Texas Water Utilities
JOURNAL
VOLUME 23
JULY 2013
NUMBER 7
Abilene Civic Center Abilene, Texas
(325) 650-1834
2013 TWUA REGIONAL SCHOOLSelenaSCHEDULE Donna Starling Jackson (972) 237-8377
May 13-17
North Central Texas Regional School Univ. of Texas Arlington Arlington, Texas
June 10-13 DATE
Central Texas Regional School EVENT
July 8-10
Southwest Texas Regional School McAllen Conference Center McAllen, Texas
Javier Santiago (956) 681-1700
Lynn Short, (361) 485-3381
August 6-8
Permian Basin Regional School MCM Grande Hotel Odessa, Texas
Norma Clark (432) 528-1608
Norma Clark, (432) 528-1608
August 27-30
East Texas Regional School Harvey Hall & R.T.D.C. Tyler, Texas
Mike Norris (903) 939-8278
Mike Norris (903) 939-8278
November 5-7
West Texas Regional School Lubbock Civic Center Lubbock, Texas
Curtis McDole (806) 775-2610
Neil Weems (806) 775-2880
Killeen Civic Center Killeen, Texas
(972) 721-2431
Teresa BryantCONTACT PRIMARY (254) 750-8007
Peggy Smith, (830) 598-2424 x 309 EXHIBITS CONTACT
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CONTENTS ARTICLES S TRAINING LISTINGS S EMPLOYMENT
ARTICLES:
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL, 1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 112 W., Austin, TX 78723-1093. TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL is not responsible for facts and/or opinions expressed by contributors or in advertisements herein. Editorials and comments do not necessarily represent the official policy of the Texas Water Utilities Association. All inquiries should be directed to: Texas Water Utilities Association, 1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 112 W, Austin, TX 78723-1093, phone 512/459-3124. Any material accepted for publication is subject to revision and editing at the discretion of the publisher. All advertising in the TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL is subject to approval of the publisher. Learn more about T.W.U.A. at our Web site: www.twua.org
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL (ISSN 1051-709X) is published monthly by the Texas Water Utilities Association, located at 1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 112 West, Austin, Texas 78723-1093, for engineers, operators, managers, laboratory technicians, customer service personnel, and other professionals employed in, or interested in, the water and/or wastewater industry. Five dollars of each annual membership dues payment to the Texas Water Utilities Association pays for a subscription. Non-Member subscription price: USA $50 per year; $4.20 per single copy; $60 per year outside USA. Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, TX. The Texas Water Utilities Association is wholly independent, and is not affiliated with the American Water Works Association, the Water Environment Federation, or any other National organization.
President's Perspective..................................................................6 by Roger Fussell, TWUA President TWUA Executive Director News......................................................8 by Russell Hamilton, Executive Director PES News: Wastewater Treatment Technology ............................................10 By Alphonse Newton, Pretreatment Supervisor, City of Fort Worth Safety News: The West Fertilizer Explosion.......................................................18 by Renee Witherspoon, Safety Committee Chair Customer Service News: Four Key Steps to Great Customer Service ..................................22 by Richard John Cowell, Customer Service Specialist In The News: Improved Turbidity Monitoring ....................................................24 by Mike Sadar, Principal Scientist, Hach Company
ADVERTISERS: Classified Ads.......................................................................................30 Ana-Lab...............................................................................................27 Chlor-Serv, Inc......................................................................................9 Global Treat.........................................................................................11 Hartwell Environmental Corporation.......................................................26 Jim Cox Sales........................................................................................2 Magna Flow Environmental.....................................................................3 Professional Cards................................................................................26 Samco Leak Detection..........................................................................27 Smith Pump Company, Inc...........................................Inside Back Cover
TRAINING: .TWUA
Training Schedule and Webinar..........................................................14/17 59th Annual East Texas Regional School Information.................................16 .TWUA Annual Permian Basin Regional School Information....................................5 TWUA 62nd Annual Sam Houston Day School Information...................................23 Texas AWWA Drinking Water Seminar...............................................................22 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.....................................................29 .TWUA
4 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
Front Cover Photo : Celebrating the 4th of July
JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES ASSOCIATON
PERMIAN BASIN REGIONAL SCHOOL
AUGUST 5-8, 2013 – MCM GRANDE HOTEL, 6201 E. BUSINESS I-20, ODESSA, TEXAS WATER Basic Water Groundwater Production Water Distribution Surface Water Production I* Water Laboratory
ACADEMIC OFFERINGS WASTEWATER WATER/WASTEWATER Basic Wastewater Water Utilities Safety Wastewater Collection Water Utilities Management Special Topics** CCC/CSI***
*Surface
Water Production I – 24 hour course – begins at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, August 5. All other courses begin at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 6.
**Special Topics pending TCEQ approval ***CCC/CSI provides 20 hours water renewal, 10 hours wastewater renewal, 20 hours CSI, and 16 hours BPAT renewal credit
REGISTRATION FEES TEXAS WATER UTILITIES ASSOCIATION MEMBERS Pre-Registration until 7/25/13 on-site & After 7/25/13 Surface Water Production I………………………………………$260…………..…..…………………$280 All Other Courses………………………………………………… $230…………………………..…… $250
NON-MEMBERS OF TEXAS WATER UTILITIES ASSOCIATION Pre-Registration until 7/25/13 On-site & After 7/25/13 Surface Water Production I………………………………………$320…..……………………………… $340 All Other Courses………………………………………………….$290………………………………… $310 Online and credit card registrations will incur a $5.00 processing fee. No credit cards for on-site registration. LUNCH WILL BE SERVED ON TUESDAY ONLY, NO LUNCH PROVIDED ON WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY. Pre-registration packet pickup and onsite registration begins at 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6. Courses are from 8 am to 5 pm Tuesday & Wednesday and 8 am to noon on Thursday. TCEQ exams begin at 1:00 on Thursday – separate check payable to TCEQ in the amount of $111 required to register for exam.
HOTEL
The MCM Grande is offering a special room rate of $74.99/outside or $79.99/inside. To obtain the special rate, please contact the hotel at (432) 362-2311 and specify the Permian Basin Water School. Reservation cut off date is 7/20/13. Additional hotel rooms have been blocked at a rate of $169 at the new Microtel Inn & Suites located at th 4300 E. 50 in Odessa. Reservation cutoff date is 7/15/13. Contact the hotel at (432) 614-4780 to make reservations.
GOLF TOURNAMENT
A golf tournament will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, August 5 at Hogan Park in Midland. Cost of the tournament is $65/person and includes green fee, cart, and prizes.
REGISTRATION FORM - PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY OR TYPE Name ___________________________________________
Social Security or License # ______________________
Representing ______________________________________________
Phone _______________________________
Address ____________________________________________ City ___________________ State ___ Zip __________ Email Address ______________________________________ Course Selection ________________________________ TWUA Member ____Yes ____No
Visa/MC # _________________________________________ Exp Date _________
Security code__________ Cardholder’s name _____________________________ Billing Zip Code ________________ Payment MUST accompany registration. No purchase orders accepted. No refunds – Substitutions Only. Credit Card registrations may be made online at www.twua.org, mailed or faxed to (432) 332-1965. Online and credit card registrations will incur a $5.00 processing fee. No credit cards for on-site registration. Make checks payable to Permian Basin Regional School. Mail to P.O. Box 12604, Odessa, TX 79768. If you have questions, please contact Norma Clark at (432) 528-1608. JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
President's Message Roger Fussell, Executive Director Lumberton MUD
E
thics? Who Needs It?
Thanks to all the folks in Abilene and Arlington for the courtesy extended to me during my visit to the Central West Texas and North Central Texas Regional Schools. I urge you to thank those Regional officers who worked tirelessly to provide a successful training event for the water utility professionals of those Regions. As we continue our thoughts of the word Professional, let’s consider the letter E. The word that I find the most impressive is ETHICS. Webster defines ethics as, “the principles of conduct governing an individual or group”. The diverse workforce of today includes people with various personalities. The common ground is that today’s water utility professionals must exhibit a solid and dependable professional work ethic that is obvious to others. News reports give us an update daily on all of the people who allegedly commit illegal, unsafe, or unethical acts. Water utility professionals have no room to be included in these questionable situations. A solid work ethic ensures the public can depend on a safe and reliable water utility system that will not harm the environment. As I have mentioned before, ethical water utility professionals will always do the right thing even if no one is watching. Earlier articles about the term Professional outline ethical traits such as pride, responsible, optimistic, and fiscal minded. Following State and Federal rules and regulations, using proper sampling techniques, reporting violations, working with customers, and a host of other daily activities are important parts of the water utility professional’s life. Approaching these duties in an ethical manner is a must from our profession. Years ago the TWUA printed the Manual for Water Utility Operations. In the front of every manual was the Code of Ethics for water operators. Please review these if you have not had the opportunity to do so lately. Historically, the water utility industry has been notorious for low pay and little benefits for those in the workforce. Studies today indicate more people tend to stay longer in their jobs if an employer has an ethics policy in place. Some employers may pay a higher wage, but ethical and moral issues drive away ethical employees. The work ethic of a true water utility professional cannot be measured in dollars and cents. Henry Ford once said,” a business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.” A great work ethic cannot be purchased; it is modeled and demonstrated. My challenge to every water utility professional is to set the bar high. Today’s professional must have a strong work ethic and expect the same professionalism and high standards from coworkers and employer alike. Let’s not lower the standard.S
Roger Fussell TWUA President
6 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
JULY 2013
TWUA NORTH CENTRAL SCHOOL NEWS By Donna Starling, Region Chairman Photographer: Malcolm E. Cowdin
The 66th Annual North Central Texas Regional School was held on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington May 13 – 17, 2013.
