Editor’s Office and Advertiser Information: Florida Water Resources Journal 1402 Emerald Lakes Drive Clermont, FL 34711 Phone: 352-241-6006 Email: Editorial, editor@fwrj.com Display and Classified Advertising, ads@fwrj.com
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1402 Emerald Lakes Drive, Clermont, FL 34711 Web: http://www.fwrj.com General Manager: Editor: Graphic Design Manager: Mailing Coordinator:
Michael Delaney Rick Harmon Patrick Delaney Buena Vista Publishing
Published by BUENA VISTA PUBLISHING for Florida Water Resources Journal, Inc. President: Richard Anderson (FSAWWA) Peace River/Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority Vice President: Joe Paterniti (FWEA) Clay County Utility Authority Treasurer: Rim Bishop (FWPCOA) Seacoast Utility Authority Secretary: Mish Clark
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Websites Florida Water Resources Journal: www.fwrj.com FWPCOA: www.fwpcoa.org FSAWWA: www.fsawwa.org FWEA: www.fwea.org and www.fweauc.org Florida Water Resources Conference: www.fwrc.org Throughout this issue trademark names are used. Rather than place a trademark symbol in every occurrence of a trademarked name, we state we are using the names only in an editorial fashion, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. None of the material in this publication necessarily reflects the opinions of the sponsoring organizations. All correspondence received is the property of the Florida Water Resources Journal and is subject to editing. Names are withheld in published letters only for extraordinary reasons. Authors agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Florida Water Resources Journal Inc. (FWRJ), its officers, affiliates, directors, advisors, members, representatives, and agents from any and all losses, expenses, third-party claims, liability, damages and costs (including, but not limited to, attorneys’ fees) arising from authors’ infringement of any intellectual property, copyright or trademark, or other right of any person, as applicable under the laws of the State of Florida.
News and Features
4 It’s the 75th Anniversary of FWRJ in 2024 and You’re Invited to Help Us Celebrate! 6 Water and Wastewater Facility Personnel Designated as Essential First Responders—Tim McVeigh 8 Marjorie Craig to Lead FSAWWA in 2023-2024 10 A Novel Method for Oil Spill Cleanup Through an Optimized Pragmatic Automated System: Year Three—Monish Saravana Kumar Divya Sundari 18 FWEA Displays Southern Hospitality at WEFTEC 2023—Brad Hayes 44 Register Now for the 2024 Florida Water Resources Conference Contests! 46 Acknowledging Hurricane Ian Responders: Our Heroes—Debbie Wallace and Renee Moticker
Technical Articles
32 E nhanced Inflow and Infiltration Reduction Through a Programmatic Approach—Brett Cunningham, Kristen Sealey, and Adrian Myrie
Education and Training
20 Florida Water Resources Conference 28 CEU Challenge 39 FWPCOA Training Calendar 40 FSAWWA Season’s Greetings 41 AWWA Member Appreciation 42 FSAWWA Fall Conference Thank You 43 FSAWWA Fall Conference Thank You to Regional Sponsors
Columns
16 FSAWWA Speaking Out—Greg D. Taylor 17 Test Yourself—Charles Lee Martin Jr. 22 FWEA Focus—Suzanne Mechler 24 C Factor—Patrick “Murf” Murphy 30 Reader Profile—Bina Nayak
Departments
51 Classifieds 54 Display Advertiser Index
Volume 74
ON THE COVER: City of Largo wastewater reclamation facility influent pumping station and headworks project. (photo: PCL Construction)
December 2023
Number 12
Florida Water Resources Journal, USPS 069-770, ISSN 0896-1794, is published monthly by Florida Water Resources Journal, Inc., 1402 Emerald Lakes Drive, Clermont, FL 34711, on behalf of the Florida Water & Pollution Control Operator’s Association, Inc.; Florida Section, American Water Works Association; and the Florida Water Environment Association. Members of all three associations receive the publication as a service of their association; $6 of membership dues support the Journal. Subscriptions are otherwise available within the U.S. for $24 per year. Periodicals postage paid at Clermont, FL and additional offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Florida Water Resources Journal, 1402 Emerald Lakes Drive, Clermont, FL 34711
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 3
It’s the 75th Anniversary of FWRJ in 2024 and You’re Invited to Help Us Celebrate! Since 1949, the Florida Water Resources Journal (FWRJ) has been providing pertinent, topical, and up-to-the-minute information about water and wastewater to the managers, engineers, chemists, operators, manufacturers, product developers, academicians, board members, students, and others who make up this vital industry and provide the public with clean, safe, and abundant water. The monthly magazine is supported by the Florida Section American Water Works Association (FSAWWA), Florida Water Environment Association (FWEA), and Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association. The readership for FWRJ, the largest and most-read
publication of its kind in the state of Florida and the entire Southeast, is over 8,500. You can view past issues of the magazine at www.fwrj.com.
