Westside Treatment Plant Update

May 14, 2018 Vancouver City Council Workshop

Dan Swensen, Engineering and Construction Services Manager

Frank Dick, Senior Civil Engineer

• Overview of Westside Wastewater Treatment Plant • Recap of events from Fall 2017 and progress since • Regulatory response to events • Influent Pumps Bypass Project • Other related Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) in process • Informational presentation – No action being requested

Presentation Overview

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• Absolutely must work 24 / 7 / 365 • Treats 10 million gallons per day on average – 7000 GPM (gallons per minute)

• Westside handles the solids removed from the City’s two wastewater plants • Treatment theory is straight forward – Complexity comes from the high

volume required through these facilities and the need for process reliability. • Treatment relies heavily on electricity to move large amounts of water

through the treatment process.

Overview – Westside Treatment Plant

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Five steps of treatment • Screening • Primary clarification • Biological treatment • Secondary clarification • Disinfection

Overview – Westside Treatment Plant continued

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Screening

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Primary Clarifiers

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Biological Treatment

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Secondary Clarifiers

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Ultraviolet Light Disinfection

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• September 30 event – Caused initially by a power interruption • October 25 event – During routine calibration of sensors • Causes of these two events were unrelated. • Steps taken since these events occurred

• Immediate actions • Some steps involve capital improvement projects

Events of Fall 2017

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• Our regulator is Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology). • With our complete cooperation, Ecology is investigating. • To date: Waiting to hear back. No results yet communicated to

the City.

Regulatory Response

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• “Bypass” is the ability to use an different route from influent control to treatment processes; bypassing influent pumps in the case of a power failure.

• Vulnerability was highlighted during operator contract procurement process. • Operator’s financial assistance was negotiated as part of the City contract. • Project design is moving toward 50 percent. • Creates an emergency pumping system independent of electric utility.

Bypass Project - Estimated $2 million

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• Modernizing SCADA (System Control and Data Acquisition) - $12.5 M

• Electrical System Overhaul - $ 10 M (pre-design estimate) • Supply into the plant • Distribution throughout the plant • Emergency Switch Gear

Other Related Capital Projects

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• Vancouver and CH2M take environmental protection and public trust in our wastewater treatment operations very seriously.

• Vancouver’s wastewater treatment processes function reliably to treat wastewater effectively.

• Vancouver’s treatment processes are highly regulated by the Washington State Department of Ecology.

• Vancouver’s two treatment plants are professionally run by a dedicated team of professional operators.

Takeaways

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• Our experience through these events highlights a much more engaged partnership with our operator.

• CH2M has demonstrated a high level of transparency within their operations.

• Events demonstrate the need for ongoing capital investment and reinvestment in our infrastructure.

Takeaways continued

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Questions and Discussion

Dan Swensen, Engineering/Construction Services Manager (360)487-7750

Frank Dick, Senior Civil Engineer (360)487-7179

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