Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine (ESEMAG) April 2017

APRIL 2017 www.esemag.com

SPECIAL FOCUS

STRETCHING MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGETS Using RDIF technology in WWTPs Extending water tank life Bioremediation of groundwater

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CONTENTS

April 2017 • Vol. 30 No. 2 • ISSN-0835-605X

COMING IN OUR JUNE 2017 ISSUE This issue will offer our 47,000 readers across Canada a strong and diverse range of articles:

EDITORIAL FOCUS

32

Storage Tanks, Containment Systems & Spill Management Hazardous Waste

62

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

6 Canada’s municipal infrastructure at risk 8 Medical geology is an emerging earth science 13 New maintenance hole cover

66 69 69 74

14 19 26 28 30 32 38 41

46 50 52 56 59 60 62

system reduces infiltration Improving wastewater lagoon treatment in low temperatures RFID technology helps optimize moving bed biofilters Cleaning contaminated groundwater at former missile site Removing micropollutants with innovative membrane process In situ bioremediation of hydrocarbon contaminated groundwater Integrated process changes can prevent WWTP odour emissions Using microscreens instead of clarifiers can cut costs Delivering a sustainable society is changing the consulting engineer’s role

Product Showcase Environmental News Professional Cards Ad Index

BONUS CONVENTION CIRCULATION AT: • American Water Works Association (ACE) • American Public Works Association

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May 19, 2017

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SPECIAL SECTION

STRETCHING MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGETS Ensuring the best fit and value for municipal infrastructure choices How fixture flow rates affect shower duration and water usage Initial cost shouldn’t be the primary factor in choosing gravity pipe systems Harnessing data can help preserve infrastructure more economically Economic and environmental benefits of soil management Township saves money using innovative irrigation system for sports facility Proper coating is essential to extending water tank life

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU 4 | April 2017

Cover photo © William Conway/ Progress Photography.

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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EDITORIAL COMMENT BY STEVE DAVEY

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER STEVE DAVEY steve@esemag.com

MANAGING EDITOR PETER DAVEY peter@esemag.com

SALES DIRECTOR PENNY DAVEY penny@esemag.com SALES REPRESENTATIVE DENISE SIMPSON denise@esemag.com

ACCOUNTING SANDRA DAVEY sandra@esemag.com CIRCULATION MANAGER DARLANN PASSFIELD darlann@esemag.com DESIGN & PRODUCTION MIGUEL AGAWIN production@esemag.com

TECHNICAL ADVISORY BOARD Archis Ambulkar, Jones and Henry Engineers, Ltd. Gary Burrows, City of London Jim Bishop, Consulting Chemist, Ontario Patrick Coleman, Black & Veatch Bill De Angelis, City of Toronto Mohammed Elenany, Urban Systems William Fernandes, City of Toronto Marie Meunier, John Meunier Inc., Québec Tony Petrucci, Stantec, Markham

Environmental Science & Engineering is a bi-monthly business publication of Environmental Science & Engineering Publications Inc. An all Canadian publication, ES&E provides authoritative editorial coverage of Canada’s municipal and industrial environmental control systems and drinking water treatment and distribution.

Readers include consulting engineers, industrial plant managers and engineers, key municipal, provincial and federal environmental officials, water and wastewater plant operators and contractors.

Information contained in ES&E has been compiled from sources believed to be correct. ES&E cannot be responsible for the accuracy of articles or other editorial matter. Articles in this magazine are intended to provide information rather than give legal or other professional advice. Articles being submitted for review should be emailed to steve@esemag.com.

Canadian Publications Mail Sales Second Class Mail Product Agreement No. 40065446 Registration No. 7750 Undeliverable copies, advertising space orders, copy, artwork, proofs, etc., should be sent to: Environmental Science & Engineering, 220 Industrial Pkwy. S., Unit 30, Aurora, Ontario, Canada, L4G 3V6, Tel: (905)727-4666, Fax: (905) 841-7271, Website: www.esemag.com

A Supporting Publication of

6 ||April April2017 2017

Canada’s municipal Infrastructure at risk of rapid deterioration

T

he recent incident at the Oroville Dam in California is a striking example of how dangerous compromised infrastructure can be. Nearly 200,000 downstream residents were advised to evacuate, after workers noticed the dam’s emergency spillway was severely damaged, leading to fears part of the dam might fail.

This incident caught the attention of Canadian officials, as many parts of our infrastructure are of similar age. Last year, the Canadian Construction Association, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Canadian Public Works Association and the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering created a Report Card to inform policymakers and others interested in maintaining and improving infrastructure.

The Canadian Infrastructure Report Card (www.canadainfrastructure.ca) assessed the state of municipal roads and bridges, public transit, buildings, sport and recreation facilities, stormwater, wastewater and potable water infrastructure. The results indicate that much of Canada’s municipal infrastructure is at a critical juncture and that investments in repair and upkeep are needed in the short term to prevent a rapid decline in its condition.

The report also revealed that reinvestment rates in Canada’s municipal infrastructure are not meeting target rates, despite continued efforts on the part of municipal governments. If this trend continues, the overall cost for infrastructure repair will dramatically increase.

“In the end, it is not a question of investing or not investing, it’s a question of cost and good infrastructure management. The bottom line is that the longer we wait to act on these repairs, the more expensive it will get.

Canada needs to start planning for the future by reinvesting in our existing assets now,” said Raymond Louie, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

“This isn’t complicated. Homeowners know you need to stay on top of repairs if you want to avoid larger bills down the road. If you see a small crack in your foundation, you fix it now. You don’t wait until water is pouring into your basement,” said Michael Atkinson, President, Canadian Construction Association.

This issue features ES&E’s annual focus on stretching municipal infrastructure budgets. Topics include: ensuring the best fit and value for municipal infrastructure choices; cutting household water usage; true cost of gravity pipe systems; using big data to preserve infrastructure economically; construction soil management; using innovative irrigation systems; and, extending water tank service life.

Steve Davey is Editor and Publisher of ES&E Magazine.

Please email any comments to steve@esemag.com

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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Sustainable Ecosystems PUBLIC HEALTH

Soil retaining system helps urban trees reach maturity Bygeology Eric Keshavarzi Medical is an emerging earth science

G M

By Jim Bishop reen infrastructure and sus-

tainability goals are of inedical geologyimportance, is an interdiscicreasing and plinary scientific based on achieving themfield requires techthe relationship between natural nical knowledge and training in varied geological factors fields. Integration of soiland andtheir treeseffects into on humans, animals and plants.

Many of urban areas substantially improves susthese have been known for some time, tainability and helps alleviate some of our and links to natural environmental factors most pressing ecological challenges. and anthropogenic impacts have develThese include air and water quality, rising oped into the field of science called “meditemperatures, flooding and erosion from cal geology”. daily rainfall events.

Chinese textsindating back to The Westmedical Don Lands, Toronto, On1,000 BC provide a number of Earth-intario, is a community that is people foduced family healthfriendly, issues, environmentally including lead cused, poisoning.

As well, many elements sustainable and beautifullyother designed for were mined before and during time living. It has a Stage 1 LEED NDthe GOLD of the Roman Empire, such as copper, certification under the pilot program esiron, zinc and mercury, and medical tablished by the U.S. Green Building workers in various cultures were aware Council. of the effects of these component, metals.

Onehealth notable sustainable Soil unravels the chemistry utilized in the design of the area’sprovided streets, by athesoil underlying subsoils and is retainingsediments, system called Silva rocks that make up the Earth’s surface, Cells™. Typical urban trees in the city and which feed the plants we eat, years. along core die after approximately seven with animals that eat the plants, which However, Silva Cells help extend their allows predators and us to eat life spans, thus promoting theanimals. growth of Virtually all of these plants and animals, mature street trees. including humans, areofhere todayhad thanks Although the City Toronto preto soil, rocks, water, oxygen and about viously used Silva Cells as part of 40 a chemical elements.

As wepilot shallprogram see, rocks stormwater management in and Queensway, the chemicaltheir elements including The use as –part of site

Installation of Silva Cells in Mill Street.

development is new. In fact, the West Don Lands streets are the first in a Toronto subdivision to be designed with this system installed under parking lay-bys and sidewalks. theMill 40 “essential” can subdivision be essential Street wasones the–first to our health but can also be toxic. street in Toronto to be designed to include planners and public thisEngineers, soil retaining system.

As thehealth lead professionals need to be aware that the engineering consultant, R.V.Anderson geology of coordinated any given area on the Associates all plans andplanet spechas a direct relationship to the region’s ifications with the landscape architect. input of metals and other elements into About Silva Cells theSilva local water, soil and air.

Cells are a plastic/fiberglass There ofare 94 naturally structure columns and beamsoccurring that supchemical elements in the rocks and soils port paving above un-compacted planting

soil. The structure has 92% void space and is a stable surface for the installation ©Lonely — stock.adobe.com of vehicle loaded-pavements.

When properly installed, they can achieve an AASHTO H-20 load rating. of our planet.

A fewBridge dozenDesign of these are Canadian Highway Code essential to plants, animals and humans. loading can also be achieved through apOther elements known essential propriate design.have Thisno is the required load role in the health of plants and animals rating for structures such as underground (including humans), while others can vaults, covers and grates in areas of trafbe toxic.

Some elements such as gold or fic including sidewalks and parking lots. bismuth are benign.

All of these elements The cell structure transfers the force to a are present in the environment base layer below thenatural structure. at some level of concentration Soil within the cells remainsand at they low continued overleaf... compaction rates, thereby creating ideal

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PUBLIC HEALTH

have been around since the formation of our planet, some 4.5 billion years ago.

RELEVANCE OF MEDICAL GEOLOGY Medical geology provides a sciencebased understanding of the relationship between geological factors and health issues in plants, animals and humans.

These issues can involve essential elements (e.g., calcium, selenium, copper, iron, etc.), non-essential elements and benign elements. Too much exposure to certain essential elements can cause unwanted health effects, and too little exposure can do the same.

Medical geology is a means of making health-related conclusions regarding the capacity of the naturally occurring elements, by providing a logical scientific basis to determine the adverse effects (and the beneficial effects) of these elements.

Toxicology and environmental epidemiology are key features in determining the relationships between environmental exposure and the occurrence of disease within a given population.

Skin lesions are one obvious sign of arsenic poisoning. – CC BY 2.0 Anita Ghosh, REACH, Flickr.

phosphorus, magnesium and calcium, but some waters can contain undesirable elements such as arsenic and fluorine.

Fresh water can become stored in KNOWN PROBLEMS CAUSED BY groundwater, which is often modified EARTH’S ELEMENTS by interaction with underground rock The human body has several path- and sediment. These may be thousands ways that provide us with compounds and even millions of years old, creatand elements we require, as well as some ing significant levels of unwanted and that are harmful. These pathways are potentially dangerous elements. directly influenced by geological factors, some of which are due to anthropogenic WATERBORNE ELEMENTS activities as well as everyday natural Arsenic is found in groundwater all events. The make-up of our food, water around the world. The Bengal Basin (India, and air is subject to many factors.

Bangladesh) has an estimated 40 million Our atmosphere consists of 78% nitro- people drinking water with elevated and gen, 21% oxygen, 0.93% argon and 0.033% potentially dangerous concentrations of carbon dioxide. This mix of elements and arsenic. More than 600,000 people have CO2 serves us well, except when volca- been disfigured and faced an early death. noes erupt. Volcanic gases such as hydroBetween 1961 and 1985, Taiwan gen fluoride and sulfur gases can decimate suffered similar groundwater contaminlocal populations, animals and plants. ation. The population of the affected area Radon, which is naturally radioactive, was 100,000. can escape from rocks containing uranAntofagasta, Chile also had a serious ium and thorium. The risk of lung cancer arsenic contamination incident, when can be increased when radon is inhaled. 100,000 people (out of a total population Terrestrial water is largely controlled via of 130,000) had been drinking arsenits interaction with local soils and rocks. ic-laden water for at least 12 years.

The chemistry of water depends upon Over the years, health problems from the nature of the rocks and soil, as well arsenic have been reported from all over as its proximity to seawater. Fresh water the world, including Canada, the U.S., can come into contact with soil and rock Mexico, Argentina, China, Vietnam and which might yield beneficial elements like the U.K. 10 | April 2017

Fluorine is generally considered to be an essential element for healthy teeth. But, if its concentration exceeds more than 1.5 milligrams per litre, children under seven years old are likely to develop deep brown mottling of their teeth, a disease called dental fluorosis. Once again, this overexposure is usually due to the local geochemistry (rocks, soil and groundwater) and is prevalent in Africa, India and other countries.

Iodine is essential in trace quantities. By the 19th century, health workers began to realize that tiny amounts of some inorganic elements are necessary for good health, and the relationship between human goiter, cretinism and iodine was one of the first connections. The link was based on the observation that locations remote from oceans have little iodine in the soil, while other locations have harmful levels.

The World Health Organization (2004) states that iodine deficiency is the most prevalent, yet easily preventable cause of brain damage in the world. Iodine deficiency is believed to affect more than 740 million people worldwide.

Selenium is another essential element that can also be toxic. Selenium had been observed to be a problem for horses (mainly in China, as long ago as 1275). continued overleaf...

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PUBLIC HEALTH

Selenium toxicity was eventually described in the U.S. and Ireland in the early 20th century. In the 1930s, China described a potentially fatal form of cardiomyopathy (called Keshon disease) caused by selenium deficiency in sheep. This finding stimulated interest in the protective value of selenium in human health, as well as for iodine.

The behaviour of selenium and iodine in soils, as well as their bioavailability are generally understood, although there are concerns due to their deficiencies in many parts of the world.

MEDICAL GEOLOGY AND ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS There are now 118 elements in the

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Periodic Table. Of these, the scientific literature provides various lists of which of these elements are essential to humans, plants, marine organisms and some microorganisms. For example, boron is required for the growth of certain plants, bromine is widely available in marine organisms, and tungsten is necessary for many microorganisms.

By definition, an essential element must be required for life and its absence results in death. These include: • Bulk elements (kg) – oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur.

• Microminerals (g) – calcium, phosphorus, potassium, chlorine, sodium, magnesium.

• Trace elements (mg) – iron, silicon, zinc, rubidium, copper, strontium, lead, barium, molybdenum, boron, arsenic, cobalt, manganese, iodine, aluminum, selenium, lithium, vanadium.

