Officials in Hawaii are lobbying the state to bolster its wastewater treatment regulations.
Lawmakers in New Hampshire took a stand this year against perfluorinated chemical (PFC) contamination, but the effort ultimately failed to cross the finish line.
A wastewater treatment plant in Mississippi has run afoul of regulators by discharging cyanide into waterways.
Under a new deal struck by Congress, the Pentagon must disclose incidents of water contamination at military bases.
Des Moines Water Works tried to compel the agricultural sector to pay more for nutrient pollution cleanup, but the attempt ended in failure. Now the utility plans to invest heavily in addressing the problem on its own.
Will Brexit exacerbate water quality challenges in the UK?
For wastewater treatment operations around the country, grit can be a major problem. If not addressed properly, it can gather in digesters, clarifiers, and aeration basins, requiring time-wasting removal by staff.
A constant problem in many wastewater collection systems is the formation of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in the lift stations as well as from biofilms further downstream in the delivery piping to the wastewater treatment plant. DO2E representatives suggested that the City of Taylorville (IL) use their proprietary digesters equipped with an ozone (O3) capability to remove this problem from our system.
Municipal water services continually utilize improved technologies so that they can offer their customers higher water quality.
An innovative approach to high quality ice production has been adopted by the new Ice Palace in Moscow.
Heat and power generation in biofuel engine cogeneration plants has become increasingly important as process industries look for more economical and environmentally friendly ways to produce energy.
Ammonia is used as a cleaning and bleaching agent in the production of fertilizers, plastics, explosives, and many other products.
Lincoln Electric Systems (LES) recently commissioned a membrane decarbonation system using 3M™ Liqui-Cel™ EXF-14x28 Series Membrane Contactors to remove CO2 prior to their mixed bed deionizers.
Pure steam is used in sterilization chambers as a common method to sterilize pharmaceutical products, such as equipment parts, instruments, containers and materials for sterile environments.
According to the U.S. EPA, municipal water and wastewater treatment systems account for 30 to 40 percent of the total energy used by municipalities in the United States. In wastewater treatment, the biggest chunk of this energy consumption comes from aeration. Within a typical WWTP, the aeration equipment used to maintain the required dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the activated sludge process can account for as much as 60 percent of the total plant energy use (Source: EPA.gov). As municipalities and plant operators look for ways to minimize energy use and contain operating costs, aeration is a natural area of focus.
Aeration is a critical part of the wastewater treatment process and one of its biggest energy consumers. As such, there is no reason why aeration should be left behind as plant processes and technologies become more advanced.
The Signet 4150 Turbidimeter provides accurate and reliable EPA-compliant water quality monitoring for municipal and industrial applications.
CeraMem® ceramic membranes are a large-area, highly compact technology featuring a combination of unique materials of construction and proprietary membrane chemistry. Utilized mainly for large-capacity ultrafiltration (UF) and micro-filtration (MF) applications, CeraMem technology is designed for harsh operating environments.
Settings for the customer’s selection of sensors are factory-preloaded. These are uploaded to the base unit at installation, greatly simplifying set-up and assuring safety through the use of appropriate alarm limits based on Xylem’s decades of experience.
ClorTec MCT systems easily control sodium hypochlorite production and provide a powerful disinfection method for any application. MCT systems meet requirements for 12–36 lb/day (5.4–16.3 kg/ day) chlorine equivalent. Applications include potable water, wastewater, odor and corrosion control, cooling towers, oxidation and swimming pool disinfection.
Sanitaire fine bubble ceramic disc aeration systems incorporate superior and advanced engineering features in the ceramic element, the diffuser sealing method and the piping system joints and supports. The premier line of SANITAIRE fine bubble ceramic disc diffusers is considered the most efficient technology available for oxygen transfer in wastewater treatment applications.
Need to speed up your settling process? Brentwood tube settlers can help you do that while also improving overall plant efficiency for potable water and wastewater applications. By expanding settling capacity, Brentwood tube settlers increase flow rates and improve effluent water quality. They also save you money on operating costs by reducing the frequency of filter backwashing.
Don’t pay double for steel. Go blue!
Ecosorb® 5000S is a broad spectrum odor neutralizer which reduces emissions for specific gases including hydrogen sulfide, mercaptans, amines and thioethers. Ecosorb 5000S can be diluted with water or used neat depending on application and delivery equipment to remove odorous compounds including acids and bases.
