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FEATURES

ES&E invites articles (approx. 2,000 words) onwater, wastewater, hazardous waste treatment andother environmental protection topics. If you are in-terested in submitting an article for considerationin our print and digital editions, please contactSteve Davey at [email protected]. Please notethat Environmental Science & Engineering Publi-cations Inc. reserves the right to edit all text andgraphic submissions without notice.

ISSN-0835-605XMarch • 2010Vol. 23 No. 2Vol. 23 No. 2Issued March 2010

7 Some hard lessons about metal fatigue, old tires and friction – Editorial comment by Steve Davey

WEAO, OWWA/OMWA and BCWWA conference previews13 Geosynthetic product used for shoreline erosion control at BC park14 Montreal upgrades remote monitoring of its wastewater pumping stations16 Inclined-plate lamellas increase water treatment efficiency18 Reducing phosphorus and SS levels down to tertiary discharge standards25 Using coffer dams to control flooding on the Red River26 Monitoring chloramination at Toronto’s F.J. Horgan WTP28 Natural treatment systems for wastewater and stormwater polishing30 Waste site cleaned with one-pass trenching technology32 New bioremediation product treats WWTP grease on site34 Modern living necessitates double-filtering residential sewage38 BC WWTP upgrade is both environmentally and financially sustainable42 Recycling water for cooling molten glass45 COVER STORY - The case for solar power at water and wastewater treatment plants47 The benefits of using liquid polymer50 Sound absorbing panels reduce WWTP noise levels52 Toronto implements new environmental reporting and disclosure by-law54 Complex mechanical bar screen completed in Simcoe, Ontario60 A portable solution for degritting aeration basins63 New level sensors provide benefits for sewage lift stations66 First Nations community gets new water treatment plant70 Achieving big returns by automating rural water systems72 Engineered wetlands for municipal sewage and sludge treatment

Page 60Page 60

Page 68Page 68

Contents

DEPARTMENTS

Product Showcase . . . . . . 74-77

Environmental News . . . 88-96

Professional Cards . . . . . . 89-95

Ad Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Workshop Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79CANECT Floor Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Exhibitors Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

PAGES 78-86PAGES 78-86CANECT2010 Showguide

10-12

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:42 PM

March 2010 | 5www.esemag.com

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:42 PM

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across, so my machine was driveable,albeit at a numbingly slow pace.

After gingerly making our wayback to the cottage, we loaded oursnowmobiles onto the trailer andstarted for home. With two new tireson the trailer, we hoped for an un-eventful drive. But, after travellingfor a few minutes, the trailer startedshuddering. I pulled over and wewent out to investigate. Unbelievablythe new tire we had installed on theold rim was flat and badly torn. Evenworse, the rim had become badlybent and had crimped around theaxle hub, which made removal ex-tremely hard to do.

Our second flat tire had beencaused by the old cracked valve stemsplitting apart, possibly due to han-dling and flexing during tire infla-tion, and/or the increase in airpressure when the tire heated up dur-ing driving. This valve should havebeen replaced when the new tire wasinstalled, but, for some reason, itwasn’t. Failure of a two dollar parthad left us stranded in the cold andsnow.

Later investigation of my snow-mobile track failure revealed that Ihad inadvertently installed the wrongtype of plastic sliders. They were tootall, which meant the idler wheels,

The history of mankind isfilled with countless exam-ples of engineering andconstruction marvels, as

well as many spectacular failures.Among structural engineers, perhapsthe best known failure was the col-lapse of the original Tacoma Nar-rows Bridge, due to aero elasticflutter. Dramatically captured onfilm, the bridge's uncontrolled sway-ing and subsequent collapse has hada lasting effect on long-span bridgedesign.

In a recent editorial comment, Ireported on the January 2009 wetwell malfunctions at Halifax’s new$54 million wastewater treatmentplant. The resulting flooding causedan extended plant shutdown, as theelectrical room had to be rebuilt andfive new pumps installed. Duringthis shutdown, the city’s untreatedwastewater had to be discharged di-rectly into the harbour.

In both these cases, external factorscaused inherent design flaws to over-whelm operational capability. Duringa snowmobiling trip at a friend’s cot-tage, I experienced first hand theawful consequences of equipment fail-ure due to metal fatigue, old rubberand excessive friction.

Shortly after getting underwayone Friday evening, my friend calledout “Pull over quickly; smoke iscoming from one of the trailer tires!”I pulled to the side of the road andwe found that one of the trailer’ssteel leaf springs had snapped. Thismeant that the deck of the trailer,loaded with two snowmobiles, waspressing down on the tire. Survival-ists take note - four hundred kilo-grams of trailer and snowmobile,rubbing against a tire rotating at 60kph, makes for a great fire starter.

This could have been the end ofour weekend plans, but my friend’strailer was at my house. So, bravingthe cold and wind, we unloaded oursnowmobiles off the stricken trailer,left them at the side of the road, andslowly returned the trailer to myhouse.

After re-loading our snowmobiles

onto the other trailer, we proceededon our way to Bancroft, where mis-fortune struck again. One of thetrailer’s age-cracked tires went flat,and we were still 50 km from the cot-tage. To add insult to injury, thetrailer’s spare tire was old, crackedand wouldn’t hold air. With no otheroption, we left the trailer and snow-mobile in a restaurant parking lot,and continued on to the cottage.

We drove into town the next dayto purchase a new tire and rim, andhave a new tire installed on the sparerim. We then drove back to the cot-tage to prepare for snowmobiling.

Shortly after starting out, myfriend had to stop, as his engine hadbecome very loud. Close examina-tion revealed that three of the fourengine exhaust manifold bolts hadvibrated loose and had fallen off.Nothing was broken or damaged, soafter an hour of re-assembly, every-thing was put right and we contin-ued.

The rest of the day was outstand-ing, and we all thought that thestreak of bad luck had ended. Howwrong we were!

During the next day’s ride, wewere about 80 kilometres from thecottage, when a large piece of mysnowmobile track tore off. Luckily,the track had not torn all the way

Some hard lessons about metal fatigue, old tires and friction

Comment by Steve Davey

continued overleaf...

Steve Davey (right) with friends enjoying a break from riding.

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:42 PM


Editor and Publisher STEVE DAVEYE-mail: [email protected]

Consulting Editor TOM DAVEY

Sales Director PENNY DAVEYE-mail: [email protected]

Sales Representative DENISE SIMPSONE-mail: [email protected]

Accounting SANDRA DAVEYE-mail: [email protected]

Circulation Manager DARLANN PASSFIELDE-mail: [email protected]

Production Manager CHRIS MAC DONALDE-mail: [email protected]

Technical Advisory Board

Jim BishopStantec Consulting Ltd., Ontario

Bill Borlase, P.Eng.City of Winnipeg, Manitoba

George V. Crawford, P.Eng., M.A.Sc.CH2M HILL, Ontario

Bill DeAngelis, P.Eng.Associated Engineering, Ontario

Marie MeunierJohn Meunier Inc., Québec

Peter J. PaineEnvironment Canada

Environmental Science & Engineering is a bi-monthlybusiness publication of Environmental Science & Engi-neering Publications Inc. An all Canadian publication,ES&E provides authoritative editorial coverage ofCanada's municipal and industrial environmental controlsystems and drinking water treatment and distribution.

Readers include consulting engineers, industrial plantmanagers and engineers, key municipal, provincial andfederal environmental officials, water and wastewaterplant operators and contractors.

Information contained in ES&E has been compiled fromsources believed to be correct. ES&E cannot be respon-sible for the accuracy of articles or other editorial matter.Articles in this magazine are intended to provide infor-mation rather than give legal or other professional advice.Articles being submitted for review should be e-mailedto [email protected].

Canadian Publications Mail Sales Second Class MailProduct Agreement No. 40065446 Registration No. 7750

Undeliverable copies, advertising space orders, copy, artwork, proofs, etc., should be sent to: Environmental Science & Engineering, 220 IndustrialPkwy. S., Unit 30, Aurora, Ontario, Canada, L4G 3V6,Tel: (905)727-4666, Fax: (905) 841-7271, Web site: www.esemag.com

Printed in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without written permission ofthe publisher. Yearly subscription rates: Canada $75.00 (plus $3.75 GST).

my mistake and it cost me $1,100.00to have a new track installed. Replac-ing the broken trailer spring cost an-other $300.00.

So, to the designers of the TacomaNarrows Bridge and the HalifaxWastewater Plant, you have my deep-est understanding. Murphy’s Law isone that too often cannot be avoided,despite well-intentioned engineering,construction and operation.

Steve Davey is editor and publisherof Environmental Science &

Engineering Magazine. E-mail:[email protected]

which normally keep the sliders awayfrom the track, during road riding,were rendered ineffective. This al-lowed too much weight to rest on thesliders, resulting in tremendous fric-tion when driving. During road driv-ing that weekend, when there was nosnow spray to cool things down, thetrack got extremely hot. When thishappened, its rubber weakened se-verely, allowing several steel tractionstuds to pull out of the track. This leftlarge holes, which kept tearing andtearing, at high speed, until the trackultimately failed.

Installing the wrong sliders was

Hi Steve,

I just received the January 2010 edi-tion of Environmental Science and Engi-neering Magazine and particularly likedthe cover story.

On our last cruise, I spent 90 minuteswith the environmental officer on Hol-land America’s M.S. Zuiderdam. I havealways wondered how they treated theirwaste, but I was not allowed below deckfor a facility tour. He did, however, giveme a DVD on Holland America Line’senvironmental stewardship. The videodiscussed how waste is managed and reg-ulated at sea. The international MaritimeOrganization, an agency of the UnitedNations, developed MARPOL, and hasestablished a strict set of regulations forship-generated pollution from sewage tosolid waste.

Cruise ships are bound by a number oflevels of regulations related to pollutionmanagement. They must adhere to theregulations of the Flag State (the nationof the Ship’s registry), the Port State(country/state which they are visiting)and local laws, including Port Authorities.In the US they must also follow the regu-lations of the Coast Guard, includingequipment inspections and record audits.Cruise ships are also bound by a varietyof international treaties designed to pro-tect unique habitats such as the Antarctic.

Holland America’s ships are ISO14001 Certified with EnvironmentalManagement System Standards.

The video also discussed the varietyof pollution management programs onboard their ships. Black water (sewage),including toilets and the drains and sinks

of the infirmary, and grey water which in-cludes showers, sinks, galleys andpantries, are treated together using vac-uum systems, micro pore filtration andUV disinfection. They also treat with oilseparators an average of 2,200 gallons perday of bilge water which is condensationand lubricant drippings from machinerythat collects in the bottom of the hold.

To protect sensitive environmentsfrom aggressive organisms which mayimpact new ecosystems, ballast water isonly changed in waters with a minimumdepth of 2,000 metres and at least 200nautical miles from any land.

Efforts to reduce air pollution includethe use of biodegradable oils and the useof shore-side power when in port. Also,the MS Zaandam has recently installedsea water scrubbers to treat exhaust gases.This system eliminates 98 % of sulphurand particle emissions.

Food waste is ground up and mixedwith water and processed in the wastemanagement room. It is then dewateredwith sieves and mixed with paper andcardboard for incineration or dumped atsea. Glass and plastic are crushed orshredded for disposal at shore-side facil-ities. Recycling programs are dependenton the recycling programs of the portsthey visit.

After reviewing Holland America’sEnvironmental Stewardship Program andall the complexities they deal with on anongoing basis, it is easy to understandwhy people say a cruise ship is like asmall city.

Rick Niesink, Region of Niagara

Comment by Steve Davey

Letters to the Editor

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Spring Convention Previews

Conference attendees can also seesome of the best wastewater personnelin Ontario display their expertise duringthe annual Operations Challenge Com-petition. Participants are required tocompete in five events demonstratingtheir skills and knowledge against com-petitors throughout the province. Thefive events are collection system, labo-ratory, process control, pump mainte-nance, and safety.

Delegates can test their knowledge ofthe wastewater industry as they partici-pate or follow along and cheer, as teamscompete for top prizes and braggingrights in the annual Totally Wasted GameShow (TWGS) that will take place fol-lowing the Operations Challenge Compe-tition. Fashioned after a popular TV gameshow, the TWGS quizzes contestants withquestions comparable to those found onthe Provincial Certification Exams.

Water for People will be hosting afund-raising reception on April 19, as

The 2010 Water EnvironmentAssociation of Ontario annualconference and tradeshow willbe held April 18-20 at the

London Convention Centre. This year’skeynote speaker will be Bob McDonald,who is the host of CBC Television’s sci-ence program “Quirks and Quarks”,and also a reporter for “The National”,the network’s nightly news program.

Technical sessions will cover: utilitymanagement, advanced treatment, collec-tions systems management, asset man-agement, non-conventional contaminants,biosolids management, new technologies,preliminary and primary treatment, mem-brane bioreactor treatment, stormwater,watersheds, and small community issues.

Expanded floor space at the LondonConvention Centre will allow the On-tario Pollution Control Equipment Asso-ciation’s tradeshow to be bigger than lastyear, featuring approximately 120 ex-hibitors.

well as holding a charity auction duringthe event. The conference also offers atour of the City of London’s OxfordPollution Control Plant.

For more information, visitwww.weao.org, or e-mail:[email protected]

London to host 2010 WEAO/OPCEA annual conference and tradeshow

Bob McDonald

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:44 PM


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Whistler to host 2010 BCWWA annual conferenceand tradeshow

one day symposium, focusing on key is-sues faced by small water systems. OnMay 5, four concurrent seminars willcover key issues faced by the water andwastewater industry including: SCADA,leveraging your SCADA data for assetmanagement, energy efficiency-oppor-tunities in aeration, source to tap(CS2TA), climate change.

The conference will include two tech-nical tours:

The British Columbia Water andWaste Association’s annualconference and tradeshow willbe held May 1-5, 2010, in

Whistler, BC, at the Telus ConferenceCentre.

Technical session topics will cover:large and small water systems, advancedoxidation, wastewater treatment, munici-pal utility operations, odour control, cli-mate change, infrastructure funding,energy recovery, decentralized wastewatersystems, watershed protection/manage-ment, flood management, water andwastewater residuals management, waterconservation and sustainability, green-house gases.

The event also offers operatorshands-on training sessions and a numberof competitions, which will include largeand small pump teardown, and opera-tions knowledge.

On May 3, the association’s SmallWater Systems Committee will hold a

• Whistler Wastewater Treatment Plant,including the Whistler Compost Facilityand Heat Recovery System.• Whistler Water Treatment Plant, in-cluding the new 21-Mile Creek Facilityand the Geo-Thermal and Solar HeatingFacility.

For more information, visitwww.bcwwa.org, or

e-mail: [email protected]

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:44 PM


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2010 OWWA/OMWA joint annual conference andtradeshow to be held in Windsor

The 2010 Ontario Water WorksAssociation/Ontario MunicipalWater Association joint annualconference and tradeshow will

be held at Caesar’s Convention Centre inWindsor, May 2-5, 2010.

This year’s plenary session is sched-uled to feature Herb Gray, Past CanadianChair of the International Joint Commis-sion, John Gerretsen, Ontario Minister ofthe Environment, and Dwight Duncan,Ontario Minister of Finance and Chair ofthe Management Board of Cabinet.

Technical session topics will include:treatment, distribution, water efficiency,groundwater, small systems, manage-ment, source water protection, crossconnection, university research, climatechange. Several tours have also beenarranged:• Colasanti Tropical Gardens• Mastronardi Estate Winery• Windsor Water Treatment Facility

• Lakeshore Water Treatment PlantOntario Ministry of the Environment

operator certification exams will be heldMay 3. On May 4, a full day workshopon distribution system hydraulics andpressure management will be held.

As well, all conference delegates canenter the “Water Cup Challenge” and testtheir water system knowledge. The eventalso features a 100 booth tradeshow,which is open May 3 and 4.

For more information on the conference, visit www.owwa.com, or


On May 5, the Ontario Water WorksEquipment Association is hosting theannual Water for People Charity GolfTournament at the Ambassador GolfClub. For more information on thetournament, contact Mike O’Brien,


March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:44 PM


Ecosystem Protection

BC Parks was seeking a per-manent environmental solu-tion to prevent ongoing waveerosion along the Newcastle

Island Provincial Marine Park shoreline,located across from Nanaimo, BritishColumbia.

The shoreline consists of flat-lyingsandstone bedrock, covered intermit-tently with gravel, cobble shingle, anddriftwood. Not only were parkland andtrees being negatively affected by ero-sion, but historical First Nations artifactson traditional Snuneymuxw territorywere threatened.

The island is accessible by boat only,so a solution that minimized the need forheavy equipment and material wasneeded.

There has been a noticeable shift inrecent years towards adapting ‘soft-en-gineered’ methods for shoreline protec-tion that are more compatible withpreserving habitat and more visually ap-pealing. The recent adoption of the“Green-Shores” guideline in BC is anexample of this trend.

Deltalok System, a Canadian innova-tion with worldwide patents, was the‘soft’ solution of choice for NewcastleIsland. It utilizes a reinforced earth con-cept which interlocks geotextile bags to

was blended with the soil mix on siteand used as filler for the GTX bags. Inaddition, some transplanting of on-sitevegetation occurred.

The Deltalok System provided instantprotection, filtration, and sedimentationcontrol, even prior to vegetation growth.

For more information, e-mail: [email protected]

Geosynthetic product used for shoreline erosioncontrol at BC park

achieve a 3D bio-engineered erosionprotection solution.

The system was anchored to thesandstone shoreline, using innovative‘wrap and lock’ methodology. Thismeant fast construction and no need forcostly and invasive excavation in prepa-ration of a footing channel for the base.The structure was backfilled and com-pacted, using Sechelt sand for drainageand vegetation purposes. A select seed

The shoreline consists of flat-lying sandstone bedrock, covered intermittentlywith gravel, cobble shingle, and driftwood.

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:44 PM


Instrumentation

Control system upgrade requiredstandardized PAC program

The existing regulating structure/gate-house flap control system used a thirdparty protocol and communicated to thecentral DCS over Modbus. It had to beupgraded to an Ethernet-based systemwith a single standardized program forthe 36 new gatehouse programmable au-tomation controllers (PACs). Each ofthese PACs controls a different I/O con-figuration, depending on whether it iselectric or hydraulic.

An additional 10 sites, pumping sta-tions and measuring points, were alsoupgraded with the same control system.

At the heart of the new gatehouseflap control system are 36 identicallyprogrammed Premium PACs on a WANnetwork. They communicate over Ether-net Modbus TCP/IP to one of five Quan-tum data consolidation controllers.Local I/O adjustments are downloadedfrom the Quantum PAC to a site-specificaddress. Unity programming softwarefacilitated mapping the I/O in the Quan-tum PACs, and allowed the creation of astandardized program for all the Pre-mium PACs. The Quantum controllerscommunicate to the DCS via ModbusPlus.

The Communauté urbaine deMontréal (the City of Mon-treal) treats 44% of all waste-water processed in Quebec

treatment plants. Its treatment plant hasone of the highest pumping capacities inNorth America.

The wastewater treatment systemnetwork consists of a central treatmentplant and 68 hookup structures, ofwhich 36 are equipped with remotely-controlled regulating structures. Hookupand regulating structures direct waste-water from trunk sewers through inter-ceptors to the wastewater treatmentplant. During rainy weather, sluicegates, mounted in the regulating struc-ture, control the inflow of wastewaterand rainwater in response to signalsfrom the control centre at the wastewatertreatment plant and from the local PLC.

The system also includes pumpingstations and measuring points locatedthroughout the system and supervised inreal time.

Processes are controlled by SICOS,a third-party integrated control and su-pervision system. The system is con-nected to every one of the plant’sprocesses, and pieces of equipment, viaa 3.6 km fibre optic network. Over12,000 I/O points are connected toSICOS.

Schneider Electric controllers use astandard, native protocol, Modbus Plus,to communicate with the SICOS system,thereby maximizing the amount of datathat can be transferred.

Moreover, the Premium and Quan-tum PACs were programmed with UnityPro software, which allowed the use ofUnity’s five IEC languages (IEC Lad-der, Function Block Diagram, Sequen-tial Function Chart, Structured Text, andInstruction List).

Schneider Electric performed severalon-site validation tests and provided so-lutions for adjusting the differently con-figured local I/O systems.

New system simplifies remote monitoring and troubleshootingThe new control system allows unin-

terrupted communication with the DCS,while accessing the remote controllerswith UnityPro for adjustments and trou-bleshooting. Also, the standard Internetbrowser allows remote monitoring withthe Rack Viewer function.

For more information, contact JacquesBérubé, P. Eng.. Senior Application

Engineer, Schneider Electric. E-mail:[email protected]

electric.com

Montreal upgrades remote monitoring of itswastewater pumping stations

The City of Montreal's wastewatertreatment plant.

Schematic of the collection and interception system.

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:45 PM

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Water Treatment

Acity in the north of Englandneeded to increase its drink-ing water supply and de-cided to achieve this by

upgrading an existing treatment plant. Amore traditional/conventional method ofsludge settlement was replaced bylamellas, leading to considerable in-creases in maintenance and operation ef-ficiencies.

Carlisle is a city of around 70,000 onthe north west coast of England, justsouth of the Scottish border. A shortfallin drinking water supply for the Carlislearea was identified in 1998. The projectinvolved a £25 million upgrading of theexisting water treatment plant atCumwhinton, both to increase capacityand to reduce the risk of crytosporidium.Construction started in 2004.

The flow for the plant is taken pre-dominantly by pumped extraction fromthe nearby Eden River, supplemented by

gravity flow from the Castle CarrockStorage Reservoir. The plant has a de-signed maximum flow of 27 MLD(megaliters per day), a minimum of 12MLD and an average flow of 20 MLD.

At the raw water inlet, flow is moni-tored for pH, colour, turbidity and con-ductivity. The first stage of treatment isdosing with an aluminium sulphate co-agulant and a polyelectrolyte flocculantaid to the inflow, plus sulphuric acid tocontrol its pH level.

An inlet chamber splits the flow intothree streams. (This is part of the general‘process redundancy’ at the plant, whichalso includes duplication of key items ofequipment, such as pumps and moni-tors.) The three-stream flow moves on toa flocculator stage and then into Johnsonlamella separators, mounted in concretetanks. These lamellas were manufac-tured by Nordic Water Products.

The main structure is a series of par-

allel plates, tilted backwards, at an angleof 55%, from the direction of flow. (This‘inclined’ configuration of the platesmeans that every square meter of tankarea can provide 10 square meters of set-tling area). The units have a patentedflow control system, which ensures thatthe flow is distributed upward and uni-formly across the plate assembly. Thisworks by creating a pressure drop in col-lection channels above the plates, whichensures that the full area of each plate iscovered by the flow.

As the water flows upward, the flocsand other solids in the water settle on theinclined plates and slide down into thebottom of the tank. Sludge which accu-mulates at the bottom of the tanks is re-moved by Zickert bottom scrapers.

From the lamellas, clarified watermoves onto rapid gravity, dual mediasand filters and then to a contact tankwhere chlorine gas is dosed as a disin-

Inclined-plate lamellas increase water treatmentefficiency By Steve Minett

March2010_ES&E:2010 4/9/10 12:03 PM


Water Treatment

fection stage. Sodium hydroxide isadded to raise the final water pH to 7.5.

Sludge removed from the raw waterlamellas (plus the washwater from therapid gravity filters) is directed to a sec-ond, sludge disposal treatment processat the plant. Water extracted from thisprocess is fed back to the raw water in-flow to the plant, while the thickenedsludge accumulates in two holdingtanks, awaiting road transport from theplant to be further de-watered.

