A new report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce blasts the U.S. EPA and the Executive Branch for imposing environmental mandates without giving voice or financial consideration to the states’ plight.
Wastewater treatment plants, while critically important, often go unrecognized, even when they do exceptional work.
A water technology expert tackles high-profile and important topics currently affecting municipalities, industry, and the community at large.
This year's Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE16), held by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) from June 19 to 22, was the first following the tragedy of Flint — a time when the drinking water industry is under intense scrutiny.
In the midst of this U.S. presidential race, a thought about Ronald Reagan (apolitical, I promise): Known as the “Great Communicator,” it’s certainly no coincidence that Reagan was an actor before becoming president; and honed communication skills, especially in times of trouble, are vital to effective leadership.
The U.S. EPA and multiple water groups recently gathered during Water Week 2016 in Washington, D.C. to announce updates to an essential guide for effective utility management (EUM). If utilities aren't already familiar with this document, they need to be.
1,4-Dioxane is a synthetic industrial chemical which is completely miscible in water. It is highly mobile in groundwater and is not shown to be readily biodegradable in the environment.
The advanced oxidation process removes contaminants in water and wastewater by oxidation through reactions with highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (.OH). This chemical process uses ozone (O3), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and/or UV light.
Since it was first settled in 1841, California's San Gabriel Valley has hosted a wide variety of industries. However, industrial development has left a significant portion of the Valley’s groundwater contaminated with various organic contaminants, including N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and 1,4-dioxane.
Recently, cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins have become a high profile drinking water quality concern in both the United States and abroad. The combination of weather conditions, agricultural phosphate runoff, and other factors has produced water conditions that have favored the formation of cyanobacteria in surface water supplies.
New technology helps utilities meet the challenges of maintaining a safe and adequate public water supply.
Our environment is rife with testimonials to the law of unintended consequences. When it comes to water treatment, the compound 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) is the latest surprise making its way through the remediation lifecycle.
The City of Riverdale was running into issues with arsenic, color and iron treatment system at their Well 4 site, so they conducted a pilot test with the help of Loprest.
In the fall of 2015, a small village on the border of Vermont in New York State, tested positive for Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs), specifically Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA), in the municipal drinking water. The influent levels of PFOA in the water were above 600 ng/L, and thus considered harmful to village residents. Realizing that PFOA was on the U.S. EPA Contaminant Candidate List, the Village solicited the services of engineering firm CT Male Associates to investigate treatment options and provide a treatment system.
PFCS are manmade fully fluorinated compounds which are not naturally found in the environment, are used in a variety of products such as fire fighting foams, coating additives as a surface-activeagent. PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) and PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) are the most commonly produced PFCs, and large amounts of PFCs have been produced during past manufacturing processes and released to the air, soil and water.
PFOS and PFOA are on the EPA’s Contaminant Candidate List 4 (CCL-4). Recently, to provide Americans with a margin of protection from exposure to PFOA and PFOS, the EPA established a health advisory with levels at 70 parts per trillion.
Efficiently service and maintain intelligent field devices
Field devices are the eyes and ears of automation. The failure of a valve positioner, temperature, flow or pressure sensor can quickly lead to serious malfunction of the process. With SIMATIC PDM Maintenance Station V3.0, Siemens offers the right solution for efficiently monitoring the condition of smart field devices, irrespective of the automation and control systems used
From data to knowledge to transformation
Move from complexity to simplicity, from asset and process intelligence to operational intelligence with the PI System. Its highly scalable, open data infrastructure empowers enterprises in real time, transforming operational data into actionable knowledge and business transformation.
ABB uses digital solutions to drive outcomes. Engaging customers to demonstrate tangible results that scale.
The new generation of ABB’s total plant automation: DCS and SCADA for the power and water industries.
Reduced operational costs and downtime through seamless distributed control system integration.
Real-time control of a 360km water distribution system through an advanced distributed control system.
Did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had a published Contingency Plan in anticipation of the current government shutdown? I guess in hindsight, you would have expected it for an agency with 134 facilities dotted across the country. And in fact, it’s required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under Circular A-11, Section 124 that all government agencies have plans for an orderly shutdown “in the event of an absence of appropriations.”
Nick Burns, director of water treatment technology for (the Americas region of) Black & Veatch, discusses the health concerns, current regulatory status, and documented presence of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), also sometimes called perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), in drinking water supplies — as determined by sampling under the U.S. EPA's Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 3 (UCMR3).
