A Growing Trend
Water & Wastes Digest
March 2006
By Marlay B. Price
Design-build offers time and cost savings while increasing quality and reducing litigation
Phoenix Rising
Water & Wastes Digest
January 2006
By John Quarendon
Arizona’s Lake Pleasant Water Treatment Plant, the largest DBO water project in North America expected to come online full-time in fall of 2006
Triple Option Offers Savings
Water & Wastes Digest
June 2004
Ninety percent is the savings in capital cost that HDR, Inc., has been able to provide to the Oro Loma (Calif.) Sanitary District.
Conservation Agency Battles Erosion, Preserves Wetlands with Computer-Aided Design Tools
Water Engineering & Management
April 2003
Chad Mills
In addition to monitoring soil quality and working with landowners to ensure environmentally sensitive farming and grazing practices, the Natural Resources Conservation Service restores wetlands to foster animal and plant life, reinforces stream banks and designs terraces to control flooding. The agency works to prevent runoff of sediments and animal wastes, and it builds dams to control the growth of gullies that have cut into the slope of a hill over the years.
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Assessing Leakage in Water Supply Networks Using Flowmeters
Water Engineering & Management
March 2003
Richard Furness, PhD., CEng. and ISA Fellow
Flowmeter usage is diverse and central to the entire water cycle control within the industry. The metering process directly or indirectly influences resource management, process control, new works planning, distribution management, leakage detection, financial control and environmental issues.
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Anchors Aweigh - Part 2
Water Engineering & Management
February 2003
Allister W. Thompson
Part 1 of this article discussed the amount of ballast weight needed to submerge a pipe and detailed the traditional method of installing an underwater pipeline.
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Anchors Aweigh - Part 1
Water Engineering & Management
January 2003
Allister W. Thompson
Many pipelines installed underwater are manufactured from synthetic materials such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) because of the superior corrosion resistance and, in certain applications, the superior wear resistance of synthetics over iron alloys. Synthetic pipelines are used in many tasks for both industrial and municipal applications. As the depths of the installations and the lengths of the synthetic pipelines are increasing, better methods of installations must be developed.
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A Common Sense Approach to Design
Water Engineering & Management
October 2002
Carter & Burgess, Inc.
When it comes to preliminary designing and engineering of wastewater facilities, it might seem like common sense to have owners and users integrally involved in the preliminary design process, but that is the exception, not the rule. However, some pioneering architecture and engineering firms are changing all of that. Best of all, this process can be applied in the water and wastewater industries.
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Revisiting the Selection of Stainless Steel in Water and Wastewater Treatment Environments: Part 3
Water Engineering & Management
July 2002
Frederick Bloetscher, Richard J. Bullock, Robert E. Fergen, Gerhardt M. Witt, and Gary D. Fries
Based on the City of Hollywood’s experience, the use of 316L stainless steel should be evaluated carefully due to the potential for problems in the erection and construction of water treatment facilities that will be in contact with high chloride water and/or other corrosive chemistries. As with many membrane facilities, much of the stainless steel is exposed (not buried), which subjected it to atmospheric as well as water quality problems. Therefore, unless the quality control of the raw and reject water (chemical, physical and microbial) can be assured, 316L stainless steel may not be the appropriate material for engineers to specify.
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Revisiting the Selection of Stainless Steel in Water and Wastewater Treatment Environments: Part 2
Water Engineering & Management
June 2002
Frederick Bloetscher, Richard Bullock, Robert Fergen, Gerhardt Witt, & Gary Fries
Aerobic bacteria (Crenothrix, Gallionella) primarily are encountered in the fresh surface waters, although anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacteria and facultative strains also are encountered. Ground waters are more likely to contain anaerobic and facultative bacteria, as well as Gallionella than surface waters.3 Sulfate-reducing bacteria also are found in seawater.3
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Avoiding Possible Problems in Submersible Motors
Water Engineering & Management
January 2002
Tom Sgritta
Typical agricultural, domestic and municipal systems are excellent applications for these motors. Unfortunately, these motors often are used in applications that unknowingly exceed the design criteria of the motors.