One of the main stages in this second,sludge-washwater treatment process,consists of two additional Nordic Waterlamella separators, though, in this case,they are housed in roughly conical steelcontainers, with sludge hoppers at thebottom. Thus, there is no need for thebottom scrapers required in the rectan-gular concrete tanks of the raw waterlamellas.

Easier cleaning and restartingPrior to the upgrade, upward-flow,

flat-bottom, floc-blanket clarificationwas used for raw water settlement. Fol-lowing flocculation, the inflow entereda rectangular tank from a series of inlets

at the bottom. This upward flow led tothe formation of a floc blanket sus-pended below the surface of the water.The blanket moved gradually, over aseparating wall, into a sludge pit at thefar end of the tank. The sludge then hadto re-form before the system was effec-tive again, and this could take anythingfrom two days to two months.

With the lamellas, restarting is reli-ably achieved in, at most, a matter ofhours. In addition, the actual cleaningout process is a lot easier and lesslabour-intensive, especially in the wash-water lamellas.

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One of the main stages in the sludge-washwater treatment process, consists oftwo Nordic Water lamella separators.

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Wastewater Treatment

Large population increases inrural areas, stricter dischargeregulations, blue-green algaeblooms and high phosphorus

loads in watersheds are forcing waste-water treatment plants (WWTP) to con-sider upgrading their systems to includetertiary treatment of phosphorus.

Even when land is available for theupgrade of the system, it is often noteconomically feasible to do so. Fortu-nately, a combination of smaller foot-print technologies is now available, thatcan provide efficient tertiary treatmentof phosphorus and suspended solids.

This article will present two casestudies, where a high-rate sand-ballastedclarification process, combined withcloth filtration, yielded a modular, flex-ible, tertiary treatment plant in just afraction of the space required by conven-tional treatment technologies.

ACTIDisc® process trainThe ACTIDisc process train for terti-

ary treatment is composed of two succes-sive processes: the ACTIFLO® high-rateballasted flocculation, and the HYDRO-TECH Discfilter cloth filtration.

The ACTIFLO process is a patentedtechnology based on a high-rate settlingprocess that combines the advantages ofballasted flocculation and lamella clari-fication.

The HYDROTECH Discfilter is amechanical, self-cleaning filter, speciallydesigned for achieving high performancein systems where it is essential to preventcoagulated flocs from fragmenting. Thecloth filter works without pressure.

Effluent to be treated flows by grav-ity, or through pumping, into the filtersegment from the centre drum. Themedia mounted on both sides of the par-tially-submerged discs separates solidsfrom the effluent; the effluent flowsthrough the disc media (microscreencloth) into the collection tank. Oncesolids have accumulated on the inside ofthe media, the discs are cleaned by thecounter-current backwash system.

Pilot testing and resultsDuring the first half of 2009, per-

formance of the ACTIDisc process for

Novel processes for reducing phosphorus and SSlevels down to tertiary discharge standards By Martine Lanoue, Janin Michaud and Ross Garbett


Filtration rate Total suspended Number of data (m/h) solids after cloth points (mg/L) filtration (mg/L) 4.9 5.0 47.3 5.8 49.7 5.5 212.2 5.5 214.7 5.0 2

Table 1. Cloth filter – Effluent TSS performance (Henderson, CO).

Flow rate (m³/h) 11.35Rise rate on cloth filter (m/h) 7.3

Turbidity(NTU) Raw water 130Clarified water 2.79After filtration 1.87

Total phosphorus (mg/L)Raw water 6.44Clarified water 0.239 After filtration 0.097

Table 2. ACTIDisc® performance on turbidity and phosphorus removal (N=3) inHenderson, CO.

tertiary treatment was assessed in twopilot scale tests: in Henderson, Colorado,and in Innisfil, Ontario.

The purpose of the testing in Hender-son was to prove the suitability of thisprocess train to achieve a low level oftotal suspended solids (lower than 5mg/L), low turbidity (lower than 2 NTU)and low phosphorus concentration(lower than 0.1 mg/L) in non-clarifiedwater after a secondary reactor.

In the Innisfil study, the objectives werestricter and were applied on clarifiedwater. The objectives were to obtain a totalphosphorus concentration of less than 0.01mg/L, and a turbidity lower than 0.2 NTU.

Pilot scale test - Henderson, Colorado

The ACTIDisc treatment train wastested on effluent coming from the Hen-derson City WWTP. The wastewater feedwas located prior to the secondary clari-fier. Both ACTIDisc components were

tested and optimized separately. Duringthe optimization period for the high-rateballasted flocculation process, the re-moval efficiencies were studied at differ-ent flow rates. A rise rate of 61 m/h wasoptimal at the pilot scale level, and wasused for the rest of the tests with thecloth filter.

The cloth filter process was tested, fol-lowing the ballasted flocculation process.The filter panel material (polyester) waswoven to a pore size of 10 µm. The aver-age influent turbidity and TSS rangedfrom 130-150 NTU and 110-140 mg/Lrespectively. The objective was to achieveless then 10 mg/L of TSS coming out ofthe ballasted flocculation process andthen treating that flow with the cloth fil-ter. Test results are presented in Table 1.It can be seen that a three-fold increase infiltration rate did not significantly influ-ence the effluent TSS of the cloth filter.

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One of the objectives during testingwas to achieve less than 0.1 mg/L of totalphosphorus using the ACTIDisc process.To achieve this low level of TP, coagulantand polymer were dosed to the high-rateballasted flocculation process, inline, be-fore the first mixing tank. Coagulant andpolymer were also dosed to the cloth fil-ter. Data for turbidity, TP, and OP re-moval is presented in Table 2.

Treatment objectives for final efflu-ent turbidity were to be less than 2 NTU,less than 5 mg/L of TSS, and less than0.1 mg/L total phosphorus. Tests showedthat, at the optimal coagulant dose in the

ACTIFLO and in the discfilter, the finaleffluent rates were 1.68 NTU turbidity,3 mg/L TSS, and 0.075 mg/L TP.

Pilot scale test - Innisfil, OntarioFed by wastewater from the town of

Innisfil, the ACTIDisc process train wastested at different flow rates. The AC-TIDisc process in this pilot study wasused as a tertiary treatment (after sec-ondary clarifier). Due to physical spaceconstraints, both the high-rate ballastedflocculation process and the cloth filterwere analyzed separately for their per-formance.

The high-rate ballasted flocculation

process pilot unit was tested for flowrates between 15 m³/h and 90 m³/h. Co-agulant dosing was added to the rawwater, before the coagulation tank and apolymer was added in the injection tank.Table 3 presents the average results onsamples collected at the outlet of thehigh-rate ballasted flocculation clarifierwith the associated flow rate. Averageclarified effluent TP concentration was0.039 mg/L.

Throughout the pilot testing program,overall TP removal achieved by the high-rate ballasted flocculation clarifier alone

AS

Turbidity (NTU) Total phosphorus (mg/L)Flow rate N Rise rate Raw water Clarified water Raw water Clarified water (m3/h) (m/h) 15 1 20 n/a 0.89 0.26 0.03630 5 40 7.1 1.73 0.56 0.05245 3 60 12.5 1.00 0.72 0.03460 9 80 6.1 1.12 0.28 0.03175 4 100 8.1 0.94 0.29 0.04090 12 120 6.3 0.98 0.29 0.042

Table 3. Average results vs. flow rate in the ACTIFLO® pilot unit (Innisfil, Ontario).


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was 85%. Clarifier efficiency was notaffected significantly by variations inthe condition of the raw water.

Effluent from the ballasted floccula-tion process was partly sent to the clothfilter, where coagulant and polymerwere added. Table 4 presents the differ-ent flow rates applied on the cloth filterand the corresponding average results.

Total phosphorus removal was effi-cient from 15 m³/h to 30 m³/h. Duringthe test, most of the grab samples weremeasured below the 0.024 mg/L TP ob-jective. Average total phosphorus in theeffluent is presented in Table 5.

The ballasted flocculation processalone was capable of treating effluent toa turbidity of less than 1 NTU, and a TPremoval close to 85%, which correspondto an average effluent concentration of0.039 mg/L TP. The combination withthe cloth filter was able to produce ef-fluent with turbidities in the range of 1.5- 2.0 NTU. TP removed by the cloth fil-ter approached 40%, which correspondsto an average effluent concentration of0.0235 mg/L TP.

ConclusionsRecent research and development ef-

forts have made it possible to extend thephosphorus removal capacity of thehigh-rate ballasted clarification processby linking it with cloth disc filtration.The ACTIDisc process is aimed atachieving an effluent with a low level oftotal phosphorus and suspended solidsdischarge.

Both pilot tests have confirmed theefficiency of this combination of tech-nologies, to achieve discharge values aslow as 0.023 mg/L in total phosphorus,turbidities of 1.6 NTU, and 5 mg/L insuspended solids.

Martine Lanoue and Janin Michaudare with Veolia Water Solutions & Tech-

nologies Canada Inc./John MeunierInc. Ross Garbett is with Kruger Inc. E-mail: [email protected]

Filtered Filtration rate Turbidity Total Phosphorus water flow (m/h) (NTU) (mg/L) (m3/h) (average)

After Raw After filtration water filtration15 4.9 1.8 0.18 0.01520 6.8 1.6 0.23 0.02425 8.1 1.9 0.23 0.02330 9.7 1.95 0.23 0.017

Table 4. Effluent turbidity and total phosphorus vs. filtered water flow on clothfilter (best results) in Innisfil (Ontario).

Table 5. phosphorus in the effluent.

Total phosphorus (mg/L)Raw water After Actiflo® After Discfilter

(N=30) (N=45)

0.29 0.039 0.024

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field’s Edmonton fabrication plant hadto step up its production levels to deliverthe product ahead of the original sched-ule. Every available employee wasbrought in to help build the dams inrecord time. What would normally havetaken six weeks of full production timewas achieved in two weeks. Even em-ployees from the office and field werebrought in, effectively doubling the staffat the fabrication plant.

The company sent service techni-cians to Manitoba, ahead of most of thedams, to train the regulator’s staff to in-stall the coffer dams themselves. Half a

In April 2009, Manitoba was ex-pecting the second-worst floodingin 100 years, creating urgent chal-lenges for municipalities located

along the Red River. Many rivers insouthern Manitoba had risen, due to arapid snow melt brought on by rain and18°C temperatures in the prior week. Anumber of these rivers are tributariesthat feed into the Red River, which wasalready starting to swell. Runoff watersof the tributaries were all expected tojoin the Red River at roughly the sametime, causing a large flood.

As people looked for flood controloptions they could use to battle the risingwaters on short notice, the regulatorcommissioned Layfield to build andship 25,000 feet of dams to the area, be-fore the floodwaters arrived.

Layfield was asked to produce damsthat would be able to hold back 24inches of water. The product chosen forthe job was the 3-ft-high by 100-ft-longflood control Aqua Dam, which controlswater with water; three feet of liquidheld in two tubes within the dam are ableto keep two feet of water in check. Thetubes prevent the dam from rolling.Lightweight and easy to handle, thedams are well suited for deployingquickly and safely.

Weather predictions are never perfectand the floodwaters started arrivingfaster than initially anticipated, so Lay-

dozen dams were erected during the ini-tial training.

Aqua Dams can be deployed in one-24th the time it takes to install sandbags.Two people can install one of these damsin half an hour, where it would take fivepeople four hours to place the equivalentnumber of sandbags. And the easy-to-transport dams used in Manitoba weredelivered to places that were inaccessi-ble by trucks carrying sandbags.

When the floodwaters of the RedRiver arrived, the Aqua Dams performedexactly as expected. The entire process,from the first order of five full truck-loads of 250 coffer dams to the last in-stalled dam, had been accomplished inonly three weeks.

It takes an estimated 3,400 sand bagsto create a protective barrier equivalentto one Aqua Dam. At roughly $3 a sand-bag, not including transportation,labour, and disposal costs, the savingsachieved by using the dams were sub-stantial. And they will keep growingwith every flood season, as the AquaDam was designed to be reusable.

After the flood had passed, the damswere then carefully packaged and storedfor the next emergency.

For more information, e-mail:[email protected]

Using coffer dams to control flooding on the Red River

Layfield was asked to produce dams that would be able to hold back 24 inchesof water.

It takes an estimated 3,400 sand bags to create a protective barrier equivalentto one Aqua Dam.

Flood Control

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:51 PM


Disinfection

monia with free residual chlorine in acomplex process depicted by the break-point curve that separates the chlorami-nation process into a series of steps.

In the early stages of the process, am-monia added to free residual chlorineproduces monochloramine. When theprocess is optimally controlled, all of theammonia and available residual chlorineare combined to form monochloramine.However, inefficient process control willresult in an imbalance between theamount of ammonia and the amount ofresidual chlorine, each creating its ownset of potential problems.

Excess residual chlorine continues tocombine with monochloramine, convert-ing it to dichloramine. The remainingresidual chlorine then combines withdichloramine to form trichloramine.Plant operators lacking access to fast, re-liable chloramination chemistry datawill likely first hear about the problemfrom customers who complain about un-

Construction was completed onthe City of Toronto’s F.J. Hor-gan Water Treatment Plant in1979, more than 60 years

after chloramine had first been used todisinfect drinking water in an Ottawaplant. By then there was little debateabout the benefits of chloramination andit was incorporated into the new plant’sdesign as part of the disinfection process.

Chloramine is more stable than freeresidual chlorine and better extends thedisinfectant residual throughout the distri-bution system. It also has been shown toreduce the formation of trihalomethanesand halogenic acetic acids, while reducingtaste and odour problems associated withchlorine. It is also relatively inexpensiveto produce. However, producing chlo-ramine requires precise control of theprocess, which has been a challenge thathas long delayed its widespread use as adisinfectant.

Recently the F.J. Horgan WTP plantinstalled an online chloramination ana-lyzer to help monitor and optimize itschloramination process. After research-ing leading analyzers, plant operators se-lected the ChemScan Model UV-2150/S,manufactured by Applied SpectrometryAssociates Inc., which monitors the fourkey parameters necessary to maintaintight control of the process: monochlo-ramine, free ammonia, total ammonia,and total residual chlorine.

The ChemScan allows for the acqui-sition of two samples from two differentsampling points. One sample is takenafter the addition of sulphur dioxide forresidual chlorine reduction, the otherprior to chloramination of the finishedwater. Knowledge of these four parame-ters provides the plant operator with theinformation necessary to determinewhere the plant is operating on thebreakpoint chlorination curve.

The unit was officially commissionedat the F.J. Horgan WTP in April 2009,following extensive pilot testing at theplant. Challenges of chloramine production

Chloramine is formed by mixing am-

pleasant tastes and odours from their tapwater, which are typically associatedwith these undesirable chloraminespecies. While the drinking water is safefor consumption, these characteristicsmake it aesthetically unpleasant.

The other type of chemistry imbal-ance is excess free ammonia. When al-lowed to enter the distribution system, itwill eventually cause serious problems,such as nitrification, algae growth, dis-solved oxygen deficiency, and corro-sion, which are difficult to detect.

Production of a given concentrationof monochloramine, while avoiding theformation of dichloramine and trichlo-ramine, or the accumulation of excessammonia, requires adding preciseamounts of ammonia and chlorine. Inorder to be successful, operators needtimely and current information on keyprocess parameters to make the neces-sary adjustments.

This is what the new chloraminationanalyzer provides at the F.J. Horgan fa-cility. It enables plant operators to mon-itor the chloramination process preciselyand provide the data necessary forproper adjustment of the ammonia andresidual chlorine ratios, before dichlo-ramine forms.

Challenges of raw water qualityThe F.J. Horgan WTP has a nominal

rated capacity of 450 million litres ofwater per day, drawing its raw water froman intake pipe that extends 3 km intoLake Ontario. Prior to installing the newonline analyzer, plant operators had beenusing a residual chlorine analyzer, inconjunction with grab samples, to mon-

Online process analyzer installed at F.J. HorganWTP to monitor chloramination By Dave Marsh

The F.J. Horgan WTP has anominal rated capacity of450 million litres of waterper day, drawing its rawwater from an intakepipe that extends 3 kminto Lake Ontario.

Plant operators lacking access to fast, reliable

chloramination chemistry data will likely

first hear about the problem from customers

who complain about unpleasant tastes and odours from their tap water.

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:51 PM


Disinfectionitor the process. These methodologies donot take into account the seasonal effectof pH, temperature, dissolved organics,and disinfection demand of the raw lakewater, which affect the chloraminationprocess. They add more complexity andmake it even more critical for plant op-erators to have access to timely processchemistry information.

The varying raw water quality at theF.J. Horgan plant is a challenge sharedby many North American surface-watertreatment plants that still use grab sam-pling to control their chloraminationprocesses. This becomes particularlyproblematic during the season whenrunoff carries large amounts of animalwaste and organic matter into the sur-face-water source.

Treatment plants fed by groundwatercan also be affected by inconsistentwater quality. Groundwater can be con-taminated by fertilizers and other con-taminants, creating a high backgroundammonia concentration in the water.Using an appropriate online analyzercan help adjust to these changing condi-tions by providing a rapid automaticanalysis of the key chloramination con-

trol parameters, including free ammo-nia, total ammonia, monochloramineand total residual chlorine.

Real-time analysis allows the plantoperator to adjust the water chemistrypromptly. Adjustments can be accom-plished automatically using a plantSCADA system. While multiple grab

samples throughout the day providegood information for plant operators, anonline process chloramination analyzerhelps provide timely information to

make adjustments to the water chem-istry.

To operate at the optimal residualchlorine to ammonia nitrogen ratio, thechloramination process needs to be con-stantly monitored with the appropriateparameters; a single parameter may notbe adequate. For example, the same totalchlorine reading can be obtained at dif-ferent locations on the breakpoint curve.Monitoring multiple parameters, such asfree ammonia, total ammonia, mono-chloramine and total residual chlorine,helps to determine the actual chlorine tonitrogen ratios, the concentration of totalchlorine and the amount of total chlorinethat is actually in the form of monochlo-ramine.

Today, the ChemScan analyzer pro-vides an early warning if too much chlo-rine is being fed, and plant operators canadjust the process before taste and odourcompounds form.

Dave Marsh is with Water Works Marketing Services. E-mail:

[email protected]

While multiple grab samples throughout the

day provide good information for plant operators, an online

process chloramination analyzer helps providetimely information to

make adjustments to thewater chemistry.

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1. Build a new WWTP, utilizing someof the existing lagoon or WWTP forbiosolids management. This is the long-term solution presented to towns and mu-nicipalities in many cases and is a validapproach, assuming funding is availablefor both capital and operations/mainte-nance costs. In addition, operators mayrequire higher-level certifications to op-erate the WWTP.

2. Add a side-stream treatment sys-tem to maintain the capacity of the ex-isting WWTP. A side-stream treatmentsystem, such as a membrane bioreactor(MBR), treats a portion of the flow,which is blended with the effluent fromthe WWTP, allowing it to remain incompliance. This is a good short-termsolution for space-constrained sites, andcan also be a good long-term solutionfor increasing rated capacity, as theseunits are often modular and additionalunits can be added as needed.

There is a growing need to pro-vide cost-effective methods forupgrading existing wastewatertreatment plants (WWTP). In

the current economic climate, wholesalereplacement of facilities can be finan-cially onerous, even with infrastructuregrants that become available from timeto time.

Communities will continue to ex-pand, with the resulting need for in-creased wastewater treatment that couldtrigger changes to the discharge criteria.Changes could include a reduction indischarge permit limits, requiring ahigher level of treatment, or an increasein the range of parameters that may nothave been a part of the original permitwhen the existing system was commis-sioned.

Adding capacity to an existing sys-tem can be cost-effective and provide theneeded short- or long-term upgrades re-quired to bring a system back into com-pliance, or to ensure that a system that isnearing its capacity does not go out ofcompliance.

Alternative solutionsWhat do you do with a lagoon or

package WWTP system that is still per-forming within the limits of the originaldesign, but is occasionally, or regularly,exceeding parameters due to overload-ing, or is nearing its design capacity?There are several options that can beconsidered:

3. Add a natural treatment system,such as a constructed wetland, to in-crease the design capacity over the shortterm. This option allows time for a mu-nicipality to set aside tax dollars to fundconstruction of a conventional WWTP.Capacity afforded by the wetland be-comes an integral component of a long-term solution as an adjunct to thecapacity provided by the new WWTP. Insome cases, the wetland may provideenough capacity as a complete long-term solution.

Natural treatment systems requirefewer operational personnel, consumeless energy, have lower operating andcapital costs, and produce fewer residu-als than most conventional “concreteand steel” approaches. While naturalsystems require more land than conven-tional approaches, they create valuablewildlife habitat and opportunities forpassive public recreation.

Natural systems are a more sustain-able approach, and are distinguished bytheir reliance on renewable sources ofenergy: solar radiation, wind, gravityand storage of energy in biological andchemical forms.

Natural treatment systems for wastewater andstormwater polishing

WWTP operator Keith Lee installed a nesting platform for osprey in thewetland. He volunteers his time mostweekends during the spring, summer,and fall to allow the public access tothe wetland.

In 2008, the wetland had 500 visitors and in 2009 this doubled to more than1,000.

By John Pries

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:51 PM



Case history: Brighton, OntarioThe Municipality of Brighton is lo-

cated along the north shore of Lake On-tario and has a lagoon system that wasapproaching its rated capacity. In 1998,CH2M HILL began discussions with theMunicipality while it was already in theprocess of considering a proposed up-grade of its two-cell lagoon to a conven-tional activated sludge WWTP system.The cost for the facility was in the $10-to $15-million range (1998 dollars).

The Municipality had concerns aboutthe proposed approach, including thefunding of this large expense by a rela-tively small community, the impacts ofconstructing a new outfall pipe and dif-fuser through an adjacent Class 1 wet-land, and the potential negative impactof untreated contaminants on the localfishing industry.

During a presentation to the munici-pal council, CH2M HILL providedbackground information on the technol-ogy and the company’s history of de-signing natural treatment systems, todemonstrate the viability of constructinga treatment wetland.

The wetland was to provide a short-term (three- to five-year) remedy for aprojected rapid population increasebased on 25-year planning predictionsby the Municipality. It would also pro-vide long-term capacity that could be in-corporated into any WWTP upgradesusing conventional technology. Evenwithout providing treatment capacity,substituting the wetland for a required$1- to $2-million outfall pipe providedan immediate cost benefit.

In 1999, the Municipality opted toconstruct a six-hectare treatment wet-land on property it already owned, at acost of about $500,000. This was con-siderably less than the cost of a conven-tional treatment system, and aboutone-third the cost of the outfall pipealone. The wetland increased the ratedcapacity of the existing lagoon systemfrom 3,864 m3/d to 4,600 m3/d.

Since the construction of the wetland,the Municipality has experienced alower than anticipated growth rate, anda much lower than anticipated increasein hydraulic and contaminant loading.Installing water meters in all homeshelped to reduce water consumption andsubsequent discharge to the WWTP.

Since it was brought online in 2000, thewetland system has kept the Municipal-ity in compliance with its Certificate ofApproval permit limits.

In addition, the wetland has furtherreduced the loading to Presqu’ile Bayover the past 10 years (five to sevenyears longer life than originally antici-pated and still going strong) by up toabout 20 T/year of combined five-daybiochemical oxygen demand (BOD5),total suspended solids, total phosphorus,and nitrogen.

Reviewing the monitoring datashows trends in the concentrations of thecontaminants of concern that appear tobe seasonal/wildlife-related and opera-tional changes that can affect a wetlandsystem. These include reduced nitrogenremoval efficiency during the wintermonths, continued expected treatmentefficiency of the wetland even during aperiod of almost total removal of stand-ing wetland vegetation by muskrats forhut and feeding mound construction,and no reduced efficiency at low wet-land water levels during re-vegetationperiods. These and other factors aretaken into consideration when designinga wetland system.