TWUA State Operator of the Year Award: Patrick Wright (Population 10,000-30,000)
The school provided (18) different classes of varying duration, some of which lasted the full five days. There were (443) attendees, including students, instructors and proctors. Wastewater Collection was the largest class with (67) students. On Monday, May 13, the Annual Hinton Golf Classic was held with (80) participants. Competition included “longest drive” and “closest to the hole” categories. Lunch was provided for participants.
TWUA State Recruitment Award: North Central Texas District Accepting: Ryan Simpson
As our regional school came to a close on May 16th, we are happy to report another successful year for the North Central Texas Region. There is a lot of work involved planning a school this size. Therefore, I personally would like to thank all volunteers, vendors, sponsors and students for a victorious training event. We hope to see everyone again next year.S
Best Tasting Water- Surface Water Winner Upper Trinity Regional Water District Accepting: Tim Brazile
North Central Texas Regional School Instructors JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NEWS Russell Hamilton, TWUA Executive Director
I Hope this finds all doing well. The prayers seem to be working because there has been abundant rainfall in some areas and for that we are thankful. There is still an overall need for water to fill our rivers, lakes, streams and reservoirs. Unfortunately, this time of year rain typically comes with thunderstorms and severe weather. Our hearts go out to our neighbors in Oklahoma, and we lift up those who have experienced damage or loss of property, injury, or loss of life. I wanted to speak to you regarding Distant Learning or Online Training. The development and implementation of TWUA’s Distant Learning program is all but complete. The staff was able to provide a demonstration to TCEQ the last of May and answer questions regarding processes for providing TCEQ approved training to any computer. We still have some documentation and disclosure items to address, but overall we were able to meet or exceed the state electronic delivery requirements. We are looking for a final approval letter within the next 30 days. TWUA will also be providing 1-hour webinars that can be used for renewal training credit. The first webinar was scheduled for June 5th and our friends at Texas811 were kind enough to partner up with TWUA for the 1st broadcast. Our thanks go to Doug Meeks and Jim Bob Sims. For the remainder of this year, the plan is to provide one webinar per month that will be submitted to TCEQ for consideration and approval for operator training. The schedule will be posted on the training calendar and in the TWUA Journal. The next topic is Electrical Optimization and Power Monitoring for Pump Stations. The date is July 17th @ 11:00 a.m. Robb Starr, Operations Manager, with Lumberton MUD will be the presenter, and he will be sharing his experience in this area. Look for the flyer or email blast and join us for this upcoming webinar. Just for clarification – when TWUA is sponsoring a webinar, we are saying we can send the approved broadcast to your computer. No travel is involved. You do not have to come to Austin or travel to some regional location. The TWUA equipment will provide the electronic broadcast to your office or home. But you must have uninterrupted internet access, and you must participate in the webinar by answering questions as they appear on your screen. There will be a “chat room” for you to ask questions or you may email the presenter for more specifics should your question not be answered 8 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
while the broadcast is presented. You will be able to download the presentation and take notes. Tentatively, we are looking at some time in September for the TWUA’s first online operator training class. More than likely it will be a Basic Wastewater class. Again the attendee does not have to travel. He or she will need to have a computer with a minimum of 1-meg uninterrupted download speed, a telephone, and they must participate in the program as presented. Want to be absolutely clear – this is a live class room training and the attendee will not be able to read text or just skip to the end of the lesson and answer questions. They will be sent several variations of electronic notices which will automatically, appear on the computer screen and could be either voice activated or multiple choice questions or chats/instant messages. Safe guards have been built into the program to keep the user from minimizing the screen and working on other applications. Failure to participate in the “poll” can cause the attendee to NOT receive a successfully completed certificate. Perhaps the biggest difference (beyond delivery) in distant training and classroom training is a requirement for overall course comprehension exam or exit exam. There will be a requirement to make at least a 70 on the exit exam. We need to be very clear - just because an attendee passes the exit exam does not imply they will be able to pass the state exam successfully. Also passing the course exit exam does not automatically get the attendee a state issued license. Just like other classroom training, the same state requirements apply. The applicant must fill out the state application, pay the fee and attend a TCEQ exam session. TWUA is excited about the possibilities and sincerely see this electronic training process as a complement to the Regional Training Events, the Monthly District Meetings, and the various classroom training around the state. We look forward to your feedback and hope that this tool will be beneficial to the operators. Here are a couple of dates coming up that are important. For those in the Rio Grande Valley or in the vicinity of McAllen, we hope that you will consider the Southwest Regional School July 8th. The Permian Basin Regional School in Odessa is August 6th. The Mid Year Board Meeting is August 15th & 16th. The East Texas Regional School in Tyler is August 27th. We know you have choices when it comes to operator training, and we thank you for your support and consideration of TWUA.
JULY 2013
All About Perception: An American investment banker was vacationing in Mexico and was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village one morning when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were about 10 very impressive yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied, “Only a little while.” The American then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” The fisherman said, “With this daily catch, I have more than enough to support my family’s needs and even help my friends and those less fortunate from time to time.” The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?” The fisherman said, “I usually take a long nap after I fish and sell my catch, hang out with my friends when I want, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria. Some days we stroll into the village in the evening where I sip great local tequila and play guitar with my amigos. I am thankful. I have a full and blessed life.” The American scoffed, “I have a Harvard MBA and would love to help you. With my vision, I see so much potential for you and your family. I would like share my knowledge by developing a detailed business plan which will propel you to wealth and prestige.”
The American laughed and said that’s the best part. “When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very, very rich, being considered a multi-millionaire.” The fisherman looked down at the ground in deep thought as he considered what had been said. “Millions? . . . Then what?” The American said, “Then you would retire. Reap the benefits of your labor. Enjoy the good life. Provide a better life for your family. Perhaps, move to a small tropical fishing village where you would sleep late, fish if you want, spend time with your kids and grandkids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip tequila and play your guitar with your amigos.” S - Author Unknown Remember - We do not need all the operators in Texas to be members of TWUA – Just You ! !
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The fisherman did not appear interested but said, “Tell me more.” The American said, “I would say that you should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several additional boats and employ the locals. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a local market or middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you will run and oversee your ever-expanding enterprise.” The fisherman carefully listened to the banker and then asked, “But, how long will this all take?” To which the American replied, “15 to 20 years, provided you continue to work hard.”
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“But what then?” asked the fisherman? JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
PES NEWS:
Wastewater Treatment Technology - Physical Treatment By Alphonse Newton, Pretreatment Supervisor, City of Fort Worth
An important component of Pretreatment is treatment technologies. Each category has a specific wastewater treatment technology to assist the industrial user to attain compliance with discharge criteria. As the definition for wastewater-treatment may be described differently for various laws and rules, it is important to check the definition in the specific laws/rules applicable to your industry and circumstances. In general, “Wastewater” is liquid waste that results from industrial and commercial processes and municipal operations, including liquid or water-carried process waste, cooling and condensing waters, and sanitary sewage. “Waste” means any waste, wastewater, waste effluent, or pollutant, including any of the following: dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemical wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, industrial, municipal, and agricultural waste. Wastewater includes storm water that comes into contact with industrial activities or material, or which runs off a construction site. The objective of pre-treating wastewater is to eliminate or minimize pollutants, toxics, heavy metals, hazardous organics, and render wastewater to comply with discharge criteria and minimize the impact of these substances to the public and the environment. Be careful; some entities have adopted narrative criteria and expect these narrative requirements to be observed. In any event, the objective is to meet the established discharge criteria through treatment of wastewater and eliminate harm. Let’s look at some treatment technologies. The technologies are grouped by type of treatment into the categories of physical treatment, chemical treatment, biological treatment, land treatment and thermal treatment. We will look first at physical treatment. Physical Treatment includes the following processes for (1) separating hazardous material from non-hazardous wastestreams so they may be treated separately; (2) separating certain components for different treatment processes; (3) preparing wastestream for further treatment by other processes; and (4) removing prohibited solids from the wastestream. Physical treatment processes include equalization, screening, sedimentation, flotation, filtration, solar evaporation, distillation, adsorption, and stripping.