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Water Intake At New Illinois Power Plant Designed for Variable Flows
Water & Wastes Digest
December 2001
The intake system that will draw cooling makeup water from the Kaskaskia River for the $250-million Holland energy plant in Shelby County, Illinois, was designed to balance construction cost imperatives against the river’s variable flow, regulatory requirements and the owner’s operating preferences. The result is a state-of-the-art vital element for the gas-fired, combined cycle plant. As more and more closed-cycle plants are proposed, the concepts that Parsons applied along the Kaskaskia River may provide a good starting point on the drawing boards.
Design-Build Model Helps Home Developer Meet Demands
Water Engineering & Management
May 2001
Forty miles west of Chicago in a growing urban area, the village of Huntley is dealing with a typical growth issue. The problem is providing high-quality water and wastewater utilities to an ever-growing community quickly and cost-effectively.
Fire and Flooding in Los Alamos: Pipe Ramming Provides a Solution
Water Engineering & Management
March 2001
Jim Schill
The Cerro Grande fire ravaged the Los Alamos, N.M., landscape in May of 2000. In addition to threatening the world famous Los Alamos National Laboratory, the firestorm consumed more than 47,650 acres of forest and left more than 400 families homeless. However, almost as soon as the fire was contained a new threat arose: flooding.
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Riding the Tides to Information Integration and Improved Performance
Water Engineering & Management
March 2001
Paul Borzo
San Diego Water has taken a giant technological leap forward. It has gone from a 15-year-old monitoring system operating with tone telemetry on leased lines to a state-of-the-art supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system that integrates numerous technology systems throughout the enterprise.
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Old Water Line Meets New Technology
Water Engineering & Management
March 2001
Tom Gigliotti
The City of Pittsburgh is in the process of a renaissance. Builders must raze the old to make way for the new. In the spring of 1997, the City of Pittsburgh imploded an old building in the center of the downtown shopping district and built the new Lazarus department store. The store’s main entrance is located on 5th Avenue, Pittsburgh’s main retail street. Oliver Avenue, the street adjacent to the new building, is the location of the main water line feeding the new building as well as several adjoining structures.
Web Page Design
Water Quality Products
February 2001
Arthur von Wiesenberger, The Bottled Water Web
With the right website, you, too, can join the exploding world of e-commerce, building a powerful Web presence and communicating effectively with consumers.
Sanitary District Rises to the Challenge
Water Engineering & Management
October 2000
To keep up with expanding community, one district was forced to more than double its wastewater treatment capacity.
Tucson Trunk Sewer Repaired Without Disrupting Flow
Water & Wastes Digest
March 2000
Using a temporary sewage bypass pumping system and its nondisruptive pipe rehabilitation methods, Insituform Technologies, Inc. of Chesterfield, Missouri, has rehabilitated a half-mile-long section of trunk sewer buried beneath a roadway in Tucson, Arizona.
Making the Right Choices for Your Wireless SCADA System
Water & Wastes Digest
February 2000
Ernest J. Zingleman
When considering a wireless data system design, everyone has a checklist of elements to consider. Some are obviously important and others tend to get overlooked. The following elements tend to fall into the latter category but have a far from insignificant impact on the long-term success and performance of your system.
Cooperation, Communication and Teamwork Are Key to Project's Success
Water Engineering & Management
January 2000
Rebecca Zimoch
The system had been built in the 1960s and was showing its age. Replacement parts were difficult to find and the plant suffered from increasingly frequent breakdowns. The outdated plant did not even meet state water quality regulations.
Open Channel Flow Reporting Improved and Streamlined
Water Engineering & Management
January 2000
FlowReporter programs can be adapted to operate with other microprocessor-based flowmeters provided the necessary technical specifications are supplied to accommodate such adaptations or program developments.