Trace elements were difficult to detect until the 17th century, when iron analysis proved that anemia was caused by iron deficiency (which was then often cured by supplementing the diet with a potion made from rusty nails).

Copper, manganese, zinc and cobalt were shown to be essential for humans by the late 1920s to 1930s. Molybdenum was next (1953), followed by chromium, selenium, vanadium, fluorine and silicon in the last 50 years.

OUR KNOWLEDGE WILL CONTINUE TO GROW Tungsten is now known to be essential to some bacteria in the form of enzymes called oxidoreductases. These enzymes reduce carboxylic acids to aldehydes and they can also catalyze oxidations.

The first tungsten enzyme discovered also requires selenium.

This would possibly indicate that, as more elements prove to be biologically essential via two or three or more linked essential metals, medical geology will continue to provide more insights into the biological role of essential elements.

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12 | April 2017

Jim Bishop, B.Sc., C.Chem, is an environmental consultant and a member of ES&E Magazine’s Technical Advisory Board. Email: jbishopenvcon@rogers.com Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

INFRASTRUCTURE

New maintenance hole cover system reduces sewer infiltration

D

ECAST has redesigned the conventional maintenance hole system in order to create a longer lasting, more durable and effective way to address the inflow and infiltration (I/I) concerns all municipalities face. Traditional grade adjustment rings can split and crumble, allowing unwanted I/I, which can cause the asphalt road surface to crack and fail.

DECAST’s integrated frame and cover (IFC) system was designed to reduce the ongoing rehabilitation needed for the traditional ring system.

The IFC system has a revised tapered top, which is compatible with standard riser sections currently in use. Instead of multiple grade rings, the IFC has a single precast adjustment unit. Its components fit within each other and are bonded by a high strength grout to form a single,

monolithic structure. Having no horizontal joints is the key to minimizing I/I. A telescopic cast iron frame fits into the concrete monolithic structure, making adjustment to the final asphalt surface faster, easier and with less disruption to the road. The frame floats with the asphalt, eliminating failures caused by freeze-thaw cycles.

By eliminating conventional grade adjustment rings, DECAST says its IFC system will have lower maintenance and system operating costs, by reducing unwanted groundwater I/I. When the IFC system is used, maintenance holes and existing asphalt roads will have increased life spans. Another important benefit is that existing storm and sanitary sewers will have increased capacities, if not burdened with unwanted I/I. To date, governmental agencies and

municipalities in Ontario that have added IFC to their accepted use list, or endorsed it, include: the Road Authority, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Durham Region, Peel Region, Vaughan, Markham and Pickering.

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April 2017 | 13

WASTEWATER

Moving bed biofilm reactor showing aeration grids and retention sieves (left) and steady state operation (right).

Improving wastewater lagoon treatment in low temperatures

By Bradley Young

T

he recent inclusion of ammonia as a deleterious pollutant from a regulatory perspective has created a challenge for municipalities to achieve final effluent discharge limits. The challenge to remove ammonia is elevated in passive treatment systems, such as aerated or facultative lagoons, where wastewater temperatures can reach as low as 0.5°C in the winter months.

There are a limited number of technologies available for ammonia removal from wastewaters. Capital and operational cost analysis weighs heavily in favour of in situ two-stage nitrification.

The first step is the biologically mediated oxidation of ammonia (NH3/NH4+) to nitrite (NO2-). This is followed by the biologically mediated oxidation of nitrite (NO2-) to nitrate (NO3-). Hence, the final product of nitrification is nitrate (NO3-).

In conventional suspended growth processes (e.g., lagoons and activated sludge systems), nitrification is severely or completely impeded at temperatures below 8°C. This limitation has led to 14 | April 2017

Municipal lagoons are popular in Canada for several reasons. During the early days of wastewater treatment, large amounts of land were available to many small and medium sized communities.

Thus, lagoons were not constrained by their large space demands and were able to provide the benefits of low operresearch into and development of nitri- ational cost, minimal maintenance and minimal operator influence. fying biofilm technologies.

Although communities may have ACUTE LETHALITY OF AMMONIA room to expand, volumetric expansion The primary concern with ammonia in of existing lagoons doesn’t alleviate the wastewaters is acute lethality to aquatic fundamental temperature limitations of life. In Canada, Daphnia magna and ammonia removal. The best solution is an Oncorhynchus mykiss (rainbow trout) add-on technology capable of leveraging are used as indicator organisms to deter- the existing lagoon treatment and respectmine if a wastewater is acutely lethal. The ing the resources available in communities. acute lethality tests are standardized and defined by 50% mortality after 48-hour MBBR TECHNOLOGY exposure (Daphnia magna) and 96-hour Veolia’s AnoxKaldnes moving bed exposure (rainbow trout) to 100% waste- biofilm reactor (MBBR) has been studied water effluent at 15°C for both tests. extensively to achieve long-term stable Empirical data has demonstrated that ammonia removal at temperatures as low rainbow trout are more susceptible to as 0.5°C. MBBR technology is a completely ammonia toxicity than Daphnia magna. submerged biofilm technology and its The acute toxicity threshold for rainbow efficiency is increased through specially trout corresponds to an approximate designed carriers. Veolia’s AnoxKaldnes total ammonia concentration of 12.5 manufactures high density polyethylene mg NH4+- N/L. This is exceeded in the MBBR carriers with a specific gravity of majority of municipal lagoons in the 0.95. The carriers are highly durable and winter months. Hence, there is a need for have been in full scale operation for over 20 plant upgrades or an add-on technology years without deterioration. These carriers to comply with impending regulations. continued overleaf...

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are designed to have a protected interior surface for biofilm growth and to remain in constant movement in the reactor.

For nitrification, the constant movement of the MBBR carriers is generated by the aeration system of the reactor.

The aeration system can support carrier volumes of 20% – 60% relative to the total reactor volume.

The MBBR carriers in an operating system are constantly colliding and subject to hydrodynamic shear forces. These processes act as a self-cleaning mechanism for the carriers and hence enable a healthy attached biofilm to be maintained.

The self-cleaning mechanism eliminates the need for backwashing. Carrier retention sieves facilitate hydraulic flows with minimal head loss.

NITRIFYING MBBR A nitrifying MBBR requires four basic influent water quality parameters: soluble biological oxygen demand to total ammonia ratio of less than 1; pH between 6.8 to 8.5; alkalinity requirement of 7.14 g CaCO3/g NH4+-N; and total phosphates greater than 0.1 mg PO4-P/L. To respect the soluble biological oxygen demand to total ammonia ratio, the nitrifying MBBR is typically installed after the last lagoon in series (final lagoon effluent). This also ensures all ammonia production from sludge digestion is treated prior to final discharge.

MBBR influent and effluent ammonia concentrations during temperature reduction, low temperature operation and rapid warming period. Effluent ammonia concentrations through the summer months were maintained at near 0 mg N/L. This data is omitted to highlight the critical cold temperature operational period.

In typical municipal wastewater lagoons, pH, alkalinity and total phosphorus requirements are respected without the addition of chemicals. Dissolved oxygen is supplied through aeration for carrier mixing. These attributes allow for low operational expenses, minimal maintenance and minimal operator influence.

LOW TEMPERATURE NITRIFYING MBBR STUDIES The nitrifying MBBR biofilm has been

studied extensively at the lab and pilot scale. Most recently, the technology was piloted for over one year at the effluent of the last lagoon in series. The nitrifying MBBR was operated continuously with a hydraulic retention time of 4.4 hours.

The MBBR used Veolia’s AnoxKaldnes K5 carrier.

During winter operation, 24-hour composite samples were collected two times per week. All samples were analyzed continued overleaf...

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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by an accredited lab facility for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, total and soluble chemical oxygen demand (COD), total and soluble five day carbonaceous biological oxygen demand (cBOD5), total suspended solids (TSS), alkalinity and total phosphorus.

Time and temperature sensitive analyses were measured on site with portable probes. These analyses included temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen.

The lagoon effluent during winter operation was characterized by average concentrations of ammonia of 21.3 mg NH4+-N/L, cBOD5 of 17.3 mg/L, alkalinity of 153 mg CaCO3/L, total phosphorus of 1.5 mg P/L and TSS of 11.3 mg/L. At these concentrations the lagoon was meeting all effluent discharge limits except for ammonia.

During winter operation, the lagoon effluent temperature dropped as low as 0.5°C and averaged 1.0°C for a period of nearly two months. Hence, operating after the last lagoon respected all the water quality parameters with tempera-

18 | April 2017

ture as the limiting factor.

The MBBR operation leading into the cold temperatures was stable and averaged less than 1 mg NH4+-N/L at temperatures between 5°C and 7°C. Subsequent operation at low temperatures maintained an average final effluent ammonia concentration of 2.1 mg NH4+-N/L. In the beginning of February, an unknown contaminant in the feed sharply decreased the pH from 7.1 to 6.8. This corresponds to the known inhibitory threshold for nitrifying bacteria. However, the system performance was marginally impacted with an effluent ammonia concentration of 3.7 mg NH4+-N/L. On the following sampling point, pH returned to 7.1 and the process maintained steady for the duration of the pilot, with effluent ammonia concentrations less than 2.6 mg NH4+-N/L. This indicates that, at 1°C, the nitrifying bacteria in the biofilm are active and robust to short-term inhibitory events.

The lagoon effluent and MBBR efflu-

ent were each tested twice for acute lethality during the trial period, once in February and once in March. For both samples, the lagoon effluent failed the acute lethality test, with 70% mortality of rainbow trout. The MBBR effluent passed the acute lethality test, with 0% mortality of rainbow trout. As such, the MBBR was capable of exceeding the impending regulations with respect to ammonia throughout the critical winter period.

The spring period of piloting corresponded to rapid warming and dilution of the MBBR influent. During this time period, the MBBR process handled the changing conditions and treated the ammonia to near 0 mg NH4+-N/L. Additional benefits of the MBBR include cBOD5 polishing and minimal TSS addition to the effluent.

Bradley Young is with Veolia Water Technologies Canada. Email: bradley.young@veolia.com

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

WATER FILTRATION

RFID technology helps optimize moving bed biofilters

By J.W. Wouters, A. de Boer and J. van Pol

M

oving bed biofiltration is a continuous operation. Filter media cleaning is continuously taking place while the filter is in operation. Moving bed biofilters (MBF) are used both in process and drinking water production and wastewater polishing. Thousands of plants have been equipped with various makes of MBF, functioning in a wide variety of applications.

One essential feature in moving bed biofiltration is the homogeneous sand circulation over the full filter area. Due to the continuous sand circulation, the filtration process is time-independent.

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With a constant feed water quality, filtrate quality will also be constant. Actual sand circulation rate affects the filtration efficiency for both solids removal and biological conversion processes in the filter bed.

Monitoring and controlling the actual sand circulation rate is key to optimizing plant performance and reducing malfunctions and down-time.

RFID TAGGING Methods to monitor and control moving bed biofiltration plants have been quite basic and required regular operator involvement.

A new method, called Sand-Cycle, uses

RFID tags to monitor the movement of sand grains in a MBF. RFID tagging is an ID system that uses small radio frequency identification devices (RFID) for identification and tracking purposes. An RFID tagging system includes the tag itself (the transponder), a read device, and a host system application for data collection, logging, processing and transmission. A passive RFID tag is briefly activated by the radio frequency scan of the reader. The electrical current is small, generally just enough for transmission of an ID number.

The electronic identification system consists of two basic elements: the trancontinued overleaf...

April 2017  |  19

WATER FILTRATION Sand-Cycle dashboard with health indicators provides 24/7 real-time monitoring.

sponder and the reader. The transpon- batteries and is hermetically sealed in a der (ID tag) is mixed up with the sand housing designed to survive harsh envigrains in the filter bed. It contains no ronmental conditions. It is completely maintenance free and has an unlimited life span.

The reader energizes the transponder by means of an electromagnetic field, which is emitted by the antenna. It then receives the code signal returned by the transponder and processes it. The reader Vice President of Operations excites the transponder inductively by means of a polarized low frequency elecBlue-White Industries’ Board tromagnetic field. Transponders can be of Directors is proud to announce read irrespective of their orientation and the election of Bill McDowell to the position of Vice President are detected while passing by a reader, of Operations. Bill has been a which is integrated in the airlift structure. valued member of the Blue-White The codes, dates and times of the passfamily for 32 years. Bill brings ing transponders are transmitted to a his comprehensive product decoder, collecting the data from multiknowledge, ple readers. The decoder is connected to understanding a data logger, equipped with a general of customer packet radio service (GPRS) modem needs and to transmit data to the back end of the relationships, and online data server. organizational The Sand-Cycle data server converts skills to this the raw field data into relevant output demanding data, by using dedicated algorithms. position.

Output is available 24/7 for operators via the data server front office and is BLUE-WHITE INDUSTRIES presented in various dashboards.

5300 Business Drive Real time monitoring of MBFs in Huntington Beach, CA 92649 water and wastewater treatment plants is T: (714) 893-8529 • blue-white.com sales@blue-white.com • proseries-m.com an example of the potential of big data.

It is a first step towards linking various

Bill McDowell

20 | April 2017

datasets and finding relationships to make the process work better at varying operating conditions. The ultimate goal is to increase reliability (reducing plant failures) and optimize plant performance.

It also initiates options for advanced filter control, resulting in higher performance.

PROCESS OPTIMIZATION At present, most continuous biofiltration plants are operated at more or less arbitrary sand circulation rates. As a consequence, the media circulation time is non-optimal.

The filter performance of a continuous biofilter is non-optimal at both low and high media turnover times. At low turnover times the sand is washed frequently and hence the filter is operated in “clean-mode”. A filter which is operated with pores partially filled with solids and/or biomass is capable of retaining more solids or biologically converting more organic matter.

At high turnover times, however, the filter bed resistance will increase and eventually breakthrough of solids will occur.

The filter should be operated between these two extremes. As the sand circulation can effectively be controlled by the amount of air supplied to the airlift, it is possible to operate the plant in the right range. continued overleaf...

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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ECONOMY BEHIND RFID MONITORING In the last 20 years, numerous surveys have been executed on moving bed biofiltration plants in order to optimize plant performance and to initiate refurbishment. Based upon these surveys, an overall picture emerges of the consequences of plant malfunctioning. Essentially four parameters may be quantified in this respect: • Operator attendance for regular manual monitoring of sand circulation rates and washer assembly. Lack of regular attendance is most often the reason for malfunctioning. Real-time monitoring is assisting in the day-to-day inspections and will reduce the operator’s time to inspect the plant to a minimum.

