Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine (ESEMAG) June 2017

JUNE 2017 www.esemag.com

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CONTENTS

June 2017 • Vol. 30 No. 3 • ISSN-0835-605X

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

38

EDITORIAL FOCUS

Climate Change and Infrastructure Design BONUS CONVENTION CIRCULATION AT:

26

• Georgian Bay Water Works Association

12

• Western Ontario Water Works Association

FEATURES 6 10 12 14 16 20 26 46 50 52 54 56 57

Reflections on engineering excellence in the 21st century Craft brewery chooses MBBR for its wastewater treatment Statscan reports that the majority of households treat their drinking water World Water Day is worth paying attention to year round Sharing Canadian flushable wipe lessons with Japan’s wastewater sector Standardization was key to updating aging SCADA system for water and wastewater utility Aerobic granular sludge system cuts plant footprint and energy use substantially Understanding the expanding universe of biogas utilization Collaboration and ingenuity lead to industrial wastewater solution 3-D cloth doubles filtration flow while keeping same pore size How will Saskatchewan’s new siting guidelines impact wind energy developers?

Challenges and opportunities for Canadian consulting engineering firms New technology allows spot specific piping repair

SPECIAL SECTION

31 32 36 37 38 40 43 45

Containing truck and rail car transfer spills Long-term rehabilitation of a 90 year old water reservoir Meat packing plant uses multiple tanks for its new WWTP Spill filtration key to maintaining berm capacity Cathodic protection recommended to protect glass-fused-to-steel water tanks Innovations in polyethylene chemical storage tanks Automatic control valves can help safely maintain tank and reservoir levels Cover Story : How Lethbridge’s decommissioned water tower became a local landmark

4 | June 2017

July 17, 2017

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GUEST COMMENT BY PETER J. LAUGHTON

Peter Laughton addressing an annual luncheon of the Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers.

Reflections on engineering excellence in the 21st Century

neers, I would like to share the following excerpts from my 1997 address, which I believe are still sound and relevant today: “Some qualities may never be part of future course work material and may not be the subject of direct examination n June 1997, I delivered a convocation need for sustainability. grade as you move on in life. I am speakaddress to engineering graduates of • Stress the need to hone analytical ing about dedication, integrity and hard all disciplines at Ryerson Polytechnic skills to meet the challenges of complex work. These are the basic ingredients for University (now Ryerson University), problem solving. your professional reputation, and hence, titled: Towards Engineering Excellence in • Address the issue of climate change your status in the engineering community. the 21st Century. and the necessity for graduates to partic“As you enter the business world, the Given that some 20 years have passed, ipate in this area. They need to bring immediate challenge will be to apply I took this anniversary as an opportunity about a concrete resolution, with fore- your acquired skills. However, it must be to review and reflect on the relevance seeable tangible results. Thus, they will recognized that the next millennium will of the convocation address in today’s leave a constructive legacy for our time belong to those engineers who are willsetting. I concluded that I would deliver and for future millennia. ing to embrace and accept rapid change, a similar address today to young gradu- • Emphasize the need to actively support who know where they are going, who are ating engineers, with text reference to the and become involved in associations extremely competent and knowledgeable current millennium. However, in doing and societies related to one’s engineering in their area of expertise, and, as well, to those who strive for a high standard of so, the following would be included: discipline.

• Expand, emphasize and stress today’s For those of you who are in the early excellence.

“As a leader and a strategic thinker, environmental issues before us. throes of your engineering careers and • Expand, emphasize and stress the for those who are mentoring young engicontinued overleaf...

I

6 | June 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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GUEST COMMENT BY PETER J. LAUGHTON

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

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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.

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A Supporting Publication of

8 | June 2017

you must be a team player in multi-disciplined situations and you must be able to demonstrate a high level of understanding of social, economic and environmental issues.

“Your success as an engineer will also be tied directly to your communication skills. This skillset must be honed to the same degree as your technical and business skills.

“The aforementioned attributes will not be an option but an absolute necessity – they are inextricably linked.

“In an increasingly complex and demanding world, you must be flexible and prepared to rethink and readjust your goals. We are living in an era of dramatic changes that are taking place in all aspects of society. The sweeping changes in the marketplace are global and they are affecting the everyday lives of us all. The economies of the world are undergoing major transformations.

“Canada and Canadians must compete in the global economy to prosper.

As we rapidly undergo this shift to globalization, it will be necessary for engineers, in the coming century, to further expand the societal dimensions of their work and to resolve challenges through holistic approaches.

“During a recent trip, I was browsing through a copy of a prominent airline inflight magazine and came across the following statement which I think addresses the importance of remaining on this cutting edge: ‘Technology is reshaping our lives, and those who miss even one step are in danger of never catching up.’

“A commitment to keeping pace with advances in technology will be a prerequisite requirement for success in the next century. It has been said that the best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today.

“In order to see us through this global transformation and to maintain our country as one of the best places in the world to live, it will be your responsibility, in the next century, not to just identify problems and solutions but to bring about concrete results. You must follow up on ‘work of conviction’ to bring about tangible results and in doing so leave a legacy of constructive change.

“You and other members of your generation will inherit and have entrusted to you a key role in the stewardship of our society. I would urge you to demonstrate leadership and initiative now and establish realistic and achievable goals that will lead to a sustainable society, thus ensuring a sustainable future for all Canadians. There will be continued concern for the environment on the local, national and global level, which will extend well into the next century.

“In closing, I would like to stress the need to share a common direction and sense of community with those around us. An author once wrote and if I may paraphrase: When you see geese heading south for the winter flying along in a ‘V’ formation, it has been learned that as each bird flaps its wings, it creates uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a ‘V’ formation, the whole flock adds greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

“The translation explained was that people who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are travelling on the thrust of one another.”

Peter J. Laughton, M.Eng., B.A., Ph.D. (Honoris Causa), P.Eng., BCEE, FCSCE, is a retired consulting engineer, a past president of the Water Environment Association of Ontario and long time member of ES&E Magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board. Email: p.laughton@rogers.com

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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WASTEWATER

Ottawa area craft brewery chooses MBBR for its wastewater treatment

I

n recent years, the number of small craft breweries has greatly increased and so has the wastewater generated by brewers. As for all other food and beverage sectors, effluents from microbreweries are regulated and required to meet wastewater discharge regulations.

In terms of treatment efficiency, footprint and cost, very few wastewater treatment technologies prove to be up to the challenge, which in part explains why most microbreweries discharge raw effluent to a municipal wastewater treatment plant, instead of having a dedicated on-site treatment system.

CHALLENGES In April 2015, the Cartwright Springs Brewery, together with its representative Fieldstone Engineering, was looking for a solution for treating wastewater generated by its newly constructed microbrewery, located in Pakenham, Ontario, west of Ottawa. The brewery production capacity was limited to 2,000 L/week, which suggested that wastewater generation would be approximately 10,000 L/ week. The wastewater to be treated was a combination of all the streams: the yeast dump and mash dump (i.e., high strength, low pH), wash water (i.e., low strength, high pH), and domestic wastewater from the pub (950 L/day). The combined flow after seven days of equalization was estimated to be 2,380 L/day.

Top: The system was put into operation in July 2015 and has performed extremely well since then. Right: Installing the MBBR System.

SOLUTION After an extensive sampling campaign bed. To benefit from lower electricity performed by the engineering firm on rates, the treatment unit integrated a similar installations, the EcoprocessTM smart control strategy that made operMoving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) ating mainly at night possible, whenever from Premier Tech Aqua was selected. the incoming wastewater flow was lower The objective-based design was for the than the one set for the design. combined streams to be pretreated to primary domestic effluent (i.e., BOD: 100 RESULTS mg/L to 180 mg/L) and then discharged The system was put into operation in by gravity to a leaching bed. Treatment July 2015 and has performed extremely included a balancing tank, septic tank, well since then. BOD concentration at MBBR units (two stages), final clarifier the inlet varies between 1,500 mg/L and with sludge management, and leaching 2,500 mg/L, and laboratory results show 10 | June 2017

a steady removal rate of 99%.

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WATER

StatsCan reports that the majority of households treat their drinking water

I

n 2015, close to 51% of Canadian households used at least one method to treat drinking water, regardless of whether their water came from a municipal water supply or not. A slight decrease was noted in comparison with 2013, when 53% of households treated their water.

Households in Newfoundland and Labrador (65%) were most likely to treat their drinking water before using it, while Quebec households (39%) were least likely to do so.

Among census metropolitan areas (CMAs), households in Winnipeg (73%), Barrie (68%) and Calgary (65%) were most likely to treat their water. Conversely,

this was less common in Windsor (42%), Québec (35%) and Sherbrooke (25%)

TREATMENT METHODS AND REASONS Households treated their drinking water for a variety of reasons, including 45% who did so for aesthetic reasons (taste, appearance or odour) and 37% to remove chemicals (such as chlorine). As well, households treated their water to eliminate potential bacteria (30%), soften hard water (19%) and remove metals (26%).

Of the different methods used to treat their water), followed by on-tap filters water, jug filters were the most common (18%), boiling water to make it safe to (25% of Canadian households that treated drink (12%), and water filters installed directly on the main supply pipe (9%).

HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS Specific characteristics can influence the likelihood that a household will treat its drinking water. Having a private water source, rather than a municipal source is a major factor influencing the method of water treatment. For example, 6% of households connected to a municipal system had a filter on the main supply pipe, while 37% of households with other sources of water had such a system. This difference could be attributed to uncertainty associated with the quality of water coming from a private source that hasn’t already been treated, such as water from a municipal system.

Households that owned their dwellings were more likely (55%) to treat their water than those that did not (38%). Homeowners used tap filters more frequently than non-owners (22% versus 7%) and were more likely to use filters on the main supply pipe (11% of owners versus 3% of non-owners).

Households with children were also more likely to treat their water. For instance, 48% of adult-only households treated their water, compared with 56% of households with children. The use

12 | June 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Sustainable Ecosystems

Soil retaining system helps urban trees reach difference was most obvious with the Reasons households maturity By Eric Keshavarzi The use of on-tap filters. Ten percent of the treat water

G

reen infrastructure and sustainability goals are of increasing importance, and achieving them requires technical knowledge and training in varied fields. Integration of soil and trees into urban areas substantially improves sustainability and helps alleviate some of our most pressing ecological challenges.

These include air and water quality, rising temperatures, flooding and erosion from daily rainfall events.

The West Don Lands, in Toronto, Ontario, is a community that is people focused, family friendly, environmentally sustainable and beautifully designed for living. It has a Stage 1 LEED ND GOLD certification under the pilot program established by the U.S. Green Building of on-tap filters was more common in Council. households withsustainable children; 24% used this One notable component, type of filter, compared with 16% adultutilized in the design of the area’s of streets, only households. is a soil retaining system called Silva Households higher annual Cells™.

Typicalwith urban treestotal in the city incomes had a tendency to treat their core die after approximately seven years. water differently than help thoseextend with lower However, Silva Cells their incomes.

For example, 43% of houselife spans, thus promoting the growth of holds with an trees. income of less than $60,000 mature street perAlthough year treated theirof water, the City Torontocompared had preto 50% of households earning between viously used Silva Cells as part of a $60,000 and $100,000 and 58% of those stormwater management pilot program in earning more than perof year.

The Queensway, their$100,000 use as part site

lowest-income households and 27% of the highest-income households relied on In 2015, close to 51 per cent of this method to treat their water.

Canadian households used at least The age of a dwelling is another factor one method to treat drinking water. that influenced the likelihood of drinking water being treated. Practices tended Aesthetic reasons (taste, to differ mostly between households with % appearance or odour) homes built before 1995 and those with newer dwellings. While 47% of households with older homes used some kind of water treatment method, 62% of those Remove chemicals with newer dwellings did the same. The % (such as chlorine) difference lies mainly in the use of on-tap filters in newer houses (29%) compared to dwellings built before 1995 (15%).

45 37

BOIL WATER ADVISORIES

Installation of Silva Cells in Mill Street.

Having been under a boil water advi-

sory within the previous 12the months had development is new.

In fact, West Don aLands substantial bearing on the likelihood of streets are the first in a Toronto asubdivision householdtotreating its water, particube designed with this syslarlyinstalled by boilingunder it. In parking total, approximately tem lay-bys and 10% of Canadian households indicated sidewalks. thatMill theyStreet had was beenthe issued a boil water first subdivision advisory in 2015.

Of these households, street in Toronto to be designed to include 60% boiled their water.

Other this soil retaining system.

As practices the lead were also used during boil adviengineering consultant, R.Vwater .Anderson sories.

For example, 65% of households Associates coordinated all plans and specdrank bottled water and 12% filtered ifications with the landscape architect. their water.About Silva Cells Silva Cells are a plastic/fiberglass Reprinted permission structure ofwith columns and beams that supfrom Statistics Canada. port paving above un-compacted planting

30%

Eliminate potential bacteria

soil. The structure has 92% void space Remove metals and is a stable surface for the installation of vehicle loaded-pavements. % When properly installed, they can achieve an AASHTO H-20 load rating.

Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code Soften hard water loading can also be achieved through ap% propriate design. This is the required load rating for structures such as underground vaults, covers and grates in areas of traffic including sidewalks and parking lots.

The cell structure transfers the force to a base layer below the structure.

Soil within the cells remains at low compaction rates, thereby creating ideal

26 19

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine June 2017 | 13

WATER

World Water Day is worth paying attention to year round

By Connie Zehr

H

ave you heard of the “Sludge to Energy “plant in Xiangyang, China, the restoration of the Balkans “Lake of Apples”, or water pollution controls in Bangladesh’s textile industry?

If you’d like to broaden your awareness of global issues, take just a little time to browse through one of the United Nations World Water Day websites, hosted by the UN Water Group.

World Water Day is an annual awareness project, officially celebrated on March 22, but worthy of our attention all year round.

The United Nations has generated global Sustainable Development Goals, also called Seventeen Goals to Transform our World, first widely publicized in 2015.

Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation for All) is an ambitious target to provide everyone on Earth with access to safe water by 2030. This is a challenge considering that, at present, about one-third of the world’s population cannot claim this basic right. Contaminated water affects the health of millions, who may contract polio, typhoid, dysentery and cholera, or spend hours a day managing their water supply.

In addition to the perennial need for sustainable drinking water treatment and sanitation, the UN reminds us that water scarcity looms on the horizon for many global citizens as the climate changes.

As professionals in environmental engineering and ecology, we are well aware of the scope and extent of these important challenges but don’t always get to celebrate progress toward improvements. Every year UN-Water publishes resources and success stories from around the world on specific subtopics related to Goal 6. Recent clean water and sanitation themes have included Water and Energy (2014), Water and Sustainable Development (2015), and Water and Jobs (2016).

The 2017 theme is Wastewater and the website has useful background documents written for the general public. Several projects are profiled, including the St. Petersburg, Florida, dual distribution system for reclaimed water, the on-site wastewater treatment at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam (functionally equivalent to a city of 45,000 people) or the use of desalination technology to reclaim mining wastewater in South Africa.

Other links are for specialists and lead to technical sites (Antimicrobial Resistance), research agencies (Isotope Hydrology), or projects like the training of water chemists in Bihar, India.

TV Ontario’s “Down in the Sewer” flushables video and the position paper on energy and water sponsored by AWWA and WEF are both included in this year’s theme. Others involve 14 | June 2017

tropical issues like irrigation water concerns, Brazil’s wastewater challenges, or the dry lake in Colombia that was recovered with recycled water.

Here are a few suggestions to inspire your own learning or enliven events with clients, coworkers, tour groups or presentation audiences: • Jazz up a bulletin board with a downloadable poster. There are sharp infographics and colourful images in a variety of languages.

• Use the Instagram and Facebook links for a quick electronic visit to a new location. www.instagram.com/un_water/ • Across the globe, how much wastewater flows back to nature untreated? Spend 50 seconds with colourful video on the topic. https://youtu.be/UrJhsH0Sz_o • Try the new wastewater calculation app or add an animation to a presentation. www.worldwaterday.org/the-wastewater-calculator/ • How many of the glamourous celebrities (other than Shania Twain) for safe water do you recognize? www.worldwaterday. org/5414-2/ • Notice or celebrate World Toilet Day (Nov 19).

Connie Zehr is with the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Centennial College in Toronto. For more information, email: czehr@centennialcollege.ca, or visit www.worldwaterday.org Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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WASTEWATER

Sharing flushable wipe lessons with Japan

By Barry Orr

T

he City of London, Ontario (pop.

380,000), has 2,500 businesses and institutions such as restaurants, hospitals and groceries stores in need of grease interceptors (GIs). Eight years ago, I started investigating compliance with our sewer use by-law.

The City had about 40% of all its sewer clogs from fats, oils and grease (FOG), leading to emergency calls and raw sewage overflows. Working with our sewer operations team, we succeeded in eliminating these clogs and have not had a blocked sewer main related to FOG in three years.