Ancillary benefitsWhen the initial discussions were un-

derway with the Municipality about theconstruction of the wetland, there was ashort period of skepticism that veryquickly gave way to optimism. Discus-

sions with local residents were verypositive and the town council was, andcontinues to be, supportive. The commis-sioning of the wetland was a gala event,with a catered lunch, speeches, and a wet-land tour that brought together politicians,naturalists, local residents, contractors andengineers. Articles were printed in severallocal newspapers, along with TV cover-age.

The wetland system has met all of theMunicipality’s expectations and more.The wetland wildlife is receiving atten-tion, not only from many parts of theprovince but also from farther afield.Visitors from Quebec, England, Russia,the United States and Japan have en-joyed this site. In 2008, the wetland had500 visitors and in 2009 this doubled tomore than 1,000. These numbers are ex-pected to continue to grow in subse-quent years as the town implements apermit system to allow unescortedwildlife viewing within the fenced wet-land system.

The wetland has proven itself to be anessential, reliable, cost-effective compo-nent of the Brighton wastewater treat-ment system. The Municipality ispreparing to celebrate the wetland thisyear on the 10th anniversary of this ex-citing and sustainable treatment systemand wildlife habitat.

John Pries is with CH2M HILL. E-mail: [email protected]

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:51 PM


Site Remediation

groundwater collection systems were de-veloped.

It was the installation of the finalgroundwater collection system thatbrought one-pass trenching into the pic-ture.

How one-pass trenching worksAs well as being hazardous to those

living near them, contaminated sitespose a particular and immediate threatto those who work on them. Construct-ing a series of in-ground collectiontrenches would typically require the dis-placement of a large portion of contam-inated soil. Contact with contaminatedgroundwater would also pose a threat.

Engineers charged with the systemdesign at the Maryland quarry were

aware of a way to escape much of this:one-pass trenching, developed byDeWind of Holland, Michigan. Themethod completely avoids creating alarge, open excavation, and very little, ifany, displacement of soil occurs.

The trencher makes a laser–guidedsurgical cut into the ground and back-

fills with selected media, all in one pass.A worker can actually walk on top of thetrench immediately after it is installed inthe ground. Really “hot” sites becomemuch more manageable as it is almostimpossible to have a level B condition(requiring full body suit and face maskwith positive air pressure) occur.

At the Maryland site, DeWind in-stalled a series of five trenches totaling1,040 linear feet, cut to a depth of 35’,with HDPE SDR 11 pipe placed at thebottom. Each pipe was connected to asump station. All trenches were back-filled with washed pea-stone.

The individual sump stations did nothave to be constructed separately, butwere pre-designed and manufactured byDeWind. They were placed into positionby the trencher, fully attached to the con-nective piping as it was placed into po-sition, again all a part of the sameone-pass movement.

Currently, one-pass trenching has thecapacity to install a number of differenttypes of in-ground collection, controland containment systems, including bio,slurry, and ZVI walls.


Waste site cleaned with one-pass trenching technology

At the Maryland site, DeWind installed a series of five trenches totaling 1,040linear feet, cut to a depth of 35’.

An abandoned sand and gravelquarry in Maryland, with adubious second use as an in-dustrial waste disposal dump-

ing ground, has been cleaned up with theaid of a technology known as the one-pass trenching method.

The site had accepted distillationwastes from a local solvent recycler. Dueto odours, the dumping prompted citizencomplaints that eventually led to an inves-tigation by state officials and the end ofdisposal activities in 1974. Early studiesshowed that the shallow groundwater washeavily contaminated with a variety of or-ganic chemicals. Contaminants includedbenzene, chlorobenzene, trichloroethane,and vinyl chloride, as well as metals.Contaminants had migrated into the un-derlying aquifer, which is the source ofwater for local residents.

Site clean-up ultimately fell to thefederal government, under the auspicesof the Environmental Protection Agency,and the quarry was eventually placed onthe National Priority List. Over the in-tervening decades since the disposal washalted, a federally-funded clean-up hascontinued, based on three separate“Records of Decision”, each of whichdelineated the steps and process to betaken.

Early on, monitor wells were drilledto assess the movement of shallowgroundwater. Contaminated water in theaquifer beneath the quarry began to bepumped out and treated on-site. Thethird and final ROD included the con-struction of an on-site thermal treatment

plant to deal with the tons of contami-nated soil through the process of low-temperature thermal desorption.

Safe substances such as oxygen andmolasses were added to both the soil andgroundwater to facilitate the breakdownof hazardous substances by soil mi-crobes. Plans for installing additional

As well as being hazardous to those living nearthem, contaminated sites pose a particular andimmediate threat to those who work on them.

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:51 PM

March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:48 PM


AfterBefore

Blixitt was used in the grease trap of the restaurant at the legendary Raffles Hotel, where the Singapore Sling was created in 1915.

bacteria, oxygen, nutrients, and buffers.They create oxygen bubbles, which areten times smaller than with a machineaerator, and they penetrate throughgrease layers and solids, as well as in-creasing the total oxygen surface area.

Staff at a wastewater treatment facil-ity in East Providence, Rhode Island,found Blixitt tablets to be a cost-effec-tive solution to their maintenance of agrease collection pit.

Grease skimmed off the plant’s pri-mary tank is collected into a 7,000 gal-lon grease pit. Prior to using Blixitttablets, the pit had to be pumped out ap-

proximately four times per year, to keepit effective. A septage hauler wouldpump out the tank and transport thegrease to another treatment facility. Theannual cost for this work was about$17,000.00.

Another problem with the pit was thatthe large amount of grease degrading init created noxious odors that led to com-plaints from nearby property owners.

After seeing how Blixitt tablets re-duced hydrogen sulfide levels in a Bar-rington, Rhode Island, force main, the

ABrampton, Ontario, com-pany has patented a newproduct, called Blixitt. Thesetablets are white, slightly

thicker than a hockey puck, and give offa time-released combination of aerobic

plant’s assistant superintendent wantedto see if they could help reduce mainte-nance of the grease pit at the East Prov-idence plant. So, twice a week, sixtablets were put into the pit and the con-tents were mixed with a portable com-pressor for 60 minutes to ensure properblending. The next day, all free liquid inthe pit was decanted and returned to theplant’s primary tank.

After seeing positive results in the re-duction of grease solids and odors, theplant’s operators continued to use thisprocess. During a 16 month time-frame,the grease pit was only pumped out

once. However, this was not done be-cause of grease build-up, but to removeplastic materials that were normally col-lected upstream.

By using Blixitt tablets to eliminategrease pumping, the East Providencewastewater treatment facility staff havecut their grease pit maintenance costs inhalf.


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Prior to using Blixitt tablets, the pit had to be pumpedout approximately four times per year, to keep it

effective. A septage hauler would pump out the tankand transport the grease to another treatment facility.

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:52 PM


Residential Wastewater Treatment

maturing, effluent concentration over thenext five months averaged ~30 mg/LBOD and ~20 mg/L TSS, with 96-99%removal of fecal coliform. This effluentquality, entering groundwater at a depthof 900 mm, is poorer than that followingthe double filtration technologies de-scribed below.

NSF Standard 40 testing for second-ary quality effluent (<25 mg/L BOD,<30 mg/L TSS) ends six months afterstartup. The 900-mm-thick profilestested in 2001 would not pass an NSF-40 test for secondary treatment unitseven with the underdrain, controlled lab-oratory conditions, and after the five-month startup period. When a treatmentunit cannot pass a test protocol, then itshould not be called a treatment unit.

The Ontario MOE requires camp-grounds, golf courses, truck stops,churches, etc., to treat their sewage be-fore it enters the natural soil. Organicsand solids are to be removed before sub-surface disposal, and treatment objec-tives for phosphorus, nitrate-nitrogen,and pathogens are becoming moreprevalent before subsurface disposal.The same can be carried out for resi-dences.

Is septic biomat needed in the soil?Potent effluent from septic tanks

(Figure 1) promotes a biological mass or“biomat”, a black gelatinous slime andorganic layer clogging soil porosity inthe upper 150 mm or so. Accumulatedorganic matter plugs soil pores, de-creases permeability, maintains anaero-bic or septic conditions, ponds thesewage in the trenches, and increases therisk of unhealthy surface break-out.

Even in a coarse-grained sand filter,ponding of ~200 mm occurs within afew months of startup, peaking duringwinter, and increasing to ~250 mm in thesecond year.

Septic vs. aerobic effluentCommonly heard speculation is that

potent wastewater and septic biomat insoils are prerequisites, and that treatmentof the sewage before it enters the soilmay even be a health risk. In regard toresidential sewage systems, an Ontario

In the 1950s, Ontario riverfrontswere often smelly addresses for res-idential living, as sewers directedraw sewage into rivers and lakes. As

kids we swam in and rafted on the Speedand Bighead, for instance, alongside stillrecognizable pieces of sewage. (Naturalimmunity to H1N1 may have been anunanticipated benefit!)

The Ontario Ministry of the Environ-ment (MOE) cleaned up the rivers almostovernight in the 1960s by installingsewer systems and treatment plants.These are professionally operated andconsistently remove organics, solids, am-monium, total nitrogen, phosphorus, andpathogenic microbes, before dispersal oftreated effluent into now healthy rivers.

Natural soils ‘managing’ sewageBut what about septic systems used

for residential sewage? In the 1950s,they consisted of a septic tank and a tilebed in natural soils; these were larger forclay soil and smaller for loamy soil, withno maintenance contracts. There wasmodest use of water, chemical cleanersand disinfectants, etc., and septic sys-tems were deemed acceptable if thesewage did not rise out of the ground tocreate a health risk.

Today, the same sized septic tank anda tile bed, with no maintenance contractsrequired, are still the norm, but waterusage has increased as has the use ofchemical cleaners and disinfectants. De-terioration in septic tank health is verynoticeable with excessive use of house-hold chemicals. Without healthy mi-crobes, sewage treatment will not occur.

There is no sign of improvement forseptic systems, and, perhaps, not evenany recognition of poor habits. Naturalsoils and groundwater are still reliedupon to degrade sewage and disperseand dilute the products of decay; surfacebreak-out is the only trigger to take careof unsafe operation. Disposal, not treat-ment, is still the objective of soil-basedseptic systems.

In 2001, a study was made of treat-ment performance in a code-required900-mm-deep soil vadose (unsaturated)zone. After five months of biological

Modern living necessitates double-filtering residential sewage

Figure 1. Septic tank effluent is potentwastewater that can legally be placeddirectly into natural soil without treat-ment and without maintenance con-tracts.

Figure 2. Clear sand is a standardmedium used for filtration of sewage.Microbial biofilm coats the sandgrains as wastewater moves downthrough the narrow interstices be-tween grains. Only treated effluententers the natural environment.

Figure 3. Beneficial microbes colonizeinterior surfaces of Waterloo Biofilterabsorbent medium, and grow out intolarge open pores, allowing 10 timesthe loading rate of sand without plugging, with the same high-qualityeffluent.

By E. Craig Jowett

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:52 PM



regulatory body has said:“The potential for contamination is

increased when highly treated effluent isused and there is no clogging layerformed on the soil surface. The clogginglayer, which is formed when septic tankeffluent passes through the soil, signifi-cantly reduces the coliform bacteriacount before it reaches the groundwater.Pre-treated effluent is less likely to forma clogging layer, in which case the efflu-ent will reach the groundwater morequickly with less treatment in the soil.”

“The detrimental effect of non-uni-form distribution is further amplifiedwhen ..... highly treated effluent is ap-plied.”

Some scientists echo this. In a 2001article in Water Research, S. Van Cuykand others stated; “If clogging zone de-velopment is retarded or absent alto-gether, for example due to the applicationof highly pretreated effluent (e.g., sand

filter effluent), purification of pathogensand other constituents of concern may beless than predicted and desired.”

The logic of this argument wouldlead us to believe that rainwater infiltrat-ing the soil is very risky because it is tooclean to develop a septic biomat. Ofcourse, this stance is as insupportable assaying, “Brantford should not treat itssewage — only the Grand River can doit safely.”

Biological film does, of course, de-velop in a sand filter, as in all biological

filters, and microbes have already donethe job of the soil-based biomat, but in-dependent of the natural environment.

Oxygen supply is neededIgnored is the fact that high-quality

effluent carries its own oxygen supply(4-8 mg/L D.O.) into the soil and, with<5% of the organic content of septic ef-fluent, it is far less reliant on the va-garies of natural soils for treatment,especially on soil air influx to promotethe aerobic treatment objective.


Clear “sand-filter-quality” effluent ofabsorbent filters can be verified anddispersed into the natural soil envi-ronment with minimal contaminationand less health risk even on difficultsites.

Figure 4. Multiple-barrier Waterloo“flat bed” and shallow area bed system protecting sensitive lakefrontproperty ― as simple and aestheticas a filter bed, but with an underdrainto promote free-draining aerobic conditions and a maintenance contract for sustainability.

•

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Flat Tape Water Lever Meter

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:52 PM

Under present practices, the filter bedis installed without the underdrain (as itwas originally tested), and, therefore, itsperformance cannot be predicted or ver-ified. It is a single, integrated system,with sand and soil disposal combined.Clay soil below the sand filter is wettedand “smothered” by the sewage andsand cover, and its permeable topsoilstructure is destroyed. A sand “mantle”is placed to the side for lateral dispersalinto the shallow topsoil, but integratedinto the filtration unit with no chance ofverification.

It would be an improvement to under-drain the filter bed to verify treatment astested, use the finer sand sizes and lower50 L/m2/d loading rate to improvepathogen removal, collect the effluent toverify treatment, polish the effluent in aseparate finer sand bed to provide fur-ther removal of viruses and residual E.coli, and have maintenance contracts.These additions would bring filter bedsup to the standard of the multiple-bar-rier, detached treatment-disposal sys-tems discussed below.

Absorbent filtration: detached treatment disposal system

The industry has developed technolo-gies that separate the aerobic filtrationtreatment and infiltration polishingfunctions from each other, primarily forverification and maintenance purposes.The biological treatment filter is keptunsaturated, with an underdrain for ver-ification, followed by subsurface dis-posal in a thin bed of crushed stone and250 mm of fine grained sand, high in thesoil horizon to simulate the role of the“mantle” adjacent to a conventionalraised sand filter.

In vertical flow conditions, the finesand layer slows down the flow oftreated effluent, disperses it over a widearea and removes all detectable residualfecal coliform, even at an extreme load-ing of 212 L/m2/day. This fine sand pol-ishing layer is suitable for installation onfractured bedrock, coarse soil, or nearthe water table.

In lateral flow conditions (clay soils),the fine sand removes fecal matter con-centrations to swimming water qualitylevels within 5 m distance, and to non-detectable levels in 10 m, ensuring thatsurface stormwater ditches or rivers areprotected by subsurface sand polishing


Oxygen delivery down through soilpores to treat sewage, and its effect onbiomat and sewage ponding, were dis-cussed by J. Erickson and E.J. Tyler inthe 2000 NOWRA Conference Proceed-ings: “Clogging mats [biomat] developwhen organic matter loading is higherthan the oxygen supply for aerobic bac-teria. If the oxygen supply meets the de-mand of the soil organisms, then theorganic clogging mat will not form. Inthe absence of a mat, the soil could ac-cept wastewater at rates of two to threeorders of magnitude higher than the cur-rent design loading rates.”

Biomat and ponding are an effect oforganic overloading of the soil interfaceat times when insufficient oxygen entersthe soil-water interface to promote aer-obic decomposition. Septic biomat ap-pears not to be a desirable or necessarydevelopment. It may instead indicateoverloading from insufficient trenchlength and poor soil air infiltration.

On filtration treatment units, such assand, peat or absorbent foam, excessivesewage ponding on the filtration surfaceis viewed as hydraulic failure and re-quires recovery; the same standard ap-

plies to soil filters. Because it is an in-troduced accumulation of excess sewageby-products in the soil profile, septicbiomat may in fact be termed a “soilcontaminant”.

Erickson & Tyler also stated, “...... thesoil component of the wastewater infiltra-tion system should be large, shallow, nar-row, and have separated infiltration areasto maximize oxygen supply.” In order topromote aerobic treatment in soils (whichclogs the soil far less), it is better to havelonger and narrower trenches, wider spac-ing between trenches, and higher-qualityeffluent with low organic loading.

In Ontario residences, sewage may beplaced directly in trenches, 900 mmwide and 900 mm deep, and in tightsoils, counter to oxygen delivery requi-sites. Even if treatment does occur, it isnot verifiable, and soil-based systemscan be termed only ‘disposal’, ‘absorp-tion’ or ‘dispersal’, not ‘treatment’.

Sand filtration: integrated disposal system

The MOE carried out world-class re-search in the 1970s on tank sludge accu-mulation rates, sand filtration (Figure 2),contaminant attenuation in groundwaterplumes, etc. It formed the basis of On-tario’s prescriptive subsurface regula-tions in 1982 and of OBC Part 8 in usetoday.

It has been demonstrated that sewagecan be treated outside the natural envi-ronment to very high “sand-filter qual-ity” (<10 mg/L BOD and <10 mg/LTSS) in the Canadian climate, with onlyclear effluent entering the earth for “pol-ishing.” Fecal coliform attenuation is ex-cellent with a smaller sand grain size,but the coarse fractions can emit>200,000 cfu/100mL.

Biological filtration is the mainstay ofsmall sewage treatment systems inCanada, because of low-energy input,ease of use, and ability to treat coldsewage. Biological film-forming mi-crobes populate the surfaces of the filtra-tion medium and consume contaminantsthat pass by. Septic and aerobic biofilmstays within the filtration unit and outsidethe natural environment.

The MOE sand filter (OBC FilterBed) began the trend of recognizingpoor habits of soil disposal, and of min-imizing soil and groundwater contami-nation.


March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:52 PM



rier” approach to drinking water safetyoutlined in the Report of the WalkertonInquiry: “The multi-barrier approach ordefence in depth … has been an approachwhich has long been used by the water in-dustry … to provide safe and secure sup-plies of drinking water … we don’t relyonly on one barrier in the system, we relyon a series of barriers.”

The single biomat barrier in soil-based septic systems does not providethe safety of the multiple-barrier ap-proach.

ConclusionFollowing the trend of improving

management of our larger wastewaterflows and other waste types, the use ofnatural soils to dispose of untreated res-idential sewage is no longer tenablefrom a technological, health and safety,or environmental viewpoint. Filtrationtreatment of residential sewage, beforedisposal, is required for sustainability ofour soil and groundwater resources.

E. Craig Jowett, Ph.D., P.Eng., is withWaterloo-Biofilter Systems Inc. E-mail:

[email protected]

after absorbent filtration treatment.Absorbent filtration units, using en-

gineered peat or synthetic open-cellfoam, have been in continuous operationfor about 17 years in Canada and theUnited States. The media are consistentin their physical properties for a morepredictable performance, especiallycompared to soil. As in sand filters,sewage is treated outside the natural en-vironment and septic biomat contamina-tion is restricted to the filtrationmedium.

Unlike integrated sand filters, de-tached filters can be inspected for pond-ing malfunction, treatment can beverified in the underdrain, and the sys-tem can be recovered after ponding be-fore the entire system needs replacing.

In the case of Waterloo Biofilter®

open-cell foam medium (Figure 3), thephysical properties are the reverse ofsand, with large open pores instead ofsand grains, and large water pathwaysinstead of narrow interstices. Waste-water is absorbed into a sequence offoam pieces or slabs between capillarygaps in which the microbial colonies are

protected from desiccation and freezing.‘Multiple-barrier’ protection of

soils and groundwaterNatural soil should not be used as a

sewage dump, just as we have stoppedusing oceans for garbage. Ontario filterbeds can be made verifiable by installingunderdrains, which would keep the sandfree-draining and aerobic. High-qualityeffluent from filter beds, peat or foamfilters can then be placed in a “shallowarea bed” for low-risk disposal.

The shallow area bed technology,used in Ontario since 1994, affords atwo-stage filtration treatment train (Fig-ure 4). The “roughing filter” of sand,peat or foam removes ~95% of the or-ganics and >99% of E. coli. The second“polishing filter” is the fine sand layer inthe shallow area bed, that removes the re-maining E. coli for a total of 99.9993%removal before entering the natural envi-ronment. The soil and the groundwaterare both protected, and health risks areminimized.

The double safeguard of filtrationtreatment followed by filtration disposalis similar to the preferred “multiple-bar-

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March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:52 PM



troduced into the MSR because bestavailable technology could achieve thisconcentration, and not because specificenvironmental impact studies had beenundertaken to demonstrate that thisvalue had to be met to protect the eco-logical balance of the Thompson River.

Given the large size of the ThompsonRiver relative to the City’s discharge, itseemed reasonable to assume that itcould assimilate the City’s effluent at1.0 mg/L total phosphorus with no neg-ative impacts.

The only legal means to challengethis regulation with the Ministry of En-vironment was to complete a LiquidWaste Management Plan (LWMP). TheCity of Kamloops agreed to challengethe regulation for the discharge of its ef-fluent.

The LWMP involved an extensivepublic consultation process and the for-mation of a Public Advisory Committee,including the Kamloops Indian Bandand the chairman of the local chapter ofthe Association of Professional Engi-neers and Geoscientists of British Co-lumbia (APEGBC). Nine meetings ofthe committee were held over a three-year period. There were five public openhouses, city-wide distribution of anewsletter, distribution and compilationof 560 questionnaires, and five presen-tations to community groups, including

Since 2001, Urban Systems Ltd.has worked with the City ofKamloops, British Columbia,to develop an alternative de-

sign for a sewage treatment plant up-grade that is environmentally sound,economically feasible, and containsmany added environmental/sustainabil-ity benefits.

The City of Kamloops, the client/owner, utilizes a series of lagoons, withalum added to reduce phosphorus levels,to treat sewage delivered to the site. TheCity discharges 80% of its treated effluentinto the Thompson River; 20% is reusedfor agricultural irrigation and a golfcourse.

When it came time for the City to ex-pand its treatment facilities, it had to reg-ister under the provincial MunicipalSewage Regulation (MSR). The mostsignificant aspect of this regulation forKamloops was the requirement toachieve an effluent total phosphorus con-centration of less than 0.25 mg/L, ratherthan the more typical value of 1.0 mg/L.Urban Systems determined that, if aplant were constructed to meet the lowercriteria, the capital and operating costswould be significantly higher than for aplant built to meet 1.0 mg/L.

Challenging the provincial regulation

The 0.25 mg/L requirement was in-

the local chapter of APEGBC. In addition, there were nine meetings

with a Technical Advisory Committeethat included the BC Ministries of En-vironment, Agriculture, CommunityServices and Health, as well as Environ-ment Canada, Fisheries and OceansCanada, the Agriculture Land Commis-sion, Weyerhaeuser Canada, and theThompson-Nicola Regional District.

The key environmental/sustainabilitycomponent of the LWMP was the com-pletion of an Environmental ImpactStudy (EIS). The terms of reference forthe EIS included:

1. A detailed literature search of pre-vious scientific work done on theThompson River system.

2. A two-day workshop in which anexpert panel, consisting of eight engineersand scientists with expertise in aquatic bi-ology, river hydraulics, limnology, andnutrient impacts in river/lake systems,considered and debated the potential con-sequences of allowing a maximum efflu-ent criteria for total phosphorus of 1.5mg/L, whether nitrogen needed to be re-duced, and the scope of an in situ moni-toring program along the ThompsonRiver/Kamloops Lake.

3. A Phase 1 Risk Assessment forphosphorus mass balance in the river,based on its projected phosphorus load-ings, and on background and cultural in-puts.