• Sand loss directly impacts plant performance and sand wash-out might block piping downstream of the plant.

Identifying sand loss at an early stage will prevent this and help avoid regular sand top ups.

• Energy (compressed air) for operating the airlift is continuously consumed.

Due to wear and tear of the airlift, energy consumption is increased. Hence, timely detection of the status of the airlift helps continued overleaf...

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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to keep the energy input for the plant operations within limits. Long-term trends will indicate the actual airlift status and allow the operator to replace the airlift in time.

• Field surveys have revealed downtime of moving bed biofiltration plants occurs due to any of the reasons indicated above. This results in temporarily reduced effluent quality and deterioration of the annual average performance of the plant.

Implementation of RFID monitoring tools shows a consistent reduction of costs associated with these parameters, resulting in returns of investment of typically one to two years. In Figure 1, the general savings are quantified in function of plant capacity (in litres per second).

The colored bars indicate the particular savings on manpower (blue), energy (green), downtime (orange) and sand loss (purple). The blue line in the graph indicates the net savings over a 25-year filter plant lifetime.

Big data represents a huge opportunity to improve equipment reliability and reduce maintenance and refurbishment costs. The advantage of cheap wireless technologies means that sensor information can now be transferred wirelessly.

Operation warnings and diagnostics can be shared quickly.

J.W. Wouters is with BW Products BV, The Netherlands. Email: h.wouters@brightwork.nl A. de Boer is with Brightwork BV, The Netherlands.

J. van Pol is with Ingu Solutions, Canada.

Email: john@ingu.co

Right: In an MBF filter, influent flows in an upward direction through the sand bed. During the upward filtration process both impurities are retained within the pores of the filter bed and biological conversion of ammonia or nitrates may take place.

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REMEDIATION

The four air strippers can treat up to 15,000 litres per minute of water.

Cleaning contaminated groundwater at Former missile site

T

he US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Omaha District has funded the design and construction of a new groundwater treatment plant in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to treat groundwater from the city’s Borie well field. This important groundwater supply was reportedly contaminated in the late 1960s with trichloroethylene (TCE) from the former F.E. Warren Atlas Missile Site 4. It was located several kilometres southwest and up-gradient of the current Borie water well field.

The new facility was designed, constructed and placed into long-term automatic operations by McMillen, LLC. Matt Moughamian, McMillen’s project manager says: “For the given application, the most logical and cost-effective groundwater treatment choice was low profile air strippers. Air stripping is a simple, reliable, and proven technology for the removal of TCE 26 | April 2017

from water supplies. Furthermore, the air stripping technology was able to be implemented into the city’s existing well field hydraulic profile at a location where water re-pumping was not required.”

Current TCE concentration in the Borie well field source can range anywhere between 1 ppb – 25 ppb. In early 2010, the USACE contracted with McMillen to start the final design and construction of the new treatment facility to ensure that levels could be reduced to less than 2.0 ppb.

Four six-level tray E-Z Tray Air Strippers from QED, each with a treatment capacity of 3,800 lpm, were used in McMillen’s design to ensure that the TCE treatment goal of less than 2 ppb could be reached without pretreatment.

In Cheyenne’s case, the E-Z Trays do not require off-gas treatment or sequestering agents, making the treatment process fairly simple. The turbulent

mixing that occurs in the units creates a high air to water ratio and large mass transfer surface area. This resulted in highly efficient contaminant removal.

“Water goes straight from the Cheyenne wells into the E-Z Trays. The air strippers have been in constant operation since July 2011, with no need to clean the trays because of buildup or fouling,” Moughamian says.

QED’s Online Performance Modeler was used to evaluate Cheyenne’s treatment requirements and determine the best E-Z Tray models for the project. According to Moughamian, the units chosen for the Cheyenne treatment facility have more than enough capacity to handle the city water’s contamination load, “and there have been no issues so far.”

For more information, visit www.qedenv.com/modeler

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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A BIO-CEL membrane module in the Huenxe wastewater treatment plant in Germany.

Removing micropollutants by an innovative membrane process

W

ith the high concentration of microorganisms and the contamination by antibiotics from animal breeding, hospitals and walk-in clinics, elimination of micropollutants in biologically treated wastewater has become more and more important.

Currently, a combination of powdered activated carbon and subsequent sand filtration is mainly used to eliminate micropollutants. This process is able to reduce trace substances like drug residues in the effluent of a wastewater treatment plant. However, the sand filter does not ensure complete separation of activated carbon particles. Thus, further treatment steps must be implemented.

A membrane process developed by Microdyn-Nadir combines adsorption of micropollutants on activated carbon and membrane filtration. The membrane filtration step takes over the job of separating 28 | April 2017

with effluent from the sedimentation tank.

Activated carbon is added from a receiver tank and concentrated in the filtration tank. Activated carbon is separated by the BIO-CEL membrane module, and the permeate is transferred to the final effluent.

The experiments showed that the combination of activated carbon adsorption and carbon separation by an immersed ultrafiltration module works well and activated carbon is reliably separated.

The increasing concentration of activated carbon had no impact on the membrane performance. Also, no change in retention capability could be detected during the entire test period.

This combination of activated carbon adsorption and immersed membrane filtration has proven an alternative to the established activated carbon/precipitation/sand filtration process. Initial cost estimations for this process also demonstrated its competitiveness in relation to other activated carbon/precipitation/ sand filtration processes.

(powdered) activated carbon, microplastics and (multi-resistant) germs. Hence, this process ensures not only compliance with threshold values for drug residues and other trace substances, but also ensures compliance with expected concentration limits for multi-resistant germs and microplastics in effluents of wastewater treatment plants.

In Huenxe, Germany, Emschergenossenschaft/Lippeverband operates a municipal wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 17,000 PE (population equivalents). This plant is divided into a membrane bioreactor (MBR) plant and a conventional biological treatment plant, each with a capacity of 8,500 PE. Tests were carried out using the effluent from the conventional treatment plant.

The test plant consists of a filtration tank equipped with an ultrafiltration BIO-CEL® membrane module from Microdyn-Nadir. For more information, Email: The filtration tank of the test stand is fed s.bieniek@microdyn-nadir.de

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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REMEDIATION

In situ bioremediation of hydrocarbon contaminated groundwater

By Robert Lacey and James Ehizojie

P

etroleum-metabolizing microbes were first identified more than 100 years ago. George M. Robinson was the first to use them to treat a hydrocarbon spill in 1960. Microbial applications can also be used to treat petroleum-contaminated groundwater in situ instead of extracting it for aboveground treatment. This saves money and preserves groundwater for future use.

Technological advances in quality control have allowed specialized bioremediation companies like Delta Remediation to develop BioLogix, an inoculated solution that achieves plate counts of trillions of microbes per gram. This is orders of magnitude over the millions of microbes per gram, which nature would typically produce. BioLogix contains a variety of hydrocarbon degrading microbes that are used to treat organic contaminants in both water and soil.

Pump and treat extraction systems are commonly used to control contaminated plumes, to prevent migration as well as extract the contaminated water for above-ground treatment.

Some of these systems use municipal wastewater treatment plants for waste disposal, which can increase expenses for plant equipment and processes. If the water is disposed through injection wells, it is forever removed from the ecosystem, causing environmental ramifications and a lost reusable resource.

Usually, extracting groundwater is an ineffective way to remove contamination. Typically, clean water is drawn into the contaminated area and flushed over the soil to desorb the contaminants.

Because hydrocarbons have low solubility and preferentially adsorb to soil instead of dissolving into the water, an excessive amount of clean water must flush over absorbed contaminants to dislodge them. Extracted water has much lower concentrations of contamination than the water in the ground, 30 | April 2017

In addition to the microbes, about 40 kg of an oxygen supplement were added.

Injection was by direct push methods at 11 locations.

resulting in a sample that requires very little treatment.

As the concentrations in the ground decrease, extracted concentrations de­­crease proportionately. As time passes, the treatment system is receiving the same volume of water but removing less contamination.

In other words, the cleaner a site becomes, the less efficient the system becomes.

Delta Remediation’s BioLogix technology was used at a site contaminated from a leaking underground storage tank

(UST). The characterization and signature of contamination was that of a typical gasoline station built in the late 1970s.

Specialized microbes were used to treat petroleum contamination in the groundwater in conjunction with soil excavation following the removal of the leaking gasoline tank. BioLogix was used to treat the excavated soil on site. Ten, 200-litre drums of hydrated microbes were injected into the groundwater in and around the former UST cavity.

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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In addition to the microbes, about 40 kg of an oxygen supplement were added to support the aerobic metabolism. Injection was by direct push methods at 11 locations within the groundwater plume.

Groundwater sampling showed that desired cleanup levels were achieved in less than a year for all regulated compounds.

There are three important factors for successful in situ treatment. They are the right microbes, the right growth conditions for them, and complete and uniform distribution within the contaminated area.

As in brewing beer or making bread, there may be naturally-occurring microbes present in the environment, but selecting the right microbes yields predictable and reliable results. The right microbes can be selectively grown in a laboratory to produce yields that are impossible to achieve in the environment. Microbes can be combined in suites to have a synergistic effect that improves the effectiveness or tolerance of environmental conditions.

Pseudomonas microbes have the largest metabolic diversity. This means they

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can metabolize a wider range of organic chemicals than other microbes, including the range of organic compounds that make up petroleum. Pseudomonads also tolerate a wide range of temperature, pH and salinity. They can be frozen and thawed without a significant population loss. For petroleum bioremediation, the right microbes mean a blend of pseudomonads.

BioLogix microbes need to contact the contamination to metabolize it. Multiple injection points and control over the vertical as well as horizontal distribution eliminates zones of untreated groundwater. Another important factor to consider is the hydrogeology of the impacted site.

The native permeability needs to be sufficient for distribution from the injection points. If the soil is too clay-rich, in situ treatment may require too many injection points to be cost-effective. Typically, permeability as measured by the hydraulic conductivity should be higher than 10-5 cm/sec.

Bioaugmentation injects the right

Robert Lacey and James Ehizojie are with Delta Remediation. Email: RLacey@deltaremediation.com

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microbes at their peak population. This way the microbial population does not have to increase in the subsurface.

Microbes must metabolize and reproduce, however, to sustain their population. Sustaining the population requires a food source, which is supplied by the petroleum, and oxygen for metabolism.

The oxygen demand is proportional to the amount of petroleum or other organics in the groundwater, which can be measured by chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).

Utilizing in situ bioremediation can eliminate an unnecessary volume burden on municipal wastewater treatment systems and cut costs. With water demands increasing to meet municipal and agricultural requirements it is more important than ever to preserve groundwater resources for future use.

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ODOUR CONTROL

Integrated process changes can prevent WWTP odour emissions

By Bart Kraakman

T

he general approach to reduce odour emissions is the implementation of odour abatement technologies. This end-of-pipe treatment approach addresses odour nuisance management once odorants have been produced and released from wastewater.

A more desirable approach would be the prevention of odorant formation and/or release from the wastewater.

Limited options are available for the prevention of odorant release at wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) beyond proper design and good operating prac32â&#x20AC;&#x192; |â&#x20AC;&#x192; April 2017

odour control technologies, known as activated sludge recycling (ASR) and oxidized ammonium recycling (OAR), have significant potential for WWTPs with low investment and operating costs. Although these technologies have been discussed in technical forums and applied at some WWTPs with promistices, such as maintaining aerobic or ing results, they have not been explored anoxic conditions in the wastewater where using a systematic approach. possible, frequent cleaning of process units, A recent review by Estrada et al. minimization of the sludge retention time (2015a and 2015b) presents and critically in thickeners and dewatering systems, or discusses the fundamentals and optimal the use of buildings and covers to confine conditions of ASR and OAR for odour the emissions to key operation units. control, based on all technical informaImplementing abatement technol- tion available to date. Their aim was to ogies to resolve odour problems often provide a stepping stone for more widerequires an expensive upgrading of the spread application, or at least to have plant and increased operating costs, these technologies available as a tool to while having limited potential to control be considered when developing plantodour generation. wide odour management strategies.

Two widely-applicable, emerging continued overleaf...

Environmental Science &â&#x20AC;&#x2C6;Engineering Magazine

ODOUR CONTROL

Convincing results were demon- Figure 1. Typical WWTP flow diagram including two different options for ASR operation with strated for sustainable and economical 1. Direct ASR from the aerobic activated sludge reactor (dotted line), and 2. ASR from the odour reduction performance at waste- secondary settler (dashed line). water treatment plants.

ACTIVATED SLUDGE RECYCLING ASR means recycling of waste or return settled activated sludge from secondary clarifiers, or aerobic activated sludge from aerated biological reactors, to the inlet of the WWTP headworks.

Implementing it requires a pipeline and pumping equipment to transfer sludge to the headworks. (See Figure 1) There are some additional operating costs for the power needed for pumping and the maintenance of equipment.

However, the need for covering process units, foul air extraction ductworks, blowers or odour treatment unit could be eliminated.

The ASR strategy promotes consumption of odorous compounds before they volatilize from the liquid phase. Adsorption to theWaste activated sludge flocs, followed Water products 4.65 x 4.65.pdf 1 1/26/2016

by oxidation of potential malodorous compounds, is assumed to be the mechanism preventing their release from the subsequent wastewater treatment units.

Recycled activated sludge from the aeration basin or the secondary settler contains significant concentrations of oxygen (typically 2 mg/l – 3 mg/l) and/ or nitrate (typically 6 mg/l – 10 mg/l).

These are used as electron acceptors for the oxidation of odorants or malodorous compound precursors. Biological 9:25:59 AM

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odorant oxidation can thus take place by aerobic oxidation or anoxic oxidation coupled with denitrification. When oxygen or nitrate availability is limited, production and precipitation of elemental sulfur is likely to occur.

Activated sludge usually exhibits high biological diversity, with the potential to adsorb and biologically oxidize most biogenic compounds responsible for odour nuisance (mainly reduced volatile organic or inorganic compounds such as H2S, mercaptans, amines, indoles and fatty acids). In fact, the diffusion of malodorous emissions into aeration basins, known as activated sludge diffusion, has been employed as a method for odour control for more than 30 years.