London has sewer use by-laws that state animal and vegetable oil must not exceed 100mg/l. In the case of storm drains, the permit is 15mg/l. Violators can be charged $10,000 – $100,000, depending on the number of repeated offences. This type of by-law is quite common in municipalities.

The key to success is education and enforcement combined. To do that, inspecting grease interceptors is a must.

I work together with the health unit, the London fire department and building department for successful compliance with the waste discharge by-law WM-16.

Unless all departments’ inspection needs are met, a business licence is not granted. This ensures proper service and functioning of GIs. Working jointly with the fire department, we developed a cup for proper FOG collection and disposal. To date, we have handed out 75,000 of them to residents. The cup has two messages, one for fire protection and another for protection of sewers and the environment. People can either dispose of a full cup of FOG as garbage or bring them to four depots for clean energy power production. Currently around 25% of the FOG cups are returned to the depots.

I have also participated in many community outreach programs, research with students, and exhibits at trade shows, hospitals and schools, etc. I have also done a lot to inform food facility owners 16 | June 2017

Barry Orr with the Japan Sewage Works Association team.

on how to clean GIs, by making videos and explaining Best Management Practices. I have personally inspected most of the 2,500 facilities in London.

Tickets have been issued to both businesses and individuals for illegal discharge of FOGs to storm drain, or for not installing or maintaining a suitable device to prevent FOGs from entering the sewer system. Those individuals were charged after an official letter was sent to them from the City.

I am known to restaurant owners as a fair enforcement officer, but somebody who really cares about the environment.

In the beginning of our program, many restaurant managers would communicate with each other that the City was inspecting GIs and would scramble to make sure their GI had been serviced. I always try to encourage the many food preparation sites to comply with the by-law in good faith. My reputation now is of someone who cares about the many businesses just as much as the sewer system infrastructure.

Canada has a national standard (CSA B481), both for structures and operation and maintenance of GIs. For source control, utility professionals need to be involved to develop the standard. Our by-law refers to service frequency and criteria for sediments and FOG in our national GI standard. The Ontario building code requires CSA B481-approved grease interceptors for all installations.

FLUSHABLE PRODUCTS Now, my biggest problem is “flushable products” (FPs), especially wipes. The FPs and non-flushable products together clog house drains, sewers, pumps, screens and grinders, while increasing the amount of removed garbage at treatment facilities.

For the last 15 years, FP sales have grown greatly in North America. There are two reasons why we face this big problem.

One, consumers mistakenly or unknowingly flush away non-flushable products in their toilets. We are negotiating with the manufacturers’ associcontinued overleaf...

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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ation and individual companies to put clear logos on their non-flushable products. Fine print on packages alone does not work. However, we are facing difficulty in having the manufacturers put on proper logos.

Another reason is that the FPs themselves are made of non-dispersible in water substrates. Plastics and regenerated cellulose such as rayon and lyocell

are used. Regenerated celluloses seem to biodegrade in activated sludge tests, but they do not degrade in a sewer environment where microbes are much fewer.

To deal with this issue, Canada has proposed ISO standardization on flushable products. In the case of FPs, they are traded beyond national boundaries and the big manufacturers are international. Therefore, an international stan-

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I was honored to have an opportunity to visit Japan in January 2017 to share my experience in sewer operations with Japan Sewage Works Association members (JSWA). Before I came to Japan, I heard the FP problem was minor because Japanese FPs are highly dispersible. However, when I visited a wastewater treatment plant in Yokohama, I found non-woven material in the screenings. An operator confided in me that clogging of pumps is a problem.

Furthermore, I found wipes hanging on plants along a river in a world heritage city. They probably came out of a sewer as part of combined sewer overflows..

What amazed me most is that baby wipes are sold as flushable in Japan.

In the west, baby wipes are sold as non-flushable. Because baby wipes and nursing wipes need strength to clean up feces, western manufacturers do not sell them as flushable. However, it is true that Japan has highly dispersible wipes made of only natural cellulose. This is unique to Japan and could put pressure on western manufacturers to follow suit through Japanese participation in ISO. But, Japan needs non-flushable products to have clear logos to avoid consumer misuse, and that baby wipes not be sold as flushable in line with international practice. I hope Canada and Japan continue to work together in ISO for protection of our sewers and the environment.

refuse-to-fuse.com © 2017 VICTAULIC COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

A poster from the Tokyo sewerage museum.

18 | June 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

CONCLUSIONS What impressed me most during my stay in Japan were the sewer museums with educational and interactive exhibits. I visited the ones in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. In Yokohama, the wastewater treatment plant I visited had space for educational displays, although it was not a stand-alone museum.

Another impressive thing was the beautiful manhole covers. They help draw attention to sewers, even from those who have no interest in sewers and the environment.

Canada does not have such museums and displays. But, they would be very useful in raising citizens’ awareness of controlling the problems from fats, oils and grease and flushable products, and stressing that “toilets are not garbage cans!”

Barry Orr is Sewer Outreach and Control Inspector with the City of London, Ontario. Email: borr@london.ca

City of Yokohama wastewater treatment plant.

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June 2017 | 19

INSTRUMENTATION

Standardization key to updating aging SCADA for water and wastewater utility

By Trihedral Engineering and MPE Engineering

S

trathcona County, Alberta, is comprised of several thriving communities with over 98,000 residents within the Edmonton Metropolitan Area. Their utilities department is responsible for the operations and maintenance of the water and wastewater systems located within Sherwood Park and in various rural hamlets throughout the County.

In 2016, the County decided to replace their aging SCADA software system that was no longer supported by the vendor.

Inconsistent tag naming made it frustrating to develop and the lack of continuity in the displays made it confusing to operate. Access to historical data was time-consuming and remote access was limited. Most critically, the system had no backup, should its single server fail.

The County selected MPE Engineering Ltd. to design and deploy a new SCADA application which complies with industry standards such as High Performance Graphics and the ISA 18.2 Alarms.

SCADA ARCHITECTURE access to VTScada historical data from a VTScada now monitors 53 remote non-production machine.

A fourth operator workstation was sites, consisting of the water pump house, water pressure reducing valves, configured on an internet facing network lift stations and wastewater lagoons. and allows operators to access VTScada VTScada uses an integrated driver library or other SCADA systems over the interto directly communicate with the utility’s net. VTScada’s integrated Thin Clients monitoring and control hardware, which allow operators to remotely access their includes GE 90-30 PLCs, GE-Rx3i PLCs, process via mobile devices such as tablets Siemens S7-1200 PLCs, and SCADAPack and smart phones. remote terminal units (RTUs).

The MPE team configured three CONSISTENT TAG DESIGN networked SCADA servers to provide Tags were standardized using ISA 5.1 redundancy and flexible workstation naming conventions. The old system access. Since VTScada’s architecture is used Modbus addresses for all tag names integrated, each of these servers contains and had no descriptions in the tags. The a complete copy of all historical and client provided an extensive list of tag configuration data synchronized up to names and descriptors. MPE Engineerthe second. ing managed the creation of tags using The new servers improve system VTScada Context Tags. access both in the office and in the field.

“These parent tags represent devices There is now a dedicated engineering with multiple child tags representing workstation with a four-monitor setup device attributes such as statuses, values and two operator workstations, one and alarms,” says Zane Spencer, Projquad monitor and one dual monitor. A ect Manager and Controls Programmer replicated workstation in a demilitarized with MPE. zone (DMZ) allows remote third-party continued overleaf...

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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INSTRUMENTATION

All graphics were designed based on ISA High Performance Graphics Standards.

HIGH PERFORMANCE GRAPHICS All graphics were designed based on ISA High Performance Graphics Standards. This design methodology uses simple greyscale graphics to represent a system operating normally. Colour begins to emerge as values approach tolerances or alarms are tripped. This approach allows operators to instantly see emerging problems. VTScada’s extensive library of

greyscale images and symbols can change colour and appearance based on tag values.

“High performance graphics were client driven, which was nice because we did not have to sell this to the operators; the client took care of that,” says Spencer.

“Operators did not love the greyscale graphics at first, but once the benefits and added contextual information was explained to them, they warmed to the

idea and now, after a few months, truly enjoy the benefits associated with the new graphics.”

ISA 18.2 ALARMING The ISA 18.2 Alarm Management Standard helps utilities to develop a consistent approach to alarm creation and acknowledgement. It also helps

continued overleaf...

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22 | June 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

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INSTRUMENTATION

to reduce nuisance alarms which can Now, multiple operators, managers and obscure real issues. VTScada’s integrated Alarms Manager uses colour, symbols engineers have secure remote access, using and sound to allow operators to easily mobile phones and tablets. scan the alarm list and see the status and priority of each alarm. Built-in reports help to identify “Bad Actor” alarms, trace “alarm floods”, and audit alarm priority distribution per ISA’s recommendations. • Totalized water consumption flows for REMOTE “THIN CLIENT” ACCESS During scheduled hardware main- the Regional Water Customers Group.

Now, multiple operators, managers tenance, staff can temporarily “shelve” Reports automatically run each day and engineers have secure remote access, associated alarms to avoid distractions. at midnight for the previous day. The using mobile phones and tablets. Using system can automatically email reports the VTScada Anywhere Client, paired REPORTING to the appropriate people or send them with the unlimited Thin Client licenses, MPE used the native report generator to a printer. They can also encompass there are no concerns about users to create the following reports which are the daily reports into monthly and/or fighting for control of the system. The all grouped by type and station: yearly reports. Staff can create custom Anywhere Client provides a consistent • Totalized flows from flow totalizers. reports based on tags, time frame, date, operator experience using any HTML5 • Daily runtime of all monitored hour or other criteria. compliant browser. meters.

The VTScada reporting system works • Minimum, maximum and average directly with standard Excel reporting DISTRIBUTED LOCAL HISTORIANS chlorine levels. templates, which only required slight The County was also concerned • Water pressure. modification, eliminating the need for about the potential loss of data should • Motor amperages. third-party middleware software. the connection to remote sites be lost. In • Reservoir levels. response, MPE configured the applica-

24 | June 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

tion to allow for use of VTScada as local human machine interfaces (HMIs) at all remote stations. If the station is cut off from the central application, the local HMI continues to provide local monitoring and control, while collecting alarm and historical data. When communications to the site are restored, all local alarm and historical data is backfilled into the central SCADA system.

This was completed for one of the major pump houses during this project. To implement this solution, MPE supplied and installed a local panel mount PC, replacing an existing HMI at the local station.

“It is running the same VTScada application as the centralized servers but using tag and alarm area filtering to reduce the license cost and present only relevant information to local operators,” says Spencer. “Using VTScada as a HMI replacement, and structuring the tag database appropriately, we have effectively implemented historical store-and-

forward, allowing the County to eliminate data loss when communication links to the station are disrupted.”

An added benefit is the synchronization with the central system; all graphics, user accounts, alarm history, and alarm configurations are synchronized in real-time. The SCADA application is pre-structured to allow for this configuration at all remote sites. The County would like to implement VTScada as a local HMI for all stations in the future.

and tested with minimal system impact.

CONCLUSIONS “Do your research first, attend training if possible for multiple platforms, and select the one that you would like to work with for the next 20 years,” says Spencer. “Talk to sales personnel, but also talk to the management teams and tech support teams to get a sense of the support that you will receive after the initial purchase. Also, be specific when preparing request for proposal documents and select qualified consultants who have proven experience with the preferred software solution.”

INSTALLATION The replacement system was designed and tested in parallel with the existing system to eliminate downtime. The project was completed under budget with no For more information, contact Zane disruption to operations or significant Spencer, MPE Engineering. Email: system failures during the switchover. As zspencer@mpe.ca with anything, there were some glitches to work through during the testing and commissioning phases. However, due to the template-based tag database, large scale changes could be rapidly deployed

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June 2017 | 25

WASTEWATER

The Nereda aerobic granular sludge plant in Epe, Netherlands.

Aerobic granular sludge system cuts plant footprint and energy use substantially

T

he AquaNereda® aerobic granular sludge system (AGS) from Aqua-Aerobic Systems, Inc. is an innovative biological wastewater treatment technology that provides advanced nutrient removal, significantly smaller footprint, and up to 50% less energy, using the unique features of aerobic granular biomass.

One of the defining characteristics of the AquaNereda aerobic granule is rapid settling which in turn allows for a significant increase in biomass concentration.

Granules are comprised entirely of true biomass and therefore do not require carriers. The layered microbial community that forms the granule is able to achieve enhanced biological nutrient removal, including simultaneous nitri-

26 | June 2017

REDUCED FOOTPRINT Footprint is reduced up to 75% due to the full nutrient removal process taking ENHANCED SETTLING PROPERTIES place in a single reactor. Supplemental In an AGS system, bacteria are pres- tanks such as primary clarifiers, selecent as large dense granules, as opposed tor basins, separate anoxic and aerobic to fluffy suspended flocs. The density of compartments, and secondary clarifiers these aerobic granules increases settling are not required. Also, the biomass operup to 15 times greater compared to ates at a higher concentration, allowing conventional activated sludge systems. for increased treatment capacity within By overcoming settling limitations seen a single tank. in conventional activated sludge systems, the mixed liquor can be increased signifi- ENERGY SAVINGS cantly, which allows for a greater treatReduction of air requirements in ment capacity. Sludge volume index the bioreactor tank allows for substandecreases to values of 30 ml/g – 50 ml/g, tial energy savings. The substrate and which allows the bioreactor to operate at oxygen utilization rates in the aerobic mixed liquor suspended solids concentra- granular system lower the specific energy tions of 8,000 mg/l or higher. continued overleaf... fication/denitrification and phosphorus reduction.

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

WASTEWATER

and airflow. Based on the operation in a single reactor, the equipment required for the aerobic granular sludge process is significantly reduced, when compared to conventional activated sludge systems.

Also, sludge recycling pumps are not needed. The combination of reduced aeration and mechanical components results in an energy savings of up to 50%.

including compactness and high metabolic rates, with those of activated sludge.

This includes the ability to achieve full biological nutrient removal in one mixed biomass population, without the need for biofilm carriers. Aerobic, anoxic, and anaerobic biological processes take place simultaneously in the granular biomass.

Liquid solid separation in a flocculant sludge system occurs by using sedimenLOW LIFE CYCLE COST tation in clarifiers. Due to the fact that The reduction in mechanical equipment flocs have low density, the settling time necessary to achieve enhanced biological is much greater than a denser granular nutrient removal requirements lowers biomass, which will achieve full settling construction, operating and maintenance in five minutes. costs. In addition, chemical consumption As a result, a conventional plant is is reduced due to the high bio-P uptake designed at 2,500 mg/l – 5,000 mg/l of in the aerobic granular biomass. These mixed liquor, compared to an aerobic savings in operation and maintenance, as granular sludge plant at 8,000 mg/l or well as the lower construction costs, result higher. Aerobic granular sludge displays a greater concentration of specialized in attractive whole life cycle costs. micro organisms that are layered. DifferHOW IT WORKS ent types of microorganisms will grow Aerobic granular sludge combines the in the granule that can result in a typical technical advantages of biofilm systems, particle size of 1.2 mm – 1.5 mm in diam-

eter. Nitrifiers reside on the outer layer of the granule and denitrifying bacteria are present in the deeper layers.

During aeration, oxygen can penetrate about 100 – 200 microns into the granule before it is depleted. This results in the inner part of the granule, nearest the core, being an anaerobic zone and the outside layers being aerobic and anoxic zones. Both the oxygen and substrate are transported into the granule via diffusion.

Phosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) and glycogen accumulating organisms (GAOs) are present throughout the biomass and have the ability to form extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) that is the building block for granular formation.

EXTRACELLULAR POLYMERIC SUBSTANCE Due to its robust structure, the granule has the ability to withstand upset conditions. The extracellular polymeric substance serves as the backbone of the

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28 | June 2017

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

granule and enables the system to withstand fluctuations in chemicals, loading, salinity, pH, toxic shocks, etc. This chemical backbone makes it difficult to interfere with the enhanced settling and stable process characteristics. Process stability, along with settling properties, result in a reliable and robust granular system that is easy to operate.

Protect systems downstream

GRANULE FORMATION In an AquaNereda aerobic granular sludge system, selection mechanisms are applied to create dense granules from flocculant biomass. As an alternate, a plant can be seeded with granules from another site. Conventional biomass flocs are selectively wasted by increasing sedimentation stress. The stress continues to increase, thus enlarging the size and density of the flocs, which causes them to settle faster and evolve into granules. Only the bacteria that can adapt due to the selection mechanisms are able to survive in a granule form.

CYCLE STRUCTURE Within a single tank, the AGS system creates proper conditions to reliably maintain a stable granule, without the need of a carrier. Due to the layered microbial community within the granule structure, simultaneous processes take place in the granular biomass, including enhanced biological phosphorus reduction, and simultaneous nitrification/denitrification.

