Florida Water Resources Journal - December 2015

Editor’s Office and Advertiser Information:

Florida Water Resources Journal 1402 Emerald Lakes Drive Clermont, FL 34711 Phone: 352-241-6006 • Fax: 352-241-6007 Email: Editorial, editor@fwrj.com Display and Classified Advertising, ads@fwrj.com

Business Office: P.O. Box 745, Windermere, FL 34786-0745 Web: http://www.fwrj.com General Manager: Editor: Graphic Design Manager: Mailing Coordinator:

Michael Delaney Rick Harmon Patrick Delaney Buena Vista Publishing

Published by BUENA VISTA PUBLISHING for Florida Water Resources Journal, Inc. President: Richard Anderson (FSAWWA) Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority Vice President: Greg Chomic (FWEA) Heyward Incorporated Treasurer: Rim Bishop (FWPCOA) Seacoast Utility Authority Secretary: Holly Hanson (At Large) ILEX Services Inc., Orlando

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Membership Questions FSAWWA: Casey Cumiskey – 407-957-8447 or fsawwa.casey@gmail.com FWEA: Karen Wallace, Executive Manager – 407-574-3318 FWPCOA: Darin Bishop – 561-840-0340

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Training Questions

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FSAWWA: Donna Metherall – 407-957-8443 or fsawwa.donna@gmail.com FWPCOA: Shirley Reaves – 321-383-9690

Florida Water Resources Journal: www.fwrj.com FWPCOA: www.fwpcoa.org FSAWWA: www.fsawwa.org FWEA: www.fwea.org and www.fweauc.org Florida Water Resources Conference: www.fwrc.org Throughout this issue trademark names are used. Rather than place a trademark symbol in every occurrence of a trademarked name, we state we are using the names only in an editorial fashion, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. None of the material in this publication necessarily reflects the opinions of the sponsoring organizations. All correspondence received is the property of the Florida Water Resources Journal and is subject to editing. Names are withheld in published letters only for extraordinary reasons.

Authors agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Florida Water Resources Journal Inc. (FWRJ), its officers, affiliates, directors, advisors, members, representatives, and agents from any and all losses, expenses, third-party claims, liability, damages and costs (including, but not limited to, attorneys’ fees) arising from authors’ infringement of any intellectual property, copyright or trademark, or other right of any person, as applicable under the laws of the State of Florida.

Kunihiro Named New FSAWWA Chair Florida Again Represented at Operations Challenge—Brad Hayes Plan On It! 2016 Florida Water Resources Conference—Holly Hanson WEF HQ Newsletter—Steve Spicer Is Your Alternative Water Supply at Risk?— Nicolas Porter Register Now for 2016 Florida Water Resources Conference Contests!

Funding Clean Water: Florida Department of Environmental Protection Assistance Central Florida Water For People Benefit Exceeds 2015 Goals News Beat

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FSAWWA Speaking Out—Mark Lehigh FWEA Focus—Raynetta Curry Marshall Certification Boulevard—Roy Pelletier Legal Briefs—Gerald Buhr FWRJ Committee Profile—FWPCOA Constitution and Rules Committee FWRJ Reader Profile—Ana Maria Gonzalez FWEA Chapter Corner—Etienne Vawters; Maxwell D.F. Goodacre and Erik J. Mead C Factor—Thomas King

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New Products Service Directories Classifieds Display Advertiser Index

Pipe Bursting: The Preferential Method for Replacing Existing Asbestos Cement Pipelines—Edward Alan Ambler Real-Time Collection System Monitoring: Saving Money, Protecting the Environment, and Improving Your Public Image— Jay Boyd and Gregory Quist Polyethylene Encasement for External Corrosion Control for Iron Pipelines— Dan Mathews and Allen H. Cox Investigating Critical Infrastructure With Limited Access—Dornelle Thomas and Jason A. Johnson

Education and Training

For Other Information

Websites

Columns

Technical Articles 26

DEP Operator Certification: Ron McCulley – 850-245-7500 FSAWWA: Peggy Guingona – 407-957-8448 Florida Water Resources Conference: 888-328-8448 FWPCOA Operators Helping Operators: John Lang – 772-559-0722, e-mail – oho@fwpcoa.org FWEA: Karen Wallace, Executive Manager – 407-574-3318

News and Features

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FSAWWA Fall Conference Florida Water Resources Conference FWEA Process Committee Training FWEA Collection Systems Committee Training CEU Challenge Trenchless Technology Seminar TREEO Center Training FWPCOA Training Calendar

Volume 67

ON THE COVER: The Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority's Reservoir 2 was completed in 2009 as part of its regional expansion program. The 640-acre reservoir stores over 6 bil gal of excess surface water from the Peace River. The storage facility dramatically increased system reliability through drought protection by providing over six months of water supply at average day flows. (photo: Mike Delaney)

December 2015

Number 12

Florida Water Resources Journal, USPS 069-770, ISSN 0896-1794, is published monthly by Florida Water Resources Journal, Inc., 1402 Emerald Lakes Drive, Clermont, FL 34711, on behalf of the Florida Water & Pollution Control Operator’s Association, Inc.; Florida Section, American Water Works Association; and the Florida Water Environment Association. Members of all three associations receive the publication as a service of their association; $6 of membership dues support the Journal. Subscriptions are otherwise available within the U.S. for $24 per year. Periodicals postage paid at Clermont, FL and additional offices.

POSTMASTER: send address changes to Florida Water Resources Journal, 1402 Emerald Lakes Drive, Clermont, FL 34711

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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Pipe Bursting: The Preferential Method for Replacing Existing Asbestos Cement Pipelines Edward Alan Ambler he City of Casselberry (City) has de- erning regulations are over 40 years old and pipe signed and constructed the largest as- bursting is a relatively newer technology. bestos cement (AC) pipe bursting project in the United States by replacing 35 mi of AC The Beginning of Asbestos Pipe pipe with high-density polyethylene pipe (HDPE).The project was funded with $10.5 milAsbestos fibers began being used in combilion from the American Recovery and Reinvest- nation with cement to manufacture pipes bement Act (ARRA) as distributed and managed tween 1906 and 1913 in Genoa, Italy. It was first by the Florida Department of Environmental brought to North America in 1929 when the Protection (FDEP) State Revolving Fund (SRF) Johns-Manville Corporation installed an AC pipe program. This project was constructed over a manufacturing machine. The AC pipe was a four-year period, and staff at the City became common choice for potable water main conintimately familiar with the regulations governing AC pipe bursting and many of the common misnomers surrounding it.

First and foremost, coupling the words asbestos and bursting in the same sentence provides active imaginations with a dramatic vision of an explosion of existing AC pipe and the aboveground release of deadly asbestos fibers. In reality, all of the construction activity in well over 85 percent of most typical pipe bursting occurs under 2.5 ft or more of soil. If avoidance of asbestos-fiber release is the desired result, rehabilitating the pipe in-situ, without exposing anything aboveground, sounds like it would be a preferred method of handling the AC pipe material. However, many people require considerable education with regard to asbestos regulation and its governance over pipe-bursting AC pipe, and rightfully so, as the govFigure 1. Casselberry Water Quality Improvement Projects

T

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Edward Alan Ambler, P.E., LEED AP, is water resources manager at City of Casselberry.

struction during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s (Hu et al, 2013). Communities that experienced infrastructure growth during the 1940s through the 1960s may have higher percentages of AC pipe than the national average because of the popularity of installing AC pipe during that time. The existing predicted service life of AC pipe varies between 50 and 100 years, with a significant amount of failure due to installation procedures, existing ground conditions, and many other factors. Logically, studies have shown that the failure rate for AC pipe increases dramatically with age (Von Aspern et al, 2012). The Water Research Foundation (WRF) has performed much work in an effort to collect and analyze data surrounding AC pipe. The WRF has produced the report, “Guidance Manual for Managing Long-Term Performance of Asbestos Cement Pipe,” to assist utility owners in managing their AC pipe. There are widely varying estimates as to the amount of AC pipe installed within the U.S. and Canada, but some estimates conclude there could be as much as 630,000 mi installed (Von Aspern, 2009).

Water Infrastructure in Casselberry The City of Casselberry is a medium-sized town in suburban Orlando that is considered to be 95 percent developed. Much of the City has been developed for many decades, with a significant amount of the development occurring between 1950 and 1980. Prior to 2009, the City was appropriating $300,000 per year to replace existContinued on page 6

Photo 1. Soil Samples

Continued from page 4 ing potable water mains throughout its jurisdiction, which replaced approximately one mi per year. The City owns and maintains 215 mi of potable water main in its distribution network, of which 95 mi is AC pipe. The assumed 50-year service life of the existing AC pipe was almost over and the current replacement schedule was not sustainable, requiring 215 years to replace the entire distribution network (Ambler et al, 2014). Luckily, the City received a substantial grant from FDEP through the ARRA to embark on a project focused on rehabilitation of 35 mi of asbestos cement pipe (Figure 1). This project pushed the city forward in making dramatic headway into positive rehabilitation of the city’s buried pipeline infrastructure.

Pipe Replacement Technologies Current technologies and methods available to rehabilitate or replace AC pipe are traditional open-cut and removal of the existing pipe, cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining, sprayed-in-place pipe (SIPP) lining, pipe bursting, and pipe reaming. Some prefer to deal with the existing AC pipe by abandoning it in-place or grouting the AC pipe. If the grouted AC pipe ever has to be removed in the future, a cut saw will have to be utilized to sever it. Unfortunately, use of a cut saw on AC pipe dramatically increases the potential for asbestos fibrous release.

The WRF has conducted Project #4465 to study the environmental impact of AC pipe renewal technologies. The City offered its AC pipe bursting project for extensive field study by the Battelle Memorial Institute, the agency hired to conduct the WRF project. Air, soil, and water samples were collected from each site and analyzed for asbestos by a certified laboratory. The results from the analyses (Matthews et al, 2015) showed the following: The level of airborne asbestos was always below the eight-hour time-weighted average (TWA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 0.1 fiber structures per cubic centimetre (cu cm) of air set by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and posed no threat to the workers’ health (OSHA, 2014) Soil samples (Photo 1) collected at each site indicated only trace amounts of asbestos in the soil surrounding the pipe. With no increase in asbestos following the completion of the renewal activities (especially in the case of pipe bursting), it was determined that neither renewal method adversely impacted the soil environment.

The results from the water samples collected from each site showed that the renewal technologies had no negative impact on water quality (Matthews et al, 2015).

The WRF project concluded that no negative environmental impacts were observed as a

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Photo 2. Asbestos Cement Pipe Bursting

result of either pipe bursting or CIPP lining of AC pipe, based on the results from the air, soil, and water samples that were collected during the demonstration testing. When proper procedures were followed, as in the City’s pipe-bursting demonstration, the environmental impact was negligible and the requirements of the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) were met (Matthews et al, 2015). The WRF data collected on the City’s AC pipe bursting have been the most data collected on an AC pipe bursting project to date (Matthews et al, 2015). Since no significant data have been collected on pipe bursting of AC pipe, except for this study, maybe it is time for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate new data for recommended regulatory changes.

The NESHAP is a section of the Clean Air Act that governs hazardous air pollutants. At the time of adoption, there were no methods available to test the ambient air or manufacturing process for asbestos particles. Regulation of asbestos was limited to visible particle emission (Ambler, 2014.) Since adoption of the Clean Air Act, methods have been developed to improve testing for asbestos fibers, such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 7400 and 7402 methods. These testing methods use phase contrast light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy to measure the presence of asbestos fibers in air

samples to a detection limit of 0.1 fibers per cu cm of air (NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods, 1994). For size comparison, a human hair is approximately 90 micrometres (µm) in diameter, while an asbestos fiber is 5 µm in diameter.

The NESHAP provides for the distinction of asbestos-containing material (ACM). Friable, or regulated ACM (RACM) is defined as any material containing more than 1 percent asbestos that, when dry, can be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure.

Nonfriable ACM is any material containing more than 1 percent asbestos that, when dry, cannot be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure. The EPA defines two categories of nonfriable ACM: Category I and Category II nonfriable ACM. Category I nonfriable ACM is any asbestos-containing packing, gasket, resilient floor covering, or asphalt roofing product that contains more than 1 percent asbestos; Category II nonfriable ACM is any material, excluding Category I nonfriable ACM, containing more than 1 percent asbestos that, when dry, cannot be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure (Sec. 61.141; Ambler et al, 2012). This essentially means asbestos products that can be crumbled by hand pressure to release asbestos fibers are considered to be hazardous and require special handling procedures.

The EPA has delegated enforcement and interpretation of NESHAP’s applicability to AC pipe bursting to the state regulatory agencies.

The state regulatory agencies, at a minimum, have to enforce the regulations created by EPA, but could create more stringent regulations. A survey of 50 state asbestos regulatory agencies conducted by Battelle found that the majority of states adhere to NESHAP regulations and concluded that any process that makes asbestos fibers friable would be regulated and requires either licensed contractors or should not be attempted at all. It appears as if asbestos remediation with regard to buried AC pipelines is not commonly understood by regulatory agencies. Many agencies are much more familiar with asbestos remediation in vertical construction, such as in schools and abandoned buildings, as more guidance has been provided for this type of asbestos, such as the report, “Managing Asbestos In-Place: A Building Owner’s Guide to Operations and Maintenance Programs for Asbestos Containing Materials” (http://www.epa.gov).

As NESHAP was written and clarified by EPA in the 1990s, the area directly on top of AC pipelines that have been pipe-burst and remain in-place are considered to be inactive hazardous waste sites. These sites are required to be memorialized by recording the locations as an in-

active hazardous waste site on the deed for the property; however, public right-of-ways do not maintain a property deed for this process to be implicitly met. This conflict brought industry and Casselberry project leaders to Washington, D.C., to meet with top EPA staff in 2010 to discuss pipe bursting and the applicability of NESHAP to pipe-burst AC pipe. The EPA officials embraced the environmental, social, and economic benefits of pipe-bursting AC pipe and understood that the risks of asbestos exposure due to pipe bursting would be mitigated over traditional pipe removal methods. While pipe bursting was met with a positive response, modification of the existing NESHAP regulations would require an act of Congress to complete.

The EPA officials recommended that industry representatives present the EPA administrator with an administrator-approved alternate process that can cover AC pipe bursting (Ambler et al, 2012).

During construction of the City’s project, the project team encountered significant opposition to the concept of pipe-bursting AC pipe.

A right-of-way agent who controlled the construction activities within a neighboring agency’s right-of-way expressed concern that residents would “crush up the remaining AC pipe fragments and sniff them.” It is highly unlikely that residents would perform such an activity; however, this statement highlights some of the unfortunate misconceptions of the AC pipe-bursting activities. The AC pipelines generally maintain a depth of 2 ft or greater. If a property owner were to excavate to plant a new tree, the owner typically would not excavate greater than the 2-ft depth of cover. The linear footage of remaining AC pipe fragments (Photo 2) exposed would still fall under a 260-linearft (lin ft) exemption, as provided by NESHAP, that less than 260 lin ft of AC pipe can be removed as regular construction debris (Ambler et al, 2014).

Many engineers, contractors, and utility providers strongly disagree that pipe-bursting AC pipe converts the AC pipe into friable RACM. The extensive sampling described in the WRF project clearly indicates that pipe bursting does not release asbestos fibers into the air, creating a hazardous environment for pipe rehabilitation workers, residents, and others within the working area (Matthews et al, 2015). A working procedure has been developed in Florida that regulators and industry members are utilizing to successfully burst AC pipe and memorialize the locations of the remaining pipe fragments. Many other utilities, such as MiamiDade Water and Sewer Department, City of Cooper City, and Port St. Lucie are using this procedure.

Summary The City has successfully pipe-burst 35 mi of AC pipe with $10.5 million from the ARRA as administered by FDEP through the SRF program. City staff has tirelessly worked with regulators, scientists, and many within the community to fully understand which complex environmental regulations govern working with the AC pipe bursting project, and to collect significant data to appropriately analyze environmental impacts of AC pipe bursting, including emission of asbestos fibers. These efforts have proven that AC pipe bursting does not release asbestos fibers and these results have been independently validated by WRF, an independent scientific council that has been conducting extensive research since 1966. The AC pipe bursting should be recognized as the preferential method of replacing existing AC pipelines, since the majority of the force executed on the existing pipeline occurs underground and the existing pipeline stays there.

References • Hu, Yafei; Wang, Dunling; and Chodhury, Rudaba. Water Research Foundation, 2013.

• Hu, Yafei, Wang, Dunlin; Cossitt, Karen; and Chodhury, Rudaba. “AC Pipe in North America: Inventory, Breakage, and Working Environments.” ASCE Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering, November, 2010.

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. “NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods, Fourth Edition.” Aug. 15, 1994.

• Von Aspern, Kent; Matthews, John: and Lueke, Jason. “Impacts of Regulatory Restrictions on the Trenchless Replacement of Asbestos Cement Pipe.” Western Society of Trenchless Technology. Fall, 2012.

• Ambler, Edward Alan. “A History of Asbestos Regulation and Litigation in the United States.” Diss., University of Florida, 2014.

• Matthews, John C.; Stowe, Ryan; and Lueke, Jason. Water Research Foundation, Water Environment Research Foundation. U.S. EPA. 2015.

• Von Aspern, Kent. “End of the Line.” Public Works Magazine, March 2009.

• Ambler, Edward Alan; Matthews, John; and Thomas, William. “Casselberry Asbestos Cement Pipe Bursting Project: Moving Forward

by Leaving it Behind.” North American Society for Trenchless Technology, April 2014.

• Ambler, Edward Alan and Thomas, William.

“Applicability of NESHAP to Rehabilitating Asbestos-Cement Pipelines.” North American Society for Trenchless Technology, April 2012.

• American Water Works Association. “Work Practices for Asbestos Cement Pipe.

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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Kunihiro Named New FSAWWA Chair

On December 2, Kim Kunihiro will become the 90th chair of the Florida Section American Water Works Association for 201516, succeeding Mark Lehigh.

Kunihiro started her water career in the 1980s working with a consulting firm. She joined Orange County Utilities in 1994, starting as a laboratory section manager. She then worked as a water quality manager, and is currently the water quality and water production manager.

Kim was born in San Diego and became a Floridian when her father was chosen as president of Sea World in the 1970s. She attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where she met her husband of 35 years, Curtis.

She finished her undergraduate education in chemistry at the Univer-

sity of Hawaii and received her master’s degree in environmental engineering science, with a specialty in water resources planning and management, at the University of Florida.

Kim and her husband have three smart and gifted daughters: Emily, a veterinarian; Susan, a family practice physician; and Kelli, an insurance specialist, who recently married Chris Boyle. All of the family members are Gators sports fans.

She is actively engaged in several professional organizations, including: American Chemical Society Member: 1980-present American Institute of Chemists Member: 1980-present American Society of Microbiology American Water Works Association - Member: 1989-present Trustee - Water Quality and Technology Division: 2013-present Chair - Water Quality Laboratory Committee: 2007-2009 Member - Water Quality Laboratory Committee: 2009-present Member - Distribution Water Quality Committee: 2003-present

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Member - Emerging Issues Committee: 2003-present Water Research Foundation Project Advisory Committee AWWARF #4087 Project Advisory Committee WRF #4368 Florida Section American Water Works Association: 1989-present Executive Committee Officer (secretary, vice chair, chairelect): 2012-present Trustee: 2011-2012 Chair - Technical and Educational Council: 2007-2011 Chair - Water Quality and Resources Division: 2005-2007 Water Environment Federation Member: 1997-present Member, FWEA Biosolids Committee: 2007-present Water Environment Research Foundation Project Advisory Committee Project 04-HHE-4 She has received many awards for her work in the industry, including: Chi Epsilon, National Engineering Honor Society - Inducted April 2007 Florida Water Environment As-

sociation - Laboratory Analyst Excellence Award 2007 Florida Section American Water Works Association - Robert T. Claudy Award 2009 Florida Section American Water Works Association - Executive Committee, Dedicated Service Award 2012 Florida Section American Water Works Association - Allen B. Roberts Award 2013 As an FSAWWA member, Kunihiro has had the pleasure of learning from many of the association’s past chairs. Her active engagement with the section came as a result of the encouragement of Jacqueline Torbert, a longtime section member and volunteer.