10 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
Equalization: Equalization is the process of combinations in flow rate and concentration to reduce fluctuations in flow rates and composition prior to discharge or further treatment by physical, chemical or biological processes. Equalization is a wide area in the line so to speak. Equalization is accomplished in sumps, holding tanks or ponds to minimize hour to hour variations in flow rate and composition. Equalization devices may have mixers to facilitate equalization and to prevent solids from settling out. Blended wastestreams may be rendered compliant with discharge criteria or require only nominal treatment to attain compliance. Because many industrial processes occur from different batch operations, it is ideal to combine them for treatment. Equalization reduces flow variations and also offers the opportunity to neutralize wastewaters by mixing acidic and basic streams which might otherwise be discharged from the plant at different times. Concentrated wastestreams can be collected in holding tanks and then slowly blended into the more dilute wastestreams. Keep in mind some wastes are incompatible and can interfere with treatment. You would not want to mix hexavalent chromium with other waste, because it must be reduced by oxidation-reduction into trivalent chromium. Be careful not to combine waste that will be rendered untreatable or cost prohibitive for treatment. Screening: Screening is widely used to remove large particles from wastewater. It is used as a pretreatment process before other solid/liquid separation processes or to protect downstream equipment from problems caused by solids. I’ve seen several types of hydroseives at food processors used to separate solids from the wastestream and they worked remarkably well with little maintenance required. They are computer or timer or manually operated. Periodically a mechanical arm must be activated to remove accumulated solids from screen and transfer to a dump cart for disposal. The three types of screens commonly used in wastewater treatment are rotating-drum, vibrating and stationary. Vibrating screens remove solids to one side as the equipment vibrates. Stationary screens are more difficult to clean because they are tilted and are designed to depend on solids falling off to one side of the equipment. We
JULY 2013
encourage facilities to keep these systems contained within a berm, so that a mishap will not result in the massive release of solids. Sedimentation: Sedimentation consists of a process for removing suspended solids from wastewater. The most basic process consists of a tank(s) or holding ponds for gravitational settling to occur. Sedimentation is a function of time, sufficient to allow suspended solids to settle out of the wastestream. Continuous flow sedimentation vessels can be either circular or rectangular. Often they contain a series of baffles and weirs to direct the water flow, to separate the liquids from the solids, and to collect and thicken the settled solids (sludge). You may be familiar with the inclined plate settlers, these are used because the stack of parallel plates provides the same effective surface area for settling in a much smaller vessel than the traditional circular tank or rectangle clarifiers. These stacked plate clarifiers are know as lamella clarifiers. They are quite effective in removing and concentrating solids. They normally have a slanted bottom to facilitate collection and transfer of sludge. Some are vertical with a cone shaped bottom with a valve for drawing off accumulate solids. Clarifiers are normally designed on the basis of overflow or surface loading rate, defined as liquid flow rate divided by tank surface area. Other design considerations are solids loading rate and retention time. Retention times are typically one to four hours while, overflow rates generally vary from 400 to 1500 gal/day/sq ft. Low overflow rates increase the removal efficiency of suspended solids, but larger tanks are required.
Flotation: Flotation is the process for removing solids or oil and grease by floating the constituents to the surface with or without the addition of air bubbles. Flotation is particularly useful for removing lighter particles not readily removed by sedimentation; for materials such as oil and grease, they have a specific gravity less than water and which readily separate from wastestreams. Devices such as the API (American Petroleum Institute) separator work on the principle of flotation and utilize a device to capture oil & grease floating at the surface interface. Typically, the oil layer is skimmed off and subsequently re-processed or disposed of, and the bottom sediment layer is removed by a chain and flight scraper (or similar device) and a sludge pump. Without the addition of air bubbles, both lighter than water materials and heavy particles (sludge’s) can be collected and removed by this process, so the technologies of sedimentation and flotation are combined in one vessel. Dissolved air flotation (DAF) and induced air flotation (IAF) are two specific flotation processes using the addition of air that are often used when gravity separation alone is not adequate. Air bubbles are formed by pressurizing the incoming wastewater to up to 70psi in the presence of air, then releasing the air-water mixture into the flotation tank at atmospheric pressure.
The parallel plate clarifiers and sedimentation tanks attempt to solve this problem by providing a large number of channels where turbulence and water flow rates are low and the depth particles have to settle to reach a solid surface is also low. Various chemical coagulating or flocculating agents are normally added to wastewater streams either before or after clarification. Traditionally, lime, alum (aluminum sulfate), and ferrous or ferric chloride have been utilized as coagulants. Within the past three or so decades, organic, polyelectrolytes have been used to enhance clarification of wastewater. Polymers are categorized as cationic, anionic or nonionic. Dosages are determined by performing a jar test on specific wastewater to be treated. Polymers are very expensive, hence you want a precise dosage for the optimum dosage required to get the job done. These polymers are remarkable; in that they can turn cloudy water crystal clear. Sedimentation process is ubiquitous in metal finishing, electroplating and printed circuit board industries to remove solids generated by hydroxide precipitation of heavy metals from wastestreams. Many discharge violations result from particles escaping their sedimentation process. Polymers are added after chemical treatment. There is no ideal method to prevent solids from escaping; the operator must take care to ensure that solids are not discharged from the sedimentation process. JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
Continued on next page
ďƒ„
PES NEWS CONTINUES:
Wastewater Treatment Technology - Physical Treatment By Alphonse Newton, Pretreatment Supervisor, City of Fort Worth
The most common method of diffusing bubbles is with a diffusion head designed for this purpose. The diffusion heads are located at the bottom of the tank and allow trillions and trillions of bubbles to float oily material to the surface for skimming and disposal. Where emulsifiers are present, demulsifying agents are added to break the emulsion and allow separation to occur. DAF units are common in refining, meat packing, paint, poultry processing, paper milling and baking industries to achieve 80 to 99 percent removal of suspended and floating materials. Filtration: Filtration is the process for separating liquids and solids using various types of filter media. Filtering media includes sand, gravel, fabrics of woven fibers, felts, and non-woven fibers, porous or sintered (solidified) solids, or polymer membranes. Filters are classified by direction of flow (up or down), the driving force (gravity, pressure or vacuum), the bed homogeneity (single, dual or multimedia), and the filtration depth (surface or deep bed). Common types of filters include filter presses, pressure leaf filters, rotary drum filters, horizontal vacuum filters, cartridge filters, sand filters and bag filters. Filtration systems can be very effective in removing organics and inorganics from wastewater. An engineered filtration system can reduce pollutant concentrations to trivial levels and avoid the associated dangers of using chemicals for treatment. With any treatment system, it must be cost effective. Solar Evaporation: Solar evaporation is a process in which wastewaters are reduced in volume through simple evaporation in uncovered ponds or surface impoundments. This type of treatment has limitations. It has come under scrutiny due to the potential for both the emission of toxic compounds to the air and discharge to land and groundwater of toxic priority pollutants. Due to the increased regulatory requirements for these systems, they are not as ubiquitous as they once were for treating wastewater. Solar evaporation was far more efficient and cost effective than using electric or gas for evaporation. Evaporation: Non-solar evaporation is accomplished by heating a waste solution or slurry, usually with steam condensing on metal tubes inside a vessel. The waste material to be evaporated flows inside the tubes, and often a vacuum is applied 12 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
to reduce the boiling point of the liquid. Evaporation is currently used in the electroplating, paper and fermentation industries to concentrate wastewater solutions for recovery of valuable constituents such as gold, silver and other precious metals. I was impressed with an industry that reduced thirty barrels of hazardous waste a month into one barrel a month with the use of a belt kiln to evaporate 99 percent of water from the sludge. That helped their bottom line, and they were able to use money saved from disposal to address other needs in their plant. Distillation: Distillation is a process for separating organic liquids with different boiling points. The mixed liquid stream is exposed to increasing amounts of heat and the various components of the mixture are vaporized and then condensed and recovered. Commercial solvent recyclers are not what they used to be. With the avenat event of the heated hydroxide cleaning process, there was no need to recover solvents. I can think of very few industries that use stills to recover solvents. In addition, the citrus cleaners are very popular for cleaning and are just as effective and the solvents once used for cleaning are archaic. Adsorption: Adsorption is a separation process often used for removing low concentrations of organics contaminants (solvents, pesticides, PCBs and phenols) and some inorganic contaminants (cyanide and chromium) from wastewaters. The most common adsorbent is activated carbon, although synthetic resins (zeolites) and activated alumina can be use for specific cases. In activated carbon treatment, wastewater is passed though a tank or vessel filled with carbon granules. Because of the extensive pore structure, activated carbon has a large surface area per unit of mass. The organics contaminants are removed by adsorption (clinging) to the surface of the carbon granules. When carbon’s capacity to absorb specific components is exhausted, the carbon can be replaced or regenerated with heat or a suitable extraction solvent. As a last resort, many municipalities use activated carbon in drinking water to remove taste and odor problems associated with the algae bloom.