Based on the unique characteristics of granular biomass, the AquaNereda system uses an optimized batch cycle structure.

There are three main cycles of the process to meet advanced wastewater treatment objectives. Phase durations will be based upon the specific waste characteristics, the flow and the effluent objectives:

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Fill/draw. The first phase of the cycle structure is fill/draw, where the influent flow first enters the reactor. The anoxic and anaerobic conditions provide biomass conditioning and phoscontinued overleaf...

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Simple to operate

WASTE WATER Solutions

June 2017  |  29

WASTEWATER

phorus release. At the same time, treated water is displaced towards the effluent at the top of the AquaNereda AGS reactor.

React. Influent flow is terminated in the second phase of the cycle structure known as the react (aeration) phase. In this phase the biomass is subjected to aerobic and anoxic conditions. The granules perform simultaneous nitrification/ denitrification. Concurrently, nitrate is transported by diffusion between outer aerated and inner anoxic layers of the granule, eliminating the need for pumping large recycle flows in the plant. Within the bioreactor, luxury uptake of phosphorus is promoted. The automated control of the process allows energy savings and process optimization.

Settling. Upon completion of the aeration phase, the system proceeds into a settle phase. Here, the influent flow still does not enter the reactor. The granular biomass is separated from the treated water during a very short settling period. Excess sludge is wasted in order

to maintain the desired amount of biomass. Finally, the system is ready for a new cycle and influent enters the reactor while the treated water is discharged.

Process and cycle structures are optimized through the use of automated controls. While wastewater flows, loadings and temperatures fluctuate, the process parameters will be adjusted for efficient performance.

design flow of 2.1 MGD and a peak hour flow of 9.5 MGD using a three reactor design. Granulation occurred over the winter months, at temperatures below 10°C . The Nereda reactors are followed by tertiary filters, achieving 0.34 gm/l total phosphorus. Overall, the conversion to Nereda AGS reduced energy consumption by 40%. Currently, over 30 full-scale Nereda plants are operational or under construction.

APPLICATIONS Aqua-Aerobic Systems is currently Typical applications for an aerobic building a full-scale system at the Rock granular sludge system include: retrofit River Water Reclamation District in of existing tanks, increasing treatment Rockford, Illinois, which will demoncapacity, upgrade of existing treatment strate the system in North America. systems to meet more stringent effluExclusive representation of the Aquaent requirement, or greenfield sites, and Nereda system in Canada is through ACG – Envirocan( Eastern Canada) and enhanced biological nutrient removal.

Waste n’ Watertech (Western Canada).

EPE, NETHERLANDS Epe is the location of the first Nereda Aerobic Granular Sludge full-scale municipal system and has been in operation since 2009. It treats an average

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

SPECIAL FOCUS: STORAGE TANKS, SPILLS & CONTAINMENT

Containing truck and rail car transfer spills

By Merrill E. Bishop

M

any tanker truck loading or unloading site managers have far bigger problems than chasing down careless workers who cause spills and accidental releases.

Some of the most common errors are breaking hose connections while the hose is still under slight pressure, or "cracking" a valve just to see if the pipe is full, or even throwing aside a "just used" hose and allowing it to drain out on the grass or driveway.

Unfortunately, the real cost of this carelessness often doesn't hit the company until many years later, when contamination is detected in the subsurface water down-gradient from the facility.

At all transloading sites or plant loading racks, concrete slabs are usually poured to contain any releases. Unfortunately, these slabs get tainted with spilled chemicals and/or oils, and then rainwater gets contaminated upon contact with them.

Another question is how good of a barrier is this concrete pour? Most concrete slabs are poured over a compacted bed of crushed rock or small pebble "river rock" and sand. This underlayer is a very porous "sponge" for any liquids that get down through cracks in the poured slabs. Because of thermal expansion and settling, tar based expansion joints are usually set in between poured sections of the truck-loading containment basin.

These joints should be regularly inspected because drainage "down the cracks" is one way contamination gets into the groundwater and starts its migration.

If these built-in expansion joints are loose or have deteriorated through years of hot sun, they need to be replaced with new materials that can stand up to whatever materials may be released onto this basin.

If you decide to replace these expansion joint seams, they need to be cleaned out of all sediment and former expansion joint material. A pressure blast (compressed air) and a simple wood rasp should be used to clean both sides of the www.esemag.com

A better approach is to install collector pans that can be closed when not needed, both between and outboard of the rails.

grooves. Next, use a quality epoxy glue and "butter up" both sides of the groove to a depth of at least 50mm. Depending upon the width of the cleaned groove, a replacement material is then selected.

Excellent results have been obtained with conventional "backer rod", which is used by brick masons to repair weakened masonry joints in brick walls. Select this closed cell polyethylene "foam" rope so that when it is compacted into the groove, it will be flattened by 50%. If the cleaned groove is 12mm wide, then purchase 20mm diameter "backer rod."

Push this rope down into the "buttered" groove so it is lower than the normal wear surface. You may want to top this polyethylene foam rope later with a standard concrete caulking material.

Another likely groundwater contamination area of a transloading operation is the railroad trackside. This situation can be avoided by having railroad track spill containment pans along the railroad rails at the loading racks.

The vast majority of releases happen

within about 1.5m of the bottom hose connection, or the overhead dome area.

Releases or overflows will run down the outside surface of a tank car and will drip off. The personnel ladder up to the tank car's dome control area often causes this "rundown" to spray outward, past the rails.

There are many designs of railroad track spill containment pans. The "initially" cheapest approach is to purchase open pans. These will collect rainwater, contaminate it with residue in the collector pan, and then drain into a holding tank. This greatly adds to disposal costs. A better approach would be to purchase both between-the-rails and outboard-of-the rails collector pans, that can be closed up between loading operations.

Merrill E. Bishop is President of Trans Environmental Systems, Inc. Email: rambishop1@gmail.com

June 2017  |  31

SPECIAL FOCUS: STORAGE TANKS, SPILLS & CONTAINMENT

Long-Term Rehabilitation of a 90-Year-Old water Reservoir

By Mark Bruder

I

n October 2014, a 90-year-old reservoir at the Peterborough water treatment plant experienced a leak event. A detailed summary of the condition assessment and short-term structural repair efforts was published by Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine in the July/ August 2015 issue.

This article is an overview of the long-term rehabilitation follow-up work to help further extend the service life of the reservoir.

tion, and site inspection during construction.

The general project scope included temporarily decommissioning the 50 m2 by 5 m deep buried concrete reservoir, jacketing several concrete columns inside the reservoir, providing for structural and process removals and modifications, pressure washing and rehabilitating concrete surfaces, and pouring a new concrete floor topping.

Consulting engineering services commenced in January 2016 and construction started in June.

SCOPE, SCHEDULE, BUDGET This quick turnaround was essential to ensure that At the end of 2015, Peterborough Utilities PUC had sufficient water storage capacity. Work Commission (PUC) retained R.V. Anderson was completed on schedule and on budget.

Associates Limited (RVA) to provide consulting The construction budget was $2,900,000. This engineering services for the long-term rehabili- is roughly a third of the cost of an alternative tation of its 90-year-old reservoir. This allowed solution to demolish the existing tank and build for continuity from the initial short-term repair a new one in its place. The fully rehabilitated efforts through to commissioning of the fully reservoir is likely to remain operable for another rehabilitated reservoir. The scope of RVA’s services full life cycle. Therefore, the rehabilitation soluincluded design, tendering, contract administra- tion provided high value for the cost.

32 | June 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

CONDITION PRIOR TO PROJECT KICK-OFF Peterborough’s 90-year-old reservoir had serviced the City well beyond its expected life span. Prior to the longterm rehabilitation project, the reservoir had undergone short-term repair efforts.

This included performing a potable water dive, sealing over 360 m of floor cracks with polyurethane, and concrete pressure grouting over 11 m3 of voids that were present underneath the floor slab of chlorine contact tank #1 (CCT#1) and clear well #3 (CW#3). At that time, only CCT#1 and CW#3 were accessible because of the reservoir bypass operation.

After project kick-off, when the reservoir was fully decommissioned, it was possible to perform a visual condition assessment inside the chambers.

In the influent chamber, across all concrete surfaces, heavy deterioration had led to fully exposed aggregates. This left the walls vulnerable to further, and faster, deterioration of the concrete and steel reinforcement. The highest chlorine dosage in the reservoir occurs in the influent chamber, which corresponds to the type and extent of the deterioration.

In the effluent chamber, across all concrete surfaces, a thin layer of alum residue was present. This is consistent with other portions of the reservoir prior to the short-term repair efforts.

It appeared that the alum residue had protected the concrete surfaces from further deterioration. However, the residue was undesirable for operations.

Of the 70 concrete columns throughout CCT#1 and CW#3, 10 were heavily deteriorated across their full height. In some instances, steel reinforcement was exposed and showed signs of corrosion.

Curiously, most of these 10 columns were located sequentially along the same reservoir grid line. It was suspected that they had been poured with a different concrete mix design that was unintentionally susceptible to chlorine attack.

The tender documents included a provisional allowance for 10 additional column jackets in case previously unknown heavy deterioration was uncovered after pressure washing.

In general, some minor cracks were www.esemag.com

Column jacket.

identified in the slabs and walls, and all concrete surfaces having previously been in contact with chlorinated water had mild surficial deterioration of about 5 mm. Neither the cracks nor the deterioration were structural in nature. Therefore, it was important to rehabilitate the 10 heavily deteriorated columns before addressing the serviceability issues.

CONCRETE COLUMN JACKETS The heavily deteriorated columns required more than simple surficial repairs.

The chosen structural design included full-height, 175 mm thick, steel-reinforced concrete “jackets” that encapsulated the existing columns. The jackets were keyed into the existing floor below but terminated at the upper column capital thickening.

The jackets required a high-performance concrete mix due to constructability challenges and the inherent chemical environment in the reservoir. The mix type was Agilia self-consolidating concrete

by Lafarge. This allowed for pumping through the bottom and mid-level of the formwork without having to vibrate the concrete. The concrete exposure class was C-XL to help resist future chemical attack.

The compressive strength was 50 MPa at 56 days, which is the minimum strength available for the chosen mix and exposure class.

Continuous wet curing was specified for seven days. Upon formwork removal, the concrete surface was exceptionally smooth and exhibited no shrinkage cracks.

REMOVALS & MODIFICATIONS A variety of structural and process work was completed to facilitate rehabilitation efforts and upgrade operations.

A flow meter chamber was constructed adjacent to the reservoir. Replacement of chemical lines occurred within CCT#1, CW#3, and the small influent and effluent chambers. The existing reservoir was retrofitted to connect to the new nearby reservoir with a 1200 mm diameter concrete pressure pipe, complete with an isolation sluice gate. New baffle curtains were installed in a different layout to improve the baffle factor and reduce stagnation zones. Finally, all existing metal gates and valves that were leaking were refurbished or replaced.

A small, unused chamber connected continued overleaf...

June 2017 | 33

SPECIAL FOCUS: STORAGE TANKS, SPILLS & CONTAINMENT

to the existing reservoir was abandoned Rehabilitated valve. by filling it with cellular grout. This was to permanently seal it from the rest of the reservoir, thus preventing water from leaking in, becoming stagnant, and affecting the overall water quality.

The suspended aeration steps were removed, as they were no longer necessary for operations. Portions of the roof slab were removed to either create new access hatches or to seal existing openings. Some deteriorated areas of the floor slab were removed, as shallow patching would have been insufficient to prevent leakage through the floor. Ultimately, removals and modifications amounted to a low percentage of the project cost.

CEMENTITIOUS PARGING & WATERPROOFING It was necessary to re-establish concrete surfaces that had deteriorated from contact with the chlorinated water. For heavy deterioration greater than 40 mm, pourable concrete and formwork was used. For shallow deterioration between 10 and 40 mm, the chosen built-up patching material was SikaTop 123 PLUS by Sika. Regardless of the depth of deterioration, all concrete surfaces were coated with a thin, cementitious, chemical-resistant parging (surface coating) layer. All rehabilitation products were NSF 61 certified for potable water use.

The surface was prepared via 7,000 psi pressure washing. The 90-year-old concrete was easily able to withstand this pressure at close range, even with a millimetre-thin nozzle applied to heavily deteriorated areas. Sand-blasting was not an option, as concrete surfaces must be clean of debris for rehabilitation products to properly adhere. The minimum specified surface roughness was CSP-3 as per the International Concrete Repair Institute. The maximum allowable depth of concrete removal was 10 mm. During tendering, these and other performance criteria were helpful to the bidders in establishing a base scope of work.

The project specified that a 2 m³ mock-up be developed with the concrete rehabilitation products. This was to increase PUC’s confidence in the performance of the approved applicators and 34 | June 2017

the chosen products. A strict contractual condition was that no products could be applied to the remainder of the reservoir until RVA and the product manufacturer had approved the quality of the mock-up.

Ultimately, the column and wall mockups were completed successfully.

For the columns, the finishing parging layer was SikaTop 123 PLUS, complete with a steel trowel application and smooth steel float finish. Waterproofing was not required for the columns, as the parging layer was sufficient to protect the base concrete from further deterioration.

A smooth finish is desirable for a water reservoir, as less surface area equals less potential bacteria accumulation.

For the walls, the underlying parging layer was CEM-KOTE CW PLUS extended with masonry sand. Although this product has its own crystalline waterproofing properties, a finishing waterproofing layer of CEM-KOTE FLEX ST was also used. Both of these products are

by W. R. Meadows. To help reduce leaks out of the reservoir, both products were applied to the positive pressure (inside) face of all perimeter walls.

The parging application sequence was as follows: 1) thin brushed slurry primer coat of CW PLUS; 2) thick trowelled coat of CW PLUS; and 3) sprayed then brushed double coating of FLEX ST. A notable benefit of the wall parging material was the ability to embed between built-up layers a reinforcing

polymeric fabric that could bridge small cracks. This was used to further mitigate leaks out of the reservoir.

For this rehabilitation work, the cost to pressure wash, parge, and waterproof the walls was roughly $275 to $325 per square metre. A rough production rate was 1 to 3 square metres per hour.

FIBRE REINFORCED CONCRETE FLOOR TOPPING Through the previous short-term repair efforts, polyurethane was injected into hundreds of linear metres of floor cracks.

However, polyurethane is not intended to provide a long-term waterproofing solution. Typically, polyurethane is ineffective beyond five years of service. Therefore, a cost-benefit analysis was undertaken to determine the best waterproofing solution for long-term performance of the existing floor slab.

Two options were considered: 1) pour a topping slab on the existing floor: and 2) demolish the existing floor and pour a new one in place. The first option was superior in cost and schedule, and PUC accepted the minor reduction in storage volume.

A standard concrete mix was used with a C-1 exposure class and 35 MPa compressive strength after 56 days. Preventing leakage through the existing floor slab was a major priority for PUC. Therefore, the topping thickness was a robust 200 mm, as thinner unreinforced toppings can

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

delaminate and crack. The topping was dosed with 35 kg/m³ of macro steel fibre reinforcement by Bekaert. This dosage, for the specific type of selected steel fibre, is equivalent to minimum conventional steel reinforcement, and was designed to provide superior crack control.

Alternative reinforcement types were considered, including poly-synthetic fibres, welded wire mesh, and conventional steel reinforcement. The latter two were rejected because of cost, schedule, and constructability, as there were significant access limitations into CCT#1 and CW#3. PUC rejected the synthetic fibres, as they lacked NSF 61 certification and could be exposed at the topping surface.

Weeks ahead of the first topping pour, a trial pour was completed off-site. The intention was to validate that the concrete mix design, fibre dosage, and placing/ finishing techniques would meet the high-performance standards outlined in the specifications. The test was successful and yielded valuable insight into how small adjustments to the mix and execution can lead to significant improvements in performance.

The fibres were dosed at the concrete batching plant rather than on site. This allowed for the concrete supplier to maintain tight quality control. On site, the concrete was loaded from the mixing truck into a concrete pump. The concrete was then transported into the belowground reservoir via a conventional flexible “elephant trunk” hose. Ahead of concrete placement, the existing floor slab was pressure washed and then prepared with a wet binding mix of cement and water.

At times, the fibres formed “icebergs” within the mixing truck, pump, and hose. This was corrected in two ways: 1) by adding superplasticizer at the concrete batching plant; and 2) by vigorously spinning the concrete mixer immediately ahead of pumping.

To help reduce shrinkage cracks, the topping was poured in a checkerboard pattern. Construction joints, complete with PVC waterstops, were used in between sequential panel pours. A continuous, hydrophilic bentonite waterstop was used along the perimeter of the wall/slab www.esemag.com

interface. Steel reinforcing dowels were used to anchor the topping to the existing walls and overtop cracks in the floor slab that had previously been injected with polyurethane.