Improve pump performance—regardless of the original manufacturer—with service from Flygt A-C Custom Pump (formerly ITT A-C Pump and Allis Chalmers). Backed by more than 140 years of pump design and manufacturing experience, we’re the dependable choice for pump services and repair. We offer a comprehensive range of services for centrifugal pumps from 2” to 156”, and a pump in the continental USA can ship to us in Pewaukee, WI, in 2 days or less.
Amid growing concerns around algal bloom, industrial operations are under pressure to stop using phosphorus-based water treatment technology. But transition to an alternative can be daunting.
If passed, a new piece of bipartisan legislation would provide technical assistance to rural wastewater treatment systems that need help in complying with federal regulations.
The U.S. EPA has a job to do despite having its financial and human resources trimmed by the new presidential administration. Three U.S. EPA Office of Water directors, presenting at the 2017 Water & Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA) Washington Forum, laid out action plans for addressing the nation's most pressing water-quality threats in a manner that can (or must) achieve results efficiently.
Micropollutants like PPCPs are known to pass through waterways and contaminate the environment. Some wonder what threat they pose as they find their way into biosolids and, eventually, into our soil.
Researchers from Iowa have developed a system that utilizes algae for wastewater nutrient removal and gives utilities a chance to offset costs with the process.
Updates to a seminal document for running water and wastewater utilities as efficiently as possible call for review by those facing new obstacles.
Cities all over the country have been prioritizing clean water through a variety of different programs and the City of Brotherly Love is among the ranks.
Election season is in full swing and while it may not be the “hottest” topic being debated amongst presidential candidates, the topic of water isn’t being ignored as we approach November. Several candidates have addressed the challenges plaguing water and wastewater systems nationwide.
For years, I’ve been standing on my deck in San Francisco, looking south to Silicon Valley for innovation in water efficiency. But I’m starting to realize that I might have been gazing in the wrong direction. Maybe I need to turn around and look north, over the spires of the Golden Gate Bridge, toward the Emerald Triangle in Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties, the hotbed of California’s newly legalized commercial cannabis production.
More than 20 years ago I wrote a Master’s Thesis about software tools that could be put together with EPA SWMM to create a toolbox for very long term continuous simulation for stormwater and watershed simulations. I was inspired at the time by Dr. William James who was my advisor for that research.
During the long campaign, you ran on a platform of change, and since the election, you have charted a course toward improving our nation’s infrastructure. I urge you to focus some of that change and a significant portion of those infrastructure improvements on the one issue at the center of survival for all Americans, regardless of whom they voted for — water.
It may seem farfetched, but the reality is that many Americans don’t have regular access to clean drinking water.
It’s no secret that municipalities across the country are facing budget constraints.
Summer reading list a bit dry? Drink up these books on the world’s greatest resources — water.
A Request for Startups post on January 3rd on the Y Combinator Blog caught my eye. The blogger talked about the need to prepare for things to get worse with regard to climate change, and called for applications for funding from those working on new technologies that could inexpensively produce clean water.
While most of the country was seeing red, white, and blue this past Fourth of July, many Florida residents were seeing green.
As part of its Long Term Control Plan to reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs) to the Merrimack River, the City of Nashua, NH constructed a new Screening and Disinfection facility (SDF) to reduce untreated discharges of CSOs to the Merrimack River.
Despite evidence that often points to the contrary, many bodies of water around the country stand as prime examples of how environmental quality can be improved with the proper will and effort.
Conversation at the 2016 SESWA Stormwater BMPs, LID and Green Infrastructure Seminar in Atlanta GA that I attended recently touched upon the idea of computers taking our jobs and ‘Engineering Bots’. This has of course happened in other industries, but I didn’t anticipate it happening in the stormwater planning, design and management world.
Last month I tipped my hat to America’s rural water districts in the blog post Rural Water Systems: Dancing Backwards and in High Heels. As Americans prepare for Independence Day, it’s a perfect time to salute some truly unsung American heroes: the people who operate our nation’s drinking water and wastewater treatment plants.
While the term “Water Resource Recovery Facility” may seem like nothing more than a trendy phrase, the name change represents a distinct shift in the role that wastewater utilities can now play.
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?
About 30 years ago, a Frank and Ernest cartoon tipped its hat to Fred Astaire while giving long-overdue credit to Ginger Rogers. “Sure, he was great,” said a lady in front of a movie theater sign touting a Fred Astaire film festival, “but don’t forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did…backwards and in high heels.”
Living near water requires that we plan for situations when we have too much of it. Throughout history we have dealt with flooding when weather events exceed “normal” parameters.