When asked what her focus as chair would be, Kim said, “My focus for the next year will be service and engagement. I am planning on finding additional opportunities for members of FSAWWA to contribute to the work of the section and providing them the opportunities to improve our programs and our networking to serve the water industry.”

Florida Again Represented at Operations Challenge Brad Hayes Tension and drama filled the air at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) as a record 44 teams that qualified from around the world were part of this year’s Operations Challenge. Argentina once again represented South America, and this year was a first for Europe, as two teams from Germany took part in the contest. The teams, comprised of operations personnel, compete in the areas of operations, maintenance, safety, collections, and laboratory, and the winners are determined by a weighted point system.

This year, the teams representing Florida were “Methane Madness” from St.

Cloud and “True Grit” from Gainesville. Although they did not bring home any trophies this year, both teams worked very hard, both independently and collaboratively. They truly represented our state at the highest level. We need to give thanks to both these teams for all the extra work (on their time) that they put in during the year to create, build, and demonstrate teamwork. They are an inspiration to our industry and their communities.

Operators: The Unsung Heroes in the Industry The Florida Water Environment Association (FWEA), along with WEF and its network of members, provide water quality

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professionals with the latest water quality education, training, and business opportunities. We have a diverse membership of scientists, engineers, regulators academics, utility managers, and others. We use this knowledge to further a shared goal of improving water quality around our state.

A less visible but crucial segment of the membership are the plant operators. The Operations Challenge celebrates the contribution of the talented hands-on personnel with this unique professional skills competition, one of the main events of the conference. The teams demonstrate the span of skills necessary for contemporary water quality professionals to effectively deliver clean water and sanitation services to their communities. The

event exposes participants to emerging practices and products in a competitive, educational, and social atmosphere. It is the culmination of qualifying events held by WEF member associations that occur during the year prior to WEFTEC. Water quality operators often end up in the industry unintentionally. While they may be proficient at their assigned tasks, they may not always realize what they are a part of.

Competing in the Operations Challenge enables those that typically would not be able to attend WEFTEC the opportunity to go to the largest water quality event in the world.

It is there that they are often exposed, for the first time, to the breadth of the water quality industry, their vital role in it, and the virtually limitless opportunities for a rewarding career.

As the water quality industry moves beyond mere pollution mitigation and toward an increasing focus on comprehensive resource recovery, the job of the water quality professional is going to become more complex. The Operations Challenge provides a venue that cultivates leadership qualities for a

group that may lack access to more traditional networking and professional development opportunities, and it engages this audience more effectively than any other program. As the industry’s premier skills competition, the Operations Challenge is unmatched in delivering cross training, team-building, and professional development. A common reason for attrition on teams is that members get promoted to management positions and are no longer eligible to participate.

Few people understand the magnitude and complexity of the effort required to constantly and safely provide clean water and sanitation services. But the lack of these services would have profound consequences for public health and our quality of life. There is no greater disparity in the importance of one’s job and the prestige of one’s job as there is for water quality operators.

How do operators and technicians overcome flooding, sewer collapse, process failure, and other emergencies? Do you ever wonder what transpires behind the scenes during the operation of a wastewater treatment facility?

Instead of continuing to take these unsung

specialists for granted, come see some of the best wastewater collection and treatment personnel in the world display their skills during Operations Challenge 2016 at the Florida Water Resources Conference. Each team is entered by a Florida utility, or could be part of a Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association (FWPCOA) district. The first- and second-place teams from the FWRC event will be cosponsored by FWEA, FWPCOA, and various other industry sponsors to compete on the national level at next year’s WEFTEC, which will be held in New Orleans.

Operations Challenge truly fosters the evolution of public works employees into stewards of the earth’s most essential natural resource.

Brad Hayes is utility director for City of Tavares.

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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FSAWWA SPEAKING OUT

FSAWWA Regions At Work: Come Out, Volunteer, and Have Some Fun! Mark Lehigh Chair, FSAWWA

s a very proud member of Region IV and a soon-tobe past chair, I want to take this opportunity to showcase some of the fun activities and events the FSAWWA regions hold every year. I also want to personally thank all 12 regions, their leadership, and their volunteers for the impressive work they do throughout the year for the Florida Section and our industry. They are a key part of what makes this association run, and thanks to them, it runs very well!

Volunteering is a great way for a member to get involved in the section; that’s how I got started more than 25 years ago, by helping out for an event that I was passionate about. So, if you’re new to FSAWWA and want to get plugged in, there is no better way than at the regional level. Be sure to visit the website at www.fsawwa.org to see what upcoming activities your region has planned.

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Region III “Wine for Us” Water For People benefit exceeded it 2015 goals. Last year, the event raised over $32,000, and this year, it raised more than $40,000. This brings the six-year total to $158,000 in donations for the organization.

Region III Annual St. Johns River Cleanup.

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Region IV New Technology Showcase.

Above: Region IV Taste Test held on Honeymoon Island.

At right: Region IV Model Water Tower Competition attendees.

Judges at the Region VIII Water Taste Test (left to right): Susan Adams, mayor of Fellsmere; Keona Garner, TC Palm; and Ron Bowen, Port St. Lucie councilman.

Chair Brad Macek and David Voisinet, chief operator for Marin County Utilities, who accepted the plaque for the utility, which was the Region VIII Water Taste Test winner.

Chair Juan Aceituno announcing the results of the Region VII Taste Test.

An up-close look at the Region IV Model Water Tower Competition.

A demonstration at the Region IV Model Water Tower Competition.

Pace Water Systems and Bay County Utilities won the Region IX and Region XII Water Taste Tests, respectively. Judges (left to right): Stephen Hemingway, Manufacturers/Associates Council representative, HD Supply; John Hofstad, Okaloosa county administrator; Amir Zafir, Hatch Mott McDonald; and Nathan Boyles, Okaloosa County commissioner.

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Region X Annual Water Quality and Treatment Workshop honored Bruce MacLeod (front).

Behind him, from left to right: Dr. Christine Owen, Tampa Bay Water; Dr. Jess Brown, Carollo Engineers; Mark Simpson, water division manager for Manatee County; Phil Waller, HDR; Katherine Gilmore, Manatee County Utilities; and Dr. Steve Duranceau, University of Central Florida.

Region II Annual Fishing Trip.

Richard Anderson, past FSAWWA Section chair, recognizes Bruce MacLeod for his work and contributions to the water industry and the section.

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Judges putting the water to the test at the Region X Water Taste Test.

Participants in the 2015 Panhandle Golf Tournament included (left to right) Alicia Keeter, Region IX Volunteer of the Year; Monica Autrey, Region IX chair; and Don Hamm, Region XII chair.

All of the wonderful towers submitted for the Region II Model Water Tower Competition.

Plan On It! 2016 Florida Water Resources Conference Holly Hanson The 91st annual Florida Water Resources Conference (FWRC), a joint conference of the Florida Section American Water Works Association, Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association, and the Florida Water Environment Association (Florida chapter of the Water Environment Federation), will be held April 24-27, 2016, at the impressive Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center. The conference, with a technical program, exhibits, awards luncheon, meetings, contests and competitions, and other events, will offer something for everyone in the water and wastewater industry.

Innovative Technical Program The technical program, with sessions, workshops, and posters, will provide an understanding of, and offer solutions for, the imposing daily challenges faced in the industry. There will be nationally recognized speakers, who are experts in their fields, to address the technical, managerial, regulatory, and environmental needs of today—and the future.

Plant operators, chemists, engineers, managers, regulators, industrial and municipal administrators, academicians, and researchers will have an opportunity to interact with decision makers and problem solvers concerning such subjects as utility management, operations, water supply, water and wastewater treatment, disinfection, distribution and collection systems, infrastructure, public health, sustainability and resources, conservation, contractor issues, laboratory research and monitoring, reclamation and reuse, environmental regulations, biosolids, and much more.

Florida’s Future Engineers Present at the Student Design Competition

Exhibit Hall: Learning and Networking Featuring over 300 exhibitors, the FWRC is Florida’s marketplace for this multifaceted industry, and there will be many opportunities to network with this collected group of experts. No other show in the Southeast affords the opportunities that will be available here. As the demand for water-related equipment and supplies increases, and technology continues to change at an unprecedented rate, the industry representatives will help you select the products and services you need to keep your company on the cutting edge.

Other networking opportunities include: Operators Showcase – A great occasion to discuss both basic fundamentals and complex issues with other operators.

Young Professionals Reception – Established specifically for those just embarking on a water or wastewater career.

Contractors Council – A gathering of professional contractors to discuss common issues.

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As a forum to showcase the capabilities of students studying environmental engineering, the annual Student Design Competition will have several teams representing Florida colleges and universities presenting their synopses. Initiated in Florida, this competition has now become an international event at the annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC). Another venue for students is the Student Poster Contest, intended to promote education in a variety of water-related projects. Student attendance and involvement in these events is a great opportunity for them to become familiar with potential employers.

Get Involved and Support the Industry Utilities can enter teams to compete in the Top Ops Competition or the Operations Challenge held during the conference. Winners from these events travel to the national competitions at the American Water Works Association Annual Conference and Exhibition (ACE) and WEFTEC. The Best Drinking Water Contest will also take place, as well as a fundraiser for Water For People.

Visit www.fwrc.org for conference information and the hotel reservation link. Make plans now to attend this exciting conference and move your career, your company, and the water industry to new heights!

Holly Hanson is the executive director of the Florida Water Resources Conference.

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Real-Time Collection System Monitoring: Saving Money, Protecting the Environment, and Improving Your Public Image Jay Boyd and Gregory Quist The Issue Maintenance of the collection system places a constant demand on a utility’s resources for personnel, equipment, and management. All collection systems suffer from progressive and occasionally catastrophic occurrences due to restrictions and blockages.

Fats, oils, and grease (FOG) can accumulate on pipe walls and serve to constrict flow. Tree-root intrusion, sediment buildup, and debris can also contribute to flow restrictions. Given enough time, these sources of restriction and blockage will progressively impact the capacity of a pipe. The tipping point occurs unpredictably when the restricted capacity can ultimately no longer handle peak flows. For collection systems that suffer from inflow and infiltration (I&I) issues, this tipping point of capacity can occur seemingly quickly and result in a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO). During a dry season, the capacity may still be sufficient to handle daily peak flows, and yet, as seasonal rains show up, the reduced capacity is challenged with the arrival of a wet season. Unable to handle these flows, an SSO occurs.

This article will look at the impact of SSOs, the current methods for addressing them, and new, emerging technologies that can reduce the number of SSOs and potentially reduce capital requirement for this reduction.

The Range and Scope of Sanitary Sewer Overflows Spills are not an isolated problem. While the reasons for overflows vary, they are prevalent.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that as many as 75,000 overflows occur each year in the United States1. In its 2009 report card on U.S. wastewater infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) estimated that 890 bil gal of raw sewage were released annually into rivers, streams, and lakes, and it gave the country’s wastewater infrastructure its lowest grade, a D-. In its 2013 report card, it was stated that an investment of $298 billion is

needed, with 80 percent of the expense in collection system pipe2.

The political and legal ramifications are that SSOs are an ongoing issue and a legal violation of the 1972 Clean Water Act. Repetitive, continuous, or high-volume occurrences can easily gain the attention of both state and federal environmental agencies, leading to lawsuits, fines, and mandated remediation.

Local Impact of Spills Locally, SSOs can have a manifold impact, such as rendering waterways off limits for recreational or commercial use and creating a public health threat. They can also damage property, and news reports of sewage spill events can be quite unwelcome by the public, creating a negative perception of the utility and eroding public confidence. Very often, these news stories will result in pressures on politicians who, in turn, will engage the local utility staff to discuss ways to address the issue.

Undoubtedly, spills have a substantial cost impact. By their nature, spills are unplanned events and, as such, cannot be properly anticipated, and therefore, budgeted. As a result, a utility can find itself spending precious budget monies that were once earmarked for projects that would bring improvements or upgrades.

Most costs associated with spills do nothing to enhance or improve operations or assets; therefore, sewer spills are nothing more than a drain on budgets and resources.

Sanitary Sewer Overflows: Best Accounting Practices While a small handful of utilities have a full and comprehensive understanding of all costs associated with an SSO, many more fall short in realizing the true range and profound impact it has on costs. There are many essential factors that must be recognized in order to arrive at an accurate cost of a spill. Why is an accurate accounting important? With it, a utility will understand the real cost of a spill and drive better

26 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

Jay Boyd is chief operating officer and vice president, and Gregory Quist, Ph.D., is chief executive officer and president, with SmartCover® Systems™ in Escondido, Calif.

economic decisions for preventing one. Without an accurate accounting, e.g., leaving out associated costs, a spill’s true cost may be hidden, lowering its priority to decision makers, and extending or exacerbating the underlying problems that caused the spill.

The Three R’s A full accounting for costs includes more obvious elements, such as those that are directly associated with a spill, as well as indirect costs, such as administrative reporting. One way of looking at costs is to think of the “three R’s”: remediation, reporting, and reconciliation.

Remediation refers to the response and cleanup processes.

Reporting refers to the post-spill analysis and subsequent notifications as required by internal procedures, and state and federal law.

Reconciliation refers to consequential postspill costs, which could range from fines to litigation to public relations, and all the actions necessary to support these.

Remediation Once a spill emergency occurs, the utility’s response, dictated by standard operating procedures (SOPs), is actuated, and consequently, the cost meter is set in motion. Typically, the response will include equipment, like a vacuum/pressure spray truck, a crew of at least two people, and materials required to enable cleanup. Less sophisticated accounting practices when establishing a statistic for the “average cost of a spill” would tend to look at the labor costs only. Representatives for a moderately sized southeastern city recently cited that the “average cost of a spill for us is $400.” They accounted for the cost of labor only, while the cost

of the truck operation and the materials used was left out.

A more comprehensive analysis would account for those costs (and more) to seek a true total cost. Adding in the amortized cost of the capital equipment used (the truck), its operational costs (insurance, fuel and maintenance, and materials used for cleanup, like bits for grinding tree roots), and chemicals used to clear grease blocks yields a much larger cost-per-spill incident.

The point is that a full accounting of all direct and indirect remediation costs yields a true picture of the immediate impact on the utility.

What once seemed insignificant now may emerge as a major issue, where the real cost of an SSO will reprioritize decisions that can, in turn, drive costs down and lower spill frequency.

Reporting Provided that a spill has been remediated, typically the next step is to assess the event. Universally, across all states and federal regulations, the quantity of the spill must be determined.

This estimate, and it is only an estimate because, obviously, the utility staff was not at the spill location at the beginning of the spill event, will determine the necessity and type of reporting. In order to determine reporting requirements, the spill volume analysis must be performed. The reportable volumes will vary by state and must also meet the federal (EPA) requirements. In Florida, any spill of 1,000 gal or more, any spill into a waterway, or any spill that threatens the public health is to be reported3. In other states, such as California, all spills, no matter how large or small, must be reported, with the threat of criminal prosecution in failing to report a spill.4 While a comprehensive full accounting of costs includes the time for analysis and corresponding reports, less robust accounting does not. It fails to examine the drain on the management, administrative, and technical resources necessary to meet mandated requirements. Optimized accounting values includes the time involved and places a price on it to get it right.

Reconciliation These costs can be the most significant by far, the least apparent, and the most politically and legally charged. Fines, being an obvious part of this group, are easy to evaluate and quantify.

Obviously, state and federal mandates based on such factors as volume, environmental impact, and more, will determine the fine levy.

Reconciliation implies that a utility is “making it right.” Sometimes though, this can be extremely costly. Take, for example, the case in a well-heeled Southern California beach community. A sewage spill occurred in a residential

community, resulting in the flow making ingress to a homeowner’s expensive home. The homeowner, being an attorney, determined that he didn’t want to go through the hassles of remediation. In this case, he literally handed his house keys to the utility’s manager and said “you bought my house.” The city realized that the cost of litigation, plus potential recompense to the homeowner, would cost more than his asking price, so it bought the house for $1.5 million.

Litigation and compensation will heavily factor into the cost equation.

Then there is the cost of public relations.

Invariably, most reported spills will consequently reach the media, generating stories on the television news, online, and often “above the fold” on the front page of the local or regional newspaper. These news stories will consequently generate statements and reactions from public officials, calling for explanations of what occurred, why it happened, what is being done in response, and what it portends for the future.

Lost business can occur because of a spill, and the business owners may file a suit against the utility for compensation, or spills can happen in the ocean or waterways where recreational swimming or fishing occurs. These can result in public affairs and economic nightmares for a utility.

Spills can also attract the attention, and subsequently, the legal threats, of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), whose missions are based on protecting the environment.

Internal relations, as well, are time-consuming within an organization. Multiple meetings with multiple employees, usually from a variety of disciplines, will take place for analyses, reports, and task-assigning, and the costs for all of this can pile up. To help determine the true cost of a spill, some value can and should be applied here, i.e., calculating the number of people involved and the total hours of the meetings and actions required, times each employee’s hourly rate.

and every nine months; subsequently, the number of spills dropped by 60 percent.

There are drawbacks, however, that should be considered with high-frequency cleanout.

This is an ongoing, recurring process that is heavily dependent on expensive equipment, such as vacuum/pressure spray trucks and labor.

A consistent process will be expensive, create a demanding schedule, and increase wear and tear on field equipment, requiring higher long-term equipment costs.

Establishing the frequency of cleanout cycles is typically based on historical information.

For example, a Florida city found that a manhole that had been cleaned out just six weeks earlier had an overflow. Upon investigation, it found, somewhat surprisingly, that the cause of the spill was buildup. Thus, to avoid a future spill, the utility established a cleanout frequency of once every three weeks. This was twice as frequent as previously done, with the thought process being that it was allowing a healthy “margin of safety” between cleanouts. While somewhat extreme, it does illustrate the foundation of how frequencies are established at most utilities.

It is very easy to see why high-frequency cleanout procedures are attractive as a solution to SSOs. First, these are well-established processes; second, many regulatory agencies recommend a rigorous cleanout program; and finally, many managers believe that there are no alternatives. Yet, what may be a common element in all of this is that there is a fundamental lack of knowledge concerning the ongoing condition of the collection system. Therefore, an exaggerated and costly response is thought to be required, and the decision to deploy more personnel and more equipment is a much better alternative than more SSOs, more public scrutiny, more NGO involvement, or more private-citizen lawsuits.

Cleanout Methods

In a study of more than 2,000 sites across the U.S., and using data from an eight-year period, it was found that buildup leading to an SSO is a “progressive process,” in up to 98 percent of all occurances2 where the progression can be evident over the course of weeks or even months. The cause of a progressive buildup will vary, with FOG being the primary cause, followed by root intrusion, sedimentation, debris, and degradation.