A Year-Long Celebration We’re very excited about this upcoming event. Every issue in 2024 will include advertising and other content that celebrates FWRJ, the industry, and your company’s involvement with your products or services.
How You Can Be Involved Advertising Both display advertising and display cards are available
4 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
75 YEARS
to help publicize your company and what it has to offer. Prices and ad specifications can be found at www.fwrj.com. You can tailor your advertising to note FWRJ’s anniversary and tout your company’s accomplishments over the years.
Another way to reach your customers is with Technology Spotlight, which gives you, with an article and paid advertisement, the ability to promote both your technology and your company.
Technical Content The Journal is looking for technical articles to keep its readers up to date on the latest technology and innovations and it’s a great way for you to reach a large number or people with information they can use in their careers. Articles are generally accepted 60 days before inclusion in a particular issue. The editorial calendar for the magazine can also be found at www.fwrj.com.
I’m happy to provide any information you need about helping us celebrate this publishing milestone. You can email me at mike@fwrj.com or feel free to call me at 352.241.6006. I look forward to hearing S from you!
Come Join Us!
Mike Delaney General Manager Florida Water Resources Journal
Water and Wastewater Facility Personnel Designated as Essential First Responders Tim McVeigh During the 2023 legislative session, the Florida Legislature passed two bills, House Bill 23 and Senate Bill 162, which amended Florida Statutes (F.S.) 403.865 and 403.867, and created F.S. 403.8721. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation into law on June 9, 2023, with an effective date of July 1, 2023. In its amendment to Section 403.865, F.S. the Legislature found that water and wastewater services are essential to the health and well-being of all citizens, and that water and wastewater facility personnel are essential first responders. The section defines the term “water and wastewater facility personnel” as it applies to the section.
The Section 403.867, F.S. amendment requires an active and valid operator license to perform the duties of an operator of a water treatment plant, water distribution system, or domestic wastewater treatment plant, as issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) under existing Section 403.872, F.S. and the newly created Section 403.8721, F.S. Newly created Section 403.8721, F.S. provides for reciprocity, requiring FDEP to issue water treatment plant operator licenses, water distribution system operator licenses, and domestic wastewater treatment plant operator licenses by reciprocity to applicants who meet the requirements of the section. At the June 10, 2023, board of directors meeting of the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association (FWPCOA), the association created the Essential First Responder Committee and tasked the committee with gaining public recognition of water and wastewater facility personnel so they can carry out their critical duties in an unimpeded fashion during times of disaster. The committee developed a position paper and distributed the document to governmental entities, law enforcement,
and utility organizations. The purpose of the paper was to gain opinion on what employment positions constitute “water and wastewater facility personnel” and how personnel should be identified in their role as essential first responders. Response to the position paper was sparse, but the committee gained enough information to make the following recommendations to the board of directors at its Oct. 28, 2023, meeting: S W ater and wastewater facilities shall determine the personnel within their organization that qualify as essential first responders; and S Th e physical means of identifying water and wastewater facility personnel should positively convey their essential first responder status. The most direct method would be the use of a photo identification card issued by the authority in charge of a water or wastewater facility that states, “Essential First Responder – Section 403.865, F.S.” A water and wastewater facility could alternatively prepare a document on official stationery that designates the bearer as an essential first responder as defined in 403.865, F.S. The FWPCOA has always endorsed the concept that Florida’s water and wastewater facility personnel are “first responders,” due to the importance of the work they perform for Florida’s citizens and the environment during times of natural and manmade disasters. We are pleased to see that the Florida Legislature agrees with us. The next step for the Essential First Responder Committee is to raise public awareness of the importance of water and wastewater personnel and the services they perform, and of their newly acquired designation as “essential first responders.” Tim McVeigh is the former president and former executive director for FWPCOA. He is currently secretary-treasurer for Region 7 and provides other administrative services on behalf of the region and the association. He is also chair of the FWPCOA Essential First Responder Committee. He may be contacted at firstresponders@fwpcoa.org. S
6 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