JULY 2013
Stripping: Stripping is a process in which volatile components of an aqueous-organic mixture are removed by contact with the stripping fluid. Stripping is usually done in a counter current flow column containing packing materials or perforated plates. Air stripping has been used for treatment of wastewater and contaminated groundwater containing volatile organics. In air stripping, the volatiles are either ignited into the atmosphere or passed through a carbon filter to prevent volatile organics from entering the atmosphere. Treated groundwater is discharged into the sanitary sewer or storm sewer. Other Physical Processes: Other physical processes used to pretreat industrial wastewater include centrifugation for solid-liquid separation (water clarification or sludge dewatering), dialysis, electro-dialysis, reverse osmosis, ultra filtration, solvent extraction and electrolytic recovery. Dialysis: Dialysis is a membrane separation process which uses electrolysis as the primary driving force to transport components from one side of the membrane to the other. This process can be used to recover caustic soda and electrolytic copper in the refining industry. It has specific applications in recovering caustics, acids and cyanides from aqueous wastestreams. Electrodialysis: Electrodialysis is a membrane separation process which uses electric forces as the primary driving force for transport and uses membranes which selectively allow passage of ionic components of wastestream. It has been used on acidic streams containing a single component metal ion, such as in acid nickel plating baths. This process is used to desalt commercial foods. It has also been used in demineralization of wastewater treatment plant effluent, acid mine drainage treatment and the treatment of plating wastes and rinse waters. It is also used to treat fluoride waste from glass and quartz etching facilities. Reverse Osmosis: Reverse osmosis (RO) is used for removal of dissolved organic and inorganic materials; the process is applicable to the removal of soluble metals and most total organic carbon (TOC) components in wastestreams. Reverse Osmosis is used in the production of high purity water and other demineralization applications, especially in the semi-conductor industry. Desalinization of sea water is another application where fresh water is in short supply. Saudi Arabia has the largest reverse osmosis desalinization plant in the world at a cost of four billion U. S. Dollars. Pretreated wastewater passes through the reverse osmosis chamber; the other fluid in the chamber is pure water. The two fluids are separated by a semi-permeable membrane, which allows only the fluids to pass through, but holds back ions and other dissolved and suspended solids, including microorganisms. When the wastewater is passed through the reverse osmosis chamber under pressure, only its water molecules are forced out through the membrane’s pores, while dissolved solids and ionic matter are retained. JULY 2013
The pressure applied is usually around 150 to 800 PSI, depending on salt concentration and type of membrane. Commonly used membrane materials are nylon, cellulose acetate and polybenzimidazolone (PBIL). In the electroplating industry, it is used to remove TOC, copper cyanide, zinc, chromium and nickel. Ultrafiltration: Ultrafiltration is similar to reverse osmosis but allows low molecular weight components such as salts to pass through the membrane with the water phase. Higher molecular weight components such as organic compounds are not transported through the membrane and thus can be concentrated for recovery or disposal. Ultrafiltration systems operate at pressures ranging from 10 to 100 psi. One manufacturer indicates that their system can treat up to 3200 gallons per day oily waste with a permeate of 50 ppm of oil & grease. Solvent Extraction: This is a process for removing organic substances from aqueous streams. In the process, a solvent that is immiscible (normally forms a separate phase) with the liquid wastestream is added to the stream where it combines with the organics. The subsequent extraction of the solvent/ organic mix is often carried out in a series of mixing and settling operations. Solvent extraction is most often encountered as a treatment method when the wastestreams two applications are the removal of up to five percent phenol from coke industry wastes and removal and recovery of toxic dyes. Electrolytic Recovery: Electrolytic Recovery is also known as cementation, is a process in which there is an electrochemical reduction of metal ions at the cathode where these ions are reduced to elemental metal. It is used primarily to remove metal ions from solution. Electrolytic recovery can be used to recover copper, tin, silver and other metals from metal plating, etching, printed circuit board operations and dental clinic photo processing wastestreamsS In the next issue we will look at chemical treatment processes. You may contact me at: al2305_1999@yahoo.com. Sources: 1. Emerging Technologies for Wastewater Treatment and In- Plant Wet Weather Management EPA 832-R-12-011 March 2013, Produced under U.S. EPA Contract No. EP-C- 11-009 U.S. EPA Project Manager / Leader: Jacqueline Rose, Office of Wastewater Management 2. U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water Enforcement and Permits - Wastewater Technology, Industry Effluent Guidelines S
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
TWUA TRAIN To register for any TWUA classes – simply complete the registration form and fax to (512)459-7124 or contact TWUA @ 888-367-8982 for additional details. *NOTICE: Due To Recent Increases For Training Materials - Class Costs Have Increased. ***Pre-Registration Is Defined To Mean 14 Days Prior To Any Scheduled Event. All registrations received after the pre-registration cutoff date must pay on-site registration fee. We strongly encourage everyone to please pre-register by fax, e-mail, or calling. On-site registrations are welcome but not preferred. Date
Location
Course
Address
Hours
Credit
Oct 29-31 Sept 17-19 Aug 20-22 Oct 22-24
San Marcos Gatesville Victoria Bridge City
Basic Water SWP II Water Lab Water Lab
170 Charles Austin Dr 106 S 23rd 2902 Bluff 220 Nitche St
20 20 20 20
W W W W
July 22-24 Jul 23-25 Sept 17-19 Nov 4-6 Aug 13-15 Oct 21-23
Corpus Victoria San Marcos Corpus Huntsville Corpus
Basic Wastewater WW Treatment WW Collection WW Collection Activated Sludge Activated Sludge
2726 Holly 2902 Bluff 170 Charles Austin Dr 2726 Holly 448 SH75 N 2726 Holly
20 20 20 20 20 20
WW WW WW WW WW WW
July 23-25 Sept 23-25 Nov 19-21 Jul 16-18 Jul 30-1 Aug 19-21 Sept 17-19 Jul 9-11 Jul 22-24 Aug 13-15 Aug 13-15 Oct 15-17 Sept 24-26 Nov 19-21 Oct 8-10
Georgetown Corpus Gatesville Huntsville Gatesville Corpus Victoria Gatesville Wolfforth San Marcos Gatesville Victoria Terrell Victoria Gatesville
Management Management Management Pump and Pumping Pump and Pumping Pump and Pumping Pump and Pumping Safety Safety Safety Valve & Hydrant Valve & Hydrant Calculations Calculations Chlorinator Maintenance
300-I Industrial 2726 Holly 106 S 23rd 448 SH 75 N 106 S 23rd 2726 Holly 2902 Bluff 106 S 23rd 502 5th 170 Charles Austin Dr 106 S 23rd 2902 Bluff 400 Industrial 2902 Bluff 106 S 23rd
20 20 20 24 24 24 24 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW W/WW
Jul 16-18
White River
CSI/CCC
2880 FM 2794
20
W/WW/CSI/BPAT
Jul 22-26
Austin
IDE (Instructor II)
1106 Clayton Lane
40
No operator hours
14 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
JULY 2013
NING SCHEDULE 20 HOUR CLASSES : (PRE-REGISTRATION) $200 MEMBER $250 NON-MEMBER (ON-SITE ) $250 MEMBER $300 NON-MEMBER 24 HOUR CLASSES: (PRE-REGISTRATION) $260 MEMBER $310 NON-MEMBER (ON-SITE) $310 MEMBER $360 NON-MEMBER You can register on-line at http://www.twua.org/training.php for your next training class.
OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING CUSTOMERS: Beginning March 1, 2011, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will accept a credit card or electronic check transfer for payments for all new occupational license and registration applications. As a result, any person applying for a new Occupational License or registration will be able to pay their application fee online using the TCEQ’s ePay system. Note: All online renewals will continue to be processed through Texas.gov. The ePay system allows companies, cities, municipalities, and organizations to pay up to 20 employees at one time using this system. At the time of the exam a printed receipt will be required. The receipt is considered to be a copy of the email verifying your payment or a copy of the web page showing the Trace Number and Voucher Number(s). For additional information and instructions on how to use the ePay system, please visit http://www.tceq.texas.gov/licensing/exams/registration. If you have questions please contact the Occupational Licensing Section at 512-239-6133 or email us at licenses@tceq.texas.gov. Russell Gardner, Manager Occupational Licensing Section. (24 hours) *(24 Students Max)
Pre-registration $260 Member, $310 Non-Member On-site Registration $310 Member, $360 Non-Member 8 hr Mod I: TCEQ Training credit for: 8 hrs BPAT, CSI, LI, W/WW & WTS Licenses 8 hr Mod II: TCEQ Training credit for: 8 hrs BPAT, CSI, LI, W/WW & WTS Licenses 8 hr BPAT PRACTICAL SKILLS REFRESHER: TCEQ Training credit for: 8 hrs BPAT ONLY License
TWUA COURSE REGISTRATION FORM
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Name:_______________________________ E-Mail Address:_____________________________________ Course Name: ___________________________________ Date:__________________________________ Location:___________________________________________ Fee: ________________________________ Home Address:_________________________________ City:_____________State:_____ Zip:___________ Day Time Phone #:______________________ SS# or W/WW License number#:______________________ Company Name:__________________________________TWUA Member/Non-Member_________________ Visa/MC Acct. #:___________________________________________Expire Date: _____________________ Cardholder: __________________________________________________________________________
For credit cards please fax this form to 512/459-7124 Checks or money orders mail completed registration form along with payment to: Texas Water Utilities Association · 1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 112 West Austin, TX 78723-1093, Phone: 512/459-3124 or 888/367-8982, FAX: 512/459-7124, Register on-line at www.twua.org To obtain TCEQ License Number: http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/nav/data/licensed_data.html JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
Texas Water Utilities Association th
59 Annual East Texas Regional School th August 27 (24hr Classes start on the 26 ) thru 29, 2013
Harvey Convention Center, 2000 W. Front St., Tyler, Texas COURSE OFFERINGS WATER Basic Water * Surface Water Production I (24hr) Surface Water Production II Ground Water Production Water Distribution
WASTEWATER Basic Wastewater Wastewater Treatment Wastewater Collection Wastewater Lab
WATER & WASTEWATER Utilities Safety Utilities Management Utilities Calculations * Pumps & Pumping (24hr) Customer Service Inspection-Cross Connection Control (10 Hrs. Wastewater 10 Hrs. Water Credit)
* Pre-Registration Required – Surface Water Production I and Pumps & Pumping classes are 24hrs. th
These classes start at 1:00 p.m. on Monday August 26 2013 at Harvey Convention Center th All other classes start with the General Assembly in Harvey Hall at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 27 , 2013. The General Assembly is part of each course and attendance is mandatory Final class room locations for 20 hour courses will be announced at the General Assembly th Exams for Class “B, C, D” and Class “I, II, & III” certifications will be given the afternoon of August 29 . “A” exams 8:30am 8/28/12, Call TCEQ to schedule Class “A” exam. Water or Wastewater 512-239-6133 Separate checks for examinations may be made payable to TCEQ. No cash will be accepted.