Unfortunately, those who are managing the collection system are, for the most part, flying blind. They do not know the overall condition of the collection system and individual sites; it’s quite difficult to recognize systemic changes and Continued on page 28

Utilities use a variety of means to stem the number of SSOs. Without question, routine cleanout maintenance helps, as it tends to keep obstructions from forming in the collection system. Simply increasing the cleanout cycle, especially at critical locations where buildup is known to occur (high frequency cleanout sites), can have a positive effect as well. Many utilities have managed their collection systems in this manner and reduced the incidence of spills, but with varying degrees of success. For example, one large West Coast city established an aggressive, high-frequency cleanout program divided into three frequencies of every three months, every six months,

Spot Inspections and Collection System Dynamics

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Continued from page 27 to know if the condition of the collection system is stable or degrading.

Of course, one method to assess the condition of the collection system is to perform spot checks. These visual inspections by employees, or using more sophisticated methods such as video cameras, can provide some feedback.

These methods are limited as they only produce a snapshot view of the collection system, not an ongoing picture of the system’s dynamics. It does not provide any information about progressive changes that are taking place unless a series of inspections for each site are scheduled. Additionally, spot inspections are labor-intensive. If a utility has hundreds of sites to inspect, then multiple visits to hundreds of sites become burdensome and impractical on an ongoing basis.

For example, a site that historically required a yearly cleanout cycle is now handling influent from a newly opened strip mall, complete with seven new restaurants. The FOG content in the flow has increased (even with well-maintained grease traps), yet the collection system cleanout maintenance schedule, based on history, has not changed. The FOG built up slowly, but at a more rapid rate than prior to the mall being built. Later, a series of rainstorms hit the area. The FOG reduced the capacity of the system just enough so that normal peak events couldn’t be handled and an overflow occurred.

Past habits for cleanouts did not catch up with the current conditions and the mall manager had no way of determining that these changes were occurring. A spot inspection might have helped, but without continuous inspections, a changing condition, with marginal changes in capacity, may not be uncovered.

Addressing the Issue With High-Tech Solutions Over the past several decades, technologies have been developed to cost-effectively monitor collection systems, including sewer pipelines, manholes, and lift stations. A handful of devices are available, designed to provide an indication of an event that is occurring in a given location, and these devices aid in preventing overflows by sending an alarm to the user(s) for a reactive response.

There are two distinctive classes of devices.

The first type of device is classified as singlepurpose/basic alarm devices (SP/BAD), and the second type is true real-time monitors (TRM).

They are quite different in functionality and benefits to users, and each is examined.

Single-Purpose/Basic Alarm Devices These devices are simple in design and were created for a single purpose: to provide an alarm

only. Should a given site have an upstream blockage in the pipe that, in turn, leads to a rising flow level where an overflow may result, they will send an alarm. These devices are not designed to provide any data or information about the collection system. The greatest appeal of SP/BAD is their perceived low purchase price relative to more advanced devices. It should be noted that installation can add to the cost appreciably, as there is a necessity for confinedspace entry.

These devices use simple floats that are mounted in a fixed position. The floats are actuated when the rising water makes contact and a signal is sent via a cellular network to users indicating that the float has “tipped.” The use of floats is one of the reasons that the SP/BAD hardware costs are somewhat lower than other devices, yet users must also accept that the wellestablished limitations of floats are occasional inconsistency and reliability, as they can fail to actuate. For example, a grease blanket can build and rise at a site and the float will not tilt, and therefore, not provide a signal, or the float may be tied off to the side during maintenance and left there unintentionally, also leading to an overflow with no alarm.

These devices also suffer from communications issues; the cellular device, signal quality, and communications capability can vary widely.

Sewer systems are specifically built to maximize gravity; therefore, there will be more sewer lines in the lowest-lying area of any given geography.

Where poor signal quality is present, consistent communication is suspect. It is paramount that when deploying SP/BAD for alarms, an impending spill event must be communicated with extremely high reliability. Without this, the devices fall short of their core mission.

As previously stated, the SP/BAD provide alarms-only by design; they do not produce any collection system data whatsoever concerning level changes. In interviews with users of the SP/BAD devices, it was stated that “all that’s necessary are alarms.” This bears some truth, provided that the alarms are reliable, and there can be a substantial savings versus TRM systems.

There is another substantial cost factor that must be considered. In a study of more than 2,000 monitored sites across the U.S. in a sevenyear span, the analysis revealed that surcharges occurred more than 81 percent of the time outside of the typical first-shift work hours5. In other words, organizations are responding to spills four out of five times when worker overtime may be required, and in a majority of instances, after dark, which carries with it a higher injury risk.

The key point is that organizations are reacting to an alarm and they are doing it at inopportune, more costly, and higher-risk times. The TRM sys-

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tems, complete with predictive capability, can lower these risks and costs associated with unplanned, reactive responses to alarms.

True Real-Time Monitors The TRM, a more advanced class of device, provides a wide range of capabilities. In fact, the only real comparison of TRM to SP/BAD is that both have alarming capability. Unlike the SP/BAD, which is a single-purpose system, the multifunction TRM can acquire data on an ongoing basis, enable real-time viewing of remote sites, support bidirectional communication, provide predictive analysis of trends occurring at remote sites, provide level and flow data, and assist with report generation. Users can employ this system to acquire data to assess I&I, drive collection system maintenance programs using predictive modeling, and acquire collection system data for improving asset management planning.

Users can be notified should the flow level reach a prescribed alarm point. Of course, in a collection system, the aforementioned predictive trend capability would be preferred over an alarm. This trend tool enables operators to avoid spills by alerting them to unusual water-level conditions long before a spill occurs, and provides times, days, or even weeks of time to schedule corrective action.

The TRM is an ultrasonic-level monitoring system that acquires data on an ongoing basis.

Utilizing a satellite system, users are assured the highest levels of connectivity through a highly redundant network of 66 satellites in low-earth polar orbit. This satellite system has an extremely well-established track record for reliability and security. The U.S. Department of Defense uses the same network for critical military communications.

The TRM can acquire level data with an IP68-rated ultrasonic sensor, also referred to as the distance sensing module (DSM). This sensor operates without the need to contact the flows, thus substantially reducing necessity for maintenance. The sensor is crystal-oscillatorcontrolled and temperature-compensated, assuring ongoing precision and no calibration.

It also has high resolution (better than 0.10 in.).

These features result in an exceptionally low maintenance and highly reliable sensor where the false positive rate is less than 1 in 200 million, and the known instance of missed events is less than .02 percent.

Perhaps the most essential portion of the TRM system is the access to graphical and comma-separated values (csv) data. A dedicated website enables users to access, view, and interact with remote sites via a web browser. All software and user data is hosted in the “cloud,” meaning Continued on page 30

Continued from page 28 that the interface and data storage is maintenance-free, secure, and stored indefinitely.

Upon logging in, the user will be presented with a map of all TRM locations. Details for any given site are accessed by clicking on the location on the map, or an address list. The user is then presented with the default graph of one week’s diurnal flows. Any date range can be selected to view the chart and data history.

This highly flexible system also has protocols for seeing “advisories” of changing collection system conditions, “alerts” for notifying users of maintenance cycles, and “alarms” for either a surcharge or an intrusion.

Predictive Trend Analysis Continuous real-time monitoring and data acquisition provide a powerful benefit of being able to view ongoing trends at each remote site, including manholes and lift stations. The TRM functions by scanning, assessing, and reporting on all remote sites, seeking anomalies to level trends. It also reviews and analyzes all of the level data from all sites in search of changes in levels that may indicate something different in the collection system. Users receiving advisories are directed to look at specific sites, which may require remedial action, and they are specifically designed to be an advanced warning system that helps identify the remote sites of a collection system. Most importantly, they seek to avoid an alarm where users can schedule maintenance or other actions, well in advance of a potential event.

Predictive advisories and their ability to shift from reactive to proactive scheduling offers an opportunity for true transformational change in an organization. Specifically, managers who were once “flying blind” and not knowing the behavior of the collection system can now view remote sites graphically with a few keyboard strokes. Where managers were once forced to employ labor-intensive and historically based high-frequency cleanout routines, they can now use default to scheduling cleanouts as needed.

But more than this, they are assured that no SSOs will occur where TRM units are installed.

Asset Management Real-time remote monitoring of the TRM also places a powerful capital tool in the hands of utility management. Conventionally, aging pipes are refurbished, replaced, or expanded at a cost per mile ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Data acquisition through TRM enables better decisions regarding “if ” and “where” to direct capital resources; as a result, projects can be prioritized. Asset investments are then targeted to the areas where they are needed most; as a result, a more immediate and substantial return on investment will be achieved. In other cases, data may show that some projects may be deferred and even avoided, and with no increased risk of spills.

Therefore, with data acquired upfront, better decisions are made, resulting in potentially millions in capital cost savings.

Knowing the Real Bottom Line: SP/BAD Versus TRM As previously noted, the SP/BAD devices have known reliability, float, and communication reliability issues, and users must factor in the higher potential for a spill to occur in order to truly assess the real cost of ownership. Even with a very low probability of 1 percent error, where in 100 surcharge events one spill will occur, there is a substantial and impactful effect on cost.

A 2014 case illustrates this quite well. A utility purchased four SP/BAD devices for their alleged lower cost. The utility believed that it was saving 50 percent, as it simply compared hardware cost of the SP/BAD to the hardware cost of the TRM. Unfortunately, the utility failed to make any inquiries concerning installation and found out that the SP/BAD system installation required confined-space entry (the TRM did not). This alone reduced the cost gap to 30 percent. Even so, there was still a real savings on paper. Within four months of installation, however, one of the alarm sites had an overflow where the SP/BAD failed to provide an alarm.

This incident lead to a series of costs for reme-

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diation, reporting, and reconciliation, and the fine alone exceeded $15,000. This single event and all associated costs erased all savings, and the actual total cost of ownership after one year of operation was more than 25 percent higher.

Even more discouraging is the fact that the risk for a similar future event remains.

Case Study: A Different Approach and a Better Solution to High-Frequency Cleanout A Florida utility was maintaining an aging collection system that had a high frequency of spills due to a combination of progressive buildup, which was sometimes rapid, compounded with I&I issues. From 2009 through 2012 the utility was challenged with year-over-year declines in revenue during the Great Recession. One of management’s responses to the revenue decline was to impose a hiring freeze. Attrition over the course of four years successfully reduced operating expenses, but concurrently added substantial strain to standard maintenance practices and schedules.

This utility’s field operations department, in particular, was responsible for collection system cleaning. Its staff reduction declined to a point where it was at 68 percent of the prerecession levels. This steep decline in field personnel raised challenges to cleanout schedules; the utility could not keep up and did not have the information it needed to assess the condition and dynamics of the collection system.

The utility provided service to a wealthy, waterfront community, with a concentration of multimillion-dollar homes. The area’s collection system required constant, high-frequency maintenance, and yet, the utility didn’t have the resources to assure that the threefold risk of environmental damage (it was surrounded by water), public health due to proximity to homes, and political pressures could be addressed. The utility needed to take a different approach, and could not simply throw people and equipment at the problem any longer. It needed transformational change.

In 2012, it installed TRM systems at six of its one-dozen remote systems, and each was placed at a site that would monitor and protect dozens of downstream manholes where a blockage occurred and the progressive level rise would back up to the monitored site. Since installation, data showed that for 86 times (out of 86 events), the system detected and prevented an overflow. Additionally, the utility was able to cut the frequency of cleanout by 61 percent.

The trend tools were added in 2014, which resulted in additional savings where field supervisors were able to now rely on an automated, once-per-day scan of each remote site. This important addition meant that the online viewing of sites was prioritized via an advisory email.

This utility will continue to add more TRM systems, as it has realized the benefits of substantial savings with lower labor at former highfrequency cleanout sites, with the added assurance that it is protected from SSOs.

Conclusion The challenges of the collection system, due to its dynamic nature, means if utilities are to meet increasingly strict enforcement of the Clean Water Act, they must look to new techniques and technologies to achieve real savings and lower risks. Embracing new technologies offers the opportunity for transformational change, where not only can utilities cost-effectively and safely comply with regulations, but they can also gain valuable knowledge and insights about their collection systems. This knowledge enables better decisions for maintenance and asset management alike.

References 1. EPA: http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/npdes/sso/index. cfm.

2. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE): http://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/a/#p/ wastewater/overviewhttp://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/a/#p/wastewater/overvie.

3. Florida DEP: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/wastewater/w ce/spills.htm.

4. California State Water Resources Control Board, http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/board_decisions/adopted_orders/water_quality/2006/wqo /wqo2006_0003.pdf.

5. Hadronex Inc. database analysis of 2,000 sites from 2007 to 2015. The time of day is from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., adjusted for each time zone.

6. Hadronex Inc. database analysis of 2,000 sites from 2007 to 2015.

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FWEA FOCUS

Changes Abound Raynetta Curry Marshall President, FWEA

hange is a constant in any growing and healthy organization. The way an organization implements, reacts to, and embraces change oftentimes is an indicator of its health and well-being. As we end this year, FWEA will be welcoming some changes and new faces, while sadly saying goodbye to good friends and wishing them a warm and deserved farewell.

Membership and volunteerism are the keystones that support FWEA; they have made it a successful organization in the past and will continue to serve it well into the future. This month, I wish to honor two FWEA board members who have gone above and beyond the call to duty: John Giachino, WEF delegate; and Amber Batson, FWEA secretary/treasurer. John and Amber epitomize the dedication of volunteers, and it is people like them that make the FWEA experience so invaluable.

John has served FWEA for over 10 years in a variety of roles, including committee chair, director at large, WEF delegate, and as

C

our 2010-11 FWEA president. He brought nearly 40 years of experience in the water and wastewater industry to FWEA and the board of directors, including utility asset management, operations and maintenance, and capital program execution. John has been instrumental in the development and management of more than 20 water and wastewater utility design–build and design/build/operate alternative delivery projects in the United States and overseas. He also served as project director of the wastewater infrastructure design/build/operate reconstruction project in Kuwait following the first Gulf War. In addition to serving our industry, John is an avid musician and talented guitarist, and he is happy to utilize his skills for worthy causes. For instance, John (far left in the two photos below) participated in a Water For People fundraiser at WEFTEC in Chicago and lit up the stage as one of the legendary Blues Brothers.

We wish John all the best, and his diverse experience and input will be sorely missed.

Amber Batson is the “uber” secretary/treasurer, and during her tenure she raised the bar to a new height; her replacement will have very large shoes to fill. Amber implemented improvements to FWEA’s business planning by creating guidance documents and a new template that simplified and

streamlined its process. Amber also enhanced and improved FWEA’s strategic planning process and its Leadership Development Workshop.

She has always recognized that volBATSON unteers have limited time to dedicate to the association and was constantly looking for ways to help make it easier for them to serve in meaningful ways. Amber has been working in the water and wastewater field for over 10 years, and during most of that time, she volunteered at FWEA. In addition to her current position, she served as the Biosolids Committee chair and a director at large.

Amber will be moving with her family to Texas and we wish her all the best in her new location and career. You’ll be missed!

While we are very appreciative of the service provided by John and Amber, with change comes the potential to give new people the opportunity to serve and offer new ideas. Stepping up to fill the WEF delegate position is Ron Cavalieri. Ron currently serves as an FWEA director at large and his responsiCAVALIERI

John Giachino performing in s Water For People fundraiser at WEFTEC in Chicago.

32 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

Continued on page 34

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Continued from page 32 bilities cover the Southwest and Southeast Chapters, as well as the student chapters at Florida International University, University of Miami, and Florida Gulf Coast University. Ron has been associated with the water and wastewater industry for over 30 years and is currently a project manager for AECOM. Thank you, Ron, for taking on the role of delegate!

Board Meeting Update: Educational Credit and Committee Changes In addition to changes at the board level, FWEA will also be implementing changes at the committee level to address how we currently offer educational credits for other organizations. During the last FWEA board meeting in October, an important item per-

34 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

taining to continuing education units (CEUs) and sponsors was presented and discussed.

Currently, FWEA is contracted with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as a provider to approve and report CEUs for water/wastewater licensed operators. As a provider, FWEA may present courses, seminars, or self-study courses for CEU credit. A provider may also approve courses submitted by sponsors. A sponsor is an entity that does not qualify to be a provider, but has expertise in drinking water or domestic water treatment.

To date, only WEF and other nonprofit organizations have been approved to conduct such programs. The current discussion and proposal is to develop guidelines and procedures for other sponsors that will govern the approval of these organizations. Included in the guidelines will be reporting requirements, record keeping, advertising, approval term limits, and fee schedules. By being able to include more sponsors, it should expand the topics and subject matter available to our membership, as well as the number of opportunities for earning CEUs. There are many committees within FWEA that perform various activities related to the wastewater industry. Two of these committees, the Integrated Water Resources Committee and the Reuse Committee, are involved with complementary functions and activities.

Recognizing that there could be great synergy and value to the membership by working closely together, the committees recommended to the board that they be combined into a single group. The board approved this recommendation and the name of the new, combined committee is the Water Resources, Reuse, and Resiliency Committee, or WR3.

Mark your calendars for Jan. 22, 2016, as that is when WR3 will present the Integrated Water Seminar, “One Drop of Water: Many Uses.” The seminar will be held at the Guana Tolamato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Center in Ponte Vedra Beach, and will be a one-day event. The focus of the seminar will be on the expansion of the use of reclaimed water, stormwater, and excess surface water.

As we approach the holiday season, remember good friends and family, have fun, and be safe. Happy Holidays!

Operators: Take the CEU Challenge!

Earn CEUs by answering questions from previous Journal issues!

___________________________________________ SUBSCRIBER NAME (please print)

Contact FWPCOA at membership@fwpcoa.org or at 561-840-0340.

Articles from past issues can be viewed on the Journal website, www.fwrj.com.

Article 1 ________________________________________ LICENSE NUMBER for Which CEUs Should Be Awarded

Members of the Florida Water & Pollution Control Association (FWPCOA) may earn continuing education units through the CEU Challenge! Answer the questions published on this page, based on the technical articles in this month’s issue. Circle the letter of each correct answer. There is only one correct answer to each question!

Answer 80 percent of the questions on any article correctly to earn 0.1 CEU for your license. Retests are available.

This month’s editorial theme is Distribution and Collection . Look above each set of questions to see if it is for water operators (DW), distribution system operators (DS), or wastewater operators (WW). Mail the completed page (or a photocopy) to: Florida Environmental Professionals Training, P.O. Box 33119, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420-3119. Enclose $15 for each set of questions you choose to answer (make checks payable to FWPCOA). You MUST be an FWPCOA member before you can submit your answers!

Polyethylene Encasement for External Corrosion Control for Iron Pipelines

Article 2 ________________________________________ LICENSE NUMBER for Which CEUs Should Be Awarded

If paying by credit card, fax to (561) 625-4858 providing the following information: ___________________________________________ (Credit Card Number)

___________________________________________ (Expiration Date)

Pipe Bursting: The Preferential Method for Replacing Existing Asbestos Cement Pipelines

Dan Mathews and Allen H. Cox

Edward Alan Ambler

(Article 1: CEU = 0.1 DW/DS)

(Article 2: CEU = 0.1 DW/DS}

1. Of the soil types sampled at the excavated test sites, which was considered corrosive to ductile iron pipe? a. Black organic clayey muck b. Coral rock c. Cavity riddled limestone d. White clayey sand and gravel 2. Over a relatively short period of time, _______ depletes in water trapped between the exterior pipe wall and a polyethylene encasement, rendering the water less corrosive. a. pH b. calcium c. carbon dioxide d. oxygen 3. Testing of polyethylene film laced with _____________ has revealed seven-year corrosion rates equal to or near zero mils per year. a. stainless steel b. biocide c. negatively charged ions d. zinc orthophosphate 4. In order to be effective, polyethylene encasement a. does not need to be bonded to the surface of the pipe. b. must be wrapped in multiple layers. c. must be completely sealed. d. must be coupled with cathodic protection.

