MORE WASTEWATER INDUSTRY FEATURES

• Foresight Reduces Risk, Boosts Resilience, Identifies Opportunity

  If forewarned is forearmed, then monitoring risk, resilience assessment, and emergency planning are essential to keeping water flowing in the face of surprise developments. At ACE19, Bentley Systems’ Senior Product Manager Tom Walski shared how the company’s modeling software running as a “digital twin” for water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure systems is helping utilities improve daily operation resilience, noting “a little bit of work has a lot of payback.” 

• Grundfos’ Commitment To Sustainability Helps Team Win Prize For Water Innovation Challenge

  Once you know Grundfos, you realize the company’s commitment to promoting sustainability is genuine. The global leader in pumps spearheads programs worldwide to help promote the efficient and sustainable use of water and energy.

• Using Advanced Tools To Stem The Lost Revenue Tide

  From the largest metropolitan utilities to the smallest water systems, leaks are a problem everywhere. Because it’s difficult to raise consumer prices to offset the losses, non-revenue water has a direct impact on the bottom line of municipal water systems. However, utility managers now have an opportunity to reverse the problem with advanced flow meter technology that combines multiple measurements.

• FILTRASORB 400 Provides PFAS Solution For Air Force Base In Interior Alaska

  When Eielson Air Force Base, located in the interior of Alaska, found high levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in their drinking water, they needed a solution that was effective, cost-efficient, and operable in extreme temperatures. Calgon Carbon’s Model 10 adsorption system, filled with FILTRASORB 400 granular activated carbon (GAC), was determined to be the best option.

• Simplified Testing For BPA In Source Water

  It’s common to see “BPA Free” labels on water bottles and other containers, a response to consumers who have grown increasingly wary of the contaminant. However, testing for BPAs that may have found their way into drinking water sources has traditionally been cumbersome and expensive, so municipalities could be exposing their customers to unsafe levels. The good news is that newer advancements are making it easier to use existing technologies to monitor for the pollutant.

• City Of Tacoma Improves Budgeting And Capital Projects

  On the banks of Puget Sound and in the shadow of Mount Rainier exists Tacoma, Washington. The city is home to approximately 211,000 residents, making it the third largest in the state of Washington. Tacoma’s vision is one focused on stewardship and resiliency, as outlined the Environmental Services Department strategic plan: “We believe everything we do supports healthy neighborhoods and a thriving Puget Sound, leaving a better Tacoma for all.”

• Going Bold To Shine A Spotlight On Stormwater Pollution

  Too many dog owners think their pets’ waste easily breaks down in nature and is helpful to plants, so they leave it on the ground. The truth is that dog poo and other pet waste is loaded with germs such as e. coli and giardia that make people sick as well as nutrients that can fuel problematic algae blooms.

• West Yost Associates Empower Clearer Determination Of Risk

  Lani Good, P.E., is an Asset Management Practice Leader. During her 5 years at West Yost Associates, she has specialized in Utility Asset Management. Her organization exclusively focuses on water, wastewater, and stormwater systems to ensure longevity for typical water infrastructure assets – pipes, pumps, storage and treatment plants.

• Keys To Tackling Industrial PFAS Treatment

  While municipalities have been working for several years to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, a growing number of industrial operations are being prompted to treat their wastewater and stormwater for the contaminants. While any steps taken to reduce PFAS are positive, performing a thorough investigation before selecting a solution is critical to getting the best results at the lowest cost.

• The Secret Life Of Water At Evoqua Water Technologies

  Evoqua Water Technologies indirectly affects the water used by hundreds of millions of people around the world. It provides water purification and management solutions—filtrations, separation, disinfection, technologies, and service—used by 70 percent of US municipalities, 90 percent of the largest US chemical companies, 85 percent of pharmaceutical companies, the world’s largest food and beverage companies, and 60 percent of US Navy vessels.

• How Harmful Algal Blooms Can Affect Your Water Treatment Plant

  Headlines in 2018 were dominated by the red tide along Florida’s Gulf Coast, which persisted for months, causing human respiratory illnesses, the deaths of dozens of Florida’s beloved dolphins and manatees, and hundreds of millions of dollars in lost tourism revenue and cleanup costs. Here are insights on how to forestall becoming the next city to make national headlines related to harmful algal blooms.

• Better CAPEX, OPEX Options For PFAS Treatment

  The documented performance of ion exchange (IX) resins for treating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) offers new opportunities for more practical solutions in many applications. IX has demonstrated its ability to reduce both capital and operating costs compared to the conventional granular activated carbon (GAC) treatment approach.

• Where’s The Fire? Industrial Uses For Fire Hydrant Meters

  There are many options for ensuring accurate billing of water used at established industrial customer locations. But how do municipalities or businesses keep track of water availability and use for intermittent applications or movable access points? We spoke with McCrometer, Inc.’s Marc Bennett for insight into how water utilities and industries can efficiently track and allocate water use for billing or internal accounting purposes in such ad hoc applications.

• Ready Or Not? A Checklist For Building Natural Disaster Resilience

  You’ve seen the headlines, read the case studies, taken stock of your resilience plan (or lack thereof), and posed the question “What now?” Here are a dozen ways battery-powered wireless recorders and transmitters can support a new Resiliency Master Plan for your utility and your community — one that can provide cost-saving and even life-saving insights under extreme conditions.

• How To Boost Wastewater Treatment Capacity Within An Existing Footprint

  Municipalities can find themselves in a real bind when wastewater treatment operations are strained by population growth. That’s because facilities are either landlocked and can’t expand at their current location, or the prospect of building an addition isn’t in the budget. When the bottleneck is at the digesters — the tanks where microorganisms break down waste — there are some common-sense strategies treatment plants can employ to address those growing pains.

• Saint Paul Regional Water Services Upgrades To Corrosion-Resistant Zinc-Coated Ductile Iron Water Main

  It is no secret that a large portion of the drinking water infrastructure in the U.S. is near or past its intended design life. Our nation’s water infrastructure needs an overhaul, and the cost of doing so is climbing rapidly. ASCE’s 2017 Infrastructure Report Card graded the nation’s drinking water infrastructure a D. According to AWWA, an estimated $1 trillion is necessary to maintain and expand drinking water service to meet demands over the next 25 years.

• Climate Change And Nutrients: Forewarned Is Forearmed

  Rising temperatures and precipitation combined with increasing nutrient runoff from human activity are elevating challenges in water treatment efforts. In some cases, that means increased threats to drinking water quality. In others, it means increasingly stringent nutrient discharge levels. Either way, taking the nutrient monitoring battle out to the field can help in waging a better fight at the treatment plant.

• How AMI Works To Underpin Resiliency

  With the rate of natural disasters on the upswing—and the possibility of terror attacks and source water issues always present—municipalities are under more pressure than ever to build resiliency into their water systems.