4. A Phase 2 Risk Assessment for bi-ological response to the projected phos-phorus loadings.

The conclusions of the Environmen-tal Impact Study were:

a) That a maximum effluent totalphosphorus concentration of 1.5 mg/Lwould not have a measurable effect onthe river and that going to a full biolog-ical nutrient removal plant would notmeasurably decrease the phosphorusconcentration compared to current riverconcentrations.

b) That a year-round maximum efflu-ent total phosphorus of 1.5 mg/L wouldhave little or no effect on the benthicalgal and invertebrate communities and

BC sewage treatment plant upgrade is bothenvironmentally and financially sustainable By Chris Town

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:53 PM




fish populations of the Thompson River. c) To recommend a six-year river

monitoring program (three years at cur-rent phosphorus loading and three yearsat proposed loadings) to confirm the im-pact on the River.

d) To recommend using a biologicalphosphorus reduction treatment process,to create a reusable product from thebiosolids.

The LWMP process and the EIS weresuccessful in convincing the Ministry ofEnvironment to accept 1.5 mg/L for aneffluent total phosphorus concentration,instead of the 0.25 mg/L stipulated inthe Regulation. This effluent criterionsaved the City an estimated $42.5 mil-lion, based on a 20-year present-worth

analysis as presented in the Stage 2LWMP Report.

As a side note, the river monitoringprogram recognized the potential of el-evated phosphorus concentrations fromthe City’s effluent to increase algalgrowth in areas with fish fry. Conceiv-ably, if an excess amount of algae wereto die and create a depressed dissolvedoxygen environment, fish growth wouldbe hindered. In situ measurements of at-tached biomass and intra-gravel dis-solved oxygen have been taken at 11sites upstream and downstream of theeffluent outfall.

This program was devised to collectdata that could be analyzed to test thehypothesis that the City’s effluent (in

particular phosphorus) would not nega-tively impact the ecology of the Thomp-son River. It has been underway for 4.5years, and to date the data has demon-strated the effectiveness of 1.5 mg/Lmaximum total phosphorus effluentconcentration to maintain the integrityof the River.

Environmental conclusionsWith respect to the environment and

sustainability, the two significant con-clusions of the LWMP were to providea partial biological nutrient removal(BNR) plant and biosolids compostingprocess for the residuals. Urban Systemsassisted the City in developing, operat-ing and analyzing the results of a com-posting program using the alum-basedbiosolids. The composting program in-cluded growth trials which demonstratedthat alum sludge could be a great benefitto plant growth.

As time passed after the completion ofthe LWMP, construction costs began tosoar and the City showed a preference toincorporate membranes into the treat-ment process. Construction cost esti-mates to build the partial BNR plant roseby over $25 million. In response, UrbanSystems identified an alternative environ-mental engineering solution to meet allof the effluent criteria set by the LWMP.

The alternative option is an innova-tive combination of existing lagoons andnew clarifiers to create a nitrifying, den-itrifying activated sludge process, withboth biological and chemical phos-

Total phosphorus concentration (μg\L)in the Thompson River at Savona.

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:53 PM

If it’s about water, it will be at

WEFTEC offers the best water quality education and training available and is the leading source for water quality developments, research, regulations, solutions, and cutting-edge technologies.

83rd Annual Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and ConferenceNew Orleans Morial Convention Center | New Orleans, Louisiana USAConference: October 2-6, 2010 | Exhibition: October 4-6, 2010

Online registration opens March 30, 2010 at www.weftec.org.

If you can only attend one water quality event during the year, make it WEFTEC, the largest water quality event in North America.

Asset management of urban water and wastewater networks

Energy effi ciency

Energy generation in wastewater/sludge facilities

Decentralized treatment systems

Groundwater protection

Low-cost water & wastewater treatment systems

Operation & maintenance for sustainable utility services

Rainwater harvesting

Rehabilitation and upgrade of sewerage systems

Sustainable sludge treatment, disposal, and reuse

Urban drainage, fl ood control

Wastewater reuse

Water loss management in distribution systems

Water recycling

Water supply & sanitation solutions

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:53 PM


2013. The provincial and federal govern-ments have reviewed the project in depthand offered $14.2 million in grants. Thisalternative option maximizes the use ofexisting infrastructure, and frees up aconsiderable area of land that could beused for other purposes, such as com-posting.

The approach of using principles ofengineering to challenge the terms of theMunicipal Sewage Regulation is appli-cable to other communities. For exam-

phorus reduction mechanisms, to treat54,500 m³/d. The construction cost of apartial BNR plant with membranes atthe same hydraulic capacity as the alter-native option was estimated at $73 mil-lion in 2009. The estimate to constructthe alternative option in 2009 was $40million. These savings will contribute tothe economic sustainability of the City,keeping rate increases to a minimum.

In addition, a second, smaller paralleltreatment plant using existing lagoonswill be created for effluent destined forirrigation. This smaller plant will nothave the nitrogen and phosphorus re-duced because they are nutrients thatwill benefit the vegetation.

This concept of utilizing a parallelplant was subjected to an engineeringeconomic evaluation which demon-strated its value in comparison to simplyincreasing the size of the main plant.

Other environmental/sustainable as-pects of the proposed process are to:

1. Retain one anaerobic lagoon up-stream of both plants. This reduces bio-chemical oxygen demand, phosphorusand total suspended solids, with no inputof mechanical energy. Urban engineer-ing economics were used to complete acost-benefit analysis of retaining theanaerobic lagoon. The analysis con-cluded it would make economic sense toretain it, primarily because of the energyand chemical savings resulting from thetreatment occurring in this lagoon.

2. Cover the anaerobic lagoon, collectthe gases and eliminate the odorous ones,reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and in-vestigate the economics of convertingmethane to reusable heat or energy.

3. Convert to ultraviolet light disin-fection from gaseous chlorination. Thissatisfies the terms of the Canadian En-vironmental Protection Act to ensuretoxic chlorine residuals are eliminatedfrom effluents. It will also minimize therelease of pathogenic organisms to pro-tect public heath.

4. Extend the outfall further into thethalweg of the river to eliminate the po-tential development of acute and chronictoxicities due to ammonia. This will sat-isfy the new Canada-wide Strategy forthe Management of Municipal Waste-water completed by the Canadian Coun-cil of Ministers of the Environment.

The project is due to be built by


ple, the City of Merritt, BC, wentthrough a similar liquid waste manage-ment process to render its effluent crite-ria more environmentally relevant andeconomically sustainable.

Chris Town, P.Eng., M.A.Sc., is withUrban Systems Ltd. E-mail:[email protected]

EngineeringTechnician 1Environmental ServicesAssisting with research, prioritization, planning,design, and implementation of water supply andsanitary sewerage infrastructure capital projects, youwill review and comment on reports, designdrawings, and contract documents and communicatethe results to internal staff, external agencies,consultants, and senior management. You willcoordinate and review engineering designs, reports,and technical memoranda for water supply andsanitary sewerage infrastructure projects. You have apost-secondary diploma in civil, environmental orrelated engineering technology field, are registered oreligible for registration as an EngineeringTechnologist with OACETT, and have at least one yearof work related experience specializing in water andwastewater treatment technology. Your superiorinterpersonal and excellent communication skillstogether with strong knowledge and understandingof the operational processes for water distributionsystems, sewage collection systems, water treatmentand wastewater treatment facilities is paired withsound experience in Microsoft Office software,AutoCAD, and ArcGIS.

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March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:48 PM

Water Reuse

1,100-gpm average flow rate. Water couldnow be recycled numerous times throughthe plant (Figure 2).

Though the pump house seemedlarge, open space had to be maintainedto allow forklifts to enter and pull out thetwo existing vertical turbine pumps forperiodic maintenance, so media tankswould take up too much room.

Each filter is equipped with over 466sq in. of effective screen area. To initiatea cleaning cycle, the filtration systemcontroller uses either a signal from a pres-sure differential switch reaching a thresh-old across the inlet and outlet piping, orthe termination of an internal timer.

The automation and reliability pro-vided by this technology has made lifeeasier for the maintenance department.The entire cleaning cycle takes about 30seconds. Each filter has a 1½-in. rinsevalve designed to conserve water byminimizing the volume used duringeach cleaning cycle. The control timer isset to initiate a cleaning cycle everythree hours. The time function initiatesmost cleaning cycles, since the differen-tial pressure threshold of 7 psi is seldomreached in three hours.

The initial filtration degree of the in-stalled screens was 200 microns, orabout twice the diameter of a typicalhuman hair.

Two subsequent problems occurredfollowing the filtration system installa-tion. First, a chronic oil leak from a spe-cialized piece of equipment in theglass-making process began flowinginto the floor drains leading into the re-tention ponds. This equipment was in-stalled in such a way that the leak couldnot be accessed until a scheduled shut-down occurred. The furnaces must bekept full of molten glass at all times aswithdraws are compensated for by newraw materials. An unscheduled shut-down would have resulted in tons of so-lidified glass throughout the furnaces,flumes and machines.

The leaked oil was emulsified in theretention ponds so no free oil could beskimmed from the system.

The second problem occurred whenthe emulsified oil mixed with a finepowdery colloidal material used occa-sionally in the glass-making process.The oil and colloids passed through thescreens and began gumming up pipes

and instrumentation within the plant. Toprevent shut-down conditions, coolingwater was once more switched back tomunicipal supplies. The filter manufac-turer supplied 50-micron screens to at-tempt the removal of the finer particles.

Eventually the oil leak was fixed and


Figure 2. Two Orival Model ORG-060-LS filters.

the emulsified oil in the retention pondsdissipated. The system went back ontofiltered reuse water with no furthermishaps. Payback for the filtration sys-tem was a mere 33 days.

By reusing water, an automatic self-cleaning screen filtration system makesit possible to maintain precise producttemperature control and keep heat ex-changers and vacuum pumps free-flow-ing and instrumentation reliable, allwithout depending on potable water sup-plies.

Even in resource-rich North Amer-ica, water is becoming a precious com-modity. Proactive companies like PhilipsLighting are looking for ways to mini-mize potable water usage by reusingwater to the maximum extent possible.By reusing 1.6 million gallons of watereach day, the Danville plant is makingpotable water available for 4,000 addi-tional households in this Kentucky com-munity.

Marcus N. Allhands and Tom Broderickare with Orival Inc.

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March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:49 PM


where consumed, to avoid transmission losses and inefficiencies; and• Usually have available space, covered tankage and buildings that can be used for mounting panels.

According to a 2008 paper presentedat WEFTEC by CDM, a large US engi-neering consulting firm, WTPs andWWTPs are the single largest con-sumers of electricity within municipali-ties, accounting for over 60% of energyuse.

However, solar and wind installationsrequire a fairly large capital investmentand the return on investment can takemany years. Recently, the Ontario gov-ernment put forward a formidable planto put alternative energy and theprovince at the forefront of the greenpower industry worldwide.

Municipalities in Ontario are able totake advantage of the Feed-in Tariff(FIT) program offered by the OntarioPower Authority (OPA). This is perhapsthe most generous program in NorthAmerica for green energy, where munic-

Water and wastewater treat-ment plants, as they aremunicipally owned, areexcellent candidates for

becoming alternative energy productionfacilities.

The typical asset base of a municipal-ity includes: parks, the town or city hall,work yards, stadiums and arenas, com-munity centres, libraries, police and firestations, water treatment plants (WTPs)and water reservoirs, wastewater treat-ment plants (WWTPs), and pumpingand booster stations. Among all these fa-cilities, WTPs and WWTPs, and possi-bly pumping stations and reservoirs, arebest suited for providing solar and windpower plants. This is because they:• Are fenced-in to deter vandalism or theft;• Are monitored by skilled utility operators, who can determine and troubleshoot potential problems and perform required maintenance; • Are large users of electricity, and alternative energy is best produced

ipalities (and private businesses) canearn money for the energy produced. Al-though the program covers solar, wind,biogas, and water projects, the most at-tractive incentives are for solar photo-voltaic (PV) projects.

The projected tariffs for solar PVprojects are:• Small commercial and industrial (projects 10-250kW in size) $0.71/kWh• Medium commercial and industrial (projects 250-500kW in size) $0.64/kWh• Large commercial and industrial (projects greater than 500kW) $0.54/kWh• Ground mount (projects greater than 10MW) $0.44/kWh

For any PV project, the OPA willguarantee the above rates in a 20-yearcontract. Under the program, partici-pants are paid a fixed price for the elec-tricity they generate, regardless ofwhether they use any, some or all of it.With the FIT program, the return on anysuch capital project investment is sud-denly far better and faster.

Homeowners can also qualify for asimilar program called the MicroFIT,which pays even higher rates.

Is solar justified with Ontario’s climate?

Perhaps surprisingly, southern Ontariohas an annualized average of 4.3 hours ofsunlight per day, only one hour per dayless than sunny Florida, for instance.

Why is the Ontario government paying these incentives?

The program was conceived under theformer energy minister, George Smither-man, in the belief that paying an incentivefor solar and alternative energy to buildup the province’s electrical generating ca-pacity would be less costly and fasterthan adding more nuclear power plants.Considering that an average nuclear plantwould cost between $8 and $15 billionand take over 10 years to build, that isprobably a valid point. In addition, atsome point after the alternative energy

The case for solar power at water and wastewatertreatment plants By Michael Albanese

For any PV project, the Ontario Power Authority will guarantee the above ratesin a 20-year contract. continued overleaf...

Cover Story

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:54 PM

Cover Story

system is paid for, it provides free energy,and it is good for the environment, reduc-ing our reliance on fossil fuels.

New green jobs to be createdThere are 2,500 MW of renewable

energy earmarked for the first round ofthe FIT program. As of Dec. 1, 2009, theOPA had received 1,022 FIT applica-tions. The first FIT projects will gener-ate more than $5 billion in investmentsin manufacturing, design, construction,and engineering, according to OPA esti-mates, and lead to the creation of thou-sands of new jobs.

Minimum domestic content require-ments for both FIT and MicroFIT pro-jects are intended to help support thecreation of 50,000 new green jobs inOntario. FIT projects will help createnew local businesses and green jobs asdemand rises for technology, such assolar panels, wind turbines, biomass,and electricity storage systems, and forOntario companies that can design,build, install, operate and maintain thesetechnologies. At present, there is onlyone company manufacturing solar pan-els in Ontario, Sentinel Power Systems

in Concord, although others are movingto do the same.

Crunching the numbersAs an example, one local municipal

WTP or WWTP may have 20,000 sq ftof available space. Let’s assume thisspace is on existing building rooftopsand on covered tanks. The rule of thumbis about 50 kWh of PV generation per10,000 sq ft of available area, so thismunicipality would be able to provide100 kWh, which requires about 550 pan-els. This system would cost approxi-mately $750,000 installed and would fallin the Small FIT category, which pays$0.71/Kwh.

Even de-rating the 4.3 hours per dayto 3.4 hours per day to account for inef-ficiencies, the municipality could re-ceive $242 per day from the OPA. Thesystem would pay for itself in 8.5 years(straight cash basis) and, after that, themunicipality would receive 11.5 years ofpure profit, which in this case wouldamount to $1 million. Not a bad returnon investment at all.

Moreover, municipalities can usuallyqualify for some provincial and federal

funding for capital costs, so the upfrontcosts are actually less. For municipalitiesthat cannot front the money, many formsof private financing are available, and,in some cases, they can just receive rentfor the available space.

Currently, approximately 1,275 MWof renewable electricity are being gener-ated in Ontario, excluding large-scalehydro. Since 2003, the province hasgone from lagging behind on renewableenergy to being a North Americanleader. Home to Canada’s largest windand solar farms, Ontario is Canada’sleader in wind power and solar photo-voltaic capacity, and among the top 10solar jurisdictions in North America,ranked even higher than sunny placeslike Florida and Texas.

Municipalities can now consider thisas an investment that is guaranteed for20 years and one that will actually makemoney for them in the long run.

Michael Albanese is with H2FlowEquipment Inc. E-mail:[email protected]

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:54 PM

Water Treatment

Amajor concern at water andwastewater treatment facili-ties is identifying the most ef-fective and efficient way to

deal with solid particles and materialsfound in the liquid stream. These un-wanted contaminants can have an ad-verse effect on the plant’s operation, ifthey are not contained properly. The bestway to eliminate these solid particles isto have them clumped together into asludge that can be swept out of thewater-treatment stream.

The most effective means of achiev-ing this sludge-creating process isthrough the use of polyelectrolytes —polymers that consist of long-chain or-ganic molecules. These polymers can at-tract and absorb suspended solidparticles, making them easier to removefrom the water that is being treated. Ac-tivated polymer molecules can performthis crucial task, because they have amyriad of charged sites that attract sus-pended solids of opposite charge.

The benefits of using liquid polymersBy Greg Kriebel

A dynaBLEND installation.continued overleaf...

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:54 PM


Water Treatment

Although their higher molecularweight makes them very effective forthis process, polymers can be extremelydifficult to mix and feed into the treat-ment process. While other typicalwater/wastewater chemicals, such asalum, ferric chloride, and sodiumhypochlorite, can be easily diluted or ap-plied directly to the treatment processfrom a storage container, polymers mustbe “activated” to be effective, i.e., hy-drated and extended prior to their dilu-tion and introduction into the processstream.

Polymers are commonly used to re-move colloidal suspensions from surfacewaters and to condition municipalwastewater sludges to enhance the de-watering process. While lower-costmetallic salts, like alum or ferric chlo-ride, can be used to initiate the coagula-tion process, high-molecular-weightpolymers, or flocculant aids, are fed intothe process to form larger neutralizedparticles, called flocs, that settle faster.

Potential negative side effects ofusing metallic salts for coagulation in-clude the chance that they can contributeto high levels of residual metal contentin the treated water, and, in some cases,an excessive amount of sludge, which

will increase treatment costs.A more cost-effective approach to

coagulation and flocculation would beto use smaller doses of metallic salts forcharge neutralization and to add poly-mer for bridging, to create a large, set-tleable floc.

The challenge of using polymersWhen polymer makes initial contact

with water, the outer surfaces of the poly-mer particles become very sticky. If the

Cutaway view of a dynaBLENDblending unit.

particles are not properly dispersed priorto and during the initial wetting phase,agglomerations, or “fish-eyes,” will beformed. Agglomerations make it moredifficult for water to penetrate and hy-drate and activate the bound-up polymer.

Pumping neat (concentrated) poly-mer into a tank of water and using ahigh-speed mixer may properly dispersethe polymer and prevent clumping, orthe formation of agglomerations. Onceactivated, however, polymers are ex-tremely fragile. In their concentratedform, they are like coiled springs, butwhen the molecules are uncoiled and ex-tended, the polymer molecules becomevery fragile and are susceptible to frac-ture by any high-shear device. High-speed mixers, that are used to keep thesticky polymer particles separated, willfracture the activated polymer strandsand render them less effective in form-ing settleable flocs.

To compensate for any reduced effec-tiveness, plant operators often feed morepolymer than necessary, which leads toincreased chemical costs.

Another option is to use low-speed,low-shear mixing to avoid fracturing thepolymer molecules. Unfortunately, thismethod requires excessively large tanksthat allow for the slow dissolution of theinevitable agglomerations that areformed. Such a system also requires thebatching of polymer to be started hoursbefore the diluted polymer solution isneeded, which greatly increases the cap-ital costs of equipment and facilities.

A better alternative to large and ex-pensive tank systems is a liquid polymerblending and feed unit. An ideal poly-mer feed system should include a meansof introducing the neat polymer to thewater so as not to form agglomerations,while incorporating a two-stage or ta-pered mixing system in its design.

The first stage supplies the highshear and high energy needed to dis-perse and wet the polymer molecules, aprocess often referred to as inversion. Tomeet these criteria, polymer feeder man-ufacturers have developed various waysof introducing polymer to the dilutionwater in order to prevent formation ofagglomerations.

One such method is to draw the poly-mer out in a ribbon-like thin sheet andintroduce it to a high-energy waterstream. Research has shown that, whenpolymer is introduced into the water inthis fashion, it will be instantly and thor-oughly wetted into a useable solution.These wetted and extended polymermolecules may be easily fractured ifwww.hoskin.caHoskin Scientific Ltd.

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they remain in the high-energy zone foran extended period of time. That re-quires a second low-shear zone or ta-pered mixing regime that will completethe blending of the polymer with dilu-tion water, while not damaging the acti-vated and fragile polymer strands.

Types of polymersPolymers are available in a variety of

different forms and concentrations. Un-derstanding their different characteris-tics is essential in properly evaluatingthe process design that best suits a par-ticular operation.

1. Dry polymers. Shipped in a pow-der form that is similar to table salt orsugar, dry polymers are considered100% active when calculating forprocess design. The typical shelf life fordry polymers is several years, makingthem ideal for quantity purchase andstorage.

2. Emulsion polymers. Available inan oil-based liquid form with a milkyopaque appearance, emulsion polymershave viscosities that range from 100 to2,000 cps, which is similar to motor oil.Emulsion polymers have an averagecontent that is 40% active. The typicalshelf life for emulsion polymers is fourto six months.

3. Dispersion polymers. Also avail-able in an oil-based liquid form with aviscosity similar to that of motor oil, dis-persion polymers differ from emulsionpolymers in that their average content is50% active when calculating process de-sign. Their shelf life is four to sixmonths.

4. Solution polymers. These areknown as polyamines and are used forcoagulation purposes only, primarily inwater plants. Solution polymers are awater-based liquid with viscosities rang-ing from 2,000 to 10,000 cps, similar tohoney. The average content is 10% ac-tive for the purpose of calculatingprocess design.

5. Mannich polymers. This formalde-hyde-based liquid has a clear-to-milky ap-pearance with viscosities that range from10,000 to 50,000 cps, similar to gelatin.The average content is 5% active for cal-culating process design. The typical shelflife of this polymer is several weeks.

Choosing the right polymerChoosing which polymer to use de-

pends on a number of variables, not leastof which is the type of clarifier, filter ordewatering equipment being used in thewater-treatment process. Equipment se-lection also must consider water andwastewater characteristics, potentialchanges in those characteristics, bench-

test results and a comparison of savingsversus ease of use.

For handling liquid polymers in waterand wastewater applications, the dyna-BLEND® Liquid Polymer Blending Sys-tem from Fluid Dynamics, meets all of therecommended polymer-activation criteria.

The dynaBLEND system has beendesigned to effectively activate all typesof liquid polymer. Its non-mechanicalmixing chamber is very reliable and itsinjection check valve has been designedfor easy disassembly and inspection.

All of these features allow the system

Water Treatment

to apply ultra-high mixing energy at thepoint of initial polymer and water contactto prevent polymer gelling and agglom-eration, while prolonged turbulence al-lows the polymer to complete theblending process gently and fully. Fi-nally, after the polymer is initially acti-vated, the gentle mixing energy does notbreak the fragile molecular chain.

Greg Kriebel is with a division of Neptune Chemical Pump Co. E-mail:

[email protected]

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:54 PM


Plant Operations

Acoustical treatment to achieve max-imum noise reduction was calculated.Functional (unit) sound absorbing pan-els were installed on the ceilings andwalls of both rooms. The average noiselevel in the pump room was reduced to85 dBA, and in the blower room it wasreduced to 82 dBA. This brought therooms into OSHA compliance, and re-

Noise levels in the pump andblower rooms at newly con-structed wastewater treat-ment facilities in Coney

Island, New York, exceeded OSHA re-quirements, and communication bet-ween workers was extremely difficult.

Part of the problem was the nature ofthe construction of the two large rooms.Walls and floors were concrete and theceiling was metal deck, all of which arehighly reflective surfaces. There weremultiple pieces of equipment in eachroom. Average background noise levelsin the pump room were 92 dBA and, inthe blower room, they were 87 dBA. Agoal was set to reduce the level to 85dBA, or less.

Rooms within the integrated waste-water and sludge treatment facility wereevaluated as to their noise problems.Based on these studies, several roomsneeded to be treated with unit sound ab-sorbing panels.