5. The first standard for polyethylene encasement was published in a. 1951 b. 1952 c. 1958 d. 1972

1. The use of _________ dramatically increases the potential for release of fibrous asbestos. a. snap cutters b. a cut saw c. push joints d. chlorine 2. _____________ is a section of the Clean Air Act that governs hazardous air pollutants. a. Section 403 b. The National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC) c. The National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) d. Chapter 62-602 3. Any material containing more than 1 percent asbestos, which, when dry, can be crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder by hand pressure is referred to as a. biodegradable. b. friable. c. ACM. d. Category 1.

4. The existing useful life of asbestos cement pipe is _____ years. a. 25 - 50 b. 50 - 100 c. 75 - 125 d. 100 - 150 5. The area directly on top of previously burst asbestos cement pipelines a. is considered an active hazardous waste site. b. is considered an inactive hazardous waste site. c. is not considered a hazardous waste site. d. requires a deed restriction if located within a public right of way.

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

35

National Ingenuity Contest Champs Stun Judges with Amazing Ideas Steve Spicer Four inventors received awards from the 2015 Ingenuity Contest held at this year’s Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) in Chicago. This marks the fourth year that the competition has recognized fixes that tackle a persistent problem with nothing more than the materials at hand and a hearty dose of ingenuity.

Captains of the Inspection Squadron When the City of Casper, Wyo., worried about the condition of the pipes within its water resource recovery facility, the wastewater crew found a floating solution. The crew—Lane Christensen, David Ferguson, Matt Wilhelms, Jared Winzenried, Brody Allen, and James Soller—pieced together some foam board, a piece of wood, rope, and fasteners to create a raft for its collection system camera. The crew nicknamed the contraption the U.S.S. WWTP. The crew needed a way to guide the camera through the pipe safely and ensure that it could

be recovered at the downstream manhole. To accomplish this, the crew first dropped an inflatable ball attached to several hundred feet of twine into the pipe and tied the twine to the upstream manhole. When the ball made its way to the downstream manhole, the crew retrieved it with a hook. This left a long stretch of twine running the length of the pipe between the manholes.

Next, they tied the U.S.S WWTP to the twine at the upstream manhole, gently lowered it into the pipe, and then pulled at a steady rate from the downstream manhole. Upon arrival at the downstream manhole, the U.S.S. WWTP was removed using the long-handled hook.

The video collected from the camera was invaluable. It showed areas of severe corrosion and pipe collapse that must be repaired in the near future.

Valedictorians of the School of Hard Knocks During a March 2011 thunderstorm, operators at the Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant in Thousand Oaks, Calif., noticed that the pipe from secondary clarifiers to emergency retention basins was not flowing fully. After the storm, the crew—Mark Capron, Mike Mantor, and Robert Richardson—determined that nothing but air was blocking the pipe, but it remained

less than half full.

They realized that the high point of the base of the 36-in.-diameter pipeline was too high.

This configuration led to empty space within the headspace of the pipe.

Restoring the pipe’s full 50-mgd flow required getting the air out at the high point. Instead of a major construction project to lower the high point of pipe to prevent the air blockage, the crew installed a $500 vacuum pump to the exiting air release valve.

When the pipe is full of air, one vacuum pump requires a full day to remove all the air.

After the air is removed, the pumps run less than 100 hours per year in subsecond bursts. The crew also decided to leave the air release valve itself in place to prevent the vacuum pump from pulling in water.

With the air removed, the line regained its full capacity.

Master of the Machines Vikas Bhaskaran, senior skilled trade technician at the Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility in Fort Worth, Texas, builds tools to aid his fellow mechanics. He created a plasma and oxy acetylene cutting machine using parts salvaged from old traveling bridge filters. The machine cuts metal precisely to enable operators to Jacksonville’s smoke testing display helps customers understand the inspection process. (photo: Jacksonville Wastewater Utility)

The U.S.S. WWTP sits ready to sail through the facility’s pipes. (photo: City of Casper, Wyo.)

36 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

fabricate metal pieces for custom repairs.

Bhaskaran also created a ratchet to help remove and attach the stator from a screw pump more safely. The ratchet enables a single person to do a task that, before, took five people.

Building a precision cutting tool from salvaged parts enables the Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility to make the custom pieces it needs for repairs. (photo: Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility)

Dean of Public Education The Jacksonville (Ark.) Wastewater Utility wanted to educate customers about how line inspections work. To achieve this, operators, led by Walton J. Summers II, built a display that includes a replica manhole, lateral, and cleanout cap. Part of the display gives an underground view of the lateral, which is cracked and wrapped with tree roots. Operators can show residents how smoke added to the manhole seeps up out of the grass— green outdoor carpet—and signals the need to televise the line to produce a defect drawing.

Share Your Ingenious Fixes The WEFTEC Ingenuity Contest will return in 2016 to honor more smart fixes and quick repairs. So, throw together a roughly one-page description of the problem you faced and the fix you found. If your invention or idea can be pho-

tographed, snap a picture.

The submission window is open now until May 26, 2016. See the full entry details at www.weftec.org/ingenuity. I can be reached at SSpicer@wef.org.

Note: The information provided in this article is designed to be educational. It is not intended to provide any type of professional advice including, without limitation, legal, accounting, or engineering. Your use of the information provided here is voluntary and should be based on your own evaluation and analysis of its accuracy, appropriateness for use, and any potential risks of using the information. The

Water Environment Federation (WEF), author and publisher of this article, assumes no liability of any kind with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents and specifically disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness of use for a particular purpose. Any references included are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute endorsement of any sources.

Steve Spicer is managing editor of Water Environment & Technology.

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

37

Certification Boulevard Test Your Knowledge of Distribution and Collection Topics 6. Which hazardous gas will typically be located at the lowest point of a manhole?

Roy Pelletier 1. Which may be the most appropriate chemical to use in a wet scrubber treating high levels of hydrogen sulfide?

A. Sodium hydroxide B. Sulfuric acid C. Unchlorinated water D. Polymer 2. Water seeping into a collection system pipe is called exfiltration.

A. True B. False 3. Given the following data, what is the volume of this wet well?

• Wet well diameter is 16 ft • Bottom elevation of wet well is 82.5 ft • Top elevation of wet well is 103.4 ft A. 177,563 gal B. 31,416 gal C. 332,043 gal D. 24,391 gal 4. Which of the following is typically the least likely to be in the air space of a sewer collection system?

A. Explosive gases B. Hydrogen sulfide C. Methane D. Oxygen 5. If the velocity in a sanitary sewer pipeline is about 1 ft per second (fps), what may happen to the debris in the pipeline?

A. The debris will dissolve.

B. The debris will be carried forward.

C. The debris will settle.

D. Velocity has nothing to do with debris in a pipeline.

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS?

A. Carbon dioxide B. Hydrogen sulfide C. Methane D. None—they will all be at high levels.

Check the Archives

7. What does it mean when there is a lack of any odor coming from a lift station manhole?

Are you new to the water and wastewater field? Want to boost your knowledge about topics youʼll face each day as a water/wastewater professional?

A. Dangerous gases may be present because some gases do not emit an odor.

B. The oxygen level may be too low for entrance.

C. Some gases deaden the sense of smell.

D. All of the above.

8. A manhole cover should be lifted with A. your fingers.

B. a manhole hook.

C. a screwdriver.

D. a hammer.

9. Which of the following materials is not commonly used in the construction of a collection system?

A. Vitrified clay B. Aluminum C. Ductile iron D. Precast concrete 10. What procedure should be performed before entering a manhole that has been classified as a permit-required confined space?

A. Wear a body harness.

B. Test the air with a gas detector.

C. Complete a confined space entry permit.

D. Have a trained attendant with you.

E. Use a tripod for fall protection.

F. Use a tripod for retrieval purposes.

G. All of the above.

38 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

Answers on page 78

All past editions of Certification Boulevard through 2000 are available on the Florida Water Environment Associationʼs website at www.fwea.org. Click the “Site Map” button on the home page, then scroll down to the Certification Boulevard Archives, located below the Operations Research Committee.

SEND US YOUR QUESTIONS Readers are welcome to submit questions or exercises on water or wastewater treatment plant operations for publication in Certification Boulevard. Send your question (with the answer) or your exercise (with the solution) by email to: roy.pelletier@cityoforlando.net, or by mail to: Roy Pelletier Wastewater Project Consultant City of Orlando Public Works Department Environmental Services Wastewater Division 5100 L.B. McLeod Road Orlando, FL 32811 407-716-2971

Is Your Alternative Water Supply at Risk?

Nicolas Porter Florida water management districts are required to develop regional water supply plans (RWSP) to identify potential water supply development project options (Section 373.907, Florida Statutes.) These plans may include both traditional and alternative water supply (AWS) projects, from which water users, such as local governments, may choose for water supply development. The AWS designation is important because it creates a presumption of consistency with the public interest under consumptive user permitting requirements, provides for longerterm permit durations of at least 20 years (or at least 30 years for permits approved after July 1, 2013), and impacts local governments' comprehensive planning, including their water supply facilities work plans.

However, a long-pending review of how water management districts define alternative water supplies has just been addressed by Gov. Rick Scott and his Cabinet. The outcome of the review could affect whether surface water projects qualify as AWS projects. The issue arose from a challenge to the St. Johns River Water Management District’s (SJRWMD) 2009 approval of an addendum to its water supply plan.

The addendum listed several potential water

supply development projects utilizing surface water from the St. Johns and Ocklawaha rivers as potential project options, and identified those projects as AWS. After SJRWMD’s approval of the RWSP addendum, the Putnam County Environmental Council (PCEC) filed a petition with the Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission (FLWAC) requesting that FLWAC review SJRWMD’s designation of the St. Johns and Ocklawaha river projects as AWS in its RWSP. The FLWAC is comprised of Gov. Scott and the Cabinet and is authorized by Section 373.114, Florida Statutes, to review orders of a water management district to ensure consistency with Chapter 373, Florida Statutes. The PCEC argued that the designation of the St. Johns and Ocklawaha river projects as AWS is inconsistent with the definition of AWS found in Section 373.019(1), Florida Statutes. After two appeals to address procedural disputes regarding the timing and scope of FLWAC’s review, the First District Court of Appeal instructed FLWAC to address the merits of PCEC’s request.

At a meeting on September 29, Gov. Scott and the Cabinet heard arguments from PCEC, SJRWMD, and a number of interested parties.

Sitting in their appellate capacity as FLWAC, a unanimous vote found that the designation of

Ocklawaha River

40 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

the identified surface water sources as AWS project options is consistent with the provisions and purposes of Chapter 373, Florida Statutes. At an upcoming meeting, the Governor and Cabinet are expected for formally approve a final order with their legal findings. This final order may be appealed to the First District Court of appeal, which would presumably address the validity of FLWAC’s substantive determination of consistency.

A determination by FLWAC (or the appellate court) that the St. Johns and Ocklawaha river surface water projects identified in SJRWMD’s RWSP were improperly designated as AWS could affect existing and future consumptive use permits for all potential water supply projects that may have been designated as AWS, since it would significantly limit water management district discretion in which surface water project options may be designated as an AWS. Nicolas Porter is a shareholder at de la Parte & Gilbert P.A., a Tampa-based law firm founded in 1975 serving state, national, and international clients in matters involving business transactions, eminent domain, environmental and land use, government, health care, and civil litigation.

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

41

LEGAL BRIEFS

City Of Boca Raton Raises Water Deposit For In-City Renters; How Would You Handle Nonpaying Renters?

Gerald Buhr t has been reported that the City of Boca Raton has raised its “water” 1 deposit charged to new renters to $400 for in-city customers and $500 for out-of-city customers. The City points out that it can place a lien on the property of the owner-customers, but cannot do so with renters; therefore, it is left with hiring collection agencies to collect past-due accounts of renters who have absconded from the area without paying their bill because their deposits are too low to ensure payment.

I agree with the City, but it is a knotty area for all utilities. Renters often build up their bills, and will sometimes even beg for a little more time, just to later abscond and leave the utility holding the bag for that portion of the bill that exceeds the deposit.

There are at least two ways to deal with the problem, and the City has chosen one of them. For those cities that seek to raise their deposits to a level that makes it more unlikely they will not get paid, they often use twoand-a-half to three times coverage of an average bill; that is, one month for the usage, one month to read the meters and bill and remind the customer, either 15 or 30 days for additional reminders, and a termination notice (remember, the termination by government utilities requires due process; see my

I

previous article on that), and then actual termination. The problem with the increaseddeposit approach remains that the bills could be much higher than average, or the renter puts a jumper in or otherwise unlawfully reconnects the service, etc. So the downside of the deposit method is that it does not always get the job done. Another problem is that a majority of the renters remain on the old, lower deposit. Perhaps one could consider not just raising the deposit for new rentercustomers, but also for those who are habitually late.

Other cities have chosen another path and converted their policy to allowing only owners to sign up as utility customers so they can lien the property. Some argue that this procedure violates “the spirit” of §180.135 FS which states, in pertinent part:

The article says “water” but I presume it to mean water and sewer, in most cases.

Allowed if the government utility has utility bonds in place.

3 101 So.3d 400 (Fla 4th DCA 2012) 1 2

42 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

(1)(a) Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, no municipality may refuse services or discontinue utility, water, or sewer services to the owner of any rental unit or to a tenant or prospective tenant of such rental unit for nonpayment of service charges incurred by a former occupant of the rental unit; any such unpaid service charges incurred by a former occupant will not be the basis for any lien against the rental property or legal action against the present tenant or owner to recover such charges except to the extent that the present tenant or owner has benefited directly from the service provided to the former occupant. (b) This section applies only if the former occupant of the rental unit contracted for such services with the municipality or if the municipality provided services with knowledge of the former occupant's name and the period the occupant was provided the services.

(2) The provisions of this section may not be waived through any contractual arrangement between a municipality and a landlord whereby the landlord agrees to be responsible for a tenant's or future tenant's payment of service charges.

It is common legal knowledge that city laws cannot conflict with state statutes, but I see no conflict between allowing only owners of properties to be customers of the city utility in order to protect the city from lost money by having the ability to place liens for nonpayment of utility bills. Furthermore, at last review, the current state of the law in

Florida is in agreement with this, as there is at least one reported Florida case where such a plan was upheld with the same analysis. In Jass Properties v. City of North Lauderdale, 3 Jass sought to eliminate that city’s policy of “landlords only” as customers; however, in a very strong opinion, the court held that §180.135 FS did not prohibit the city from contracting with landowners only for utility service. I was thankful to see that 2012 case come through, as I had been advising my city clients to do this because I felt the policy was lawful, but you never know for sure until the matter is tried. I thank the city and their counsel for plowing that legal ground first, because most of my city clients are pretty small and cannot afford such a lawsuit.

What is the downside to a “landlords only” policy? Not much. The liens take precedence over all other liens, except taxes; therefore, as long as there is some small amount of property value, there is a likelihood that the city will get paid.

Just briefly, I would note that some plaintiffs’ counsels have argued that both the higher “renter deposit” and the “owner-only”

policies unlawfully discriminate against renters. However, without going into the lengthy analysis, it is easy to point out that renters and owners are not “similarly situated,” and thus, I believe there is a valid, legal basis for the discrimination.

I have one last note for utilities other than government utilities. Those that are regulated by a public service commission (PSC) must, of course, follow PSC rules regarding deposits and classes of customers.

Nonprofit utilities, special districts, and quasigovernmental utilities have different challenges; however, I believe that certainly for nonprofit utilities, at least, those challenges can be overcome, and either a “renter deposit” or a “landlord-only” policy should be utilized. I have not reviewed the challenges for the other utilities.

I know from experience that many cities are still bleeding through losses from absconding renters, and so why do they not either raise their deposits as Boca Raton did, or allow only owners to be customers, as the City of North Lauderdale does? Politics. I can’t help you there, so good luck.

Note: The above is not legal advice, and you need to consult with your government attorney regarding the current state of the law relating to these topics.

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/ p a l m - b e a c h / b o c a - ra t o n / f l - b o c a - w a t e rdeposit-increase-20151016-story.html; Retrieved Oct. 19, 2015.

Gerald Buhr is a utilities attorney who has held a Class A license in both water and wastewater treatment. A Florida Bar-certified specialist in city, county, and local government law, he is the city attorney for Mulberry, Zolfo Springs, Bowling Green, and Avon Park; represents other public, private and nonprofit utilities; and teaches hospitality law and human resources at the Art Institute of Tampa.

FWRJ COMMITTEE PROFILE This column highlights a committee, division, council, or other volunteer group of FSAWWA, FWEA, and FWPCOA.

Constitution and Rules Committee Affiliation: Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association Current chair: Ken Enlow, assistant project manager, Veolia North America Year group was formed: This was a standing committee going back to when the association’s policies and procedures manual became effective on Jan. 10, 1979.

Scope of work: This committee is tasked with reviewing policies and procedures annually. Updates or changes are reviewed by the board of directors

and the officers of the organization. All changes or updates, once reviewed, are voted on by the board. Once approved, the committee will incorporate the changes into the policy and procedures manual, which then becomes accessible to all officers and members of FWPCOA. Recent accomplishments: The policies and procedures manual has been updated for 2015, including the most recent recipients of awards for 2015, and current offices and committee chairs.

Current projects: The 13 regions of the association are in the process of updating regional bylaws. This is done approximately every 10 years, or any time a region needs to address the methods used to conduct business. All regional bylaws must be calibrated against the state bylaws to make sure there is consistency in how the

organization operates. This is a tedious task requiring each region to review and update its bylaws. The officers and members of each region must vote to approve the updates. Once this is done, the regional bylaws are presented to the state board of directors and officers for review and a vote for approval by the state. The committee then incorporates the updated changed into the policies and procedures manual.

Future work: The state expects to address bylaws in the near future. Much of today’s technology, specifically the use of electronic media, has become an important part of how this organization will communicate with its membership in the future. The state bylaws should address this where appropriate to make sure that FWPCOA is on the cutting edge and that the organization is in touch with the younger generation of operators.

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

43

F W R J

Polyethylene Encasement for External Corrosion Control for Iron Pipelines Dan Mathews and Allen H. Cox or nearly 200 years, cast iron pipe has been the standard piping material for modern water and wastewater systems in North America. Iron pipe has been the customary piping product of these industries because of its superior strength, reliability, and durability.

Gray and ductile cast iron pipe are ferrous structural conduits that can be susceptible to galvanic action if subjected to corrosive environments. When the presence of aggressive conditions is verified, the iron pipe industry advocates proper corrosion protection. The most common method of controlling corrosion for ductile iron pipelines is polyethylene encasement.

All of the investigations included in this article were conducted on pipe installed with this type of corrosion protection.

F

The Beginning of Pipe Protection The idea of protecting gray cast iron piping materials from external, electrochemical action with a loose polyethylene film started in the summer of 1951. At its inception, this method of corrosion control was employed to offer protection for cast iron mechanical joint bolts. Test specimens were installed in a testing ground of coal and cinder fill in Birmingham, Ala., in 1951, and in the organic swampland areas in Everglades City, Fla., and near Atlantic City, N.J., in 1952. The favorable results from these early testing locations led to the implementation of polyethylene encasement to grant protection for iron pipelines in municipal and utility installations starting in 1958. Through years of continued successful use, and added to further positive test site results in 1972, some 20 years after its inception and 14 years after its initial use, the first standard for polyethylene encasement, ANSI/AWWA C105/A21.5 (AWWA C105)12, was published, which was the first of many other worldwide standards regarding this method of corrosion control for ductile iron pipe.

