakistan relief efforts.

AIR RELEASE/VACUUM BREAK VALVES FOR SEWAGE & WATER

Increasing Montrealʼs water supply during dry spells Work was scheduled to have been carried out this summer on the Rivière des Mille Îles, to allow its flow rate to be re-established. It involved shallow water dredging at the mouth of the river, in order to increase flow out of Deux Montagnes lake.

Low snow accumulation levels this past winter, coupled with a dry spring, caused a very low water level in the river.

The fear was that, if the area experienced a hot and dry summer, water flow could have dropped to levels unseen in over 80 years. The Rivière des Mille Îles provides drinking water to more than 400,000 people in the north Montreal area.

Manitoba introduces strategic water conservation plan

“ANTI-SURGE/ANTI-SHOCK” • 10-YEAR WARRANTY ALL STAINLESS

HYDRO-LOGIC ENVIRONMENTAL INC.

RGX

Phone: 905-777-9494 E: info@hydrologic.ca W: www.hydrologic.ca

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OTT Fine Bubble Diffusers • • • •

highest efficiency, intelligent, intuitive designs proven worldwide in more than 23 years of service quickest and easiest installation and maintenance uniquely environmentally friendly

HYDRO-LOGIC ENVIRONMENTAL INC.

Phone: 905-777-9494 E: info@hydrologic.ca W: www.hydrologic.ca

PHI BUBBLETRON Mixing Technology Innovative, most energy-efficient mixing No in-basin moving parts Anoxic mixing Ideal for many applications Sludge mixing Water reservoir circulation Sewage pump station grease cap & odor control

HYDRO-LOGIC ENVIRONMENTAL INC.

Water conservation efforts in Manitoba will be further improved with the development of a new strategic plan by Manitoba Water Stewardship and the Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development. The strategic plan will include development of goals for water conservation and achievable reduction targets, and activities for various areas and sectors of the province.

The plan will include information on similar programs already in place in other jurisdictions that may be applicable to Manitoba. It will also identify potential legislative and regulatory changes to encourage water conservation and efficiency, and identify potential applications for recycling of grey water in Manitoba’s urban municipalities. www.manitoba.ca

Phone: 905-777-9494 E: info@hydrologic.ca W: www.hydrologic.ca

Experts in Water, Wastewater, Environmental Planning, and Simulation Software

Hydromantis, Inc. Consulting Engineers ! 420 Sheldon Drive, Cambridge, Ontario, N1T 2H9 Tel: (519) 624-7223 Fax: (519) 624-7224 ! 1685 1 James Street Ontario, L8P L8S 4R5 1G5 Main St. South, West,Suite Suite1601, 302,Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Tel: (905) 522-0012 Fax: (905) 522-0031

E-mail: info@hydromantis.com Web: www.hydromantis.com

Insitu Groundwater Contractors • • • • • • P: 519-763-0700 F: 519-763-6684 150 Stevenson Street, South Guelph, ON N1E 5N7

Dewatering systems Mobile groundwater treatment systems Well and pump installation and maintenance Pump, filter, generator rentals Sediment tank rentals Insitu groundwater remediation systems

www.insitucontractors.com

City of Moose Jaw fined The City of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, has pleaded guilty to one offence under the Fisheries Act, for the release of approximately 431,000 litres of untreated sewage into the Moose Jaw River on August 4, 2007, as a result of a power failure. Equipment deficiencies resulted in continued overleaf... www.esemag.com

INTERNATIONAL WATER SUPPLY LTD. WWW.IWS.CA

GROUNDWATER TECHNOLOGY SPECIALISTS Engineers & Hydrogeologists Serving the Groundwater Industry for 75 Years 342 Bayview Drive, Box 310, Barrie, Ontario, Canada L4M 4T5

Tel: (705) 733-0111, Fax: (705) 721-0138 E-Mail: iws@iws.ca

September 2010 | 77

CORROSION CONTROL PRODUCTS

the release being undetected for an extended period of time.

Leaders in the Cathodic Protection Industryâ&#x20AC;ŚSince1957

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BC approves CRD sewage treatment plan

Lewiston, New York, USA

4EL s &AX www.Rustrol.com

The British Columbia government has approved a wastewater management strategy proposed by the Capital Regional District (CRD) that will treat up to 40 billion litres of sewage per year, before it is discharged into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The strategy incorporates resource recovery, conservation and innovation, and allows the CRD to start the implementation phase of its wastewater management strategy and to meet its commitment to provide sewage treatment by 2016.