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Marjorie Craig to Lead FSAWWA in 2023-2024 On Nov. 29, 2023, Marjorie Guillory Craig, or “Marjie,” became the 98th chair of the Florida Section American Water Works Association (FSAWWA) at the section’s annual Fall Conference. She succeeds Greg Taylor. Craig is the director of the Village of Tequesta’s utilities department. She holds a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering (specialized chemical engineering with a ton of hydraulics and drilling, mechanical engineering, and well field study) from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of South Florida, and is a registered professional engineer in Florida. A military brat born in Germany, she lived in many different places growing up. When she moved to Florida to marry her college sweetheart, she found her passion in serving the public. Her significant experience serving in the utilities industry began with consulting and private industry and she has worked for several municipal and county utilities, holding leadership roles ranging from planning, engineering management, and operations, to associate vice president and city engineer. She has primarily served as a deputy director or director, including 18 years with the city of Tampa. She loves working with people and striving to get things accomplished. The most impactful book she read early in her career was The Servant about the servant leadership concept and she has strived
to provide her teams with the resources needed to get the work done. Meaningful leadership training at the City of Tampa also included the book, Now Discover Your Strengths, extended facilitation training, and “High-Performance Organization,” a two-year training program from the Commonwealth of Virginia that focused on continuous improvement and Lean Six Sigma processes to streamline and improve efficiency and effectiveness and the importance of working in interrelated groups and communication. Craig is a past two-term environmental regulation commissioner, a gubernatorial appointment on a commission that serves as the public policy arm of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Among her accomplishments was being part of a team that helped set the Everglades phosphorous criterion. Her service has also included many board, leadership, and fundraising positions at the local, state, and national levels for professional and community volunteer organizations, including AWWA, WateReuse Research Foundation (now Water Research Foundation), Tampa YMCA, Tampa Junior League and Junior League of the Palm Beaches, and Gale Environmental Academy, to name a few. She began volunteering for FSAWWA when she was a young engineer, with her first major position as a Region IV deputy trustee. She also served as the state’s Seminar Committee chair
FSAWWA Utility Council members attend the January 2023 Tallahassee Fly-In. Pictured (left to right) are Kevin Noonan, Orlando Utilities Commission; Gary Hubbard, Winter Haven; Marjorie Craig; Rep. Fred Hawkins (Dist. 35); Rick Hutton, Gainesville Regional Utilities; Damon Boutwell, Pace; and Renew Manna, JEA.
8 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
for six years under the Technical and Education Council, and remained on the council, eventually becoming the vice-chair and then chair for three years. Other major positions she has held in the section on the board of governors include section trustee, Executive Committee secretary, Likins Scholarship chair, Florida 2040 chair, state treasurer-elect, treasurer, vice-chair, and chair-elect. She also continues to be actively involved with the following: various committees, such as the Certification and Training Board and the Likins Scholarship Committee; various water taste tests, and the Model Water Tower Competition, Water Utility Council, and Florida 2051; Water For People fundraisers; and attending and volunteering for many events across the state and its many regions. Craig looks forward to continue working with the talented staff, Executive Committee, and board of governors of FSAWWA to continue service to the section membership through education, information, mentorship, training, fundraising, and attracting and developing the “next water force” of workers for utilities. One of the key initiatives put in place over the last year is a contract to develop common messaging and templates, and enhance the section’s website to augment membership outreach and provide added-value services, among other goals. Her goal is to help champion that initiative to help serve the membership. Her professional and volunteer accomplishments would not have been possible without the long-suffering patience of her best friend and Gator husband, Karl, who serves as information technology director for the Town of Jupiter (the next town over from Tequesta), who often attends and helps with events; her Gator daughter, Amanda, an environmental engineer; and her Seminole son, Blake (and girlfriend Callie), who practices emergency medicine in Naples. S
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Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 9
A Novel Method for Oil Spill Cleanup Through an Optimized Pragmatic Automated System: Year Three Monish Saravana Kumar Divya Sundari This paper is the second-place Florida winner of the 2023 Stockholm Junior Water Prize. Oil spills are an urgent global problem that has been worsening over the last four years (International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation [ITOPF], 2023). Devastating nearby ecosystems and disrupting economies, they can contaminate water and cause long-lasting damage. Despite the development of efficient sorbents, the method of sorbent deployment ultimately determines the effectiveness of cleanup efforts. The Oil Spill Cleanup Through an Optimized Pragmatic Automated System (OCTOPAS) is a novel sorbent deployment method that cleans up oil spills much more efficiently than conventional methods. The OCTOPAS has two main components: a digital app and a physical boat. Using a novel algorithm, the OCTOPAS app generates the optimal path to deploy the sorbents and the OCTOPAS boat gets this instruction and deploys sorbents pragmatically. An alarming revelation was made in the latest study by ITOPF in 2023: Oil spills have relentlessly increased worldwide. Surprisingly, over 15,000 tons of oil were spilled into the ocean in 2022. The magnitude of the catastrophic effects caused by these spills make it a critical, global issue that demands immediate attention.