The results of extensive industry research have been coupled with numerous investigations of in-service installations conducted in cooperation with participating utilities over the past 55 years (Stroud, 1989; Bonds, 2005). Included in the inspections of in-service polyethylene-encased iron lines are field investigations commissioned by a manufacturer of ductile iron pipe. Its 22 in-

spection sites conducted in 1987 and 1988, with the supervision and assistance of a prominent geotechnical engineering consultant, further confirmed the efficacy of polyethylene encasement in the control of corrosion on iron pipelines (Malizio, 1986).

The results of three recent field investigations conducted by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (MDWSD) and the Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association (DIPRA) of some of the oldest installations of polyethylene-encased ductile iron pipe in the Miami-Dade area will be discussed. These and other physical excavations and inspections of in-service iron pipelines have demonstrated the overall effectiveness of polyethylene encasement as a means of external corrosion protection for iron pipelines.

Acceptance of this method of corrosion control for iron pipelines is highlighted in the results of a survey commissioned by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and its Engineering and Construction Division. They reported that 95 percent of the surveyed utilities, municipalities, etc., responded that when external corrosion protection is required for their ductile iron water and wastewater pipelines, they employ polyethylene encasement (AWWA, 2000). Internationally, polyethylene encasement is covered by the International Standard ISO 8180, “Ductile Iron Pipelines: Polyethylene Sleeving for Site Application,”18 and standards for the use of polyethylene encasement for corrosion control of ductile iron pipelines exist in Japan19, Great Britain15, and Australia13, as well.

There is also an American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard A674, “Standard Practice for Polyethylene Encasement for Ductile Iron Pipe for Water or Other Liquids.”

Investigation Procedures At all of the investigation sites, ductile iron pipe was being protected with polyethylene encasement. Locations were generally selected by MDWSD because they offered relatively easy accessibility, required minimal traffic control, and contained soils that were known to be aggressive to ductile iron piping products. Observations at each test site and discussions with utility personnel verified that no sources of potential stray current were within the investigation areas.

The excavation process included carefully re-

44 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

Dan Mathews is chief of water transmission and distribution with Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department and Allen H. Cox, P.E., is regional director with Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association in Hermitage, Tenn.

moving the soil from around the full circumference of the pipe to minimize the possibility of damage to the encasement so the in-place condition of the protective film could be determined; then, the polyethylene film was removed to facilitate inspection of the pipe. A sample of the salvaged film was subsequently forwarded to KOORC Enterprises Inc. for physical testing to determine how the properties of the film compared to the revision of AWWA C105, to which it was manufactured. It was noted that the iron pipelines were all encased in a method similar to Method “A” as described in AWWA C105.

After initial inspection of the encased piping and removal of the polyethylene encasement, the surface of the exposed pipe was cleaned and examined for evidence of galvanic action, pitting, and/or graphitization. The examination procedures included cleaning the pipe with water and a steel wire brush with a scraper, and sounding the pipe barrel with a pointed hammer. At the conclusion of each investigation, the pipe was encased with new 8-mil linear low-density polyethylene film, and the excavation site was properly backfilled.

Observations Investigation Site 1: Jan. 10, 2013; NE 57th St., Miami An 8-in. ductile iron water line, owned and operated by MDWSD and protected from aggressive soils with black, 8-mil thick loose polyethylene encasement, was inspected on Jan. 10, 2011, to determine the effectiveness of the protection.

In 1990, several hundred ft of 8-in. ductile iron water main were installed during the construction of a subdivision development. This water piping conveys potable water at approximately 65 to 70 pounds per sq in. (psi).

Two soil samples were procured at this excavation site. As the excavation was initiated, white clayey sand and gravel were encountered; however,

as the excavating progressed to the three-and-onehalf- to 6-ft depth, black organic clayey muck was exposed. Both types of soil were removed and tested per the Design Decision Model® (DDM®) with the muck testing in a range that is considered corrosive to ductile iron pipe (Table 1).

The location of this inspection was along the north side of 57th St. at Bayshore Drive. Some 8 to 10 ft of the water line was excavated by MDWSD and it was observed that the polyethylene had been somewhat loosely encased around the pipe.

After this initial observation, the exposed ends of the protected pipe were sealed off with circumferential wraps of polyethylene tape to secure the length of piping to be examined. Next, the plastic sleeving was severed, some 4 to 5 ft, and removed from the pipeline. The polyethylene film, installed in 1990, was tested and appeared to be in very good condition. The physical properties of the film exceeded the values put forward in ANSI/AWWA C105/A21.5-88. The average results of the tests compared to standard values are outline in Table 2. As the polyethylene wrapping material was being cut, it was clear that there was moisture trapped between the encasement and the pipe surface.

Upon full exposure of the pipe, it was found that not only was there some moisture, but some of the native backfill had been trapped between the protective barrier and the pipe. The amount of soil was such that there was not enough of this material to test for its aggressiveness. Also, during this portion of the investigation, it was noted that oxidation appeared to be over most of the exposed pipe barrel. However, as the outside surface of the pipe was cleaned with water and the previously referenced instruments, it was quickly seen that this rust was superficial in nature and that much

of the asphaltic shop coating was fairly well intact (Figure 1). As the inspection continued, the exposed pipe surface was completely sounded and probed for evidence of galvanic action, and it was noted that the pipe had suffered no pitting and/or graphitization after some 20 years of service.

Investigation Site 2: Jan. 10, 2014; NE 58th St., Miami Another 8-in. ductile cast iron water main owned and operated by MDWSD and protected from corrosive soil with 8-mil-thick, loose black polyethylene encasement, was also inspected on Jan. 10, 2011. This water line was installed in 1990 during the same subdivision improvement as the previous investigation. Similar to the first location, this piping has push-on-type joints and conveys potable water at around 65 to 70 psi.

Two soil specimens were also procured at this excavation site. As the excavation commenced, white clayey sand and gravel were found to be prevalent; however, as the digging progressed to the

three-and-one-half- to 6-ft depth, black organic clayey muck was again encountered. Both types of soil were removed and tested per the DDM® with the muck testing in a range that is considered aggressive to ductile iron pipe (Table 1).

The location of this inspection was along the north side of 58th St. at Bayshore Drive. Some 8 to 10 ft of the water line were excavated by MDWSD and it was observed that the polyethylene had been properly installed. It was tightly encased around the exposed pipe barrel and was fully intact with no apparent damage (Figure 2).

After this initial observation, the exposed ends of the protected pipe were sealed off with circumferential wraps of polyethylene tape to secure the length of piping to be examined. Next, the plastic sleeving was severed and removed from the pipeline. The polyethylene film, installed in 1990, was tested and found to be in very good condition. The physical properties of the film exceeded the values put forward in C105/A21.5-88. The avContinued on page 46

Table 1. Soil Test Results17

Table 2. Polyethylene Film Test Results.

Results of physical testing of polyethylene film samples removed from inspection locations. The results of the testing are compared to the minimum values set forth in ANSI/AWWA C105/A21.5-72, the first such standard for polyethylene encasement.

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

45

Continued from page 45 erage results of the tests compared to standard values are outline in Table 2.

As the polyethylene was being removed, the pipe was immediately found to have very little, if any, surface oxidation along its fully exposed circumference. As the outside of the pipe was cleaned and completely sounded and probed for evidence of external corrosion, it was further found that no electrochemical action, pitting, and/or graphitization, had taken place (Figure 2).

Figure 1. NE 57th St., Miami, after cleaning and inspection of pipe surface. Pipe exhibited no evidence of corrosion pitting or graphitization after 20 years of service.

Figure 2. NE 58th St., Miami, after cleaning and inspection of pipe surface. Surface of pipe is free of corrosion pitting or graphitization after 47 years of service.

Figure 3. NE 87th St., Miami. Surface of pipe is free of corrosion pitting or graphitization after 11 years of service.

46 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

Investigation 3: Jan. 11, 2015; NE 87th St., Miami Another 8-in. ductile iron water line owned and operated by MDWSD and protected from aggressive soils with black, 8-mil thick loose polyethylene encasement was inspected on the following day, Jan. 11, 2011, to determine the effectiveness of the protection.

In 2000, several hundred ft of 8-in. ductile iron water main were installed as part of another subdivision development. This water piping also conveys potable water at an operating pressure of some 65 to 70 psi.

As in the previous inspections, two soil samples were procured at this excavation site. As this third excavation was initiated, white clayey sand and gravel were encountered, and as the excavating continued to the three-and-one-half- to 6-ft depth, black organic clayey muck was found once more. Both types of soil were removed and tested per the DDM® with the muck testing in a range that is considered aggressive to ductile iron pipe (Table 1).

The location of this inspection was along the north side of NE 87th St. at Bayshore Drive. Some 8 to 10 ft of the water line were once again uncovered by MDWSD. As the polyethylenewrapped ductile iron line was being exposed, the surrounding soil was removed such that the piping and its protective sleeve could be inspected along their full circumference. It was seen that this time, like the first inspection, the polyethylene had been loosely encased around the pipeline. As excavation proceeded, it was observed that groundwater from the adjacent bay area was constantly flowing into the trench and had to be dewatered.

Some of this liquid was procured and tested per the DDM® and its characteristics can be found in Table 1. This fluid was in a testing range that would be considered aggressive to ductile iron piping products.

After this initial observation, as before, the exposed ends of the protected pipe were sealed off with circumferential wraps of polyethylene tape to secure the length of piping to be examined.

Next, the plastic wrapping was severed and removed from the pipeline. The polyethylene film, installed in 2000, was tested and seemed to be in

very good condition. The physical properties of the film exceeded the values put forward in ANSI/AWWA C105/A21.5-99. The average results of the tests compared to standard values are outlined in Table 2. As some 4 to 5 ft of the polyethylene protection was being cut and laid open, it was clear that there was not only a great deal of native groundwater trapped between the encasement and the pipe surface, but a fairly large amount of the native soil and backfill was also found to be under the wrap. This soil was procured and immediately tested and found to be in a testing range per the DDM® that is considered corrosive to ductile iron piping (Table 1).

Also, during this portion of the investigation it was noted that surface oxidation looked to be over most of the exposed pipe barrel (Figure 3).

However, as the outside surface of the pipe was cleaned with water and the referenced instruments, it was quickly seen that this rust was superficial in nature and that much of the asphaltic shop coating was fairly well intact (Figure 3). As the inspection continued, the exposed pipe surface was completely sounded and probed for evidence of galvanic action, and it was noted that the pipe had suffered no pitting and/or graphitization after some 11 years of service.

Figure 4. Corrosion rates of probes under polyethylene encasement versus corrosion rates of probes in soil adjacent to the test pipe.

Conclusions and Summary The inspections conducted by MDWSD and DIPRA highlight the effectiveness of polyethylene encasement as an external corrosion control system for iron pipe. The three case histories involving iron pipelines that range from 11 to 20 years of age demonstrate the long-term, cost-effective corrosion protection afforded by polyethylene encasement. Loose polyethylene encasement offers this protection, even though it is not bonded to the surface of the pipe or completely sealed. It has been historically theorized that the moisture that is often found between the pipe and the protective barrier becomes stagnant over time and depleted of the oxygen necessary for corrosion to proceed (Horton, 1988). This moisture could be generated from temperature condensation or from initial seepage of natural groundwater.

When properly installed, this moisture becomes trapped and it does not tend to be replenished; therefore, over a relatively short period of time, it loses its dissolved oxygen content through its reaction with the surface of the pipe (as evidenced by the typical presence of superficial oxidation of the pipe surface), thus becoming less aggressive (Horton, 1988). Basically speaking, galvanic corrosion takes place initially; however, once the oxygen and/or other depolarizing agents are depleted, the surface of the pipe polarizes and additional electrochemical corrosion is dramatically reduced.

Simply stated, polyethylene encasement separates

Figure 5. Left photo: Petri dish showing effectiveness of biocide component after more than four years of burial in the Everglades with 100 percent kill rate. Right photo: Flasks showing effectiveness of inhibitor with three ductile iron (DI) samples in 5 percent salt solution after five years. The flask on the right is bare DI, the flask in the middle is bare DI wrapped with conventional polyethylene encasement, and the flask on the left is bare DI wrapped in enhanced (with biocide and inhibitor) polyethylene film.

the pipe from its surrounding soil and replaces a nonuniform, aggressive environment (the soil) with a homogenous, nonaggressive environment, such as passivated water (Horton, 1988).

No longer is this just a theory. Work by Schiff Associates (now HDR/Schiff) in recent studies revealed that the dissolved oxygen does indeed decrease very rapidly; also, the pH of the moist environment under the film is inclined to increase. Both of these chemical changes in the water have a propensity to make the dominant

corrosion mechanism uniform surface oxidation.

Since this mild form of corrosion tends to consistently be superficial, the actual measured corrosion rate under the polyethylene film is generally quite small (Bell, Moore, Solis, 2009; Moua, Bell, 2008).

Further work conducted with corrosion probes installed under the polyethylene encasement at a testing site in Everglades City generated similar results. It was found that the corrosion rate Continued on page 48

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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Figure 6. Left: Bare DI pipe after three years burial with corrosion pits up to 0.18 in. Right: Bare DI pipe with polyethylene encasement containing biocide and corrosion inhibitor after six years burial in the Everglades with zero pitting.

Continued from page 47 under the wrap was initially high, but then rapidly decreased, which is more than likely due to polarization, as the oxygen in the moisture under the encasement was depleted. As seen in Figure 4, the decreasing corrosion rates of the probes under the plastic wrap in this study is consistent with past observations. Corrosion rates on probes covered by the encasement dropped to low levels after approximately three months of exposure. If one were to discount these initial three months of exposure, average corrosion rates under the loose protection at the 6-o’clock position were lowered to an average rate of 0.7 mils per year (mpy), down from 1.2 mpy (Figure 7). This compares to corrosion rates as high as 30 to 40 mpy on adjacent unprotected pipe (Horton and Ash, 2013) The latest study and research with polyethylene encasement has been conducted with the newest advancement in polyethylene wrapping material. The idea of adding an inhibitor and biocide to negate the initial corrosion action has been developed, as V-Bio™, which is a patented method of corrosion control that employs proven technological advancements designed to virtually eliminate generalized electrochemical action, as well as controlling microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC). It differs from conventional polyethylene material in that it takes advantage of a modern coextruded method of production to provide multifunctional elements at different zones across the cross sectional matrix of the film. This new product meets the requirements of C105/A21.5, and the innermost layer of this material contains a

Figure 7. Corrosion rate (mpy) of probes under undamaged V-Bio™ Poly at the 6-o’clock position showing zero or near-zero corrosion rate during the test period. Corrosion rates of probes under V-Bio™ with cathodic protection were also at zero corrosion rate during the test period.

volatile corrosion inhibitor (VCI) to control initial galvanic action, as well as biocide components employed to control MIC. Some of the initial experimental efforts with V-Bio™ began at an Everglades testing ground and in a laboratory. The biocide and inhibitor were tested over a four- and five-year term, respectively. The results showed a 100 percent kill rate for the biocide component at the Everglades site, while the inhibitor with biocide produced, in essence, no corrosion and virtually zero rusting over a five-year period with iron specimens in a 5 percent salt solution (Figure 5).

Some other fields that work with V-Bio™wrapped ductile iron pipe specimens have disclosed some additional very promising results.

The V-Bio™-encased pipe exhumed after only three years and eight months of installation shows no pitting and/or graphitization, in conjunction with virtually no superficial oxidation (Figure 6). This can be compared with some unprotected ductile iron pipe segments with only six months of installation (Figure 6).

As the testing continued in the field, corrosion probes were employed to monitor the effectiveness of the newly developed wrap. Testing with the biocide and inhibitor-laced film exposed corrosion probe corrosion rates equal to or near zero mils per year for the past seven years (see Figure 6).

There is, of course, no perfect corrosion protection system for buried ferrous piping networks, and problems have been recorded with every kind of pipeline corrosion control

48 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

method. Polyethylene encasement, as with any form of corrosion mitigation, has its limitations and might not be used alone to mitigate every corrosive condition. In such cases, it may be appropriate to augment polyethylene encasement with cathodic protection. However, in the majority of known corrosive environments, properly installed polyethylene encasement has demonstrated great efficacy in the mitigation of corrosive conditions for ductile iron pipe. There are also times when construction circumstances may prohibit proper installation procedures, such as rigorous river crossings. In “uniquely severe environments” as defined in Appendix “A” of C105/A21.5 and in unusually high-density stray current conditions, a single layer of polyethylene might not offer the level of desired protection. As with all corrosion control systems, the success with polyethylene encasement is governed by proper installation procedures16.

Since the early 1950s, the iron pipe industry has researched several systems of corrosion control for gray and ductile iron pipe, including several field and laboratory investigations, along with in-place water and wastewater installations all over the United States and Canada. Various encasement materials, external pipe coatings, and the use of select backfills have all been evaluated. Nearly 60 years of experience, highlighted by the in-place excavations outlined in this article and elsewhere, have demonstrated the effectiveness of polyethylene encasement in protecting cast and/or ductile iron pipe in a wide range of soil conditions. Properly installed,

polyethylene-encased iron pipelines are effectively protected from the majority of potential external corrosion conditions encountered by the water and wastewater industry.

References 1. Bell, Ph.D., J., Moore, C., Solis, L. (2009). “Laboratory Investigations of Corrosion Mechanisms and Control for Ductile Iron Pipe in Simulated Polyethylene Encasement (AWWA C105),” Unpublished Paper.

2. Bonds, R.W., Barnard, L.M., Horton, A.M., Oliver, G.L. (2005). “Corrosion and Corrosion Control of Iron Pipe – 75 Years of Research,” Journal AWWA (June), AWWA Denver, Colo.

3. Cox, A.H., “Inspection Report of 20-Year Old 8-Inch Ductile Iron Pipe Encased in Loose Polyethylene,” January 2011, Miami, Fla. Unpublished Paper.

4. Cox, A.H., “Inspection Report of 20-Year Old 8-Inch Ductile Iron Pipe Encased in Loose Polyethylene,” January 2011, Miami, Fla. Unpublished Paper.

5. Cox, A.H., “Inspection Report of 11-Year Old 8-Inch Ductile Iron Pipe Encased in Loose Polyethylene,” January 2011, Miami, Fla. Un-

published Paper.

6. Hanson, P.H., “Inspection Report of 44-YearOld 12-Inch Ductile Iron Pipe in Loose Polyethylene,” October 2009, Chicago, Ill. Unpublished Paper.

7. Horton, A.M. (1988). “Protecting Pipe with Polyethylene Encasement, 1951-1988,” AWWA Water World News 4: p. 26-28.

8. Malizio, A.B. (1986). “Pipe Digs Show Effectiveness of Poly Sheet Encasement,” WATER/Engineering & Management, October, p. 27-29.

9. Moua, T., Bell, Ph.D., G.E.C. (2008). “Corrosion Mechanisms and Corrosion Control for Polyethylene-Encased Ductile Iron Pipe per AWWA Standard C105,” July, Unpublished Paper.

10. Stroud, T.F. (1989). “Corrosion Control Measures for Ductile Iron Pipe,” CORROSION/89, Paper No. 585 (Houston, Texas: NACE).