REGISTRATION FEES Pre-Registration Through 8/16/2012 TWUA Members Only Non-Members
* On-Site Registration
$200.00 $250.00
$220.00 $270.00 th
* On-Site Registration for 20 hr. courses will be conducted at Harvey Convention Center from 7:30 – 8:45 a.m. August 27 th
Pre-Registration check-in and packets will be available at Harvey Convention Center from 7:30 – 8:45 a.m. August 27 th
th
Registration fees include lunch on August 27 and 28 . Extra lunch tickets may be purchased for $12 ACCOMMODATIONS Holiday Inn – 5701 S. Broadway, Tyler, TX 75703 903-561-5800 $89.00 for King / Double Rooms (Cutoff Date 8/4/2013) Specify East Texas Regional Water School
REGISTRATION FORM (ONLINE WITH CREDIT CARD) PRE-REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS AUGUST 16, 2013
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PRE-REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS AUGUST 16 , 2013 For Pre-Registration mail completed form with credit card info, check or money order payable to T.W.U.A., 1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 112 West, Austin TX 78723-1093 www.twua.org Credit card payments may be mailed or faxed (512-459-7124) to T.W.U.A. Name:
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If you have any questions contact: TWUA @ 1-888-367-8982 or Mike Norris @ 903-939-8278 mnorris@tylertexas.com
JULY 2013
connect engage educate
PUMP and MOTOR OPTIMIZATION Wednesday July 17, 2013 Time: 11:00am - 12:00pm (CST) Non-Members - $55 Fee: Members - $40 (TCEQ approval pending - 1 hour) REGISTER!! (Registration deadline: July 15, 2013) Space is limited. RESERVE YOUR WEBINAR SEAT NOW
This webinar will focus on key steps and applications that when implemented will have a dramatic effect on energy optimization and conservation in the pumping stations. Discussion related to the implementation of an effective preventative maintenance program. Discussion related to monitoring monthly power consumption. Discussion related to negotiating and working with power provider. Review of real cost savings data, causes for high energy consumption, data collection, load shedding, pumps and pump efficiency. OBJECTIVES WITH THIS WEBINAR: Share knowledge and experience that will: • • •
PRESENTER:
Reduce maintenance costs Reduce electrical costs Improve operations and efficiency of pump stations
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: • • •
Water and Wastewater Operators Anyone in the Water and Wastewater industry Anyone interested in energy optimization and conservation in pumping stations
Webinar Training: • • •
Cannot be substituted for hands-on training required to teach critical skills, and Can only be used as training for renewal of a license. The same distance training repeated in the license renewal period will not receive training credit per 30 TAC 30.28 (p)(3)(c).
Requirements: • • • •
Registrant will be required to complete TWUA’s identity verification process upon successful registration. Voice verification and polling will be conducted during this training. Guaranteed bandwidth of at least 1 Mbps downstream. Any questions contact TWUA Central Office – 888-367-8982
ROBB STARR Operations Manager for Lumberton Municipal Utility District 25 Years experience in the Water and Wastewater industry. Professional affiliations: Texas Water Utilities Association Positions held in affiliation: President of Texas Water Utilities Association Trinity Neches Sabine District Chair of the Southeast region Texas Water Utilities Association Exhibit & Golf tournament Coordinator for the TWUA South East Regional school for ten years
REGISTER TODAY!! Visit www.twua.org for more information Follow us on: JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
SAFETY NEWS:
The West Fertilizer Explosion: Regulatory oversight wasn't the answer By Renee Witherspoon, MS, CSP, CIH, CHMM, Safety Committee Chair
Following the tragic fire and explosion on April 17, 2013 at the West Fertilizer Company, many questions are still being asked. Not only what caused the fire and explosion, but where were the federal, state or local regulators that provide oversight of facilities? As Russell Hamilton so aptly stated in his June 2013 article of the Journal, “We should learn from every event where loss of life occurred and injuries happen.” Every community does have a “worst case scenario…” and we as water and wastewater professionals need to volunteer our expertise and work with our emergency management leaders to help identify potentially high hazard facilities, recognize hazardous conditions that may exist, and communicate solutions. This becomes important now that we know that regulatory agencies can fail to provide the necessary oversight to prevent such events. The Incident and Investigation On April 17, 2013 and ammonium nitrate explosion at the West Fertilizer Company killed 14 people (11 were firefighters responding to the scene) and injured more than 200. The explosion burned a school and destroyed or damaged buildings over a 35-block area. Residents in the area reported that the blast felt like an earthquake. The United States Geological Survey recorded the explosion as a 2.1 magnitude quake. Among the many law enforcement agencies investigating the incident was the State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The other investigative organization that could reveal or provide important findings is the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB). The CSB does not issue fines or penalties or seek civil or criminal sanctions, but rather identifies a “root cause” by reviewing planning and zones practices in relation to schools and other public facilities. They will also evaluate the effectiveness of regulatory coverage and review the emergency response activities during the fire. Although law enforcement officials have determined that the investigation is officially “undetermined” with foul play still a possibility, the CSB stated that they had “no evidence pointing to an intentional criminal act”, and accused these agencies of potentially compromising or delaying their ability to complete the investigation. Controversy aside, the results of the CSB report are highly anticipated by health and safety professionals interested in what went wrong, and how to prevent future catastrophic events.
18 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
Explosion Hazards of Ammonium Nitrate According to a December 1997 report from the EPA, Office of Solid Waste and Response, ammonium nitrate under normal conditions is very stable. It could however explode when exposed to strong shock or to high temperatures under confinement. Contaminants of organic materials in the ammonium nitrate also make a potential ammonium nitrate explosion more energetic. And with organic materials being stored on-site at their Chemical Storage Warehouse, this could have contributed to the severity of the explosion. Because ammonium nitrate is so stable under normal conditions, it does not appear on hazardous chemical lists for many Federal agencies. Regulations for Storage of Ammonium Nitrate Federal Oversight: According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the West Fertilizer facility was not covered under the Chemical Facility Anti-terrorism Standards or CFATS. With CFATS, facilities have to conduct a Top Screen Assessment and identify all Chemicals of Interest (COI) at their facilities. We may remember the CFATS focus on water and wastewater systems because of the chlorine, as it could be targets for theft and diversion and used to produce explosives. The reason West Fertilizer was not covered by CFATS; they never filed the required Top-Screen Assessment Tool with the agency. This was probably an oversight, as they certainly met the minimum criteria for filing. That minimum criteria or Screening Threshold Quantity (STQ) for storage of chemicals such as ammonium nitrate, subject of theft or diversion, is 400 pounds. According to the Texas Tier 2 Report for 2012, the West facility had 270 tons of ammonium nitrate and 55 tons of Anhydrous Ammonia. Filing of the Top Screen would have triggered a review of their terrorism risk, but would have not identified potential risks associate with unsafe storage of a hazardous chemicals. The Risk Management Program (RMP) under the EPA is applicable to facilities that handle, manufacture, use or store any of the toxic or flammable substances above the specified threshold quantities (40 CFR 68.130); however, ammonium nitrate is not on this list. Covered facilities have to develop and implement a risk management plan that would prevent accidental releases of substances and mitigate the severity of incidents that might occur. This regulation may be familiar to water and JULY 2013
wastewater professionals as many of our facilities have RMP’s because we store quantities of chlorine or ammonia. West Fertilizer submitted a Risk Management Plan; however, they did not provide the correct Offsite Consequence Analysis (a key aspect of the plan) that could have lessened the severity. OSHA has the 1910.119 standard for Process Safety Management or PSM. This standard contains a list of highly toxic and reactive hazardous chemicals which can present a potential for a catastrophic event at or above the threshold quantity. The purpose of this standard is to prevent or minimize those consequences. However, ammonium nitrate is not on this list either. Anhydrous ammonia was on site at 55 tons or 110,000 pounds and is on the list. And the threshold quantity to trigger the PSM standard for anhydrous ammonia is 10,000 pounds. OSHA could have been on-site to review potential consequences when handling of the anhydrous ammonia, and if a comprehensive wall-to-wall inspection on was performed, could have reviewed the handling and storage of the ammonium nitrate. According to records obtained by the Associated Press, the facility was last inspected by OSHA in 1985, prior to the PSM standard. West was cited for improper storage of anhydrous ammonia and fined $30. With the limited number of OSHA inspectors to the increasing numbers of covered businesses, a facility may receive a routine inspection once every 87 years. Regulations for Storage of Ammonium Nitrate - State and Local Oversight: As for our Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), a citizen filed an official complaint with the TCEQ in 2006 regarding an “ammonia smell” from the facility. The TCEQ investigated and determined that the facility did not have the correct permits for dry fertilizer materials and for two 12,000 gallon anhydrous ammonia storage tanks. The TCEQ had visited several times but had not noted any concerns that may have triggered additional investigation into improper storage conditions.
was complying with the applicable regulations. Tier 2 information is required to be submitted to the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) and the local fire department with jurisdiction. Therefore one of the last regulatory authorities that had oversight was the local fire marshal, fire department and LEPC. They may have inspected the facility, but records of the inspections have not been released to the public. Volunteer Your Expertise: Since these government agencies with their regulations did not prevent the tragedy in West, where does it leave similar communities with facilities having large quantities of highly hazardous chemicals in close proximity to schools, nursing homes and apartment complexes? It’s up to us as water and wastewater professionals and community stakeholders to take up the banner, and be involved with emergency planning and preparedness in our communities. Review the worst-case scenarios, as Russell stated, and not only make sure our facilities have a plan of action, but how we fit into that plan. Share your knowledge. An excellent place to start is with your LEPC. The LEPC’s role in community preparedness was initiated in the wake of the Bhopal disaster in India, where more than 2,000 people died because of an accident involving a release of a hazardous chemical. If you work for a utility, you are a community stakeholder and your LEPC needs you. As we wait on completion of the investigation and recommendations from the CSB, this is a call to action to be prepared, have a plan and be involved in the safety of your community. The government regulators are limited in their scope to find and recognize potential hazard in facilities with highly hazardous chemicals so it is up to us. We have the resources and the expertise to identify hazards and mitigate impacts. Who knows more about the safety of hazardous chemicals that we do?