Company Eases the Work Flow with a Process Calibrator
Water Engineering & Management
January 2000
Eight years ago, Dan Dickerson, who owns Control & Instrument Services in Worthington, Ohio, decided it was time to break from his job at a civil engineering firm, strike out on his own and start his own business. It paid off. Today, Dickerson's firm is one of Ohio's paramount field testing companies.
Filter Design Helps Eliminate Fouling
Water Quality Products
December 1999
Bill Hall, Sr.
Filtration is an important part of most water treatment systems. Filters range from simple cartridge systems to large commercial/industrial multi-tank systems, not to mention the large municipal systems that filter drinking water.
Retrofitting Valve Actuators
Water & Wastes Digest
March 1999
This article contains just some of the information available in a new, 24-page booklet from Rotork Controls, Inc.
Treating Odors and Impurities
Water Engineering & Management
March 1999
Ben Vaupel
Any approach used to eliminate odors and impurities must emphasize a total system solution, so care must be given to the type of process used to remove contaminants.
Spin Away Odor and Decay in Sewage Drop Structures
Water Engineering & Management
February 1999
Fred J. Banister, P.E.; William P. Moeller, Jr., P.E.; Eugene M. Natarius, Ph.D; and Karla M. Sampson
The corrosion and odor problems of hydrogen sulfide emissions can be lessened by using this vortex drop structure design.
The Onsite Revolution: New Technology, Better Solutions
Water Engineering & Management
October 1998
Stephen P. Dix, P.E., and Valerie I. Nelson, Ph.D.
New techniques in single-family, onsite and cluster technology are stirring up interest in the wastewater treatment industry.
Dealing with EPA Flow Monitoring Compliance
Water Engineering & Management
May 1998
Amy Fardo Patsey, E.I.T.
Flow monitoring devices can help prevent raw sewage discharges and bring municipalities into compliance with the Clean Water Act.
The Impact of Windows, Handheld Technology on Data Logging
Water & Wastes Digest
November 1997
Sian Currie
The huge impact of Microsoft Windows is not confined to applications running on the desktop PC. Today, Windows is also having a major impact on the world of instrumentation, transforming many devices from simple and inflexible monitoring tools into much more versatile reconfigurable products.
Saving Money Through the Use of Optimization Analysis
Water Engineering & Management
August 1997
Jeffery Frey, P.E. and John Gransbury, CPEng
A district in Colorado used a genetic algorithm optimization process to meet projected demands for the year 2015 while saving money.
Verifying Open Channel Flowmeter Performance
Water & Wastes Digest
May 1997
Larry Marsh
Literally billions of dollars in infrastructure decisions are based on the results from I & I studies using velocity area flowmeters. When thoroughly tested, most commercial flowmeters are shown to be inadequate for most wastewater flow measurement needs.
The Seven Basic Types of Temperature Sensors
Water & Wastes Digest
April 1997
A sensor device normally operates along with another instrument that either measures or monitors a process, records it, or provides control of the temperature.
Baton Rouge Sliplines Sewer Lines
Water Engineering & Management
March 1997
Seventy-year-old sewer lines were badly cracked and corroded, and segmented PVC pipe prevented a collapse.
SCADA Optimizes Plant Performance
Water Engineering & Management
February 1997
SCADA gives plant operators the tools they need to develop new process strategies and implement new controls, lowering operating costs while improving effluent quality. Overall, SCADA makes it easier to optimize the plant's performance.
Obtaining Copper-Free Water
Water Engineering & Management
February 1997
Purvee Gandhi
Experimentation proves that copper can be extracted from water using a product obtained from the shells of crabs and shrimp.
Superoxygenation Process Treats Highly Concentrated Wastewaters
Water Engineering & Management
February 1997
Richard Maas, Ph.D., Theo Pritchett, M.S.CH.E. and Robert Winfield
This process may have the ability to superoxygenate highly BOD-concentrated waste streams quickly and efficiently enough to facilitate their cost-effective treatment.