Background Oil spills are a grave danger to marine life, with devastating effects on animal health and
the ecosystem as a whole (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], 2021; Edmond, C., 2021). The toxic fumes emitted by spilled oil can poison animal lungs and immune systems, while physical exposure can cause suffocation and hinder reproduction. The negative effects on a region’s flora and fauna can be catastrophic, as the ecosystem does not have enough time to adapt to the sudden changes, which can be long-lasting and lead to potential collapse. The contamination of water affects both marine animals and humans, posing a serious threat to health. The economic damage caused by oil spills is also significant, disrupting fishing and tourism industries that generate billions of dollars in revenue. In the fight against oil spills, current research has primarily focused on developing highly effective sorbents; however, even the best sorbents can only do so much. The key to a successful oil spill cleanup lies in the deployment method of the sorbent. Despite the best efforts of conventional methods, a mere 30 percent of spilled oil was recovered in 2022, using the most efficient sorbents. This leaves much room for sorbent deployment methods in oil spill cleanups and OCTOPAS is a sorbent deployment system that is optimized and automated.
Goals, Process, and Timeline Goals The goal of this project was to create a method that would drastically improve the efficiency of oil spill cleanups, and OCTOPAS has exceeded the
Figure 1. The OCTOPAS process that operates in the real world.
10 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
engineering goals set. With its implementation, oil spill cleanup efficiency can be significantly improved, and a meaningful impact can be made on this global environmental crisis. Process The process of OCTOPAS (Figure 1) is as follows: S If an oil spill occurs, pictures of the oil spill are taken using a drone. S These images then get processed by an imageprocessing algorithm (OCTOPAS app), which distinguishes the oil from the water, and analyzes the image for the area of the spill to calculate the optimal path for the OCTOPAS boat. S Once this algorithm has processed the image, a wireless Bluetooth message will be sent to the OCTOPAS boat, which is loaded with sorbents. Based on these images and the calculated optimal path, the boat will move through the oil spill, dispensing sorbents that clean it up. S The analytics of OCTOPAS are transmitted to its app in real time. The engineering goals for OCTOPAS are as follows: 1. Oil Spill Cleanup Efficiency a. At least 200 percent improvement over the conventional method 2. OCTOPAS Reaction Time a. Efficiency of the image-processing algorithm i. Processing time must be less than 15 seconds 3. Analytics a. Displayed through the OCTOPAS app
Figure 2. OCTOPAS boat.
Figure 2. OCTOPAS boat.
Photograph oof OCTOPAS Boat –
Timeline This research project spanned multiple years, with each year building on the knowledge gained from the previous year’s findings. In year 1, the focus was on testing the environmental impacts of ferrofluid, a novel sorbent. The results showed, however, that ferrofluid had no effect on one of the most critical environmental issues of the day: ocean acidification. In year 2, the project turned its attention to finding a better solution for oil spill cleanups. Through rigorous testing, both silica aerogel (a synthetic sorbent that’s 99 percent air) and ferrofluid were shown to be significantly more efficient than traditional methods; however, aerogel emerged as the clear winner, with its superior ability to absorb oil, even when used in the same quantities as ferrofluid. The ongoing work in this project is crucial for addressing some of the most pressing environmental challenges facing the planet. Year 3 (current year) marks a pivotal moment in this multiyear research project, where OCTOPAS is being constructed and tested, in alignment with rigorous engineering goals mentioned previously, to ensure its practicality. As mentioned, without an efficient deployment method, even the most advanced sorbent will fail to deliver its full potential. The goal of this year’s research is to test OCTOPAS against conventional methods of sorbent deployment in a bid to push the boundaries of current oil spill cleanup protocols.
Materials and Methods Parts of Oil Spill Cleanup Through an Optimized Pragmatic Automated System The main components of OCTOPAS are as follows: S O CTOPAS boat (Figure 2) • Th e component that will be traversing through the oil spill and dispersing sorbents. S O CTOPAS app (Figure 3) • I dentifies the oil in an oil spill image and generates the optimal path for cleanup. Materials Materials for the project included: S Arduino Nano -1 S FDM 3D printer - 1 S PLA (polylactic acid) plastic - as needed. S DC (direct current) motors - 2 S A A batteries - 3 S CAD (computer-aided design) software S C omputer with internet connection - 1 S Mobile phone with camera - 1 S Peat moss - 10 grams per trial S Aerogel - 10 grams per trial S Water - 5 gallons per trial
Figure 3, Screenshot of OCTOPAS app, with a processed oil spill image.
Figure 4. OCTOPAS boat deploying peat moss into a pocket of oil.
