ESE_Dec2016

Phosphorus reduction
using cloth filtration
Unconventional
industrial water sources
Drinking water
desalination
OPERATOR &
CONSULTANT
FORUMS
DECEMBER 2016
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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine4 | December 2016
FEATURES
6 Reflecting on over 20 years of Water For People Canada
8 Meeting Moncton’s strict stormwater runoff regulations
10 Using unconventional water sources for industrial use
16 Activated carbon solves pesticide issue at water treatment plant
18 Event recap: The Indigenous Water Forum
20 Evaluating cloth filtration for wastewater phosphorus reduction
26 Economic and social benefits of the First Nations Land Management Regime
30 San Diego County’s 204 MLD drinking water desalination plant
58 Bubble-less system can reduce energy costs for wastewater aeration
SPECIAL SECTIONS
OPERATORS’FORUM
33 How to choose between grit washing or grit classification
35 Designing low maintenance water systems
39 York Region profiles the people behind its water system - Cover story
40 Complete measurement system helps small community WWTP
42 Overcoming wastewater odour-sampling challenges
CONSULTANTS’FORUM
46 The next generation of engineers faces many environmental challenges
49 Engineers and planners must rethink cities in the age of increasing urbanization
52 Will Ontario’s infrastructure renewal help consultants the way Hydro Quebec’s projects did?
54 Who is Trevor Kletz and how has he impacted engineering design?
DEPARTMENTS
60 Product Showcase
63 Environmental News
63 Professional Cards
65 Ad Index
8
CONTENTS December 2016 • Vol. 29 No. 6 • ISSN-0835-605X
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COMING IN OUR
FEBRUARY 2017 ISSUE
This issue will offer our
47,000 readers across
Canada a strong and diverse
range of articles:
EDITORIAL FOCUS
Water and Wastewater
Treatment in Cold Climates
and Remote Communities
SPECIAL SECTIONS
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CIRCULATION AT:
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Central Ontario Water
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GLOBE
10

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Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine6 | October 20166 | December 2016
GUEST COMMENT BY BILL BUTLER
EDITOR AND PUBLISHER STEVE DAVEY
steve@esemag.com
MANAGING EDITOR PETER DAVEY
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SALES DIRECTOR PENNY DAVEY
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Environmental Science & Engineering is a bi-monthly
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environmental control systems and drinking water
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Readers include consulting engineers, industrial plant
managers and engineers, key municipal, provincial
and federal environmental officials, water and
wastewater plant operators and contractors.
Information contained in ES&E has been compiled
from sources believed to be correct. ES&E cannot be
responsible for the accuracy of articles or other
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A Supporting Publication of
TECHNICAL ADVISORY BOARD
Archis Ambulkar, Jones and Henry Engineers, Ltd.
Gary Burrows, City of London
Jim Bishop, Consulting Chemist, Ontario
Patrick Coleman, Black & Veatch
Bill De Angelis, City of Toronto
Mohammed Elenany, Urban Systems
William Fernandes, City of Toronto
Marie Meunier, John Meunier Inc., Québec
Tony Petrucci, Stantec, Markham
Reflectingonover20years
ofWaterForPeopleCanada
“I
f there was a major earthquake last night anywhere in the world and
over 4,000 people died, every major media organization in the world
would feature this event as their headline story. Yet, yesterday, today,
tomorrow and everyday throughout the world, this number of people,
mostly children, will die from waterborne disease. I challenge you to find
a media outlet reporting this story.” —Ken Miller, President WFP, AWWA,
ACE, June 1994
There are often unexpected events, moments, which happen in one’s
life that compel action. Ken Miller’s words made a lasting impression
on me. I heard them while being involved in discussions with Health
Canada officials on proposed changes to Canada’s Drinking Water
Guidelines. Epidemiological studies indicated that lowering the accept-
able level of trihalomethanes would result in one less death from cancer
in Canada over a 70-year period among people who drank several
glasses of water per day.
I could not rationalize the 4,000 deaths per day throughout the world
among people who consume unsafe water and the proposed change
to the Drinking Water Guideline that would reduce the death rate in
Canada by one over a 70-year period. I realized that providing water
and sanitation in developing countries was something that needed
addressing and that I could help.
ESTABLISHING WATER FOR PEOPLE (WFP) CANADA
At the time, I was serving as Chair of the Canadian Affairs Committee
of AWWA. The members of the committee were aware of the recently
(1991) formed WFP, a U.S. charity. After considerable discussion, the
members of the Canadian Affairs Committee unanimously resolved to
establish a Canadian registered charity with objectives identical to that
of WFP.
In June 1994, the first Directors of WFP Canada were I, represent-
ing Atlantic Canada; Pierre LaJoie, Quebec; Rod Holme, Ontario; Tom
Pearson, Western Canada; and David Swanson, British Columbia.
continued on page 66
Canadians on a Water For People project tour in Bolivia. Left to right: Peter Hanlon, Ed Vye,
Bill Butler, Tony Petrucci, Penny Davey.

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Newcommercialdevelopment
meetsMoncton’sstrict
stormwaterrunoffregulations
T
he new McLaughlin Place retail
centre in Moncton, New Bruns-
wick, is meeting the city’s mandate
of eliminating any increase in
stormwater runoff while maximizing
the number of parking spaces. Instead
of using a detention pond or sump, the
designers decided to use a system of
chambers under the parking lot that
would collect and hold stormwater
runoff from the lot and rooftops.
The one-hectare commercial develop-
ment with five buildings is located near
the Université de Moncton. Plans call for
apartment buildings to be added in the
future.
“Based on the city’s design criteria,
there could not be any increase in storm-
water runoff into Moncton’s storm sewer
system from McLaughlin Place,” stated
Denis LeBlanc, P.Eng., of WSP Canada
Inc. “This is in an older, fully developed
part of the city with roads, storm sewers,
etc., already in place. The city has a zero
net increase stormwater policy, which
means that, when you develop a site,
post-development flows have to equal
pre-development flows.
“In our case, some old houses and an
old skating rink on the property had
been demolished a few years before, but
the downstream storm sewer was still
limited by capacity. This meant we had
to go above and beyond the zero increase
requirements. In our design, we actually
had to reduce pre-development flow
conditions due to the undersized storm
sewer that was downstream of our site.”
“Moncton uses a lot of open, dry
detention ponds,” LeBlanc explained.
“The reason for that is because land
value is not that high and developers can
usually afford to lose a bit of land to put
in a pond. In this case, we didn’t have
any available land and our site was fully
covered by buildings or parking lots. So,
underground storage was our choice for
detention.”
Tosatisfythecity’sZeroNetIncreasefor
Stormwater Runoff Law P#215 and meet
the site’s storage capacity requirement of
485cubicmetres,theundergroundsystem
used 87 StormTech® MC-3500 chambers
in a 26.8 m x 17.9 m area.
Each StormTech MC-3500 chamber is
2.28 m long x 1.95 m wide x 1.14 m high,
with minimum installed storage capacity
of 5.06 cubic metres. The open graded
stone around and under the chambers
providesasignificantconveyancecapacity,
ranging from approximately 23 l/s –
368 l/s. Actual conveyance capacity is
dependent upon stone size, depth of
foundation stone and head of water.
The excavation was 3.3 m deep, which
allowed for 2.13 m of cover above the
chambers. The gravel bed was made up
of 18 mm – 50 mm washed rock. A rock
slinger was used in order to place the
stone faster.
A non-woven geotextile separates
native soil from the washed rock. To
convey the water from the catch basins,
ADS N-12® corrugated high-density
polyethylene (HDPE) pipe was used to
create a 600 mm x 450 mm manifold,
connected to the first four chamber rows.
“We’re not calling it retention but
detention,” LeBlanc continued. “Water
is not infiltrating into the ground. Our
soils are all clay here so there’s little to
no infiltration. This means you still need
to outlet water to a pipe or a sewer. Our
chambers are on the bed of gravel with
the geotextile under it to prevent the clay
from interacting with the gravel. From
there, the water flows into a control
structure downstream of the chambers.
It is basically just a manhole with an
orifice in it. From there, it goes into the
municipal storm sewer.”
To convey water from the under-
ground detention system to the muni-
cipal storm sewer, a 250 mm diameter
solid wall DR17 HDPE pipe was hori-
zontally directionally drilled nearly 16
m under Morton Avenue, a major road.
This was needed because the city could
not shut down any lanes.
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Pressuremountingforindustriestouse
unconventionalwatersources
By Jeff Easton and Jim Woods
W
ater is required in almost every industrial sector for the
processing and manufacture of products. Sources of high
quality raw water for commercial plants are becoming
progressively scarce. The availability of water from rivers
and lakes is not only diminishing, but what is available is increasingly
regulated. This scenario has pushed industrial water recycling into the
forefront as a high-profile concern.
Cooling water systems, particularly at
power plants and oil refineries, are the
largest industrial consumers for recycled
water, due to their high-volume demand.
Other industrial applications include
oil and gas drilling, petroleum refining,
chemical plants, metal finishers, textile
and carpet dying, paper manufacturing,
cement manufacturers, and other cool-
ing and process applications.
Many companies are aware of the risks
that growing water constraints could
place on their operations, and recognize
the need to consider unconventional
sources of water. The technology, chem-
istry and processes exist today to feasibly
and economically integrate water reuse
from unconventional sources into almost
any industrial process application.
UNCONVENTIONAL WATER
SOURCES
Unlike conventional water sources like
potable supplies, rivers, lakes, surface
ponds and fresh water wells, unconven-
tional water sources can originate from
continued overleaf...
WATER REUSE