11. American Water Works Association, AWWA Engineering and Construction Division Survey, October 2000 Mainstream, Denver, Colo.

12. ANSI/AWWA C105/A21.5 (latest revision), “Polyethylene Encasement for Ductile Iron Pipe System,” (New York, N.Y.: ANAI and Denver, Colo.: AWWA).

13. AS 3680/3681 (latest revisions), “Polyethylene

Sleeving for Ductile Iron Piping” and “Guidelines for the Application of Polyethylene Sleeving to Ductile Iron Pipelines and Fittings” (North Sydney, NSW: AS).

14. ASTM A674 (latest revision), “Standard Practice for Polyethylene Encasement for Ductile Iron Pipe for Water or Other Liquids,” (West Conshohocken, Penn.: ASTM).

15. BS 6076 (latest revision), “Tubular Polyethylene Film for Use as Protective Sleeving for Buried Iron Pipes and Fittings,” (London, UK: BSI).

16. DIPRA, “Polyethylene Encasement: Effective, Economical Protection for Ductile Iron Pipe in Corrosive Environments,” January 1992 (Rev. 5-07), Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association, Birmingham, Ala. 17. DIPRA, “The Design Decision Model® for Corrosion Control of Ductile Iron Pipelines,” December 2004, Ductile Iron Pipe Research Association, Birmingham, Ala. 18. ISO 8180 (latest revision), “Ductile Iron Pipelines: Polyethylene Sleeving for Site Spplication” (Geneva, Switzerland: ISO).

19. JDPA Z 2005 (latest revision), “Polyethylene Sleeves for Corrosion Protection of Ductile Iron Pipes,” (Tokyo, Japan: JDPA).

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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Register Now for 2016 Florida Water Resources Conference Contests!

Operations Challenge Treatment plant operators from across Florida will compete in the 27th annual Operations Challenge at the Florida Water Resources Conference, which will be held April 24-27, 2016, at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando.

Participants will be timed in five separate operational competitions to determine the state’s representative for the national Operations Challenge at WEFTEC 2016.

The Operations Challenge promotes team building, leadership, education, and pride within a utility. Any utility that didn’t have a team in last year’s contest is especially encouraged to participate in the 2016 event.

For information and entry forms, contact Chris Fasnacht, Operations Challenge chair, at 407-709-7372 or cfasnacht@stcloud.org.

Top Ops Competition The annual statewide Top Ops contest will also be held at the 2016 Florida Water Resources Conference. Top Ops is the “College Bowl” of the water industry. Teams of one, two, or three water operators or laboratory personnel from the FSAWWA regions compete against each other in a fast-paced questionand-answer tournament at the conference. A moderator poses a wide range of technical questions and math problems, and the team scoring the most points in the championship round is awarded the Florida Section AWWA Top Ops championship. The winning team will earn a trip to ACE16 in Chicago, to compete with teams from other American Water Works Association sections in AWWA’s Top Ops contest.

Utilities throughout the state are encouraged to enter. Teams do not have to consist of employees of the same utility, and multiple utilities can sponsor a team.

No video, audio, or digital recordings will be allowed during the competition. For registration forms and the 2016 rules, contact Chris Wetz, Top Ops Committee chair, at christopher.wetz@tampagov.net or 727-215-3514, or visit www.fsawwa.org/topops.

50 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

FWRJ READER PROFILE

Ana Maria Gonzalez Ana Maria (center) presenting FSAWWA’s Division V Outstanding Water Distribution Systems Award at the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioner’s meeting in February 2009 to (left to right): Alan Bollenbacher, general maintenance department director; Tom Crandall, Pinellas County Utilities director; Calvin Harris, Pinellas County commissioner; and Steve Soltau, general maintenance department manager.

Hazen and Sawyer, Coral Gables Work title and years of service.

I am a senior associate and have been with Hazen and Sawyer for 28 years.

What does your job entail?

As a national business development team builder, I play a key role in the communication of complex engineering principles, strategies, and solutions to the public we serve. My job involves interaction with all of my firm’s key national and international offices and affords me the opportunity to participate in the largest projects undertaken by the company.

My engineering education and real-world planning and design background have proven crucial to the effectiveness of my current role.

At a FSAWWA golf tournament with (left to right): Luis Aguiar, Joe Mazzarese, Richard Coates, and Jim Cowgill.

What education and training have you had?

I’m a professional engineer in Florida. I graduated from the University of Miami with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering and a master of science degree in structural engineering.

What do you like best about your job?

What I enjoy most is collaborating on so many diverse and challenging projects with our highly talented staff and other leaders from all sectors of our industry.

Ana Maria (top right) with her family in Miami at Thanksgiving in 2014 at the home of her sister, Dr. Aimee Gonzalez Martinez (seated at center).

52 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

What organizations do you belong to?

I currently serve as the general policy director of the Florida Section AWWA and am contributing to the development of its 20152018 strategic marketing communications plan. I am also a member of the Florida Water Environment Association, Cuban American Association of Civil Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, and Society of Marketing Professional Services.

How have the organizations helped your career?

What immediately comes to mind is the long-term relationships I have forged with the many good people in our industry through FSAWWA, many of whom have served as mentors to me. The FSAWWA has also given me the opportunity to develop skills in multiple areas, such as leadership, teambuilding, and public speaking. Most importantly, the section has provided me with the opportunity to serve and make a difference.

What do you like best about the industry?

I like that we are making a difference in the quality of people’s lives, both here and abroad.

What do you do when you’re not working?

When I am not working, my passion is reading books of all genres. I also really enjoy spending time with my beautiful nieces, Katherine and Elizabeth, and working on home remodeling projects.

Holding the Florida Section AWWA George Warren Fuller Award, received at AWWA ACE12.

With Robert L. Claudy, accepting the award bearing his name at the 2010 FSAWWA Fall Conference.

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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Funding Clean Water: Florida Department of Environmental Protection Assistance Florida is a thirsty state. Its aquatic resources support drinking water supplies, agriculture, power production, the seafood industry, wildlife habitats, and tourism. Water shapes the state’s boundaries and its citizens’ actions. Many take their leisure, livelihoods, and paychecks— directly or indirectly—from the coasts, rivers, lakes, streams, and aquifers.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) works tirelessly with other state and local agencies, industries, and stakeholders to keep these waters clean and adequate to sustain a way of life that has been enjoyed for decades. Florida residents and visitors expect clean drinking water; they also expect the water industry to manage wastewater and stormwater in ways that protect the environment and the economy.

One way FDEP helps ensure that water meets the expectations of residents and visitors is by providing financial assistance through several key programs. The Department is working to bring a more strategic and efficient approach to implementing these programs through a new Division of Water Restoration Assistance

(DWRA) program. The DWRA is focused on maximizing coordination to better leverage funding opportunities, increase awareness of these programs, and encourage consistency in getting funding to communities.

reach long-term water quality goals by eliminating hundreds of septic systems. This project was critical in improving the water quality of Kings Bay. For more information, contact Tim Banks at 850-245-2969 or timothy.banks@dep.state.fl.us.

Stormwater and Wastewater Assistance for Smaller Cities The Clean Water State Revolving Fund is Florida’s largest financial assistance program for water infrastructure, and provides low-interest loans to local governments to plan, design, build, or upgrade wastewater, stormwater, and nonpoint source pollution prevention projects. Agricultural management practices that benefit water quality may also qualify for funding. Discounted assistance for small communities is available.

Interest rates on loans are below market rates and vary based on the economic means of the community. For example, the town of Crystal River received $11,767,516 in funding from the program over 11 years, including $9,902,693 in companion grants, to expand and upgrade its wastewater treatment plant and extend its collection system. The funding helped the town

54 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

Grants are available to small communities for the construction of wastewater facilities in municipalities with 10,000 or fewer people and per capita income levels below Florida’s average.

Projects must be associated with wastewater collection, transmission, treatment, or disposal facilities. Reclaimed water projects are also eligible for funding. A local match is required.

Century, a small community near Pensacola, has received funding through this program. The town was awarded a $197,883 small community wastewater facilities grant to install a tertiary filter at its wastewater treatment plant.

This project helped the facility meet requirements for redundancy in the treatment system and further clean effluent.

For more information, contact Tim Banks at the phone number or email listed previously.

Drinking Water The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund provides low-interest loans to local governments and qualified private utilities to plan, design, and build, or upgrade, drinking water systems.

Discounted assistance and principal forgiveness is sometimes available for qualified communities. Interest rates on loans are typically 40 percent below market rates.

The City of Live Oak received $4,869,146, including $3,963,538 in grants and $905,608 at a 2.6 percent interest rate, to help correct turbidity and low-chlorine residual problems in its drinking water system, which was under the direct influence of stormwater and subject to fecal coliform contamination. This project was completed in 2013, and will address the water needs of the city through 2030. The city also received a small companion loan of $701,626 to address stormwater issues. Combined, these projects are helping protect public health, the environment, and the drinking water source for Live Oak residents by eliminating threats associated with stormwater runoff during the rainy seasons.

For more information contact Shanin Speas-Frost at 850-245-2991 or shanin.speasfrost@dep.state.fl.us.

Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention The Clean Water Act Section 319(h) and the state Total Maximum Daily Load water quality restoration grant programs fund projects that reduce pollution from nonpoint sources and urban stormwater. Eligible projects include stormwater treatment, erosion and sediment control, and septic tank pollution abatement.

The Section 319 grant helps to fund projects or programs that reduce nonpoint sources of pollution and benefit Florida’s priority watersheds.

Local sponsors must provide at least a 40 percent match or an in-kind contribution. Eligible activities include demonstration and evaluation of urban and agricultural stormwater management practices, stormwater retrofits, and public education.

In 2012 and 2013, the City of Tallahassee’s Think About Personal Pollution (TAPP) program received $306,200 in 319(h) grant money for an ongoing public education campaign aimed at reducing pollutants to area watersheds.

The campaign provides educational resources to encourage residents to make small personal changes in home and yard practices that keep local lakes, sinks, and streams cleaner.

For more information contact Kate Brackett at 850-245-2952 or kathryn.brackett@dep.state.fl.us.

Total Maximum Daily Load This funding is available through periodic legislative appropriations to FDEP. When funds are available, the program funds stormwater retrofit projects that improve impaired waters.

Escambia County used funding through this program for low-impact design and construction. The county’s central office complex received a $1.5 million grant to help fund construction of a 33,160-sq-ft green roof and a 100,000-sq-ft pervious concrete parking area with landscaped bioretention areas. The green roof provides insulation, which reduces heat transfer and energy use. The vegetated roof also provides a natural mechanism to reduce pollutants that enter waterways through untreated stormwater by storing and treating it naturally through the evapotranspiration of plants.

For more information contact Kate Brackett at the phone number or email listed previously.

Reclaimed Mines Nonmandatory land reclamation grants provide funds for reclamation of property mined for phosphate before the 1975 introduction of regulatory requirements for reclamation.

The grant reimburses landowners for approved costs of reclamation work to improve environmental and economic utility of lands by removing safety hazards and improving water quality and quantity in affected watersheds.

Two grants are providing approximately $8 million to restore more than 1,600 acres of mined land in Hillsborough County. The grants are funding the removal of hazardous materials, as well as invasive plant species. The area will be planted with species consistent with premined landscape, and two ponds will be enhanced to establish an area of high-functioning wetland.

For more information contact Alex Reed at 850-245-2980 or alex.reed@dep.state.fl.us.

be accessible to the public, located within an area listed as critically eroded, and be consistent with the state’s strategic beach management plan.

The FDEP recently awarded $500,000 in grant funding to the town of Longboat Key to assist with a $2.4 million beach restoration project that will protect the shoreline and provide nesting habitat for sea turtles and shorebirds.

The project also provides space for beach activities such as shelling, swimming, and fishing.

For more information contact Alex Reed at the phone number or email listed previously.

The business of clean water isn’t free. Facilities need to be built, maintained, and upgraded, and facility parts need to be replaced. For some municipalities, finding money for projects that provide safe drinking water or manage stormwater or wastewater is a challenge. Financial assistance is one way that FDEP works with the water industry to meet that challenge. Owners, operators, and users of these facilities know that protecting water quality also protects the health of residents, ecosystems, and the economy.

Learn more about water restoration funding at www.dep.state.fl.us/water/waterprojectfunding/.

Beach Restoration and Erosion Control Beach management funding assistance provides grants to local governments for the planning and implementation of beach and inlet management projects to protect upland structures and infrastructure, provide critical habitat for threatened and endangered species, provide recreational opportunities, and support local economies through tourism.

Activities eligible for funding include beach restoration and nourishment, design and engineering studies, environmental studies and monitoring, inlet management planning, inlet sand bypassing, dune restoration and vegetation, and beach erosion control. Projects must Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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FWEA CHAPTER CORNER Welcome to the FWEA Chapter Corner! The Public Relations Committee of the Florida Water Environment Association hosts this article to celebrate the success of recent association chapter activities and inform members of upcoming events. To have information included for your chapter, send the details via email to Suzanne Mechler at MechlerSE@cdm.com.

Suzanne Mechler

Student Design Competition: A Great Learning Experience for Participants University of South Florida Etienne Vawters he University of South Florida (USF) team, consisting of Samantha Flores, David Lee, Alex Miller, Ileana Wald, and myself, presented our project on the City of Oldsmar’s aquifer storage and recovery project. During the first cycle test, the injection flow rates decreased from 700 gal per minute (gpm) to 200 gpm. To evaluate the cause of the flow rate decrease, an analysis of the water reclamation facility historical water quality data and geochemical modeling of in-

T

jection and groundwater mixing in the well was conducted.

The results indicated that calcite precipitation within the well and aquifer matrix was the likely cause of well clogging. Well rehabilitation by acid injection is an effective chemical solution. Well acidization methods using carbon dioxide (CO2) or hydrochloric acid (HCl) were considered. Evaluation of system design criteria showed that contracted HCl was the most appropriate solution because HCl is a more effective acid, requires a lower injection frequency than CO 2 , and is the most cost-effective alternative. Continued monitoring of injection flow rates and recovery efficiency, and promotion of water conservation strategies through educational outreach, were recommended.

Florida Gulf Coast University team members (left to right): Erin Mosley (WEF board of trustees member), Erik Mead, and Maxwell Goodacre.

56 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

The team had a great time working with the City of Oldsmar, and thanks all of the utilities and well drilling companies for the valuable help they eagerly gave our team. We were very excited to win the competition at the Florida Water Resources Conference (FWRC) and enjoyed the experience at the contest held at the Water Environment Federation Technical and Exhibition Conference (WEFTEC) in Chicago. The team would like to thank Dr. Sarina Ergas, Todd Cross, Emiliee Moore, Lisa R. Rhea, Johna Jahn, Todd Cash, Mark Addison, Gary Glascock, Karl Payne, Kevin Morris, Mark B. McNeal, Stuart C. Anderson, and Teresa Therzog for their contributions.

University of South Florida team (left to right): Erin Mosley (WEF board of trustees member), David Lee, Alex Miller, Ileana Wald, Etienne Vawters, and Samantha Flores.

Florida Gulf Coast University Maxwell D.F. Goodacre and Erik J. Mead This was a new and fantastic experience for us, as well as for the Florida Gulf Coast University. As we began our journey on the design, testing, and implementation of a bioreactor to degrade phenol waste generated on campus, we were unaware of what was to come.

After successfully implementing our bioreactor with the help of our wastewater professor, Dr. Komisar, we imagined greater depths to delve, and we rolled our successes into our senior design class. It was in that class with Dr. Kim that we became more focused and driven towards our involvement with the Florida Water Environment Association.

With the possibilities that were seemingly endless, and the willingness of professors to help us gain newfound understanding

and a cumulative sense of confidence, not even a lack of sleep could stop us from achieving our goals! The day following our college graduation, we packed up our purpose-built mock bioreactor and drove three hours north to Orlando, where we were privileged to have earned first place in the environmental category at the competition at FWRC. This was a first for us and a first for our university. We were elated!

With great humility, and hundreds of rechecks and revisions, our design notebook was anxiously submitted. Next was a threeand-a-half hour plane ride with the bioreactor safely in tow. A quick cab ride to the hotel and convention center in downtown Chicago enabled us to obtain our WEFTEC 2015 badges. After peeking into the not-yet-opened exhibition floor, we went out on the town for real deep-dish Chicago pizza.

The night before the WEFTEC competition began, the final suit and bioreactor preparations concluded with the knowledge of an early meeting the following morning.

The meeting began with all of the competitors walking around the stage. We checked

our equipment, including a laser pointer, and uploaded our unseen presentation. Amongst the hustle and bustle of a full-blown international conference we found a huge empty space to practice a few more times for good measure. With jittery nerves, we met at the competition room to see that the environmental section had just begun. Unfortunately, we were the second to the last to present.

Everyone seemed restless and wanted to conclude the event, so we naturally threw in a few jokes, which brightened the mood of the room.

Earning second place in a national competition is undoubtedly and irrefutably gratifying, especially among such intelligent and gracious competitors! If you are ever able to attend WEFTEC and a student design competition, attending some of the workshops and the vendor displays are a must. Three days is not enough time to see all of the vendors, so plan ahead.

Thank you very much to all who helped us with our win! We had a lot of fun, met many people, and learned more than we could bear in such a small amount of time.

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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Central Florida Water For People Benefit Exceeds 2015 Goals

Water For People display at the 2015 “Wine for Us” event.

On Aug. 6, 2015, the Central Florida Chapter of the Florida Section American Water Works Association (Region III) hosted its seventh annual “Wine for Us” fundraising event to benefit Water For People. The event was held in the Dinosaur Digs Exhibit Hall at the Orlando Science Center. Last year, this event raised over $32,000, bringing the sixyear total to $158,000 in donations for the organization. For 2015, the goal was to raise over $40,000 and increase event attendance from 150 guests to 200. Preliminary financials show that these goals were not only met, but exceeded, with total contributions exceeding $40,000 and an increase in attendance to 261 guests!

“Wine for Us” is part silent auction, part beer and wine tasting, part live music and good food, and part networking opportunity.

The majority of guests come from the water industry—both private and public sectors.

Guests enjoy the ability to mingle with old friends, visit with clients, and make new acquaintances while enjoying the festivities.

58 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

Preparation for the 2015 event started last year, just after the 2014 program ended.

Core members of the committee met over three months to discuss challenges, opportunities for improvement, and goals for 2015.

Some of the improvements helped to meet the needs and expectations of the guests. Other improvements were more donation- and attendance-driven, such as modifications to the sponsorship levels and increased publicity.

Another important decision made during these meetings was that the core members of the 2014 committee would continue in their positions for another year and lead the improvements in 2015.

By spring 2015, the event committee had grown to 25 volunteers and included a dedicated Publicity Committee. Previously, the committee chairs led the majority of the publicity efforts, including written correspondence and email blasts. The newly minted committee included five new volunteers with “fresh eyes” and they implemented improvements and suggested new activities to increase

event visibility, including an improved event logo that clearly denoted the event as a Water For People benefit.

In addition, the Silent Auction Committee and Registration Committee were determined to implement improvements based on guest feedback from 2014. The impact was noticeable at the 2015 event, specifically as it related to reductions in check-in times at the registration tables and check-out times at the silent auction.

As with most charitable events, the majority of donations for this event came from corporate sponsorships. This year, “Wine for Us” received a significant boost when one of the original and continuing sponsors, Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), agreed to increase its sponsorship to the “champion” level which was then matched by Garney Construction. In addition, Wharton Smith Construction agreed to sponsor the 2015 event at the “patron” level and Arcadis continued their commitment at the same level. Over twenty other corporations committed funds at the “advocate” level.