Activated sludge is commonly employed as inoculum for standard biological odour treatment systems, such as biofilters and biotrickling filters.

Iron salts are often added during wastewater treatment for phosphorus precipitation, and their presence in the recycled sludge liquor can also be beneficial for odour prevention by promoting the precipitation of dissolved sulfide as ferrous sulfide.

ASR can reduce the release of odorous compounds from the wastewater in the inlet works, pretreatment, pumping stations and primary settlers. These are usually reported as the main process units responsible for malodorous emissions at WWTPs. The risk of negatively affecting the wastewater treatment process or activated sludge floc sedimentation, is small and easy to control. One study revealed changes in grit settling properties due to the mixture of the raw wastewater and recycled activated sludge, which might

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

affect the grit removal process. The addition of large amounts of return actived sludge (RAS) to the raw sewage can create a “fluffier”, misshapen grit that settles more slowly than what would normally be expected for particles of similar size.

As a result of these findings, a design was developed and successfully implemented that limits the amount of RAS to be mixed with raw sewage, to provide the desired amount of odour treatment without impacting the grit removal process.

The technology can be applied for a wide range of odour loads into the WWTP, which typically has an average sulfide concentration in the wastewater of about 2 mg/l – 6 mg/l. Pilot tests and fullscale applications have shown that longterm, consistent H2S removal efficiencies of 90% – 95% can be easily achieved when the technology is properly implemented.

OXIDIZED AMMONIUM RECYCLING Typical nitrogen removal at a wastewater treatment plant consists of an aerobic section in the biological reactor.

Here, ammonia nitrogen is oxidized by nitrifying bacteria to nitrate and nitrite.

In the anoxic section, denitrification takes place, reducing nitrate and nitrite to nitrogen gas, using organic matter as electron donor.

With OAR, streams with high nitrate or nitrite concentrations are recycled to the inlet works of a WWTP, or upstream in the sewer system. This strategy is commonly implemented in existing denitrification-nitrification plants to reduce nitrogen levels discharged to receiving water bodies in order to meet discharge limits after changes in regulation or plant expansion/upgrading to include anaerobic digestion.

Effluents with high NH4+ concentrations are nitrified and recycled to the inlet works where they undergo denitrification. However, there are several reports of significant odour reductions as a side effect of the implementation of OAR. The addition of nitrate to the wastewater influent promotes anoxic conditions. It is used as an electron acceptor by microorganisms in order to oxidize dissolved sulfides and any readily biodegradable odorants, preventing their further release as malodorous emissions.

The quest for energy and economic efficiency in WWTPs has made anaerobic digestion a widespread technology for sludge management in order to generate electricity for the plant. However, dewatering of the anaerobically digested sludge generates ammonia rich effluents (500 mg/l – 1000 mg/l). Traditionally, this ammonia-rich effluent, representing

up to 20% of the total ammonia load to the WWTP, is recycled, to be removed by the conventional nitrification-denitrification process.

This increases overall wastewater treatment costs and challenges compliance with nitrogen discharge limits. Thus, innovative treatment technologies for these continued overleaf...

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ODOUR CONTROL

centrate streams have been developed.

These include biological oxidation of ammonia to nitrate and its further recycling to the WWTP inlet works.

In addition, other sources of nitraterich streams, such as nitrified wastewater from the nitrification stage, have been explored in order to achieve effective odour reduction in the receiving wastewater (See Figure 2).

When sludge is not recycled together with the nitrate-rich effluent, the process will rely on the indigenous biodiversity present in the sewage to perform anoxic oxidation of the malodorous compounds.

All previously mentioned advantages for ASR would also apply to the OAR strategy, including low investment and operating costs, and ease of operation.

Figure 2. WWTP flow diagram including the sludge line and two different options for NR operation. 1. Dotted line: NR from centrate nitrification units. 2. Dashed line: NR from the nitrification stage in the biological reactor.

operation and the use of streams readily available in any WWTP, make them an economical and sustainable method to be considered when developing plant-wide CONCLUSIONS odour management strategies. OperImplementing ASR and OAR strategies ational issues related to the hydraulic holds the potential to prevent malodorous WWTP capacity, the potential deterioraemissions from WWTPs at low invest- tion of the sludge settling properties and ment and operating costs. Their simple potential incompatibility with further

biological processes (e.g., phosphorus removal) have to be considered. Proper design and implementation of activated sludge recycling and oxidized ammonium recycling has demonstrated convincing performance results in odour reduction.

Bart Kraakman is with CH2M. Email: bart.kraakman@ch2m.com.au

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

WASTEWATER

energy neutral wastewater treatment

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E Water & Process Technologies announced it is collaborating with the University of Guelph on a wastewater research initiative to maximize renewable energy generation and simultaneously produce a pathogen-free biosolids fertilizer.

Government, university officials and company executives gathered on January 27, 2017, for the grand opening of the new pilot, located at the Southern Ontario Water Consortium (SOWC) wastewater demonstration facility adjacent to the City of Guelph wastewater treatment plant.

According to GE, the pilot is the first large-scale project to receive funding under SOWC’s Advancing Water Technologies (AWT) program, which supports collaborative, industry-led technology development projects. SOWC is funded by the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.

The AWT program is supplying nearly $600,000 to collaborators for this project.

In addition, GE is investing $900,000 in infrastructure and support.

“This first large AWT project epitomizes what SOWC is all about,” said SOWC Executive Director Brenda Lucas.

“We are connecting the needs of industry with Ontario’s academic expertise and enabling real-world testing in unique facilities to help bring innovative technologies to market.”

GE said its goal is to shift wastewater treatment from a burden to an opportunity, where valuable resources can be extracted, namely renewable energy, clean water and fertilizer. Enhancing anaerobic digestion through biological hydrolysis technology is one of the keys to realizing this goal, according to GE. Biological hydrolysis technology maximizes the efficiency of existing anaerobic

digestion infrastructure by increasing its throughput capacity by up to three times.

This enables plant owners to not only treat more sludge, but potentially other organic materials, dramatically increasing biogas production that can be converted to renewable energy. At the same time, a pathogen-free fertilizer product is produced.

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Using microscreens instead of primary clarifiers can save significant costs

By Marcia Sherony

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sing microscreening in wastewater treatment instead of primary clarification is a relatively new concept in North America. The technology was formally recognized as an alternative approach in the 2014 edition of Metcalf and Eddy, which indicates that its performance is similar or better than primary sedimentation and acknowledges that mechanical screening favorably alters the particles’ size distribution, remaining in the flow to be treated.

Rethinking primary clarification as a mechanical process, rather than one guided by more or less empirically-derived calculations based on detention time and surface overflow rate (SOR), could offer significant opportunities for both municipal and industrial wastewater treatment.

Microscreens typically take up only one tenth of the footprint of a conventional primary clarifier. They use 80% less power in operation and add a level of sophistication to improve and customize downstream process efficiency.

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Engineers open to challenging convention might encounter reluctance in moving away from primary clarifiers. However, owners and operators may be easy to persuade when faced with the growing land and construction costs of building a new clarifier. At the same time, finding space for expanded primary treatment could be a real challenge in both existing municipal and industrial facilities.

Tougher regulatory discharge limits for final effluent may drive a search for performance gains at every stage of the process. More advanced biological treatment processes, such as membrane bioreactors (MBR) and fine bubble diffusers, demand the best-possible primary removal efficiency of particulate solids in the effluent.

Building a new primary clarifier requires extensive civil works and large amounts of concrete. Usually two clarifiers are needed for redundancy, so that one can remain in operation while the other is cleaned out or repaired.

HISTORY OF MICROSCREENING Microscreening technology was developed in Scandinavia during the late 1990s, to remove fish faeces from large volumes of water. More recently, it was used on one of the most difficult of all industrial solids removal – tanning. The technology has begun to find applications in municipal wastewater treatment all over the world, and has been further developed to be robust, low maintenance and able to cope with heavier loads.

The Hydro MicroScreen™ rotating belt screen was officially launched at WEFTEC 2016. On larger plants, the technology is typically installed downstream of a coarse screen and grit removal system. For smaller operations, with less than 2 MGD average to 6 MGD peak flow, it can provide screening, grit removal and primary clarification all in one unit.

Importantly, the Hydro MicroScreen offers a range of screen sizes so operators can customize the screening process according to the characteristics of the wastewater and better control quality of the screened effluent. Municipal operators can typically achieve between 50% – 60% total suspended solids (TSS) removal, 20% – 60% biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) removal, 30% – 40% fats, oils and grease (FOG) removal, as well as 10% phosphorus reduction by removing phosphorus in particulate form.

Operators are able to improve their downstream process efficiency, because microscreening reduces the insoluble organic loading rate to the biological process. The Hydro MicroScreen is very efficient at removing larger organic particles that take a considerable amount of time to digest in secondary treatment. The time taken for the bugs to consume the soluble BOD is shorter. As a result, there is less energy used in biological Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

reduce

polymer

costs

Microscreen system in operation at National Beef Leathers.

processes. Operators may even be able to reduce their aeration requirement.

The filtered effluent contains a higher ratio of readily biodegradable (soluble) to total BOD, so operators can actually optimize their effluent quality to improve nitrification. The particulate BOD the screen removes does not affect the food to microorganism (FM) ratio associated with the biological nutrient removal (BNR) process.

Screened solids can be collected and sent straight to anaerobic digestion or other thermal conversion processes.

The 2% – 4% total solids (TS) is similar to conventional primary sludge, but an important difference is that the solids are fresher, as they have not degraded over a couple of hours of settling time. So, they provide a higher-energy product for thermal conversion or gasification.

With the optional addition of a compression zone and dewatering section to the screw augur, the Hydro MicroScreen produces sludge with 30% – 50% TS, without using costly chemicals, saving significantly on handling and disposal costs.

HOW THE MICROSCREEN WORKS Typically, for larger plants, one or more units are installed downstream of the coarse screening and grit removal system.

Flow enters the influent chamber at the front of the machine. An energy dissipation plate and flow diverter distribute www.esemag.com

influent evenly over the entire screen width. The liquid flow passes through the fine fabric mesh screen. Solids collect and/or settle and accumulate on the screen, creating a mat. As the mat builds, the liquid level in the influent chamber rises. This signals the screen conveyor to rotate the screen, which exposes a clean area to the incoming flow.

An ultrasonic level sensor in the influent chamber, along with a variable frequency drive motor, automatically increases or decreases screen rotation and speed. The type and porosity of the solids will influence mat thickness. Heavy solids require a higher screen speed, while a lighter solids loading requires a lower screen speed. In either case, the water level stays the same.

Rotation of the screen conveys the captured solids toward the upper roller, where they fall by gravity from the screen into a screw augur. The screen is then cleaned by a series of low-volume, high-pressure spray nozzles and a secondary scraper blade.

The mechanical process means constant process efficiency is maintained, even at peak design flow rates.

CASE STUDY – NATIONAL BEEF LEATHERS Tanning is a challenging industrial process in terms of the wastewater and pollutants that must be treated and safely continued overleaf...

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disposed of. Hydro MicroScreen technology, installed at a National Beef Leathers tannery, achieved a space-saving solution that meant payback in just a few months.

To prepare the hides for tanning, flesh, hair and grease are removed in a series of steps by soaking hides in baths of salt, lime and sodium sulfide. To tan the hides they are soaked in a chromium bath.

The existing primary treatment facility could only dewater sludge to 18% total solids, meaning that 82% of the volume to be hauled and disposed of was water. With the Hydro MicroScreen, haulage and disposal costs were halved, by reducing total solids volume and water. The installation also eliminated the $2,000 a month cost of chemicals used for sludge processing. Sludge with as much as 40% TS is produced without the use of chemicals.

Right: Screened solids can be collected and sent straight to anaerobic digestion or other thermal conversion processes.

The 2% – 4% total solids (TS) is similar to conventional primary sludge, but an important difference is that the solids are fresher.

Marcia Sherony is with Hydro International. For more information, visit www.hydro-int.com

40 | April 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

ENGINEERING

© sittinan – stock.adobe.com

delivering a sustainable society is changing the consulting engineer's role

T

he Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC) is showcasing the role of consulting engineers in sustainability with the launch of a web-based version of Sustainable Development for Canadian Consulting Engineers – now updated with a new preface. This report, commissioned by ACEC, is a valuable resource for consulting engineers as well as owners of both public and private projects. The industry’s role in delivering a sustainable society is crucial. Without major changes in engineering design, society will not achieve sustainability.

“The concept of sustainable development – the idea that we must improve resource efficiency and environmental protection while we build a world-class economy – is inherent in good engineering practice and has been embraced by the Canadian engineering community www.esemag.com

for decades. However, sustainability has not formally and explicitly been embedded in the way in which consulting engineers do their work in Canada,” said John Gamble, President and CEO of ACEC. The report’s author and internationally recognized authority on sustainability, Dr. John Boyd, P.Eng., Ph.D., believes that: “Canada has an opportunity to be a world leader in environmentally sustainable projects that meet the needs of today’s modern economy. Those twin goals are not mutually exclusive. Delivering the infrastructure our economy needs in a manner which takes future generations’ needs into account, is increasingly viable.”

This detailed report provides historical reference and guidance to the consulting sector, as it seeks to develop sustainable infrastructure solutions. In the thirty years since the definition of a sustainable society was first propounded by the

Brundtland Commission as “meeting the needs of the present without preventing future generations from meeting their needs,” there has been an extensive debate on the nature of those needs.

Consulting engineers around the world have paid careful attention to this debate because to meet the majority of these needs, project design goals will have to change significantly.

This puts the consulting engineering industry in a key role to deliver a sustainable future. Engineers design approximately half of the world’s delivered infrastructure. This percentage is much higher in Canada, and ACEC’s interest in the subject of sustainable infrastructure resulted in the publication of a status report in 2012, entitled “Sustainable Development for Canadian Consulting Engineers”. continued overleaf...

April 2017 | 41

ENGINEERING

Internationally, the industry’s focus has been led by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC, of which ACEC is a member), which has produced recommendations for the delivery of sustainable projects, real property sustainability management, and the development of sustainable cities. FIDIC also published a state of the world report on sustainable infrastructure (2012) and maintains a list of available tools for sustainability on its website.