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wastewater treatment plant effluent,
brackish, surface, well, and mine pool
water, acid mine drainage, hydraulic frac-
turing flowback and produced water.
These water sources may contain vary-
ing levels of suspended solids, oils and
greases, colloidal silica and metals, and
dissolved minerals and organics. Contam-
inants can include dirt and sediments,
hardness (such as dissolved calcium and
magnesium), heavy metals (like lead, zinc,
cadmium, mercury and arsenic), salts,
organics and colour.
Since every industrial application
requires a different level of finished water
quality, understanding the condition of
the source water and the finished water
quality requirements determines the
processes and equipment needed. For
most industrial uses of reclaimed water,
conventional processes involve second-
ary treatment, filtration and disinfection
steps to achieve a desired level of water
quality. Most applications will require
multiple processes to achieve the desired
finished water quality.
REUSE OF MUNICIPAL
WASTEWATER
Recycled municipal wastewater can be
used for a broad range of reuse applica-
tions, but not for direct drinking water
and the manufacturing of food and
beverages. Besides traditional uses such
as industrial processes, agricultural irrig-
ation, and the irrigation of lawns, land-
scapes, cemeteries and golf courses, many
areas add recycled water to underground
storage basins that are used as drinking
water supplies.
Water recycling is very important in
arid climates, like southern California,
where water must be imported from
other parts of the state. The Sanitation
Districts of Los Angeles County operate
the largest engineered wastewater recyc-
ling program in the world. The goal is to
recycle as much water as possible from
their 10 water reclamation plants (WRPs).
These play a major role in meeting south-
ern California’s water needs, providing
primary, secondary, and tertiary treat-
ment for approximately two million litres
per day, 650,000 litres of which are avail-
able for reuse.
UTILIZING MINE POOL WATER/AMD
New or expanded steam electric
power plants frequently need to turn to
non-traditional alternative sources of
water for cooling. One type of alternative
water source is groundwater collected
in underground pools associated with
coal mines, known as mine pool water.
When this water flows from the mine
to the surface it is called acid mine
drainage (AMD). It contains multiple
combinations of acidity, and metals such
as arsenic, cadmium, copper, mercury,
silver and zinc.
With water sources becoming harder
to obtain for industrial applications,
these marginal-quality mine pool waters
and AMD streams are becoming more
attractive for reclamation and reuse.
From a cooling perspective, mine pool/
AMD water is desirable because it has
a relatively consistent and low temper-
ature year round.
Implementing sustainable and finan-
cially viable methods to reuse vast
quantities of mine pool/AMD water
is an area of relatively new, but grow-
ing, interest for mining operations. The
technologies exist to economically treat
any strength of acid mine drainage for
industrial reuse.
Recent technological refinements in
such processes as CO2 stripping, aera-
tion, thickening, clarification, sludge
disposal, ultrafiltration and reverse
An advanced surface
aeration process is
critical in facilitating
an economically feasible
solution for treatment
of the mine pool/AMD
wastewater.
WATER REUSE

EnvirexRex Link-Belt FMC USFilter Evoqua

osmosis are making these systems more
streamlined and efficient. This enables
full-scale mine pool water/AMD reuse
projects to not only control, manage and
reuse these contaminated waters, but
also to be financially viable.
An advanced surface aeration process
is critical in facilitating an economically
feasible solution for treatment of the
mine pool/AMD wastewater. New impel-
ler designs increase oxygen transfer effi-
ciency, and reduce axial and radial loads.
Such a system can produce a minimum
efficiency of 3.8 pounds of oxygen per
horsepower-hour. This improved transfer
efficiency saves significant operational
costs over the life of the equipment.
Reduced axial and radial loads increase
the life of the drive unit and reduce the
size of support structures and beams for
the surface aerators.
Systems like these are making acid
mine drainage reuse more accessible
for mining operations, which require
systems to not only be financially feas-
ible, but capable of efficiently handling
wastewater streams at remote locations,
usually within a confined footprint.
The latest developments in high-rate
thickeners, used to separate liquids and
solids at very high rates, are effective in
coal refuse thickening, gold recovery,
copper leaching, molybdenum process-
ing, and other mining and chemical
applications where mine pool water/
AMD is sourced. Separation is effected
rapidly because of the system’s hydraul-
ics, which can be in excess of 20 times
the hydraulics of conventional thicken-
ers. As a result, the plant area required
for this new generation of thickeners is
greatly reduced.
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
FLOWBACK AND PRODUCED
WATER
As more hydraulic fracturing wells
comeintooperation,sodoesthestresson
surface water and groundwater supplies
from the withdrawal of large volumes of
water used in the process. This can be as
much as 3.8 million litres of fresh water
per wellhead to complete the fracturing
process alone.
Equally important is the growing
volume of wastewater generated from
fracturing wells, requiring disposal or
recycling. Up to 60% of the water injected
into a wellhead during the fracturing
process will discharge back out of the
well shortly thereafter, as flowback waste-
water. For the life of the wellhead, it will
discharge up to 380,000 litres per day of
produced wastewater.
Because water is the base fluid and
biggest component used in hydraulic frac-
turing, its importance remains a critical
factor in the operation and economics
of shale oil and gas production. Fresh
water and wastewater operating proced-
ures which have been in place since the
late 1990s are experiencing increasingly
stiffer governmental regulations on water
availability and disposal limitations. This
is prompting oil and gas executives to
reassess their current water use for frac-
turing, and adopt a more unified, and
longer-range perspective on their water
life-cycle management.
Freshwatersuppliesforuseinhydraulic
fracturing are becoming more expensive
and more unobtainable.
Wastewater associated with shale oil
and gas extraction can contain high levels
of total dissolved solids (TDS), fracturing
fluid additives, total suspended solids
(TSS), hardness compounds, metals, oil
andgas,bacteriaandbacteriadisinfection
agents, and naturally occurring radio-
active materials. These contaminants are
partially a combination of chemicals and
agents inserted deep into the well (3,000
metres and deeper) which facilitate frac-
turing by modifying the water chemistry
to increase viscosity, carry more sand and
improve conductivity.
WELLHEAD RECYCLING
Some drilling operators elect to reuse
a portion of the wastewater to replace
and/or supplement fresh water in formu-
Fresh water supplies
for use in hydraulic
fracturing are becoming
more expensive and more
unobtainable.
WATER REUSE
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lating fracturing fluid for a future well
or re-fracturing the same well. Reuse of
shale oil and gas wastewater is, in part,
dependent on the levels of pollutants
in the wastewater and the proximity of
other fracturing sites that might reuse
the wastewater.
Mobile solutions to treat wastewater at
the wellhead enable recycling and reuse
of flowback wastewater without the need
for storing it in surface ponds on-site,
or for trucking it for disposal at off-site
deep-well injection locations. The draw-
back of wellhead mobile solutions is that
they do not provide continuous process-
ing to handle produced wastewaters,
which would need to be processed for
potentially 20 years following fracturing.
Since produced wastewater represents
95%, or more, of the wastewater gener-
ated during the life cycle of a well, mobile
processing systems do not provide a solu-
tion adequate to solving the long-term
problems of diminished water sourcing.
BRACKISH SURFACE AND WELL
WATER
Brackish water refers to water supplies
that are more saline than freshwater, but
much less salty than seawater. This level
of salinity in water is measured in TDS.
In hydraulic fracturing, saline water is
introduced into the process by contacting
brackish aquifers.
The two most common desalination
technologies are membrane and thermal
processes. Membrane processes rely on
permeable membranes to separate salts
from water. They can be pressure-driven
(reverse osmosis) or voltage-driven (elec-
trodialysis).
Reverse osmosis is currently the most
common desalination treatment method.
The thermal process involves heating
saline water to produce water vapour,
which is then condensed and collected as
fresh water. In a reverse osmosis system,
the greater the TDS concentration of the
water, the higher the pressure needed
for the pumps to push water through
the membranes, and, consequently, the
higher the energy costs.
MINE POOL WATER/AMD
The reuse of mine pool water/AMD
in hydraulic fracturing for shale oil and
gas production is quickly becoming a
hot topic of interest. Many current shale
oil and gas hydraulic fracturing wells are
in close proximity to mine pool water/
AMD areas, creating a unique opportun-
ity to beneficially use these wastewater
sites for hydraulic fracturing.
According to a 2013 Duke Univer-
sity-led study, much of the naturally
occurring radioactivity (radium and
barium) in fracturing wastewater might
be removed by blending it with waste-
water from mine pool water/acid mine
drainage. Blending can bind some frac-
turing contaminants into solids that can
then be removed before the water is
discharged back into waterways.
CENTRALIZED HANDLING OF
FLOWBACK AND PRODUCED
WASTEWATER
Centralized treatment of wastewater
has emerged as a viable solution for
long-term efficiency in managing water
sourcing and wastewater treatment in
hydraulic fracturing. Centralized treat-
ment facilities handle both the flowback
wastewater and produced wastewater
from oil and gas wells within a region,
in a radius of 70 km – 80 km. Pipelines
connect all wellheads directly with the
central treatment plant.
Such centralized plants can be inte-
grated with alternative sources of water
to supplement fresh water needs for frac-
turing, such as from abandoned mines,
stormwater control basins, municipal
wastewater treatment plant effluent, and
power plant cooling water. Centralized
water management allows wastewater
sourcing to be implemented on an econ-
omy of scale that has not before been
realized in the shale oil and gas produc-
tion industry.
Jeff Easton and Jim Woods are with
WesTech Engineering Inc. Email:
jeaston@westech-inc.com
December 2016 | 15www.esemag.com
• www.greatario.com • info@greatario.com
519-469-8169
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Recent Project
Town of Petrolia Mandaumin Reservoir
Replacement and Capacity Expansion
Two glass-fused-to-steel water storage tanks
with aluminum geodesic domes