Don't Let Instrumentation Break Your Budget
Water & Wastes Digest
January 1997
Marc Cartier
You can avoid budget overruns, schedule delays and painfully lingering problems with good instrument system architecture and vendor support.
Optimizing Metering Pump Applications Accessories
Water & Wastes Digest
October 1996
Dave Walker
During these times of economic constraints and increasingly stringent environmental and occupational health and safety regulations, it becomes imperative that applications requiring the dispensing and metering of expensive and hazardous chemicals be accomplished with the utmost accuracy, care and control.
Treating Water in the Metal Finishing Industry
Water & Wastes Digest
September 1996
Forty years ago when the metal finishing industry burst forth into big business, profits were high and competition was not too fierce. Today, things are different.
Accurate Flow Critical for Successful I & I Studies
Water & Wastes Digest
September 1996
In the fight to relieve pressure on wastewater treatment plants from having to treat excessive amounts of clean water pouring into sewer systems from rainfall events, municipalities and their consultants have been building hydraulic models to determine the most cost-effective method for rehabilitating deteriorating systems.
SCADA System Uses Packet Radios to Lower Telemetry Costs
Water Engineering & Management
August 1996
David P. Clement
Having a long history of remote monitoring, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati had a good idea of what they were looking for when integrating a SCADA system.
Town Stops Over Half of Their Total I & I
Water Engineering & Management
August 1996
George Rosendaul, Richard Engle and Bob Waite
Two items costing less than $250 were installed by city personnel resulting in a substantial reduction in inflow and infiltration.
Key Design Considerations, Recent Ruling
Water & Wastes Digest
May 1996
Denise Shaffer
Municipalities face an increasing need for repair and rehabilitation of existing wastewater and stormwater systems. This need has arisen as a result of neglect, deterioration, or inadequate hydraulics resulting from development.
Choosing the Right Transducer for the Application
Water & Wastes Digest
April 1996
Pressure transducers have numerous applications in water and wastewater treatment. This article describes some of the more common transducer technologies and discusses some of the key factors to consider when specifying transducers for water/wastewater applications.
Past, Present and Future of the RBC Industry
Water Engineering & Management
April 1996
Lew/Andowski
The Rotating Biological Contractors process seems to have solved previous problems and is now viable for wastwater treatment.
Chemical Cleaning Process for Water Systems
Water Engineering & Management
March 1996
Martin J. Plishka, Ph.D. and Myron Shenkiryk
A new process, tested and certified by NSF International under Standard 60, for cleaning water distribution systems is available
Smart Control System Design|
Water Engineering & Management
October 1995
Keith R. Lenart
The final article in a series on instrumentation and computers discusses control system design.
Keep Your SCADA System Working
Water Engineering & Management
September 1995
William Biehl
Fourth article in a series looks at maintaining computerized control systems for water and wastewater facilities
What is a Fieldbus and Why Should I Care?
Water Engineering & Management
July 1995
Herb D. Fiddick
The second article in a series on instrumentation addresses the fieldbus concept and its impact on utilities.
Matching Coupling Style to Application Correctly
Water Engineering & Management
June 1995
Mark McCullough
Simply replacing a worn coupling with a new one may not be the wisest decision. This how-to article discusses methods for choosing the best type of coupling based on the application
Multi-stage Control System Supports German Region's Water Needs
Water Engineering & Management
March 1995
Dr. Joachim Schillgalies and Gerhard Kreiling
A water utility serving 500,000 people in 31 jurisdictions installed a complex monitoring and control system for its supply, treatment and distribution facilities.
Monitoring Processes Using Wireless Data Acquisition
Water Engineering & Management
October 1994
Steve Cheek and Richard Wilkes
Treatment plant designs are including wirelss data loggers and other communication systems to aid in monitoring key process and managment functions.
Where On-Line Sensors are Headed
Water Engineering & Management
August 1994
Stephen A. Wortendyke
Sensor technology has advanced considerably in the last decade, and accurate, reliable on-line sensors will keep water/wastewater treatment processes under increasingly better control.
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