3RD QUARTER 2013

SEPTEMBER 2013

PACIFIC NORTHWEST CLEAN WATER ASSOCIATION LOWER COLUMBIA SECTION

QUARTERLY E-NEWSLETTER
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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

A person recently asked me what my job entailed. I thought about it for a while and told him that our jobs are to make sure stuff is taken care of. That answer can help guide us better than any formal job description or supervisor ever could. Designers and engineers work on giving us tools to take care of the environment. Treatment plant personnel work on taking care of these tools so that they will operate efficiently. That means sampling, keeping equipment clean and functional, keeping the area free of debris and holding yourself to a higher standard than just doing tasks youve been assigned. When pressed further as to what taking care of stuff really means, I like to use the lawnmower analogy. If you borrow your neighbors lawnmower, do you return it all dusty with an empty tank of gas or do you return it cleaned and with a full tank of gas? Depending on how you used it, you might even have it serviced and the blade sharpened before you give it back. People appreciate people returning their equipment in better shape than when it was loaned out. So our job is to take care of the environment, the treatment plants or even just a particular work area. And that means it should be in better shape when you leave work that it was when you started work. Keep in mind that leaving your tools in better shape isnt why you were given the tools you need. After all you wouldnt borrow your neighbors lawnmower and give it back all cleaned up with a full tank of gas if you didnt at least cut your own grass with it. You take care of the tools that you use in order that they will function correctly when you need to use them. Sometimes areas can show a lot of neglect. Maybe you cant get it all done, but you can get part of it finished. You can always come back when you have more time or maybe ask someone else if they would like to pickup where you left off. Little items make a big improvement over time. What is the reason for taking care of all of this stuff? So that it will be easy to spot items that need work. Thats why as a contractor you want quality in your construction. That is why as a designer you design something as simple as you can, but robust enough to do the job now and into the future. Thats why as an operator your equipment is ready and functional. Youre taking care of those things you will need in the future. I mentioned this line of reasoning to a friend at work and she replied that no individual Inside owns the environment or our treatment facilities. We are all stewards, leaving things better for the people who follow. What is PNCWA, LCS, YP? Facility Tour: McMinnville WRF Wastewater Certification Questions

this issue:
2 3-4 5-6 7
8 10 11 12-14

Joel Borchers, President Lower Columbia Section (BorchersJ@CleanWaterServices.org)

2012 Award Winner Presentation Upcoming Tour: Oak Lodge WRF LCS Contacts Calendar of Events Solutions to Wastewater Questions

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What is Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association (PNCWA)?

PNCWA is a professional organization for people in clean water industries in the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. Members include wastewater treatment plant operators, consulting engineers, scientists, water and wastewater treatment equipment manufacturers and representatives, and students. Mission Statement: Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association (PNCWA) is dedicated to preserving and enhancing the water quality in the states of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. We promote the technical development of our members, the dissemination of information to the public and the advancement of science needed to protect the water environment.

What is Lower Columbia Section (LCS)?

The Lower Columbia Section is one region of the PNCWA encompassing Portland (OR) and surrounding areas of Northwest Oregon. Whats Going On in the Lower Columbia Section? See whats new, find opportunities for training, and meet your officers at our website. We are always looking for people interested in getting involved. Check out the Lower Columbia Sections website and the PNCWA at http://lowercolumbia.pncwa.org.

What is the Young Professionals (YP) division?

The Young Professionals division of the PNCWA LCS is open to anyone under 35 years of age or with less than 10 years of experience in the clean water industry. LCSs YP events are held quarterly and expose rising professionals to the fundamentals of wastewater treatment technology. Industry professionals are encouraged to attend as well. Each event is designed to promote learning specific to our industry. Events range from touring municipal wastewater treatment plants, breweries or even happy hour events for networking. If you have an event you would like to suggest or to learn more about the PNCWA, please contact the YP chair: Dana Devin-Clarke (ddclarke@brwncald.com) More information on events, as well as interesting news bits from around the web can be found on the groups Facebook page at www.facebook.org/LCSYP.

A young professional is anyone under 35 years of age or anyone with less than 10 years of experience.