S Motor oil - 80 milliliters (ml) per trial S Large container (at least 3 feet by 2 feet) S Scale - 1 S Net - 1 Structure of the Investigation The structure of the investigation was as follows: S Each oil spill cleanup method (four total) was tested with 15 trials (60 trials total). • OCTOPAS with aerogel • Conventional method with aerogel • OCTOPAS with peat moss • Conventional method with peat moss S Data was collected through measuring the weight of the sorbents on a scale. S Measurements reported are the average of three measurements for each trial. S Control group: Conventional sorbent deployment method with peat moss (Figure 4), as it’s the method of oil spill cleanup used in the real world.
Figure 5. OCTOPAS boat deploying aerogel into a pocket of oil.
The average efficiency of each method can be seen in Table 1. Equipment and Software Used The equipment used included: S Scale to measure the weight of sorbents after taken from the oil spill. S Net to take out the sorbents from the oil spill. S OCTOPAS boat (built by students) to dispense sorbents. S OCTOPAS app (developed by students) to generate optimal path for OCTOPAS boat. Methods The methods used were: 1. Fill the large container with 5 gallons of water. 2. Add 70 grams of oil to the container and wait 10 minutes for the oil to spread. 3. Load OCTOPAS boat with 10 grams of aerogel (Figure 5). 4. Take images and process them using the Continued on page 12
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 11
Table 1. Average Efficiency of Each Method of Oil Spill Cleanup
Average Efficiency of Methods of Oil Spill Cleanup (%) Aerogel Peat Moss OCTOPAS
92.79%
77.46%
Conventional Method
29.34%
24.24%
Figure 6. The average efficiency using OCTOPAS versus a conventional method for oil spill cleanup, with 95 percent confidence interval error bars.
Continued from page 11 OCTOPAS app and record the analytics shown. 5. The OCTOPAS boat’s navigation and sorbent deployment will be remotely controlled based on the processed image. 6. Remove the sorbents using the net and record the amount of oil by weighing the sorbents using the scale (average of three measurements per trial). 7. Empty the large container. 8. Repeat steps 1-7 14 times. 9. Repeat steps 1-8, but instead of loading the OCTOPAS boat with aerogel, load it with 10 grams of peat moss. 10. Repeat steps 1-8, but instead of letting OCTOPAS deploy the sorbents, evenly spread 10 grams of aerogel across the large container. 11. Repeat steps 1-8, but instead of letting OCTOPAS deploy the sorbents, evenly spread 10 grams of peat moss across the large container. Statistical Analysis Tests to Perform The tests performed were: S A nalysis of variance (ANOVA) S T ukey honestly statistical difference (HSD)
Results As mentioned there were four methods tested. The OCTOPAS is a novel sorbent
deployment method; aerogel is the new, highly efficient sorbent; and peat moss is the conventional sorbent used in the real world. Each of these four methods was tested with 15 trials. The average efficiency of each method can be seen in Table 1. The novel technique of using OCTOPAS with aerogel as a sorbent demonstrated the highest efficiency rate of 92.79 percent, followed by OCTOPAS and peat moss at 77.46 percent. In contrast, aerogel and peat moss deployed through conventional methods showed efficiencies of 29.34 and 24.24 percent, respectively. Utilizing OCTOPAS with any sorbent resulted in an average improvement of 217.9 percent, compared to using the same sorbent with conventional methods. Moreover, Figures 6 and 7 show that using OCTOPAS to clean up oil spills results in significantly higher efficiency rates, irrespective of the sorbent used, compared to conventional methods without OCTOPAS. The ANOVA test (Table 2) revealed an extremely low P value of 1.1102 * 10-16, indicating that the results are highly significant and cannot be attributed to mere chance. The Tukey HSD test (Table 3) confirmed this by showing that the values for each pair were also much lower than 0.01, signifying that every comparison made was meaningful. These findings provide evidence that the results obtained are valid and reliable.