The Department of State Health Services (DSHS) requires an annual hazardous chemical inventory called the Texas Tier 2 Report. This report contains detailed information on chemicals that meet or exceed specific reporting thresholds at any time during a calendar year. For generally hazardous chemicals, such as ammonium nitrate, that Threshold Planning Quantity (TPQ) is 10,000 pounds. Since the West facility had 270 tons of ammonium nitrate on hand in 2012, a Tier 2 report was filed. Because the goal of the Tier 2 report is to protect the public health and environment by providing current and accurate information about hazardous chemicals and their health effects, the agency did not conduct any inspections to ensure this facility JULY 2013
Map shows the extent of damage from the ferilizer plant explosion on April 17. Credit: WFAA TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
Continued on next page
SAFETY NEWS CONTINUES:
The West Fertilizer Explosion: Regulatory oversight wasn't the answer By Renee Witherspoon, MS, CSP, CIH, CHMM, Safety Committee Chair
An overhead view of the plant after the explosion - Credit: Getty On behalf of the Safety Committee and the TWUA membership, our hearts and prayers go out to the people of West, and to all of the families that have been affected by the tragedy. For more information on the West Explosion, check out their Facebook page, see https://www.facebook.com/WestExplosion The Dallas Morning News has developed an interactive map of ammonium nitrate storage facilities in 74 facilities in Texas that have at least 10,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate or ammonium nitrate based explosive material gleaned from the Texas Tier 2 Reports. To see these locations, check out: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20130503-map-ammonium-nitrate-storage-facilities-intexas.ece- Find your local LEPC(s) at www.dshs.state.tx.us/tiertwo/pdf/lepccontact.pdf. References: Chemical Facility Security News. “West Fertilizer CFATS Status.” Patrick Coyle. http://chemical-facility- security-news. blogspot.com/2013/04/west-fertilizer-cfats-status.html CSB.gov. http://www.csb.gov/us-chemical-safety-board-root-cause-investigation-of-west-explosion-continues/ Dallas Morning News. “Why didn’t 2,400 tons of ammonium nitrate at West plant raise concerns?” Randy Lee Loftis. dallasnews.com/news/west-explosion/headlines/20130423-how-deep-did-safety-checks-at-west-fertilizer-go.ece
http://www.
DHS Chemicals of Interest. Appendix A to Part 27. http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/chemsec_appendixa-chemicalofinterestlist.pdf Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Local Emergency Planning Requirements http://www.epa.gov/oem/ content/epcra/epcra_plan.htm Explosion Hazard from Ammonium Nitrate. US EPA, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, EPA 550-FR-97-002d, December 1997. Grist.org. “Federal officials hampering Texas Fertilizer explosion investigation.” John Upton. http://grist.org/news/federal-officialshampering-texas-fertilizer-explosion-investigation/ KVUE.Com. “West Fertilizer Blast Triggers 2.1 Magnitude Quake.” http://www.kvue.com/news/West-fertilizer-blast-triggers-21magnitude-quake-203542341.html OSHA’s Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals. 29 CFR 1910.119. http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp. show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9760 Slate.com. “Authorities Still Don’t Know What Caused the West, Texas, Plant Explosion.” Jennifer Lai. http://www.slate.com/blogs/ the_slatest/2013/05/17/cause_of_west_texas_fertilizer_explosion_officially_undetermined.html StateImpact.npr.org. “Texas Investigated West Fertilizer Plant in 2006.” http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2013/04/18/texasinvestigated-west-fertilizer-plant-in-2006/
20 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
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JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
Customer Service News: Four Key Steps to Great Customer Service By Richard John Cowell, Customer Service Specialist Delivering continually great customer service has never been more important. Customers have become more discerning, expect better products, value and service, and know all too well that they are the ones with the power in the supply-demand relationship. Which means if your company does not offer great customer service customers has plenty of other options and are not afraid to use them. So to enjoy continued success firms need to go above and beyond expectations. Offering excellent customer service in an age where prices have become stagnant is the best way to set your company apart and create a competitive advantage.
Let’s take a look at four key steps to providing great customer service. 1. Be knowledgeable: To provide great customer service you must be knowledgeable about your products, services and company, and about your customers. This applies to every single member of staff. Knowledge about products, services and company can be gained through induction and training sessions, regular team meetings on new items or processes and staff bulletins or newsletters on the latest company happenings. Knowledge about customers can be gained through interactions, whether face-to-face, online or over the phone or via feedback and comment forms or surveys.
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2. Let customers serve themselves: Sometimes, the best way to provide great service is to provide very little service. If it is what customers want and is viable, allowing them to help themselves can be an excellent choice. For example, build your website so that it contains comprehensive help and support sections, allowing customers to access the pages whenever they need assistance and, ideally, get a solution there and then. 3. Empower your staff: All employees who have contact with customers must be given appropriate powers and responsibilities, and use them accordingly. Unless absolutely necessary, have procedures in place that allow front-line staff to deal with any problems or complaints without having to “talk to the manager” or “get authorization from head office.” This will help to resolve any issues as quickly as possible and with less fuss, which customers will appreciate. 4. Expand your presence: Multi-channel support is vital in this day and age. Gone are the days when a company can simply have a shop or office and telephone number for customer support. Now, a website, e-mail, YouTube, social networking accounts etc are all seen as important for customer relations. However, do not just have these things for the sake of it - use them, and use them effectively.S
Annual North Central Texas Chapter of Texas AWWA Drinking Water Seminar SAVE THE DATE & MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The North Central Texas Chapter will be presenting its 12th Annual Drinking Water Seminar at the Petroleum Club in Fort Worth on October 25, 2013. The annual one-day seminar attempts to provide an informative program on topics of interest to our industry. The topics for this year include:
Water Supply Water Quality and Treatment Research, Legislative and Regulatory Updates. The seminar will provide attendees with more than 6 hours of Operator Certification CEUs and Engineering PDH credits. Please mark your calendars for this signature annual event of our Section. Additional information on the program will be included in future issues of The Lake. See you in Fort Worth in October!
22 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
JULY 2013
SAM HOUSTON WATER UTILITY ASSOCIATION 62nd ANNUAL ALL-DAY CONFERENCE & EXPOSITION FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2013 Humble Civic Center 8233 Will Clayton Parkway TRAINING CREDIT IN WATER AND WASTEWATER CERTIFICATION (TCEQ APPROVAL PENDING)
REGISTRATION AND CLASSES Registration Time: 7:00 am Classes start at 8:00 am
All Classes Are Combined Classes for Water & Wastewater Credit Lunch – Meal Provided
**VENDOR EXHIBITORS BOOTHS** Open 7:30 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. Vendor Prize Drawing and Door Prize Awards at 2:00 P.M.
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(May use SSN-members only, for certification credit only)
Texas Water Utilities Association Members: FREE
Non TWUA / AWBD Members $20.00
Visitors Welcome Utility District Board Members, City Administrators, Utility Department Heads, Elected Public Officials For exhibitor information, contact Allen Schreiber at 281- 381-9216, FAX 281- 499-4223 or e-mail at aschreiber@fbcwcid2.com. You can obtain further information at the Association’s web site www.shwua.org. For more information about this or Sam
Attn: Bonnie Worthington at PO Box 690008, Houston TX 77269-0008 or 281-477-PUMP or FAX 281-477-0888. Houston membership, please contact SHWUA
JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
In The News: Improved Turbidity Monitoring Leads to Enhanced Operation By, Mike Sadar, Principal Scientist- Hach Company, Loveland, Colorado
Casually, turbidity is often referred to as the cloudiness, or clarity, of water. Scientifically, turbidity is the interaction between light and suspended particles such as silt, clay, algae and other microorganisms, and organic matter in the water. It’s important to remember that turbidity is not a measure of the quantity of suspended solids in your sample but, instead, an aggregate measure of the combined scattering effect from the suspended particles on an incident light source.
are less sensitive to the interference caused by dissolved color in samples, making them very useful in process control. (See Figure 2.) Depending on your source water, you might use both kinds of instruments to squeeze the most out of your filtration system and realize the highest-quality product efficiently. (For more information comparing the low-level performance of different instrument designs, download Hach Company’s technical booklet #7063, Turbidity comparison for low levels, at www.hach.com.
A surrogate, but revealing, measurement
Next: Even with today’s advanced electronic instrumentation, practical guides for operator technique and proper instrument installation and maintenance help assure accurate turbidity monitoring.
Even though it is not a direct measure of particulates in water, turbidity might be the most telling, single water quality measurement – from treatment start to finish. Because particles absorb and re-radiate, or scatter, light in a manner dictated by their size, shape, and composition; sensitive turbidity measurement can reflect a change in type of particles present, change in particle concentration, or change in relative particle size distribution in the sample. Process operators armed with the sensitive readings made by today’s advanced turbidity instrumentation have real-time assessment of particle content changes in influent, during filtration, and during backwash. They can make process decisions not possible with less-convenient, alternative methodologies such as gravimetric total suspended solids (TSS) testing.
Next in this series: Better turbidity measurements mean better process control decisions.
Hach Regional Sales Manager in Texas, Terry Smith, is ready to answer turbidity monitoring questions you might have after reading this article. Contact him toll-free 800-227-4224, ext. 2114.
