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 Refer to our
Corporate Web Site for a list of upcoming events.
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Client/Contract:
Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA),
VA / Engineering Services in Support of Community Water Supply
Capital Program Management
Background:
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Understanding:
Water system demands are increasing, and water supply
safe yield is decreasing at such a pace that a deficit
will eventually exist.
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RWSA has completed detailed investigations over the last several
decades to better understand the capabilities of their community
water supply system and available water source expansion
alternatives.
Planning:
Our firm completed a daily flow computer model of the
existing RWSA system in order to determine its safe yield.
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Action:
RWSA requested that we devise a plan to develop short-
and long-term water supply system upgrades. |
We also projected water demands and identified a projected
near-term shortage that would result in a nearly 10 MGD deficit
over a 50-year planning horizon.
Work Since October 2003:
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Extensive Water Supply Expansion
Investigations
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Ragged Mountain Dams
Evaluation, Feasibility Study & Inspection
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Raw Water Modeling
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Conceptual Alternatives
Design & Environmental Impact Analysis
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Extensive Minimum In-Stream
Flow Evaluations
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Observatory Water Treatment
Plant and Pumping Station
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North Fork Pumping
Station/Intake
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Joint Permit Application &
Support
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Public Involvement
Current Assignment:
Our firm will provide design and construction
services associated with expanding the Ragged Mountain
Reservoir.
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Benefit:
The dam will sustain the Charlottesville, VA, region’s
growth for the next 50 years.
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The conceptual facility includes a new 150-foot-tall RCC dam that will
provide over 2 billion gallons of useable storage.
Contact Virginia Project Principal,
Aaron Keno,
PE, for more information.
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Geotechnical Engineering and
New National Hydropower Leader
 As the leader of our firm's hydropower initiatives,
Senior Geotechnical Engineer, Andrew Blystra, PE, brings
more than 30 years of experience as an engineer, regulator
and manager to his new role. Possessing an extensive background with the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission and private companies overseeing dam and
hydroelectric programs, he has published over 20
professional papers on dams, erosion and sedimentation
control, water storage reservoirs and hydroelectric
projects. . .
. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Site Remediation and Water/Wastewater
Florida Initiatives
 Tom Clark, PE, recently relocated to our
Tampa, FL, office, where he serves as a senior project manager for our
Site Remediation and Water and Wastewater Practices, providing senior technical assistance
and expanding our client base in Tampa and central and western
Florida. . .
Tom's diverse project portfolio ranges from
brownfield assignments (read "The
Big Deal in Chicago"
under news); to an
historic Georgia waterworks facility.
International Ambassador
 Robert
Adamski, P.E., also recently spoke at the University of South Florida's
"Dr. Kiran C. Patel Center for Global Solutions" as part of a
presentation titled "The World’s Water Crisis and How You Can
Help Solve It." Bob, a former Water for
People (WFP) director, also recently visited Malawi, Africa, with his
wife, Janet, and other Water for People representatives to see
firsthand the progress of a WFP project funded by
the Rotary Clubs of the Pacific Northwest. . .
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 Technology
Corner:
Vermicomposting:
An Environmentally Sound Technology
background:
Vermicomposting is a natural process for
treating organic waste using earthworms. This composting
system was developed by Vermitech.
process:
The worms live in the upper sections of the vermi-composting
facility reactor and consume waste. When used in
wastewater treatment, waste being fed to the worms consists of
sludge cake from a belt filter press.
benefits:
Rich in humus, the vermicompost end product is stable.
It is also loaded with microbes beneficial as inoculants and for
restoring life to depleted soil.
green
designation:
Vermitech's system is listed by the United Nation's
Environment Program as an environmentally sound technology, with
the "potential for significantly improved environmental
performance relative to other technologies." Contact Process
Design Engineer,
Dale
Shope, PE, for more information. Dale is currently
managing a Pennsylvania vermicomposting project partially funded
by "Growing Greener" (see links). |
Mission Statement:
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"To provide timely
industry news and information while sharing related Gannett
Fleming activities." |
Notes:
*
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Big Savage Mountain Tunnel
ACE Award
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This tunnel rehabilitation project
received the Association of Conservation Engineers (ACE) 2007 "Award
of Merit." |
Constructed almost a century ago, the Big Savage Mountain Tunnel was part of the
Western Maryland Railroad Line. Abandoned in 1975 and
determined unsafe over the next quarter century, the tunnel needed extensive
repairs to stabilize its failing crowns and walls.
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-Completed North Portal Somerset
County, PA |
Our firm's award-winning rehabilitation strategy applied several innovative
stabilization techniques to the tunnel's existing liner
system. It also
blends the tunnel into the environment - enhancing
the area's natural resources while meeting two primary ACE award criterion.
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-Boltec Tunnel Bolting Machine
Installs Anchors |
In order to stabilize the concrete tunnel liner, alternate design drawings
included more than 6,000 unique rock bolts, in conjunction with fiber-reinforced
shotcrete. New portals were also designed to maintain the tunnel's
historic appearance.