Sound absorbing panels reduce WWTP noise levels

duced reverberation to levels that did notinterfere with communication betweenworkers.

Engine generator and pump roomIn the generator room, which is 87 ft.

wide x 153 ft. long x 41 ft. high, thereare four sets of 2,500 HP diesel enginegenerators, with multiple pumps avail-able. They drive 600 HP motors, which

Figure 1. Engine Generator Room before installation of EFPs.

Figure 2. After installation of EFPs.

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Plant Operations

With one engine set and three pumpsrunning, background noise was reducedfrom 92.5dBA to 82.7dBA after EFPtreatment, a reduction of 9.85dBA. Withtwo sets of engine generators and fourpumps running, average noise levels werereduced by 6.98dBA, to bring the overallnoise level below 85dBA (Table 1).

Blower RoomSimilar results were obtained for the

blower room. Here, too, a mix of panelsizes was used – 30” x 10 ft., 30” x 8 ft.,30” x 4 ft., and 42” x 5 ft. – as the mostefficient means of achieving the desirednoise reduction. This room measures 53ft. x 120 ft. x 25 ft., so 2,651 sq. ft. ofpanels were adequate for effective treat-ment. With two blowers running, the av-erage reduction in noise levels, withEFPs installed, was over 5dBA, from86.6dBA to 81.3dBA (Table 2).

Table 1. Coney Island Water Pollution Control Project Noise Survey.

Table 2. Coney Island Water Pollution Control Project Noise Survey.

operate the pumps. For the normal run-ning mode, one engine generator set isused to drive two or three pumps. Thetypical overload is two engine sets todrive four pumps. One of the other setsof engine generators is redundant; theother is kept in reserve.

Prior to installation of Eckel’s Eck-oustic Functional Panels (EFP), soundlevel measurements were taken at eightlocations within the room, at various dis-tances from the engine generators (Fig-ure 1). Acoustic treatment here involveda ceiling treatment with 6,602 sq. ft.(50%) coverage and wall treatment with2,069 sq. ft. (10%) coverage (Figure 2).For the ceiling treatment, three-quartersof the panels were 30” x 10 ft. The re-mainder were 30” x 8 ft. On the walls,the panel sizes were 48” x 8 ft. and 24”x 6 ft. (All of these are standard sizes.)

ConclusionUnit sound absorbing panels offer

several advantages as a method ofadding sound absorption to spaces withhard reflective surfaces. They can be in-stalled in new or existing facilities, with-out interference with utilities such assprinklers, lighting, ventilation, etc.They require little or no maintenance,and are effective in lowering back-ground noise and reverberation in awide variety of industrial and architec-tural applications.


One Engine & Two Engines & 3 Pumps Running 4 Pumps RunningPosition Before After Before After

dBA dBA dBA dBAEG1 92.60 82.70 EG1A 93.00 85.80EG2 93.10 83.30 EG2A 92.50 86.90EG3 95.60 88.10 EG3A 94.60 88.10EG4 90.70 80.70 EG4A 91.00 83.40EG5 92.00 81.60 EG5A 90.10 82.70EG6 91.10 80.90 EG6A 89.50 82.20EG7 92.90 82.60 EG7A 93.00 86.00EG8 92.60 81.90 Change EG8A 91.90 84.70 Change

Average 92.58 82.73 -9.85 91.95 84.98 -6.98

Engine Generator Room No. 2-02

Position Before After

dBA dBABR1 85.50 81.10BR2 84.90 79.50BR3 88.60 84.60BR4 87.80 86.00 (Near Field Condition)BR5 89.00 82.10BR6 85.60 81.00BR7 86.30 79.70

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Gavin Wu has beenappointed as Applica-tion Engineer for Mu-nicipal & IndustrialProducts. Gavin hasmore than 12 years ex-perience in the water

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March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:55 PM


Regulations

In one of the most sweeping envi-ronmental reforms in the Munici-pality’s history, thousands ofenterprises in the City of Toronto

have been mandated to report on theiruse of toxic chemicals in business oper-ations, or face fines of up to $100,000.

The City’s "Environmental Reportingand Disclosure By-Law" was passed byCity Council on December 4, 2008, andcame into force on a four-year phased-inbasis, beginning January 1, 2010. This"community right to know" initiative re-quires businesses and facilities (includ-ing City operations) located in the Cityof Toronto to annually report their use,manufacture, process and release of 25toxic chemicals of priority health con-cern (priority toxic substances), whichare above prescribed thresholds or levels.

The threshold is 100kg/year for most

toxic chemicals, but even lower for cer-tain chemicals deemed “highly toxic”.

It is anticipated that this disclosureinitiative will impact 5,000 to 7,000 in-dustrial, commercial and institutional fa-cilities, once the reporting period hasbeen phased in over the four years.

The reporting program is intended tocomplement programs at the federal andprovincial levels, by filling in the gapsstemming from the National PollutantRelease Inventory (NPRI), under theCanadian Environmental Protection Actand Ontario’s Toxic Reduction StrategyProgram (TRSP) under the Toxics Re-duction Act, which came into force onJanuary 1, 2010.

Unlike NPRI and TRSP, which applyto large facilities, the City’s initiativewill apply to large, medium and smallsized facilities operating within the Cityof Toronto. Businesses which use, man-ufacture, process and release one ormore of the 25 priority toxic substances,including volatile organic compounds,nitrogen oxides (NOx), vinyl chloride,polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs), perchloroethylene, chromium,benzene, formaldehyde, lead, mercury

Toronto implements new environmental reportingand disclosure by-lawBy James Ayres

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March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:55 PM


Regulations and nickel, among others, will be re-quired to report to the City’s Departmentof Public Health (TPH).

Phase I sector industries, namely, foodand beverage manufacturing, printingand publishing, chemical manufacturing,wood industries, power generation, andwaste and water facilities, will be re-quired to begin tracking their 2010 chem-ical use and emissions, with the data tobe reported to TPH by June 30, 2011.

Phase II sector industries, namely,chemical wholesale, waste managementand remediation services, medical anddiagnostic laboratories, dry cleaning andlaundry services, auto body repair, andfuneral services establishments, willbegin tracking 2011 data, with reporting(along with Phase I sector industry 2011data) by June 30, 2012.

“Other manufacturing” sector indus-tries not exempt under the By-Law, orPhase III industries, comprised of papermanufacturing, primary metal manufac-turing, machinery manufacturing, amongothers, will begin tracking 2012 data,with reporting (along with Phase I and IIsector industry 2012 data) on June 30,2013.

Facilities which are exempted in-clude: those engaged solely in retailsales, medical or dental offices, con-struction and building maintenancesites, food accommodation services, fa-cilities that distribute, store or sell fuels,and facilities that maintain and repairvehicles (except for painting or strippingof vehicles, and rebuilding or remanu-facturing vehicle components, which arenot exempt).

Once reported, individuals will haveaccess to the information, subject to theMunicipal Freedom of Information andProtection of Privacy Act, on the basisthat community members have the rightto know the location, source and healtheffects of toxic chemicals in their com-munity. It is anticipated that this infor-mation may be accessed electronically(web based) by either facility name,chemical name, or by neighbourhood.

The By-Law imposes a significantmandatory reporting obligation on allfacilities that use or emit the toxic chem-icals which TPH has labelled as being apriority health concern.

The By-Law provides that every per-son who contravenes it, and every direc-

tor or officer of a corporation whoknowingly concurs in its contraventionby the corporation, is guilty of an of-fence and liable to a fine of $5,000.00for a first offence, $25,000.00 for a sec-ond offence, and $100,000.00 for a thirdor subsequent offence.

The By-Law aims to lessen or elimi-nate chemical use and the release ofchemicals into the natural environment.The obligations imposed by the By-lawwill require facilities to carefully trackchemicals and will give rise to publicscrutiny achieved through the reportingand disclosure obligations.

Further information regarding theCity’s initiative and what impact, if any,it will have on your business, or facility,may be obtained at www.toronto.ca/chemtrac.

James Ayres is with Cassels Brock &Blackwell LLP.E-mail: [email protected]

March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:49 PM

March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:50 PM


Wastewater Treatmentdirectly over the centre of the wet welland, according to record drawings, thecentreline of the incoming pipe. Thebuilding was designed to connect to theroof of the wet well via a concrete shaftthat would provide a vertical path for themechanical screen down to the plant’sinlet. The shaft was sized to be sup-ported along the front wall of the wetwell and sharp-edged corbels at theback, ensuring that enough space wasprovided, not only for the screen but fora ladder access for operators. (Figure 1)

Design issuesOnce the preferred alternative was

selected, the focus shifted to resolvingpredicted design issues.

One significant issue that had to beovercome was the angle of the bar screen.Where the preference of most manufac-turers is to have the screen sitting at a 70°angle, site limitations required it to oper-ate completely vertically in the shaft. Thisconstraint was discussed at length withvarious manufacturers and only a fewwere found to have the ability to addressthe situation. The site contractor, H2Ontario Inc., used the Headworks® barscreen to complete the task.Installing the new bar screen.

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Without an existing inlet channel, RVAthen addressed the issue of getting all theflow to enter the bar screen without short-circuiting. The wet well is 6.5 m wide,while the bar screen width is only 900mm. Simply lowering the unit into placewould not ensure that all flow met thescreen field. The solution was a rugged,stainless steel box, with the ability to beoverflowed in the case of high wet-weather flows. The steel box provides atight seal as an entryway to the screen.

Challenges during constructionOnce design was complete, construc-

tion-related issues were handled as theydeveloped.

The first challenge was to find amethod of safely bypassing the only en-trance to the plant during screen instal-lation. A manhole located 30 m upstreamof the wet well, on the opposite side ofthe nearby walking trail and outside thelimits of the plant, was chosen as the lo-cation where flow would be diverted.

The outlet from the manhole wasplugged and submersible pumps weretemporarily used to transfer flow to theprimary clarifiers. During the one-weekbypass, overland pipes were guarded

nightly by a contracted security companyto avoid incident.

Next, the new building and deepshaft were designed with the under-standing that they would be in closeproximity to the adjacent shallow-footedgrit building. Using the plant’s geotech-nical report, RVA’s structural teamworked directly with the contractor’s en-gineer to develop a successful shoringplan. Throughout excavation, the slopeand building foundation were monitoredregularly to prevent incident.

With the shoring plan implemented,the contractor was able to begin excava-tion. Before long, it was discovered thatthe steps cantilevered from the rawsewage pump house were not supportedby the deep wet well, as hoped. It wasclear that excavation would underminethe steps, causing immediate collapseand severe damage to the old building.Therefore, it was recommended that thecontractor use hydro excavation to ex-pose the roof of the wet well, locate itsthick outer wall, set in a cage of rebarand pour concrete for a reinforced col-umn to support the steps.

Once complete, the contractor was

able to excavate to the roof of the wetwell without issue. Since record draw-ings had indicated that the incoming900-mm pipe was located at the centreof the wet well, original plans called forthe contractor to remove the wet wellroof an equidistant amount from eitherside of the wet well’s centreline. Whenthe roof was removed, it was revealedthat the sewer was, in fact, not centred.

To avoid redesign and delays, RVAand H2 Ontario worked together to de-velop a solution that would allow thescreen to be located in the centre of thewet well, as planned. By setting thestainless steel box further back from theinlet and installing baffle plates, the flowwas shifted as necessary, without ex-ceeding the space restrictions of thescreen’s concrete shaft.

Lessons learnedThe mechanical bar screen is cur-

rently removing more than 1.5 m3 ofsolids weekly. In addition to being easilymaintained and reliable, its benefits in-clude a reduction in surface scum in theprimary clarifiers and reduced foaming.This is because much of the fats, oils



March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:56 PM


and greases in the influent attach tosolids that are removed before beingtransferred from the wet well.

Success was achieved with extensiveforethought and innovative ideas that de-

veloped as the job progressed. In anyconstruction project, there are lessons tobe learned and this was no exception.

First, involving manufacturers fromthe design stage was critical to the pro-

ject’s outcome. There are many barscreen suppliers that are capable in a va-riety of wastewater applications, butevery job is different and it is importantto be sure that the manufacturers speci-fied have experience in the type of pro-ject being considered. Communicationalso helped during the shop drawingphase to avoid conflict with height andspace restrictions.

Next, a client has a great opportunityfor capital investment savings with awell-written, clearly defined scope in thetender documents. By removing the ele-ment of uncertainty, the need for addi-tional contingencies can be minimized.

Finally, it is highly beneficial to taketime to predict potential construction is-sues when they can be resolved duringdesign. Preventative investigations willalways be less costly than discoveringproblems in the field. This includes coresamples of concrete to determinestrength prior to removal, and vacuumexcavation, or other means, to confirmpipe locations.

In addition, the confirmation of crit-ical information on record drawings andthe importance of contingency planscannot be overlooked. A step-back ap-proach to view the bigger picture goes along way to preventing problems afterthe first shovel has broken ground.

Nathaniel Andres is with R.V. Anderson Associates Ltd. E-mail:

[email protected]

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The Bird Island WastewaterTreatment Plant in NiagaraFalls, New York, is located lessthan a mile south of the Falls

and can be seen from the Canadian bor-der. It is one of the largest treatmentplants in the northeast United States,serving about 550,000 residents in thecity of Buffalo and surrounding suburbs.

The plant has provided primary treat-ment of sewage since it opened in 1938.A $200-million upgrade project addedsecondary treatment processes in the late1970s. The plant has no shortage of ca-pacity; it accommodates flows of up to180 million gallons on a dry day, 600MGD during wet-weather periods, and360 MGD through its secondary treat-ment processes.

One of the Bird Island plant’s princi-pal challenges over the years has been gritremoval. For the first 65 years of opera-tion, it relied on a rudimentary grit-re-moval system consisting of longitudinalchannels with chains, buckets and scrap-ers to lift grit from the channels. The

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Wastewater Treatment channels slowed the flows to about onefoot per second and the buckets andscrapers removed grit from the bottom ofthe channels into a hopper. This cleanedsome of the grit, but allowed a significantvolume of material to pass through theheadworks and settle in the aerationbasins.

The plant’s operator, the BuffaloSewer Authority, installed a new paddle-wheel, mechanically-induced vortex-type system in 2004, improving theperformance of the overall grit-removaloperation. But a problem remained: thegrit that had passed through the basicchain-and-flight system for years hadaccumulated in the aeration basins to thepoint where it had buried the fine-bub-ble diffusers in one to two feet of grit.Plant operators needed to clean out yearsof grit accumulation and set up a processthat would remove similar build-upsin the future.

“This was a major issue,” says JimKeller, plant superintendent of the Buf-falo Sewer Authority. “We had so muchgrit deposited in the system, it was forc-ing us to use more energy to run theblowers in the aeration basins. It had

degritting is used to provide sludge pro-cessing equipment with a constant,homogenous feed mixture. Sludge degrit-ting typically involves applying centrifu-gal forces to separate grit particles fromorganic sludge. The process protects di-gestion systems and other expensivesludge process equipment, and reducesthe overall volume of sludge requiringdisposal.

Today, the Bird Island WastewaterTreatment Plant uses a portable sumppump to feed grit slurry to a Eutek Slur-ryCup™ grit-washing unit from its sec-ondary clarifiers. A Eutek Grit Snail™dewatering escalator is used to removewater from the captured grit. Both sys-tems are supplied by Hydro Interna-tional. Unlike some sludge degrittingsetups, the equipment used at the BirdIsland plant is not installed permanentlyin one area of the plant, but is positionedon a portable steel skid that can bemoved around by a forklift or crane.

The Sewer Authority used the mobilesystem to remove grit from four of the16 aeration basins during the summer of2008. In the first phase, the system re-

gotten to the point of diminishing re-turns.”

Grit removal is an important process.It protects centrifuges, digestion systems,solids handling equipment, high-pressureprogressing cavity and diaphragm pumps,and other expensive mechanical equip-ment, by reducing unnecessary abrasivewear.

Options for removing gritThe Sewer Authority considered a

number of solutions to clean the grit outof the 16 aeration basins. Hiring contrac-tors was too expensive. Using pumps,vactor trucks, or centrifuge systems, allhad downsides. Some of these optionsinvolved harmful chemicals, while othersrequired the plant to implement difficultwork processes.

During his search, Mr. Keller discov-ered an alternative solution: buying askid-mounted system to remove anddegrit the slurry accumulated in thebasins. At a local conference, he saw anopen-vortex grit removal model in oper-ation, and was convinced.

In plants such as Bird Island, wheregrit removal processes do not removeenough grit from peak flows, sludge

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fier with secondary washing. Liquid-particle separation occurs within the sys-tem as a result of centrifugal forcesexceeding fluid drag forces.

Classification and separation of par-ticles according to size occurs within theboundary layer. Once the particles arecaptured in the boundary layer and sweptto the centre, the Eutek Slurry-Cup’sHydraulic Valve™ uses clean rinse

moved about 250 tons of grit. The Au-thority plans to move the system aroundthe plant, cleaning out the remaining 12tanks, four at a time, in three phases overthe next couple of years.

The Eutek SlurryCup removes gritand fine abrasives as small as 75 mi-crons, with minimal unattached organicsolids. Its open free vortex operates as acentrifugal solids separator and classi-

water for secondary washing to separateattached organics. This allows the unitto remove and wash over 90% of grit assmall as 50 microns in diameter in bothheadwork and sludge-degritting applica-tions.

The Eutek Grit Snail captures finegrit and abrasives by providing sufficientclarifier area to retain 75-micron parti-cles. A slow-moving, cleated belt gentlylifts grit from the clarifier pool withoutre-suspending captured fine grit parti-cles, which would allow them to escapewith the clarifier overflow. The com-bined degritting system delivers clean,dry grit, containing 60% total solids andless than 20% volatile solids (organics).

During the aeration basin cleaning op-eration, grit and other solids deposited inthe aeration basins are washed to one endof the basin with a fire hose. The slurry ispumped to the degritting system. Degrit-ted effluent is stored in an adjacent basinand chlorinated to destroy filamentousbacteria prior to re-entering the treatmentprocess.

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Washed grit from the SlurryCup Snail system is loaded into dumpsters for locallandfill disposal.

March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:50 PM


Instrumentation

Traditionally, floats have been used,which simply provide an on and off sig-nal to the pump at the high and low lev-els. Bubbler systems have also beenutilized, although they create increasedmaintenance challenges, as they requirea continual gas flow. Today, there aremany other sensor technologies formeasuring liquid levels, such as radar,ultrasonic, and conductive. These can beeither expensive for a relatively simplelift station, or unreliable due to the op-erating environment.

Recently, submerged hydrostaticpressure transmitters have been devel-oped to withstand the environmentalconditions and provide continuous mon-itoring for enhancement of control, withincreased long-term reliability.

The technologyA number of manufacturers, such

as Process Measurement & Controls

(PMC), have developed dedicated sen-sors for this application. An example isthe VL2000. Many features have beendesigned into this level/pressure trans-mitter to overcome the challenges facedin sewage lift stations.

As many lift stations are located indifficult to reach places, the overwhelm-ing requirement is for reliability. Thisrequires a clean design with high in-tegrity seals. Due to the nature of the ef-fluent, the sensing element must beexposed to avoid clogging. This problemis also becoming more important as aresult of the increase in FOG (fats, oiland grease) associated with fast-foodrestaurants. Ceramic capacitive sensingtechnology provides a rugged open-facesensor that can achieve high accuracy ofbetter than 0.1%, down to sewage levelsof just a few inches of water.

Sewage lift or pump stations allwork on the same principle,and have the same objective ofmoving sewage from one level

to a higher elevation. Their installationcosts range from $150,000 (20 gallonsper minute) to $1.5 million (100,000gallons per minute), generally based oncapacity and complexity.

Pump technology has come a longway in recent years, and, in particular, asmall component has received signifi-cant development. This is the level sen-sor, which is essential to pump controland the reliability of the station. A typi-cal schematic for a sewage lift station,featuring the level sensor (pressuretransmitter) and its associated hardware,is shown in Figure 1. The purpose of thelevel sensor is to provide an electricalfeedback to the pump, telling it when toswitch on and off.

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Instrumentation

The technology also provides a veryhigh overpressure of at least three timesthe rated range, with no degradation ofsensor performance. This protects the

transmitter from damage due to over-flow or back pressure. The laser-welded,one inch-diameter housing is generallymade from 316L stainless steel, al-

though titanium is often preferred wherethe effluent is more corrosive.

A further design feature is the elec-trical connection. The most reliable so-lution is to incorporate a custom-moldedcable using thick-walled polyurethane,which becomes integral to the transmit-ter and can be supplied in any length upto 5,000 ft. This cable not only incorpo-rates the electrical connection, but alsohouses a nylon breather tube and Kevlarstrain relief.

The Kevlar will support over 200 lbbreaking force and will not stretch until

Figure 1. Schematic of a typical lift station featuring the depth/level sensor andcontrol system.

Figure 2. SW2000 sink weight (bird-cage style) incorporating submersible level transmitter.

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Instrumentation

ever, this breather tube must be protectedfrom ingress of moisture. There are manytechniques for accomplishing this, suchas using desiccant within the terminationenclosure to enhance the long-term reli-ability of the transmitter.

PMC has developed a sealed Mylarenclosure that requires zero mainte-nance and does not rely on the use ofdesiccants or consumables.

Because the transmitter is relativelylightweight and is preferably positioneda few inches from the tank bottom, it isfairly common to use sink weights. Anexample can be seen in Figure 2. Thistype of sink weight is sometimes calleda “bird cage” and, in the case of thePMC transmitter, can be removed fromthe transmitter if necessary. In othercases, the bird cage is integral to thetransmitter.

The same technology can be appliedto deep wells for the monitoring ofgroundwater. In such cases, the trans-mitter is usually slightly smaller in di-ameter, 3/4-in, and more likely to becontained within a titanium housing toprotect against the possibility of corro-

97% of its breaking load is applied. Thisis a very valuable feature if the transmit-ter has to be removed and is buried inthe sludge at the bottom of the tank.

Various electrical outputs are re-quired, including the most popular 4-20mA two-wire loop power. Other outputsinclude 1-5 volts, or even digital such asHart®. In some cases, users wish to ad-just the level transmitter and this can bedone via digital communication, featur-ing a full-scale range turndown to 10%of the originally specified range. Thesetransmitters can be provided with a full-scale pre-set range to suit any sewage liftstation.

In lift stations where hazardous gasesexist, transmitters can be certified ‘FM in-trinsically safe’ for use in Class I, II & III,Div. I, Groups A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

The cable termination is also impor-tant, not only to provide connection to thecontrol system and pump, but also to cre-ate an outlet for the breather tube to theatmospheric pressure. This is vital to en-sure the correct operation of the transmit-ter, which would otherwise be affected bychanges in barometric pressures. How-

sion caused by brackish water. One ad-ditional feature of these transmitters isa protective nose cone. This not onlyavoids damage while lowering the trans-mitter into the well, which can be up to5,000 feet deep, but also protects thesensor from harm due to water hammer,a phenomenon often created in closeproximity to a down-hole pump.

Today’s high-integrity, well-devel-oped submersible pressure transmittersprovide highly reliable, zero-mainte-nance level monitoring and pump con-trol for sewage lift stations and deepwell monitoring. These hydrostatic levelmeasuring transmitters continuallymonitor the sewage level and, with theenhancements in the associated controlsystems, provide information related topump performance and general healthmonitoring of the facility.

Rob Knowles is with Process Measurement & Controls. E-mail:

[email protected]

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:58 PM


Water Treatment

these membranes and provide circulat-ing water to keep them clean. Clean per-meate water from the membranes passesto the clear well. Concentrate water car-ries contaminants to waste.