the powder flows into a 75 mm diameter
flexible screw conveyor leading to the
surge hopper. A second 60 mm diam-
eter flexible screw conveyor moves the
carbon powder from the hopper outlet
to the intake of the ejector that accur-
ately doses the PAC into the municipal
water stream. The conveyors are curved
to fit the tight space within the shipping
container.
From the control panel, the operator
sets the speeds of the conveyor drives to
automatically dose the proper amount
of PAC according to the site water flow.
Low and high level sensors in the surge
hopper signal the controller to start or
stop flow through the first flexible screw
conveyor when the hopper contents
reach the low or high level.
The carbon dosing portion of the
TransPAC system includes a header tank
for incoming water, a booster pump and
the ejector. Velocity of the water flowing
through a venturi creates a low pressure
zone in the ejector that entrains the
carbon powder into the treated water
stream at a rate set at the control panel.
The unit operates with no moving parts.
PAC CAN POSE HANDLING
PROBLEMS
Powdered activated carbon adsorbs
the pesticide on its surface, and the
carbon and adsorbed material are subse-
quently removed as sludge in the floccu-
lation process. However, the extremely
fine powder is prone to dusting. Both the
bulk bag discharger and flexible screw
conveyors prevent dusting. The bag
outlet spout is connected to the feeder by
a Spout-Lock® clamp ring. This creates
a secure, dust-tight connection between
the clean side of the bag spout and clean
side of the bag spout interface.
Each flexible screw conveyor consists
of a stainless steel screw rotating inside
a durable polymer tube that contains
the fine powder as it is conveyed. The
conveyor discharge is likewise dust-free,
as powder exits through a transition
adapter located forward of the drive at
the discharge end, thereby preventing it
from contacting bearings or seals.
For more information, visit
www.flexicon.com, or
www.transvac.co.uk
W
hen a water treatment plant
faced a spike in pesticide concen-
tration exceeding the allowable
concentration limit for incoming
water, it was forced to shut down. In order
to provide clean drinking water to users,
water had to be diverted from a regional
water treatment plant until the problem
could be solved.
The solution ultimately chosen was a
mobile, trailer-mounted carbon dosing
system, housed in a six-metre long steel
shipping container. It was delivered and
activated within one day, without costly
and time-consuming site preparation,
construction or complex components.
The water treatment facility was restored
to compliance, as the dosed carbon
successfully removed pesticide traces
from the main water stream.
Supplied by Transvac Systems, the
TransPAC mobile powder handling
and carbon dosing system includes a
bulk bag discharger, two flexible screw
conveyors, and a Transvac ejector
system for mixing and injecting a slurry
of powdered activated carbon (PAC)
into the water stream. It only requires
connections to an electric power supply,
the municipal water stream, and an
external water supply. Environmental
impact and site preparation are mini-
mized, as well as the need for main-
tenance and planning permission. The
system is safe to operate, and simple to
control.
From the split-frame bulk bag dischar-
ger, PAC is automatically transferred
from a half tonne bulk bag, through
a flexible screw conveyor, to a surge
hopper. From there, a second flexible
screw conveyor meters the powder into
the ejector.
A forklift loads the bag-loading frame
and 500 kg bulk bag onto the stationary
discharger frame inside the shipping
container. Once the bag spout is untied,
Left: Bulk bag and lifting frame of the BFF-C-X Bulk Out®split-frame bulk bag discharger are
forklifted onto the stationary discharger frame inside the container. Right: The flexible screw
conveyor from the bulk bag discharger moves carbon powder to the surge hopper. The second
flexible screw conveyor then moves the powder to the intake of the ejector.
Waterplantusespowderedactivated
carbonforpesticideremoval
By Craig Favill, Transvac Systems Ltd. and David Boger, Flexicon Corporation
WATER TREATMENT