Current sewage flows will be treated at McLoughlin Point in Esquimalt. After 2030, incremental sewage flows would be treated at a separate facility, potentially on the Westshore. The Saanich East sewage treatment facility has been replaced with storage tanks to equalize peak storm sewage flows. A biosolids processing facility will be constructed at the Hartland landfill.

The CRD will be required to monitor quality and volumes of wastewater discharged through the outfalls and must continue to assess the impact of the discharge to the ocean to determine the need for further treatment in the future.

Water For People announces new board

10 Alden Road Markham, Ontario Canada L3R 2S1 Tel: 905-475-1545 Fax: 905-475-2021 www.napier-reid.com

Package Wastewater Treatment Plants/SBR/MBR/RBC/EA/DAF

10 Alden Road Markham, Ontario Canada L3R 2S1 Tel: 905-475-1545 Fax: 905-475-2021 www.napier-reid.com

Package Water Treatment Plants/Gravity/Pressure/Membrane/Ion Exchange/GAC

78 | September 2010

Water For People recently announced its new board members. Joining its Board of Directors are: Harold MacNeil, Halifax Regional Water Commission; Paul Bowen, The Coca-Cola Company; Erich Broksas, The Case Foundation; Monica Ellis, Global Environment and Technology Foundation and Global Water Challenge; Mary Kay Kaufmann, Nalco Company; Pat McCann, Weston Solutions Inc.; David Nastro, Morgan Stanley; Darwin Nelson, CDM; Connie Roesch, Greater Cincinnati Water Works; and James Williams, Peerless-Midwest, Inc. Continuing board members include: Charles DiLaura, Neptune Technology Group; Mark Premo, Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility; and Elisa Speranza, CH2M HILL. www.mokugift.ca Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Great Canadian shoreline cleanup Peter J. Laughton, P. Eng. Nearly 57,000 Canadians signed up for the 2009 Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup to remove trash from shorelines.

This initiative is said to be one of the single largest contributors to the International Coastal Cleanup, and is the largest Canadian program.

With the longest shoreline of any country in the world, hundreds of thousands of litter items are collected every year. Last year, the program recovered 40,799 cups, plates, forks, knives and spoons from 2,457 km of shoreline. In total, 160,914 kg of litter were collected. www.shorelinecleanup.ca

Consulting Engineer

Environmental Engineering Services

Alliston, Ontario CANADA

p.laughton@pjlaughtonenv.com

tel: +1.705.434.9563 fax: +1.705.434.0419

IPS composting solution for Moose Creek

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Veolia Water develops Water Impact Index Veolia Water North America recently unveiled its Water Impact Index, which allows for a comprehensive assessment of the impact of human activity on water resources. The Index expands on existing volume-based water measurement tools by incorporating multiple factors, including consumption, resource stress, and water quality.

Fresh water availability has been predicted to become a major limitation factor for growth for cities and industries in many locations around the world, and the continued overleaf... www.esemag.com

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Laflèche Environmental, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Montreal-based TransForce, Inc., has awarded Siemens with a contract to supply a 100-horsepower IPS composting system for the Moose Creek, Ontario, composting facility. Built in 2009, the 52,000-square foot (4,831m2) enclosed plant is designed to receive up to 50,000 tonnes of source separated organics (SSO), including food residuals, paper, leaf and yard waste and other organic materials. The IPS composting system from Siemens will allow the Moose Creek facility to meet its compost production goals. The system is scheduled for delivery in December 2010. www.siemens.com/water

September 2010 | 79

Partnering to provide sustainable solutions

Comprehensive assessment, remediation and compliance services across Canada and around the world. www.snclavalin.com