Historically, projects delivered by consulting engineers were judged on the achievement of three objectives: delivery of the client’s purpose according to the safety standards of the day; delivery on schedule; and, delivery on budget. About 40 years ago, a fourth requirement was added: delivery adjusted to minimize negative impacts on the environment.

Today, there are additional requirements: delivery that meets the needs of society in a context that often goes well beyond the direct and immediate inter-

ests of the client. Not only should the project not harm society, but it should also interact positively with affected stakeholders.

Today, the consulting engineer is in a critical position: responsible directly to the client for agreed cost, schedule, and ultimate performance; to the regulators for adherence to written standards and codes; and, in a broader sense, to society for project performance to unwritten sustainability objectives.

Many of these requirements would be considered part of the normal engineering design process, if from a somewhat different perspective. As an example, engineers would normally consider project energy requirements, energy reticulation on site, and health and safety to operators. Conversely, sustainable energy considerations include an increased focus on ways to minimize energy, substitution of renewable energy sources and impacts outside the project on availability, and cost to others.

Other requirements affect the design but come from stakeholder issues outside the realm of engineering. As an example, opposition to transmission lines across the community or the presence of culturally sensitive areas might make it necessary to change energy access points or even to move the project site.

ASPECTS OF SUSTAINABILITY THAT DIRECTLY GOVERN ENGINEERING Design sustainability requirements directly affect engineering project design in four fundamental ways. The first is an obligation to conserve or minimize the use of materials, water, and energy. This includes substituting renewable or recyclable options wherever possible and maximizing the durability of the project, including planning for simplified maintenance.

Eventual decommissioning should become an integral part of design planning and the project plan should consider impacts on the availability and afford-

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42 | April 2017

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

ability of these three project components.

The second way is an obligation to preserve or improve the environment, health and safety, and human rights that might be affected by the project.

Environmental preservation is included in Canada’s laws and regulations, which require the prevention of change due to contamination and the protection of species at risk. Sustainability considerations go further by imposing a need to design for environmental resilience, which includes the impacts of climate change. They also suggest the use of defensive engineering design, such as the substitution of lower risk process materials, to minimize operating risk.

From a sustainability perspective, health and safety considerations incorporate not only protection during construction and operation for those working on the project but also to those affected by the project and those using the completed project or its products. This means monitoring, reporting and remediation systems should be included in the design.

While human rights are not normally a consideration of engineering design, sustainable projects should specifically consider impacts on the availability and cost of food and shelter, and avoid forced relocation of people, businesses and communities. Legal human rights that might be affected by a project include equality, security, criminality, exploitation and freedom of association.

Sustainability is all about resilience and the third issue is a requirement to predict impacts that might affect the long-term or ultimate viability of the project. In recent years, engineering concern for the impact of the project on the environment has been broadened to now consider the impact of a shifting environment brought about by climate change on project viability.

The final issue affecting sustainability is an extended obligation to consult more widely with affected communities of stakeholders.

THE SUSTAINABLE PROJECT – ACCOMMODATING THE INTERESTS OF STAKEHOLDERS Clients (whether private sector or government) bring priorities beyond www.esemag.com

those listed above, and other groups MEASURING SUCCESS – THE within society also bring their own SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT There are numerous assessment specific interests based on their values.

Successful project management requires protocols for civil infrastructure that the consultant listen to and understands have been developed by groups in the the perspectives brought by all of the U.K. (CEEQUAL), the U.S. (Envision), stakeholder groups and make them part Australia (Infrastructure Sustainability), and elsewhere. Protocols are also availof the project objectives. continued overleaf...

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ENGINEERING

able for buildings (BREEAM – U.K., and human rights. Conventional project LEED – U.S./Canada, CASBEE – Japan, performance would simply be standard Green Star – Australia, etc.). Other tools treatment typical of current projects. are available for water, transportation, Improved performance would require and energy projects. Details are provided a minimum of 10% improvement on on the FIDIC website. The suitability of conventional practice.

It is reasonable to anticipate a future the use of several of these protocols in Canada was assessed in the 2012 ACEC regulatory environment in which sustainreport “Sustainable Development for ability assessments would be carried out in the same manner environmental assessCanadian Consulting Engineers”.

It is much more straightforward and ments are conducted today. less society-dependent to argue that performance should be based on how well engineering issues have been handled, namely: water, energy, and material preservation; environment; health and safety; and human rights protection.

FIDIC proposed to measure performance against an extreme and probably unachievable standard. In this performance protocol, sustainable projects achieved zero use of non-recoverable energy, water and materials and zero net impact on environment, health and safety,

CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY Climate change is a sustainability issue that is currently receiving a considerable amount of attention. Scientific research collated since 1988 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations has been published in a series of reports that document progressive changes in world climate brought about by increases in atmospheric “greenhouse gases” (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases).

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The Grand Bend Area Wastewater Treatment Facility, located in Ontario, was the first wastewater facility in North America to be Envision-verified by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure. Image courtesy of the American Public Works Association.

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

It is clear that the world’s climate is Sustainability considerations go further by changing, that anthropogenic greenhouse gases are the major contributor to that imposing a need to design for environmental change, and that climate impacts will resilience, which includes the impacts of grow even if attempts to reduce greenhouse gas release are successful. These climate change. facts put the consulting engineering industry in the same kind of key role on climate change as it is with all of the other aspects There are a number of available now rely on climate prediction rather of sustainability. Society looks to our approaches to improve mitigation perfor- than history, which to date is a much less industry to deliver two types of answers mance on all types of new engineering certain and specific basis for design. to this challenge – mitigation (reduction projects, including energy, transportation, As a result, new projects will require in greenhouse gas release), and adapta- buildings, industry, and waste manage- greater factors of safety to achieve the tion (reduction in impact of more extreme ment. The biggest obstacle to overall miti- same security and the projects will be climate conditions on human ecology). gation improvement is the large stock of more expensive than those in the past.

The mitigation aspects can be tied to past projects that are major greenhouse Recent experiences with the costs of sustainability issues by regarding green- gas emitters, with a more restricted range repairing and cleaning up after extreme house gases as a chemical environmen- of possibilities in the retrofitting of older weather events are a persuasive argutal pollutant. Indirectly, reduction in the projects. ment for spending the additional up-front CO2 absorption capacity of the biosphere Adaptation to the realities of climate money to provide better surety. should be treated as ecological damage, change brings a different kind of engiand burning of fossil fuels for energy neering problem. Traditionally, design is A summary of the ACEC initiative should be regarded as a more significant based on historical environmental records was published in ACEC's e-newsletter issue than the overall objective of gener- for the site, yet with the climate changes "Source". Both it and the full report are ally reducing energy use. that are taking place, new designs must available for download at www.acec.ca

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STRETCHING MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGETS 46 Ensuring the best fit and value for municipal infrastructure choices 50 How fixture flow rates affect shower duration and water usage 52 Initial cost shouldn’t be the primary consideration for gravity pipe systems 56 Harnessing data can help preserve infrastructure more economically 59 Economic benefits of soil management during construction projects 60 Township saves money using innovative irrigation system for sports facility 62 Proper coating is essential to extending water tank life

Photo © William Conway/Progress Photography.

Ensuring the best fit and value for municipal infrastructure choices

By Lynne Maclennan

A

ccording to the latest Infrastructure Report Card, Canadian municipalities spend around $18 billion per year to construct, maintain and repair their infrastructure. The estimated backlog in infrastructure spending is $141 billion, of which $71 billion is for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems. This is based on replacement costs for assets that are in very poor or poor condition. Despite considerable investment in these systems across the country, more funding is needed.

To help improve services in Canada, 46 | April 2017

the federal government and most provincial and territorial governments offer funding programs for municipalities to share the costs of upgrading, optimizing, or replacing these systems. But for many communities, particularly smaller ones, the challenge is not qualifying for funding. It is ensuring that capital investments are financially viable over the long term.

In addition to any capital cost that a municipality contributes to an infrastructure project, there will also be ongoing costs that must be borne by user rates and local tax dollars. This continu-

ing operational expenditure (OPEX) includes loan repayments, consumables, energy, labour, and replacement costs for the treatment system. OPEX costs are determined by the type of system implemented, as they are dependent on the treatment technologies used and the capacity of the system.

Several municipalities use best practices to ensure their water, wastewater, and stormwater treatment systems are affordable. However, many more struggle to cover current infrastructure costs, let alone plan for future investments.

The difference comes down to the approach a municipality takes to evaluating options and procuring a solution.

Municipalities can take several actions to ensure the cost to own, operate, and maintain this infrastructure works within the limits of what they can afford: • Use a comprehensive asset manage-

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

ment plan (AMP) that links to planning and budget policies; • Engage all stakeholders from an early stage of a project; • Assess all feasible options, including optimization and innovative solutions, during an environmental assessment (EA); • Use life cycle costing (LCC) to compare options; and, • Use a procurement practice that enables innovative solutions to be included and that incorporates LCC as part of the decision-making process.

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MAKE PLANS BASED ON WHAT YOU HAVE A comprehensive AMP helps municipalities to make the most of their existing systems, as well as make sound technical and economic decisions on infrastructure investments. Some have used their AMPs to provide elected officials with the knowledge they need to make informed and transparent decisions regarding infrastructure spending, and to ensure that the services delivered through infrastructure can be provided at an affordable cost. However, many municipalities still need stronger integration of policy and procedures to really make AMPs operational.

ENGAGE ALL STAKEHOLDERS Informed decisions are powered by engaging all project stakeholders, and they are more likely to result in cost-effective projects. Stakeholders in municipal infrastructure projects include municipal public works, finance and planning staff, as well as Council and the public. Stakeholders often contribute information that can benefit the project. Involving them at an early stage can prevent conflicts that might otherwise pose a threat to the project’s success.

Having a diverse group of stakeholders can also help municipalities identify innovative ways to manage water, wastewater and stormwater using a holistic approach, which can benefit the community in the long term.

CHOOSE FROM ALL AVAILABLE OPTIONS Most provincial and territorial governments have some form of an EA process that is used to review options and select solutions for municipal water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. The process usually looks at natural, social, and economic impacts, but does not actually mandate optimization of existing infrastructure as a first step or a review of innovative solutions. Instead, proponents must be their own champions and require and challenge consultants to consider non-traditional options for their projects.

To work within the limits of affordability, proponents must also educate themselves on available comparative solutions. As it stands, proponents often rely on their consultants to identify solutions for their consideration. For this reason, proponents should engage ones that have a track record of identifying cost-effective, innovative infrastructure solutions. While this approach might result in higher consulting fees, it will also underscore the importance of long-term affordability and will often result in a lower LCC. continued overleaf...

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SPECIAL FOCUS: STRETCHING MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGETS

USE MULTI-CRITERIA COST ANALYSIS In typical situations, several options can satisfy the specified technical criteria for an infrastructure project. Each alternative solution has its own merits and is evaluated on them. The most critical variable for most municipalities is cost.

Since capital funding is limited, proponents often focus on minimizing the initial cost of a system, heavily weighing the capital costs. However, quite often the lifetime operational costs can be more than the upfront capital costs. By placing too much weight on capital costs, municipalities can end up with systems that have unnecessarily high Operations and Maintenance (O&M) costs.

Some municipalities do consider the capital and O&M costs of each option when making these decisions. While more useful than considering capital costs alone, this analysis is too simplistic and may still not provide a true cost

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comparison of the alternatives.

Comparing the LCC of all options is a more stringent decision-analysis approach, as it encompasses aspects of a project that can be overlooked when using capital and O&M costing alone.

LCC includes the cost associated with design, purchasing or leasing equipment, construction, O&M, repair or replacement, and decommissioning of an infrastructure asset. When used as a tool to make comparisons between alternatives, LCC analysis can help municipalities predict the most cost-effective solution and make reasonable comparisons using all the available data.

procurement policies. Spending a little more time and money during the specification and design stage for a project can go a long way toward saving costs in the long term. Also, it will help to ensure that innovative, value-for-money solutions are at least considered.

Additionally, when selecting a consulting engineering firm, municipalities can place more weight on the firm’s qualifications and experience with innovative, cost-effective projects than on its bid price.

As an alternative to the traditional consultant and contractor approach, municipalities can use a design-build approach. For smaller solutions, they could opt for packaged treatment systems, EMPLOY PROCUREMENT BEST where the equipment supplier provides PRACTICES the process design or a “plug and play” There is no question that municipal- turnkey solution. Either of these options ities are aware of the need for sustain- can have a lower cost than conventional able public procurement. Many also solutions.

Finally, a municipality can develop and recognize the importance of incorporating innovative options and LCC into implement a procurement process that

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makes it easier for small companies to participate, and that places more weight on comparative innovative solutions.

BEST PRACTICES IN ACTION The Town of Perth in eastern Ontario has a population of 5,840 and is serviced by a lagoon-based municipal wastewater treatment system. The Town needed to upgrade its system to provide treatment capacity for planned growth to a population of 10,500.

The Town determined that it wanted a solution that would meet the short- and long-term needs of the community, using a system that was affordable, reliable, easy to operate, and environmentally acceptable.

Their consultant reviewed water use and stormwater management as well as wastewater data to identify that the Town could optimize the hydraulic loading to the treatment system by redirecting industrial cooling water from the sanitary sewers and by implementing a wet weather program to reduce infiltration and inflow to the sanitary sewers and lagoon.

The consultant also identified a range of options for optimized wastewater flow to achieve the required discharge criteria.

These options included a range of biomechanical plant types, adding an additional facultative lagoon cell, upgrading to an aerated lagoon, a wetland polishing stage after the existing lagoon, and a tertiary biological filter.

For each option, the consultant evaluated technical, socio-economic, natural environment and cost factors. Costing considered capital, O&M, LCC and potential federal government funding. In addition to affordability, one of the most significant criteria for the Town was the ease with which the upgrade could fit in with existing operation, including operator certification.

It was determined that the best solution was a tertiary biological filter with the provision for a phosphorus trading program with the local agricultural community and in partnership with the local conservation authority when required to further reduce the phosphorus load to the receiving water body in the future. This option had the lowest www.esemag.com

The Town of Perth's existing facultative lagoon.

life cycle costing and qualified for federal funding due to its innovative approach.

This further reduced the costs to the community.

Compared to an upgrade to a traditional biomechanical treatment plant, the estimated capital cost saving of this system-wide approach is $30 million.