MD-80 iron and manganese removal filters

The three MD-80 pressure filters useMD-80 catalytic media for the removalof iron because iron will cause the mem-branes to become fouled quickly. Typi-cally, these filters are each backwashedonce per day. If any one of the three fil-ters is backwashing, the other two filtersare able to handle the total flow rate.Auto-backwash function for them isblocked until the first backwashing fin-ishes. That means only one of three MD-80 filters is allowed to backwash, and atleast two of the three filters must be inservice.

In normal filtering mode, the inletraw water entering the top of the filterexits it at the bottom. The inlet and ef-fluent valves are open whenever the wellpumps are on. These valves close auto-matically when the low lift pump stops,or when the filter is in backwash mode.

When a filter begins its run, there isusually a high turbidity in the effluentwater for a short period, before the fil-tering process stabilizes. The MD-80 fil-ters will perform a rinse when the rawwell pumps start at the beginning of a

In 2006, the Canadian governmentintroduced a water plan of actionthat significantly changed the waywater quality was addressed in

First Nation communities. Twenty onecommunities in Canada had been iden-tified as having high risk drinking watersystems and drinking water advisories ineffect. Projects to provide a safe drinkingsupply for First Nations were a priority.

Rolling River First Nation in Mani-toba had been served by a softeningplant with greensand filters. By 2006,the population had grown to 336 people,which was far more than the plant wasdesigned for. To ensure a sufficient andhealthy water supply, Indian and North-ern Affairs Canada (INAC) decided toprovide financial assistance to build anew plant, so treatment capacity couldbe increased by 400%.

Construction of a new water treat-ment plant started in 2007. Raw waterfrom two underground wells has highhardness, iron, manganese, and organiccontent. Finished water is required tomeet Canadian Drinking Water Guide-lines and the Federal Government’s Pro-tocol for Safe Drinking Water in FirstNation Communities.

The treatment processNapier-Reid provided a system con-

sisting of MD-80 catalytic media filtra-tion, followed by nanofiltration. Thesystem is designed for a feed rate of 936m³/day, and a permeate rate of 70% afternanofiltration to produce 648 m³/day ofdrinking water, without the use of coag-ulating agents. The package plant con-sists of two trains, comprised of threeMD-80 pressure filters, a cartridge filterand a membrane filter for each train anda common control panel. The two trainsare independent and operate simultane-ously.

The MD-80 filters are used to removeiron and manganese. Water leaving theMD-80 filters goes to the nano mem-brane system. The first component onthe membrane filter skid is the cartridgefilters, then the actual nano membranefilters. Booster pumps on the membraneskid are used to force water through

filter run. During the rinse, treated efflu-ent water is sent to waste, instead of tothe next stage. The duration of the rinseis usually about fifteen minutes and isadjustable from the process screen of thePanelView display. A rinse also occursafter a backwash, again to allow the fil-tering process to stabilize.

Potassium permanganate is injectedinto the influent, to react with dissolvediron and manganes. This allows themanganese MD-80 filter media to re-move iron and manganese from the rawwater. Potassium permanganate is thefirst chemical to be added in the flow, soits dosage should be established first.The dosage should be high enough toproduce a very slight pink colour in theincoming well water. The potassium per-manganate dosage must not be too high,as this would cause the pink colour tocarry through to the filter effluent. Thepink colour is absorbed by the man-ganese MD-80 in the process of “re-gen-erating” it.

If the system is operated with insuf-ficient potassium permanganate, themanganese MD-80 will become de-pleted. If this happens, it will no longerbe able to remove iron and must be re-placed.

Membrane filtersFiltered water is then split into two

membrane filter units. Cartridge filters,

Rolling River First Nation community gets newwater treatment plant

The MD-80 pressure filters.

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:58 PM


Water Treatment

with a pore size of one micron, are thefirst stage, followed by membranenanofiltration filters for removal ofhardness and organics.

The cartridge filters each containseven filter elements. These are dispos-able elements, which must be replacedwhen they become clogged, or every twoweeks. The operator will know that theseelements are clogged, because the differ-ential pressure, indicated on two pres-sure gauges on each cartridge filter, willbe more than 70 Kpa. Elements are notable to be used longer than two weeks,even if the difference of pressure is lessthan 70 Kpa. If the system has been shutdown for longer than one week, in-stalling new elements is required, beforethe system is turned on again.

The membrane filters have five spiralwound membrane elements inside eachpressure housing. Incoming raw water isbrought to a high pressure by the boosterpump and enters the housings. A portionof the raw water passes through eachmembrane to the centre. This clean per-meate water exits from the 40 mm con-nection at the opposite end. Water thatremains on the outside of the mem-

branes is referred to as the concentrate,because this outer water now contains aconcentrated portion of the contami-nants from the raw water.

Membrane filters remove virtually allsuspended dirt particles in the water, byforcing it through very small openingsin the membrane media. These smallopenings must be continuously scouredwith water to prevent them from becom-

ing blocked. This scouring action is cre-ated by a high flow rate of water passingalong the outside of the membranes.

Anti-scalant and sodium bisulphiteare dosed into the system for membraneprotection.

Clean-in-PlaceThe nano membrane units perform

automatic flushes regularly, to remove

Design Output: Influent Effluent Actual648 m³/day (Tested Average) (specified)

Hardness as CaCO3 1308 130-180 113(mg/L)

Iron (mg/L) 1.24 0.1~0.3 <0.02

Manganese(mg/L) 2 0.01~0.05 <0.007

TDS (mg/L) 1762 200 180

Turbidity (NTU) 19 0.1~1 <0.1

Color (TCU) 14.3 5~15 <5

COD (mg/L) 23.5 BOD (mg/L) 6.0

Key water quality parameters.


Over 2,500,000 Membranes Produced since 1989

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Our knowledge and experience combined with proven system approach make Eimco Water Technologies a partner of choice for all your Membrane project requirements.

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March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:50 PM

Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine

Water Treatment

operation every six months. The termClean-in-Place (CIP) refers to the factthat the membranes are in place insidethe membrane housings. The systemconsists of one 1000 litre CIP tank, one

5 KW heater installed in the CIP tank,one centrifugal CIP pump, one 50mmPVC isolation valve, and one pressuregauge.

The CIP consists of two separatecleaning cycles. The first cleaning cycleuses an acid-based cleaner. This removeshard water scale from the membranes.The second cycle uses an alkali-basedcleaner to remove organic fouling. Arinse must be executed between the twochemicals to prevent the acid neutraliz-ing the alkali cleaner. After the CIP op-eration, the membrane unit must berinsed for approximately 30 minutes.

Napier-Reid also supplied instrumen-tation for measuring the quality of thewater and PLC to control all the func-tions of the Rolling River First Nationwater plant.

The project started in early 2008 andis operating very satisfactorily. The sys-tem has produced water exceeding thespecified effluent criteria since July2008.


accumulated solids from the system.There will still be a build-up of stubbornsolids, which will not be removed bythese automatic flushes. Therefore, it isnecessary to perform a clean-in-place

The membrane filtration system produces 648 m3 of potable water per day.

68 | March 2010

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:58 PM

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Water Treatment

customers. It also frees up their person-nel to perform other duties.

Real-time monitoring providesquicker notification of problems beforethey are noticed by water customers.And depending on its capabilities, theautomation system can be a useful toolin the maintenance and prevention ofproblems associated with failing orfailed equipment. This allows more uptime and continuity in the quality and re-liability of the product.

If done properly, automation is usu-ally a wise investment that will pay foritself in a relatively short time. The typesof automation and technologies that maybe employed vary widely, each having itsown advantages and disadvantages.

Factors to considerIt is important to select the proper tech-

nology for your system. When automatinga system, think about what needs to bedone today. Ascertain critical and otherdesired functions, and make sure protec-tive systems are in place to prevent equip-ment/system damage when equipment isoperated without supervision.

It is not only big cities or largewater districts that can take advan-tage of today’s supervisory controland data acquisition (SCADA) sys-

tems. Smaller communities or water dis-tricts can often benefit more from areliable automation system than theirlarger counterparts.

Ironically, larger communities tend todedicate people to monitoring and con-trolling an almost fully automated watersystem. In contrast, smaller communi-ties use their staff more diversely to runa water system that is minimally auto-mated (if at all).

Minimal automation and growing de-mands of aging equipment often resultin stretching available resources to thepoint where not everything that needs tobe done gets done. This is especially truefor small communities that have manu-ally operated plants.

Benefits of automationMany smaller communities and water

districts are finding that automating theirsystems improves the reliability andquality of the water they deliver to their

Also consider future expansions andnew regulations, projecting at least fiveyears down the road. Assess the existingtechnology/automation you currentlyhave and determine if any of it can bereused. Identify your technology com-fort level, the desired system access/no-tification, and any necessary trainingand spare parts.

Many rural water districts inadver-tently accumulate various technologiesthat provide a basic level of control/mon-itoring for different water system com-ponents, wells, booster pumps, filters,holding ponds, lagoons, tanks, flow me-ters, etc. Over the years, districts add to,modify, or otherwise update their sys-tems. Unless careful consideration isgiven to the designs, there is usually littleor no continuity in the type of installedequipment. This lack of continuity canbe difficult for operators and, over thelife of the equipment, will add to the costof operating a system.

Communities with a hodgepodge ofequipment and limited finances wouldfind it beneficial to sit down, at somepoint, and create a technology/systemroad map. This road map would addressthe considerations mentioned above anddevelop a strategy for creating continuityin the system. Because of the flexibilityof today’s automation systems, existingequipment can sometimes be easily ac-commodated and economically inte-grated into the new system. However,care must be taken not to incorporate ex-isting equipment that is unreliable.

It is best to use a technology made forwater and wastewater applications thatis also based on an open and scalable ar-chitecture. Open architectures allow thebest chance to interface with existingand new technologies and increase au-tomation system life. Scalable architec-ture allows a system design that canperform the functions needed today,with the ability to be scaled up to amuch larger and more capable systemthat does not need to switch to or inte-grate different technologies to accom-

Achieving big returns by automating rural watersystems

By Troy A. Hertog

The control panel should be sized to accommodate needed equipment foreasy access and provide clear identification of components and terminationpoints.

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:59 PM


Water Treatment

modate higher levels of automation. Automation products that are made

for water and wastewater are more user-friendly, easier to operate and often havebuilt-in diagnostics that reduce the levelof technical expertise needed to trou-bleshoot the equipment.

Automation can benefit every user.

There are several ways a community canbring reliable, cost-effective automationto its system. Regardless of the systemselected, it is important to seek a com-pany/automation partner that has expert-ise and significant experience inproviding automation of water systems.Often the technology aspect is less im-

portant than the application knowledgethat is necessary to realize the full valueof automating a system.

Troy A. Hertog is with Siemens WaterTechnologies. E-mail:

[email protected]

Critical aspects of this dual duplex lift station are shown clearly and provide operators with status anduser-adjustable setpoints for complete monitoring andcontrol.

Adding an integrated trend screen representing systemprocess to the site graphic gives quick visibility to the actual process performance and allows quicker diagnosisof system problems.


HOBO Conductivity Data LoggerThe HOBO U24 Conductivity Logger is a high-accuracy, cost-effective data logger for measuring conductivity and temperature in streams, lakes, and other freshwater sources.

Non-contact sensor reduces sensor drift for easy maintenance

Provides easy access to sensor for cleaning and shedding air bubbles

HOBOware Pro software enables start/end-point calibration to compensate for any fouling and provides easy conversion to specific conductance and salinity

USB optical interface provides high-speed, reliable data offload in wet environments

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March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:50 PM



The benefits in maintenance and op-erations made a combined system forboth towns the preferred choice. Thefinal review came down to two options:an aerated lagoon or the Kickuth Engi-neered Wetland, a wastewater treatmentsystem that has been used for many dif-ferent types of waste in over 600 projectsin more than 30 countries.

In the wetland system, sludge istreated on-site, whereas the lagoon sys-

The towns of Appleton and Glen-wood are located on oppositesides of the majestic GanderRiver in the central region of

Newfoundland. By 2002, the towns’ oldsewage treatment plants had become over-loaded and costly to maintain and operate,so a local consulting firm, CECON Ltd.,was hired to investigate the options andcosts associated with a modern, more ef-ficient treatment system.

tem relies on transporting sludge to a re-mote location for disposal. Sludge dis-posal costs of about $15,000 annually,or $450,000 over 30 years, are not in-cluded in the cost estimate for the la-goon system. The capital cost for thewetland includes the construction ofsludge treatment cells, which is approx-imately $400,000. Operating and lifecycle costs of the wetland also includesludge treatment.

Although the capital costs werehigher, the engineered wetland was cho-sen for its lower operating and life cyclecosts and greater environmental bene-fits. The engineered wetland system wasalso eligible for, and received significantfunding from the Green MunicipalFund.

This system would be the first full-scale Kickuth Engineered Wetland treat-ment system operating in Newfoundlandand Labrador, and also the first of thistype providing full secondary treatmentin Canada. Abydoz Environmental, theNorth American licence-holder for theKickuth system, was commissioned toprovide the engineering design.

Design loading conditionsDesign loadings were calculated

based on the combined population of thetwo towns and provincial guidelines.The Appleton-Glenwood system serv-ices an approximate population of 1,470and a population equivalent of 1,800.

Actual flow information showed sig-nificant infiltration into the sewage col-lection system and highly fluctuatinghydraulic conditions, especially duringspring run-off. The system was, there-fore, designed for an average daily flowof 3,037 m3 and a maximum of 1.5 timesthe average flow, or 4,555 m3 /day. Aseparate stormwater treatment bed wasdesigned to accommodate the large peakflows and prevent a push-through effecton the main wetland, which would resultin reduced retention times and treat-ment.

The wetland was designed for an av-erage organic loading of 150 kg/dayBOD, with an additional 50% loadingduring stormwater events. Discharge

Engineered wetlands for municipal sewage andsludge treatment

Figure 1. Stormwater bed during commissioning.

Figure 2. Aerial view of Appleton-Glenwood system.

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:59 PM



limits were set by the provincial regula-tions for discharge into a sensitive fresh-water body at 20 mg/L BOD.

Design size and configurationDesign of early wetland systems was

based on empirical data and used rule-of-thumb loading methods to size thesystems. This often resulted in oversizedsystems. More recently, wetlands havebeen modelled as plug flow reactors, ora series of continuously stirred tank re-actors.

However, the patented Kickuth sys-tem is designed according to a specificset of calculations based on the move-ment of effluent through a soil matrix,with the matrix providing significanttreatment. A series of first-order equa-tions is used, with constants based ondegradation curves established fromanalysis of different matrix designs. Thedata for these curves was collected fromthe many Kickuth systems operatingworldwide, which treat various types ofwastes in different climates.

In Appleton-Glenwood, the wetlandsize was based on the required BOD andTSS reduction, with additional sizing toaccount for the use of more local contentin the matrix. The final design size ofthe main treatment wetland, excludingsludge cells, was 12,400 m².

The shape and configuration were se-lected, based on the hydraulic capabili-ties of the matrix and the desiredconfiguration. A hydraulic proof wasthen performed using Darcy’s law andvarying flow conditions to determine ifthe shape and configuration were suffi-cient. The final configuration for themain treatment system was for five sub-surface-flow wetland beds, consisting ofone vertical-flow bed, followed by fourparallel horizontal-flow beds.

Treatment system componentsThe sewage from both communities

is pumped to the treatment facility by acombination of lift stations. On enteringthe treatment facility, effluent passesthrough a grinder and a spiral lift screento remove non-organic materials. Flowthen enters a series of settling chambers,where the majority of solids and sus-pended solids are removed by gravityand settle to the bottom of the chambers.

Settling chambers provide a mini-mum four hours retention time. Flow isthen split by a weir arrangement that al-

lows the main flow to move into themain treatment beds. Stormwater flows,which can reach 12,000 m3/d, are di-verted into a 1,216 m2 stormwater treat-ment bed. This bed is designed to holdand treat storm surges and slowly re-lease them. It has a much deeper basinthan the other beds.

The main flow, after the settlementchambers, flows into the vertical flowwetland bed of 2,040 m2. Effluent is thencollected and split equally between thefour horizontal flow wetland treatmentbeds, each 2,583 m2. They are bilateral

units with the inlet down the centre ofthe beds and discharges along bothsides.

The main flow and stormwater floware combined at the end of the systemand flow out into the Gander Riverthrough a diffused outfall. The use of thestormwater bed means that 100% of theeffluent discharged to the river is treatedunder all flow conditions.

Other than the screen and grinder,there are no mechanical or electricalcomponents in the engineered wetland

Figure 3. Sludge cells being filled at Appleton-Glenwood.

Figure 4: Gaseous pathways for oxidation and reduction around the root zone.

continued on page 98...

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 10:59 PM

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The patented Hexa-Cover® system canbe used on all kinds of liquids. It is theideal solution for eliminating: • Evaporation • Organic growth • Emission • Odour The unique design makes the elementsinterlock by wind pressure and ensurethat the Hexa-Cover tiles mechanicallyconstitute a coherent cover.

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Greatario Engineered Storage Systems

Innovative ad-vances inwater treat-ment such asmembrane bi-ological reac-tor (MBR)

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TurboDrum screen series

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The YSIProODOTM hand-held DO meterprovides extremedurability for themeasurement ofoptical, lumines-cent-based dissolved oxygenfor any field application.

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Hand-held DO meter

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Streamliner CR relining pipe from IdealPipe is a strong, light, corrugated HDPEpipe designed to ‘streamline’ the up-grading of old metal culverts. In-placerelining with Streamliner CR eliminatesthe trouble and expense of road recon-struction while improving drainagethrough the culvert. Tel: 1-800-265-7098 Web: www.idealpipe.ca

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WEDECO Ozone Generators from ITTWater & Wastewater eliminate pollu-tants, coloured substances, odours andmicro-organisms without creating harm-ful byproducts. They are compact in de-sign to reduce overall footprint, andprovide reduced energy consumptionper unit of ozone production.Tel: 514-695-0100, Fax: 514-697-0602Web: www.ittwww.ca

Chemical-free water treatment

SAF-T-FLO Chemical Injection manu-factures a complete line of chemical in-jection equipment for all types ofchemical feed systems. A large inventoryof retractable and non-retractable injec-tion quills and sampling probes is avail-able to meet your needs. In addition,experienced technical sales staff can an-swer your questions or help solve yourproblems. Tel: 800-957-2383, Fax: 714-632-3350E-mail: [email protected]: www.saftflo.com

Chemical injection equipment

SAF-T-FLO Chemical Injection

Filters for suspended solids

DynaSand® contin-uous backwash,upflow, deep bed,granular media fil-ters handle highlevels of sus-pended solids, andmay eliminate theneed for pre-sedi-mentation or flota-tion. They havefew moving parts,easily handle plant

upsets, and require little operator atten-tion and maintenance.Tel: 514-636-8712, Fax 514-636-9718E-mail: [email protected]: www.parkson.com

Innovative stand for submersible mixersBased on the clog-

free Flygt N-pumps, the newFlygt jet aeratorfrom ITT Water &Wastewater has be-come easier to in-stall and maintain.The major changesin the new genera-tion jet aerators

are: an improved lift in, lift out structure,and a strengthened stand equipped withrubber dampers. Available with up tothree ejectors, the Flygt jet aerator is aflexible aeration solution for small- andmedium-sized tanks. Tel: 514-695-0100, Fax: 514-697-0602Web: www.ittwww.com

New jet aerators

ITT Water & Wastewater

Myers Engineered Products

Satisfying pumping needs at the lowestcost over the life cycle of the system,Myers optimizes system efficiencieswith complete engineering services,providing cost-effective solutions andimmediate cost savings when planning apump station. Myers software programsprovide the engineering tools to prop-erly design the ideal station. Tel: 604-552-7900, Fax: 604-552-7901E-mail: [email protected]

Pumping systems solutions

KSB has introducedAMAROC, a newsupport structure forpropeller-type mix-ers used in waste-water treatment. Theexcellent vibration

damping of the non-steel compoundcontributes to smoother, quieter, andmore efficient operation of the mixers.The new design simplifies installationand requires virtually no maintenance.The combination of mixer and stand of-fers real advantages for operators.Tel: 905-568-9200E-mail: [email protected]: www.ksb.ca

KSB Pumps


March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 11:01 PM

Pro

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SEW-Eurodrive Company of Canada Smith & Loveless

Wastewater Pump Stations

Energy-saving Smith &Loveless wastewaterpump stations are idealfor collection systemand WWTP influentpumping for municipal-ities, private develop-

ments and industry. Proven lift stationdesigns minimize delays because S&Lstations arrive at the jobsite completelybuilt and thoroughly factory-tested. Nowavailable with expanded pump sizing: 4"- 12" piping (100-300 mm); horsepower:1.5 to 300 HP; capacity: up to 50,000GMP (3155 lps).Tel: 913-888-5201, Fax: 913-888-2173E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.smithandloveless.com

Solinst Canada

Waterra's newAquaread™GPSAquameter™gets you fast,reliable, accu-rate and de-pendablewater qualityreadings. At-

tach one of the eight available multi-parameter probes to measure dissolvedoxygen, conductivity, turbidity, tempera-ture, pH and ORP.

Tel: 905-238-5242, Fax: 905-238-5704E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.waterra.com

Waterra Pumps

Water quality meters

Waterloo Biofilter

Trickling filters

Waterloo Biofilters® are efficient, modular trickling filters for residentialand communal sewage wastewaters, andlandfill leachate. Patented, lightweight,synthetic filter media optimize physicalproperties for microbial attachment and water retention. The self-containedmodular design for communal use is now available in 20,000L/d and 40,000L/dISO shipping container units - ready toplug in on-site. Tel: 519-856-0757, Fax: 519-856-0759E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.waterloo-biofilter.com

As a leaderin sub-mersiblepumpingstation tech-nology,WILO offersa unique so-

lution for grit and solid removal by pre-filtering the bigger solids, thuseffectively eradicating the possibility ofa pump blockage and reducing powerconsumption. Tel: 403-276-9456 or 1-866-WILO-CDN Fax: 403-277-9456E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.wilo-canada.com

WILO Canada

Submersible pumping

WILO Canada

WILO offerssubmersiblemixers forwater andwastewaterapplications,which areknown for

their durability and for the functionalityof the propellers in slow, medium, andhigh-speed applications. Tel: 403-276-9456 or 1-866-WILO-CDN Fax: 403-277-9456E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.wilo-canada.com

Submersible mixing

Simple to operate pump controller

The NEWModel 464Pump ControlUnit is fully au-tomatic, withpreset samplemodes from lowthrough highflow sampling.It also saves 99

user-created flow rates. Use with aSolinst Model 407 Bladder Pump for ef-fective VOC and low-flow groundwatersampling. Tel: 905-873-2255, Fax: 905-873-1992E-mail: [email protected]: www.solinst.com

SEW-Eurodrive’s patented keyless hol-low shaft design TorqLOC® adds advan-tages to the F-Series (the SNUGGLE®),the K-Series (helical-bevel), and the S-Series (helical-worm) reducers.Tel: 905-791-1553, Fax: 905-791-2999Web: www.sew-eurodrive.ca

Keyless hollow shaft mounting system

Schlumberger Water Services

Groundwater monitoring

The new CTD-Diver*is a multi-parameterdatalogger which isideal for monitoringmunicipal groundwatersupplies, saltwater in-trusion, and injectedwastewater. Designedfor corrosive and highsalinity conditions, en-vironmental profes-sionals rely on CTD-Diver to get accurateresults. (*Mark ofSchlumberger)

E-mail: [email protected]: www.swstechnology.com

USF Fabrication

Hatch safety netThe lightweightHatch Safety Net isdesigned to be per-manently installedand easily re-tractable in floorand roof openings where the risk of fallthrough is present. When closed, thenet system allows people to movefreely around confined space openingswithout fear of falling into the opening.It also allows visibility of inspectionsand accessibility for limited mainte-nance and float adjustments. Whenentry/exit is required, the net can beeasily unhooked on all but one side ofthe opening. Tel: 604-552-7900, Fax: 604-552-7901E-mail: [email protected]


March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 11:01 PM


CanadianEnvironmental

Official Show Guide For:The 18th Annual

Conference & TradeshowMay 3 - 5, 2010

CANECT2010International Centre - 6900 Airport Road, Mississauga

Scheduled Session TopicsEnvironmental regulation and compliance Managing approvals and permitsProactive air emissions complianceReducing carbon costsEnvironmental management standards and guidelinesManaging inspectors and investigatorsIndustrial waste and waste diversionWater and wastewater complianceBrownfields - the new rulesSpills management and compliance

Co-organized by Environmental Science & Engi-neering Magazine, CANECT is the largest eventof its kind in Canada, typically attracting some2,000 tradeshow visitors and conference delegates.