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IndigenousWaterForumapowerfulevent
By Peter Davey, ESE Magazine
In late October, I had the privilege of being
asked to speak at the Indigenous Water
Forum in Whitecap Dakota First Nation,
Saskatchewan. Hosted by the Safe Water
for Health Research Team, the Univer-
sity of Saskatchewan, Touchwood Agency
Tribal Council, and the Safe Drinking
Water Team, the event was an emotional
and inspiring gathering of Elders and
Chiefs, water system operators, public
health workers and researchers.
Thepurposeoftheforumwastobridge
people’s knowledge of water through
sharing of indigenous ways of knowing,
research presentations and demonstra-
tions of practical applications. Living in
southern Ontario, discussions and news
about First Nation water is usually in the
context of a boil water advisory or fund-
ing to eliminate advisories.
I found the most powerful demon-
stration at the forum were the water
pitchers at each table. The water that
we all drank during the two-day event
was produced by one of two integrated
biological reverse osmosis membrane
(IBROM) treatment plants on Whitecap
Dakota First Nation land.
During the technical breakout sessions,
Brian Tralnberg, water treatment operator
for Whitecap, explained how his commu-
nity’s water treatment and distribution
system worked, and he took questions
from an audience of largely First Nation
operators.
Other presentations discussed drinking
water success stories; lessons learned from
the Husky oil spill; policy gaps between
stakeholders and government, and much
more. This was a truly unique event and a
must-attend for all water professionals.
For more information on the event, visit:
www.indigenouswaterforum.com
Top: Chief Peigan, File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal
Council, speaking about the potash industry’s
water use. Bottom: Touring the Whitecap
Dakota WTP with Brian Tralnberg (left).
Environmental Science Engineering Magazine18 | December 2016
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T
he Orillia Wastewater Treatment
Centre (WWTC), which dischar-
ges into Lake Simcoe, Ontario, is a
conventional secondary treatment
plant that has a rated average daily flow
capacity of 27,300 m3
/day and a peak
hourly flow rate of 89,000 m3
/day.
Due to the implementation of Ontario’s
Lake Simcoe Protection Plan in 2009 and
the Phosphorus Reduction Strategy for
the Lake Simcoe Watershed in 2010, the
OrilliaWWTCwasrequiredtomeetmore
stringent total phosphorus (TP) limits
of 0.1 mg/L. R.V. Anderson Associates
Limited (RVA) was retained to evaluate
AquaDisk®cloth media disk filtration as a
tertiary treatment option that would allow
the City to meet these new requirements.
The manufacturer, Aqua-Aerobic Sys
tems, Inc., was provided with the influ-
ent and effluent design criteria for the
WWTC and asked to provide capital
and operating cost, details of perform-
ance in existing locations, and a prelim-
inary layout for their tertiary treatment
system.
The system was evaluated using criteria
such as footprint, head loss, capital cost,
life-cycle cost, and ability to meet the
0.1 mg/L TP limit. Capital cost estimates
were developed based on tank sizes and
buildings required to house the equip-
ment. Life-cycle cost estimates for vari-
ous filter configurations accounted for
projected maintenance works and chem-
ical and power usage.
Based on this evaluation, AquaDisk
cloth media disk filtration was recom-
mended as the most appropriate tertiary
treatment system, mainly due to its capab-
ility, small footprint, and low capital and
life-cycle costs. For this project, the manu-
facturer recommended the use of their
5-micron OptiFiber® cloth media, which
is a relatively new cloth media specifically
developed to achieve low TP limits.
Figure 1: Cloth media filter system.
Figure 2: Correlation between influent and effluent total phosphorus.
OrilliaevaluatesclothfiltrationforWWTC
phosphorusreduction
By Valera Saknenko, James Des Cotes, Mark P. Hughes and Percival Thomas
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Disk filters use a cloth media placed
over a disk submerged within a tank to
capture and remove solids in the water,
while allowing clean water to pass through.
In normal operation, the selected disks are
stationary within the tank. Water flows
by gravity from the tank through the
cloth and into a central horizontal pipe,
discharging to an effluent channel. Solids
are deposited on the outside surface of the
disks. (See Figure 1)
As the amount of solids builds up on
the outside of the disks, the amount of
head required to force water through
the cloth media increases. When the
accumulation of solids reaches a pre-set
level, a backwash system is initiated to
remove the solids. While in backwash
mode, the mechanism cleans the cloth
media by drawing a small amount of
filtrate through shoe assemblies that are
connected to backwash pumps. During
this cycle, only two disks are being
backwashed at a time. No downtime is
required to accommodate backwashing,
as the filters remain in service through-
out this process. Additional solids that
accumulate are pumped out through a
manifold at the bottom of the tank by
the same backwash pump.
PILOT STUDY
The City decided to carry out a pilot
study to test the suitability of 5-micron
cloth media for treating the Orillia
WWTC secondary effluent to below
0.1 mg/L of TP. The study was carried
out from September 24 to November 6,
2014. A pilot trailer was provided by
the manufacturer. It was equipped with
a single, cloth media disk filter offering
an effective filtration area of 1.1 m2
. The
completely submerged disk was divided
into two equal segments, each fitted with
5-micron microfibre pile cloth media.
For this study, secondary clarifier efflu-
ent from the WWTC was pumped to the
pilot unit. Flow passed through a series of
pipes where coagulant was injected and
flash-mixed with the secondary effluent,
using an in-line static mixer. The flow
then transferred to a single-stage floccu-
lation chamber before its introduction to
the filter tank. The flow was filtered by
gravity through the cloth media.
Influent and effluent turbidity values
were monitored continuously using
two turbidimeters. Influent and effluent
orthophosphorus concentrations were
monitored by two in-line analyzers.
The unit was PLC-controlled and was
equipped with an electronic logging
system for data acquisition.
In parallel with the sampling and test-
ing program carried out by the manu-
facturer, WWTC staff carried out their
own sampling and testing program. This
included taking samples upstream and
downstream of the pilot filter in the
morning and afternoon. They also took
overnight composite samples. All samples
were tested for total suspended solids
(TSS), phosphates (PO4-P), and TP at
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RESULTS
The primary goal of the study was to
assess whether fluctuations in the influ-
ent TP had a significant impact on the
effluent filtered TP concentrations. As
shown in Figure 2, influent TP concen-
trations ranged from approximately
0.1 mg/L to a simulated spike of 1.4 mg/L.
With the exception of one data point, all
effluentTPvalueswerebelow0.075 mg/L.
On average, the 5-micron cloth media
achieved 78% removal of TP on all
samples collected and analyzed.
The secondary goal of the study was
to evaluate the filter’s performance at
elevated solids concentrations. Peak load-
ing conditions were simulated to a TP
concentration of 1.4 mg/L by introducing
mixed liquor suspended solids to the filter
influent. The filter was operated across a
range of flows from average daily flow to
peak flow. Influent turbidity levels ranged
from 2 NTU to 31 NTU, which correlated
to a TSS loading of 5 mg/L to 80 mg/L.
Effluent phosphate levels improved
as the solids concentrations applied to
the filter were increased. In all cases,
the filter effluent reactive phosphorus
was well below levels needed to support
an effluent criterion of TP less than
0.1 mg/L. (See Figure 3)
Based on the results of the pilot study,
the following conclusions were made:
• Filtration with 5-micron microfibre
cloth media can effectively meet the
stringent effluent TP target of 0.1 mg/L.
• The filter offers stable and reliable
performance, despite significant vari-
ations in hydraulic and solids loading
rates.
• The 5-micron cloth media filter
achieved the TP target with and without
the aid of coagulant.
• When chemicals are added, the cloth
medium is effective in filtering chemical
solids created from the mixing and floc-
culation of primary coagulants, such as
aluminum sulfate.
• In addition to high-level phosphorus
removal, the cloth media filter is able to
produce a filtrate with an exceptionally
low turbidity and TSS.
EVALUATION OF DISK FILTER
CONFIGURATIONS
Once the process was confirmed, vari-
Figure 3: Total reactive phosphate removal rates at all flows.
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access openings
S.F.S.F.S.F Fabrication’s Hatch Safety Grate System is available in a variety of cariety of cariety onfigurations
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angerous fall-through.

ous configurations of disk filters were
developed and evaluated to determine
optimal layout for life-cycle cost and
process redundancy. To meet design
guidelines, all systems were evaluated
with one set of standby filter(s). Based on
this, quotations for the following config-
urations were obtained:
• Two sets of 24-disk filters (one duty
and one standby).
• Three sets of 12-disk filters (two duty
and one standby).
• Four sets of 8-disk filters (three duty
and one standby).
The configuration of two sets of
filters incorporated the highest number
of filter disks (48 individual disks)
since it required 100% redundancy. The
configuration with four sets of filters
had the lowest number of disks, since
the standby filter only had to be sized
to treat 33% of design flows. Life cycle
cost for each configuration incorporated
both the capital cost and the 20-year
net present value of the operations and
maintenance (OM) costs.
A capital cost estimate was prepared
for each configuration, based on the
tanks required to house the filters, the
building and ancillary equipment. The
set of four filters contained the fewest
number of actual disks. However, the
added costs for piping and equipment
resulted in this configuration having the
highest capital cost. The option with two
filters resulted in the lowest capital cost,
as it had the smallest footprint and the
fewest pieces of equipment.
Based on the preliminary layouts of
each system, estimates were made for
heating and ventilation, as well as area
lighting requirements. The power neces-
sary to run these building systems was
considered, along with the filters’ power
and chemical use. Replacement part costs
and labour rates were also considered
while preparing final OM estimates.
The estimated 20-year life-cycle costs
are as follows:
• Two sets of 24-disk filters: $15.1M.
• Three sets of 12-disk filters: $16.1M.
• Four sets of 8-disk filters: $17.3M.
The option with two filters was deter-
mined to be the most economical option
from the point of view of capital, OM
and life-cycle costs. This system also
featured the largest available filtration
area, with 100% redundancy.
Valera Saknenko, P.Eng., Ph.D., PMP,
and James Des Cotes, P.Eng., CCCA,
are with R.V. Anderson Associates
Limited. Mark P. Hughes, P.E., is with
Aqua-Aerobic Systems Inc. Percival
Thomas, P.Eng., Ph.D, is with the City
of Orillia. For more information, email:
vsaknenko@rvanderson.com
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FirstNationsLandManagementRegime
promiseseconomicandsocialbenefits
By Keli Just
S
elect First Nation communities across
Canada have chosen to join the First Nations
Land Management (FNLM) Regime. The
FNLM Regime operates under the Frame-
work Agreement on First Nation Land Manage-
ment, which is a government-to-government
agreement that was ratified by Canada in 1999.
The main goals of the FNLM Regime are
to facilitate the creation of a streamlined and
enhanced economic development climate on
reserve lands, while maintaining a high level of
environmental protection and stewardship. The
Framework Agreement provides signatory First
Nations with the option to manage their reserve
lands under their own Land Codes. Until each
of these First Nation communities develops
and approves a Land Code to take control of its
reserve lands and resources, federal administra-
tion of their reserve lands continues under the
Indian Act.
PINTER Associates Ltd. (PINTER) provided
technical engineering expertise, environmental
program development and legal framework guid-
ance for FNLM Regime member Nations. Innov-
ative techniques were developed during environ-
mental site assessment (ESA) work to nurture
community engagement, collect information
from various sources, gather oral history, carry
out site inspections, manage the information and
data, and to prioritize sites requiring further work.
The technical engineering principles involved
in environmental assessment, remediation, and
development of laws and regulations governing
the environment and land development were the
foundation of this process.
PINTER has assisted 12 member Nations
to date through various aspects of this process.
There are currently a total of 128 First Nations
across Canada that are members of the Frame-
work Agreement and FNLM Regime. Sixty-one of
those Nations have their own Land Code and are
responsible for their lands under the Framework
Agreement. There are also approximately 61 other
Nations that have expressed interest in joining the
process and Regime.
GOALS OF THE FNLM REGIME
Each First Nation has varying objectives for
the FNLM process, but the overall goals are
similar and include: assessment, identification
and remediation of environmental impacts on
reserve land; engaging the community to deter-
mine environmental and economic priorities;
and identifying traditional practices and customs
that relate to environmental stewardship.
The development of a comprehensive environ-
mental management and protection regime,
development of environmental assessment and
protection law regimes and a sustainable, appeal-
ing economic development climate on reserves
are goals shared by member communities.
ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENTS
Through the FNLM Regime process, First
Nations can opt out of the land provisions of
the Indian Act and regain authority and control
of their lands from the federal government. The
land is to be transferred to each Nation in as close
to pre-impact condition as possible. To achieve
this goal, PINTER works with communities to
complete the required ESAs for each reserve. The
environmental assessment includes a Phase I
First Nations
within Canada
are poised to
become an
increasingly
large and
dynamic
demographic.
Recent Statistics
Canada
projections
indicate that
the aboriginal
population
could account
for between
4% – 5.3% of
the Canadian
population by
2031.
SITE ASSESSMENT