The topping was finished first with a wooden bull float and then a magnesium steel trowel to prevent sticking. A continuous wet cure was specified for 10 days. Because of the nature of this particular below-grade reservoir, optimal curing conditions were present, including a consistent temperature, high moisture level, and protection from the wind. This yielded a superior, smooth concrete finish with virtually no shrinkage cracks. Any cracks that were found in the topping were short and less than a few millimetres in depth.

that was completed, coupled with PUC’s effective asset management approach, this reservoir should remain in serviceable condition for another life cycle.

There are many benefits to maintaining existing infrastructure and extracting maximum value from available assets.

If a deteriorated, leaking, 90-year-old reservoir can be rehabilitated to working conditions, then perhaps other facilities can recuperate significant value from their assets.

Mark Bruder, P.Eng., is with R.V. Anderson Associates Limited. Email: mbruder@rvanderson.com

LESSONS LEARNED Overall, this project was a success for all stakeholders. Due to the comprehensive long-term rehabilitation work

Complete Liquid Storage Solutions

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• Aquastore glass-fused-to-steel tanks • Hydrotec tanks • Tank cover options including aluminum domes, externally supported roofs, knuckle

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June 2017 | 35

SPECIAL FOCUS: STORAGE TANKS, SPILLS & CONTAINMENT

The installation process went very quickly, using the standard method of lifting jacks set on the floor.

Meat packing plant uses multiple tanks for its new WWTP

By Michael Albanese

H

2Flow Tanks & Systems Inc. recently supplied multiple bolted glass-fused-to-steel tanks for a key project north of Calgary, Alberta.

Harmony Beef meat plant, located in Rocky View County, was opened by a group of local cattle producers in 2006, but unfortunately closed after only a few months due to bad market conditions. The new owner is an experienced meat-packing industry family from the U.S., who bought the plant after it closed.

The tanks, manufactured by Permastore, include an equalisation tank, a sludge tank and a firewater and process tank: 36 | June 2017

• Two Model 4235 units, each 13 m diameter by 10 m height, provide 1200 m3 nominal volume and are used for water processes.

• One Model 4222.5 tank, 13 m diameter by 6.7 m height, provides 765 m3 of nominal volume for equalization.

• One Model 1715 tank, 5 m diameter by 4.6 m height, provides 80 m3 nominal volume for sludge holding.

The installation process went very quickly, using the standard method of lifting jacks set on the floor. This method allows for the tank construction crew to build everything on the ground floor, as opposed to using elevated scaf-

folds. The tank rings are simply built on the jacks, which move up and down, sending a section of the tank upwards at each interval.

H2Flow installed the tanks as part of a process water treatment plant and provided a turn-key solution for Harmony Beef. The plant opened in February of this year and will eventually have up to 150 employees, which is great for the local economy.

Michael Albanese, P.Eng., is with H2Flow Tanks & Systems Inc. Email: michael@h2flow.com

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

SPECIAL FOCUS: STORAGE TANKS, SPILLS & CONTAINMENT

Spill filtration key to maintaining berm capacity

By Nancy Argyle

O

verflow filtration is a critical component to maintaining berm capacity and meeting regulations. When berms are full of rainwater, they no longer have the capacity to contain a spill and, if there is even the slightest fuel leak, draining off this contaminated rainwater could cause harm to the surrounding environment as well as violate spill compliance requirements.

Large secondary containment systems typically have their own gravity oil/water separator systems. However, these are bulky and costly and are not necessarily suitable for shop-fabricated secondary containment berms.

For smaller installations, SEI Industries has introduced its latest spill prevention product, the Spill Monkey. Offering a lighter, more compact solution, the Spill Monkey acts as a hydrocarbon capture device to prevent contaminates from a spill reaching the ground. Weighing only 1.3 kg it is 7.5 cm x 30 cm in size but offers an impressive hydrocarbon capacity of up to 650 cc of diesel fuel.

“Using gravity to filter diesel fuel, jet fuel, gasoline or transformer oil out of rainwater, operators can safely drain any overflow,” explains Paul Reichard, SEI’s environmental division manager.

“Plus, the Spill Monkey acts as a stopvalve, which means the filter is a “go-no-go” and plugs as soon as it is full. This is important because, in the event of a major spill, it will automatically plug up, preventing a spill,” he adds.

Although other devices do filter hydrocarbons, they are not stop valves. Considered sheen filters or bailers, these devices are designed to be monitored. They will continue to filter contaminates until the filter is full but, once full, they will not prevent the release of hydrocarbons and they will not plug during a major spill.

With the Spill Monkey’s patented filter media and high-flow rate of 150 www.esemag.com

litres per hour at 15 cm head pressure, it provides fast drainage of water to keep berms safe and comes with an automatic shut-off in the event of a massive spill.

The Spill Monkey also includes triangular end caps for stability on the ground.

Installation only takes seconds. An optional ball valve with sight glass allowing the monitoring of liquid levels and content is available. The filter can be changed in just minutes.

Discharge from the Spill Monkey has been extensively tested and meets environmental regulations for total petroleum hydrocarbons, and oil and grease, as set by the EPA National Pollutant Discharge

Spill Monkey offers an impressive hydrocarbon capacity of up to 650 cc of diesel fuel.

Elimination System (NPDES) as well as CFR 40 and the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME).

Spill Monkey, a product of Advanced Water Systems Inc., is licensed for sale in Canada through SEI Industries Ltd. Nancy Argyle is with SEI Industries.

Email: nancy@sei-ind.com

June 2017 | 37

SPECIAL FOCUS: STORAGE TANKS, SPILLS & CONTAINMENT

Cathodic protection recommended to protect glass-fused-to-steel water tanks

C

athodic protection (CP) is a technique used to control the corrosion of a metal surface by making it the cathode of an electrochemical cell.

A simple method of protection connects the metal to be protected (cathode) to a more easily corroded "sacrificial metal" to act as the anode. Both have to be in an electrolyte such as water or soil.

Cathodic protection does not actually eliminate corrosion. Instead, it transfers it from the structure to be protected to the cathodic protection anodes. The structure is now the cathode of an intentional corrosion cell. Corrosion of the metal will cease once the applied cathodic protection current equals or exceeds the corrosion current.

GLASS COATED TANKS AND PASSIVE CP SYSTEMS One of the advantages of porcelain enamel is its very strong adhesion and bonding to the steel substrate. Because of this, Greatario Engineered Storage Systems recommends and sells passive CP systems for all of their glass-fused-tosteel tanks storing water. The CP design has been developed and refined over 30 years to ensure maximum tank longevity and coating compatibility, which results in minimal life cycle costing for the tank.

CP protects storage tanks, the environment, and the bottom line of owners and operators. It must be an integral part of a storage tank owner/operator's long-term planning. This includes ongoing education and training for persons responsible for operating tank systems.

These individuals must be able to recognize the early signs of deterioration and prevent it effectively.

Owners and operators must also dedicate the resources required to monitor and maintain these cathodic protection systems to ensure effective protection of their tank. An asset management plan developed by Greatario should be followed by the tank operator and 38 | June 2017

(Left) Greatario installed its first permanent glass coated tank in Midhurst in 1986. (Top right) Anodes installed on the glass fused to steel floor can be tested from the outside of the tank using a multi-meter +CSE per NACE requirements, while the tank is in service (bottom right).

include scheduled tank inspections and anode testing.

GREATARIO’S NACE CERTIFIED TECHNICIANS “Greatario has committed itself to assisting water operators extend the life of their tanks as long as possible. Our National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) certified technicians have the ability to work with tank owners and provide cathodic protection testing and recommendations,” comments president Scott Burn.

“Our technicians have the theoretical and practical fundamentals for testing, evaluating, and designing both galvanic and impressed current cathodic protec-

tion systems,” he added.

According to Scott Plant, Greatario’s service manager and NACE certified cathodic protection tester: “Passive/ galvanic cathodic protection systems (i.e., sacrificial anodes) most commonly used in our tanks are in place to absorb the corrosive energies inside the tank.

This results in corrosion occurring at the anode (less noble metal) as opposed to the tank (more noble metal).”

He added that, “although our tanks have a permanent glass coating, CP is in place as added protection should any part of the coating become compromised due to unforeseen circumstances. Like any piece of equipment, every CP system requires periodic testing to ensure the

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

tank is adequately protected.”

Greatario’s first permanent glass coated tank, built in Midhurst, Ontario, in 1986, did not have a cathodic protection system installed, which was considered normal at the time. Although the tank continues to operate efficiently and provide safe clean water to the community, the addition of eight magnesium anodes will extend the life of the tank for many more years.

Midhurst is one of 13 tanks which have been built for Springwater Township. “We have worked with the water operators and have installed cathodic protection to all but two of the tanks,” Plant comments.

Richard Eagle, of the Ontario Clean Water Agency, oversees the water system for Springwater Township. “Other than the addition of cathodic protection to these tanks, only minimal maintenance has been done. The tanks at Hillsdale and Anten Mills require CP to be added, which is scheduled to be done this year,”

Average costs associated with painting can be about $300.00 per square metre. Not only is this a significant operating cost to be incurred, the down time of the tank is very inconvenient.

Eagle comments.

“Greatario has set up an asset management schedule for us. This ensures interior and exterior tank inspections and anode testing are completed on a timely basis. You would never guess that the initial tanks in Springwater Township are 30 years old. Tank cleaning makes these tanks look like the day they were built,” Eagle states.

Aquastore tanks have a low life cycle cost largely because they do not require

painting. Average costs associated with painting can be about $300.00 per square metre. Not only is this a significant operating cost to be incurred, the down time of the tank is very inconvenient. “Typically, repainting a tank has to be done in the peak of the summer and you need to plan for a lengthy down time,” Plant comments.

For more information, visit: www.greatario.ca

The Waterra Vapour Sampling EcoPlug™ allows you to extract a sample of trapped headspace, without losing well gasses to the atmosphere.

These specialized well caps use a custom brass valve, the Sample Port Adapter, that allows you to extract the sample without removing the cap from the well. They can also be attached to a peristaltic pump in order to draw out even more of the trapped headspace gasses.

• AVAILABLE FOR 1", 2" & 4" MONITORING WELLS • CHEMICAL & TEMPERATURE RESISTANT • PRESSURE TESTED TO 20 PSI • TAMPER-PROOF • DURABLE

www.esemag.com

June 2017 | 39

SPECIAL FOCUS: STORAGE TANKS, SPILLS & CONTAINMENT

Full drain fitting.

polyethylene offers 20 times the environmental stress crack resistance of high-density linear polyethylene, has 10 times the molecular weight, and greater impact and tensile strength as well.

Another difference comes in testing the two plastics. When linear polyethylene fails, it fails catastrophically, because the linear polymer chains “unzip.” Crosslinked polyethylene might develop a small tear or pinhole but cannot catastrophically fail, because of the covalent bonds that connect the polymers.

Double wall tank with double wall piping.

Innovations in polyethylene chemical storage tanks

H

igh-density polyethylene chemical storage tanks can be made of linear polyethylene or cross-linked polyethylene. They are both made with resins that are heated to create a hollow plastic part, yet the differences in their development create very different polyethylenes and structural strength.

and is safe for storage of benign and non-corrosive chemicals.

CROSS-LINKED POLYETHYLENE Cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) is high-density polyethylene that is manufactured by adding a catalyst to the thermoplastic resin. This turns it into a thermoset. The catalyst causes a covalent LINEAR POLYETHYLENE bond that links the molecules together.

Linear polyethylene parts are created Picture a chain linked fence where the when thermoplastic resin pellets are metal is actually linked together. The ground and then heated to create the result is a plastic that possesses impact, fluid plastic that will harden and cure tensile strength and resistance to fracture. into a linear, high-density polyethylene This makes it an excellent choice for surface. Envision a rope where the chemical storage applications when tank individual threads of fiber are twisted integrity is of utmost importance. together, but not tied. The result is a Because cross-linked polyethylene linear resin that has polymer chains offers longer tank life and more protec“tangled” together, rather than tied. tion in the long run, there is a little Linear polyethylene is cost-efficient, more upfront investment. Cross-linked 40 | June 2017

OXIDATION RESISTANT RESINS If you’re storing an oxidizing chemical like sulfuric acid or sodium hypochlorite in a polyethylene tank, an antioxidant barrier will give you much greater tank life.

Antioxidant resins contain saturated amounts of antioxidants. Most polyethylene resin already contains some antioxidant. Resin producers intend to protect the plastic resin itself from heat created in the molding process. It is spent during the heating process and non-existent at the completion of the molded part. Having performed the task it was charged with (protecting the plastic during production) it is no longer available for any post-production purpose.

The presence of antioxidant resin in a completed storage tank, however, addresses the chemical resistance of oxidizing chemicals for 15 to 20 years after the tank is shipped.

INNOVATIVE TANK CONFIGURATIONS There are several different polyethylene tank configurations available in the marketplace today. Two of the inno-

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

vative tank configurations are full drain tanks and double wall tanks.

FULL DRAIN TANK SYSTEMS One of the biggest challenges in vertical tank design is maintaining the tank’s integrity while still allowing for it to be fully drained, cleaned, and properly maintained. Some companies create tanks out of one substance and insert or mold a flange, post-production or during production, for drainage. This works, but there are other alternatives such as an integrally molded flanged outlet (IMFO).

An inserted flange is common in the chemical tank industry, but there are decided benefits to a molded full drain.

The main differences lie in impact on the structure and structural integrity, net positive suction possible, and draining capabilities of the tanks.

One-piece construction enhances long-term integrity, both for the tank as a whole and in the knuckle radius,

www.esemag.com

which is the point where the floor of the tank meets its sidewall. The knuckle radius is the thickest part of the tank, so, adding an insert post-production or during construction can compromise the tank. An insert can impact the tank’s hoop integrity as well, which puts the entire tank at risk of structural stress from volatile chemicals.

When the insert is made of metals or alloys, chemical reactions where the tank material meets the insert can create a stress point for the plastic itself. This can cause leaks or cracks over time.

With an IMFO system, the drainage flange is molded while the tank is processing, making it a one-piece, stress-free integrated part of the tank.

The flange is also created from crosslinked high density polyethylene.

An integrally molded flanged outlet has several key advantages: • A flange located at the bottom of the tank permits full tank drainage since

®

the outlet is below the tank knuckle radius. This eliminates the need to enter the tank for cleaning.

• One-piece construction enhances long-term performance of the tank, since it doesn’t compromise the tanks hoop integrity or structural design.

• In aggressive oxidation environments, the antioxidant resin system can protect the drainage components from deterioration.

• Highest amount of static head pressure.

Poly Processing has used its IMFO system on tanks from 750 L – 52,000 L.

DOUBLE WALL TANKS Safe operation and minimizing the risk and hazards associated with spills and leaks is vital in chemical storage. An effective way to contain the spill or leak is a secondary containment system called a double wall tank, or “tank-within-a-tank.”

A properly designed “tank-within-acontinued overleaf...

June 2017 | 41

SPECIAL FOCUS: STORAGE TANKS, SPILLS & CONTAINMENT

tank” system keeps contaminants, such as debris and rainwater, from entering the interstitial area. These tanks provide secondary containment to avoid damaging equipment or property, loss of chemical, or injury to employees in the event of a spill.

Advantages of a properly engineered double wall tank system include: • Provides 110% secondary containment.

• Will equalize the liquid and allow the chemical to be used until it is convenient to inspect and repair the tank.

• Is ideal for chemicals like sulfuric acid that can have dangerous exothermic reactions to water.

• The expense, cost and maintenance of secondary concrete containment is eliminated.

• The footprint of the containment system is minimized. Secondary containment is achieved in a more compact way.

• Addition of a transition fitting maximizes the double wall tank system’s performance.

B.O.S.S fitting.

ENGINEERED FITTINGS Selecting the right fittings for a polyethylene chemical storage tank is crucial to ensuring optimum function, personnel safety, and maximum life of the polyethylene tank. Proper sidewall fittings prevent tank leaks and spills. Selecting sidewall 1/4 V 10/4/06 2:25 PM Page 1 fittings purely based on cost can lead to an expensive mistake.

1363 Wimbledon Way Charlottesville, VA 22901

DOUBLE WALL FITTINGS The outlet on a double wall tank becomes the most vulnerable and most commonly used component that wears. A cost saving technique uses a rubberized doughnut between the inner and outer tank, which bridges the two tanks. The challenge with this is that it reduces flex which the tank needs, but greatly compromises true secondary containment. The pressure that the bottom of the tank experiences in combination with an inflexible fitting creates a hinge point. This commonly fails due to wear and leads to complete siphoning of the tank outside of the containment to the ground.

To minimize these problems, Poly Processing offers a bellows transition fitting. It features a flexible expansion joint that protects one tank wall from the other against hinge and flex lock. A fitting is attached to the inner tank, while a flexible expansion joint allows the inner tank to expand and contract.