Instrument design is critical Most modern turbidimeters apply 90-degree, or nephelometric, detection – a technique considered very sensitive to particle scatter over a wide range of particle sizes. (See Figure 1.) Alternative measurements made by general-purpose photometers measure the absorbance or transmittance of the incident light and yield measurements far different than – and not directly comparable to – those made by nephelometers. Even various nephelometric instruments utilize a wide array of light sources with different wavelengths that interact with the suspended materials in different ways. Instruments that meet USEPA Method 180.1 design requirements are more sensitive to small particles than instruments meeting the ISO 7027 (International Organization for Standardization) design standard. However, the longer-wavelength instruments 24 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
Figure 1: Nephelometers, or nephelometric turbidimeters, measure the light scattered at an angle of 90° from the incident light beam. Readings are in Nephelometric Turbidity Units, or NTU, and cannot be compared directly to Formazin Attenuation JULY 2013
Figure 2: A typical USEPA Method 180.1-compliant nephelometer incorporates a tungsten lamp light source and silicon photodiode detector for spectral response from 400 to 600 nm. ISO 7027-compliant instruments offer peak effective spectral response at 875 nm. While the latter optical design is less sensitive to smaller particles, research has shown the longer-wavelength nephelometer minimizes interference caused by the presence of dissolved, light-absorbing substances such as colored organic material. This minimized interference occurs primarily at turbidity levels higher than 1.0 NTU.
Figure 3: The very low turbidity measurements that result from accurate turbidity monitoring and tight treatment process control indicate the removal of organic materials that can reduce the effectiveness of disinfection and particulates that can support the growth of harmful organisms. JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
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JULY 2013
Licensing Review Questions 1.) Most odors in sewer systems comes from gases when wastewater becomes ________ a. Infected with disease causing bacteria b. Mixed with storm runoff c. Septic d. Confined to long runs in a high pressure force main e. Both a & c 2.) All Lift Stations MUST have automatic controls – the most common methods for controlling lift station pumps and motors are – a. Floats, Electrodes, LED, & Pressure b. Floats, Electrodes, Bubblers, & Acoustic c. Mercury Vapor bulb, LED, & Acoustic d. Electronic times, Floats, Electrodes & Laser level e. All the above 3.) If you are feeding 26 pounds of 100 % chlorine per day – how many pounds of .65 % HTH would you have to use to equal the same amount – a. 40 b. 43 c. 50 d. 65 e. 165
P. O. Box 9000 • Kilgore, Texas 75663-9000 903-984-0551 • Fax: 903-984-5914 www.ana-lab.com • email: corp@ana-lab.com
4.) If you work for an entity that has a population of 5,500. What would be the approximate total pound of BOD received at the treatment facility each 24 hours – a. 935 b. 5,500 c. 9,350 d. 93,500 e. None of the above
Ana-Lab Corporation is an employee-owned organization which provides industry, government, consultants, and individuals with complete, timely, and accurate chemical analysis, including state approved total coliform testing. Amarillo 806-355-3556
Dallas 972-620-8900
Brownsville 956-831-6437
Austin 512-821-0045
Houston 281-333-9414
T104704201
Answers to Licensing Review: 1. C 2. B 3. A 4.A
JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
ARREDONDO, RAFAEL III BURNS, FREDRICK D EVERHART, RICHARD K HARRIS, KENNETH L ISBELL, BRENDA B KUEHNEN, THOMAS LEIJA, SERGIO MARSH, WILLIAM S MOSELEY, JUSTIN R SZCZYGIEL, COLY N
LICENSES ISSUED BY TCEQ: MAY 2013 WATER OPERATOR
WATER
CLASS A
GROUND WATER
CLAUSEN, DAVID E DICKSON, DERRAD LAWSON, ANNA R PIPER, RUSSELL R SCOTT, JERRETT E
CLASS III
CLASS B
CAVAZOS, JOSE A CLARK, JASON D LEMMONS, DERRICK ROSALES, VICTOR H STOROZUK, THEODORE M WHALEY, HOWARD W III
GARDNER, CHRISTOPHER HENDRICKS, CLIFFORD STEWART, THOMAS
MCCULLOUGH, DOUGLAS MORROW, SCOTT A SEAVER, RODNEY S STARK, ADAM K TESLAR, JOSEPH M JR
CLASS C
CLASS C
CLASS B
CLASS D AVILA ESTRADA, JORGE BAKER, SCOTT A BEARD, CARY D BECERRA, JOSE E BOCHICCHO, DANIEL BULUKU, DAVID E BYARS, BRANDY J CARBAJAL, ROMANO CASTLEBERRY, JORY COMPTON, GREGORY DANIELS, JOE W EDGAR, BILLY D FIELDS, LINDA C GALVAN, CARL A GARCIA, ROY GEORGE, JAMES GOHLKE, RANDY L GOMEZ, RICARDO GRIDER, ROGER W GRIFFITH, CHAD D GRIMES, RUBY R HALE, STEPHEN HARGROW, TYRE L HARPER, JOHN C III HEALY, ROBERT T HEARD, ROGER D HINOJOSA, JOE H HOLLIEN, MATTHEW JOHNSON, GARY SHANE KNUDSON, CHRISTIAN LAUGHHUNN, JEFFREY LEMASTER, DENNIS P MATT, DANIEL I MCCLESKEY, HOLLY MCGEE, JERAMY C MOEHLING, MICHAEL NAHAN, EDWARD J ORTIZ, GENARO L PORTER, STANLEY Q PURVIS, KENNETH T QADEER, KALIM A RAMIREZ, ISAIAS RANEY, JESSICA M RICKWARTZ, MATTHEW ROGERS, JUSTIN N ROGERS, TIM M RUIZ, RICARDO RUIZ, VINCENT M SAN MIGUEL, FERNANDO SAPPINGTON, JOHN H SARABIA, EPIFANIO F SEEMANN, SCOTT D
WATER DISTRIBUTION
ALVAREZ, LOUIS III DITTFURTH, JOSEPH E DUKES, DAVID H FARRIS, PAUL B GAONA, BERNARDO HARRINGTON, MICHAEL HERNANDEZ, SANTOS KUCERA, ANTON R JR LEE, JOHN A MATTHEWS, BERNARD L NOLEN, MARSHALL W JR REINA, NICHOLAS J SEPEDA, ALFREDO B SHELTON, WILLIAM A STANFIELD, NATHANIEL TOLLE, BRIAN R WHITCHER, BRANDON P
ARCHER, ROBERT J III BAGBY, WILLIAM T BARNETT, KEVIN M BROOKS, RAYMOND R BULLARD, PHILLIP D GETZENDANER, JONATHAN GOZA, PATRICK W HARDING, WARREN J MORRIS, CODY L SANDOVAL, DAVID JR SORIANO, RAFAEL C STARKS, MELVIN L THOMASON, TOMMY VALDEZ, JUAN G JR WEBB, CHARLES P WHITTEN, ERIC R YANCEY, COREY L
WASTEWATER TREATMENT CLASS A LEDFORD, MICHAEL W MIDDLETON, LARRY SMITH, BARTLEY W THOMPSON, JESSE CLASS B ALFARO, RUBEN S BROOKS, RAY L FARR, ANDREW P GORNY, DONALD A INGRAM, CHRIS D JENKINS, JOHN W JR LYLES, TYLER J SCRUGGS, PHILLIP S WILSON, ROBERT B JR
EICHHOLZ, BENJAMIN FLORES, EDUARDO FRANCEK, JOHN E GALES, SIMEON GODINO, RICKY C GOFF, MICHAEL P HERNANDEZ, JESUS HUNTER, JUSTIN R JACKSON, JAMES E JOHNSTON, JASON MASSEY, BEAU W MCCLAIN, KIMBERLY MEIER, CHASE D MOEHLING, MICHAEL MOEN, KENNETH B NASH, JEFFREY K NULL, JOHN L POWELL, LACY E RAZO, OSCAR ROBERTSON, COY III SAPIEN, JOSE A SUMDANI, HASAN WILSON, CHARLES BACKFLOW PREVENTION ASSEMBLY TESTER
AGUILAR, MARTIN ARADILLAS, OSIEL M BAILEY, CHRISTOPHER BIGELOW, LARRY E BOWDY, THOMAS B WASTEWATER BRADSHAW, TIMOTHY BROWN, STEPHEN K CLASS C WASTEWATER COLLECTION SURFACE WATER CADENA, JAVIER SR CASTILLO, MIGUEL BORDERS, NEIL E JR CLARK, BRYAN W BRITTON, RICHARD D CLASS I CLASS B CRUZ, PABLO A CORONADO, EMILIO T BELTRAN, IGNACIO J III DUMAINE, STEPHEN ELIZONDO, RAYMUNDO FONVILLE, PHILLIP R DE HARO, ARTURO FERGUSON, HAROLD FURGERSON, STEVEN L JONES, KRIS A FERGUSON, RAYMOND DUCHENE, RALPH GARRETTSON, BRANDON KINDSVATTER, MARK FERNIHOUGH, CHRIS MAYFIELD, THOMAS J GARZA, DAVID V MADDEN, RALPH S FERNIHOUGH, MICAH MCNUTT, DEAN R MADDOCK, JASON W PACE, DAVID C JR FIELDS, JUSTIN J MOYA, JORGE OLVERA, ELIU FISHER, CHRIS A SALDIVAR, EVELYN QUINTANILLA, RAYMUNDO ONEILL, KEVIN J JR FRITZ, JUSTIN D ROBLEDO, RENE R II STEELE, LAWRENCE ROUSE, JORDAN D FUENTES, JOHNNY R TAWWATER, JUSTIN S TAYLOR, JOHN M SARRICOLEA, MIGUEL GALLEGOS, JOSE A VASQUEZ, ROBERTO SZCZYGIEL, COLY N GARRISON, THOMAS VASQUEZ, TANNY L TELLER, MICHAEL T GILBY, MATTHEW P TURNER, HAYWARD L CLASS C VILLALPANDO, EDGAR I GILPIN, TERRY S GONZALEZ, MARIO CLASS II YEAGER, CARL D AUFLEGER, MATTHEW HASSELL, JEFFREY HENSLEY, EUGENE CORTEZ, ROGER A ARREDONDO, RAFAEL III HUFFMAN, JACK D DILLARD, LEE R CLASS D BURNS, FREDRICK D KIDD, DARELL W EDWARDS, HEATHER EVERHART, RICHARD K KROLL, SCOTT W ALVAREZ, TOMMY R HARRIS, KENNETH L ERDELT, DAVID M JR LAWRENCE, PAUL BATTEN, DYLAN W ISBELL, BRENDA B LEMON, MASON S LONG, DANIEL J BLACK, KENNETH D KUEHNEN, THOMAS LUNA, IVAN G MADISON, JONATHAN R CAMPBELL, BRADLEY LEIJA, SERGIO MARTIN, CAROLINE H MARTIN, COLMAN E CASILLAS, RUBEN I MARSH, WILLIAM S MULHOLLAND, NOLAN MCCAIN, MARTIN T CAVAZOS, DISIDORO MOSELEY, JUSTIN R NICKERSON, SUSANNA MCCREERY, JARED J CHANEY, JEREMY C SZCZYGIEL, COLY N MCCULLOUGH, WALTER OLSEN, RICHARD L III COLLIER, BILLY J SR MCGWIER, DAVID L DANIELS, STEVE L OTIS, FLOYD B III MORGAN, RICHARD DOMINGUEZ, JESUS SIERRA, JOSHUA L CLASS III MYERS, DAVID J SWINDLE, KEVIN J ONONOGBU, CHUKWUDOZIE CAVAZOS, JOSE A TAPAR, JOHN E OWENS, ERNEST C III CLARK, JASON D PARKER, GARY JR 2013 28 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org JULY LEMMONS, DERRICK ROBBINS, JAMES M ROSALES, VICTOR H RODRIGUEZ, EDUARDO STOROZUK, THEODORE M ROJAS, J GUADALUPE WHALEY, HOWARD W III