All of these sponsorships provided an increase in visibility in the community, which resulted in a significant growth in attendance.

This annual Water For People fundraiser is possible due to the dedication of volunteers

Updated event logo.

Silent auction draws a crowd.

that, by my estimation, donate over 3,000 hours per year. As cochair of both the 2014 and the 2015 events, I would like to say that it has truly been an honor to work with this committee. Although I cannot list all of the committee members here, I would be remiss in not mentioning cochair Debbie Bradshaw, with OUC; Registration Committee chair Leslie Turner, with TetraTech; and Silent Auction chair Aaron Rogge, with CDM Smith.

Although the 2015 committee met the overall goals that had been set, there were a number of challenges both before and during

the event that were not anticipated. These included last-minute printing needs, long food lines, audio balancing, and the difficulty of closing the silent auction bidding. However, there is no doubt that these challenges will be addressed and overcome and “Wine for Us” 2016 will be an even greater success. I hope to see everyone there!

Yvonne Picard is process mechanical engineer and project manager at CH2M in Orlando.

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F W R J

Investigating Critical Infrastructure With Limited Access Dornelle Thomas and Jason A. Johnson ommunities across Florida continue to be challenged with degrading infrastructure, including leaks and breaks in their largediameter water mains. In 2010, the City of Miami Beach (City) experienced a rupture of one of its water mains near the 63rd Street Bridge. This prompted the City to evaluate the structural integrity of a nearby primary transmission water main from the mainland: the 36-in.-diameter water main that crosses the Julia Tuttle Causeway (Figure 1). The City began to develop a condition assessment and rehabilitation strategy to minimize the potential of this primary transmission main experiencing a similar rupture.

This article presents the available and innovative assessment approaches utilized to evaluate the structural integrity of underground and subaqueous pressure pipelines with minimal surface impacts and service interruptions. The approaches utilize acoustics and electromagnetics to detect active leaks, gas pockets, and structural integrity of the pipelines, respectively, while recognizing that it was not feasible to take the transmission main out of service.

The approach was executed within the City on approximately 3 mi of 36-in.-diameter pipe comprised of prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP), cast iron (CI), and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The transmission main traverses a subaqueous route under environmentally

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sensitive Biscayne Bay and an active Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) traffic corridor in a densely populated zone from the intersection of NE 35th Terrace and NE 5th Avenue in Miami and along Julia Tuttle Causeway and Arthur Godfrey Road (West 41st Street).

Condition Assessment Tools To evaluate the Julia Tuttle Transmission Main, two specific condition assessment techniques were employed: acoustic-based leak detection and gas pocket inspection and electromagnetics. More detailed explanations of each technique are provided in the following sections.

Acoustic-Based Leak Detection and Gas Pocket Assessment The inspection also included an acousticbased leak and gas pocket inspection using an inspection unit (Figure 2). The equipment used is a free-swimming, acoustic-based technology that detects anomalous acoustic activity associated with leaks or gas pockets in pressurized pipelines. The unit is comprised of a water-tight aluminum alloy core that contains a power source, electronic components, and instrumentation, including an acoustic sensor, triaxial ac-

Figure 1. 36-In.-Diameter Julia Tuttle Transmission Water Main

60 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

Dornelle Thomas, P.E., is a project engineer with CDM Smith in Miami and Jason A. Johnson, P.E., is senior program manager with Pure Technologies in Miami.

celerometer, triaxial magnetometer, global positioning system (GPS) synchronized ultrasonic transmitter, and temperature sensor.

The aluminum core is encapsulated by a compressible protective foam outer shell, which provides a larger surface area by which the device is pushed along by the hydraulic flow of the water, while reducing low-frequency ambient noise that is typically present in the pipeline. The assembly is deployed into the flow of a pipeline, traverses the pipeline, and is captured and extracted at a predetermined point downstream that will also be utilized for the electromagnetic assessment. During the inspection, the free-swimming, acoustic-based technology’s location is tracked at predetermined points, typically air release valves or exposed sections of the pipeline, to correlate the inspection data with inspected distance.

Electromagnetic Testing An electromagnetic inspection provides a nondestructive method of evaluating the baseline

Figure 2. Acoustic-Based Leak and Gas Pocket Detection Equipment

condition of the prestressing wire in PCCP, and wall loss in metallic pipe. Electromagnetic inspections ascertain a magnetic signature for each pipe to identify anomalies that are produced by zones of broken wire wraps and changes in pipe properties, such as material change and wall thickness. Various characteristics associated with an anomaly are evaluated to provide an estimate of the number of broken wire wraps or broad corrosion zones, and areas of wall loss. This inspection method is able to quantify the amount of wire wrap damage.

The electromagnetic system used generates eddy currents in the wire wraps, and detected where the field was altered by the presence of breaks in the prestressing wires; if there are no breaks, the current will flow uniformly along the wire. However, where a broken wire wrap exists, a discontinuity in the current forms. Analyzing and interpreting this phenomenon allows for estimates of the number of broken wire wraps, and the approximate location of the broken wraps along the length of the pipe.

For metallic pipe, the electromagnetic system generates a magnetic field that is able to provide detection of variance in wall thickness, material change, and regions of broad corrosion.

The pipeline was inspected by a specialty consultant using an inserted robotic condition assessment tool to provide data for condition assessment of the PCCP and CI sections of the transmission main. Analysis of impacts to the HDPE section were limited to evaluation by acoustic-based leak and gas pocket detection. The electromagnetic assessment tool is an innovative free-swimming tool

that is neutrally buoyant, with flexible fins that are used to center the tool within the flow of the pipe and provide propulsion with the active flow in the pipeline. Its flexible design allows for navigation through inline valves (like butterfly valves) and bends in the pipeline, while traveling long distances. Data is downloaded and interpreted by the Continued on page 62

Figure 3. Assessment Tool Prior to Installation and With Insertion Tube

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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Continued from page 61 specialty consultant, upon completion of the inspection, to identify and quantify locations of structural changes from the original design and construction.

The electromagnetic assessment tool was inserted into the live pipeline via a hot tap connection and insertion tube (Figure 3). Once inside the line, the tool traveled with the flow of

the water until it reached the predetermined extraction point. The tool’s movement and distance traveled is tracked from aboveground via tracking locations, typically at air release valves or exposed sections of the transmission main.

Results Summary The objective of this analysis was to determine the location of any water main sections that may require rehabilitation, and prioritize these sections based on the severity of conditions. The Julia Tuttle Transmission Water Main had 42 (4.8 percent) pipe segments with indications of structural impacts along the approximate 3-mi, 837-segment pipeline. This percentage of distress is above average when compared to what has been observed globally and historically (3.9 percent) by the specialty consultant through electromagnetic inspection.

One pipe segment was analyzed to have 45 broken wire wraps, which exceeded the yield limit state based on the original design parameters of the pipeline. Six other pipe segments were determined to be at or near 50 percent of the yield limit state, 35 pipe segments were found to have a small number of broken wire wraps, and the balance (over 95 percent of the total pipeline) showed no sign of wire wrap breakage.

Eight anomalies were identified by the leak and gas pocket inspection, many coinciding with the location of wire-wrap breakage.

Recommendations The following recommendations are based on the inspection of the pipeline and a review of one month’s data on transient pressure surges in the line.

Emergency Action Plan a. Order and store standby materials to be used in a near-term emergency repair, if required.

Replace 36-in. ductile iron pipe water main (three segments minimum in case the upstream or downstream pipes from a break are also damaged), pipe sleeves, adapter/transition couplings (both male and female for bell and spigot ends), gaskets, restraints, pipe saddles, and an air release valve. b. As this condition will require a shutdown of the pipeline for up to a week, depending on accessibility of the break location and contractor mobilization, the pipes’ isolation valves should be located and exercised regularly in preparation for a shutdown. c. An operations plan should be in place to provide supplemental feed and maintain flow and pressure to the City’s system from interconnects and the other mainland crossings.

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Repair/Reinforce Implementation Plan a. Develop an implementation plan to replace or repair/reinforce the section in excess of the yield limit state. b. A cost–benefit analysis can be performed to evaluate different options for repair and to aid in the selection of the optimum solution. c. The six pipe segments listed in the moderate limit state should be rehabilitated with, or soon after, repairs to the pipe segment, in excess of the yield limit state.

Re-evaluate or Monitor a. Schedule a periodic re-evaluation of the pipeline or implement a continuous monitoring plan. With only one snapshot of the status of wire breaks, a trend or rate of deterioration cannot be determined. This data may influence the decisions of the timing and type of rehabilitation. The taps installed for the initial evaluation can serve in the same capacity for subsequent evaluations. Continuous monitoring could include inserting an acoustic fiber optic cable throughout the PCCP portions of the pipeline. Performing two additional subsequent evaluations at regular intervals (say, three and five years) can be done using the same procedures as the initial evaluation. b. Continue to monitor the transient pressure condition (pressure spikes) in the pipeline to confirm that it remains below the American Water Works Association (AWWA) C304 transient design pressure. The peak pressures recorded during the one-month evaluation period were between 75 and 80 pounds per sq in. (psi); the system working pressure is about 65 psi. The worst-case transient design pressure is 140 percent of working pressure, or working pressure plus 40 psi, per AWWA C304. Therefore, the serviceability conditions of the pipeline were based on a transient pressure of 105 psi. If system pressures rise, any conservatism built into the higher AWWA pressure will be diminished.

Conclusion Maintaining and effectively managing good-quality underground infrastructure is critical to minimize emergency replacement and repair costs, provide continued service to customers, reduce capital investments, and alleviate the impact to public health and safety, as well as the environment. By having a better understanding of the condition of their pipeline assets, utilities can benefit by better prioritizing repair and replacement projects to enable them to solve the most critical issues first, as well as develop a plan for additional improvements needed as resources become available.

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C FACTOR

Wrapping Up Thomas King President, FWPCOA

s I come to the end of my second term as president of this great association, I have developed a renewed awareness of the dedication and the spirit of its members.

I would first like to thank you all for your efforts and energy. Each member at the board of directors level gives what he or she has—and many times more than they should—to support FWPCOA.

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McVeigh, we added the online institute. We are now, I’m happy to report, better than ever.

We are a large group of not-so-singleminded individuals coming together to make decisions in an attempt to serve our members. We are a diverse group, which is bigger and better than the sum of its parts. A special thanks to Tim McVeigh for all the extras he does for the association. Thanks to him, the online institute is doing very well!

Working Together The association has changed the way it does business in the last 10 years, but it’s still dedicated to its main purpose of bringing quality training courses to the members. Big changes began back in 2008 when we moved our training office out of the Brevard Community College and into our own facility. We were paying premium rent for office space that was getting smaller by the year. For those of you who missed the story, it went like this.

Meetings with the college representatives were met with a “you need us more than we need you” attitude. So, being the proud, impulsive association that we are, we said we were “moving on up.” Unlike the Jefferson’s from the 1970s television show, we had no place to go. We borrowed a trailer from Bobby Potts, pulled into the college, and loaded up all of Shirley Reaves’ stuff. For several months (maybe more) we used Shirley’s house as an office. Bobby’s trailer sat in Shirley’s yard the whole time, serving as a very awkward mini warehouse with one tire that kept going flat.

Through all of this, we never missed a class or short school and made it work, which is what we do best. We finally found an office, which has grown into the two spaces we currently occupy. It took us about a day to completely fill both offices with files and a copier, and we now have a small space where we can hold classes. We’ve added several new courses, and thanks to the efforts of Tim

ing a contingent to the event. We are open for topics and I still believe that having a diversified panel to openly discuss topics that are important to the future of utilities is productive and I hope this can become an annual forum to promote growth in the industry. It’s also a good way for your members to be involved in state activities. You can plan to attend the showcase and then stay for the president’s reception that opens the exhibit hall. There will be lots to see and do, so plan to attend a workshop and take some time to see what’s new on the exhibit floor.

By the time you read this, we will be hard at work organizing 2016’s spring short school. If you are planning to attend this year, look me up and say hello; if you have a story to tell, I will listen. Short schools are a weeklong event of learning, and the sharing of stories and innovations. If you are a manager or supervisor and you have someone deserving, send him or her to a short school.

Operations Challenge Builds Teamwork

New Classes, a Returning Showcase, and Short School Planning The association has some new courses under construction; soon we will have a Class B water prerequisite course and a Class B wastewater prerequisite course. These will provide an alternative to the current Sacramento courses. The new utilities maintenance course is doing well, and we are looking forward to the alignment workshop at next year’s Florida Water Resources Conference (FWRC).

The 2016 FWRC will be held April 24-27 at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center. We are again hosting an Operators Showcase on Sunday at the conference and we want all of our regions to consider send-

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For those of you who still are not aware what the Operations Challenge is and how it benefits your utility, let me explain. It is more than a contest involving operations personnel performing different activities on the main areas of importance in a well-operated system; it’s also a morale-building exercise.

Your team will study processes that will be used for years at your facility. They will compete as a unit, which will help them troubleshoot problems in your system.

The Operations Challenge is the "Wastewater Olympics" for professionals in the wastewater treatment industry. Teams of four members compete in five separate events (operations, maintenance, laboratory, safety, and collection systems) to earn the right to represent Florida at the national competition held at the Water Environment Federation Technical Conference and Exhibition (WEFTEC). All teams compete in all events and each event is judged and scored separately, using established criteria. The scores of all events are totaled and the champion team is selected.

Go to http://www.fwea.org/operations _challenge for information on how to enter

or how to donate to this event, which is promoted by all of your dedicated Florida water associations.

Make Sure Your Work is Fun I have found the only people who are able to deal with the ups and downs of the utility business without becoming bitter are those with a sense of humor. I have worked with some of the best and smartest people you could ever meet, and I’ve also worked with people who could suck all the intelligence out of a room just by sitting down.

It’s easy to be drawn into a reactionary management style when everything seems to be going wrong. Always stop and take a breath, and when all else fails, go with your gut. In the long run, it’s a lot more fun to run a utility than to be run by one. Be willing to make some mistakes and don’t be too quick to punish others for making them. Whether in your private or your professional life, people will sometimes let you down or just make a bad call. The key point is, did they learn from it?

My Wish List With the holidays just around the corner, I thought I would submit my list for Santa: The Backflow Committee could use a new trailer and maybe some large umbrellas for the testing area.

The Reuse Committee wants a van and some sunscreen.

The Awards Committee is looking for some applicants; last year, Renee Moticker was looking at local high schools for future candidates.

Rim Bishop and Shirley could also benefit from Santa’s magic bag. Shirley wants his sled to bring all the books, pens, and files that she needs for short schools to minimize her insurance bills, and Rim—well, Rim wants to look through Donald Trump’s old wig collection.

I would like a year of peace and tranquility where we all agree on the important things—and for the Dolphins to win a Super Bowl. I guess I have a better chance of growing my own hair back.

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News Beat The Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA) has released the results of its 2015 “Member Market Indicators Survey.” The survey tracks the experiences of manufacturers and their representatives within the water and wastewater market in eight areas: Design work Quotations Bookings and orders Domestic sales International sales Company employment Materials costs Industry market growth Thirty-one companies responded to the survey. Results show an upward trend in the market, with 70 percent of respondents indicating they saw domestic sales improve over the 12 months from September 2014 to August 2015 versus the previous 12 months, and 62 percent reported increases in bookings and orders during that time. Members expressed cautious optimism regarding near-term sales, with none predicting a decline in domestic sales for the next 12 months, 70 percent predicting a modest growth of 2.5 to 5 percent, 17 percent predicting growth greater than 5 percent, and 13 percent predicting flat sales.

The full report is available exclusively to WWEMA members. For more information on WWEMA, visit www.wwema.org.

A significant El Niño weather pattern is forecast to bring above-average rainfall to South Florida this upcoming dry season, officials announced recently at a joint briefing by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and the National Weather Service (NWS).

“Our focus will be moving water south through the regional system

to moderate the potential increase of water levels in Lake Okeechobee and other key areas,” said Paul Linton, SFWMD water management section administrator. “South Florida’s weather and water conditions can change rapidly; therefore, we always prepare for the challenge of balancing flood control with water supply.”

With water levels currently near average across much of the 16county district, water managers continue to move wet-season rainfall through South Florida’s stormwater treatment areas (STAs), where it is cleaned, and then into three water conservation areas, which currently have some storage capacity.

This water movement is being coordinated closely with SFWMD science teams so that appropriate volumes are moving through the STAs without overloading these wetland systems.

Reiss Engineering is providing professional engineering services for the design, permitting, and construction of a new 4-mil-gal-per-day (mgd) water production facility for Polk County’s Central Regional Utility Service Area (CRUSA), serving approximately 15,500 residents within a 19 sqmi area. Polk County continues to be one of the fastest growing counties in Florida, with a population growth rate nearly three times the national average.

The county currently owns and operates five interconnected water production facilities (WPF) within CRUSA. Reiss is providing services to assist the county in implementing a regional WPF on an existing county-owned property west of U.S. Highway 17 near Bartow. The new WPF will replace the five existing WPFs and centralize the potable water system within the service area. At buildout, the raw water for the new WPF will be supplied by four proposed raw water supply wells, and the WPF is anticipated to include advanced water treatment technologies to ensure continued delivery of high-quality and regulatory-compliant potable water to its customers.

Initial activities by Reiss include the design, bidding, and construction oversight of two water supply wells and completing preliminary environmental site investigations. In September, the two water supply wells went to bid for construction and the water quality data will be used to determine the optimum water treatment for the WPF. The preliminary design of the WPF is scheduled to begin in spring 2016.

Water Environment Research (WER) is pleased to provide its 2015 literature review as open access. Replacing the standard issue for the month of October, this annual project contains approximately forty sections on diverse topics such as physicochemical processes, anaerobic process, sustainability, and economics.

“The annual literature review is an indispensible tool that provides access to more than a thousand pages of this year's top water quality research,” said Tim Ellis, WER editor in chief. “Hundreds of academics and practitioners volunteered their time and expertise to produce this invaluable resource that can be used by students and seasoned professionals alike.”

The review and selected articles in the standard monthly issues are available free to the public through an open access program. Published by the Water Environment Federation (WEF) since 1928, WER is a popular professional journal that features peer-reviewed research papers and research notes, as well as state-of-the-art and critical reviews on original, fundamental, and applied research in all scientific and technical areas related to water quality, pollution control, and management.

Originally known as Sewage Works Journal, WER is available in both print and online formats and receives approximately 400 new research submissions each year. To learn more, visit www.wef.org/wer.

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68 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

FWPCOA TRAINING CALENDAR SCHEDULE YOUR CLASS TODAY! December 7-10 ........Reclaimed Water Field Site Inspector ..Deltona ..........$350/380

Upcoming 2016 Classes January 4-8 ........Reclaimed Water Field Site Inspector ..Deltona ..........$350/380 11-14 ........Backflow Tester* ......................................St. Petersburg ..$375/405 22 ........Backflow Tester Recert*** ......................Deltona ..........$85/115 25-29 ........Water Distribution 3, 2 ..........................Deltona ..........$225/255 25-29 ........Reclaimed Water Distribution C ............Deltona ..........$225/255

February 15-19 ........Wastewater Collection C, B....................Deltona ..........$225/255 8-11 ........Backflow Tester ........................................Deltona ..........$375/405 26 ........Backflow Tester recert*** ......................Deltona ..........$85/115

Course registration forms are available at http://www.fwpcoa.org/forms.asp. For additional information on these courses or other training programs offered by the FWPCOA, please contact the FW&PCOA Training Office at (321) 383-9690 or training@fwpcoa.org. * Backflow recertification is also available the last day of Backflow Tester or Backflow Repair Classes with the exception of Deltona ** Evening classes

You are required to have your own calculator at state short schools and most other courses.

