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The Scoop on Oil Skimmers

May 1, 2004By Tom Hobson

Five steps to help you choose and use the right oil/water separation technology

Oil skimmers are simple, dependable and effective tools for removing oil, grease and other hydrocarbons from water. They usually pay for themselves within a few months. In order to ensure the oil skimmer you choose is right for your operation, there are certain steps you can follow.

Vulnerability Assessments: A Key to Water Security

May 1, 2004By Mike Flory, REM

Guidelines for keeping community water systems safe and secure

There is a bumper sticker that I see from time to time that reads "Water is Life." The sticker, I believe, originated from the Texas Water Commission, a former regulatory agency headquartered in Austin, Texas. There is quite an accurate statement on the sticker, as has become more apparent in today's world.

A Corrosive Containment Revolution

March 1, 2004By J. Albert Rolston, PE, FAIChE

Fiberglass composites have been offering corrosion resistance in water and wastewater treatment for more than 40 years

Fiberglass composites have become the material of choice in many water or wastewater treatment operations. For mild to severe corrosion service, they can often be the materials of choice for economy and durability.

Exhausting Odors

March 1, 2004By Charlie Gans, PE, BSME, MBA, MSIS

Exhaust dilution can be an effective option for eliminating odors from roof exhaust systems at wastewater treatment facilities and keeping the surrounding communities free from wastewater odors

Odoriferous exhaust gases generated by wastewater treatment facilities can create major problems. No one likes foul odors, especially people who are not responsible for them yet must live with them daily. In fact, many communities are becoming less tolerant of odor-generating facilities and respond with new laws and/or fines against them.

Model Approach to Pressure Mains

March 1, 2004By Douglas Maitland

By analyzing the characteristics of a wastewater collection system through the use of modeling software, consultants were able to identify the problems and then develop a comprehensive solution

The use of conventional gravity flow sewers for the collection and transport of wastewater from residences and commercial establishments continues to be popular, especially in areas where the density of development is low.

Restoring Harmony

March 1, 2004By John Cherney

Water treatment plants and pumping stations supported by variable-frequency drives (VFDs) may be unwittingly threatened with power system problems including interruptions, interference, downtime and even disruption of instrumentation and other sensitive equipment due to an elusive culprit called harmonic distortion, an undetected condition that has been said to cost between $16 to $40 billion in annual losses due to downtime, equipment failures and malfunctioning systems.

Solving a Headworks Headache

January 1, 2004By Eugene L. Smith

Growing Poteau, Okla., community benefits financially from switch to grit-resistant slurry pump at municipal wastewater plant headworks

Cost-effective engineering has enabled the City of Poteau, Okla., to achieve major savings while undertaking recent upgrades to municipal wastewater treatment facilities. The approach could provide a model for other communities that must stretch their resources in this troubled economy.

Taking Storm Runoff Out Of Sewers

January 1, 2004By William W. Bohnhoff, ASLA

Reconsidering the quality of runoff generated by current engineering practices with the help of stormwater micro-management

Wastewater collection and treatment has developed over at least the past two thousand years, but if you step back and look, it does not seem to have evolved much. Animals do not seem to pay much attention to where they discharge their waste, even if confined to rather small spaces. When in the "wild," animals let the natural environment take care of this issue.

Turning the Tide Toward Turnkey Solutions

January 1, 2004By Fred R. Underwood

Turnkey automation comes to the water works industry with pre-packaged, fully automated filtering systems that use low-power network architecture and menu-driven central control

Imagine that you are in the final stages of constructing a 10-filter water-treatment plant. Startup for the filter control system alone requires the contractor to coordinate with representatives from the valve supplier, actuator supplier, instrument supplier, filter console supplier, the electrician and the integrator to put together a system that is supposed to work as one complete unit.

A Hole in One

November 1, 2003By Daniel Ramer

When the Oneida Indian Nation was expanding its operations from a small bingo/casino facility to a full resort complex, it began professionally designing new nine-hole and 18-hole golf courses. The two courses were initially designed to include both groundwater and public water systems to support their irrigation needs.

Keeping an Electrochemical Eye on Your Chlorine

November 1, 2003By Joseph Covey

Amperometry, an electrochemical method for water utilities to continuously measure free chlorine in drinking water, helps to ensure the proper amount of chlorine is being used in the disinfection process

Water utilities have been using free chlorine to disinfect drinking water for more than 100 years and have been measuring chlorine residuals for almost as long. Monitoring the product water ensures adequate chlorine is present for disinfection. It also helps the utility prevent taste and odor problems arising from overchlorination.

My How You've Grown: The Expanding Reach of the Clean Water Act

November 1, 2003By Clay Burns, Jim Christman

This federal statute has morphed into a multifaceted regulatory tool that goes far beyond what its drafters intended

It is well known that the federal Clean Water Act once focused on chemical pollutants from industrial "point source" discharges. However, the federal statute has evolved into something much broader. How the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) implementation of the statute has changed was summarized in a chart by David G. Davis of EPA in 1998.

A Clean River Runs Through It

September 1, 2003By Matthew Burdick, PE, Michael Spring

An Alaskan water treatment plant switched to a filter press to dewater its mineral byproducts and avoid discharging into the Chena River

All drinking water treatment plants (WTPs) must dispose of their potable water residuals. One privately owned water utility in Fairbanks, Alaska, uses a filter press to dewater its water treatment mineral byproducts. By doing so, the utility achieves zero discharge to the nearby Chena River, which serves as a recreational area and spawning ground for several fish species threatened with possible extinction.

Heavy Metal Ultrafiltration

September 1, 2003By Francis J. Brady, Imran M. Jaferey

Ultrafiltration membrane technology can be an efficient and economical choice for removing heavy metals from industrial wastewater

Metals are commonly used in manufacturing plants and technical facilities. Production processes for the metal finishing, transportation (automotive, aviation, railroad, subway), electronics (including computers and semiconductor devices), telecommunications and mechanical parts fabrication industries consume vast quantities of heavy metals cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), etc.) and metal-containing chemicals every day.

Leaving the Paper Chase Behind

September 1, 2003By Michael Lehtola

With the help of a new laboratory information management system, the Portland, Ore., Bureau of Water Works has managed to make its paper-based data system a thing of the past and streamline with throughput electronically

Implementation of a new Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) has helped the Portland, Ore., Bureau of Water Works meet regulatory requirements while increasing laboratory throughput. Water quality laboratories across the country face the need to perform a higher volume of testing and improve data security in order to ensure the safety of the nation's water supply.