assessment, Phase II investigation and delineation
work, and the Phase III remediation of identified
impacts on reserve lands.
PHASE I ESA
The Phase I ESA involves assessment of every
building and development on reserve, includ-
ing cursory inspections of each residential septic
system. Each active and historical dumpsite and
ravine dump, fuel storage site, historical blue-
stone pit (fence post treatment) operation, vehicle
salvage yard, agricultural chemical storage loca-
tion, and culturally significant site identified by
the community is visited, visually assessed, and
catalogued. Typically, several hundred residences
exist on reserve and each yard is visited and
visually assessed during the Phase I ESA.
The results are presented to the community
to allow each Nation to decide whether or not to
proceed further with the process. Contrary to
typical ESAs, this type of project has to consider
cultural customs, taboos and sensitivities, as well
as develop an efficient method of obtaining histor-
ical information from the community, including
from seniors and elders.
PHASE II ESA
The majority of the Phase I ESAs that PINTER
has completed have been followed up by the
completion of limited and detailed Phase II
ESAs. Based on the findings of the Phase I ESA,
a prioritized list of potentially impacted sites on
reserve is developed.
A variety of environmental contaminants have
been encountered during the Phase II ESA work.
These include petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs),
copper sulfate, metals, dioxins and furans, livestock
waste and human waste effluent, agricultural chem-
icals, mould and fungus, asbestos, mercury and
polychlorinated biphenyls.
Phase II ESA work includes environmental drill-
ing and soil sampling, groundwater monitoring,
well installation and groundwater sampling, test pit
excavation, surface water sampling, and hand auger
soil sampling. While each sampling technique
is not unique, applying them all to one project to
ensure the investigation is efficient and cost-effect-
ive requires an innovative approach and consistent
overview of long-term goals.
PHASE III ESA
Once identified environmental impacts have
been delineated and quantified, remediation is
carried out. PINTER utilizes a variety of recog-
nized methods to clean up impacts to federal
Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environ-
ment (CCME) and Health Canada guidelines for
both soil and groundwater.
Both in situ and ex situ techniques and
processes are employed to remediate identified
impacts. Excavation and on-site remediation of
PHC impacted soils via landfarming techniques
Environmental
Management and
Protection Program

has been completed at numerous loca-
tions. Efforts are made to return reserve
landbacktopre-impactconditions,while
working within available federal funding
constraints. Remediation of impacts on
reserve land helps to enhance sustaina-
bility and empower each community to
take responsibility for their future actions.
The ESAs and remediation of legacy
sites also provide context and examples
to First Nation Band Councils of nega-
tive environmental impacts, increasing
their understanding of proper environ-
mental stewardship and practices.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
AND PROTECTION PROGRAM
Once First Nations assume control
over their lands, they have the daunt-
ing task of developing a comprehensive
environmental protection framework and
environmental law regime. Each Nation is
tasked with managing and directing busi-
ness development, utilization of natural
resources, and protection and assessment
of their lands. Management and oper-
ation of an environmental regime is a
complex undertaking that involves many
stakeholders and affects both on and off
reserve residents.
The mechanism typically chosen by
First Nations is an Environmental Manage-
ment and Protection Program (EMPP).
These are essentially operational guides for
First Nations that incorporate all aspects
of a Nation’s environmental protection
and law regime. The foundation for each
EMPP consists of the environmental
knowledge gained during the ESA process,
the community’s environmental goals and
priorities, each Nation’s traditional know-
ledge and practices, and the First Nation’s
Land Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AND ASSESSMENT LAW REGIME
First Nations under the FNLM Regime
are also required to develop an Environ-
mental Protection and Assessment Law
Regime to regulate and manage economic
development and resource utilization on
reserve land. Nations have three options
for law regime development: full adoption
of provincial legislation, hybrid adoption
of provincial legislation, or development
of unique Nation-specific laws and regu-
lations. Environmental regulations on
reserve need to meet or exceed existing
provincial and federal legislation in place
within the province each Nation is located.
Environmental Assessment (EA) law
and processes are required to either meet
or exceed existing federal EA laws. Estab-
lishment of Nation-specific EA laws and
structure helps to ensure that potential
impacts to the environment are identified
and steps are taken to properly mitigate
these prior to development approval.
The environmental protection regimes
andenvironmentallawregimesdeveloped
through this project for First Nations
are based on recognized environmental
engineering principles and established
provincial and federal environmental
legislation.
SITE ASSESSMENT
RETHINK OIL CONTAINMENT
BE IN CONTROL
Engineered Secondary Oil Containment
Allows water to pass through, seals on
contact with oil.
MORE EFFICIENT. MORE SUSTAINABLE

Considerable effort is employed to
harmonize each Nation’s EMPP with their
developed environmental law regime
to ensure continuity between the two
processes and facilitate efficient manage-
ment of each Nation’s environmental
regime.
PROJECT CHALLENGES AND
COMPLEXITIES
As with any undertaking, there are
challenges that arise during the multiple
phases of these projects. Numerous
components to this process can span
several years of assessment and develop-
ment, which lead to various complica-
tions and issues. Working with multiple
First Nations simultaneously, each with
their own community and environmental
issues, perspectives, priorities and polit-
ical agendas, was a challenging aspect of
this process for PINTER and for many
consultants.
Maintaining a consistent approach
through governmental mandate changes
and balancing First Nation expectations
with government agency mandates were
also challenges during this process.
Other project challenges included
addressing a variety of environmental
liabilities accrued over the years on
First Nation land, developing commun-
ity engagement programs, meeting First
Nation expectations, and helping the
First Nation develop a land management
process. Existing environmental site
assessment techniques were adapted for
this type of project and new techniques
were developed.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS
An underlying goal for this type of
project and the FNLM Regime is to
provide member Nations with the abil-
ity to easily and effectively facilitate
and manage economic development
on reserve land. The ultimate benefits
are vibrant, self-sustaining First Nation
communities that contribute to Canadian
society and the Canadian economy.
There are numerous social and
economic benefits to FNLM Regime
member First Nations and to surround-
ing local and provincial jurisdictions.
The outcome grants First Nations greater
freedom for development on their land,
including business and investment on
reserve, and for First Nation entrepre-
neurialism and employment opportun-
ities for Band members.
Keli Just, P.Eng. is with PINTER
Associates Ltd. Email: keli.just@pinter.ca
Environmental assessment work at a dumpsite/burn site.
Environmental Science Engineering Magazine26 | May 2013
Sustainable Ecosystems
G
reen infrastructure and sus-
tainability goals are of in-
creasing importance, and
achieving them requires tech-
nical knowledge and training in varied
fields. Integration of soil and trees into
urban areas substantially improves sus-
tainability and helps alleviate some of our
most pressing ecological challenges.
These include air and water quality, rising
temperatures, flooding and erosion from
daily rainfall events.
The West Don Lands, in Toronto, On-
tario, is a community that is people fo-
cused, family friendly, environmentally
sustainable and beautifully designed for
living. It has a Stage 1 LEED ND GOLD
certification under the pilot program es-
tablished by the U.S. Green Building
Council.
One notable sustainable component,
utilized in the design of the area’s streets,
is a soil retaining system called Silva
Cells™. Typical urban trees in the city
core die after approximately seven years.
However, Silva Cells help extend their
life spans, thus promoting the growth of
mature street trees.
Although the City of Toronto had pre-
viously used Silva Cells as part of a
stormwater management pilot program in
The Queensway, their use as part of site
Installation of Silva Cells in Mill Street.
Soil retaining system helps urban trees reach
maturity By Eric Keshavarzi
WE DO IT ALLCORROSION PROTECTION SEALING SYSTEMS YOU CAN DEPEND ON
Extend Structure Life,
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• for industrial steelwork, pipework road surfaces
• above below ground pipe, valves, ﬁttings steel
• offshore marine piling protection
• road, bridge, airport asphalt applications
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www.densona.com
Toronto • Edmonton
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Tel: 416.291.3435 Fax: 416.291.0898
development is new. In fact, the West Don
Lands streets are the first in a Toronto
subdivision to be designed with this sys-
tem installed under parking lay-bys and
sidewalks.
Mill Street was the first subdivision
street inToronto to be designed to include
this soil retaining system. As the lead
engineering consultant, R.V.Anderson
Associates coordinated all plans and spec-
ifications with the landscape architect.
About Silva Cells
Silva Cells are a plastic/fiberglass
structure of columns and beams that sup-
port paving above un-compacted planting
soil. The structure has 92% void space
and is a stable surface for the installation
of vehicle loaded-pavements.
When properly installed, they can
achieve an AASHTO H-20 load rating.
Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code
loading can also be achieved through ap-
propriate design.This is the required load
rating for structures such as underground
vaults, covers and grates in areas of traf-
fic including sidewalks and parking lots.
The cell structure transfers the force to a
base layer below the structure.
Soil within the cells remains at low
compaction rates, thereby creating ideal

