C Factor—Patrick “Murf” Murphy

C FACTOR Reuse: Plastics Shaming?

Patrick “Murf” Murphy

President, FWPCOA

Has anyone seen the television commercial that says “Only 9 percent of plastic waste is recycled worldwide”? If you Google that, the report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development states that about 50 percent went to landfills; 22 percent was disposed of in uncontrolled dumpsites, burned in pits, or leaked into the environment; and 19 percent was incinerated. It also reports that new technologies related to decreasing the environmental footprint of plastics was only 1.2 percent of all innovation concerning the product.

All that did was make me wonder if anyone pushed out an edict that gave everyone five months to come up with a plan to eliminate other disposals for plastics and go to 100 percent recycling in 10 years?

I hear you say, “Let it go, Murf.” I realize it’s not oranges to oranges, but according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) One Water Florida website, the state uses 48 percent of total domestic wastewater, making it the nation’s leader in water reuse. That’s doggone good, but it seems like only those of us in the water industry hear that news.

On that same site, it points out that “more than 830 million gallons of treated water per day are disposed (my italics) into Florida’s surface water bodies or deep disposal wells. Through advanced treatment and continued conservation efforts, this unused source could supply Florida with most of its projected water needs.”

Shame on us for not being more careful about how we word things. Disposed— really? Maybe that’s too critical, but having an advanced wastewater treatment facility discharging into a surface water (a stormwater conveyance canal that leads to two creeks and a river to Tampa Bay) and seeing those creeks run dry from pastureland irrigation and natural water cycle steps does not mean we “disposed” of the water.

I know it’s very easy for all of us to downplay our roles, and sometimes we think that some humor might help. I’ve probably been one of the main offenders in not carefully wording explanations or descriptions of what we are trying to do in our jobs. For example, I’m sure that the person(s) that came up with the phrase “toilet to tap” thought they had hit on a winner, but it was an easy target for haters. I have jokingly said that I’m a “turd herder,” which is not the image I should be putting in our customers’ minds.

We all must change our conversations to elevate the status of our profession, starting from our distribution system operators in the field, customer relations personnel directing calls, treatment plant operators, managers, etc. It’s easy to see why so many utilities are also hiring or creating positions for innovation management.

Whether we’re engineers, operators, or vendors, we can ensure that we provide clean, safe, and reliable water to our Florida customers. The technologies are out there to reuse water and relieve pressure on our water resources and ecosystems.

Dr. Carlyn J. Higgins (center) doing preliminary training on Harn’s ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis units at Plant City’s indirect potable reuse/direct potable reuse pilot study.

FWPCOA 2022 Spring State Short School

As I write this article, the FWPCOA 2022 Spring State Short School, being held March 14-18, 2022, at the Indian River State College in Fort Pierce, is just one and a half weeks away, which also means that you won’t be seeing this article until April. If I make it back alive from the WateReuse Symposium in San Antonio, you will have seen me running around at the state school, looking to meet as many of you as possible and listening for your experiences during the FWPCOA Spring State Short School!

Florida Water Resources Conference

The Florida Water Resource Conference (FWRC), to be held April 24-27, 2022, in Daytona Beach at the Ocean Center and Hilton, is just weeks away. This is my Disney World/Epcot Center, minus the rides. It provides the most amazing offerings of technical programs, exhibits, awards luncheons, meetings, contests, competitions, networking, and other events. There is something for everyone in the water and wastewater industry to enjoy, and you get

continuing education units (CEUs) and professional development hours (PDHs) doing some of it!

Operators Showcase

The FWPCOA Operators Showcase will be on Sunday, April 24, from 2 to 4 p.m., held in the Ocean Center, Room 102A. This will be the fifth Operator Showcase (it would have been the seventh if not for COVID) and it is surely going to be an excellent event.

Attending the showcase will be Dr. Carlyn J. Higgins, who is currently an assistant engineer with Hazen and Sawyer; prior to that she completed her doctorate degree at the University of Central Florida specializing in the removal of contaminants of emerging concern from nanofiltration membrane treatment processes. She will be presenting on the planning, staging, and equipment for the City of Plant City’s indirect potable reclaimed water pilot project, including ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet disinfection, and operator certification.

Mr. Mike Darrow, past president and Legislative Committee chair of FWPCOA and superintendent of utilities operations at Plant City, will present an overview of pending regulation changes. The short presentation will review new and proposed rules affecting water and wastewater utility compliance from FDEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, rules and topics for wastewater collection, lead and copper issues, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), biosolids, reuse, and more!

Awards

Several FWPCOA awards will be presented at the FWRC awards luncheon and annual meeting, which will be on Monday, April 25, from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m., in the Ocean Center, Ballroom BC. This is a great opportunity to acknowledge outstanding individuals in our association.

The awards are: S David B. Lee Award – Based on the operator’s plant operations and activities within the state association. S Pat Flanagan Award – Given by the state association to an associate member based on assistance to operators and contribution to the operators association. S Richard P. Vogh Award – Given to the region judged most progressive during the year.

Please stay until the awards are presented and give these recipients a huge round of applause for their service to our industry and our association.

Do not fail to attend this joint conference, sponsored by FSAWWA, FWEA, and FWPCOA; it’s a great networking and technical-session event. Additionally, if you are attending, consider volunteering to help with registration; there are two-hour slots available and one could have your name on it. This would be a great help to FWRC’s success.

As a side note: Earth Day is the Friday right before the conference on April 22, 2022.

Dr. Higgins (at back with arm raised) doing preliminary training in the Xylem trailer housing advanced oxidation process units at Plant City’s indirect potable reuse/direct potable reuse pilot study.

Online Training Institute

A special thank you to everyone using the Online Training Institute; it’s great to see so many taking the CEU classes so early in the license renewal cycle, not to mention obtaining the voluntary licensing.

If you haven’t taken advantage of the training yet, you can access the online training by going to the FWPCOA website at www.fwpcoa.org and selecting the “Online Institute” button at the upper right-hand area of the home page to open the login page. You then scroll down to the bottom of this screen and click on “View Catalog” to open the catalog of the many training programs offered. Select your preferred training program and register online to take the course. This is a great way to get those needed CEUs for your license renewal.

For more information, contact the institute program manager at OnlineTraining@fwpcoa.org or the FWPCOA training office at training@fwpcoa. org.

I want to thank all the hard-working people in our industry. Thank you for doing all you do every single day! Let’s keep that water clean! S