*** any retest given also Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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New Products The IntelliPro® Filtration Optimization System is a PC-based control system by AquaAerobic for its cloth media filters that use realtime data to optimize chemical addition to meet phosphorus removal objectives. The system features automatic, optimal-dose selection for metal salts, polymer, and pH-adjusting chemicals. The system is an efficient and economical solution to assist treatment plants in achieving low-level phosphorus objectives, while minimizing the expense associated with costly chemicals.

Advantages of the system include advanced process control for low total phosphorus applications, chemical savings through load-based control, automated multipoint analysis, automatic chemical dose response curves that replace jar testing, and automatic composite sampling. (www.aqua-aerobic.com)

The FPI-X™ Dual Sensor Electromagnetic Flowmeter from McCrometer delivers accurate and repeatable measurement under extreme flow conditions. Designed for use in close proximity to cascading or multiple pump arrays, the meter features a field-proven dual sensor configuration that’s designed with multiple electromagnetic coils installed throughout both sensors to produce

a magnetic field across the complete cross sectional area of the pipe. (www.mcrometer.com)

Rupture-protected plugs from Lansas Products are designed to prevent catastrophic plug failures from overinflation caused by user error of faulty gauges, allowing the job to continue without downtime. The air relief valve reduces excess pressure to help prevent plug failure. It engages once the plug is overinflated by 33 percent, safeguarding against failure, while preserving the structural integrity and strength of the plug. (www.lansas.com)

The MudCat 100 compact, diesel-driven, one-truck portable dredging system from Liquid Waste Technology can be used to remove sludge and sediment from storage basins, lagoons, waterways, and settling ponds. It uses a Tier IV diesel engine, 14-gauge 304 stainless steel pontoon system, efficient commercially available hydraulic-driven submersible slurry pump supported by a pivoting all-steel ladder, and a durable manual-operated hydraulic system to control the dredge’s function. It can re-

move solids up to 14 ft below the water surface to restore lagoon design capacity levels to meet the demands of a dewatering system, while maximizing solid-handling performance and flow requirements. (www.lwtpithog.com)

The GasAlertMicroClip from Milwaukee Rubber Products provides protection from atmospheric gas hazards. It offers visual compliance at a glance with the flashing, green IntelliFlash product. Easy one-button operation reduces training time and lets workers focus on the job at hand. For simple, cost-effective management of records, calibration, and bump testing, the clip is compatible with the MicroDock II automatic test and calibration system and Fleet Manager II software. Its continuous LCD shows real-time gas concentrations, while its compact and lightweight design makes it comfortable to wear. The clip is water-resistant, with a built-in concussion-proof boot and multilanguage support, and is powered by a rechargeable lithium polymer battery. (www.milwaukeerubber.com)

The Spider™ 125 from McElroy has a universal clamping system designed for quick and accurate socket-fusion field installations of 63- to 125-mm polypropylene pipe and fittings. The lightweight and compact device features a worm gear drive with a parallel link system to bring pipe and fittings together evenly and with control. (www.mcelroy.com)

The UVT-LED from Sensorex verifies the effectiveness of an ultraviolet disinfection system by providing extremely stable readings of treated water in all conditions. It is the first UV-transmittance monitor to use a single LED light source instead of a conventional mercury lamp. As a result, the product features quick warm up, extended lamp life, and a small footprint. The monitor comes in two models: a handheld version for use in the field and multiple plant sampling locations, and a process version for installation directly into a pipe or open channel system.

Also available from Sensorex is the SAM-1 Smart Aqua Meter, with Android compatibility, which transforms smartphones or tablets into convenient and powerful pH, ORP, or Conductivity/TDS meters with integral temperature measurement. It plugs into the headphone jack of virtually any smartphone or tablet, and connects to Sensorex smart analytical sensors. The free SAM-1 app instantly recognizes the smart sensor and provides an easy-to-use interface for taking measurements and managing data. (www.Sensorex.com)

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ENGINEERING DIRECTORY

Tank Engineering And Management Consultants, Inc.

Engineering • Inspection Aboveground Storage Tank Specialists Mulberry, Florida • Since 1983

863-354-9010 www.tankteam.com

EQUIPMENT & SERVICES DIRECTORY

EQUIPMENT & SERVICES DIRECTORY

EQUIPMENT & SERVICES DIRECTORY

Motor & Utility Services, LLC

Instrumentation,Controls Specialists Instrumentation Calibration Troubleshooting and Repair Services On-Site Water Meter Calibrations Preventive Maintenance Contracts Emergency and On Call Services Installation and System Start-up Lift Station Controls Service and Repair

Central Florida Controls,Inc. Florida Certified in water meter testing and repair P.O. Box 6121 • Ocala, FL 34432 Phone: 352-347-6075 • Fax: 352-347-0933

w w w. c e nt r a l f lor i d a c ont rol s . c om

CEC Motor & Utility Services, LLC 1751 12th Street East Palmetto, FL. 34221 Phone - 941-845-1030 Fax – 941-845-1049 prademaker@cecmotoru.com • Motor & Pump Services Test Loaded up to 4000HP, 4160-Volts • Premier Distributor for Worldwide Hyundai Motors up to 35,000HP • Specialists in rebuilding motors, pumps, blowers, & drives • UL 508A Panel Shop, engineer/design/build/install/commission • Lift Station Rehabilitation Services, GC License # CGC1520078 • Predictive Maintenance Services, vibration, IR, oil sampling • Authorized Sales & Service for Aurora Vertical Hollow Shaft Motors

EQUIPMENT & SERVICES DIRECTORY Showcase Your Company in the Engineering or Equipment & Services Directory Contact Mike Delaney at

352-241-6006 ads@fwrj.com

CLASSIFIEDS Positions Av ailable

Reiss Engineering, Inc. Utilities Field Superintendent $74,311 - $104,562/yr.

Utilities Treatment Plant Operations Supervisor $55,452 - $78,026/yr.

Reuse Outreach Water Conservation Coord.

Are you looking for an opportunity with a company that is poised for growth? Reiss Engineering stands as one of the most prominent Civil and Environmental engineering firms in the State of Florida and the Bahamas.

Our main focus is water and wastewater, serving both public and private sector clients with integrity, technical excellence and a commitment to performance. At Reiss Engineering, we are committed to making success happen for our clients, our employees and our firm.

$45,620 - $64,193/yr.

Utilities System Operator II $37,152 – 52,279/yr.

Apply Online At: http://pompanobeachfl.gov Open until filled.

PROJECT MANAGER (STORMWATER ENGINEERING) This is a responsible managerial position and includes work in the planning, design, and construction of capital projects as well as oversight of a wide variety of projects.

Employees in this class participate in the design and construction of facilities and public utilities improvements. Supervision may be exercised over both in-house employees as well as consultants engaged in various design, construction, inspection, maintenance, or clerical operations.

Salary starts at $51,560.35 to a max salary of $ 91,319.53. Starting salary is dependent on qualifications and includes an excellent benefit package.

Graduation from an accredited four (4) year college or university with major course work in civil engineering, plus five years progressively responsible experience in the area of design and construction management.

Stormwater Engineering experience with a minimum of 1 year drainage design experience is preferred for this position. Florida Registration as an engineer is required. EOE M/F/D/V

Reiss Engineering offers a competitive compensation and benefits package, as well as a stimulating and fast paced work environment. Reiss Engineering is continuously searching for highly talented individuals and welcomes resumes from those with an interest in joining our team. For a list of our current openings, or to submit a resume for a potential opportunity, please visit our website at www.reisseng.com.

City of Groveland Class C Wastewater Operator The City of Groveland is hiring a Class "C" Wastewater Operator. Salary Range $30,400-$46,717 DOQ. Please visit groveland-fl.gov for application and job description. Send completed application to 156 S Lake Ave. Groveland, Fl 34736 attn: Human Resources. Background check and drug screen required. Open until filled EOE, V/P, DFWP

STORMWATER PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR Provides project mgt, program adm and coordination related to compliance with the City's municipal stormwater permit and other similar regulatory compliance efforts. When you decide you are ready to propel your career to the next level, consider becoming part of our team! For minimum qualifications and application instructions go to: www.largo.com/jobs

Apply ASAP to: http://agency.governmentjobs.com/hollywoodfl/default.cfm Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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Utilities Positions City of Haines City is accepting applications for Wastewater Operators, Plant Maintenance, Pipeline & Pump/Motor Repair and Lead positions.

Visit www.hainescity.com

Water Plant Operator The Utilities Commission, City of New Smyrna Beach is seeking qualified applicants for a WTP Operator within the Water Resources Department. This is highly specialized work in the operations of a Class A Water Treatment Plant. Visit www.ucnsb.org for a full job description.

Education/Experience: Valid Florida Class C, B, or A License in Water Treatment. Starting Salary: C - $18.27/hr; B - $19.80/hr; A - $21.35/hr Qualified applicants may apply online at www.ucnsb.org or email resume to jobs@ucnsb.org or mail resume to Human Resources, PO Box 689 New Smyrna Beach, FL 32170. EOE/DFWP

Town of Lantana-Water Plant Operator C Please visit our website at www.lantana.org (Human Resources Tab) for more info on the Water Plant Operator C position.

THE CITY OF DAYTONA BEACH WASTEWATER PLANT SUPERINTENDENT Bethune Point WW Treatment Plant Weekly Salary Range $956.86 - $1,822.27 November 17, 2015 – January 16, 2016 The purpose of this classification is to function as superintendent for the operations and maintenance of a Class A, Type I advanced wastewater treatment facility, meeting guidelines and standards set forth by the state and federal government. Employees in this classification perform middle management work for a 5 stage Bardenpho treatment plant, reclaimed water system, and auxiliary facilities. Position is responsible for assisting with planning, training, organizing, directing, and maintaining the uninterrupted flow of operations. This position directly supervises 7 operational personnel and 6 maintenance personnel. Performs related work as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFACTIONS (Education, Training, and Experience): High School Diploma or GED; prefer Associate's degree with course work emphasis in higher mathematics and science or related; supplemented by five (5) years wastewater treatment operations, two (2) of which shall be acquired in a supervisory capacity in a wastewater treatment plant.

ELECTRICIAN/INSTRUMENTATION TECHNICIAN Salary: $23.08 to $34.63 (DOQ) BSU is seeking an experienced Electrician/Instrumentation Technician to provide technical instrumentation skills to ensure the efficient installation, maintenance, repair, and calibration of mechanical/electromechanical instruments and controls to operate the treatment plant and associated equipment. Must have considerable knowledge of PLC's, PLC programming, Industrial Control Systems and SCADA servers, and troubleshooting errors associated with them; Ability to read and interpret electrical schematics, diagrams, etc. Prefer 5 years of experience with electrical/mechanical systems, maintenance and repair.

Water & Wastewater Plant Operators Salary: "A" $20.54 to $31.11 (DOQ) "B" $18.78 to $28.17 (DOQ) "C" $17.21 to $25.82 (DOQ) BSU currently has openings for Wastewater/Water Treatment Plant Operators. Salary is based upon experience and license held. Shift work may be required. Must have FL FDEP WW/W Operators License. Bonita Springs Utilities, Inc. is an EOE, offers a great benefit package and provides a Drug Free Workplace.

Submit application at www.bsu.us/employment or send resume to Bonita Springs Utilities, Inc., 11900 East Terry Street, Bonita Springs, FL 34135; fax resume to (239) 390-4903 .

76 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Requires valid State of Florida Driver’s License and Class “A” Wastewater Certification.

For application, information, and submittal requirements, go to www.codb.us/jobs Job Opportunities EOE/AA/ADA/VET Employer

City of Temple Terrace Technical work in the operation of a water treatment plant and auxiliary facilities on an assigned shift. Performs quality control lab tests and other analyses, monthly regulatory reports, and minor adjustments and repairs to plant equipment. Applicant must have State of Florida D.E.P. Class “A”, “B”, or “C” Drinking Water License at time of application. Excellent benefits package. To apply and/or obtain more details contact City of Temple Terrace, Chief Plant Operator at (813) 506-6593 or Human Resources at (813) 506-6430 or visit www.templeterrace.com. EOE/DFWP.

City of Wildwood - Water Utility Service Worker Join our team at one of the fastest growing cities in Florida. Valid Driver’s license a must. Variety of tasks in the maintenance and operation of the City’s utility supply, treatment, and distribution/collection systems. Pay Range: Class 106 ($10.48 - 16.25/hour) DOE Open Until Filled Applications online www.wildwood-fl.gov or City Hall, 100 N. Main St, Wildwood, FL 34785. Return apps Attn: D Gibson Smith.

EEO/AA/V/H/MF/DFWP.

South Walton Utility Company, Inc. – Laboratory Technician

Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator “C” Salary Range: $45,379. - $65,800.

The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority’s WASTEWATER DIVISION IS GROWING, and we need a WWTP Operator with a Florida “C” license or higher. You will perform skilled/technical work involving the operation and maintenance of a wastewater treatment plant (the majority of our plants are brand new, state of the art plants). Must have the technical knowledge and independent judgment to make treatment process adjustments and perform maintenance to plant equipment, machinery and related control apparatus in accordance with established standards and procedures. Benefit package is extremely competitive! Must complete on-line application at www.fkaa.com EEO, VPE, ADA

Looking For a Job? The FWPCOA Job Placement Committee Can Help!

Contact Joan E. Stokes at 407-293-9465 or fax 407-293-9943 for more information.

South Walton Utility Company is currently looking for a Lab technician to join our team in a full time position conducting water and wastewater analysis in a NELAC accredited laboratory.

Preferred 4-year degree in Biology, chemistry, or a minimum 2 years of college level course work in biology, chemistry, or environmental sciences.

Must be proficient in Microsoft office, Word and Excel.

Please go to our website at www.swuci.org for further information and to download an application.

For Sale Anaerobic Biomass Anaerobic biomass for sale $0.25/gallon. Buyer must arrange and pay for transportation. Please contact 941-742-3464 for more information.

Classified Advertising Rates - Classified ads are $20 per line for a 60 character line (including spaces and punctuation), $60 minimum. The price includes publication in both the magazine and our Web site. Short positions wanted ads are run one time for no charge and are subject to editing. ads@fwrj.com

Positions Wanted SHARIFF THOMAS – Holds and Florida C Wastewater license and prefers the central Florida area. Contact at 1349 Welch Ridge Terrace, Apopka, Fl. 32712. 321-460-3164.

SHELIA STRAMPP – Has completed the C Water course and exam and is seeking a trainee position to obtain plant hours for license. Available for immediate employment and prefers the Boynton Beach area(West Palm to Ft. Lauderdale). Contact at 2105 NE 4th St. Boynton Beach, Fl. 33435. 561-374-9873 DANIEL GARZA – Seeking a Wastewater Trainee position to obtain hours towards pending license, completed course work and is sitting for next exam. Prefers West Palm and Broward County.

Contact at 1693 Woodland Ave. West Palm Beach, Fl. 33415. 561-301-0772 BENNETT WILLIAMS – Holds Florida double C license with 16 years experience. Prefers the Ft. Myers area but is willing to relocate. Also a second year electrical apprentice studying for a journeyman’s license. Contact at 774-386-4186.

Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2015

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Certification Boulevard Answer Key From page 38 February 2014

Editorial Calendar January ......Wastewater Treatment February ....Water Supply; Alternative Sources March ........Energy Efficiency; Environmental Stewardship April............Conservation and Reuse; ..................Florida Water Resources Conference May ............Operations and Utilities Management June ..........Biosolids Management and Bioenergy Production July ............Stormwater Management; Emerging Technologies; FWRC Review August........Disinfection; Water Quality September..Emerging Issues; Water Resources Management October ......New Facilities, Expansions, and Upgrades November ..Water Treatment December ..Distribution and Collection Technical articles are usually scheduled several months in advance and are due 60 days before the issue month (for example, January 1 for the March issue).

The closing date for display ad and directory card reservations, notices, announcements, upcoming events, and everything else including classified ads, is 30 days before the issue month (for example, September 1 for the October issue).

For further information on submittal requirements, guidelines for writers, advertising rates and conditions, and ad dimensions, as well as the most recent notices, announcements, and classified advertisements, go to www.fwrj.com or call 352-241-6006.

Display Advertiser Index Blue Planet..................................79 CEU Challenge ............................35 Crom ..........................................31 CS3..............................13,39,51,63 Data Flow....................................41 Florida Aquastore ........................65 FSAWWA CONFERENCE Sponsors Thank You ..................8 2016 Fall Conference ................9 Thank You Members................10 FSAWWA Training....................11 FWEA Process Committee ..........33 FWEA Collections Sytems ............34 FWEA Trenchless Technology ......67 FWPCOA Training ........................69 FWRC Announcement........................21 Exhibitors ................................22

Registration ............................23 Floor Loyout ............................24 Garney ..........................................5 GML Coatings ........................37,53 Hazen & Sawyer..........................55 Hudson Pumps............................19 Hydro International......................57 Lanzo..........................................66 Permaform ............................49,61 PCL ............................................71 Polk County ................................77 Reiss ..........................................70 Stacon ..........................................2 Stantec ......................................12 Treeo ..........................................68 USA Blue Book ............................25 Wade Trim ..................................62 Xylem..........................................80

78 December 2015 • Florida Water Resources Journal

1. A) Sodium hydroxide Sodium hydroxide is typically used when a wet scrubber is treating odorous air high in hydrogen sulfide (H2S). This chemical reaction increases the pH within the scrubber liquid and absorbs, or drives, H2S from the air into the solution.

2. False Water seeping into a collection system pipeline is called infiltration.

Water entering a collection system through manhole covers and cleanouts is called inflow. Water leaking out of a collection system pipe is called exfiltration, meaning it is exiting the pipe.

3. B) 31,416 gal Gal volume = 0.785 x diameter2 x depth, ft x 7.48 gal per ft3 Or π r2 x depth, f. x 7.48 gal per ft3 Liquid depth in wet well = 103.4 ft - 82.5 ft = 20.9 ft =0 .785 x 16 ft x 16 ft x 20.9 ft x 7.48 gal per ft3 = 31,416.5 gal 4. D) Oxygen It is not common to find oxygen in the air space of a sewer collection system. However, if oxygen is present in the air space, it could cause damage to the crown of the pipe due to oxidation.

5. C) The debris will settle.

Sanitary sewer pipelines are typically designed and constructed to maintain a minimum velocity of 2 ft per second (fps) to prevent settling of solids and debris. So, a velocity in a pipeline of 1 fps will cause debris to settle.

6. A) Carbon dioxide Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas is heavier than air, with a specific gravity of 1.189. Death can occur when people unsafely enter poorly ventilated spaces such as deep wells, underground tanks, or sewer systems. However, carbon dioxide, with a specific gravity of 1.5189, is heavier than H2S and will settle to the lowest point of an enclosed space.

7. D) All of the above.

All of these items may be the cause of a lack of any odor coming from a lift station manhole.

8. B) A manhole hook The right tool for the right job! A manhole hook is designed to safely lift and remove a manhole cover, and should be the only tool used to perform this task.

9. B) Aluminum Forms of clay, iron, or concrete (and PVC) are all materials of construction for various pipes, but aluminum is not a common material for collection system components.

10. G) All of the above.

All of these tasks are important and required for safety to enter a permit-required confined space.