Tax revenue from each connection will not increase significantly.

Lynne Maclennan is a Better Best Practices Associate with WaterTAP Ontario. For more information, visit www.watertapontario.com

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SPECIAL FOCUS: STRETCHING MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGETS

How fixture flow rates affect shower duration and water usage

By Bill Gauley and John Koeller

T

wo important residential water demand studies in North America are the 1999 and 2016 Residential End Uses of Water Studies (REUS1999 and REUS2016) completed

by Aquacraft, Inc. These two studies data logged water use in a large number of single-family homes across Canada and the U.S., to quantify the volume associated with each individual water use within the home.

The 1999 report identified an average indoor water demand of 266 litres per capita per day (LCD). By 2016, this demand had fallen to 223 LCD, a decline of about 43 LCD over 16 years, or an average of about 1% per year. What seems remarkable is that a full 90% of this reduction was attributed to only two household use categories: toilet demands declined by 16.4 LCD and clothes washer demands declined by 20.5 LCD. The 2016 REUS determined that showering currently accounts for about 19% of indoor residential water demands. People take an average of 0.69 showers per day, and the average shower duration is about 7.8 minutes.

While showering accounts for almost one-fifth of indoor residential water demands, there are challenges associated with reducing shower-based water demands that do not exist for toilet-based and clothes washer-based demands. These are the personal and tactile experience associated with showering, i.e., end-user behaviour. Although the primary reason for showering may be to “get clean”, many people enjoy the experience of showering, the warmth, the comfort, the feel of the water striking the skin.

Showering is a very personal experience and product manufacturers have responded by designing many hundreds of different models of showerheads, each with slightly different spray characteristics. People can customize their shower 50 | April 2017

Showering accounts for almost one-fifth of indoor residential water use. However, efforts to reduce shower-based water usage face challenges that don’t exist with toilet-based or washing-based usage. © sutichack – stock.adobe.com

"experience" almost any way they choose. However, because of the significant impact of personal preference on showerhead selection, in an unfettered marketplace it is likely that many people would choose to install high flow rate showerheads, willing to sacrifice water and energy efficiency for comfort.

What’s more, showerheads tend to be far less expensive than clothes washers or toilets, and much easier to changeout. So, homeowners who are not fully satisfied with their “shower experience” (for whatever reason) can easily replace their offending fixture for a more acceptable one.

This “ease of installation” is the crux of the challenge faced by water utilities and showerhead manufacturers trying to reduce customer water demands and achieve product efficiency. While it is relatively inexpensive for a utility to give away or rebate the purchase of efficient showerheads by their customers, it is easy for a homeowner to remove the new

showerhead if they are not happy with its performance and replace it with a potentially high-flow-rate model, eliminating any expected water or energy savings.

Perhaps this is why a quick web search indicates there are far fewer water utilities rebating or giving away efficient showerheads now than there was a decade ago.

As illustrated in Figure 1, between 1999 and 2016, shower-based water demands declined by only 0.5 gallons per capita per day. There seems to be two simple possibilities for this low level of savings: a) Showerhead technology (and efficiency) did not improve significantly between 1999 and 2016; or, b) As showerheads became more efficient (i.e., with lower flow rates), people compensated by taking longer showers, thus negating the potential water savings associated with those lower flow rates.

AVERAGE SHOWERHEAD FLOW RATES – 1999 VS 2016 A comprehensive analysis was

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

completed by Gauley/Koeller on shower-based data collected as part of the 1999 and 2016 Residential End Use Studies. The analysis clearly shows a trend towards lower flow rate showerheads between 1999 and 2016. For example, the 1999 data identified that only 44% of installed showerheads had flow rates of 7.6 LPM or less. By 2016, this rate had increased to 56%.

The results of this analysis indicate that showerhead technology (at least insofar as flow rates are concerned) has improved between 1999 and 2016. So why did the REU studies identify so little shower-based water savings between 1999 and 2016? The low level of savings could be explained if people do, on average, compensate for lower flow rates by taking longer duration showers. But is this really the case?

An analysis was completed on the 1999 and 2016 REUS data to determine the relationship between shower flow rate and duration. The flow rate vs. duration analysis indicated that people tend to only marginally increase the duration of their shower to compensate for lower flow rates.

CONCLUSIONS Based on applying a 95% confidence interval to per capita shower-based demands, it is possible that the average 2

LCD shower savings between 1999 and 2016 (as identified in the 2016 REUS report), may be somewhat under-reported and may actually be as high as 5.7 LCD. While studies have shown that people tend to prefer higher flow rate showerheads, the results of this analysis clearly show that water savings can be achieved by using lower flow rate showerheads. As such, it appears that low flow rate showerheads that meet customers’ expectation for performance will provide the best

opportunity to maximize water savings.

Water utilities interested in achieving higher levels of water savings should be encouraged to consider (or re-consider) promoting or rebating high-performance low flow rate showerheads.

Bill Gauley, P.Eng., is with Gauley Associates Ltd. Email: bill@gauley.ca John Koeller, P.E., is with Koeller & Company. Email: koeller@earthlink.net

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SPECIAL FOCUS: STRETCHING MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGETS

Ultimate strength three-edge bearing test of Class III, 300 mm reinforced concrete pipe. Photo by Inland Pipe

Initial cost shouldn’t be the primary factor in choosing gravity pipe systems

By Gerry Mulhern

M

unicipal and consulting engineers can sometimes lose sight of project life and serviceability expectations when it comes to gravity pipe storm drainage systems and sanitary sewers. Too often, decisions are based on the initial cost of the pipe and not enough consideration is given to the cost of proper installation, maintenance or rehabilitation costs, and service life.

It is important to distinguish between the terms “pipeline systems” and “pipe materials.”

Pipeline systems include the pipe material, couplings or joints, fittings, connec-

52 | April 2017

tions to maintenance holes, and embedment materials. A thorough pipeline assessment examines technical, financial, and risk considerations.

TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT A technical assessment examines the specifications and standards referenced in the contract documents. In Ontario, typical standards and specifications are produced by agencies such as Canadian Standards Association, Ontario Provincial Standards, and American Society for Testing and Materials. A manufacturing standard often references a standard for

a test method or an installation standard.

For example, ASTM D3034 – 15 Standard Specification for Type PSM Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC) Sewer Pipe and Fittings references ASTM D2321 – Standard Practice for Underground Installation of Thermoplastic Pipe for Sewers and Other Gravity-Flow Applications.

ASTM D2321 references the engineer or their authorized representative on site at least 25 times. Therefore, they need to understand fully the ramifications of the entire referenced standard and that they are responsible for issues such as trench widths, embedment densities, unstable

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

trench bottoms, minimum cover for construction loads, field monitoring, establishing methods for controlling and monitoring distortions of pipe, and connections to manholes.

QUALITY CONTROL Engineers should establish what quality control programs are in place by an industry to ensure that the quality of the pipe product produced and shipped to the site is what they expected. In Ontario, all concrete pipe is produced at plants that are prequalified under the Plant Prequalification Program for precast concrete drainage products. This covers all concrete pipe, concrete maintenance holes, catch basins and fittings.

Ontario Provincial Standard Specification (OPSS) 1820 Material Specification for Circular Concrete Pipe requires manufacturers of circular concrete pipe to possess a current Prequalification Certificate issued under the Plant Prequalification Program.

STRUCTURAL DESIGN Structural failure of a culvert may result in a collapse of the highway pavement.

Structural failures are usually sudden, with no warning to drivers. It is imperative that engineers understand how a rigid pipeline system (concrete) and how a flexible pipeline system (CSP, PVC, HDPE, PP) function.

Furthermore, engineers must understand the differences between the two systems. Without a proper understanding of gravity pipeline systems, engineers may prepare inadequate material, installation and testing specifications that ultimately result in premature maintenance, or failure of the systems.

It is critical to the success of a pipeline project that engineers understand proper installation practices for rigid and flexible systems. OPSS 410 states: “Flexible Pipe means pipe that can deflect 2% or more without cracking, such as polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene or steel pipe.” A lot depends on a properly installed and compacted soil embedment to achieve the required design strength. Loss of the embedment due to washout or infiltration into the pipe (due to leaky joints or www.esemag.com

Without a proper understanding of gravity pipeline systems, engineers may prepare inadequate material, installation and testing specifications. corroded pipe walls) can cause the pipe to collapse.

OPSS 401 Construction Specification for Trenching, Backfilling, and Compacting states: “Bedding material placed in the haunches must be compacted prior to continued placement of cover material.

Bedding requiring compacting shall be placed in layers not exceeding 200 mm in thickness, loose measurement, and compacted to 95% of the maximum dry density before a subsequent layer is placed.

Bedding on each side of the pipe shall be completed simultaneously.

“At no time, shall the levels on each side

differ by more than the 200 mm uncompacted layer.”

OPSS 410.07.16.05 states: “Ring deflection testing shall be performed on all pipe sewers constructed using plastic pipe.”

Engineers should always insist on deflection testing of the flexible pipe systems after installation. This is usually done by manually pulling a deflection gauge or mandrel through the pipe.

Deflection testing should be carried out no sooner than 30 days after the soil over the pipe has been installed to final grade.

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SPECIAL FOCUS: STRETCHING MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGETS

Hamilton and the Regional Municipality of Niagara, require a second test prior to final acceptance.

Rigid pipes, with inherent pipe strength, will crack before they are deflected 2%.

Rigid pipes receive additional support from the bedding cradle underneath the pipe when they are installed. Reinforced concrete pipe design is conservative and pipes are regularly overdesigned.

A concrete pipe will usually provide more than 60% of the required structural strength, with the remainder provided by the soil embedment. All, or almost all, of the design strength is built into the pipe itself. Strength of a 50D pipe would be acceptable for a particular design, but the engineer may specify 100D or 140D.

WATER-TIGHTNESS AND JOINTS The type of joints available and the water-tightness of the system can have a major impact on the structural stability of the system.

HYDRAULICS The technical assessment should include the Manning’s n roughness coefficient of the pipe, actual inside diameter, deflection of a flexible pipe and corrugation growth in externally corrugated thermoplastic pipe products. If a culvert fails to perform as a conduit due to deflection, clogging, or other factors, catastrophic failures can occur. Failures include a complete washout of the culvert, or washout of the embedment soils around the culverts.

Washouts in turn cause a collapse of the culvert pipe and the pavement above.

FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT Initial pipe cost should be considered in a financial assessment but the engineer is cautioned not to limit his/her decision solely to initial costs.

Proper installation is essential, especially with regards to flexible pipeline systems since they require approved embedment materials, appropriate trench widths, and

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the correct level of compaction completely around and over the pipe.

What maintenance costs, if any, are anticipated over the design life of the project? How do maintenance costs affect the initial pipe material choice?

The engineer needs to decide what the expected life of the project is and then assess the available pipe materials to determine which products have a service life that equals or exceeds the project design life.

RISK ASSESSMENT A risk assessment should look at the different modes of failures of the available pipe products that include: buckling due to poor installation; corrosion; combustion; disjointing; flotation; washout; abrasion; post installation connections; and chemical attack.

The best risk analysis is to examine the historical performance of a product and evaluate how well it has performed in similar applications with similar heights of cover and traffic loads.

Installing gravity pipe in trenches where the use of a trench box, or sheet piling is required by the Department of Labour, poses challenges for the engineer and the contractor, especially considering the proper installation of flexible pipes.

CONCLUSIONS Municipalities can protect themselves from litigation due to failures of gravity pipeline drainage systems by conducting comprehensive assessments of the pipeline systems that they are using. Engineers can and should reduce their liability and protect the public by: understanding rigid and flexible pipe design; requiring quality control programs for the manufacturing and testing of pipe and raw materials; writing thorough installation specifications; requiring post-installation inspections, and, addressing trenching and safety requirements.

Gerry Mulhern, P.Eng. is President of the Canadian Concrete Pipe & Precast Association. Email: gerry.mulhern@ocpa.com

www.greatario.com 519-469-8169 54 | April 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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Proactive maintenance seeks to prevent problems before they occur and is 5 to 10 times cheaper than emergency repairs. © designbydx – stock.adobe.com

Harnessing data can help preserve infrastructure more economically

structure be fixed to prevent its impending failure (e.g., a low battery rate that, if not remedied, will lead to a sensor’s outage); a fixed time schedule; or readings from a sensor in an adjoining system (e.g., adjusting a sewer’s configuration in response to

By Ariel Stern rising water levels that, unchecked, could result in a sewer overflow event). he average age of Canada’s four have of managing its decay to maximize Predictive maintenance could be main classes of infrastructure was its useful life span. regarded as a higher form of proactive examined by an Investment and maintenance, comprising systems that Capital Stock Division report in TRADITIONAL APPROACHES use intelligent analysis to attempt to 2007. That survey, like its predecessors, Reactive maintenance, also known as predict equipment failures before there showed that the country’s infrastructure run-to-fail (RTF), means simply allow- are any direct indications they are on aged significantly between 1973 and ing infrastructure to run to the point of course to occur.

1999. The trend began to reverse slightly, breaking before it is repaired. This may beginning in the early 2000s, with a be an acceptable strategy for replacing EVOLUTION OF MAINTENANCE process of infrastructure “rejuvenation” household light bulbs, but is obviously APPROACHES due to increased investment, particularly unsuitable for public infrastructure.

Proactive maintenance represents a in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

Proactive maintenance is an approach significant advance over reactive mainWaiting for infrastructure to fail is that seeks to prevent problems before they tenance. However, its adoption has been obviously an untenable strategy. Finding occur and it’s 5 to 10 times cheaper than severely hindered by the difficulties more intelligent ways to both prioritize emergency repairs. It breaks down into in deploying sufficiently wide remote backlogged repairs and direct limited preventative and predictive maintenance. monitoring sensor networks to overmaintenance capabilities is, therefore, Preventative maintenance is triggered come the limitations of monitoring by the best means infrastructure managers by a condition that dictates that the infra- taking manual “field readings”.

T

56 | April 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Traditional telemetry solutions for remote monitoring were expensive, cumbersome, lacked communications redundancy, and often worked only on external power sources. This, in turn, created a physical limitation as to how far along a network’s edge they could be deployed.

Even if such a remote monitoring network could be deployed to a sufficient scale, the lack of advanced data analytics platforms could overwhelm SCADA engineers with a flood of unmanageable information, burying actionable insights amidst unnecessary network noise.