Municipal Engineering Environmental Assessments dƌĂŶƐƉŽƌƚĂƟŽŶ ^ƚƌƵĐƚƵƌĞƐ Transit Planning and Engineering Roundabouts ϭϭϬ ^ĐŽƟĂ ŽƵƌƚ͕ hŶŝƚ ϰϭ͕ tŚŝƚďLJ͕ KE͕ >ϭE ϴzϳ WŚŽŶĞ͗ ϵϬϱ͘ϲϴϲ͘ϲϰϬϮ &Ădž͗ ϵϬϱ͘ϰϯϮ͘ϳϴϳϳ ͲDĂŝů͗ ŝŶĨŽΛƐƌŵĂƐƐŽĐŝĂƚĞƐ͘ŽƌŐ Žƌ sŝƐŝƚ hƐ KŶͲ>ŝŶĞ͗ www.srmassociates.org DĞŵďĞƌ ŽĨ dŚĞ ^ĞƌŶĂƐ 'ƌŽƵƉ /ŶĐ͘

need to understand and quantify the impact on water resources is becoming essential to maintaining their sustainability and future prosperity. This reality requires an understanding of the factors needed to make the most appropriate, sustainable decisions. The new tool will provide additional parameters that decision-makers need to make these decisions.

The Water Impact Index establishes the impact of human activity on water resources and provides a methodology for establishing the positive and negative implications of how water resources are managed. The study is the first to take the balance of both carbon and water into consideration, and assigns a value to water, based on quality, quantity and resource stress. www.veoliawaterna.com

E+H earns ISO 17025 certification

www.trg.ca Experience, Innovation, Diversity, Teamwork & Commitment

Tel: (905) 823-7965 Fax: (905) 823-7932 www.pcbdisposal.com

80 | September 2010

• MECHANICAL • ELECTRICAL • STRUCTURAL • ARCHITECTURAL • ENVIRONMENTAL • CIVIL

• Hazardous Site Clean-up & Remediation • Decommissioning and Demolition • Asbestos and Mould Abatement • Contaminated Soil Removal • On-site Water Treatment

Endress+Hauser is now accredited to ISO 17025 by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation for both laboratory and field calibration of process instrumentation. Accreditation includes flow, pressure and temperature, for both laboratory and on-site calibration. Also included are electrical parameters associated with current, voltage, resistance and frequency, pertaining to internal laboratory calibration.

Customers often need calibration to ensure instrument measurement is accurate and within the limits needed to produce a quality product. For some processes, periodic calibration to NIST standards is a requirement to comply with both quality and safety standards. For more information, Email: scott.whitehouse@ca.endress.com continued overleaf...

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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Page

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September 2010 | 81

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ACG Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 ADI Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 American Public University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 American Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 ASCO Valve Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Associated Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Avensys Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Blackmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Boerger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 C&M Environmental Technologies . . . . . . . . . .60 Canadian Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 City of Regina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Cole Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Degremont Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Delcan Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Denso . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 EHS Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 Endress + Hauser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Geneq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Geomembrane Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Gorman-Rupp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Greatario . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Greyline Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Griswold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 H2Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Halogen Valve Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Hatch Mott MacDonald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Hoskin Scientific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33, 35, 55, 65 Huber Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Hydro International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Ideal Pipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 ITT Water & Wastewater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 John Meunier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 John Wiley & Sons Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Kinecor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 KSB Pumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 MegaDome/Harnois Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 MSU Mississauga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 Neptune Chemical Pump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Orival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Ovivo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 OWOTC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Parkson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Pinter & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 ProMinent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Pump Solutions Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Saf-T-Flo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 Sanitherm Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 SEW-Eurodrive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Siemens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Smith & Loveless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Solinst Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 SPD Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Stantec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 StormTrap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10, 11 Sustainable Development Technology Canada 57 Terratec Environmental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Waterloo Biofilter Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 Waterra Pumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Wilden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 WILO Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 WTP Equipment Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 XCG Consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

E-mail

Parkson helps Mexican WW plant double capacity and cut energy use Recently, the Parkson Corporation installed 304 HiOx® UltraFlex aeration panels at a wastewater treatment facility in Hidalgo, Mexico, which is located 40 miles northwest of Mexico City.

Treated wastewater from the plant is used by a nearby power generation station, and an oil refinery. The existing wastewater plant was no longer able to produce the required quantity of water needed for these industrial applications.

The HiOx installation has more than doubled the wastewater plant's consistent capacity to 11.4 MGD and peak flow capacity of 13.7 MGD, a 140% increase.

Increased water production will allow the power generation plant and refinery to rely significantly more on recycled wastewater, versus scarce freshwater.

In addition to a 46% reduction in energy use, the plant has also experienced 96% BOD reduction levels. For more information, E-mail: jgrenier@parkson.com

PepsiCo releases inaugural water report PepsiCo, one of the world's largest food and beverage businesses, has released an inaugural water report detailing its efforts to conserve and replenish water use in its operations, while expanding access to clean water across the globe. Highlights of the company’s progress include:

Achieving a more than 15 percent improvement in water use efficiency, as compared to the company's 2006 baseline numbers.