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FACILITY TOUR: McMinnville WRF

On July 17th, Lynne Chicoine from CH2M-Hill and Tim Munro, senior operator at the City of McMinnville Water Reclamation Facility (WRF), gave a presentation and tour of the McMinnville treatment plant. While attendees enjoyed the pizza provided, Tim Munro first reviewed the treatment plants history. Built in the 1950s, the original treatment plant used a trickling filter for secondary treatment. Although it was upgraded in the 1970s with conventional aeration basins, the City was found to be the largest point source contributor of phosphorus to the South Yamhill River. With a total-phosphorus (T-P) limit of 0.07 mg/L and ammonia limit of 0.5 mg/L ,the WRF typically discharges effluent with less than 0.05 mg/L ammonia and 0.05 mg/L TP. This exceptional treatment protects the South Yamhill River during low summer flow. Next, Lynne Chicoine discussed the planning process for the plant expansion scheduled to start in 2014. A third train (Orbal oxidation ditch & secondary clarifier) was initially planned, in order to meet expected increases in organic loading, provide redundancy and buffer the plant hydraulically during the winter months. New earthquake protection requirements however caused concern over the affordability of another Orbal due to its large footprint. Consequently several alternatives were considered including a vertical loop reactor, conventional aeration basin, a moving bed biofilm reactor and an external anaerobic zone for enhanced biological phosphorus removal. After evaluating all of these options, it turned out that another Orbal was the most cost effective way to meet the future needs of this plant.

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FACILITY TOUR: McMinnville WRF

The plant tour featured both liquid and solids processes. Raw sewage is pumped 1.5 miles through a force main up to the headworks second floor where it flows through screens, undergoes grit removal and moves on to the oxidation ditches (Orbals) where nutrients are removed biologically by flowing through anaerobic, anoxic and aerobic zones. Flow continues to the secondary clarifier and then to tertiary clarifiers where phosphorus and solids are removed chemically with a mixture of Alum, ACH and polymer. Tertiary effluent flows through sand filters where the last bit of solids is removed before UV disinfection and discharge at the outfall.

Solids processing consists of gravity belt thickening and ATADs (autothermal thermophilic aerobic digesters). With temperatures usually reaching well above 60 degrees C (140 F) these digesters use heat created by bacterial metabolism to kill pathogenic bacteria. The Class A Biosolids is then used locally by farmers.

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WASTEWATER CERTIFICATION QUESTIONS:

The WEF website is a great place to go for practice tests. Go to http://www.wef.org/SkillsBuilder and try their online tests. Here is a practice test with answers later in the newsletter.

1.

As part of the national pretreatment program (40 CFR Part 403), plants with a design flow of more than ____________ must develop an industrial waste pretreatment program. a. b. c. d. 38 000 m3/d (10 mgd) 38 000 m3/d (10 mgd) 76 000 m3/d (20 mgd) 19 000 m3/d (5 mgd)

2.

The desired solids loading rate for a 80-ft diameter clarifier is 40 lbs/day/ sq ft. If the flow to the clarifier is 6.5 MGD, what is the required MLSS concentration? a. b. c. d. 4615 mg/L 3707 mg/L 3920 mg/L 3517 mg/L

3.

UEL and LEL are terms related to gases and vapors in wastewater treatment. What do these terms typically define? a. b. c. d. the exposure limits of common gases reactive limits of common gases the explosive limits of common gases entropy or dissolution limits of these gases

4.

The term Doppler refers to a(n) _______________ meter. a. b. c. d. ultrasonic flow magnetic flow pH temperature

5.

A water-filled mechanical pump seal not only helps to prevent leaks, but also ___________. a. b. c. d. keeps the pump primed acts as a reserve water supply prevents pump shaft wear cools the material being pumped

6.

The primary compound formed when chlorine gas is introduced to water is ____________. a. b. c. d. bromine chloride sodium chloride Chloroform hypochlorous acid

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WASTEWATER CERTIFICATION QUESTIONS:

7. A limiting factor for digester loading is ___________. a. b. c. d. 8. pathogen content sludge color pathogen type hydraulic detention time

The presence of large amounts of filter flies could be caused by any of the following conditions except ____________. a. b. c. d. tall grass and weeds present around the trickling filter insufficient spray reaching the outside wall of the trickling filter excessive hydraulic loading plugged spray orifices or nozzles

9.

The primary method of nitrogen removal in constructed wetland treatment system is ______________________________. a. b. c. d. plant or algal uptake Volatilization nitrification/denitrification precipitation adsorption in soils

10.

1 cu ft/sec is equal to ________. a. b. c. d. 500 gpm 0.72 mgd 0.65 mgd 30024 gph

11.