The piping is fully contained by this fitting, meaning that there is no hinge point, and the fitting is able to fully contain any leaks that may take place.

Adding the enhanced bellows transition fitting will maximize a double wall tank system’s performance by allowing drainage of the primary tank through single or double wall piping.

PLASTIC ENCAPSULATED BULKHEAD FITTINGS A bolted one piece sure seal fitting or B.O.S.S.® style fitting is a streamlined one-piece fitting without separate bolts. The fitting connects to the tank with a single gasket to greatly minimize the potential for leaks. A ring with welded studs, available in stainless steel, titanium or alloy C-276, is injection molded with polyethylene around it. This provides a one-piece fitting with a single sealing point. This is the fitting of choice for high profile applications like sodium hypochlorite and sulfuric acid.

Poly Processing has developed a B.O.S.S. fitting and can install it on almost any tank in any location where needed.

For more information, visit www.polyprocessing.com.

42 | June 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

SPECIAL FOCUS: STORAGE TANKS, SPILLS & CONTAINMENT

automatic control valves can help safely maintain tank and reservoir levels

By Jody Malo

A

s automation and computer control gained a foothold in the operation and control of reservoirs and elevated water tanks, the industry moved valve control from mechanical automatic control valves (ACV) to actuated butterfly and ball valves. The primary reason is that actuators can be controlled by SCADA systems, which have been almost universally implemented in modern water systems. Therefore, many water system managers and operators have stopped purchasing the mechanical “altitude valves” which were the standard for many years.

An altitude valve is a mechanical valve that uses a sensing line from the reservoir or tank, to a highly sensitive pilot. It allows the valve to open or close to maintain a user-set level of the water. Altitude valves can be designed to open once the water level begins to drop, usually around 0.3 m to 0.6 m, or they can be equipped to allow for a user to adjust drawdown of the water level to allow for more tank or reservoir turn over.

Altitude valves are still used when the location of a tank or reservoir has no power, or where getting power to the location is extremely costly. They are also better suited to cold climates where a top layer of ice in a reservoir can interfere with electronic measurement.

For smaller water suppliers that do not have the budget to implement a SCADA system, a mechanical altitude valve is still a good option.

Maintaining levels in water storage tanks is vital to ensuring an adequate supply, especially when

HOW DO AUTOMATIC CONTROL VALVES WORK? All diaphragm automatic control valves use a rubber diaphragm to separate the upper control chamber from the actual water moving through the valve when it is operational. By controlling the water either going into the control chamber, or leaving the control chamber, the valve www.esemag.com

water is needed during fire fighting situations.

can be opened fully, closed drip tight, or modulated into any position in between.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES? ACV valves are designed to modulate and control water at all varying flows, and butterfly valves were originally designed

to be open or closed. The advent of an actuator allowed a butterfly valve to be modulated, but it was not what the butterfly valve was truly designed for. Butterfly valves and ball valves that are only opened a little bit are prone to cavitate and nothing continued overleaf...

June 2017 | 43

SPECIAL FOCUS: STORAGE TANKS, SPILLS & CONTAINMENT

much can be done to stop or control this.

Many ACV manufactures also have an option for an anti-cavitation trim which can occur in level control valves when a large inlet pressure is supplied by the system. Generally, anytime inlet pressure is more than three times higher than the reservoir tank’s head pressure (which

creates back pressure), the valve will cavitate. This can significantly damage the valve, as well as create a lot of noise and vibration. ACVs equipped with an engineered anti-cavitation trim can stop all cavitation damage, as well as quiet the valve down and reduce vibration.

Almost all ACVs can be serviced in

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44 | June 2017

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line without having to be removed from the line they are installed on. This allows for faster service with less downtime, since keeping the system in operation as much as possible is key.

Costs can be more when using an actuated butterfly or ball valve. Three-phase power to run an electric actuator can be expensive. The cost of a compressor with air lines for a pneumatic actuator is equally expensive. ACVs do not require these additional costs. In the event of a power failure, battery backups for the actuators are an additional expense.

ACVs have the ability to easily add additional features to the pilot system to make the valve more flexible. It is very inexpensive to add a pressure sustaining feature, or rate of flow feature to a mechanical ACV.

ELECTRONIC CONTROL OF ACVS In the past, all automatic control valves have been controlled and operated using a mechanical pilot, which is a proven and reliable technology. But in today’s water systems, having control and feedback through the SCADA system is a desired feature. This is the main reason water system managers and consultants changed over to electrically or pneumatically controlled butterfly valves. However, most manufactures have now adapted their ACVs to be operated and controlled electronically.

There are a few different ways, but the most common is by installing solenoid valves into the pilot system that controls water flowing into, and out of the control chamber. There is one solenoid valve that when opened for a controlled amount of time, allows water into the control chamber, thus it begins to close the valve. The second solenoid valve when open for a controlled amount of time, allows water to come out of the control chamber, which in turn opens the ACV a certain amount.

By controlling how much water either moves into the control chamber, or out of it, the valve can be opened, closed, or modulated. These solenoid control valves can be pulsed open and closed as much as the user wants to have the valve open, closed, or adjust opening of the ACV to a very precise position. All that is required Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

SPECIAL FOCUS: STORAGE TANKS, SPILLS & CONTAINMENT

An automatic control valve.

is a controller, with a feedback sensor.

The controller then gets feedback from a level sensor and makes adjustments to the ACV by pulsing the solenoids to open or close the valve.

ADDITIONAL OPTIONS FOR INCREASED CONFIDENCE While having electronic control allows for excellent control and feedback of an ACV, during a power failure or outage this all changes. With battery backups, the ACVs and actuated butterfly valves can be told to close fully, open fully, or maintain last position. But, this can have significant side effects. If the valve is told to close during a power failure, the tank or reservoir will not be filling during the entire outage, so the tank could drain very low, or completely if the power outage lasts too long. If the valve is left open, the tank could overflow and a significant amount of water is lost.

Unlike an actuated butterfly valve, an electronically controlled automatic control valve can also have a standard mechanical level control pilot (altitude pilot) added to it as a backup in the case of a power failure. This way the valve would not need to go open or closed, but could now be controlled with the mechanical pilot and allow the tank to keep filling and then shut off when the desired level is reached. This ensures the system is working at its optimum even during power supply issues at the tank or reservoir location.

Jody Malo is with Singer Valve. www.singervalve.com www.esemag.com

Steel floors were crafted to create the three interior floors.

How Lethbridge’s decommissioned water tower became a local landmark

O

riginally constructed and erected from 1957 – 1959 with a capacity of 1.9 million litres, the City of Lethbridge Alberta’s water tower served much of the city with pressurized potable water. After the completion of the city’s water treatment plant, along with more efficient technology, it was no longer needed and stopped functioning as a water tower in 1999.

In early 2000, a public plea was issued on the front page of the Lethbridge Herald for ideas to possibly salvage the landmark.

Douglas J. Bergen accepted this challenge and began the three-year process of convincing the City of Lethbridge that the large steel structure should become an elevated restaurant and lounge. He hired consulting engineers to check the structure and they found it to be still strong and sturdy. The city sold the water tower to Mr. Bergen and, in March 2003, Douglas J. Bergen & Associates Ltd. received a development permit and set out to execute the transformation.

With the main restaurant level sitting 31m above ground level, the views of the city and surrounding countryside are spectacular. The diameter of the tank is over 23 m and the overall height of the building, including the mast, is almost 59 m, making this building a continued recognized landmark in the city. After the purchase and renovations, the $2 million repurpose was complete.

Art board panels were installed one year before the restaurant opened.

Structural steel panels were fabricated in an industrial park and transported to the site with an escort. At 6 m x 9 m, they occupied both lanes of traffic.

Steel floors were crafted to create the three interior floors. The top of the crown is 40.2 m above the ground, with a 18 m tall aerial added to the top. This makes it 59 m from the ground to the top of the mast.

For additional history and information on the Water Tower, visit www.lethbridgewatertower.com June 2017 | 45

WASTEWATER

Understanding the expanding universe of biogas utilization

By Patrick Coleman

T

he biogas “universe” transcends municipal departments and has expanded beyond just the generation of heat and electricity. In the past, the answer to the question “how to best use biogas?” was either to produce hot water or to produce electricity. Today, the answer is much more complex because the demand for, and production of, biogas has increased.

Biogas is produced by the anaerobic bacterial degradation of organic material, such as sewage sludges, source-separated organics, food wastes, farm materials or industrial byproducts (e.g., glycerine). Biogas is produced at wastewater treatment plants, farms, solid waste facil-

ities, landfills and industrial sites.

The carbon dioxide produced when burning natural gas is a greenhouse gas (GHG), while that when burning biogas is not. Biogas carbon is produced as part of the natural cycle, which includes the digestion of biologically based materials.

This said, because methane is a greenhouse gas, a biogas end user will produce a GHG emission if unutilized methane is emitted to atmosphere.

The potential to produce biogas has not been fully realized in Canada. It is estimated that Ontario alone could produce 752 Mm3/year of renewable natural gas (i.e., upgraded biogas) from anaerobic digestion. This is less than 3%

of Ontario’s year 2015 (fossil fuel) natural gas consumption. With gasification, this number increases to 17% of Ontario’s year 2015 natural gas consumption.

Action 6.1 of Ontario’s Five Year Climate Action Plan is to lower the carbon content of natural gas in Ontario by sourcing gas from renewable sources. At the right price, biogas producers would be able to supply sufficient biogas to support a 2% mandatory renewable requirement.

The cost to produce and utilize biogas depends partly on the cost to prepare material for digestion, the cost to clean the biogas (i.e., condition), the cost to manage undigested material, and the cost to utilize the biogas.

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

The fate of biogas.

Energy Product

A, B or C

BG1 A. Upgrade to biomethane (e.g. strip CO2)

D B. Dispose of by burning (e.g. flare)

E

BG3

Blending

Condition Biogas

BG

Import Fossil Fuel to Supplement/Enhance Biogas Product

IMPORT Natural Gas Supplement Supply to Improve Economics or Reliability

F or G HT1

C. Burn to generate heat (e.g. boiler) HT3 a

BG5

Capture

HT2 Dump HT3 b

BM1 BM 2

A. Biomethane

BM 3

NG1 NG2

Clean Biogas

D. Heat (Burner Emissions) E. Heat Dump from Hot Water

BG2

BG4

A. Motive Force (e.g. Direct Drive Engines B. Export as Raw Material C. Export as Fuel

BM 1

F. Fuel Direct (Incinerator) G. Fuel Indirect (Thermal Oil) Direct Heat H. Internal Plant Heat Loop I. Export Heat Offsite

H or I

J

Hot Water or Steam J. Inject Fuel Into Natural Gas Grid RNG

BM 4

D. Burn to generate electricity and heat (e.g. cogeneration)

Waste Heat

K. Behind the Meter Electricity L. Export Electricity to the Grid

EL1 K or L

Electricity

NG3

Add to RNG to increase WOBBE index (thermal value)

E. Compress to create vehicle fuel (e.g. blend with NG at a fueling station)

M. Vehicle Fuel VF1

M

CNG or LNG

IMPORT Propane

The economic return of a biogas project is based on the savings accrued by using biogas rather than another form of energy, or based on the market value of the biogas product itself. Biogas can be used to produce thermal, electrical and motive energy. There may be enough savings realized by altering how a facility uses biogas to pay for the capital investment to make the change. Grants from governments are designed to bias this evaluation towards achieving a policy outcome (e.g., reduction in grid peak demand or reduction of GHG emissions).

However, a business case is most attractive when the sale of the biogas product generates a revenue stream that pays for the project. The viability of most biogas projects depends on savings obtained, incentives awarded, and profits realized.

Raw biogas is “wet”, 60% – 70% methwww.esemag.com

ane and “dirty”. Conditioned biogas is “clean” and “dry”. The end use of the biogas determines the degree of conditioning required. For example, a gas turbine requires cleaner biogas than a boiler.

Contaminants in raw biogas that impact most end users are siloxanes, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, oxygen, nitrogen and moisture.

Clean (conditioned) biogas can be used to direct drive blowers or pumps, exported as a fuel, or sold as a raw material (e.g., to produce bioplastics). On one recent project, a community housing entity offered to purchase all the conditioned biogas produced by a proposed wastewater treatment plant to reduce its GHG emissions.

A more common situation is to use biogas to produce heat. This is conveyed either directly as steam or hot water (e.g.,

steam injection into a reactor) or indirectly through heat exchangers (e.g., hot water circuit). The biogas can also be compressed and conveyed to provide heat directly (e.g., incinerator burners) or indirectly (e.g., heating of thermal oil.

The value of this biogas is equal to the value of natural gas not purchased and greenhouse gas emissions not emitted.

Biogas is also used as fuel to generate electricity (and heat). This electricity can be exported to the grid or can be used “behind the meter” at the facility where it is generated. The common end users are internal combustion engines, combustion gas turbines, steam turbines and microturbines. The value of the electricity produced depends on incentives, electricity pricing, and the cost to supply the energy to an end user. continued overleaf...

June 2017 | 47

WASTEWATER

The cost to export electricity, or to export any form of energy, depends on the distance to the tie in point and the requirements to match the exported power to the power characteristics at the connection point. For electricity, the characteristic may be voltage; for renewable natural gas, pressure; and for hot water or steam, temperature.

The willingness to provide an incentive depends partly on the grid electricity GHG emission factor. The Canadian National Inventory Report estimates that the 2014 electricity emission factor for Manitoba is 3.9 g CO2e/kWh, Ontario is 50 g CO2e/kWh, and Saskatchewan is 820 g CO2e/kWh. An internal combustion cogeneration (cogen) unit produces electricity with an emission factor of about 95 g CO2e/kWh (assuming a 1% methane slip). The justification to pay a premium for biogas-generated electricity in Saskatchewan is stronger than it would be in Manitoba.

It may also be beneficial to supply

a mix of natural gas and biogas to an engine where the emission factor of natural gas generated electricity is also cleaner than that from the grid. However, blending the two gasses requires sophisticated control because of their very different Wobbe indices. The Wobbe Index (WI) is a measure of the heating value of fuel gas arriving from the gas line to the orifice where a burner is located. Two gasses with similar Wobbe indices are interchangeable.

The economics improve if the facility already has biogas that can be used to produce electricity. It is not uncommon for an owner to generate their own electricity as a means to protect them from the volatility of the electricity market.

The economics of producing electricity further improves if the heat generated is used year round by a heat sink (e.g., chiller, boiler). Dumping heat is a waste of resources.

On paper, some projects can be funded partly by peak shaving. For example, a

Class A consumer in Ontario may save more money shaving peaks over 16 hours during the year than providing a steady supply throughout the year. Savings are realized because the consumer is assessed less for the non-consumption part of their bill (i.e., global adjustment).

However, it is a risky proposition to base economics decisions over a 10 to 20-year window on something that can be changed by the stroke of a pen.

The biogas universe expanded dramatically when the value of upgraded biogas became divorced from the price of natural gas. A biogas upgrader strips carbon dioxide from biogas along with other remaining contaminants, leaving primarily only methane. Upgraded biogas, referred to as biomethane, is in many circumstances interchangeable with natural gas. Propane can be added to biomethane if the match with natural gas is not close enough for an end user’s application. The carbon dioxide can be stripped from biogas using a number of technologies, includ-

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ing pressure swing adsorption, selective membranes, water scrubbing, chemical scrubbing, physical absorption, and cryogenic separation.

There are now biogas upgrading facilities in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

Biomethane, when injected into the gas grid, is referred to as renewable natural gas (RNG). The commericial value of RNG is no different than that of natural gas, unless the market places a value on RNG’s environmental attributes. The producer must establish a relationship with the gas distributor to convey the gas to a buyer. The producer would obtain a renewable identification number or equivalent for the RNG, inject the RNG into the grid while still retaining (or sharing) ownership, and then sell the RNG to another consumer.

In jurisdictions where there is a mandated renewable component for natural gas, the producer of the RNG could obtain a long-term supply contract similar

www.esemag.com

to the electricity feed-in-tariff contracts.

Low carbon economy initiatives such as cap and trade, carbon taxation or emission caps will continue to drive up the revenue from these types of contracts. The savings are more dramatic if the RNG offsets the purchase of diesel or gasoline than if it offsets the purchase of natural gas.

There are a number of standards for RNG, including the Quebec BNQ 3672-100 and Southern California Gas Company Rule Number 30. The tolerance for RNG quality variability decreases as the RNG accounts for a larger portion of the natural gas flowing past the grid injection point. The natural gas grid operates lines at different pressures, much in the same way as the electrical grid does with voltages.

An RNG project can become uneconomical if the injection point is far from the site or the pressure required to inject into the grid at the injection point is high.

In cases where the injection point is on a portion of the grid that is dendritic, the

consumers downstream of the injection point must consume sufficient natural gas year round to support year round injection.