SanDiegoCountyopens204mlddrinking
waterdesalinationplant
By Boaz Keinan
I
n December 2015, IDE Technologies
openedthelargestdesalinationplantin
the Western Hemisphere. The Claude
“Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination
Plant is in California, a region which
has been threatened by extreme drought
in recent years. Developed and owned
by Poseidon Water, the plant overcame
significant practical, regulatory and
economic hurdles to deliver a cost-ef-
fective and environmentally-friendly
water supply to 300,000 residents and
businesses in San Diego County.
The Carlsbad plant taps into the
largest reservoir in the world – the
Pacific Ocean. It uses the seawater
reverse osmosis (SWRO) technique to
produce more than 204 million litres of
drinking water per day. In reverse osmo-
sis, pumping energy moves seawater
through a series of filtering membranes
with pores that let water molecules
permeate but retain salt and debris.
Utilizing a proprietary design, the plant
has implemented a minimal number
of independent trains fed by both feed
pumping centers.
The plant is located adjacent to the
Encina Power Station, so project finan-
cing relies on a true partnership model.
It shares the existing intake and outflow
systems with the Encina Power Station
and takes up to 420,000 m3
per day of
cooling water from the power plant. The
water is then filtered through gravel and
sand to reduce particulates, before going
through reverse osmosis filtration.
Half of the saltwater taken into the
plant is converted into pure potable
water and the rest is discharged as
concentrated brine. The outflow of the
plant is put into the discharge from the
power plant for dilution, for a final salt
concentration about 20% higher than
seawater. Desalination plants primarily
discharge water with about 50% extra
salt. This leads to dead spots in the
ocean as the super-saline brine does not
mix well with seawater.
INTAKE
Seawater from the Encina Power
Station discharge channel flows through
the intake vault and common inlet line
and is distributed to the intake pumps.
The intake vault is adjacent to the
power station discharge channel and is
WATER TREATMENT

equipped with a stop log for isolating
the intake pump station from the chan-
nel during heat treatment of the power
station cooling system, or for mainten-
ance purposes. The seawater pumping
station includes three vertical intake
pumps: two operating and one stand
by. Each intake pump provides up to
216 million litres/day. The intake station
includes seawater quality monitors that
allows online monitoring of the raw
seawater quality.
PRE-TREATMENT AND
POST-TREATMENT PROCESSES
Pretreatment is composed of a floc-
culation stage and a gravitational dual
media filter stage. Pretreatment feed flow
is controlled by the four flocculation
chamber flow control valves. Coagulant
and flocculant are added to the water at
the static mixer, upstream of the floccu-
lation chambers.
After coagulation and flocculation,
the water enters the common feed chan-
nel and is distributed to 18 dual media
filters. Each filter contains two filtration
layers: coarse coal (anthracite) and fine
silica sand.
The flocculation basin facilitates the
process to separate suspended solids and
the remaining impurities are removed
through dual media gravity filtration.
Filtered seawater is then pumped by the
low pressure feed booster pumps to the
reverse osmosis section for desalina-
tion. Post-treatment at Carlsbad involves
re-mineralization of the desalinated water,
followed by final disinfection.
SWRO PRESSURE CENTER
IDE designed the Carlsbad plant
based on its proprietary multi-media
filtration (MMF) and pressure center
design, which has shown increased avail-
ability and reliability, higher efficiencies
and greater flexibility under variable
operational modes, and lower capital
expenditure/operating expense costs.
Reverse osmosis trains at Carlsbad
desalination plant.

It utilizes horizontal centrifugal axially
split high pressure pumps, with an opti-
mized size in order to achieve the high-
est efficiency. Optimization is based on
the pumps specific speed (Ns), pump
flow rate, total dynamic head, etc.
The pressure center offers economy
of scale and simplified erection, and
allows feed pressure to the RO trains to
be increased or decreased. This means
that all RO trains remain operational
during periods of reduced production,
thereby decreasing system recovery,
without increasing the total feed to the
plant.
The Carlsbad plant produces 8,517 m3
/
hr at its peak. The operating pressure
of the seawater reverse osmosis section
varies from 60 bar to 65 bar, according to
the seawater characteristics and the oper-
ating regime.
Carlsbad is the first major California
infrastructure project to eliminate its
carbon footprint. The plant has a system
to reuse energy that is otherwise lost in
the desalination process. This makes
it possible to reduce the total energy
consumption of the plant by 46%.
ENVIRONMENTAL PRECAUTIONS
At all stages of the process, IDE
adopted mitigation measures to preserve
the region’s valuable resources. The
increasedsalinityofthebrinedischarged
to the sea does not have an adverse effect
on marine organisms in the vicinity of
the discharge channel. After the brine
is returned to the discharge channel,
and prior to its discharge to the Pacific
Ocean, the brine stream is diluted with
the return flow from the power plant’s
cooling water system.
The Carlsbad Desalination Plant has
already produced more than 55 billion
litres of high-quality water, and will
generate over $50 million annually for
the regional economy.
Boaz Keinan is with IDE Technologies.
Email: boazk@ide-tech.com
Intake pumping station at Carlsbad plant.
WATER TREATMENT
• ULTRASONIC TECHNOLOGY
• EXTREMELY LOW POWER
CONSUMPTION
• POLYETHYLENE COATED 3/8
STAINLESS STEEL FLAT TAPE
• AUTO SHUT-OFF
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IMPERIAL GRADUATIONS
• POWERED BY 4 AA CELLS
• MEMBRANE ON/OFF SWITCH
• HS-2 CLOSED REEL ALSO AVAILABLE
Waterra HS Oil/Water Interface Sensors utilize the
most advanced technology available today for hydrocarbon
product layer measurement.These sophisticated ultrasonic
sensors are more sensitive in a broader range of hydrocar-
bon products than conventional optical systems.The HS-2
line includes innovative design features,compactness,porta-
bility and reliability — all at a competitive price.

Howtochoosebetweengritwashingor
gritclassification
T
he primary benefit to grit removal in the
wastewater treatment process is to eliminate
potential damage to downstream mechan-
ical equipment, and reduce the likelihood of
adverse effects on the treatment processes due to
unwanted grit.
There are many different types of grit removal
systems currently utilized in the municipal waste-
water industry, including mechanical vortex,
induced vortex, multi-tray vortex, aerated grit
chambers and detritus tanks. Regardless of the
methodology used to collect the grit, the need still
exists for dewatering.
When designing grit systems, there are two
options available for dewatering prior to disposal,
either grit “washing” or grit “classification”. In
simplified terms, you can “wash” the grit to
reduce organics (typically 5%), or you can
simply “dewater” it and not address the organ-
ics (typically 25%). The decision is normally
dictated by tolerance for odours directly related to
the percentage of organics and moisture content
of the discharged grit.
HOW A GRIT WASHER WORKS
A vortex grit washer receives direct pumped
flow into a tangentially fed vortex style tank from
either a grit pump or airlift, without the need for
primary separation. It can operate effectively over
a wide range of flows, with standard flows up to
640 gpm.
Due to the grit washer operating principles,
mechanical agitator and internal grit scour wash
system, the organics are “washed” and rejected.
The cleaned grit is transported up a 40 degree
inclined screw conveyor, resulting in an extremely
dry, clean and odour-free grit, with very low
organics (volatile solids) content of 5%.
Top: Typical wet grit classifier.
Bottom: Key components of a
typical grit washer.
By Jim Weidler
Operators’ Forum
A special ESE section on issues affecting plant operations

TABLE 1. Key design parameters for grit washing or classification selection.
Technology Grit Washer
Grit Classifier (with 1
cyclone)
Grit Classifier (without
cyclone)
Peak Flow Rate (gpm) 640 250 320
Organic Content (%) 5% 10 – 15% 20 – 25%
Moisture Content (%) 15% 25 – 30% 35 – 45%
Typical Costs $$$$ $$$ $$
Odour Very Low Low Moderate
HOW A GRIT CLASSIFIER WORKS
Grit classification is available in two
operational styles: “dry” or “wet”.
A “dry” classifier includes a cyclone
separator to concentrate the grit and
discharge the underflow from the
cyclone to further dewater as it is
being discharged via an inclined screw
conveyor. Typically, cyclone classifiers
can have a higher percentage of organ-
ics in the grit discharge, somewhere in
the range of 10% – 15%. The moisture
content is in the range of 25% – 30%.
Limitationswhenconsideringacyclone
classifier include: a limited range of flow
based on cyclone size and correspond-
ing operating pressure, and their inability
to operate with an airlift design, as they
cannot maintain a constant pressure.
A “wet” classifier is fed a water/grit
slurry directly from the grit basin. It
includes a large flared settling zone to
allow the grit to settle and dewater as
it is being discharged via an inclined
screw conveyor. Typical “wet” classifiers
can retain an even higher percentage
of organics in the grit discharge in the
range of 20% – 25%, with a higher mois-
ture content of 35% – 45%.
CONCLUSION
A number of factors should be
considered before making a final selec-
tion, including: costs, flow rate, moisture
content, and tolerance for odours due to
organics in the discharged grit. The key
design parameters are summarized in
Table 1. ■
Jim Weidler is with Kusters Water, a
Division of Kusters Zima Corp. Email:
jim.weidler@kusterszima.com
Operators’ Forum
WCWC’s Pilot Testing
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We can help.