Vital Recreation Link
The rehabilitated tunnel allows Pennsylvania's Great Allegheny Passage
trail to connect to the Cumberland, MD; and Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Towpath.
This creates one of the top multiple-use trail systems in the nation.
Contact Geotechnical Section Manager,
Paul Lewis,
PE, for more information.
Sustainable Redevelopment:
"The Big Deal" in Chicago
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"Railroads pass through many cities and can own properties that are
key to a city's economic redevelopment plans. Cities and railroads
need to improve their communications if they are to work
cooperatively together." -NBA |
Participating in a "Railroads and Municipalities" roundtable discussion,
Gary Rozmus, PE, (Vice President, Locust
Valley, NY) led our site remediation contingency at the
recent National Brownfield Association (NBA) Conference in
Chicago, IL.
Southeast Project Manager Tom Clark, PE
[bio];
and Midwest Project Manager,
Darrell Oman ["Property
Redevelopment, Risk Management," author] and
Vice President, Ed Burk,
CPG; were also in attendance.
Contact us at
brownfields@gfnet.com and request a copy of our latest brochure
>.
Mining Control/ Reclamation:
Title IV Priorities
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Title IV
Priority 1 and 2 include:
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clogged streams and stream lands
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dangerous highwalls, impoundments or slides
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embankments and piles
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gob piles
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hazardous equipment, explosive gases, facilities or water bodies
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industrial/ residential waste
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open mine portals
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subsidence
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surface burning
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underground mine fires
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vertical openings
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The primary intent of
Title IV is to provide
funds which will eliminate public health and safety hazards. States can
also set aside funds to eliminate or treat acid mine drainage sources.
The third Title IV priority calls for the
reclamation of the natural environment. There is another distinct category
to "protect, repair, replace, construct or enhance" drinking water supply
facilities.
-Passive Treatment, North Spring
Branch, WV |
Contact
Vice President and Clearfield, PA, Office Manager,
Jeff Ream, PE, for more
information (also read our April edition for more on Jeff's
stormwater
efforts). Vice President, Rich Pugh, further promoted our firm's
AML/AMD expertise at
a recent National Association of AML Programs Conference in Bloomington, IN.
NPDES Permitting Definition
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An NPDES permit is a
license for a facility to discharge a specified amount of pollutant into
specific receiving waters under certain conditions. |
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Program was established by the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act Amendments of 1972. All facilities that discharge
pollutants from any point source into U.S. waters must obtain an NPDES
permit under program guidelines.
Review papers/ presentations for more
information from Environmental Scientist,
Nicholaus Sahd, on
municipal wastewater treatment plant NPDES permitting.
Forest Park Water:
Membrane Conversion
Senior Design Engineer, Tim Glessner, PE, delivered
a presentation at the 2007 Pennsylvania Municipal Authorities Annual Conference on the
conversion of gravity sand filters to
membrane filtration at the Forest Park Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in Chalfont, PA. Tim outlined
the background of this membrane project, system components and construction
issues.
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^ The Forest Park Membrane Access
Service Platform was designed to accommodate unique size constraints. |
The recently dedicated Forest Park WTP now
has an increased capacity of 42 MGD. The membrane plant
provides better protection against Cryptosporidium consistent with LT2ESWTR disinfection criteria.
Contact
Tim
for more information.
Site Remediation:
Radon Gas and Vapor Intrusion
Maryland Environmental Scientist, Robert Scrafford, PE, recently delivered a
presentation covering the use of radon gas in vapor intrusion studies. Rob provided a
general overview of soil vapor intrusion and examined radon as a conservative
tracer gas. Sampling protocols and calculations for predicting the
contribution of soil vapor intrusion to indoor air using radon results were also
discussed.
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^ Hydrocarbon plume in
Maryland residential area. |
A project case study was further
presented as an example application.
Contact
Rob
for more information.
Water Quality
Initiatives
The focus of the recent Pennsylvania Section of the
American Water Resources Association (PA-AWRA) Annual Conference was "Water Quality Management and
Regulation in Pennsylvania." Assistant Project
Manager, Nicholaus Sahd, was among several speakers providing information on
the role of water quality in regulatory actions and management techniques for
addressing contamination.
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Municipal WWTPs receive primarily domestic sewage from residential,
commercial and industrial users; discharge treated effluent to receiving
waters; and are regulated under the NPDES program. |
Nicholaus delivered a presentation entitled "NPDES
Permitting of Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs)." He
explained that effluent discharge permit
limitations for WWTPs are established as either technology-based limits or water
quality-based effluent limits in accordance with applicable water standards.
Additional permitting conditions include monitoring, analysis, and reporting
responsibilities in addition to special conditions such as Whole Effluent
Toxicity (WET) Testing. Contact
Nicholaus for more presentation information; or PA-AWRA
Secretary/Treasurer,
Dale
Glatfelter, PE, for more conference news.
» Growing
Greener (PADEP)
» Mine
Drainage Resources (USGS)
» National
Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs
» National
Brownfield Association
» Pennsylvania
State Section - American Water Resources Association
 |
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