The surface overflow rate for a settling tank is determined from the ___________. a. b. c. d. volumetric flow divided by the tank volume product of the volumetric flow and tank surface area sum of the volumetric flow and tank surface area volumetric flow divided by the tank surface area

12.

The maximum weir loadings for secondary clarifiers range from _____________. a. b. c. d. 80 120 m3/m d (6400 9600 gpd/ft) 300 500 m3/m d (24 000 40 000 gpd/ft) 50 75 m3/m d (4000 6000 gpd/ft) 125 250 m3/m d (10 000 20 000 gpd/ft)

Solutions on Pages 12-14

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2012 Award Winner Presentation

The City of Dundee receives their plaque for winning the 2012 LCS Project of the Year

Kevin Wegener was the 2012 LCS Operator of the Year

LCS Annual Summer Picnic

On Wednesday, August 7th members of the Lower Columbia Section of the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association met at Portlands beautiful Laurelhurst Park for the First Annual Summer Picnic. It was a warm, lovely summer evening and Joel Borchers of Clean Water Services donned an apron to barbeque, to perfection, burgers and dogs. The burgers were served with all the accoutrements and traditional side dishes of cole slaw, baked beans and potato salad were provided. The children enjoyed a walk around the park and a chance to watch the ducks on the pond. If you were unable to attend this year, do not fear. The plan is to make the Summer Picnic an annual tradition. See you next time!

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Upcoming Tour: Oak Lodge Water Reclamation Facility

The Oak Lodge Sanitary District completed its Water Reclamation Facility improvement project in October 2012. The improvement project included a new influent pump station (submersible pumps), headworks (screens, compactor, Head Cell grit removal), new biofilter, new aeration basins (high speed turbo blowers, nitrification/denitrification), new clarifiers, new UV disinfection system and aerobic digesters (jet mix system). The District also integrated new SCADA (Wonderware), CMMS (Lucity) and LIMS (Hach WIMS) systems into the completed project. The District retained its solids processing systems which include gravity belt thickening and belt filter press. Currently, the facility is focused on the startup and performance testing of the Cannibal system. We are also transitioning from anaerobic digestion to aerobic digestion.

The Cannibal solids reduction system is unique to the Northwest and has been online since January 2013. Performance testing began in July 2013 with the system currently producing a biological yield of 0.35 lbs. WAS/lb of Inf. BOD. The Cannibal process replaced a 1960s vintage high rate activated sludge process that produced as much as 1.2 lbs. WAS/lb of Inf. BOD.

The tour will encompass all process areas and include a presentation of data related to the Cannibal system. CEUs will be awarded.

Please join us on Wednesday September 25th, 11:30 am, at the Oak Lodge WRF, 13750 SE Renton Ave., Oak Grove, OR, 97222. Contact Dana with any questions ddclarke@brwncald.com

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SUPPORTERS OF PNCWALOWER COLUMBIA SECTION

Thanks to these sponsors!

The Lower Columbia Section strives to provide educational opportunities for those in the field of wastewater treatment. We work to do that by offering social events, scholarships, workshops and promoting plant tours around the area. None of this would be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. On behalf of the entire Lower Columbia Section of the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association, we would like to thank:

Brown and Caldwell Carollo Engineering Clean Water Services HDR Murray Smith and Associates and a special thank you to Richwine Environmental.

ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES ARE NOW AVAILABLE!

Contact Joel Borchers at BorchersJ@CleanWaterServices.org for information on sponsorship and advertising.

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PNCWA Lower Columbia Section CONTACTS

Name
Joel Borchers

Officers
President

E-MAIL
BorchersJ@CleanWaterServices.org

Dana DevinClarke

Vice President & Young Professionals Committee CoChair Secretary-Treasurer

ddclarke@brwncald.com

Bhargavi Maremanda

BMaremanda@carollo.com

Priya Dhanapal

Section Director

PriyaDhanapal@KennedyJenks.com

Tim Munro

Scholarship Chair

Tim.Munro@ci.mcminnville.or.us

Jeff Hart

Newsletter Chair

JeffHart@KennedyJenks.com

Susan Gierga

Section Director

giergas@msa-ep.com

Mike Kebbe

Section Director

KebbeM@CleanWaterServices.org

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WEF/PNCWA/LCS Mark your Calendars!

