Too much chlorine. That's what the residents of two Tennessee cities said about their drinking water following a recent upgrade to their water treatment plant (WTP). As part of the upgrade, granular filter media from the conventional plant were removed and immersed, hollow-fiber ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were added to the plants treatment processes.
This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.
Unlike government bodies in the recent past, which specialized in collecting and storing data, government agencies today seek to actively use water data for improved understanding and management of environmental conditions -- for example, through modeling and projection work. For this reason, it is imperative that monitoring agencies, scientists, and researchers receive water data in a reliable, timely, and easy-to-understand manner.
This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.
The lack of attacks launched against water treatment plants is by no means an indication that they are invincible. While treatment plants aren't typically seen as high profile targets, they are at risk of infiltration and/or sabotage. Plants, many of which are based in or near residential areas, purify water for vast regions. Destroying or disabling a single facility could devastate an entire national region for an indefinite amount of time and create a real sense of uneasiness among those forced to suffer without water for a long time to come.
This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.
Since the late 1990s membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology has rapidly entered the wastewater treatment market. The technology is a simple combination of an activated sludge process and a membrane filtration step. The separation of activated sludge and effluent is achieved by using porous membranes that are able to remove all the suspended solids from the biologically cleaned water.
This article originally appeared in the 03/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.
In 1997, researchers first used newly developed contaminant analytical capabilities to detect low concentrations of the perchlorate ions in groundwaters and surface waters.<sup>1</sup> These tools helped substantiate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) assertion that perchlorate is leaching into the drinking water supplies of approximately 15 million to 18 million Americans.
This article originally appeared in the 03/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.
When the staff at Middletown, Ohio's wastewater treatment plant decided two years ago to switch from gaseous chlorine to sodium hypochlorite for disinfection, they also wanted to find an alternative to using a pressurized liquid chemical delivery system.
This article originally appeared in the 01/01/2005 issue of Environmental Protection.
Benjamin Franklin once said, "When the well's dry, we know the worth of water." With that in mind, paper companies recognize it is not a question of whether they should treat and recycle their spent water -- the question is "How?" Some paper companies are not only finding environmentally friendly ways to take care of spent water, they are going a step further by putting the sludge from their wastewater treatment plants to beneficial use by converting it to glass aggregate, steam, and electricity. In fact, paper companies are leading the charge in using practices that reduce the consumption of resources and related emissions for themselves and their customers.
This article originally appeared in the 12/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
The environment in which the water and wastewater industries operate has never been more challenging. Increasingly complex financial and environmental regulations, security concerns, and shrinking budgets are just a few of the realities keeping managers up at night. Simultaneously addressing these sometimes conflicting demands may seem overwhelming on the surface, but it doesn't have to be. Experience shows that integrating information -- both horizontally and vertically throughout an organization -- can make it easier to satisfy these competing concerns, while at the same time producing additional measurable benefits.
This article originally appeared in the 12/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
Until just recently, water was viewed as a low-cost commodity. This perception has changed as communities across the United States face water supply limitations and plant managers look for ways to cut their process water treatment cost.
This article originally appeared in the 10/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
While reminiscent of the many ranches that once occupied this region, the slowly turning windmill and large cisterns on the Roy Lee Walker Elementary School campus in McKinney, Texas, are not intended for decoration. They're examples of the many sustainable practices the school district has incorporated to protect the environment and teach environmental awareness through hands-on learning.
This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
Water shortages have become a problem in America due to an ever-increasing population and a dwindling water supply. Areas where water is being restricted are the west coast states, the southwestern states, and even states in New England.
- By Peter S. Cartwright, PE, George R. Alther
This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
A powerful, novel technology for mercury removal in waste streams provides an ounce of cure for municipalities, government, and industry. Scientists at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed Thiol-SAMMS, or Self-Assembled Monolayers on Mesoporous Supports, as an effective and voracious tool for adsorbing mercury.
This article originally appeared in the 09/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
Creosote and other non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) are responsible for high pump-and-treat costs in groundwater remediation because, due to their molecular size, they tend to clog activated-carbon pores quickly. The result is frequent change outs, which renders the pump-and-treat method too expensive.
This article originally appeared in the 07/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
A recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency press release (EPA Region 8, 11/24/2003) reads as follows: "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Denver office is seeking penalties of more than $400,000 against 17 facilities in North Dakota for violations of the federal Clean Water Act's Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan Regulations"
This article originally appeared in the 07/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
The correlation between age and the perception of time is an interesting study. When a teenager is 15, the sixteenth birthday seems to take forever to arrive. The flip side of this situation is that when you are 55, time seems to flash by at an incredibly faster rate.
- By Donald A. Flory, Ron Sparks, CSP, PE, REM
This article originally appeared in the 06/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
Stormwater takes on a new dimension during times of drought and amid concern for climate change, especially in the desert Southwest of the United States where our rivers are mostly dry beds of sand and gravel. Stormwater Phase II Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) communities seeking appropriate best management practices (BMPs) to address sediment load -- the principal nonpoint source pollutant in the arid Southwest -- may find base flow conditions exhibiting no water and a high potential for in-channel scour and sediment loading.
- By Kristine Uhlman, CGWP, RG, Dr. D. Phillip Guertin
This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
Oil skimmers are simple, dependable and effective tools for removing oil, grease and other hydrocarbons from water. They usually pay for themselves within a few months. In order to ensure the oil skimmer you choose is right for your operation, there are certain steps you can follow.
This article originally appeared in the 05/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
Fiberglass composites have become the material of choice in many water or wastewater treatment operations. For mild to severe corrosion service, they can often be the materials of choice for economy and durability.
- By J. Albert Rolston, PE, FAIChE
This article originally appeared in the 03/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
Switzerland, a country known for its chocolate, cheese, bank accounts and clocks, also demonstrates quite a knack for supporting environmental protection. This small, landlocked country generates a seemingly endless number of businesses, associations, academic initiatives and other enterprises focused on making use of resources in a bio-friendly manner for the benefit of the global community.
This article originally appeared in the 02/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.
Imagine that you are in the final stages of constructing a 10-filter water-treatment plant. Startup for the filter control system alone requires the contractor to coordinate with representatives from the valve supplier, actuator supplier, instrument supplier, filter console supplier, the electrician and the integrator to put together a system that is supposed to work as one complete unit.
This article originally appeared in the 01/01/2004 issue of Environmental Protection.