12 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
Summary Impact The aim of this project was to revolutionize the field of oil spill cleanups by developing a novel sorbent deployment method that surpasses current methods in efficiency. The result was OCTOPAS, which proved to be a tremendous improvement, as it meets and exceeds the engineering criteria established at the project’s outset and was designed to be 200 percent more efficient. The impact of this discovery is staggering, as it could lead to an increase in oil recovery from 30 to over 90 percent. Additionally, the OCTOPAS system is practical, with an image-processing time of less than 15 seconds and real-time analytics displayed on the app. In addition, it’s automatic, as compared to most conventional methods, which are manual. This novel improvement in the field of oil spill cleanups is groundbreaking, as most of the research in this field has been focused on finding more-efficient sorbents, rather than developing more-effective ways to deploy them. By using OCTOPAS in combination with highly efficient sorbents, such as aerogel or other highperformance sorbents, nearly all the oil from a spill could be cleaned up. This breakthrough will benefit everyone impacted by oil spills, from local and national government agencies, to fishing and tourism industries, and the public. The OCTOPAS will save these industries and agencies from the significant financial losses associated with oil spills, and it will safeguard the health and safety of local communities by preventing oil contamination of seafood and water sources. This discovery could also be of great interest to researchers in the field of oil spill remediation. The OCTOPAS can be stowed on oil tankers, ready to be used as soon as an oil spill happens. Since OCTOPAS can be deployed immediately, it can limit the spread and improve the efficiency of oil spill cleanups by a significant margin. This technology represents a significant leap forward, with the potential to have a massive positive impact on the environment. Model Testing This could be scaled for further testing by making a medium-sized model of OCTOPAS, approximately 3 feet by 2 feet. The oil spill can be simulated in a body of water around 15 feet by 30 feet. The cost of a model of this size will be around $1200. The breakdown of costs is as follows: S The body and hull of the boat: Around $200 to $300 using standard materials used in conventional boats. S Deployment mechanism: This may need to be changed to a different design, but an estimated cost is around $200.
• Two potential designs to consider are the conveyor belts and a screw conveyor. These may be more practical in a larger-scale model, as the current design is designed for a smaller-scale model. S Other miscellaneous hardware: Wiring, motors, processor, etc., can cost up to $200. S S orbents (aerogel): Can range from around $400 to $800, depending on both the type of aerogel and the quantity. • Assuming a price of $8 per gram, 75 grams of aerogel will cost approximately $600. • Buying in bulk may significantly reduce the price per gram of aerogel. • Aerogel can be reused, unlike many other sorbents. The total estimated cost for the scaled model, inclusive of materials and minor modifications, falls within the range of $1,100 to $1,300. Multiple Boats Scaling the OCTOPAS system can involve the deployment of multiple boats working in tandem, particularly for larger oil spill scenarios. Coordinated efforts among these boats can significantly enhance cleanup efficiency and coverage. Each boat would follow the same logic for determining where and when sorbents are released.
Reloading and Recovery Along this process, if the OCTOPAS boat runs out of sorbents, it will get reloaded through an aerial drone, because the aerogel is very light. For recovery, the OCTOPAS boat(s) can come back to either the shore, or to the oil ship, automatically. The algorithm determines how much aerogel should be deployed at each oil patch based on several variables. The amount of aerogel to deploy at each patch is affected by four main factors: S Amount of oil it needs to absorb S Specific type of aerogel loaded S If the aerogel is reused S Type of oil spilled For example, different viscosity oils require vastly different amounts of aerogel. Also, if the aerogel is being reused, its absorption capacity will be lowered, so more aerogel is needed to compensate.
Conclusions To revolutionize oil spill cleanups, this project created OCTOPAS, a groundbreaking sorbent deployment system that would surpass conventional methods in both efficiency and
Sorbent Release Logic The OCTOPAS app uses the picture taken by a drone to determine the optimal path for the OCTOPAS boat to take. The first step of the algorithm is finding the closest “oil patch” in the oil spill. Then, the OCTOPAS app tells the OCTOPAS boat to find the closest patch that is along the edge of the oil spill. The edge is prioritized by the algorithm, because if the oil is allowed to spread, it will be much harder to clean up. The app repeats the process until the perimeter of the oil spill is taken care of. Then, the algorithm instructs the OCTOPAS boat to move inward to find more oil patches and deploys sorbents depending on the size. If there are multiple OCTOPAS boats, the algorithm will generate a different path for each boat, so that they are coordinated with each other. With multiple boats, the paths will be generated so that the cleanup process can be as efficient as possible.
practicality. Traditional deployment methods have proven to be a limiting factor in oil spill cleanups, even with the most effective sorbents. The OCTOPAS surpassed all expectations by automatically and pragmatically distributing sorbents throughout the spill. Its superior efficiency was evident, regardless of the sorbent used, making OCTOPAS an essential tool in all future oil spill cleanups. Engineering Goals With the same sorbent, OCTOPAS was on average 217.9 percent more effective than typical methods of sorbent dispersion. The image-processing algorithm was also able to process the images much faster than the goal of 15 seconds; on average it only took around 5 seconds. The OCTOPAS app was also successfully able to show the analytics of the oil spill as well. Significance The OCTOPAS has the potential to increase oil recovery from 30 to over 90 percent. This technology also has practical advantages, such as real-time analytics and quick processing Continued on page 14
Figure 7. Grid of images from various trials to show the process of OCTOPAS, and a visual representation of how much oil was present before and after each method. Table 2. Analysis of Variance Test
Result Details Source
Sum Of Squares Degrees of Freedom Mean Squares
F Statistic
P Value
Between treatments
25970.2869
3
8656.7623
F = 1478.73851
1.1102E-16
Within treatments
327.8326
56
5.8542
Total
26298.1195
59 Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 13
Continued from page 13 time, making it a valuable tool for local and national government agencies and coastal communities.