The arrival of remote monitoring was, in itself, a sizeable advance over the initial model of proactive maintenance. This was sending teams into the field to take readings from legacy, handheld sensor equipment. However, its current implementation still falls far short of what would be optimal to best maintain infrastructure. Because of these difficulties, sensor

deployments tended to be partial at best.

Also, the combination of irregular field visits and limited information from the network edge (through the remote monitoring of infrastructure) did little to ensure comprehensive awareness of an infrastructure network’s state.

A HYBRID APPROACH IS KEY Data is the lifeblood of both preventative and predictive maintenance and, finally, the times are changing. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is quickly gaining momentum. Telecommunications operators are launching dedicated, power-efficient networks specifically designed for IIoT requirements. NB-IoT is at an advanced planning stage, and the unlicensed LP-WAN family of networks (including LoRa and Sigfox) are already in active use.

IoT communications gateways, no larger than a landline telephone, now are capable of doing the same job as outdated

telemetry cabinets and at a fraction of the cost. This new breed of ultra-lowpower IoT networks utilizes either existing telecommunications infrastructure, or proprietary transmission systems and can be located virtually anywhere.

In tandem, the emerging field of edge analytics is seeing ambitious hardware engineers cram powerful offline-operable data analytics software aboard these compact devices. Data is crunched in situ on the network edge and relays only pre-analyzed information to human eyes in SCADA control rooms.

The first key to improving maintenance strategies used to keep the vast stock of public infrastructure in good health is deploying these widespread smart networks as quickly and aggressively as possible. The next step for utilities is to develop digital systems based on the tried-and-trusted techniques of old, using electronic scorecard systems to prioritize continued overleaf...

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April 2017 | 57

SPECIAL FOCUS: STRETCHING MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGETS

repairs by urgency and importance.

In the interim, it is still impossible to maintain all infrastructure elements at all times. But, the availability of cost-effective, smart infrastructure monitoring and powerful analytics capabilities means that an intelligent program of proactive maintenance can be realistically undertaken by utility managers for the first time.

This could come, for example, in the form of proactive strain monitoring which could help avert catastrophes. The incident at the Oroville Dam in California earlier this year is a striking example of how dangerous compromised infrastructure can be. Nearly 200,000 downstream residents were advised to evacuate after workers noticed the dam’s emergency Repair work being done on the damaged Lake Oroville Dam flood control spillway. spillway was severely damaged, leading to Photo by Kelly M. Grow/ California Department of Water Resources fears part of the dam might fail.

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SPECIAL FOCUS: STRETCHING MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGETS

economic and environmental benefits of soil management during construction

F

rom roadwork construction in rural areas to the development of high rise condominiums and the upgrading of buried utilities in cities, most Ontarians, today, do not have to look far to find examples of major infrastructure projects taking place in their communities.

What may be less apparent to the general public is the enormous amount of excavated soil that is disposed of as waste, rather than reused as a valuable resource.

The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE), the Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Construction Association (GTSWCA) and the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) have partnered to prepare a study on excess soil management, to ensure sustainable practices are considered through the design and construction of Ontario’s infrastructure projects.

The recently released report, Excess Soil Management: Ontario is Wasting a Precious Resource, uses the results from a survey of 24 Ontario infrastructure projects regarding their soil management practices. The results conclude that the disposal of excess construction soil contributes to significant greenhouse gas emissions from transport vehicles, adds to the wear and tear of roads, and increases traffic congestion.

All of this increases the cost burden for taxpayers.

The goal of the report is to demonstrate to industry and governments, especially at the municipal level, that treating soil as a resource and reusing or recycling it makes environmental and economic sense. Significant savings can be achieved that can be better redirected towards other government and social priorities. The report consequently encourages the widespread adoption of the Government of Ontario’s 2014 document, Management of Excess Soil – A Guide for Best Management Practices (the Guide).

The report shares key recommendations for the improved management of excess soil in Ontario infrastructure projects, including the creation of a model by-law to promote the use of the Guide. The report also recommends that industry collect data to highlight opportunities for both government and businesses to prioritize the handling of excess soil. According to the report findings, responsibility and onus for www.esemag.com

Facts and figures • Surveyed projects were cumulatively valued at more than $330 million.

• Handling and disposal of excess soil averaged 14% of the total value.

• Over 75% of the projects needed more than 100 one-way trips, averaging almost 65 km to dispose of excess soil.

• Combined one-way travel distances to dispose of soil totalled more than 200,000 km.

• Importing virgin soil and/or granular materials resulted in an additional 115,000 km of haulage.

• All 24 projects are estimated to have released more than 300 tonnes of CO2 into the environment.

• Average savings would be 13% (or almost $1.8 million) for each project, if excavated soil had been reused.

• For all 24 projects, this would generate a savings of almost $43 million.

excess soil management should be placed on the Qualified Person (QP) and QP regulators must be involved in ensuring that QPs have the necessary qualifications to do so.

Engineers, designers, developers and builders of Ontario’s infrastructure, are all well suited to advance best management practices that promote the environmental, ecological and societal benefits of conserving natural resources such as soil.

For more information visit: www.ospe.on.ca

April 2017 | 59

SPECIAL FOCUS: STRETCHING MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE BUDGETS

Township saves money using innovative irrigation system for sports facility

By Lis Smith

F

ruitport Township, a small rural community, near the shores of Lake Michigan, needed a cost-effective way to keep the grass green on its eight-field soccer complex.

The conventional approach would have been to connect to the Muskegon County municipal water system, or install a deep vertical well. Another option was a high volume horizontal well system provided by DeWind Wells & DeWatering Inc. Horizontal wells capture shallow groundwater by utilizing perforated, corrugated tile covered by a filter sock to prevent sand from entering. It is installed in a shallow depth of up to six metres and strung out horizontally.

Typically, well length ranges from 130 to 300 metres.

The surface area for water collection in a horizontal well is much larger than a traditional vertical well, where only the very end of the well is open to collection of water. This broad collection surface allows for nearly cost-free high volume water recovery, after initial installation and pump power expenses.

Prior to the installation of a horizontal well, a testing crew determines if the soil and water conditions meet requirements. The testing involves installation of well points by augur or jetting methods. Optimal soil types will consist of fine to course well-graded sands or gravels.

Clay, silt or heavy organic soils should be avoided. Installation is recommended in areas where static water levels range from 30 cm to four metres below grade.

Once well points are installed, a simple test pump is done to verify that the soils produce adequate water. These tests will also help determine the recommended length of the horizontal well.

A shallow horizontal well captures non-potable water. This is a constantly renewing resource that is recharged by rainwater. Capturing water of this type 60 | April 2017

Top: Horizontal wells can be used for a number of irrigation purposes. Installation is recommended in areas where static water levels range from 30 cm to four metres below grade.

Right: A DeWind trencher installing a well tile.

to irrigate a soccer field or crops, avoids depleting the more valuable potable water in deeper aquifers, preserving it for human consumption.

In areas where water is already a precious commodity, a horizontal well provides an opportunity to supply irrigation water with little risk of reducing the amount available for direct human consumption.

Another benefit of a horizontal well is that several types of pumps based on preference and circumstance can be used. DeWind has installed submersible, centrifugal and line shaft turbine pumps on these systems, powered by diesel, natural gas or electricity.

The Fruitport Township soccer complex well consists of 100 metres of tile, connected to a steel vertical standpipe that extends 60 cm above grade. A submersible pump was selected and sized

according to the approved Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s water well assessment allowance of 450 litres per minute.

Fruitport Township’s Parks Manager Kenneth Hulka has reported that the soccer fields are watered six days a week from 9 pm to 10 am during the months of June, July and August. Based on conventional water supply rates, Hulka estimated that the system paid for itself in less than two seasons of use.

Lis Smith is with DeWind Wells & DeWatering Inc. She can be reached at 616-875-7580 or email: dewind@iserv.net

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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Proper coating is essential to extending water tank life

By Kevin Morris

W

A clean, well-maintained water tank serves as a welcoming community “billboard”.

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hen a municipal government’s budget tightens, asset protection projects are commonly cut.

However, certain projects should remain high on the priority list, such as highly visible water storage tanks, which need to convey a positive community image.

Consider taking a road trip on an unfamiliar highway and deciding it’s time to grab lunch. The next exit has a rusting water tank.

Are you going to stop for a meal in this town?

Probably not, as that dilapidated community “billboard” raises concerns about the town’s water quality. The detrimental economic impact resulting from a poorly maintained tank will not take long to show.

The exterior of a water storage tank is exposed to an extremely harsh service environment due to acid rain, industrial pollutants, salty coastal air, and ultraviolet light.

These elements attack protective coatings the moment they are cured. When these elements succeed, corrosion begins to form on the exterior of a tank. Then residents and passersby will make assumptions about the interior condition of the tank and the quality of the water inside.

To extend corrosion protection and maintenance timelines, while also ensuring a positive image of a high-quality tank and water source, municipalities can look to field-applied fluoropolymer chemistries

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for their tank exteriors. Such chemistries, which are common on prefinished metal roof panels, block UV light penetration and prevent coating degradation, thereby extending the life cycle of the applied coating film. Research has shown fluoropolymer coatings can provide a life expectancy improvement of approximately 19% over traditional exterior coatings in a moderate service environment, before 5% – 10% breakdown occurs.

ENHANCING INTERIOR COATING LIFE While a water tank’s interior is not visible to the public, it is even more critical to repair it sooner than the exterior, due to the constant presence of water which acts as the electrolyte needed to maintain corrosion. This corrosion can spread quickly, compromising the integrity of the tank and leaving the owner with a significant increase in repair costs if not addressed in a timely manner.

Two primary factors that limit the life cycle performance of an interior lining are: sufficient protection of edges and angles, and holidays, which are areas of insufficient film build and can go undetected during traditional testing.

PROTECTING EDGES AND ANGLES Lining failures on tank interiors commonly stem from failures on coated edges and angles due to the lack of sufficient dry film thickness (DFT) required to provide adequate protection. Traditional coatings have a natural tendency to shrink away from these sharp edges and will retain only about 40% of the film build achieved on surrounding flat surfaces. If the coating specification calls for 10 mils of average DFT, the edges and angles may only have 4 mils of average DFT. This makes them susceptible to early failure.

The development of edge retentive coatings has overcome this deficiency.

As defined by the MIL-PRF 23236C specification, such coatings must retain a minimum of 70% of their film build on sharp edges and angles. By these guidelines, a project specified at 10 mils DFT for flat surfaces would have 7 mils DFT in critical edge and angle areas.

A coating’s ability to meet the 70% www.esemag.com

DFT requirement is not a function of its volume of solids, but rather a function of rheology, or how the coating flows. For example, epoxies with 100% solids that have the ability to self-level in low areas in horizontal applications may still shrink away from the stress areas of edges and angles. Ultra-high solids coatings that

meet the MIL-PRF 23236C specification, regardless of their solids volume, will help ensure a sufficient DFT. Choosing the right coating and ensuring good application techniques are especially important due to challenges associated with testing. Industry standards continued overleaf...

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April 2017 | 63

Quality System Training for Laboratories

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CALA Training provides expert training on your laboratory quality system.

With on-site, classroom, virtual, and online courses, plus live and recorded webinars, we have your training needs covered.

See our website at http://www.cala.ca/training Coatings containing fluorescent pigments enhance the contrast of the coating compared to the substrate, enabling inspectors to detect any deficiencies easily.

10% OFF Use the code ESE2017 to get 10% off your next training course or webinar. *cannot be combined with other offers

www.cala.ca 64 | April 2017

do not allow common DFT gauges to be coating compared to the underlying placed close enough to an edge to deter- substrate to help spot insufficient film mine if the film build is sufficient. There- thickness, pinholes and holidays. That fore, such areas are not typically identified substrate may be the original surface in as non-compliant areas, when they may be. a single-coat application or a previous coat in a multi-coat application.

SEEING WHAT HAS BEEN MISSED Fluorescing pigments provide a visual The last thing a coatings manufacturer indication of poorly coated areas while wants is to be associated with a problem, the coating is wet, to help applicators and the last thing a paint contractor minimize areas of nonconformance prior wants is to miss a spot during applica- to inspection. After the coating has cured, tion that results in performing rework or inspectors can use an eye-safe LED flashfirst anniversary inspection repairs. Due light or larger inspection light to detect to inconsistent application techniques, any deficiencies easily. This allows the any portion of a cured coating system applicator to correct any areas of concern can have a thinner film build, pinhole or before the water tank is placed back into service. holiday that may cause early failure.

Most specifications attempt to overcome this issue by requiring various FREEING UP RESOURCES FOR coats to have contrasting colours so they OTHER NEEDS provide a visual indicator of improperly Choosing an exterior coating that coated areas. Such specifications also reduces the degradation caused by envistipulate using traditional testing meth- ronmental factors will help the commuods that are difficult to conduct, and nity improve its image for years to come. inspection tools that are tough to use in Eliminating the deficiencies that cause hard-to-reach areas, such as nuts, bolts, premature failures on the interior of the flanges and ladders. All of the effort put tank with edge retentive products and into ensuring the tank is protected by fluorescent pigments will extend the tank’s a coating application can be in vain, if maintenance cycle. These enhancements these areas corrode. can help a community keep its water tank To overcome the difficulties encoun- protected for a longer time, freeing up tered with traditional specifications funds for other municipal needs. and inspection tools, municipalities can instead specify coatings that contain Kevin Morris is with Sherwin-Williams fluorescent pigments. The fluorescing Protective & Marine Coatings. Email: pigments enhance the contrast of the Kevin.L.Morris@sherwin.com Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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Denso 66 | April 2017

Monitor chemical usage and contain spills

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Sludge Thickening

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Bioretention System

The Filterra Bioretention System is a Low Impact Development (LID) technology, which demonstrates high volume/ flow treatment and high pollutant removal. Its small footprint allows it to be used on highly developed sites such as landscaped areas, parking lots and streetscapes. Filterra is exceedingly adaptable and can be used alone or in combination with other BMPs. T: (416) 960-9900 F: (416) 960-5637 E: info@imbriumsystems.com W: www.imbriumsystems.com

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Stormwater Treatment

A Jellyfish Filter treating 0.15 ha of urban drainage area was incorporated within the building envelope, supplied under license by the Langley Concrete Group.