In the past, biogas was flared, and natural gas was purchased for plant heating.

Some plants used the biogas to generate electricity or to drive blowers or pumps.

With a preferential rate for renewable electricity or a subsidy for behind the meter generation, many facilities installed combined heat and power engines. A step change occurred because the environmental characteristics of biogas have, in many jurisdictions, divorced the price of RNG from that of fossil fuel natural gas.

In the future, the end users who require a raw material derived from a renewable carbon source may transform biogas from fuel to a sought after raw material, increasing the biogas producer’s revenue even higher.

Patrick Coleman, P.Eng., is with Black & Veatch. Email: colemanpf@bv.com

June 2017 | 49

WASTEWATER

Collaboration and ingenuity lead to industrial wastewater solution

By Dwayne Ford

D

uring his Masters of Science in Chemical Engineering, Dr. Al jibouri’s university was approached

by Iraq’s environmental protection agency with a problem it could not solve.

Namely, how to remove high levels of chloride and sulfate ion concentrations being discharged into the Tigris River from an industrial electroplating wastewater treatment plant.

Dr. Al jibouri led a team that designed, manufactured, and installed electrodes to control the addition of oxidizing and reducing agents in the industrial electroplating wastewater treatment plant.

By doing so, his team was able to reduce concentrations of chloride and sulfate ions in the effluent to permissible levels.

When Dr. Al jibouri came to Canada and began a PhD at Ryerson University, it was natural for him to pursue his interest in industrial wastewater and he turned his attention to the problem of oil sands pollution in northern Alberta.

Canada’s oil sands occupy a 75,000 km2 area that has the potential for the extraction of up to 900 billion barrels of bitumen. The alkaline hot water extraction process used to remove bitumen from oil sands results in 4 m3 of wastewater per cubic metre of oil produced. Estimates are that, by 2025, extractions underway in the oil sands will lead to 1 billion cubic metres of wastewater. This byproduct is held in settling ponds but this cannot provide long-term protection against seepage into the groundwater and the resulting environmental damage.

The high levels of naphthenic acids in oil sands wastewater led the Alberta government to implement a zero-return policy that requires all wastewater to be stored in settling ponds rather than flowing back into the water supply. Recently, it also passed legislation requiring that all settling ponds be emptied within 10 years of the closure of a mine.

These regulations, which are critical 50 | June 2017

(Left to right) Dr. Jiangning Wu, Dr. Al jibouri, and Dr. Konstantin Volchek standing in front of equipment used in the continuous advanced oxidation process developed by Dr. Al jibouri as part of his PhD research. Photo credit: Dwayne Ford, Ryerson University

for the protection of the environment, are accelerating the oil sands wastewater crisis. If a solution cannot be found, the oil sands industry could be shut down, which would have an enormous negative economic impact on Alberta and Canada.

The challenge with naphthenic acids is that their compounds are simply too large for microorganisms responsible for biodegradation to digest. So Dr. Al jibouri worked to discover a process that will break down the compounds in naphthenic acids to such a size that they can be biodegraded naturally.

Prior to beginning his research, it was widely known that ozone has the capacity to break down bio-recalcitrant pollutants through oxidation. The difficulty is that ozone-based processes have historically been very expensive. It has never been possible to develop a technique that would be cost-effective when applied at an industrial scale.

Guided by his supervisor, Dr. Jiangning Wu, Dr. Al jibouri undertook the development of a procedure that would allow for optimal control of ozone levels to find the minimum amount of ozone required to break down the bonds in naphthenic acids. They also set out to develop a continuous system for wastewater treatment rather than the batch and semi-batch methods that had been used before.

At the outset, Dr. Al jibouri faced a problem inherent in adopting a novel approach: starting from scratch. For example, there was nothing in the literature about the kinetics of naphthenic acids and ozone. This meant they knew next to nothing about the chemical reactions between them. Without this knowledge, it would not be possible to build an effective wastewater treatment procedure.

This absence of information meant that the first stage of the research

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

involved the painstaking process of determining the minimum levels of ozone required to break down naphthenic acids.

Then, Dr. Al jibouri and Dr. Wu were able to build a procedure that would allow them to use both continuous ozonation processes, where only ozone is used, and continuous advanced oxidation processes in which a combination of ozone and hydrogen peroxide is utilized.

With the new mechanism and procedures established, they undertook the extensive optimal control studies required to discover if they could accurately adjust the amount of ozone used to break down the naphthenic acids.

RESULTS Pollution levels in wastewater are commonly measured using the ratio of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) with chemical oxygen demand (COD). If the BOD/COD ratio is higher than 0.5, the water is “clean” enough to be treated like normal municipal wastewater.

With their continuous ozonation process, Dr. Al jibouri and Dr. Wu were able to treat wastewater so well that the outlet stream had a BOD/COD ratio of 0.52 and 93% of the toxicity was removed. With the continuous advanced oxidation process, the ratio was 0.71 and 95% of the toxicity was removed. Remarkably, it only took 2.7 minutes to reduce the toxicity of the wastewater to a level that allowed for it to be returned to the water supply.

Of even further value, Dr. Al jibouri and Dr. Wu discovered that this method can be applied in a wide range of wastewater contexts. They ran a parallel experiment with a fast-kinetic pollutant compound, methyl blue, which is a prevalent side effect of industrial dye and textile processes, and found that their procedure was equally effective. A further potential is to use the method for in situ applications such as remediating perfluorinated foam, which is used in fighting forest fires and causes groundwater pollution.

During their research, Dr. Al jibouri and Dr. Wu developed a novel approach to controlling parameters that reduced operating costs by 35% – 80%, depending on the kinetics of the compounds. These findings were so significant that they did not publish them in the dissertation and have instead applied for a patent.

As a result of their discovery, Dr. Konstantin Volchek of Environment Canada is actively engaged with Dr. Al jibouri and Dr. Wu about applying their technology to the hundreds of controlled sites across Canada where non-biodegradable pollutants need to be treated.

After conducting a two-stage evaluation process, Environment Canada has approved the advanced technology. As a result, Environment Canada has included it in the remediation technology matrix that will be presented to Natural Resources Canada, oil sands companies, and other stakeholders.

Dr. Volchek also plans to explore further collaboration with the other departments of Environment Canada to open channels to market the wastewater treatment process. Possible industrial sectors ideally suited to use Dr. Al jibouri’s water treatment process would be those which produce industrial, non-biodewww.esemag.com

Pollution levels in wastewater are commonly measured using the ratio of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) with chemical oxygen demand (COD).

gradable pollutants, and engineering firms dealing with the treatment of industrial wastewaters.

Beyond its industrial applications, Dr. Al jibouri’s water treatment process could also be marketed to provincial and federal government agencies as a way to treat drinking water in some Canadian communities that are affected by non-biodegradable pollutants.

Dwayne Ford is with Ryerson University. For more information on the treatment process, email: aaljibou@ryerson.ca.

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June 2017 | 51

FILTRATION

3-D filtration cloth doubles filtration flow while keeping same pore size

By Friedrich Edelmeier

O

perators of nearly any fine filtration system have a common goal: to move fluid from one side of the filter to the other as efficiently as possible, while achieving the desired amount of filtration. Naturally, they’d also like to reduce operating costs.

However, several potential limitations stand in the way of efficiency and cost savings. These include the level of filtration required, amount of contaminants within the fluid, fluid viscosity, system pressure and turbulence, and much more.

While certain variables are fixed and others cannot be predicted, system operators do have a choice in the type of filter they use. Making a simple change to that filter has the potential to make a major difference in achieving filtration efficiency goals, as well as lowering the total cost of ownership of the filtration system.

Whether filtering contaminants from water and wastewater streams, oil and gas processes, pharmaceutical solutions, electronics fluids, or any other fluid stream, the need for fine particulate filtration has created a conundrum that sacrifices flow rates for filtration capabilities.

System designers want maximum filtration to remove very fine contaminants in the 5-micron (µm) to 40-µm range. That means filters must have as small of a pore size as possible. Yet, smaller pores limit flow and also require more energy to move fluids through the filter.

As a result, fine filtration has the potential to lack efficiency.

The only way to increase the flow through a given filter would be to add more pores for more open surface area.

That’s physically impossible within the confines of a traditionally woven two-dimensional (2-D) metal filter cloth. The cloth can only have a defined number of uniform pores within a given surface area. However, by moving to a three-dimensional (3-D) woven metal filter cloth design, the number of pores and the open 52 | June 2017

The reverse plain Dutch weave used to create the 3-D MINIMESH RPD HIFLO-S filter cloth offsets the top and bottom layers of pores, creating twice as many pores within a single filter element.

surface area of the filter can be doubled, within the same dimensional confines and using the same pore size.

Doubling the open surface area of the filter doubles its flow rate, providing three primary benefits for end users: 1. They can process twice the amount of fluid per day without expanding operations.

2. They can cut the time it takes to process a given volume in half, enabling production of more product batches per day.

3. When specifying new equipment or retrofitting existing equipment, they can reduce the size of the equipment, while maintaining or exceeding the original flow rate.

Using a 3-D woven metal filter cloth can mean notable efficiency gains throughout the entire processing stream.

In addition, the 3-D woven filter design offers several potential cost of ownership reductions related to minimized pressure loss, enhanced purging capabilities, extended filter life, reduced system downtime, wider material options, reduced

energy consumption and streamlined specifications.

ACHIEVING TWICE THE FLOW WITH THE SAME PORE SIZE Because the flow rate through a filter is so closely tied to the total open area of the filter’s pores, the best way to enhance the efficiency of the filter is to increase that open area by adding more pores. And the only way to do that is by going 3-D. By adding an additional layer of weaving, a 3-D filter cloth like the MINIMESH® RPD HIFLO-S metal woven filter cloth doubles the number of pores available for the given surface area of the filter element. Doubling the pores doubles the flow capacity.

The 3-D weaving principle is different than simply stacking two 2-D filter cloths on top of one another, which would just yield a double filter with no flow improvements. Instead, HIFLO-S uses a reverse plain Dutch weave that essentially offsets the top and bottom layers of pores, effectively creating twice as many

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Table 1. MINIMESH RPD HIFLO-S Filter Cloth Specifications.

pores within a single 3-D filter element.

through. The phenomenon is not a deficiency of the filtration system, but rather MINIMIZING SYSTEM an expected outcome of filtering out PRESSURE LOSS unwanted particulates.

In addition to enhancing flow, doubling When a system operator notices that the number of pores for a given filter downstream flow has slowed and effidimension also has important implica- ciency has dropped, it is time to check the tions for managing pressure within the filter for clogging. The unclogging process filtration system. typically involves a system backflush that Filtration system operators ideally reverses fluid flow to push contaminants want a balanced system that has equal out of the filter. The process works best pressure on either side of the filter. That when contaminants are not physically also means having equal and consistent bound to the filter cloth. The 3-D HIFLO-S flow through the filter media. This ideal filter cloth captures contaminants on the can be difficult to achieve with a conven- surface of the cloth, so they don’t physitionally woven, 2-D filter cloth. This is cally enter it and become stuck there. because it may not have enough open surface area to let fluid pass through EXPANDING FILTER without pressure building upstream and MATERIAL OPTIONS dropping off downstream.

The total cost of ownership of a filtraThe 3-D weave structure of HIFLO-S tion system is also tied to the type of matedoubles the number of holes within the rials that can be used for the filter. Corrofiltration media’s surface area, allowing sion- and temperature-resistant materials double the fluid to pass through the help to maximize filter life due to their filter. This helps to further decrease the durability within process streams carrypressure differential and helps operators ing hot and/or corrosive fluids. However, better achieve a balanced system that is such materials have limitations in terms also more efficient. of the size of wires that can be produced.

This restriction has traditionally limited ENHANCING FILTER the size of pores that can be created within PURGING CAPABILITIES a filter cloth, as well as the particle size the While a properly designed filtration cloth can filter. system may be balanced initially, downCorrosion- and temperature-resistant stream pressure will likely decrease grad- materials, such as Alloy 310 S, Inconel ually over time as the filter cloth captures 600, Superduplex, Duplex, Hastelloy C contaminants from the upstream fluid. 22 and titanium, are brittle when they’re Those contaminants – which are all larger extruded to very small-sized wires. The than the filter’s pore size – will progres- thin wires are often too brittle to enable sively clog the filter, slowly reducing weaving, which traditionally meant filter the open size of its pores and limiting cloths made from exotic materials could the open surface area for fluid to move only have pore sizes greater than 40 µm. www.esemag.com

However, the 3-D weave structure of the HIFLO-S metal filter cloth has changed this. It allows for the filter cloth to have pore sizes between 5 µm and 40 µm, while using thicker wires made from specialty materials. This provides a wider range of possible applications for filtration system owners, who now have the capability to filter finer contaminants from corrosive and high-temperature process streams.

STREAMLINING FILTER SPECIFICATION Using simulation software, designers can optimize a virtual woven filter cloth for a specific application and calculate the pore sizes, flow rates, turbulence and fluid dynamics before producing the actual cloth. These simulations essentially serve as a virtual trial-and-error process, while forgoing traditional physical trials. Ultimately, the filter cloth will need to be tested in the actual system to confirm it performs as expected.

CONCLUSIONS While filtration system designers can make select adjustments to pumping pressures and flow paths to enhance the efficiency of their systems, the design of the filtration media has the most bearing on enhancing efficiency. By shifting to the 3-D HIFLO-S filter cloth, designers have the ability to double their system flow rates, while still filtering the same size of particles.

Friedrich Edelmeier is with W.S. Tyler’s parent company Haver & Boecker. www.haverboecker.com June 2017 | 53

RENEWABLE ENERGY

How will Saskatchewan’s new siting guidelines impact wind energy developers?

By Jordyn Allan

L

ast September, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment refused to approve the development of a proposed wind energy project near the Village of Chaplin, Saskatchewan.

Environmental concerns, predominantly the concern that the proposed location was too close to a migratory bird flight path, led to the Ministry refusing the project’s environmental permit.

The Chaplin Project was Saskatchewan’s first Environmental Impact Assessment (as defined in the Environmental Assessment Act) for a utility-scale independent power producer wind energy project. Not coincidentally, the same day as the Chaplin Project permit was refused, the Wildlife Siting Guidelines for Saskatchewan Wind Energy Projects were released.

Given that wind energy is relatively new, any guidance that may inform what constitutes the site of a viable wind energy project is beneficial to wind energy developers overall.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SITING GUIDELINES The new Siting Guidelines have been designed to enhance environmental protection, provide certainty to future wind energy projects and promote responsible development of utility-scale wind energy in Saskatchewan.

Pursuant to the Siting Guidelines, all proposed wind energy projects must undergo the preliminary environmental assessment screening process to determine whether the project is a “development” under The Environmental Assessment Act. The Act defines a “development” as any project that may have prescribed significant effects on the environment or cause widespread public concern because of potential environmental changes.

If a project falls under the definition of a “development”, it may not proceed until the requisite ministerial approval has been received. A development must undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment intended to inform the Minister of Environment of the potential impacts of the development prior to making a decision.

The Siting Guidelines are a form of planning tool for wind energy developers that set out ministry standards, expectations and advice, to support siting locations in the hopes of fast tracking the 54 | June 2017

Environmental Impact Assessment process. The new Siting Guidelines provide appropriate locations in Saskatchewan for wind energy projects.

In doing so, they identify avoidance zones where the risk of ecological impacts or public concerns related to wind energy projects is high.

Pursuant to the Guidelines, a five kilometre buffer zone has been established around designated environmentally-sensitive avoidance areas such as national and provincial parks, ecological reserves, important bird areas, and key rivers and lakes.

Areas outside of the avoidance zones are believed to be lower risk sites, better suited for wind energy development. Avoidance zones are also depicted in a map appended to the Siting Guidelines.

According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA), Canada finished 2016 with 11,898 MW of wind energy capacity.

This is enough to power 3 million homes, or six per cent of the country’s electricity demand. Photo and infographics courtesy of CanWEA.

IMPACT FOR WIND ENERGY PROJECTS IN SASKATCHEWAN The trial and error approach for wind energy development in Saskatchewan has been replaced with the new Siting Guidelines, which will provide wind energy developers some much needed clarity on how their proposed projects might fare in the environmental regulatory review process.

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

The new Siting Guidelines will provide wind energy developers some much needed clarity on how their proposed projects might fare in the environmental regulatory review process.

The Siting Guidelines place a great emphasis on the potential risks to wildlife, particularly bird and bat populations. Therefore, wind energy developers may wish to examine their proposed projects closely to evaluate the impact on migratory corridors or whether there are features of their projects that attract or disrupt flying species.

That being said, with the new Siting Guidelines comes more extensive pre-project planning, approval, and operational, environmental assessment and compliance costs, all borne by wind energy developers. Further, higher standards for low environmental impact sites will likely ensue, for which associated costs to implement such sites will also be absorbed by developers.