• PeatSorb Safety Data Sheet (2018). [online] NugenTec. Available at: https://www.nugentec. com/documents/Peat-Sorb-US-EN-sds.pdf [Accessed 11 Apr. 2023].
Real World Usage One of the major advantages to OCTOPAS is that it can be easily stored on oil tankers, so if an oil spill occurs, OCTOPAS can be instantly deployed, wasting no time. This increased efficiency presents the potential to rescue countless aquatic creatures, thwart the catastrophic destruction of ecosystems, and preserve entire economies from ruin.
Bibliography
Looking to the Future The future plans for OCTOPAS are to incorporate cutting-edge artificial intelligence/ machine learning (AI/ML) technology to enhance its already impressive adaptability and efficiency. In addition, one of the major plans for OCTOPAS is to add automatic sorbent cleanup, to improve its practicality in the real world.
References • Aerogel.org. (n.d.). Silica Aerogel. [online] Available at: https://www.aerogel.org/?p=16 [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]. • Edmond, C. (2021). How do oil spills affect the environment? [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: http://www.weforum.org/ agenda/2021/10/oil-spill-environment-ocean [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]. • ITOPF. (2023). Oil Tanker Spill Statistics 2022. [online] Itopf.org. Available at: https://www. itopf.org/knowledge-resources/data-statistics/ statistics/ [Accessed 6 Mar. 2023]. • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2020). Oil spills | national oceanic and atmospheric administration. [online] www.noaa.gov. Available at: https:// www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ ocean-coasts/oil-spills [Accessed 11 Apr. 2023]. • NOAA (2021). How does oil impact marine life? [online] National Ocean Service. Available at: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oilimpacts. html [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022].
• Aerogel.org. (n.d.). Silica Aerogel. [online] Available at: https://www.aerogel.org/?p=16 [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]. • docs.opencv.org. (n.d.). OpenCV: Image Processing in OpenCV. [online] Available at: https://docs.opencv.org/4.x/d2/d96/tutorial_ py_table_of_contents_imgproc.html [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]. • Edmond, C. (2021). How do oil spills affect the environment? [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: http://www.weforum.org/ agenda/2021/10/oil-spill-environment-ocean [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]. • Etkin, D.S. and Nedwed, T.J. (2021). Effectiveness of mechanical recovery for large offshore oil spills. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 163, p.111848. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j. marpolbul.2020.111848. • Helton, D. (2022). What Have We Learned About Using Dispersants During the Next Big Oil Spill? [online] response.restoration.noaa. gov. Available at: http://response.restoration. noaa.gov/about/media/what-have-we-learnedabout-using-dispersants-during-next-big-oilspill.html [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]. • ITOPF. (2023). Oil Tanker Spill Statistics 2022. [online] Itopf.org. Available at: https://www. itopf.org/knowledge-resources/data-statistics/ statistics/ [Accessed 6 Mar. 2023]. • Kivy Developers (2022). Kivy Documentation Release 2.2.0.dev0 The Kivy Developers. [online] Read the Docs. Available at: https://buildmedia. readthedocs.org/media/pdf/kivy/latest/kivy.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]. • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (2020). Oil spills | national oceanic and atmospheric administration. [online] www.noaa.gov. Available at: https:// www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ ocean-coasts/oil-spills [Accessed 11 Apr. 2023].