Conference delegates and tradeshow visitors are a high qualityaudience of senior people responsible for environmentalengineering, regulations and compliance issues.

CANECT 2010 will again be co-located in Ontario withPartners in Prevention 2010, an annual tradeshow of theIndustrial Accident Prevention Association (IAPA). Thisannual show attracts over 6,000 delegates, including thosewith EH&S and senior management responsibilities. (Visitwww.iapa.ca for details)

Combined, CANECT and Partners in Prevention 2010Tradeshow are expected to attract some 475 exhibitingcompanies and 8,000 tradeshow visitors. Tradeshow badgesfrom either show will allow admission to both shows at noextra charge. To register for free tradeshow registration, pleasevisit www.canect.net, or fill out and fax in the free pass thatcame with this copy of ES&E magazine.

If you would like to receive a printed CANECT conference program, please contact Darlann Passfield, Tel: 905-727-4666 (Ext 30), or Toll Free: 1-888-254-8769,Email: [email protected]. Conference details are also available at www.canect.net

w w w. C A N E C T. n e t

NEW LOCATION

International Centre, Mississauga, Ontario

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 11:02 PM


CANECTProfessional Development Courses offered

2A Dealing with Industrial Air EmissionsThis course, presented by RWDI AIR Inc. and Willms &Shier Environmental Lawyers LLP, delivers Canada’s mostup-to-date guide to complying with tough, new provincialair emissions rules and standards and provides practicalinsights into managing everyday air-related issues relatedto noise, odour and dust.

2B Toxics Reduction: Complying with new toxics reduction acts and bylaws

This course, developed especially for CANECT byCanada’s only Certified Toxics Reduction Planner, pro-vides practical insight into complying with Ontario’s newToxics Reduction Act (which took effect Jan.1) and thenew Toronto toxic emissions bylaw.

2C Meeting the challenge of Industrial Waste Management & Waste Diversion

An essential annual update on current issues in waste man-agement and an industry guide to meeting the new regula-tory and practical challenges of waste auditing,manifesting, waste diversion and product stewardship.

2D Remediation of contaminated sitesThis new course - developed by Jeanette Southwood, Prin-cipal and Global Sustainable Cities Leader, Golder Associ-ates Ltd. - goes beyond ‘dig & dump’ to explore new, in-situremediation solutions for contaminated sites. The coursefurther develops the themes of Course 1B on Brownfieldsand will be a ‘must-attend’ for buyers, sellers, lawyers, mu-nicipalities and environmental consultants.

Professional Development Courses offered

3A GHGs Reporting and ReductionGreenhouse Gas Reporting Regulations are now in effectin Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and BC. This course summa-rizes key federal and provincial requirements; provides anauthoritative guide to Ontario’s new Greenhouse Gas Re-porting Regulation (in effect Jan.1, 2010) and key compli-ance do’s and don’ts gleaned from practical experience inAlberta, BC and through the WCI.

3B Dealing with Certificates of Approval and Permits

This course, delivered by C of A specialists at Golders andMOE’s Approvals Branch, has become the gold standardfor those needing to keep up-to-date with best practicesfor managing all types of C of A and permits. Help witheverything: from Comprehensive Approvals to filling outthe forms.

3C Inspections and Investigations: Successfully meeting the challenge of a visit from the MOE

A routine visit from a MOE inspector needs to be handleddiligently if it is not to balloon into a more serious investi-gation and possible prosecution. The consequences ofmis-handled communications can be severe. This is theonly course solely dedicated to giving managers, supervi-sors, owners and directors the information they need tomanage MOE visits successfully.

3D Spills and Environmental and Security Emergencies

Attend this course and be sure you and your responseteam know what to do to respond professionally to environ-mental and security emergencies. What plans do you need?Who must you report to? What information must you di-vulge? What practical steps must you take to protect em-ployees, your organization, its facilities and surroundingcommunities?

CANECTWorkshops

Day 2 - May 4

Day 3 - May 5

Professional Development Courses offered

1A Environmental Regulation and Compliance 2010 Essential Overview and Update

CANECT’s essential annual introductory and updatecourse - presented in association with leading environ-mental lawyers from Bennett Jones LLP - has establishedits reputation as Canadian industries’ chosen source forcutting-edge environmental regulation, compliance anddue diligence training.

1B Brownfields: Working with the new rulesExtensive changes to the Brownfields regulatory regimetook effect Jan. 1, 2010 and will extend into 2011. Thiscourse, developed by Janet Bobechko, of Blaney McMurtryLLP, provides registrants with an authoritative guide toworking with the new rules governing Records of Site Con-dition and Phase I and Phase II site assessments. Radicalnew changes to the regime this year makes this a ‘must-attend’ for all engineers, consultants, lawyers, planners,site-owners, investors, insurers and developers.

Day 1 - May 3

Key

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Bruce Lourie

Chris Mazza

Cameron Herold

Graham Lowe

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 11:10 PM


FFLOO

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ANCANECT ‘10

HoursMay 4

- 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

May 5- 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

• Air pollution control • Analytical laboratory • Confined space entry• Consulting engineering • Containment • Decontamination systems • Emergency response • Environmental auditing

• Filters • Groundwater treatment • Hazardous waste treatment• Health & safety • Instrumentation & control • Legal services • Liners/geotextiles • Noise & vibration control

• Oil & water separation • Pumps, pipes, valves, fittings • Protection/safety equipment • Recycling • Residuals dewatering, disposal & handling equipment • Site & soil remediation

• Software systems • Spill control & containment • Stormwater control • Tanks & storage • Transportation services • Water treatment • Wastewater treatment • Waste disposal

CANECT Exhibits ... Manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and companies from the following areas:

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Coffee Station

To CANECTconferencerooms

To “Your Workplace”Tradeshow

To “Partnersin Prevention

Tradeshow”

To “Partners in Prevention

Tradeshow”To “Your Workplace”Tradeshow

SnackB

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March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:51 PM

HANDS-ON MODULES• Chemical (Hands-on)• Test and Verify• Evaluate Properties• CBRNE

• Response (Hands-on)• Techniques, Controls• Countermeasures

• Recovery (Hands-on)• Waste Reduction• Time Critical Issues

Mines • Pulp & Paper • Steel • Hydro • Light & Major Industries • Government Institutions• Research • Hospitals • Municipal • Water Treatment • Emergency

Site Specific Assessments• Photo-documentation of findings • Review of Prevention, Preparedness

& Response Capability Measures • Site-location, Spill kits & Equipment

Report: Power Point with Photos

On site training ... 75% HANDS-ON

‘Training You Remember ... Experience You Can Use’

Training Unit • Workbooks • Response Supplies • Recovery Equipment

TRAINING REBATE 50%

of Assessment Flat Rate Costis credited to training completed within ONE YEAR

www.spillmanagement.caPh: 905-578-9666

ON-SITEShared-Cost Training

ACROSS CANADASince 1989 - Best Service Dates

For Best Training DatesBook 1 to 5 Day Courses

Book 3 to 6 Months in Advance

Best ManagementPracticesfor Response Capability

BOOK NOW

March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:51 PM

Canadian Environmental Conference & Tradeshow

LList of Exhibitors as of March 23, 2010

Please see our ad in this issue of ES&E



ACG Technology Ltd. #1413Woodbridge, ON 905-856-1414 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.acgtechnology.com Contact: Greg JacksonProducts/Services to be displayed: Water, wastewaterand stormwater treatment equipment.

Actual Media #1501 Toronto, ON416-444-5842 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.actualmedia.ca Contact: Lee ScarlettProducts/Services to be displayed: Actual Media is abusiness publisher and custom research/graphic designfirm. Our publications influence the leaders of the infra-structure and water communities in Canada.

AET Group Inc. #1202Kitchener, ON519-576-9723 E-mail:: [email protected] Web site: www.aet-group.com Contact: Scott FreiburgerProducts/Services to be displayed: Recognized as aleader in the environmental consulting industry, AET pro-vides expertise in solid and hazardous waste manage-ment, ecological assessments and monitoring, buildingsciences and LEED consulting, energy assessments andfeasibility studies, environmental management, sustain-ability consulting, specialized communications and training.

AGAT Laboratories #1214Mississauga, ON905-712-5074E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.agatlabs.comContact: Camilla SwagarProducts/Services to be displayed: AGAT specializes insoil and water analysis for all environmental applicationsincluding: inorganic, trace organic, toxicology and micro-bial services.

Albarrie GeoComposites Limited #1514Barrie, ON705-737-0551E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.sorbwebplus.com Contact: Lauren HowlesProducts/Services to be displayed: SorbWeb™ Plus is acontainment system that provides protection against oilspills from transformers. No maintenance required. Con-tact Albarrie – 1-866-269-8275 or www.sorbwebplus.com

ALS Laboratory Group #1311Mississauga, ON


905-507-6910E-mail:[email protected] Web site: www.alsenviro.comContact: Melissa BurkeProducts/Services to be displayed: Laboratory analyticalservices.

AMEC Earth & Environmental #1310Mississauga, ON905-568-2929E-mail: [email protected] site: www.amec.comContact: Chantal McCollum

Avensys Solutions #1410Toronto, ON 416-499-4421 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.avensyssolutions.comContact: Pierre Michaud, Anup Jain, Louise ClementProducts/Services to be displayed: Industry leader inproviding instrumentation and integrated solutions for themonitoring of industrial processes and environmental sur-veillance applications for air and water in the Canadianmarketplace.

BakerCorp #1515Seal Beach, CA562-342-7922 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.bakercorp.com Contact: Amber ReimersProducts/Services to be displayed: BakerCorp, the in-dustry leader in containment, pump, filtration & shoringequipment rental solutions with over 90 locations nation-wide and operations in Europe, Canada and Mexico.

Bishop Water Technologies #1307Eganville, ON613-628-5266 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.bishopaquatic.comContact: Kevin BossyProducts/Services to be displayed: Bishop Water Technologies specializes in sludge management using Geotube® technology. Our focus is on the development of cost effective solutions.

Caduceon Environmental Laboratories #1304Kingston, ON613-544-2001 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.caduceonlabs.comContact: Damien GilbertProducts/Services to be displayed: Full service environ-mental laboratories providing organic, inorganic, micro andmould analysis. Client committed quality assured.

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 11:11 PM

CCANECT Exhibitors


Cambridge Materials Testing Limited #1404Cambridge, ON519-621-6600E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.cambridgematerials.comContact: Jeff BrownProducts/Services to be displayed: CMTL is an independ-ent ISO 17025 testing facility servicing a broad range ofproducts, from raw materials to finished parts.

Can-Am Instruments Ltd. #1115Oakville, ON800-215-4469 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.can-am.netContact: Mark ReevesProducts/Services to be displayed: Instrumentation in-cluding: oil separators, samplers, flow meters, wirelesscommunication, analyzers for ammonia, nitrate, sus-pended solids, pH, DO and much more.

Claessen Pumps Limited #1516Innisfil, ON 705-431-8585 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.claessenpumps.com Contact: Daniel BlandfordProducts/Services to be displayed: Grindex submersiblepumps.

Cover-All Building Systems of Ontario #1517Lucknow, ON800-268-2768 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.coverall.netContact: Kelly ThomsonProducts/Services to be displayed: Cover-All BuildingSystems is the leading manufacturer of steel-framed mem-brane buildings.

Dragun Corporation #1210Windsor, ON519-979-7300E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.dragun.com Contact: Alan HahnProducts/Services to be displayed: Environmental con-sulting and engineering. We work with senior managementand legal counsel who may be concerned with the direc-tion, cost and/or liability associated with environmental in-vestigation or remediation efforts.

Drain-All Ltd. #1411Ottawa, ON613-739-1070 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.drainall.comContact: Stephen HuzaProducts/Services to be displayed: Liquid/solidhazwaste removal/disposal; emergency spill response;confined space entry; industrial wet/dry vacuuming, exca-vation; high pressure blasting.

Dyson Canada Ltd. #1305Toronto, ON416-849-5359E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.dysonairblade.ca

Contact: Ken PariagProducts/Services to be displayed: The Dyson Airblade™ hand dryer.

ECO Canada #1502Calgary, AB403-476-1931 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.eco.caContact: Jessica ReynenProducts/Services to be displayed: ECO Canada is anindustry-leading human resources organization that: devel-ops programs that help individuals build meaningful envi-ronmental careers, provides employers with resources tofind and keep the best environmental professionals, andinforms educators and governments of employment trendsto ensure the ongoing prosperity of this growing sector.

Ecolog Group/HazMat Management #1412Toronto, ON416-442-5600E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.ecolog.com Contact: Carol Bell-LeNouryProducts/Services to be displayed: Canada’s leadingsource of environmental and health & safety publicationsand online services including HazMat Management Maga-zine and the EcoLog National Legislative Service.

Elemental Controls – Niton Analyzers #1216Mississauga, ON905-282-9974E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.elementalcontrols.com Contact: Keith Grattan

EMRP Inc. #1405Brantford, ON519-751-3504 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.emrp.caContact: John TheurerProducts/Services to be displayed: Water treatmentspecialists, ground, process, reinjection treatment, metals,oil, PCB hydrocarbon extraction, soil solidification & stabi-lization technologies.

Environmental Analytical Systems #1205Barry’s Bay, ON 613-756-0101 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.enviro-analytical.com Contact: Nigel NewingProducts/Services to be displayed: Health & safety in-struments for noise, dust, indoor air quality instruments,meteorological instruments, water quality instruments,chlorophyll, algae, depth & parameters.

Filter Innovations Inc. #1504Toronto, ON416-490-7848 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.filterinnovations.com Contact: John DragasevichProducts/Services to be displayed: Water filtration prod-ucts, pump & treat groundwater, oil/water separation,wastewater treatment, activated carbon, bag filters, auto-matic backflushing filters.


March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 11:11 PM


CCANECT Exhibitors



Intersteam Technologies #1416Hamilton, ON905-526-1453E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.intersteam.comContact: Elle DietrichProducts/Services to be displayed: Chemical free steambased cleaning equipment for commercial and industrialapplications. Proud distributor of SteamKing, MagicVapour, Sioux and Walters.

John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. #1510Toronto, ON800-567-4797E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.wiley.com Contact: Aleksandra TasicProducts/Services to be displayed: John Wiley & Sons isa leading global publisher of professional resources withan extensive line of environmental engineering books.

Lakes Environmental Software #1505Waterloo, ON519-746-5995 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.weblakes.comContact: Julie SwatsonProducts/Services to be displayed: Lakes Environmentalsupplies easy-to-use and sophisticated air dispersionmodeling, emissions inventory and risk assessment soft-ware to industries, government agencies and academia.

Linkon Technology Inc. #1108Vaughan, ON416-888-3680E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.linkontechnology.com Contact: David KimProducts/Services to be displayed: To export and importnew environmental technology – non-metal sludge collec-tor (chain type made from 100% recyclable material); acti-vated carbon (new/regeneration/high-grade activatedcarbon made from coconut); environmental measuring in-struments; global supplier of environmental equipment(such as LG Ultrasonic); algae measuring system, flow-meters and lab instruments, etc.

Maxxam Analytics #1110Mississauga, ON905-817-5700E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.maxxam.caContact: Erika StossProducts/Services to be displayed: Analytical testing forthe environmental industry, including: remediation, effluent,sewer and drinking water and air.

OHE Consultants #1511Mississauga, ON905-278-7000 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.oheconsultants.comContact: Kelly SheaProducts/Services to be displayed: OHE provides con-sulting engineering services specializing in occupational &environmental hygiene, environmental assessments & re-


Giffin Koerth Smart Forensics #1104Toronto, ON416-368-1700E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.giffinkoerth.com Contact: Matt AllenProducts/Services to be displayed: Forensic engineeringconsulting services for insurance, risk and litigation includ-ing environmental, health & safety, accident investigation,compliance and expert witness.

Golder Associates Ltd. #1314Mississauga, ON 905-567-4444 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.golder.comContact: Roxana BahramiProducts/Services to be displayed: Golder Associates isan employee-owned, global company specializing inground engineering and environmental services. From of-fices worldwide, our employees work with clients whowant to manage their environmental and engineering activ-ities in a technically sound, economically viable and so-cially responsible manner.

Greatario Engineered Storage Systems #1204Innerkip, ON519-469-8169E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.greatario.comContact: Jeff RodgerProducts/Services to be displayed: Columbian Tectank,Aquastore® glass-fused-to-steel storage tanks, Temcor®aluminum domes and covers, JetMix™ Vortex mixing sys-tems, Hexa-cover®.

H2Flow #1211Concord, ON905-660-9775 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.h2flow.comContact: Michael AlbaneseProducts/Services to be displayed: Water – wastewatertreatment for industrial applications: pre-treatment tosewer, filters, clarifiers, sludge dewatering presses, odourcontrol biofilters, storage tanks.

Imperial Coffee & Services #1500Toronto, ON416-638-7404 Web site: www.imperialcoffee.com Contact: Evan GlazerProducts/Services to be displayed: Ontario’s leader inoffice coffee and drinking water.

Indicium Compliance Solutions Inc. #1604St. Catharines, ON877-751-4029E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.indiciumcs.comContact: Dave PlatakisProducts/Services to be displayed: Provider of assortedregulatory and health and safety training. Supplier of UNapproved dangerous goods packaging.

March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:52 PM


CCANECT Exhibitors



mediation, asbestos and building hazardous materialsmanagement & control and indoor air quality investigations.

On Track Safety Ltd. #1300Thornhill, ON905-660-5969 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.ontracksafety.ca Contact: Paul FurlanoProducts/Services to be displayed: On Track Safety Ltd.provides complete traffic control services which includefree-way set up crews, crash trucks, sales and rentals.

Pack-A-Cone c/o Mindspace Inc. #1414Markham, ON 905-284-1000E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.packacone.com Contact: Cory TseProducts/Services to be displayed: Pack-A-Cone is theoriginal collapsible pylon! Available in a range of sizes andthey all collapse down to just 2” (5cm)!

Pollutech Group of Companies #1319Oakville & Sarnia, ON905-847-0065 & 519-339-8787 E-mail: [email protected] & [email protected] Web site: www.pollutechgroup.comContact: Greg Fullarton & Tim Moran Products/Services to be displayed: Atmospheric emis-sions, toxicity testing, noise & vibration, water & waste-water, industrial hygiene & occupational health, marineservices, analytical services, and spill response.

Polystar Inc. #1200Twinsburg, OH330-963-5100E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.polystarcontainment.com Contact: Bob Hoge/Rob NightwineProducts/Services to be displayed: Polystar offers acomplete line of secondary containment for hazardousmaterials.

Power Plant Supply Company #1316Scarborough, ON416-752-3339 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.snowprotectionsolutions.comContact: Stephen RiesberryProducts/Services to be displayed: HeatTrak heatedwalkway mats & stair treads; Heatizon low voltage radiantheat products; snow melting, roof deicing, floor warming.

Quantum Murray LP #1313Stoney Creek, ON877-378-7745 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.qmlp.ca Contact: Mark JasperProducts/Services to be displayed: Emergency re-sponse, confined space, emergency plan development,training, metals recycling, remediation, abatement, demoli-tion, waste management.


Royal Roads University #1111Victoria, BC877-778-6227 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.royalroads.ca Contact: Sandy HuangProducts/Services to be displayed: Our learning modelcombines short on-campus residencies with team-basedonline learning that allows you to work, study and maintainyour life.

RWDI AIR Inc. #1206 Guelph, ON 519-766-7605 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.rwdiair.com Contact: Elaine FarrowProducts/Services to be displayed: Air quality, noise &vibration, environmental consulting services, ventilation,GHG, emission inventories, permitting, odour, dust, meteorology, stack testing, LEED.

SNC-Lavalin Environment #1106Toronto, ON416-635-5882 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.snclavalin.com Contact: Thom KewenProducts/Services to be displayed: Environmental as-sessment and remediation, risk management, air qualityservices, asbestos and designated substance surveys andabatement, regulatory compliance and permitting.

Sonic Soil Sampling Inc. #1406Concord, ON905-660-0501 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.sonicsoil.comContact: Alan ArchibaldProducts/Services to be displayed: Serving the environ-mental, geotechnical and mining industries for 29 yearswith a low, cost-effective method to your sampling needs.

Spill Management Inc. #1400Stoney Creek, ON905-578-9666 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.spillmanagement.ca Contact: Ruth HollandProducts/Services to be displayed: Spill Managementteaches hands-on response skills, strategies, and ER plan-ning to industry, emergency services, institutions, hospitalsand universities across Canada.

St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency #1101Canton, NY315-379-9806 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.slcida.comContact: Brian NortonProducts/Services to be displayed: St. Lawrence County– The U.S. market starts here! Your best location for an ex-pansion with the U.S. marketplace.

Strata Drilling Group #1112Richmond Hill, ON

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 11:11 PM


CCANECT Exhibitors


905-764-9304E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.stratasoil.comContact: Ron Reid or Jan Dean

Summit Process Controls Group Inc. #1212Brockville, ON613-926-0108E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.summitpcgi.ca Contact: Steve PaquetteProducts/Services to be displayed:Environmental monitors, IAQ monitors,gas detection monitors and analyzers,combustion/emissions analyzers, con-fined space/hazmat/safety monitors,air velocity and clean room monitoring.

Team-1 Academy Inc. #1213 Oakville, ON905-827-0007 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.team1academy.com Contact: Brian KovalcikProducts/Services to be displayed:Providing confined space standby res-cue services & safety training for thelast 15 years. Safety throughaction...success through commitment!

Team 1 Environmental #1605-1617 Hamilton, ON289-639-2020 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.team-1.caContact: Wesley HicksProducts/Services to be displayed:Emergency response; confined spacestandby rescue; waste management;waste transportation; training; spillproducts.

Testmark Laboratories Ltd. #1507Garson, ON705-693-1121E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.testmark.caContact: Sylvia RennieProducts/Services to be displayed:Providers of environmental analyticalservices (inorganic, organic, microbio-logical and toxicological). Our loca-tions: Mississauga, Garson, Sault Ste.Marie and Kirkland Lake.

Waterra Pumps Limited #1102Mississauga, ON905-238-5242E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.waterra.comContact: John Newall Products/Services to be displayed:Inertial pumps, water level indicator,oil/water interface meter, GPS waterquality meter, HydraSleeve, 12 voltsubmersible pumps, bailers, well caps.

May 4 – 5, 2010 International CentreMississauga, Ontario

Ontario’s Prevention System partners have joined forces to present Partners in Prevention 2010 – a new health and safety conference and trade show for all Ontario workplaces.

Access the collective expertise of the Ontario Prevention System: Over 60 interactive sessions, workshops, professional development courses and keynote speakers.

One-stop shopping for best practices, compliance advice and business solutions including take-away tools, post conference follow-up and a trade show with over 400 exhibitors.