In practice, since the Siting Guidelines suggest where and how wind energy development should be done, they will likely become the criteria for regulatory permitting decisions. There is an inference that projects that are inconsistent with the Siting Guidelines will be rejected.

Though potentially costly to wind energy developers, this information provided directly by the Minister of Environment, the deciding body itself, is a valuable asset for those parties.

Jordyn Allan is a Student-at-Law with Miller Thomson LLP. Email: jallan@millerthomson.com www.esemag.com

Thank You! To our sponsors and exhibitors,

Thank you for participating at this year’s Canadian Environmental Conference & Tradeshow. We look forward to working with you again in the future.

—The CANECT Team

SPONSORS • Team-1 Academy • ERS Industrial Cleaning Equipment • LimeGREEN Equipment Rental • Pinchin • Wessuc Inc. • ERIS • Warren’s Waterless Printing • CWWA

• • • • • •

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EXHIBITORS ACG Technology Ltd. | Acute Environmental & Safety Services | AESAC Inc. | AET Group | Arkit | Canadian Safety Equipment | CD Nova-Tech | Cooperative Education & Career Action | Dragun Corporation | Drain-All Ltd. | Elemental Controls | Envirocan | Environment and Climate Change Canada | Environmental Rental Service | ERE Inc. | ES&E Magazine | Firma Foreign Exchange | Forterra Pipe | Hoskin Scientific | HydroFLOW Canada | Hydroxyl Environmental | KG Services | LimeGreen Equipment Rental | Metro Compactor Service | Mindspace Inc. | Ontario Society of Professional Engineers | Pack-A-Cone | Pinchin | QM Environmental | Royal Roads University | RWDI | Safe Drain Canada | SARAFINCHIN Associates Ltd. | SciCorp International Corp | SolarWall | Solinst Canada Ltd. | Spill Management | Super Sucker Hydro Vac Service | SUTERA North America | Team-1 Academy | University of Waterloo | Vector Process Equipment | Veolia North America | Vissers Sales Corp. | Warren’s Waterless Printing | Wessuc Inc. | WISE Environmental | WSP Canada

June 2017 | 55

CONSULTING ENGINEERING

Challenges and opportunities for Canadian Consulting Engineering Firms ES&E Magazine spoke with Shawn Scott, President and CEO of R.V. Anderson Associates (RVA), to talk about the company’s new look, and opportunities for consulting engineering in Canada. By Peter Davey, ES&E Magazine RVA recently announced a new logo and identity.

What made the company decide on this new look?

With the retirement of Ken Morrison, our past-president, and a number of senior directors in the firm, RVA has gone through a generational change in the company. To refocus the company, we embarked on a strategic planning exercise with the intent of refreshing our vision and establishing new goals for the firm.

As part of our new vision, it seemed fitting to rebrand the firm, and that we tie the new direction of the company with a new look.

It’s worth mentioning that our new logo maintains the RVA's new logo keeps the "double-A", developed by founder Roderick tie to the iconic “double-A” which was developed by our Anderson. (Right) Shawn Scott, President and CEO of RVA. founder Roderick Anderson and was synonymous with us being referred to as “Anderson’s Associates”. It was important to come up with a logo that maintained the history of the company, and one that our clients could readily identify with.

The challenges are many. We are starting to see the effects How does growth fit into your strategic plan? of growth, demographic changes and climate change on our One of our strategic goals targeted growing the company. infrastructure. The recent flooding in Quebec and New BrunsWe have increased our staffing by almost 15% over the last wick is one example of the impact climate change is having on year and a half, and we’re continuing to focus on organic our systems. With an increase in the frequency and intensity growth and ultimately branching out and expanding into new of storm events, our infrastructure is being put under more geographical areas. and more pressure.

Tying into the human capital needs of the firm moving From my perspective, there are many opportunities with forward, we asked: “What are the things that we need to do to infrastructure renewal. We’re just starting to see the pressure become a great place to work?” We have introduced changes on the systems, and the need for municipalities to keep up such as health and wellness programs, a corporate gym with their current and developing strategies. RVA is well positioned to aid our clients with these changes. membership and improved vacation benefits.

Consulting engineering companies are often Are there any areas of growth that you see when it announcing mergers and acquisitions. What is your comes to infrastructure projects?

Certainty, asset management and facility management have outlook on this and does it fit into RVA’s plans?

It’s interesting that we have seen acquisitions come full circle become a larger part of our business as our clients continue to some degree. The larger firms continue to buy up the smaller to focus on prioritizing their capital projects and needs. I firms, but now we have started to see the spin-off firms start up, think the pressure on our infrastructure is going to lead to a as the senior partners of acquired firms leave to branch out and focus on alternative delivery models, such as design-build and start smaller companies.

Private-Public-Partnerships, to be able to deliver projects in a In terms of RVA, our shareholders were unanimous in timely fashion. We are certainly starting to be more involved maintaining our employee-owned structure. We are certainly in the alternative delivery market. exploring strategic acquisition opportunities to find a firm that shares the same culture and values that we do, and shares our How do the coming years look for consulting growth strategy. engineering in Canada?

I would say that I’m bullish on the outlook. We see a lot of Water, wastewater and transportation are your opportunities in the infrastructure marketplace and certainly with our current clients. From our perspective, there are many primary business areas. What challenges and opportunities in 2017 and we’re looking at that continuing opportunities do you see in the future for these well into 2018 and 2019. sectors in Canada?

56 | June 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

INFRASTRUCTURE

New tech allows spot specific piping repair

By Michael O'Toole

S

ource One Environmental’s PipePatch is a no-dig, trenchless pipe rehabilitation system for small and large pipe diameters up to 180 cm, and in 60 cm and 120 cm sections. It is a cured-in-place pipe process, which creates a pipe within a pipe, with minimal change to the original diameter.

Through this process, not only does PipePatch stop infiltration, but it also improves performance of the storm or sanitary sewer system. As only areas that require rehabilitation need be addressed, this saves time and money versus digging up, or relining an entire pipe section.

PipePatch exceeds the CIPP Specification ASTM F1216, which requires that materials be tested for a 50-year minimum service life, and its products meet NSF and ICC-ES-PMG specifications. Its trenchless technology has been tested and proven to withstand pressure, extreme conditions, and time to ensure that the pipe is rehabilitated and performing well for future years.

Supplied in a kitted format, each kit contains the necessary pre-measured items, including resin, fiberglass mat and other consumables, to carry out a repair.

This process eliminates the need for large storage areas, installation guesswork, and excess product waste.

PipePatch utilizes a patented, non-hazardous resin that is odor-less, non-flammable and doesn’t contain any volatile organic compounds or styrene. The resin has outstanding bonding properties to most materials and resistance to over 63 chemicals.

While it is beneficial to clean debris from the area of repair, the presence of water and infiltration does not limit the ability to complete the repair. After locating the damaged area with a push or crawler camera, mark the camera cable and note the distance measurement onto PipePatch push rods or pull cables.

After testing all of the equipment above ground, perform a dry run to ensure the packer (air bladder) can reach the repair area. Then, it is time to mix the www.esemag.com

(Top) PipePatch is supplied in a kitted format that eliminates the need for guesswork.

(Bottom) Before and after PipePatch was installed.

pre-measured bagged resin, spread it on the fiberglass mat, which gets wrapped around the packer. The packer is then pushed or pulled into place and inflated so the fiberglass gets pressed against the inside wall of the pipe. It needs to be held in position for about an hour and a half. No steam, or hot water, is needed as the PipePatch resin cures at the ambient temperature. After the patch is cured, the packer is deflated and removed from the pipe.

A city in Ontario needed to repair 200 mm diameter sewer main that had soil and water infiltration due to missing approximately 250 mm of pipe. The main was located on a busy six lane road which would require a standard dig-and-replace job, shutting down the entire south-bound lanes to avoid a

sinkhole from forming. Looking for a solution that would avoid traffic disruption and cut costs, the city turned to PipePatch.

To prepare for the PipePatch installation, a section of the road was cornered off and a vacuum truck was brought to the job site in case of high flow. A trained and certified city crew of five people completed the repair in three hours and saved the city thousands of dollars. The sewer main was structurally repaired with only a 3 mm change to the original diameter. Not only was the public and environment undisturbed during the installation, but the rehabilitation added decades of additional service life to the pipeline.

Michael O'Toole is with FERNCO. For more information, visit: www.fernco.ca June 2017 | 57

PRODUCT & SERVICE SHOWCASE Aerobic Granular Sludge System

The AquaNereda® Aerobic Granular Sludge System represents an evolution in activated sludge treatment, replicating the same effluent quality as a well-designed enhanced BNR facility but without the use of chemicals. The dramatically reduced footprint and low energy requirement of the AquaNereda process provides a competitive alternative for high performance plants.

T: 815-639-4582 F: 815-654-2508 E: ckunz@aqua-aerobic.com W: www.aqua-aerobic.com

Aqua-Aerobic Systems

Hybrid Chemical Metering Pump

®

The New Proseries-M MD-3 Hybrid Chemical Metering Pump provides precision chemical metering for municipal water and wastewater treatment, and is NSF 61 Listed. MD-3 has 2000:1 turndown and provides smooth chemical dosing; no pulsation dampener is required. With 380 strokes per minute, it provides a remarkably steady flow. The drop-inplace design, along with conveniently built-in controls, makes installation and set-up fast and efficient.

T: 714-893-8529 F: 714-894-9492 E: sales@blue-white.com W: www.blue-white.com

Blue-White Industries

Peristaltic Metering Pump

®

Proseries-M M-4 metering pumps are designed for use in high volume municipal water and wastewater treatment applications. Their drop-in-place design and conveniently built-in controls make installation and set-up fast and efficient.

Additional benefits include: digital touch pad; backlit LCD; NSF 61 listed and 58 | June 2017

NEMA 4X/ IP 66; patented tube failure detection system; feed rates from .0028 to 158.5 GPH, pressures to 125 PSI. T: 714-893-8529 F: 714-894-9492 E: sales@blue-white.com W: www.blue-white.com

Blue-White Industries

Corrosion Prevention

Large diameter work being done? Time is money and with Denso Mastic Blankets as part of your Denso corrosion prevention system, you can get the job done right, more efficiently. At 10” x 39”, the mastic blankets cover a large area, filling voids and profiling in seconds. Protect your assets and save time and money with the Denso Petrolatum System.

T: 416-559-7459 E: stuart@densona-ca.com W: www.densona.com

Denso

Monitor chemical usage and contain spills

Mixing Tank Contents

The JDV Nozzle Mix System is a dual zone mixing technology that provides uniform mixing patterns that produce even distribution and a stable environment. The system will optimize solids suspension and contact to promote efficiency in a wide range of applications. The high-velocity nozzles are mounted inside the tank and are oriented to discharge in a flow pattern that completely mixes the tank contents.

T: 519-469-8169 E: jrodger@greatario.com W: www. greatario.com

GREATARIO Engineered Storage Systems

Dissolved Air Flotation

Dissolved air flotation is used for water clarification in industrial plants, food, oil & gas, mining, pulp & paper, and municipal water and wastewater plants. DAF can remove most TSS, FOG, and insoluble BOD. H2Flow has units in stock, pilot units, and complete treatment systems.

T: 888-575-8642 W: www.h2flowDAF.com

H2Flow Equipment

Chlorine Emergency Shutoff

™

The SpillSafe LX Drum Scale from Force Flow accurately monitors the amount of chemical used and remaining and also provides protection against uncontained chemical spills.

An automatic deploying spill bladder keeps overall platform height to a minimum for easy drum change-out, while still allowing up to 66 gallons of spill containment.

T: 925-686-6700 F: 925- 686-6713 E: info@forceflow.com W: www.forceflow.com

Force Flow

™

The Terminator Actuator from Halogen Valve Systems can now be used on chlorine ton containers as well as 150 lb cylinders to instantly stop the flow of chlorine in case of an emergency. Emergency chlorine shutoff is initiated when the controller receives a close contact signal from a leak detector or included emergency shutoff switch and a relay output.

T: 877-476-4222 F: 949-261-5033 E: info@halogenvalve.com W: www.halogenvalve.com

Halogen Valve Systems Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Wading Discharge Measurement

The FlowTracker2 Wading Discharge Measurement Instrument is the modern approach for tried-andtrue ADV technology. It provides proven SonTek ADV accuracy, waterproof display, interchangeable probes, and embedded GPS. It is intuitive, graphical and easy to use.

E: salesb@hoskin.ca, Burlington, ON E: salesv@hoskin.ca, Burnaby, BC E: salesm@hoskin.ca, Montreal, QC W: www.hoskin.ca

Hoskin Scientific

Automated Portable Samplers

YSI ProSample Automated Samplers are fully automated portable samplers for environmental, wastewater, surface water and industrial treatment markets.

Single composite or multi-bottle options are available. A proprietary peristaltic pump is included for highly accurate sampling, based on time, flow or weather event.

E: salesb@hoskin.ca, Burlington, ON E: salesv@hoskin.ca, Burnaby, BC E: salesm@hoskin.ca, Montreal, QC W: www.hoskin.ca

Hoskin Scientific

Sludge Thickening

Using a unique circular design for sludge thickening with only one major moving component rotating, the fully enclosed, totally automatic operation of the Huber Technology S-Disc provides reliable operation and minimal operator attention.

The reduced footprint allows for easy retrofit. Learn more about how you can put this innovative solution to work for you at huberforum.net/SDISC. T: 704-949-1010 E: huber@hhusa.net W: www.huber-technology.com

Huber Technology www.esemag.com

Stormwater Treatment

Imbrium & Langley Concrete Group implemented Jellyfish Filter units to provide enhanced stormwater treatment at two new, green energy, biomass energy facilities located in British Columbia. Being an industrial site, inspections and maintenance are conducted by trained plant personnel on a schedule, ensuring the systems operate as designed.

For more information on this exciting development, call Paul at 1-800-2685336 x 27.

T: 800-268-5336 F: 888-220-2213 W: www.msumississauga.com

MSU Mississauga

Filtration Products

T: 416-960-9900 E: info@imbriumsystems.com W: www.imbriumsystems.com

Imbrium Systems

Single Structure Stormwater Treatment

Experience – that is what sets ORIVAL Water Filters apart from competitors.

Thirty years under one ownership, with long-term application engineers on staff, make ORIVAL, Inc. your reliable provider of filtration products.

Orival, Inc. has hundreds of automatic self-cleaning screen filter models, with a filter for nearly every application.

T: 800-568-9767 E: filters@orival.com W: www.orival.com

Orival

A peak diversion Jellyfish Filter, single structure vault was manufactured and supplied by Lecuyer on a new commercial development and roadway extension in Quebec. Providing a single structure stormwater treatment system, reduced the excavation requirement and allowed for easy and quick installation, with reduced overall infrastructure.

T: 416-960-9900 E: info@imbriumsystems.com W: www.imbriumsystems.com

Imbrium Systems

Folding Handrailing Extension MSU has developed a new safety feature for underground stairways – a folding handrailing extension!!

Network via Industry Linkedin Group

The LinkedIn Water and Wastewater Industry Group by Sherwin-Williams Protective and Marine Coatings is the place for water and wastewater professionals to discuss issues related to protective coatings and lining materials.

Members advance industry thought leadership via engaging case studies, tips and solutions. Visit the link below and click “Ask to Join.”

T: 216-292-4700 E: shunsberger@marcusthomasllc.com W: www.linkedin.com/groups/7053701

Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings

June 2017 | 59

PRODUCT & SERVICE SHOWCASE Annual Impact Award

Water Level Indicator

Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings has opened entries for its annual Sherwin-Williams Impact Award, which recognizes excellence in North American water and wastewater projects using the company’s coating and lining materials. Any new, restored, and/or rehabilitated structure completed in 2016 is eligible. Applications will be accepted until July 15, 2017.

Waterra WS-2 Water Level Sensors are advanced products that utilize the most recent electronic technology. The WS-2 features innovative design as well as compactness, portability and reliability — all at a competitive price. Available in imperial/metric and open/closed reel formats.

T: 216-292-4700 E: shunsberger@marcusthomasllc.com W: www.sherwin-williams.com/ impactawards

Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings

T: 905-238-5242 F: 905-238-5704 E: sales@waterra.com W: www.waterra.com

High Performance Automation

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.

The Hydrolift-2 gives you the power and endurance you need — without breaking a sweat.

T: 905-238-5242 F: 905-238-5704 E: sales@waterra.com W: www.waterra.com

Waterra Pumps

Containment Solutions

Waterra Pumps

Oil/Water Interface Sensor

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.

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.

Wise Environmental Solutions Inc. exceeds your expectations, with customer service, prompt delivery/ pick up and the safest most advanced equipment in the industry. We offer: frac, mini frac, open top weir and mixer tanks, vacuum, dewatering, environmental roll off boxes, containment berms and competitive disposal and transportation rates. We offer emergency response and are available 24/7.