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Pilot Air Stripper Unit

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April 2017 | 67

PRODUCT & SERVICE SHOWCASE Stairways for underground access

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The unique, open pleat geometry and 600 cm2 surface area of Waterra’s High Turbidity FHT-45 offers the most surface area available in a capsule-type filter today. High quality polyethersulphone 0.45 micron filter media provides maximum exposure and excellent particle retention above the target micron size range, while ensuring that you will not lose filtration media to blinding.

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68 | April 2017

Waterra HS-2 Oil/Water Interface Sensors utilize the most advanced technology available today for hydrocarbon product layer measurement. These sophisticated ultrasonic sensors are more sensitive in a broader range of hydrocarbon products than conventional optical systems. The HS-2 line includes innovative design features, compactness, portability and reliability — all at a competitive price. Available in imperial/metric and open/closed reel formats.

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Waterra’s portable, electrically operated Hydrolift-2 inertial pump actuator will eliminate the fatigue that can be experienced on large monitoring programs and will result in a big boost to your field sampling program.

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

ES&E NEWS ES&E NEWS NEW ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY REGULATIONS WILL REQUIRE MORE INFORMATION ON SUBSTANCES

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) recently announced that it is in the process of finalizing new federal Environmental Emergency Regulations, designed to improve emergency management for 49 additional substances.

The regulations, which are expected to be completed by late 2017, will require companies or persons who own or manage specified toxic and hazardous substances to provide required information on the substance(s), their quantities, and to prepare and implement environmental emergency plans.

In addition, the proposed regulations will contain strengthened provisions requiring that the public and public safety organizations be notified of the possibility and potential consequences of an environmental emergency and the measures that would be taken by the regulated party to protect human health and the environment.

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CANADA AND ONTARIO LAUNCH DRAFT ACTION PLAN TO REDUCE HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS IN LAKE ERIE

The government of Canada and the province of Ontario have released a draft action plan to help reduce high amounts of phosphorus and the growth of toxic and nuisance algae in Lake Erie.

According to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, reducing the amount of phosphorus entering Lake Erie is the best way to minimize algal blooms, which can be harmful to human health and the environment.

While phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plant and animal life, scientists have identified that excess phosphorus is the cause of algal blooms in the lake.

Phosphorus enters Lake Erie from many sources, including runoff from urban centres, agricultural lands, sewage treatment plants, airborne particles, septic systems and industrial discharges.

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www.esemag.com

April 2017 | 69

ES&E NEWS be taken by the governments of Canada are encouraged to comment on the draft and of Ontario, municipalities, conser- action plan before May 9, 2017. This input vation authorities, Indigenous commu- will inform the final action plan for the nities, and partners in key sectors, such Canadian side of Lake Erie. as agriculture and industry, to achieve www.news.ontario.ca the goal of reducing phosphorus in Lake Erie by 40%.

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MOECC TO FINALIZE NEW EXCESS SOIL MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) recently announced its decision to proceed and finalize Ontario’s comprehensive new Excess Soil Management Policy Framework.

According to the MOECC, the final framework embraces two key goals to: protect human health and the environment from inappropriate relocation of excess soil; and, enhance opportunities for the beneficial reuse of excess soil and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with the movement of excess soil.

The final framework includes: • Principles to guide policy and program development; • Recognition that excess soil should be treated as a resource; • A description of existing policy and current roles and responsibilities; • Policy needs, actions and priorities.

Overall, the framework, which is part of a package of brownfields reforms, will shift more responsibility onto the generator of excess soil (the source site) to better plan for appropriate reuse of soil and to track and record excess soil from source to reuse. www.ebr.gov.on.ca

ENDRESS+HAUSER ACQUIRES SENSACTION

Endress+Hauser has acquired SensAction AG, a manufacturer of systems for measuring the concentration of liquids. It said the acquisition will expand its range of products for measuring quality parameters.

The systems from SensAction measure the concentration of liquids with the help of surface acoustic waves, which are high frequency sound waves whose behaviour can be compared to seismic waves created by earthquakes. By analyzing the transmission time and amplitude, the acoustic parameters of the liquid, such as sound wave velocity, impedance and density, can be measured in order to quickly and precisely determine the concentration. Because they contain no moving parts, the systems are mainteEnvironmental Science & Engineering Magazine

ES&E NEWS ES&E NEWS nance-free and do not suffer from wear- government on new policy options to and-tear. support the industry and build on a The acquisition of SensAction will program begun in 2006. be effective retroactively from January The grant recipients all produce 1, 2017. Both parties have agreed to not biofuels, electricity, heat or wood pellets disclose the details of the transaction. that help make greenhouse gas reducwww.ca.endress.com tions in Alberta. The grants are production-based, meaning money is provided based on how much bioenergy each GE WATER ACQUIRED BY SUEZ company generates. All types of bioenergy are funded at the same rate.

AND CDPQ SUEZ, together with Caisse de dépôt Of the facilities getting money, three et placement du Québec (CDPQ), has are under construction. According to entered into a binding agreement to the provincial government, this means purchase GE Water & Process Technol- new jobs and over $200 million in new ogies (GE Water) from General Electric investment. The grants will help keep Company for €3.2 billion ($4.54 billion 1.5 megatonnes of emissions out of the CAD) enterprise value in an all-cash air. According to the Alberta governtransaction. The deal will see SUEZ and ment, the province’s bioenergy industry CDPQ acquiring 100% of GE Water in powers the equivalent of 200,000 homes. a 70/30 joint venture. CDPQ is a long- The industry contributes about $800 term institutional investor that manages million to Alberta’s economy. funds primarily for public and para-pubwww.alberta.ca lic pension and insurance plans. The new business will operate under the SUEZ brand.

SUEZ said the integration of GE Water will widen its systems and service offerings, optimize its operations in manufacturing supply chain, engineering and service deliveries, and assist SUEZ’s other businesses, notably in the areas of recycling and resources, and energy recovery. The transaction is expected to close by mid-2017 and is subject to regulatory approval.

PEI SEEKS PUBLIC INPUT ON DRAFT WATER ACT

Prince Edward Island released draft legislation after a thorough first round of consultation with Islanders. On March 16, 2017, the government launched the second round of public consultation.

The draft Water Act is composed of existing and new legislation and includes purpose and goals, a new program to monitor the quantity and quality of water resources, and a new public registry for all water-related approvals. It is broken down into several key sections including: protection of water; water management areas; water withdrawals and wastewater discharges; water and wastewater disposal systems; offences and penalties; and, regulations.

Public feedback can be provided online on the Water Act web page or at public consultation sessions across PEI. www.princeedwardisland.ca

www.suez-environnement.com

ALBERTA PROVIDING SUPPORT TO 31 BIOENERGY COMPANIES

The government of Alberta is committing $60-million to its Bioenergy Producer Program that it says will support 500 direct jobs and help companies succeed in the province’s low-carbon future. The money for this grant will come from carbon revenues.

Bioenergy is low-carbon energy or fuel made from agricultural products such as crops and livestock waste. Through the program, 31 companies will receive short-term funding to support the low-carbon industry. The funding will keep operations going while a third-party adviser and other stakeholders advise www.esemag.com

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April 2017 | 71

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2014-11-12

METRO VANCOUVER ANNOUNCES $700M WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT ON NORTH SHORE

The new Lions Gate Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant, estimated to cost approximately $700 million, will be relocated from the Squamish Nation Reserve to a new Metro Vancouver-owned site in the District of North Vancouver.

The new facility will replace the 55-year old existing Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant, which provides primary treatment. New federal regulations require that wastewater treatment on the North Shore be upgraded from primary treatment to secondary treatment.

According to Greg Moore, Metro Vancouver board chair and mayor of Port Coquitlam, the Lions Gate Second10:29ary AM Wastewater Treatment Plant will incorporate leading-edge technologies in integrated resource recovery, greenhouse gas reductions and energy use. www.metrovancouver.org

VILLAGE OF WESTPORT FINED FOR OWRA VIOLATION

Engineers and Environmental Consultants 1-800-265-9662 www.rjburnside.com 72 | April 2017 RJBurnside-JulyAug2014.indd 1

The Corporation of the Village of Westport pleaded guilty to one offence and was fined $10,000 for operating a sewage treatment plant without adhering to conditions of ministry approval, contrary to the Ontario Water Resources Act (OWRA).

The Village has a population of approximately 700 residents and owns and operates a snowfluent sewage treatment plant.

This pumps raw sewage during the winter months from two storage lagoons into towers fitted with nozzles, while adding compressed air to make snow.

The Village operates the system under an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) issued by the ministry. The Village is required to ensure that the sewage treatment plant and related equipment is properly operated and maintained.

According to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, the winter of 2013/2014 was long and cold, ideal for making snowfluent in the Westport area.

The Village failed to process enough snowfluent due to improper operation and a lack of maintenance. As a result, Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

2014-06-20 12:10 PM

ES&E NEWS ES&E NEWS it found itself in an emergency situation in the spring, with lagoons in danger of overflowing and lacking the capacity for the spring, summer and fall months.

On April 25, 2014, the ministry issued an order permitting the Village to conduct a controlled discharge of sewage.

The matter was referred to the ministry’s Investigations and Enforcement Branch and following an investigation charges were laid. On November 30, 2016, the Corporation of the Village of Westport was convicted of one offence, was fined $10,000 plus a victim fine surcharge of $2,500. www.news.ontario.ca

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2016-02-01 9:42 AM

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has announced that Air North Charter and Training Ltd. will pay a penalty of $80,000 after it continued overleaf...

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April 2017 | 73

Advertiser INDEX

Company Page ACG Technology ..................................... 75 Associated Engineering........................... 24 Atlas Copco Compressors........................ 29 AWI.......................................................... 17 AWWA...................................................... 65 Blue-White............................................... 11 CALA........................................................ 64 Can-Am Instruments................................ 33 Cancoppas............................................... 43 Chemline Plastics.................................... 18 Delta Remediation................................... 49 Denso ........................................................ 8 Endress + Hauser...................................... 5 Engineered Pump.................................... 22 Envirocan ............................................... 75 Festo........................................................ 35 Flottweg..................................................... 7 Flowmetrix............................................... 61 Geneq...................................................... 45

ES&E NEWS acknowledged responsibility for a diesel spill near the Porcupine River in Old Crow, Yukon.

Following an investigation by ECCC’s enforcement officers, Air North was charged with a violation of the Fisheries Act related to the deposit of a substance harmful to fish, in an area where it could have entered fish-bearing waters. The spill took place on September 23, 2014.

As part of the agreement, Air North will: pay a total penalty of $80,000, which will be used to remediate or improve the environment; publicly acknowledge and accept full responsibility for the fuel spill; improve their training, practices, and procedures for fuel delivery, including spill responses, to meet the industry standard, at a minimum; and carry out cleanup and remediation of the spill site and confirm that it has been completed to the satisfaction of Environment Yukon. www.ec.gc.ca

Greatario.................................................. 54 Greyline................................................... 37 H2Flow .................................................... 18 Hoskin Scientific................................ 19, 40 Huber Technology.................................... 47 Hydro International.................................. 55 HydroFLOW Canada................................. 51 Imbrium Systems....................................... 2 Kemira..................................................... 58 KG Services............................................. 27 KSB Pumps.............................................. 53 Master Meter ............................................ 3 MSU Mississauga.................................... 15 NETZSCH Canada..................................... 34 Ontario Clean Water Agency.................... 76 Orival....................................................... 31 Parsons.................................................... 16 Pro Aqua.................................................... 9 Smith & Loveless..................................... 23 Stantec.................................................... 45 Troy-Ontor............................................... 48 USF Fabrication....................................... 22 Victaulic................................................... 12 W.I.S.E. Environmental............................ 25 Waterra............................ 13, 36, 42, 57, 73 WEFTEC................................................... 63 Xylem....................................................... 21

74 | April 2017

WRF RELEASES A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR WATER AGENCIES

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) has released Blueprint for One Water, a practical guide for agencies seeking to manage water resources holistically and sustainably. One Water is an integrated planning and implementation approach to managing finite water resources for long-term resilience and reliability, meeting both community and ecosystem needs.

“The One Water approach is gaining prominence for its ability to move communities toward reliable and resilient water systems, but many utilities have expressed the need for tactical steps or guidance to develop a One Water framework,” said Rob Renner, chief executive officer of WRF. “Our goal with this blueprint is to give agencies the tools they need to get started, which we hope will lead to more widespread adoption and implementation.”

The blueprint features lessons learned from early One Water adopters, plus spotlights on how visionary leaders are successfully applying the concept, along with recommendations for integrating a multi-stakeholder process. The blueprint includes: • Critical steps and important actions

toward the development of a One Water framework.

• Methods for overcoming potential barriers and obstacles.

• Key outcomes and milestones for each critical step.

• Over a dozen case studies of One Water early adopters.

Brown and Caldwell developed the blueprint, with input from over 800 water professionals who participated in an international survey, more than 10 one-on-one interviews, and a two day international workshop with 35 water professionals.

“With increasing uncertainties and challenges influencing the quantity and quality of this critical resource, utilities must commit to new ways of thinking to maintain reliable and resilient water systems,” said Wendy Broley of Brown and Caldwell. “Many utilities implement One Water projects by starting small and building on successes, having discovered that as they innovate, others follow their lead. The Blueprint for One Water guidance document is a valuable starting point for this work to begin.” www.waterrf.org

Allegro AMI and Harmony MDM

Allegro™ Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) for water utilities is a powerful meter data platform providing fully automated meter consumption reporting and Revenue Impact Alerts™ for leaks, theft, tamper, and flow anomalies. Harmony Meter Data Management (MDM) Software uses Allegro data to help utilities address non-revenue water, and empower ratepayers to self-manage their water consumption behavior through real-time data sharing, budgeting and leak notifications via secure web portal, and our My Water Advisor™ app for iPhone and Android.

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Trust.

It flows from experience & commitment.

Coming from Ontario, land of freshwater, perhaps our dedication to water quality and innovation shouldn’t be surprising. The Ontario Clean Water Agency has earned a world-class reputation in the operation of clean water and wastewater facilities.

Collaboration flows through everything we do. If you’d like to discuss your municipality’s needs, whatever the size, wherever you are, we look forward to talking with you.

For sales enquiries call 1-855-358-1488 or visit www.ocwa.com.

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