From The EditorSusan McCannonPlanning and Funding SpecialistSusan.McCannon@feiengineers.com

A good plan...

Community leaders often know that they need to do something about

much needed improvements within their water and wastewater systems. The hard part is knowing what to do and how to do it. At this early stage what’s needed is a good plan -- one that focuses on the problem to be solved and the steps to be taken in order to solve the problem, not necessarily the particulars in how the problem is to be solved.

But planning is not necessarily an easy task. Luckily there are resources available to assist with planning. The CDPHE or the USDA can offer some communities small grants to offset the costs to do planning but they can’t do the planning for you. Some engineeringfirms will work with you to craft a plan, whether it be a preliminary

project work plan, CPE, a CIP, or a project funding strategy. New planning resources are also being made available by the American Water Works Association through their Community Engineering Corps and by the Environmental Finance Center. Find out more about these new resources in this newsletter.

Regardless of how you go about doing it, the key is to draft a project plan early so that you have a roadmap of sorts. The plan will change and evolve as your project progresses, that’s to be expected. But in order to make any progress you have to take that first step by creating a plan. Take some advice from General George S. Patton, Jr., a highly effective commander during WWII, “A good plan … executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week.”

5325 S Valentia Way | Greenwood Village, CO | 80111www.feiengineers.com | (303) 300-3464

Volume 5 Issue 3October, 2015

Funding and finance ideas and strategies for water and wastewater

How BIG is your project funding bucket... and what’s in it? We can help!

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Project Planning Resources

• Small Communities Grant Fund

• Quality Based Selection Resources & Requirements

American Water Works Association Community Engineering Corps Community Engineering Corps (CE Corps) is a new program from the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) that aims to assist communities to meet their drinking water and wastewater infrastructure needs.

Upon request the CE Corps will connect a community with volunteer(s) who will work alongside the community during the early project planning stages. They can assist with development of a project plan, craft an RFQ, review proposals and assist in the selection process, identify funding options, and/or help with the funding application process. In addition, once a project is underway the CE Corps volunteer can serve as the owner’s rep-resentative. For more information or to submit a project application visit:

http://www.communityengineeringcorps.org/

Or contact Lindsey Geiger at:lgeiger@awwa.org

Smart Management for Small Water Systems The Environmental

Finance Center Net-work (EFC Network) can provide up to 20 hours of technical

assistance on finance and management topics for drinking water systems that serve up to 10,000 people.

Examples of assistance they can provide include: asset management, near-term financial planning and rate setting, long-term capital planning, assessing options for lowering energy use and/or water loss, identifying sources of funding for capital projects, collaborating with other water systems, and more.

This assistance program, which is supported through funding from the EPA, is currently providing assistance to two communities in Colorado. Find out more about this program and submit a request for planning assistance by clicking on the following link:

http://efcnetwork.org/assistance/request-assistance/

Or contact Lexi Kay Herndon at: lkherndon@unc.edu

Volume 5 Issue 3 October 2015

Project Planning Resources

Small Communities Grant Fund Due to the health of the severance tax perpetual base fund the CDPHE is again able to allocate $9,500,000 for their Small Communities Water and Waste-water Grant Fund. Applications can be submitted until November 16, 2015 for planning, design and/or construction work to be conducted through March 2019.

Applications will be divided into two categories; drinking water and wastewater. New this year -- applications will be further divided into two tiers based on the amount of fund-ing requested; Tier I for funding requests of $100,000 or less, and Tier II for funding requests of $100,001 to $850,000. The application requirements for both Tiers are the same.

Those applications that receive the highest priority points will be forwarded to the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) for a fiscal analysis. This analysis will look at an applicant’s median household income, median house values, and system user charges as compared to statewide average figures, as well as system debt per household, and the ratio of available reserves to project cost.

Based on this analysis DOLA will issue or deny a Certificate of Financial Need. Only those applications that garner sufficient priority points and receive a Certificate of Financial Need will be offered funding.

Susan McCannon has experience with these grant applications and is available to talk with you about your likelihood of success, and/or to assist in the preparation of an application for your project(s). She can be reached at (303) 928-1347 or Susan.McCannon@FEIEngineers.com.

Quality Based SelectionThe June 2015 issue of The Bucket Li$t addressed the new Architectural / Engineering Services Procurement requirements for all wastewater projects seeking State Revolving Fund (SRF) loans as of October 1, 2014. This required process is widely known as Quality Based Selection, or QBS.

Implementing these new requirements just got easier thanks to a coalition of several professional organizations in Colorado interested in the construction industry.

A website devoted to QBS now makes available a number of tools, templates, flowcharts, and other resources to assist communities seeking to implement QBS. A fill-in-the-blank Request for Qualification (RFQ) form is available, as well as an interview rating sample form.

Find these as well as other helpful resources at the QBS Colorado website by clicking on the following link:

http://www.qbscolorado.org/index.html

How BIG is your project funding bucket... and what’s in it? We can help!Volume 5 Issue 3 October 2015

For additional information on topics covered in this issue of

The Bucket Li$t please contact me at: Susan.McCannon@FEIEngineers.com

St. Vrain Sanitation DistrictWWTF Project Complete On September 18th, 2015 approximately 130attendees including community members from the Town of Firestone, Town of Frederick, and City of Dacono, as well as the St. Vrain Sanitation District, Ramey Environmental Compliance, FEI Engineers, Glacier Construction, and U.S. Senator Bennet’s Office, came together to celebrate the opening of the District’s new six (6) million gallon per day Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility.

A collaborative process between the District and FEI started early on and continued throughout the duration of this project. A client design review committee was formed during the early planning phase to evaluate potential technologies and processes. The committee included two Board members who were professional operators and could provide unique insight to “real world” operational challenges. By engaging and collaborating with the client early on, valuable knowledge was exchanged; ultimately contribut-ing to a better design and overall project.

The Wastewater Treatment Facility was one of the first in Colorado to install screw press dewatering technology; it includes a second generation autothermal thermophilic aerobic digestion (ATAD) biosolids system yielding Class “A” biosolids available to landscapers and homeowners; a raw sewage pumping system which handles difficult solids with ease; and an advanced jet aeration oxidation ditch with multi-point instrumentation and controls for increased flexibility and long-term energy efficiency.

The new $32 Million St. Vrain Sanitation District Wastewater Treatment Facility positions the District and surrounding communities for future regulatory compliance and minimizes risk to pub-lic health and the environment due to high-quality wastewater treatment. The District’s success demonstrates that obstacles such as difficult construction sequencing can be overcome; that advanced technologies and innovative approach-es were viable; and that these technologies and applications can yield real social, environmental, and economic benefits for many years to come.

A special thanks to all of those who contributed to the successful completion

of the SVSD Expansion Project

District Staff Cut Ribbon at WWTF Opening

Attendees Participated in Facility Tours

Ceremony Acknowledged Key Project Participants

FEI Engineers is a full service professional engineering firm specializing in water and wastewater. With staff dedicated to project funding and system finance issues, as well asproject design, engineering and construction needs, we can help you reach your goals in moreways than one.

The Bucket Li$t is a quarterly electronic newsletter distributed by FEI Engineers. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to colleagues or other interested parties.