Achieving "positive water balance" in India. Through direct seeding initiatives, the company replenished nearly six billion litres of water across India, exceeding the total intake of approximately five billion litres of water by its manufacturing facilities.

Providing access to clean water to one million people by 2011. Since 2005, PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation have pledged $15 million to safe water and sanitation initiatives in developing countries. www.pepsico.com

New guideline for using reclaimed water for flushing On-site reclaimed/gray water systems include the collection and treatment of bath, laundry, and wash basin wastewater from domestic dwellings, for non-potable uses such as toilet and urinal flushing.

However, the presence of pathogenic microorganisms and some chemicals may pose a health risk if this water is improperly treated, or if it is used for purposes other than toilet or urinal flushing.

Health Canada has developed a new guideline to ensure that the use of reclaimed water does not pose a public health risk. It provides benchmark levels for some health-based and aesthetic indicator parameters to ensure the safety of

Supporting our Nation's Infrastructure for over 100 years by Building Canada's most reliable Standby Generator Battery Chargers.

Insist on reliability, rely on Vulcan's historical certainty.

For new installations or retrofits have your service provider visit

www.chargers.ca

82 | September 2010

the application. www.hc-sc.gc.ca

New director for the Americas

Paul Donnini

ITT Water & Wastewater has appointed Paul Donnini as Regional Director for the Americas, and headquartered in PointeClaire, Quebec. He was the Managing Director of ITT Water & Wastewater Canada, a provider of pumps and systems for water and wastewater. In his new role, Donnini will be responsible for the company’s sales operations in Canada, the US, and Central and South America.

Pure Technologies acquires PPIC

(Left to right) Jack Elliot, Pure Technologies Ltd., Brian Mergelas and Xiangjie Kong of PPIC.

Pure Technologies Ltd. has purchased The Pressure Pipe Inspection Company, in a reported $34.9 million agreement. PPIC, a privately-held company with headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario, is involved with large-diameter water and wastewater pipeline condition assessment.

Mozart for Microbes A sewage treatment plant near Berlin, Germany, is playing Mozart to its biomass-eating microbes, hoping the sweet sound will make them work harder! It is hoped that the Austrian composer will save the facility as much as 1,000 euros per month. The waste treatment facility has been testing a special stereo system over the past few months after an Austrian plant said that Mozart made their sewage-eating micro-organisms perform better, helping to cut costs.

DOWNSTREAM DEFENDER

H E L P I N G Y O U W E AT H E R T H E S T O R M ACG Technology presents innovative, industry leading products from Hydro International. As a worldwide leader in the development of superior stormwater and wastewater treatment systems, Hydro International has once again raised the bar with its Downstream Defender® and Up-Flo® Filter. Two landmark products which address one of today’s most pressing environmental issues - the treatment of urban runoff from stormwater, by removing suspended solids, hydrocarbons, nutrients, heavy metals and organics. For complete details on how Hydro International advancements can help you, contact ACG Technology Ltd.

water solutions: pure and simple

t. 905.856.1414

f. 905.856.6401

131 Whitmore Road, Unit 13 Vaughan ON L4L 6E4 sales@acgtechnology.com www.acgtechnology.com

Ontario Pollution Control Equipment Association

What drives efficient process control?

++++ Milltronics belt scales ++++ SITRANS LR radar level transmitters ++++ SIPART PS valve positioners ++++ SITRANS FUS clamp-on mp-on ultrasonic fl flow ow meters ++++

++++ SITRANS TH temperature sensors ++++ SITRANS P pressure transmitters ++++ SITRANS LU ultrasonic level transmitters ++++ SITRANS FUE ultrasonic flow meters ++++

A complete Siemens Process Instrumentation portfolio: made for Canada.

Efficient process control starts with a comprehensive range of instrumentation for flow, level, pressure, temperature, weighing, and valve positioning applications. With manufacturing and R&D facilities in Canada, you get world class technology built by Canadians who understand the importance of producing reliable instrumentation, meeting and exceeding the demands of the process environment. Whether you require a single instrument or a complete instrumentation package, Siemens has the answer. To find your local Siemens Process Instrumentation Channel Partner visit www.siemens.ca/distributorsearch

Answers for industry.

Channel Partner

Process instrumentation