We are Canadian owned and operated and service all of Canada.

Waterra Pumps

Waterra Pumps

Wise Environmental Solutions

Disposable groundwater filter

T: 905-238-5242 F: 905-238-5704 E: sales@waterra.com W: www.waterra.com

60 | June 2017

T: 905-238-5242 F: 905-238-5704 E: sales@waterra.com W: www.waterra.com

T: 519-542-6667 F: 519-542-8996 E: amanda@wiseenv.com W: www.wiseenv.com

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

ES&E NEWS ES&E NEWS FUNDING ANNOUNCED FOR CANADIAN WATER, WASTEWATER AND STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

Funding was recently announced for a number of environmental and infrastructure projects across Canada. Environment and Climate Change Canada announced $5.5 million from the Environmental Damages Fund for environmental projects in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Québec and Saskatchewan.

According to the Ministry, this funding will support projects that help to restore or enhance the environment, conduct environmental research, and provide public education on environmental issues.

Eligible applicants include: non-governmental organizations; universities and academic institutions; indigenous organizations; and provincial, territorial and municipal governments. For details on funding, visit www.ec.gc.ca/edf-fde.

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ONTARIO

For the Region of Peel, the Government of Canada announced that 30 new projects were approved under the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund (CWWF).

Federal funding will cover up to 50% of these projects’ costs, which amounts to over $69 million. Funding from the Government of Ontario will cover up to 25%, or $34 million.

According to Infrastructure Canada, this investment will cover the rehabilitation and/or replacement of a number of sewage pumping stations, as well as equipment at several wastewater treatment plants in the Region.

Infrastructure Canada also announced support for wastewater treatment and stormwater infrastructure in Ottawa.

Eighteen new projects were approved under the CWWF. The federal government is providing up to 50% of funding for these projects – $30.2 million. The provincial government is providing up to 25% of funding for these projects – $15.1 million, and the recipient will provide the balance of funding.

Projects supported by this investment include a new stormwater management

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HYDRO-LOGIC ENVIRONMENTAL INC. T: 905-777-9494 • F: 905-777-8678 • info@hydrologic.ca • www.hydrologic.ca

762 Upper St. James Street, Suite 250, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L9C 3A2

continued overleaf...

www.esemag.com

June 2017 | 61

ES&E NEWS

• Aqualoader Bulk Water & Septage Receiving Stations • Kupferle Sampling Stations and Automatic Flushers • Hot Box Enclosures • Febco Backflow Preventers www.birksco.com sales@birksco.com

Insitu Groundwater Contractors • • • • • P: 519-763-0700 F: 519-763-6684 • 48 Dawson Road Guelph, ON N1H 5V1

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

www.insitucontractors.com

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Tel: 905-634-7751 • Fax: 905-333-4313 www.Rustrol.com

and snow disposal facility on West Brook Drive, upgrades to the Robert O. Pickard Environment Centre Thickening and Dewatering Building, and a project to construct sanitary sewers and water mains in the Vanier area.

The government of Ontario announced $737,948 to support improvements to the Picton Water Treatment Plant in Prince Edward County. Upgrades to the plant will include filter rehabilitation and improvements to the chlorine system.

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

The government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced more than $5.5 million in joint federal-provincial funding for the second phase of the Portugal Cove Road water main replacement project in St. John’s.

The project aims to reduce service outages and traffic disruptions caused by breakages in the water main. Replacement of this critical stretch will also improve the efficiency and reliability of water transmission from the Windsor Lake water treatment facility to residences in the east end, city centre and downtown areas of St. John’s.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

$6.7 million in joint provincial and federal funding from the CWWF was announced for the City of Port Alberni’s wastewater treatment system upgrades.

The City’s wastewater treatment upgrade project will utilize a disused lagoon facility purchased by the City from Catalyst Paper, resulting in expanded wastewater treatment capacity. The City of Port Alberni said the new wastewater system should exceed federal and provincial standards.

Costs associated with the overall project have been estimated at approximately $22 million, excluding the acquisition costs of the lagoon facility.

QUEBEC

The governments of Canada and Quebec announced an investment of more than $2.2 million from the CWWF

62 | June 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

ES&E NEWS ES&E NEWS for upgrades to the Town of ChibouThe provincial government estimates gamau’s wastewater pumping stations, that this loan will lead to up to 1,650 new in the Nord-du-Québec region. jobs in reclamation work over the next Over $1.35 million in joint federal three years, reducing the liability facing and provincial funding was announced the OWA by approximately one-third. for renewal of Saint-Adolphe-d’How- Alberta has an estimated 180,000 active ard’s water pipes. wells, 83,000 inactive wells and 69,000 More than $3.6 million in joint provin- abandoned wells. cial and federal funding was announced If the legislation is passed, the provfor two water projects in the Montérégie ince said it would finance the loan by region under the CWWF. One is in the using the $30 million provided in the Régie d’assainissement des Coteaux, and recent federal budget to backstop a loan one in the Town of Brome Lake. much larger and at more favourable rates The projects supported by these than the OWA could access on its own. funds will contribute to the maintenance, The OWA is an industry-funded renewal and development of drinking agency that works to close and reclaim water treatment and distribution infra- infrastructure from oil and gas compastructure, and treatment and disposal of nies that no longer exist. This involves wastewater. removing equipment, sealing wells and ensuring the safety of the site for the public. It has an annual budget of $30 million, which is scheduled to increase XCG CONSULTING SELLS to $60 million in the 2019-20 fiscal year.

ITS WATER GROUP TO COLE

ENGINEERING

XCG Consulting Ltd. has sold the XCG Water Group, as well as the XCG Training and Operations unit, to Cole Engineering Group Ltd., an Ontario-based engineering and consulting company.

Tom Williams, President of XCG, said in a press release that “the sale will accelerate XCG’s expansion of our site assessment, remediation, risk assessment and solid waste services to better serve our national and regional clients, while also providing technical and professional growth opportunities for our staff.”

Mohsen Mortada, President of Cole Engineering, said: “By combining XCG’s experts in water, wastewater and stormwater with our existing team of planners and engineers we have further enhanced Cole’s position.” www.xcg.com

ALBERTA TO ‘BOOST’ THE CLEANUP OF OLD OIL AND GAS SITES

In comparison, 20 Crypto outbreaks linked to swimming were reported in 2011, 16 in 2012, and 13 in 2013. The CDC said it is not clear whether the number of outbreaks has increased or whether better surveillance and laboratory methods are leading to better outbreak detection.

Crypto is the most common cause of diarrheal illness and outbreaks linked to swimming pools or water playgrounds because it is not easily killed by chlorine and can survive up to 10 days in properly treated water. Swallowing just a mouthful of water contaminated with Crypto can make otherwise healthy people sick for up to three weeks with watery diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, or vomiting, and can lead to dehydration.

According to an article by the CBC, “Cryptosporidiosis became a notifiable disease in Canada in 2000. Since then, the number of reported cases has ranged from 587 per year to more than 1,700 in www.alberta.ca 2001.”

CRYPTO OUTBREAKS LINKED TO SWIMMING HAVE DOUBLED SINCE 2014

Outbreaks of a parasitic infection linked to swimming pools and water playgrounds are increasingly being reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with twice as many outbreaks in 2016 as in 2014.

At least 32 outbreaks caused by Cryptosporidium (also known as “Crypto”) linked to swimming pools or water playgrounds in the United States were reported in 2016, compared with 16 outbreaks in 2014, according to preliminary data published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The parasite can spread when people swallow something that has come into contact with the feces of a sick person, such as pool water contaminated with diarrhea.

www.cdc.gov

TRANSPORT CANADA PROPOSING ENHANCEMENTS TO ERAP REGS

In March, Transport Canada released “Enhancing the regulatory framework for emergency response assistance plans (ERAPs)”, which is a consultation document on proposed amendments to Part 7 (ERAPs) of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations.

An ERAP is to be activated if any of the following criteria are met.

• Could the integrity of the Means of Containment have been compromised?

• Is a transfer anticipated or required?

• Is there a release or an anticipated release?

• Did a First Responder/Authority continued overleaf...

The Alberta government has introduced legislation that would allow it to lend the Orphan Well Association (OWA) $235 million to speed up proper abandonment and reclamation of a growing number of oil and gas well sites that no longer have a responsible owner. www.esemag.com

June 2017 | 63

ES&E NEWS Barrie • Belleville • Brampton • Collingwood • Kingston • Ottawa WWW.AINLEYGROUP.COM

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2014-11-12

Having Jurisdiction/Carrier ask for assistance to mitigate the situation?

Activation of an ERAP will also be permitted if the above criteria are not met, but the ERAP holder judges that activation is necessary.

Once the decision to activate has been made, the ERAP holder must contact CANUTEC as soon as reasonably possible, taking into account the need to ensure public safety and must activate to Tier 1 (provision of technical advice over the phone) upon activation of the ERAP. Descriptions of potential accidents and responses corresponding to the three Tiers of Service must be included in the Potential Accident Assessment going forward, in order for an ERAP to be approved or renewed. A technical advisor must be available to answer a 10:29call AM to the ERAP telephone number 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, while the dangerous goods requiring an ERAP are in transport.

BACK TO THE FUTURE FOR FISHERIES ACT

Engineers and Environmental Consultants 1-800-265-9662 www.rjburnside.com

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2014-06-20

Tap into water’s potential

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has tabled its latest report on the 2012 amendments to the Fisheries Act. Following its exhaustive review, the Committee recommended that Parliament reverse amendments to subsection 35(1) and restore the intent of original wording prohibiting “the harmful alteration or disruption, or the destruction, of fish habitat,” which had been frequently invoked when charges were laid for water pollution.

While the Standing Committee’s primary recommendation was to restore the intent of the original provisions, it also recommended going beyond those by adopting an “ecosystem approach to fish habitat protection to protect marine biodiversity as a whole, not just commercially valuable species.”

In total, the Committee report contains 12:10over PM 30 recommendations to improve the Act. www.ourcommons.ca

Design with community in mind stantec.com/water 64 | June 2017

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

ES&E NEWS ES&E NEWS DISPERSE YELLOW 3 DYE TO BE ADDED TO TOXIC SUBSTANCES LIST

Revolution pledging support for the planting of 1,000 trees and will continue with an additional tree planted for every The Canadian government recom- order of electronic waste picked up for mends adding Disperse Yellow 3 die recycling by Revolution. to Schedule One of its List of Toxic Forest Recovery Canada (FRC) Substances. It is primarily used in textile supports forest restoration projects in facilities for the dyeing of polyester, ecologically significant areas to create polyester blends, nylon, cellulose fibres contiguous forest cover across Canada. and acrylics. Disperse Yellow 3 does not In addition to supporting habitat and dissolve readily in water and is often source water protection, contiguous in the form of crystals of varying sizes. forests have a greater capacity to sequesThese dyes frequently end up in munic- ter emissions, making them a vital asset ipal wastewater streams, since most in addressing climate change. textile mills offer little or no pre-treatRevolution provides businesses of all ment. sizes across Canada and the U.S. with the According to the Canada Gazette, pickup of electronics, including phones, Disperse Yellow 3 was identified in monitors, servers and computers, all of the screening assessment as having which are recycled in accordance with the potential to cause cancer based on international recycling standards. evidence of increased tumours in rats For more information, E-mail: and mice from a study by the United smckay@forestsontario.ca, or csmiller@ revrecycling.com.

States National Toxicology Program.

The Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA) said that while it supports the elimination of known envi- MINING COMPANY FINED FOR ronmental and human health threats, NUNAVUT TAILINGS POND LEAK it’s important that, in this case, the dye Agnico Eagle Mines Limited pleaded is managed at the textile mill either by guilty, in the Nunavut Court of Justice, application techniques that reduce the to one offence under the Fisheries Act amount of waste dye, or by using alter- and was fined $50,000 and added to the natives. The CWWA also said that, in Environmental Offenders Registry. consultation with its Wastewater and Environment and Climate Change Stormwater Committee, many munic- Canada said, in August 2013, an inspecipalities may already have discharge tion at the Meadowbank Gold Mine limits as part of their municipal bylaws. revealed seepage from the tailings

impoundment area into an area immediately next to a fish-bearing water body.

The release had not been reported to an Environment and Climate Change Canada inspector or to the territorial spill line.

According to an article by the CBC, the spill was discovered by an Indigenous and Northern Affairs inspector in July 2013. The inspector noticed red-coloured water and sediment in a lake that contained trout and also observed the same red-coloured water in an adjacent waste rock storage sump. www.ec.gc.ca

MANITOBA ANNOUNCES 2016 EXCELLENCE IN SUSTAINABILITY AWARD WINNERS

The recipients of the 2016 Manitoba Excellence in Sustainability Awards were announced recently by Sustainable Development Minister Cathy Cox. Champion for Sustainability is Brian Humniski of Maples Collegiate in Winnipeg. With over two decades in the field of tourism education, Humniski has encouraged students to get engaged in the cultural, economic and sociological aspects of tourism and developed tourism curriculum that is taught in Manitoba and across the country. www.gov.mb.ca/sd/

xcg.com

Municipal Infrastructure Water Resources Site Assessment Solid Waste

RECYCLING FIRM SUPPORTS TREE PLANTING ACROSS CANADA

Wastewater & Water Treatment Remediation & Risk Assessment

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Since 1990

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2016-02-01 9:42 AM

Forests Ontario has announced a new national tree planting partnership with Revolution Recycling Inc. in support of its Forest Recovery Canada program.

The partnership kicked off in 2016 with www.esemag.com

June 2017 | 65

Advertiser INDEX

Company Page

ES&E NEWS

ACG Technology................................... 67 Aerzen Canada..................................... 25 Associated Engineering....................... 22 AWI........................................................ 7 Blue-White........................................... 11 Denso .................................................. 13 Endress + Hauser.................................. 5 Envirocan ........................................... 67 Force Flow........................................... 37 Greatario.............................................. 35 Halogen Valve Systems....................... 12

The winning Moot team from Western University.

Hoskin Scientific............................ 24, 49 Huber Technology................................ 29 Hydro International.............................. 68 Imbrium Systems................................... 2 IPEX..................................................... 23 Master Meter ........................................ 3 MSU Mississauga................................ 15 Parsons................................................ 20 Pro Aqua................................................ 9 RV Anderson........................................ 48 SEEPEX................................................ 30 Sherwin Williams................................. 17 Siemens AG International.................... 21 Stantec................................................ 51 Tank Connection.................................. 41 Trans Environmental Systems............. 42 Victaulic............................................... 18 Waterra............................... 19, 28, 39,46 WEFTEC............................................... 44 WSP..................................................... 27

66 | June 2017

Western University Team Wins the 2017 Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot

O

n March 4, 2017, Willms & Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP and Osgoode Hall Law School hosted the 2017 Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot. Fourteen teams of students from law schools across the country gathered together at the Ontario Court of Appeal in Toronto to debate cutting edge environmental legal issues.

Students displayed skilled advocacy and a thorough understanding of the legal issues. At the end of four rounds, Western University was named the competition champions.

This year’s competition problem was an appeal to the Supreme Environmental Moot Court of Canada of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s decision in Midwest v Thordarson, 2015 ONCA 819. This case represents the first judicial consideration of a claim under section 99 of Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act. Supreme Court of Canada Justice Malcolm Rowe, and Ontario Court of Appeal Justices Kathryn N. Feldman

Co-Chairs and Founders of the Willms & Shier Environmental Law Moot –Stepan Wood (left) and Marc McAree (right).

and Katherine van Rensburg presided over the final bench. Justice Faieta of the Ontario Superior Court, Jerry DeMarco and Hugh Wilkins of the Environmental Review Tribunal and Dianne Saxe, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, presided over the semi-final round.

Esteemed members of Ontario’s environmental bar judged the preliminary and semi-final rounds. www.willmsshier.com

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

THE WAIT IS OVER THE FUTURE OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT IS HERE.

Following more than a decade of successful application worldwide, the AquaNereda® Aerobic Granular Sludge System is now available in the United States and Canada. This advanced biological treatment technology utilizes unique features of aerobic granular biomass including superior settling properties when compared to conventional activated sludge. Additional advantages translate into a flexible, compact and energy efficient process.

• Up to 75% Less Footprint • Energy Savings Up to 50% • Virtually No Chemicals Required for Nutrient Removal

• SVI Values of 30-50 mL/g and MLSS of 8,000 mg/l • No Secondary Clarifiers, Selector Zones or Return Sludge Pumping • Robust Process without a Carrier

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Does primary treatment have to take up so much space?

Traditional primary wastewater treatment has required large, energy-hungry settling tanks, but this need not be the case. Technological advancements now mean that the same capability can be achieved in a much smaller footprint and at a much lower energy requirement – freeing up space and cutting costs.

Challenge convention: visit hydro-int.com/microscreen or search hydro microscreen online.