When Sep 25, 2013

Sep 25-27, 2013 Oct 5-9, 2013

Where Oak Grove, OR

Redmond, OR

What Oak Lodge WRF Tour

ORWARN Annual Conference WEFTEC

Affiliation

Contact
Dana Devin-Clarkeddclarke@brwncald.com

LCS
ORWARN

Ross Turkus - ross.turkus@portlandoregon.gov

Chicago, IL

WEF

http://www.weftec.org/

Contact Jeff Hart at JeffHart@KennedyJenks.com to advertise your event in our newsletter.

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3RD QUARTER 2013

Want to feature your plant in our newsletter?

If you have an interesting project, a new process, or are just plain proud of your plant, let us know. We can organize a Plant Profile for your facility. Contact Jeff Hart and let him know that you want to show off! (JeffHart@KennedyJenks.com)

SOLUTIONS TO WASTEWATER CERTIFICATION QUESTIONS:

1. Answer D: 19 000 m3/d (5 mgd) The General Pretreatment Regulations of Existing and New Sources of Pollution outline the national pretreatment program for the United States. The regulation requires any plant with a design flow over 19 000 m3/d (5 mgd) to develop an industrial waste pretreatment program. Reference: Water Environment Federation, Operation of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants, Fifth Ed., MOP 11, Vol. 1, pg. 56 2. 3. Answer B: 3707 mg/L Answer C: the explosive limits of common gases

UEL and LEL stand for the upper and lower explosive limits of a gas or vapor. These are the concentrations at which there is a possibility of explosion from contact with heat or other chemicals. Reference: Water Environment Federation, Safety and Health in Wastewater Systems, MOP SM-1, pg. 83

Were on the web! http://lowercolumbia.pncwa.org

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WASTEWATER CERTIFICATION ANSWERS:

4. Answer A: ultrasonic flow

Doppler refers to a type of ultrasonic flow meter. The meter measures the frequency shift of ultrasonic waves transmitted across a pipe. These shifts are then used to determine the flow rate. Reference: Water Environment Federation, Operation of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants, Fifth Ed., MOP 11, Vol. 1, pg. 154

5.

Answer C: prevents pump shaft wear

Traditional mechanical pump seals with packing have begun to be replaced by fluid filled seals. While this not only prevents leaks, this type of seal also minimizes any friction generated by the pump shaft Reference: Water Environment Federation, Operation of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants, Fifth Ed., MOP 11, Vol. 1, pg. 347

6.

Answer D: hypochlorous acid

Chlorine dissolves quickly into water to form a mixture of hypochlorous and hydrochloric acids. Reference: Water Environment Federation, Operation of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants, Fifth Ed., MOP 11, Vol. 2, pg. 919

7.

Answer D: hydraulic detention time

Two criteria may determine a digesters capacity Ethe hydraulic detention time and the volatile solids loading rate of the incoming sludge. The detention time deals with the flow while the volatile concentration deals with how much treatment time will be required for that particular sludge. Reference: Water Environment Federation, Operation of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants, Fifth Ed., MOP 11, Vol. 3, pg. 1069

8.

Answer C: excessive hydraulic loading

Filter flies thrive in environments that get periodic light sprays of wastewater. High hydraulic loading to a trickling filter will keep media continually wet which is not conducive to filter fly breeding. Filter flies can also breed in grass and weeds around a trickling filter that receive occasional sprays of wastewater such as that carried by wind blowing across the trickling filter. Reference: Water Environment Federation, Operation of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants, Fifth Ed., MOP 11, Vol. 2, pg. 713-714

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WASTEWATER CERTIFICATION ANSWERS:

9. Answer C: nitrification/denitrification

In a constructed wetland system, microbes transform ammonia to nitrate through nitrification and other microbes convert nitrate to nitrogen gas through denitrification. Reference: Water Environment Federation, Wastewater Disinfection, MOP FD-16, pg. 233

10.

Answer C: 0.65 mgd

11.

Answer D: volumetric flow divided by tank surface area

The surface overflow rate for any settling tank is simply the volumetric flow rate divided by the tanks surface area. This will give the rate in terms of distance per unit time. Reference: Water Environment Federation, Operation of Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants, Fifth Ed., MOP 11, Vol. 2, pg. 538 Answer D: 125-250 m3/m*d (10 000-20 000 gpd/ft)

12.

For the secondary clarifiers of most facilities, benchmarks of clarifier operation include maximum weir loadings of 125 250 m3/m d (10 000 20 000 gpd/ft) and overflow rates ranging from 24 33 m3/m2 d (600 800 gpd/ft2). Reference: Water Environment Federation, Operations Training/Activated Sludge Process Control Training Manual, pgs. 2-12