Assessment Activity:
Emergency Response Planning and Security

Our firm has completed, or is in the process of conducting, 17 vulnerability assessments for various-sized water utilities in five states. As the vulnerability assessment (VA) process winds down, utilities are faced with two important considerations . . .

Sludge Dewatering Achievement:

Back River WWTP

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Maryland (ACEC/MD) presented Gannett Fleming with a 2004 Achievement Award for its work on the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant sludge dewatering facilities in Baltimore, MD. . .

Solids Handling Success:

Grass Island WWTP

Gannett Fleming Engineers, P.C. (an affiliate company of Gannett Fleming, Inc.) also received a Platinum Award in the 2004 Engineering Excellence Awards competition from the ACEC of New York for its planning, design and construction management of solids handling upgrades on the Grass Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Greenwich, CT. . .

Act 57: Tapping Fees

Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell recently signed new water and sewer tapping legislation which will impact how these fees are calculated. The new legislation amends Act 203 of 1990. All new tapping fees developed after December 30, 2003 must be calculated in accordance with Act 57. Municipalities and municipal authorities with existing tapping fees must recalculate their sewer and water tapping fees in accordance with Act 57 by June 30, 2005.

Did You Know?

Act 57 also allows municipalities and authorities to hold property owners accountable for water and sewer line code violations and provides for the assessment of reservation of capacity fees.

Given the changes to the calculations, municipalities are encouraged to review the impact of Act 57 on their fees as soon as possible.

For more information on Act 57 and its predecessor, Act 203 (1990), visit the PMAA web site and navigate to "Legislation."

Brownfields Funding

A $48 million state brownfields revolving loan fund has recently been established by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST). The fund offers 20-year loans at low-interest financing for industrial corporation or community development groups.

Visit the the PENNVEST web site for more information regarding loan program goals, eligibility requirements, benefits and procedures. Review our "papers/presentations" section for more on brownfields.

Water System Vulnerabilities:
Assessing The Threat

Water utility Emergency Response Plan updates are required by law and should include new scenarios based on the vulnerability assessment report’s Design Basis Threat (DBT).

The USEPA recommends that the minimum DBT derives from a team of up to 4 individuals with some knowledge of water systems and access to explosives, chemical agents, various vehicles and moderate levels of funding.

Read our related security article for more information.

Arizona Wastewater:
Innovative Sludge Reduction Technology

Definition:

A facultative lagoon is a wastewater treatment pond where the upper level of the pond is aerobic (has oxygen) while the lower level is anaerobic (no oxygen).

The City of Bisbee, AZ, discharges its wastewater into facultative lagoons. Consequently, the City was faced with the problem of how to remove the sludge in a cost- effective manner.

Bisbee opted to reduce the biodegradable portion of the sludge in an effort to reduce its total volume. The solution, an enzyme-based process guaranteed by the manufacturer, decreased total sludge volume by 46%.

Senior Water/Wastewater Engineer Alan O'Brien, PE, presented a paper on this innovative technology at a recent Arizona Water and Pollution Control Conference. Project results suggest that in-situ, enhanced biological sludge reduction greatly contributes to total volume reduction in certain facultative lagoons.

Flush Cleaning Program:
Raw Water Transmission Mains

Project Fact:

The point of discharge for the flushing operation was located adjacent to an Exceptional Value designated stream. This required significant and innovative design measures to minimize negative impacts on the stream, the surrounding environment and the existing water treatment plant operations.

Parallel, 38-inch raw water transmission mains supplying the City of Bethlehem, PA, water system were recently cleaned via a flushing program to remove sediment and reduce raw water turbidity at the City’s direct filtration plant.

Flush water was collected in a 250,000- gallon modular tank where a natural settling process was used to clarify the water. The settled water was then used to irrigate nearby landscaped areas and tree nurseries.

*Slide show is best viewed in Internet Explorer.

Mike Brown, PE, will discuss this unique cleaning project at the upcoming
PA-AWWA Annual Conference.

Presidential, Community Speeches:
Bush to Brownfields, PSATS Covers Gamut

President Bush addressed Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) Conference attendees in Hershey, PA on April 19, 2004. The focus of his speech was to drum-up support for the anti-terrorism law known as the U.S.A. Patriot Act (read his transcript on the PSATS web site).

His arrival enhanced township educational sessions, which featured PSATS Engineer, Gannett Fleming, in a joint PADEP presentation on brownfields and community revitalization. Click here for an abstract.

» Anti-Terrorist Operations Group

» Arizona Water & Pollution Control Association

» Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment Funding (USEPA)

» Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority

» Wastewater Technology:
Facultative Lagoons (USEPA)

Assessment Activity: Emergency Response Planning and Security

Sludge Dewatering Achievement:

Back River WWTP

Solids Handling Success:

Grass Island WWTP

Assessment Activity:
Emergency Response Planning and Security