Four events under one roof: Network with peers, industry experts, solution providers and make new business contacts. Co-locating events: Your Workplace 2010 Conference, CANECT 2010, MASC 2010.

PRE-CONFERENCE EVENTS: MAY 3

Small Business Forum 2010 Leadership Summit 2010

ONTARIO’S PREVENTION SYSTEM PARTNERS

Formerly IAPA Health & Safety Canada Conference

For more information or to request a copy of the Preliminary GuideTel 1.800.406.4272 or 905.614.4272 Fax 905.614.1420

New 2-Day Conference

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Infrastructure Health and Safety Association (IHSA)construction, electrical & utilities, transportation, aggregates, natural gas, and ready-mix concrete

Workplace Safety North (WSN)mining, forestry, pulp and paper, smelters and refineries, printing, and Northern Ontario businesses

Health and Safety Association for Government Services (HSAGS)municipal, education, community, and healthcare

Safe Workplace Promotion Services Ontario (SWPSO)agriculture, landscaping, manufacturing, service, hospitality, retail, and wholesale trade

Notes:

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 11:11 PM

Join the Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) for our 103rd Annual Conference & Exhibition(ACE), the environmental industry’s premier education, networking, and solutions event!

ACE 2010 will feature:• Over 500 exciting presentations• Professional development courses taught by industry leaders• An expansive exhibit hall• Fun social and networking events• And much more!

Based around the conference theme “Energy and Environment” the ACE technical program willexplore a wide range of related issues including the future of fossil fuels, alternative energy solutions,and greenhouse gas emissions management, innovation, and technology.

A&WMA’S 103rd ANNUALCONFERENCE & EXHIBITIONJUNE 22-25, 2010 • CALGARY TELUS CONVENTION CENTRE • CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA

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Highlights of the 2010 Federal Budget

According to Federal Environment Min-ister Jim Prentice, Budget 2010 includesnew measures totaling $190 million tosupport a cleaner, more sustainable envi-ronment, including:• The establishment of a $100 millionNext Generation Renewable Power Initia-tive to support investment in advancedclean technology in the forestry sector.• Expansion of the accelerated capitalcost allowance for clean energy genera-tion equipment.• $16 million over two years to continueto protect the Great Lakes by cleaning upareas identified as being the most de-graded.• Data about Canada's North will be im-proved by the allocation of $11.4 millionover two years to deliver meteorologicalservices and navigational services in theNorth and $8 million over two years tosupport community-based environmentalmonitoring, reporting, and baseline datacollection.• $18.4 million allocated to enhance thetracking of environmental data throughthe Canadian Environmental Sustainabil-ity Indicators program.

Canada-wide wastewaterregulation proposed

A draft of proposed regulations for mu-nicipal wastewater systems effluent isnow available for public consultation.Once in force, these regulations will setstandards for the discharge from all waste-water facilities in Canada. They will be akey component in implementing theCanada-wide Strategy for the Manage-ment of Municipal Wastewater that wasendorsed by the Canadian Council ofMinisters of the Environment (CCME) in2009.

The proposed municipal wastewaterregulations will provide national perform-ance standards and give regulatory clarityon standards and rules on reporting formore than 4,000 Canadian wastewater fa-cilities.

The Government of Canada has sup-ported wastewater projects under theGreen Infrastructure Fund and BuildingCanada Fund. Canada's Economic ActionPlan accelerated and expanded the exist-

ing $33-billion federal investment in in-frastructure with almost $12 billion innew infrastructure stimulus fundingacross Canada over two years.

14 additional substancesassessed

Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, andJim Prentice, Minister of the Environ-ment, recently released the final screeningassessment reports, and, where applicable,the proposed risk management approachdocuments for 14 substances assessed inBatch 7 of the Chemicals ManagementPlan.

Of the 14 substances assessed in thisbatch, three pose a risk to human health(Michler's ketone, n-butyl glycidyl ether,and 2-butanone oxime). Michler's ketoneis primarily found in Canada as a residuein paper colorants; n-BGE is used as adiluent in epoxy resins which are thenused to make coatings, adhesives, binders,sealants, fillers, electrical insulation, andresins; and 2-butanone oxime is used pri-marily to prevent film from forming inalkyd paints, primers, varnishes andstains.

The federal government is recom-mending that the Significant New Activity(SNAc) provisions of the Canadian Envi-ronmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA1999), be applied to nine of the remaining11 substances. This provision requires thatit is notified of any new import, manufac-ture, or use of these substances, and thathuman health and ecological risk assess-ments be completed prior to any new use.

Two of the remaining 11 substances donot pose a risk to human health or the en-vironment and no further action is recom-mended.

Nominations open for Mobius Environmental

Awards

The Resource Recovery Fund Board isnow accepting nominations for the 2010Mobius Environmental Awards. Now intheir 12th year, the awards recognize theachievements of innovative individualsand organizations that have helped makeNova Scotia a leader in waste reduction,recycling and composting. Past winnershave included manufacturers, hospitalitybusinesses, medical professionals, and

apartment superintendents. The deadlinefor nominations is April 30, 2010.

www.rrfb.com

PEI changes guidelines forwind energy projects

Changes to Prince Edward Island’s Envi-ronmental Impact Assessment (EIA)Guidelines will tighten requirements forwind energy projects. Environment, En-ergy and Forestry Minister Richard Brownannounced recently that EIA guidelineshave been amended to include three newrequirements:• Any proposed wind turbine projectmust include an approved power transmis-sion corridor. Projects that do not includea corridor will not be considered for anEIA approval. • EIA review will be required for theconstruction of transmission lines with avoltage of 69 kilovolts or greater, and formajor maintenance work on these lines.“Distribution” lines – those under 69 kilo-volts – will not require an EnvironmentalImpact Assessment. • Public notification requirements willbe amended so that EIA eligible projectsmust be advertised publicly for six con-secutive days. Current guidelines call forat least one day of advertising, thoughseveral days of advertising have normallybeen required from proponents.

Research project to exploreusing fish oil as fuel

A Memorial University research projectwill investigate the possibility of convert-ing marine waste to an environmentallyfriendly biofuel. With the assistance of$81,000 from the Newfoundland andLabrador Green Fund, Dr. Kelly Haw-boldt, Associate Professor with the Fac-ulty of Engineering and Applied Science,will determine the feasibility of using fishoil blended with petroleum-based fuel forpowering fish plants and marine vessels.

Biofuels are fuels derived from plantmaterial and residues such as agriculturalcrops, waste from animal processing, orby-products from agricultural or forestryinitiatives. In cases where an engine isflexible in terms of fuel quality and alower quality biofuel oil can be used, theoil from the processing of vegetables andanimals can be directly used for power

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 11:12 PM



generation and heating. There are loweremissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs)and other toxins throughout the produc-tion, use and disposal of these biofuels.

For more information, e-mail: [email protected]

Sale of NB Power to helpachieve goals

The sale of NB Power to Hydro-Quebecwould help reduce the province's annualgreenhouse-gas emissions by 11 per cent,and would be instrumental in the provinceachieving the goals set out in the NewBrunswick Climate Change Action Plan,says Environment Minister Rick Miles.

The department's data show that underthis potential agreement, New Brunswickwill exceed its 2012 reduction target forgreenhouse-gas emissions by one milliontonnes due to the decommissioning of NBPower's facilities at Grand Lake and Dal-housie.

Data also show that mercury emissionswill be below the 2010 Canada-wideStandard for coal-fired power plants setfor New Brunswick, and will reach thehigh end of 2010 reduction targets set bythe Conference of New England Gover-nors and Eastern Canadian Premiers. Sul-phur dioxide emissions will be more thantwo times lower than 2010 targets set bythe conference.

While there are no plans to close anyfacilities other than Grand Lake and Dal-housie, the potential closure of all of NBPower's carbon-based facilities would re-sult in annual reductions of more than sixmegatonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions,33,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide, 13,000tonnes of nitrogen oxides, 6.5 tonnes ofvolatile organic compounds, and 96 kilo-grams of mercury.

Manitoba introduces newrules for livestock wastes

Manitoba is implementing comprehensivenew rules for livestock waste manage-ment in response to recommendationsmade by the Clean Environment Commis-sion (CEC) and the auditor general, ac-cording to Conservation Minister StanStruthers.

The new regulations include a com-plete ban on winter spreading of manure

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on Manitoba farms by 2013, a require-ment that all new pig producers registermanure management plans with theprovince, and a minimum capacity formanure storage.

In addition, University of Manitobascientists will use a provincial grant of$300,000 to study the relationship be-tween phosphorus build-up in the soil andhow it later gets into Manitoba’s water-ways.

The new rules and research fundingfollow significant action already taken toreduce phosphorus loading to provinciallakes and rivers. Manitoba was the firstjurisdiction in Canada to pass legislationto control phosphorus in cleaning com-pounds, first to pass a regulation banningapplication of nutrients to buffer zonesalong streams, rivers and lakes, and firstto regulate the content of phosphorus infertilizers used in urban and rural residen-tial areas for cosmetic purposes.

Manitoba wins ruling onwater supply project

The US District Court has again ruled infavour of Manitoba in its case against theNorthwest Area Water Supply (NAWS)project. In October 2002, Manitoba fileda legal challenge in US District Court inWashington, DC. It argued that the NAWSproject, one of the Garrison Diversionprojects that would divert Missouri Riverwater across the continental divide to theHudson Bay basin, could cause severe andirreparable harm to Manitoba and hadbeen improperly assessed.

In early 2005, the court ruled in Man-itoba’s favour and ordered the US federalgovernment and North Dakota to go backand do a proper assessment of the risksof transfer of harmful biota or invasivespecies. Additional work was undertakenand, in 2009, the US federal governmentand North Dakota returned to the courtand asked the injunction on further workbe lifted, so that the project could proceed.Manitoba and Missouri objected, sayingthe proper assessment still had not beendone as originally ordered, and that theproject still placed Manitoba at consider-able risk of harm.

Manitoba was joined in its lawsuit bythe Canadian federal government, Min-nesota, Missouri, the US National WildlifeFederation, the Great Lakes Environmen-

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 11:12 PM


tal Law Centre, the Minnesota Conserva-tion Federation and the South DakotaWildlife Federation.

CSA develops technical guide

The Canadian Standards Association’sMunicipal Infrastructure Solutions Pro-gram (MISP) has released a new guideentitled “Performance Improvement Toolsfor Small- and Medium-Sized Water andWastewater Utilities”. This guide will pro-vide operators and owners of water andwastewater utilities with practical tools tohelp improve their operations and effi-ciently utilize resources.

It will adapt and apply existing knowl-edge about quality systems and perform-ance indicators, and present it in a usableand understandable format. With thisguide, small- and medium-sized utilitieswill be able to measure their performancein a consistent and standardized way, planfor and implement changes, and measuretheir progress in a cycle of continuous im-provement. To order the guide, visitwww.shopcsa.ca

Survey results of Canadaʼsdrinking water plants released

Statistics Canada’s new Survey ofDrinking Water Plants was conducted toprovide Canadians with national and re-gional information related to the produc-tion of drinking water. The surveyincludes drinking water plants servingcommunities of 300 or more people, andasked for information on volumes ofwater drawn and treated, treatment type,financial aspects of the operation, as wellas raw and treated water quality.

Highlights of the survey• In 2007, Canadian drinking waterplants processed 5,878 million cubic me-tres of raw water, the majority of whichwas surface water.• In 2007, the majority of the Canadianpopulation (28 million) received theirdrinking water from plants serving com-munities of 300 or more people. Thatyear, just under 24 million people re-ceived drinking water obtained from sur-face water sources.


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Lakehead University finedfor sewage discharge

Earlier this year, Lakehead University inThunder Bay pleaded guilty to one viola-tion under the Ontario Water ResourcesAct for a sewage spill to the McIntyreRiver which may have impaired the qual-ity of the water.

The university is comprised of a num-ber of buildings that are serviced by acomplex storm and sanitary sewer net-work that was constructed in the late1960s. On February 22, 2008, the OntarioMinistry of the Environment’s Spills Ac-tion Centre received a report of a sewagespill into the McIntyre River on the uni-versity campus. The discharge occurreddue to a blocked sanitary sewer line whichallowed sewage to back up through amanhole and enter an adjacent stormsewer manhole located in the same con-crete reservoir.

Liberty Mines fined for failure to report effluent

exceedances

On November 19, 2009, Liberty MinesInc. was fined $70,000, plus victim finesurcharge, after being convicted of one vi-olation under the Environmental Protec-tion Act.

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cobalt. Redstone Mine Site, located 22kilometres east of Timmins, Ontario, isowned by Liberty Mines Inc. and pos-sesses significant nickel ferrous sulphidedeposits. A provincial officer reviewed ef-fluent data generated from the RedstoneMine Site and found a number of viola-tions of the company’s Certificate of Ap-proval. These related to effluentexceedances for nickel and total sus-pended solids and failing to report effluentexceedances to the ministry.

Public input sought on proposed EA process

The Ontario government wants to make iteasier for businesses to apply for and ob-tain environmental approvals (EA), whileincreasing protection of the environment.The new model would be introduced overthe next two years and focus resources onactivities that pose the greatest risk tohuman health and the environment. An-ticipated changes include: improving andsimplifying the application process; intro-ducing a new, public electronic environ-mental registry to enhance transparency;focusing on businesses or facilities withpoor compliance records; and improvingstandards of environmental protection andcompliance.

Known as a risk-based approach, theproposal recognizes that not all requestsrequire the same level of review. Theprovince is looking at an approach thatstreamlines approvals for low-risk activi-ties and focuses resources and efforts onactivities that pose the greatest risk topublic health and the environment.

www.ene.gov.on.ca

PPIC expands metallicpipeline inspection

services

The Pressure Pipe Inspection CompanyLtd. (PPIC) has reached a distributionagreement with Advanced EngineeringSolutions Limited, based in England.Under the agreement, PPIC will be the ex-clusive North American service providerfor the ECAT™ pipeline condition assess-ment tool, which provides mapping ofmetallic pipe walls to predict remainingservice life.

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Endress+Hauser expandsproduction in India

Endress+Hauser has opened productionfacilities in Aurangabad, India, in India,about 300 kilometres east of Mumbai.“Through our local production facilities,we can avoid long distances and exchangerate risks, as well as high transport andcustoms costs and expand our worldwideproduction and logistics network”, ex-plained Klaus Endress, CEO of the En-dress+Hauser Group.

In addition to the Indian market, Au-rangabad also directly supplies the mar-kets of Australia, South Africa, Singapore,Malaysia, Thailand and Japan. Expansioninto other countries in the Southeast Asianregion and the Middle East is planned forthe future.

www.endress.com

Parkson and Vapex to work together

Parkson Corporation and Vapex Environ-mental Technologies recently announceda partnership to bring Vapex's odor con-trol technology to the North Americanmunicipal market.

Vapex’s O-Mega hydroxyl ion fog-ging technology eliminates odors and re-duces pH corrosion found throughoutwastewater systems. Instead of more tra-ditional technologies which use a consid-erable amount of energy to extract andscrub the odors, the O-Mega oxidizes theodorous space itself, eradicating theodors without the expense of movinghigh volumes of air.

The two companies will also offer theSentinel scrubber control system. Forscrubber systems, the Sentinel monitorsthe internal gas passing through the scrub-

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Biorem to enter new $400million growth markets

Biorem Inc. recently announced it will ex-pand into the key industrial air emissionscontrol markets of volatile organic com-pounds and methane emissions. Solutionscurrently available to clean these emis-sions from air streams, such as thermaloxidizers, chemical scrubbers, and ironsponges, are non-biological in nature andcan generate further greenhouse gases orharmful byproducts during the cleaningprocess, according to Biorem.

Methane is 23 times more powerful asa global warming agent than carbon diox-ide and accounts for more than 14% of allman-made greenhouse gas emissions onEarth. Capturing methane emissions andconverting them for power generation orautomobile fuel sources has the dual ef-fect of mitigating atmospheric damageand providing sustainable, clean energy.

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MOE reviews proposedDurham/York EFW facility

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment(MOE) has made available its Noticeof Completion of a Review of theDurham/York Residual Waste Study En-vironmental Assessment, also known asthe proposed energy-from-waste (EFW)facility. The Review states that “the pro-posed thermal treatment facility will ben-efit the communities in the RegionalMunicipalities of Durham and York. Theministry is satisfied that the proposed mit-igation methods and contingencies willensure that any potential negative impactswill be minimized and managed.”

The proposed EFW facility would becapable of processing up to 140,000tonnes per year of post-diversion residualwaste. It is anticipated that during the 35-year planning period, the facility could beexpanded up to a maximum capacity of400,000 tonnes per year. The proposedEFW facility would be located on a12-hectare parcel of land, located north of

the Courtice Water Pollution ControlPlant in the Municipality of Clarington.

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ITT to purchase Nova Analytics

ITT Corporation has agreed to purchaseNova Analytics Corporation, a privately-held manufacturer of laboratory, field,portable, and on-line analytical instru-ments used in water and wastewater, en-vironmental, medical, and food andbeverage applications.

“This acquisition fits perfectly withITT’s strategy to expand into categoriesadjacent to our core businesses and buildon our global leadership positions in water,wastewater and industrial process, andproducts for the food and beverage mar-ket,” said Gretchen McClain, president ofITT Fluid and Motion Control group.

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Avensys to represent Sensidyne gas and flame

detection products

Avensys Solutions, a division of AvensysInc., has entered into a distribution agree-ment with Sensidyne LP, a supplier of gasand flame detection products for power,chemical, oil and gas, mining, industrialgases, semi-conductor, metals, and waterand waste treatment facilities.

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Desalination plant achievesperformance milestones

Tampa Bay Water, American Water, andAcciona Agua, announced recently thatthe Tampa Bay Seawater Desalination Fa-cility, the largest seawater desalinationplant in the US, has passed the final twoperformance milestone tests. The tests re-quired the plant to produce 25 million gal-lons of water per day (MGD) for 120consecutive days, and also average 20MGD for 12 consecutive months. Bothmilestones were successfully completedthis February.

At 25 MGD, the plant provides about10 percent of the Tampa Bay Region’sdrinking water supply. As a result of pass-ing the test, Tampa Bay Water will receive$31.25 million from the Southwest FloridaWater Management District.

www.tampabaywater.org

AWWARF outlines research agenda

The AWWA Research Foundation has an-nounced a 2010 research budget of $6.25million. These funds will be leveragedwith in-kind support and partnerships toa total research value of $15 million.Approximately one-third of the funding

will go towards three targeted areas: cli-mate change; distribution system waterquality; and endocrine-disrupting com-pounds/pharmaceuticals and personalcare products.

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The World’s Water Event

June 20–24, 2010

Chicago, Illinois

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March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:52 PM



system, and no requirements for elec-tricity or chemicals.

The overall layout of the system canbe seen from the aerial photo in Figure2, with the horizontal beds in the fore-ground, and the vertical bed andstormwater bed behind. Concrete set-tling chambers are to the far left, withthe location of the outfall to the far rightperpendicular to the system.

Sludge treatmentSolids that are removed from the set-

tling tanks are treated by a wetland sys-tem of sludge cells. Liquid sludge fromthe settlement chambers is applied to thesurface of the sludge cells, and flowsvertically through the plants and matrixto pipes that feed the liquid back into themain wetland. Solids remain in thesludge cells to be treated.

Plants create pathways for continuousdrainage, absorb water from the sludge,and provide oxygen into the root zone tostimulate biological mineralization of thesludge. The end product is a compostedmaterial that can be used for landscapingor other purposes. Up to 2.5 m of sludgecan be applied to each sludge cell peryear. As the plants grow up through thecomposted sludge, new sludge can beapplied for seven to eight years beforethe cells need to be emptied.

Since the sludge treatment systembegan operating, it has provided savingsof approximately $20,000 per year intransportation and disposal costs.

Secondary treatment

Wetlands purify wastewater using avariety of mechanisms. Matrix materialcan contain natural elements to providefor chemical interactions. The matrixalso acts as a filter, trapping and bindingcontaminants. However, the majority oftreatment occurs by biological degrada-tion in the root zone.

Wetland beds are planted with amonoculture of nursery-produced andadapted common reed plants (phrag-mites australis). These plants transferoxygen to their root systems and into thesurrounding rhizosphere, creating zonesof varying oxygen levels within the ma-trix. The three main zones are an anaer-obic zone containing no dissolvedoxygen, an anoxic zone containing nodissolved oxygen, but having nitrite/ni-trate, and an aerobic zone containingdissolved oxygen.

These zones, and the boundariesbetween them, create habitat for manydifferent kinds of micro-organisms, in-cluding bacteria, amoebae, ciliates,rotifers and flagellates. In municipal ap-plications, secondary or tertiary treat-ment can be achieved, depending on thesize, configuration, and retention time ofthe beds.

Operation and treatment resultsThe Appleton-Glenwood system was

designed in 2005. Construction wasstarted in June 2006, and completed inNovember 2006. The system was turnedon in December 2006, and has run con-tinually since then, with commissioning

activities being performed over the firstyear.

Operational requirements for the sys-tem have been as expected. The grinderand screen are checked regularly and de-bris from the screen is removed weeklyor bi-weekly. Operational maintenanceof the wetlands involves checking on thebeds weekly, with a more thorough re-view monthly.

In the first years of a system, weedingand plant propagation need to be ad-dressed. This is considered part of theoverall commissioning and is not a long-term maintenance activity. The highestmaintenance activity involves removingthe settled sludge from the settling tanks,in this case every three to four months,and pumping it to the sludge cells.

In total, overall monthly require-ments are approximately four to sixman-days per month, or approximately50 to 80 man-days per year. In additionto labour costs, the system only useselectricity for the grinder and the spiralscreen, which amounts to approximately$2,000 per year. The overall operatingcosts have been lower than expected, atapproximately $20,000 per year.

The system has performed above ex-pectations from day one, even though in-coming BOD levels were, on average,40% higher than expected during thefirst year. Effluent is tested prior to en-tering the Gander River and at a down-stream location. Effluent at both stationsis clear, colourless and very low in or-ganic matter, suspended solids, phospho-rus, ammonia, nitrogen and pathogens.The effluent meets all standards set bythe Newfoundland and Labrador govern-ment for discharge into a sensitive fresh-water body.

Since the system performance duringthe summer months was very high, thesecond year’s testing focussed on thespring and fall seasons.

The results were recognized in 2008,when the Town of Appleton was pre-sented with the Newfoundland andLabrador Environmental Award.

For more information, [email protected]

Figure 5. Plant growth as of 2009.

Wetlands for sewage and sludge treatment - Continued from page 73

March2010_ES&E_2010 25/03/10 11:13 PM

*Conditions apply; complete details available.

Sometimes all it takes is a little thing to start a revolution. Presenting the Flexrakestorm and wastewater screen from Duperon Corporation. Perfect for stormwater, intake protection or wastewater applications, the Flexrake is available in coarse orfine screens, doesn’t require routine maintenance and its motor and bearings onlyrequire semi-annual maintenance. And because it has no bottom shaft, bearings orchain guides the need for underwater maintenance is eliminated altogether. Plusthere’s no jamming or stalling regardless of debris size. With all these features andmore than 400 installations worldwide, it’s no wonder that the Flexrake comes witha 5-year limited warranty.* For complete details on how this landmark innovationcan help you, contact ACG Technology Limited.

SIMPLY INCREDIBLE. YET INCREDIBLY SIMPLE.

FLEXRAKE® SELF-CLEANING BAR AND FINE SCREEN

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Water EnvironmentAssociation of

Ontario Ontario Pollution Control Equipment Association

March2010_ES&E:2010 3/30/10 3:52 PM

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Environmental Science and Engineering Magazine March-April 2010

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Transcript of Environmental Science and Engineering Magazine March-April 2010