Jon Loveland, Global Practice Leader - Alternative Water Supply at Black & Veatch, shares insight on a major development for membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems and potable reuse.
Staying on top of new regulations is a never-ending responsibility for water professionals. Each new rule may require huge dollars in capital and operating costs. Operators and technicians may need training on new technologies, sampling, and testing methods.
O’Brien, Texas is just one of thousands of small communities in the United States that struggle to find the resources to ensure that the water coming out of the tap is safe to drink. The recent budget proposal by the Trump administration will only make matters worse. Watch this documentary short produced by Tom Rosenberg and Earth Institute fellow Madison Condon details one shrinking town’s drinking water crisis.
The U.S. EPA’s Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2) was adopted in 2006 to modify the Safe Drinking Water Act and more tightly control the spread of Cryptosporidium, a microorganism that can cause gastrointestinal infection if ingested. Since its inception, the rule has posed a treatment challenge to utilities that are susceptible to the tiny contaminant. But which utilities are at risk? And how should they approach treatment?
Recently, cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins have become a high profile drinking water quality concern in both the United States and abroad. The combination of weather conditions, agricultural phosphate runoff, and other factors has produced water conditions that have favored the formation of cyanobacteria in surface water supplies.
A $92-million expansion completed earlier this year (2012) at the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant (LPWRP) in Savage, MD, presents a model integration of bellwether aeration, disinfection and enhanced nutrient removal (ENR) systems added in tandem with other infrastructure upgrades, that have significantly improved the plant’s effluent and reduced harmful nutrients from reaching Chesapeake Bay.
Frank Rebori, president of Smith & Loveless, sat down with Water Online Radio for this live interview from the show floor at WEFTEC 2011 in Los Angeles. Rebori discussed the company's 65-year history, its current successes, and the main products it sells: wastewater pumping and treatment equipment, as well as headworks (grit removal) equipment.
The City of Riverdale was running into issues with arsenic, color and iron treatment system at their Well 4 site, so they conducted a pilot test with the help of Loprest.
What concerns drinking water municipalities the most? Is it regulations, emerging contaminants, or a crisp, clear product? To a degree, it’s all of the above. Jim Knepper of Jacobi Carbons explains.
As technology improves, contaminants can be measured in ever-smaller quantities. Pollutants formerly undetected are now becoming emerging contaminants of concern. Water utility managers must stay abreast of potential new regulations and plan for ways to address these contaminants.
The City of Paramount conducted a pilot study for arsenic, manganese and iron treatment system at their Well 15 site. The onsite pilot test was designed to demonstrate the performance of the Loprest Water Treatment Company treatment process proposed for the new treatment plant.
WRT’s award-winning system has been in operation in Brookfield, WI since 2007 to remove radium from two water wells. Brookfield, which is located 15 miles west of Milwaukee, is under a 20-year contract to have the radioactive contaminant removed to a level below EPA requirements, ensuring that the city has safe drinking water.
Staying on top of new regulations is a never-ending responsibility for water professionals. Each new rule may require huge dollars in capital and operating costs. Operators and technicians may need training on new technologies, sampling, and testing methods.
High levels of radionuclides (uranium/radium/etc.) in drinking water aren’t very common, but they are very dangerous. If you’ve long dealt with radionuclides, you’re familiar with the treatment requirements — but are you treating as cost effectively as possible?
Metro Waste Reclamation District is one of the largest wastewater treatment plants between the Mississippi River and the west coast. Treated water is discharged into the South Platte River, and contributes 90% of the river’s annual flow at the point of discharge.
Howard County, Maryland, Bureau of Utilities recently completed the $92-million Addition No. 7 project at the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant (LPWRP) to improve the quality of the plant’s effluent discharge and to reduce harmful nutrients reaching Chesapeake Bay. The project’s various increments took over five years to complete and incorporated innovative design solutions and state-of-the-art technologies for denitrification, aeration and disinfection. The project presents a model for Maryland’s 66 largest wastewater treatment plants and possibly procurement of municipal facilities elsewhere facing increasingly stringent regulatory changes.
WRT has been contracted for 20 years to remove the contaminant from a well that provides drinking water to some 12,000 people in Pewaukee, located 20 miles west of Milwaukee. The treatment system, capable of processing 183,000 gallons of water a day, will lower the amount of radium in the water to a level below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) requirements, ensuring that the city has safe drinking water.