By Tim Jaglinski
A
ll water treatment systems require a number
of technologies to meet their effluent treat-
ment goals.
However, it is often wise to add other
components to protect the primary treatment
equipment, but not necessarily directed at the
primary contaminants of concern.
For example, filtering solids upstream of granu-
lar activated carbon (GAC) units will prevent
premature GAC fouling. Another example is
installing a cone bottom inlet equalization/feed
tank, rather than using a flat bottom tank. Settle-
able solids can be captured in the cone prior to
further treatment. The cone bottom can be easily
accessed to pump out the sludge without draining
the entire tank.
Other protective equipment examples include:
• Upstream iron removal of oxidation technolo-
gies to reduce oxidation dose requirements.
• Clarification of semi-volatile organics prior to
air strippers to reduce fouling.
• Knock-out pots upstream of oxidizers and
vacuum blowers to remove moisture from the
process air.
• Inorganics removal to protect membrane
systems from fouling and scaling.
• Solvent removal to protect membrane systems.
• Grit removal to reduce pump impeller wear.
• Water softening to reducing scaling in wet
scrubbers.
Materials of construction are another import-
ant consideration. Care should be taken to choose
not only those which are compatible with water
contaminants, but also where maintenance activ-
ities are likely to occur. For example, coating or
painting mating surfaces of bag filter housings is
not recommended. As these housings are accessed
to change baskets and bags, painted surfaces will
chip and crack. Though stainless steel construc-
tion may represent larger initial capital cost, the
equipment will require less lifetime service.
General equipment layouts should also take
into account regular maintenance activities. Pipe
runs should not be located across access hatches,
and adequate clearance must be given to fully
access the trays in low profile air strippers. Large
basket strainers must be located high enough
from the ground that the baskets can be removed.
Instruments which need to be regularly calibrated
(such as pH sensors) should not be located in
elevated duct or pipe runs.
Adequate space around commonly maintained
areas (pumps, blowers, actuators, belts) should be
allowed, if possible, to ensure operators have their
boots on the ground and are not working in tight
conditions.
Deposits, both organic and inorganic, can cause
either premature equipment replacement or major
maintenance costs to restore full functionality.
Inorganic deposits are well known. Hard-
ness scale and iron deposition are the two most
common culprits. However, there are other
equally problematic but more industry specific
ones, such as struvite precipitation in landfill
leachate systems.
Biofouling from bacterial growth can also
quickly gum up a system, but is often disregarded
in the initial design process. This is either an
oversight or because the influent waters are not
characterized properly beforehand. Fouling can
also occur from the process stream itself, espe-
cially when the water contains fat, oil, or grease in
significant quantities.
Inorganic deposit control can be handled in
a number of ways. Metals can be intentionally
removed, substituted (as in softening), or seques-
tered so they remain in suspension. The method
chosen depends heavily on flow rate, residence
time in the system, and discharge require-
ments. For example, if the discharge permit
has expressed limits for iron or calcium, then
Biofouling
from
bacterial
growth can
quickly clog
up a system,
but is often
disregarded
in the initial
design
process.
Properdesignneededtocreatelow
maintenancewatertreatmentsystems
Operators’ Forum

Commonly maintained areas like pumps,
blowers, belts and actuators, should be set-up
so operators have enough space and can work
with their boots on the ground.
removal may be required. If not, seques-
tration may be a better option, allowing
the metals to pass through the system,
protecting the equipment, and lowering
maintenance costs.
Organic deposit control is often over-
looked since the potential for biofouling
is not commonly characterized during
the design phase, especially for pump
and treat systems. However, bacterial
growth can clog bag filters, foul carbon
systems, encumber pipes, and blind off
membranes.
To control bio growth, operators can
either disinfect or discourage bacter-
ial growth by removing environmental
conditions which would promote
growth (e.g., removing food sources, or
adjusting redox potential). Disinfection
can be accomplished by the addition of
chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, chlor-
ine dioxide, biocides, and UV radia-
tion, to name a few. However, each of
these systems brings unique operator
challenges, especially in terms of chem-
ical handling, health and safety, and
disinfection byproducts.
Disinfection should occur as soon
as possible in the system to provide
maximum protection. It can also be used
to shock a system back into compliance
when bio growth is out of control. Long-
term management, as well as removal
of bio scum, can also be accomplished
by injecting bio dispersants, which can
remove food sources, weaken cell walls,
and inhibit bacterial reproduction. Most
bio dispersants are typically safer to
Operators’ Forum
50%
or greater
TSS capture
Reduce
scouring by
as much as
92%
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CB Shield is the most cost-effective device to install
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ETV VERIFIED

handle than biocides or corrosive chem-
icals, and don’t react with the treatment
system itself.
Lastly, operators should have a
preventative maintenance plan in place
on the first day of operation and should
be aware of all the manufacturer’s main-
tenance recommendations and warranty
exclusions. This includes a complete
schedule of mechanical, electrical and
controls checks.
Mechanically speaking, all moving
parts need to be checked for wear and
tear, pump alignments should be veri-
fied, seals and gaskets should be checked
for integrity, leaking tanks identified,
and all process equipment checked for
inorganic and organic deposits.
Left: Scrubber fouled from calcium and salt deposits. Right: Hardness deposits on a weir plate. continued overleaf...

Electrically speaking, all control
signals should be verified, and control
panel components should be verified for
correct operation, including all system
switches and control buttons.
Finally, the control system should be
checked to make sure that all alarms are
operating correctly (high or low level
switches trip properly), the sequence of
operations is still valid, and all instru-
ments are properly calibrated.
Performing regular and routine main-
tenance keeps small problems from
becoming maintenance nightmares and
inflating operation and maintenance
budgets beyond acceptable levels.
The operations and maintenance
costs for large remediation systems often
eclipse the initial capital expenditures.
Poor attention to design details can turn
a routine maintenance schedule into an
oppressive task.
During a site visit, one of Anguil’s
preventative maintenance engineers
observed that a large pipe header had
been plumbed across the front face of
a low profile air stripper, used to access
the removable trays. Removing the dirty
trays for cleaning and replacement,
normally a 30 minute job by a single
operator, now required two days of work
and two operators to safely remove and
re-plumb the header.
This problem could have easily been
avoided during design or installation
phases by either rotating the air stripper
or rerouting piping.
Another example was the location
of a pH sensor in an elevated pipe run
three metres from the ground. A simple
three-point recalibration of this sensor
now required the rental of a man-lift.
A second operator was needed to read
the calibration values off the control
panel, since a local LCD display was not
provided on the pH analyzer.
Many such maintenance headaches
could have been avoided if an experi-
enced operator and installation expert
had been consulted when the system
was still just on paper.
Tim Jaglinski is with Anguil Aqua
Systems, LLC. Email: tim.jaglinski@
anguil.com
ODOR ISSUES?
Better Get
Odorox®
Hydroxyls!CASE STUDY
ISSUE: Odorous, contaminated air
quality at the Newcastle WPCP
Headworks building located in the
Regional Municipality of Durham.
PROBLEM: H2S and fugitive odors
from contaminants extracted from the
influent and raw sludge holding tank.
SOLUTION: Odorox® atmospheric
hydroxyl generators installed into
existing fresh air intake. Hydroxyl-rich
air is then delivered into this manned
space in order to mitigate the odors.
OUTCOME: An environment that is
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www.hydroxylenvironmental.com
Operators’ Forum