GALLEGOS, JOSE A GARRISON, THOMAS GILBY, MATTHEW P GILPIN, TERRY S GONZALEZ, MARIO HASSELL, JEFFREY HENSLEY, EUGENE HUFFMAN, JACK D KIDD, DARELL W KROLL, SCOTT W LAWRENCE, PAUL LONG, DANIEL J MADISON, JONATHAN R MARTIN, COLMAN E MCCAIN, MARTIN T MCCREERY, JARED J MCCULLOUGH, WALTER MCGWIER, DAVID L MORGAN, RICHARD MYERS, DAVID J ONONOGBU, CHUKWUDOZIE OWENS, ERNEST C III PARKER, GARY JR ROBBINS, JAMES M RODRIGUEZ, EDUARDO ROJAS, J GUADALUPE SANCHEZ, MATTHEW SEGURA, ERICJ J SEGURA, ERIC SHAW, TROY SHAW, TROY MM SIMONS, CHRIS SIMONS, CHRIS SPIERS, CARLOS SPIERS, CARLOS J J TESAR, JEFFREYA A TESAR, JEFFREY THAYER, NATHANIEL THAYER, NATHANIEL THOMPSON, JOEY A THOMPSON, JOEY A TINDALL, JUSTIN W TINDALL, JUSTIN W TURNER, BRYAN P TURNER, BRYAN P VILLARREAL, DIANNE VILLARREAL, DIANNE VU, HUEY D VU, HUEY D WALKER, ROBERT E WALKER, ROBERT E WILLIAMS, KYLE A WILLIAMS, KYLEMARC A WOODWARD, WOODWARD, MARC ZEPEDA, HILBERTO ZEPEDA, HILBERTO CUSTOMER SERVICE CUSTOMER SERVICE INSPECTOR INSPECTOR ALEJANDRE, IVAN ALEJANDRE, IVAN BRADDOCK, PAUL BRADDOCK,SUSAN PAUL GARMANY, GARMANY, SUSAN MITCHELL, SILAS N MITCHELL, SILAS N MOHEIT, JERAD W MOHEIT,CHRIS JERAD W RAMEY, M RAMEY, JOHN CHRIS DAVID M ROJAS, ROJAS, JOHN DAVIDC TURNER, MELVIN TURNER, MELVIN CA VALADEZ, COLLIN VALADEZ, COLLIN A
JULY 2013
TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
TWUA EMPLOYMENT CLASSIFIED ADS:
OPERATIONS & MAINTENANCE MANAGER Kingsland, Texas In accordance with established policies, practices, and regulation, supervises the operations and maintenance of the wastewater collection system and pumping facilities. Maintains associated equipment, buildings, and grounds. Defines practices, projects, and priorities to achieve continuous and efficient operations. Evaluates the performance and recommends personnel actions for employees under his/her supervision. Provides instruction for, and assists in the performance of work supervised. Acts as the General Manager in her absence when required. Required to qualify for Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Grade B certification in wastewater. Applicant must have a valid Texas Driver’s License. Salary range $56,721 to $70,304 DOQ. Required Skills: High School Diploma- Salary range: $56,721 to $70,304 DOQ. Fax resume and salary requirements to Anita LaBier: (325)388-5003 - Email resume and salary requirements to: kmud-aa@nctv.co
PUBLIC WORKS CREW SUPERVISOR Goliad, Texas The City of Goliad is seeking a Public Works Crew Supervisor. Under the direction of the Public Works Director, supervises personnel and directs the day to day operations, maintenance, and repair activities of the Public Works Department. Performs a variety of semi-skilled duties involving the daily operations and maintenance of the Public Works Department which includes but is not limited to; vehicles and equipment maintenance, assist in the water/ wastewater department, assist and
work with other departments, assist with animal control, help to maintain ordinance enforcement duties, assist to maintain a clean city, maintain records and/or any other job duties assigned by the supervisor. Certain licenses will be required to be obtained. City will provide training. Candidates should possess a High School Diploma and a valid Driver’s License, and earnest desire to serve the public. College Education recommended. Must have 3-5 years of supervisory experience. Applicants must be able to: handle significant physical exertion outdoors, work with limited supervision, possess a teamwork attitude, create and edit with Microsoft Office products, and provide outstanding customer service. Salary is competitive and dependent on qualification and experience. For more information, please contact Cindy Shilinga, email: citysupt@goliadtx. net phone: 361-645-2081. Application is available online and at City Hall. Applicants must be able to: handle significant physical exertion outdoors, work with limited supervision, possess a teamwork attitude, create and edit with Microsoft Office products, and provide outstanding customer service. Required Skills: High School DiplomaSalary is competitive and dependent on qualification and experience. Fax resume and salary requirements to Cindy Shilinga: (361)645-8315 Email resume and salary requirements to: CITYSUPT@GOLIADTX.NET
WATER/WASTEWATER OPERATOR Goliad, Texas The City of Goliad is accepting applications for the position of Water/ Wastewater Operator. Ground Water C and Wastewater C certification is required or must obtain within 1 year. High school diploma or GED along with a valid Driver’s license is also required. The knowledge of compliance reports for the State is a
30 TEXAS WATER UTILITIES JOURNAL www.twua.org
W/WW PLANT OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR Brookshire, Texas
must. Applicant should have at least 3 to 5 years supervisory experience, ability to operate heavy equipment, able to be on call and respond to emergency situations, and be able to provide good customer service. The City of Goliad is an Equal Opportunity Employer. For more information please contact Cindy Shilinga at (361)645-2081, or visit City Hall at 152 W End St. Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Applicant should have at least 3 to 5 years supervisory experience, ability to operate heavy equipment, able to be on call and respond to emergency situations, and be able to provide good customer service. High school diploma or GED- Salary: Pending qualification and experience. Fax resume and salary requirements to Cindy Shilinga: (361)645-8315 Email resume and salary requirements to: CITYSUPT@GOLIADTX.NET
The Brookshire Municipal Water District is seeking qualified applicants for the full-time position of Water/Wastewater Plant Supervisor. Interested parties can obtain an application from the Administrative Office at 4004 6th St. Brookshire, TX 77423. Applicants MUST possess the minimum qualifications: be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or equivalent, TCEQ Double B License, and a valid Texas Driver’s License. Salary: Depending on Qualifications. Fax resume and salary requirements to Tonya J. Pierre: (281)934-4877. Email resume and salary requirements to: bmwd@consolidated.net
WATER/WASTEWATER PLANT OPERATOR Brookshire, Texas
WATER PLANT OPERATOR II AND III Wylie, Texas
The Brookshire Municipal Water District is seeking qualified applicants for the full-time position of Water/Wastewater Plant Operator. Interested parties can obtain an application from the Administrative Office at 4004 6th St. Brookshire, TX 77423. Applicants MUST possess the minimum qualifications: be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or equivalent, TCEQ Double C License, and a valid Texas Driver’s License. Salary: Depending on Qualifications. Fax resume and salary requirements to Tonya J. Pierre: (281)934-4877. Email resume and salary requirements to: bmwd@consolidated.net
NTMWD utilizes conventional treatment and is in the process of implementing ozone disinfection. The current positions available will likely be night shift, 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. with the schedule being four nights one week and three nights the next week. Required Skills: TCEQ “Class C” Surface Water license or higher Valid Texas Driver’s License. High school diploma or GED. Salary: $17.31 - $28.19 per hour DOQ North Texas Municipal Water District: Fax resume and salary requirements to Pat Chadwick: (972)442-5400 Email resume and salary requirements to: hr@ ntmwd.com
JULY 2013
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WEBINARS AND ONLINE TRAINING “Can’t travel? No problem...we’re bringing the training to you.” Are you in need of operator renewal credit hours? Look no further, we can help you save time and money! We are excited to announce our online training programs coming soon. TWUA will be hosting a wide range of webinars and online courses designed to fit everyone’s busy schedule. Visit our website at: www.twua.org to see the latest educational offerings.
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