T
he Regional Municipality of York in Ontario
provides safe, clean, reliable, affordable and
convenient drinking water and wastewater
services to more than 1.1 million residents
across its nine cities and towns.
As owner of more than $5.3 billion of water
infrastructure, it acts as a wholesale provider of
water and wastewater services and manages the
delivery and treatment of more than 285 million
litres of drinking water every day. The local cities
and towns are the retailer providers, purchasing
their water supply and wastewater treatment
from York Region and setting retail water rates
for their customers.
We are known for promoting the excellence of
our staff. This was a key factor in the develop-
ment of “Water Is”, a multi-faceted communica-
tions campaign designed to present and explain
the true value of water to our residents and busi-
ness owners.
To help achieve our goal of explaining water’s
journey from its source to our taps and back out
to the environment (i.e., our water and wastew-
ater processes), three water works videos were
developed. To supplement these, 10 in-house
Water Heroes videos were produced, providing a
behind-the-scenes look at the number of people,
resources, infrastructure and facilities involved
in our water business. All of this costs money to
operate, maintain, repair and replace.
Water professionals from all divisions of our
environmental services department are featured
in the campaign as Water Heroes, highlighting
their work to protect water resources and deliver
clean, safe drinking water to those who live, work
and play in the Region.
From an operations perspective, the Water Is
campaign:
• Uncovers a human side to the work we do to
protect public health and the environment.
• Gives residents an understanding of the magni-
tude of work being completed by behind-the-
scenes staff.
• Communicates the vast pride our staff have in
their work.
• Provides an insider’s look into how our hidden
water infrastructure and state-of-the-art facili-
ties operate.
Viewers meet Diane King, wastewater oper-
ator, and learn how she treats wastewater at a
water resource recovery facility. They go behind
the walls of a sewage pumping station with Lee
Ferguson, industrial maintenance mechanic.
They climb to the top of a water tower with Kyle
Carlen, process control systems technologist.
They also see how Jen Ryan, sewer use by-law
enforcement officer, guards against pollution by
hunting it down at the source.
The Water Heroes videos capture the passion of
our team, on both the water and wastewater sides
of our daily operations. The videos have received
positive feedback not only from our municipal
and industry partners and residents, but also
from staff within York Region.
The Water Is campaign, through the Water
Heroes videos and other outreach tactics, has
educated people, both inside and outside of our
organization, boosted staff morale, and provided
a greater level of understanding of what our water
and wastewater operations team does.
York Region’s strongest asset is our staff and
they merit having their work and commitment to
our residents acknowledged. Our teams respond
24/7, whether it is during a heat wave or an ice
storm, to ensure clean, safe water is available to
residents, and wastewater is safely treated before
being returned to the environment.
Roy Huetl is Director, Operations, Maintenance
and Monitoring with the Regional Municipality
of York. To view more Water Heroes stories visit:
www.esemag.com/waterheroes
YorkRegionprofilesthepeople
behinditswatersystem
Process control systems
technologist Kyle Carlen.
Wastewater operator
Diane King.
By Roy Huetl
Regional
Municipality of York
Operators’ Forum

Operators’ Forum
By Ken Elander
T
he Township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal is
a smaller community of about 6,900 people,
located in eastern Ontario. One of the chal-
lenges of operating the wastewater treat-
ment system for such a small community is that
the working parts of the wastewater system are
spread out. “It can be a little unique in the sense
that if you go to a bigger city, you might just be
working in one place, but because we’re a smaller
system we work in all systems,” says Eric Wemer-
man, assistant chief water and sewer operator.
Greyline Instruments has supplied the town
with a complete plant monitoring system, begin-
ning with its four sewage pump stations. Wet
well levels are measured and controlled with
PSL 5.0 Hybrid Pump Station Level Control-
lers. The PSL 5.0 works by measuring tank level
via the primary non-contacting ultrasonic level
sensor, located above the tank. When a high level
set-point is reached, built-in relays energize to
start the discharge pumps.
Because loss of the ultrasonic signal is possible
due to foaming or grease on the surface of the
water, Wemerman’s team took advantage of the
PSL 5.0’s redundant 4-20 mA sensor level input.
A pressure sensor is submerged in the tank and
connected to the PSL 5.0. Being a hybrid meter,
the PSL 5.0 will automatically switch to the pres-
sure sensor should the primary ultrasonic signal
be lost. This redundant sensor system means
no catastrophic overflows and no false alarms if
signal to the primary ultrasonic sensor is blocked.
When sewage is pumped back to the main
plant from the pump stations, it is processed
through bar screens to remove debris and then
passes through a grit chamber. Once past the grit
Controls and sensors at a pumping station in Edwardsburgh/Cardinal.
Completemeasurementsystemhelpssmall
communitywastewatertreatment

chamber, the total influent is metered
via two Greyline Open Channel Flow
Meters, an OCF 5.0 and legacy Greyline
Model 3. Flow is measured based on the
level of wastewater passing through two
Parshall flumes.
Sewage then passes through two
sequential batch reactors, where level is
monitored and controlled by non-con-
tacting LIT25 level indicating transmit-
ters. While influent is entering the first
sequencing batch reactor, it is aerated
and alum is injected. Alum treats the
wastewater by binding to solids, creating
a sludge floc which will settle in the tank
for separate treatment.
Once the tank is full, aeration cont
inues through the react stage and
finally decantation where supernatant
is discharged from the batch reactor
until the tank is back to a specific level
measured by the LIT25. Treated efflu-
ent passes through a final UV treatment
system on its way to the St. Lawrence
River.
In addition to treating the wastewater,
the settled sludge is also treated. Level
sensors help maintain sludge tank levels
between 10 cm to 200 cm in both the
un-thickened and thickened sludge tanks.
Sludge is further treated so that odour
causing bacteria are removed, to prevent
complaints from the community.
Ken Elander is with Greyline
Instruments Inc. Email:
kelander@onicon.com Sensors located above the sequential batch
reactors measure sewage levels.
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Operators’ Forum
Flux chamber used
for collection of odour
samples.
open doors, windows and leaks.
Different sampling techniques will apply to
different types of odour sources. For example, at
the point source, which at a wastewater treatment
plant can be a vent or stack from the biosolids or
inlet works building, a dynamic dilution sampler
is usually used to collect samples. After collection
of the samples at the source, these are evaluated
for odour detection threshold values (ODTV).
This, together with volumetric flow rates meas-
ured at the source, results in the determination of
odour emission rates from the source.
There are different standards available around
the world for collection and evaluation of odour
samples. In Ontario, a new guideline for odour
sampling follows the Ontario Source Testing Code,
T
here are quite a few challenges when it comes
to odour assessments at wastewater treat-
ment plants, which make it difficult to deter-
mine emission rates. In most cases, the diffi-
culty stems from most potential odour sources
being either area sources or fugitive sources,
which are very difficult to measure reliably.
The most common approach when it comes
to assessing odours from wastewater treatment
plants is to collect samples from the potential
source, analyze these using dynamic olfac-
tometry, and use a dispersion model to predict
off-site odour concentrations at sensitive recep-
tors. Two commonly used methods for collec-
tion of these samples from the area sources are
the flux chamber and the wind tunnel methods.
However, how do these two techniques compare
for such difficult and complicated sources? Is one
better or worse at attaining a reliable result?
Yet another method for assessing odours may
involve a combination of ambient sampling down-
wind from the potential area source and the use of
a dispersion model to calculate the emission from
that source. But, how does this method compare to
thestandardfluxchamberorwindtunnelmethods?
The majority of odour sources at wastewater
treatment plants are either area or fugitive sources.
Area sources can be categorized as open tanks,
such as primary or aeration tanks. There are two
different subcategories within these: active surface
sources, i.e., those that have a noticeable air flow
(aeration tanks); and passive surface sources, i.e.,
those that have no outward air flow (primary
tanks).
At wastewater treatment plants there are also
area sources which are partially active and partially
passive. These can include biosolids tanks where
aeration occurs only a few hours a day, which is
when the complex becomes an active surface source.
Fugitive sources, on the other hand, can be
categorized as a truck loading or unloading area,
Overcomingwastewaterodour-sampling
challenges
By Anna H. Bokowa and Magdalena A. Bokowa

Method ON-6: Determination of Odour Emissions
from Stationary Sources.
When it comes to the estimation of odour
emission rates from area or fugitive sources it
becomes more complicated. There are three
methods commonly used to predict odour emis-
sions from area sources:
Flux Chamber Method. Nitrogen is used as a
sweep gas and a sample is collected at the outlet of
the chamber. Usually, three samples are collected
into a container, which is in most cases a Tedlar
bag. These samples are analyzed by dynamic
olfactometry with a screened panelist to deter-
mine the odour concentration. The nitrogen flow
rate is used together with odour concentration to
determine the odour emission rate. This method
is used frequently, but the sampling method does
not represent the actual conditions on-site and
therefore tends to underestimate the emission rate.
Portable Wind Tunnel Method. A portable
wind tunnel is used as a replacement for the
flux chamber. In this method, odour samples
are taken under different flow rates simulating
different wind speeds, which affect odour trans-
fer from a liquid to a gas phase. Odour emission
rates are then used for different wind speeds.
Odour panel evaluation on
collected samples.

ESE_Dec2016

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