• NOAA (2019). Spill Containment Methods. [online] NOAA Office of Response and Restoration. Available at: https://response. restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/ oil-spills/spill-containment-methods.html [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]. • NOAA (2021). How does oil impact marine life? [online] National Ocean Service. Available at: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oilimpacts. html [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]. • Pandey, S. and Alam, A. (2019). Peat moss: A hypersorbent for oil spill cleanupa review. Plant Science Today, 6, p.416. doi:https://doi. org/10.14719/pst.2019.6.4.586. • PeatSorb Safety Data Sheet (2018). [online] NugenTec. Available at: https://www.nugentec. com/documents/Peat-Sorb-US-EN-sds.pdf [Accessed 11 Apr. 2023]. • Society for Science (n.d.). INTERNATIONAL RULES FOR PRE-COLLEGE SCIENCE RESEARCH GUIDELINES FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIRS 2022–2023. [online] Society for Science. Available at: https://sspcdn.blob.core.windows.net/files/ Documents/SEP/ISEF/2023/Rules/Book.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2022]. • SSEF Florida. (2022). State Science & Engineering Fair of Florida RULES SUPPLEMENT to the International Science & Engineering Fair Rules. [online] Available at: https://ssefflorida.com/ wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SSEF-RulesSupplement_2022_23.pdf [Accessed 25 Dec. 2022]. • UCLA: Statistical Consulting Group (n.d.). What statistical analysis should I use? Statistical analyses using SPSS. [online] stats.oarc.ucla. edu. Available at: https://stats.oarc.ucla.edu/ spss/whatstat/what-statistical-analysis-should-iusestatistical-analyses-using-spss/ [Accessed 25 Dec. 2022].
Acknowledgments
A vs B
17.1821
0.0010053
** p<0.01
A vs C
71.0941
0.0010053
** p<0.01
A vs D
76.8129
0.0010053
** p<0.01
B vs C
53.912
0.0010053
** p<0.01
I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in the many years of this project. I’d like to thank my parents, for helping me throughout the entire process. I’d also like to thank all my teachers throughout the years who have helped with any part of the project, from introducing me to the science fair, to helping me conduct my experiments. I would also like Group A – OCTOPAS with aerogel thank Mr. Khushrushahi, and Mr. to especially Group A – OCTOPAS T. Alan Hatton for taking the time to answer my with aerogel Group B – OCTOPAS with peat moss questions and be my qualified scientists; this Group B – OCTOPAS project would not have been possible without with peatCmoss help ofwith each one of them. Qualified scientists Group – Conventionalthe method also helped me with safety precautions to take Group C – Conventional aerogel for this project. method with aerogel
B vs D
59.6308
0.0010053
** p<0.01
C vs D
5.7188
0.0010053
** p<0.01
Group – ConventionalMonish methodSaravana with Kumar Divya Sundari is a Group DD – Conventional
Table 3. Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference
Pair
Tukey Q-
Tukey HSD p-
Tukey HSD
statistic
value
inferfence
14 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
method with peat moss
peat moss
freshman at Orlando Science Schools.
S
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FSAWWA SPEAKING OUT
Section Leadership Should Celebrate Successes to Motivate the Future Greg D. Taylor, P.E. Chair, FSAWWA
A
s this is my last column as the chair of FSAWWA, I contemplated what I wanted to say and how to inform, educate, and entertain the readers. With so many of us in different roles in the water industry, it’s likely hard to accomplish all three, but here goes! The first—and most important—thing I want to say is “thank you!” Thank you to all of the section members who elected me for this position, and all of the previous positions leading up to this; it truly has been an honor. Thank you to the section staff for being there to execute the vision of the section leadership and making sure that our organization is top notch! Thank you to all of the section leadership for their input, guidance, ideas, enthusiasm, and desire to support the water industry, and doing it on their own time. Thank you to the partner organizations, FWEA and FWPCOA, and the Florida Water Resources Conference and Florida Water Resources Journal, for working with us to promote the value of water and the One Water concept relating to public safety and environmental health. Together, everyone accomplishes more, and it shows in our achievements.
Our Successes as a Team We have accomplished so much in the time that I have been allowed to serve in the chair position. The FSAWWA membership has grown to almost 2,900 members, establishing the Florida Section the third largest section in AWWA. Our regions have organized over 100 events statewide, raising money for our section and our philanthropic initiatives. Training, education, environmental cleanup, and networking events are
the primary foundation for the events to provide benefits to our members and the activities we support. The AWWA was started as a knowledgesharing organization of best practices for supporting public health through clean water. We have always known that training and education are the primary goals of our organization. This is true for the public, for our youth, for the new folks entering our industry, and for our “seasoned veterans” to keep up on emerging trends and share their experiences with others. As part of our training and education events, we were able to issue approximately 2,600 continuing education unit and professional development hour certificates this past year—and that’s not including the conferences! We provided sponsorships to students majoring in the water industry, operators to gain higher class licenses and training, and distribution technicians for training and additional certifications. The Model Water Tower Competition and Water Drop Savers programs were enhanced and expanded to more students and utilities across the state. These two initiatives are critical to the education of primary and secondary school students on the importance of water and potential career opportunities in the water industry. An extension of these activities is our water operator classes, spreading to multiple schools across the state. We realized years ago that the aging workforce will retire, necessitating new staff to pick up the mantles in producing and distributing water. As such, we have been able to partner with schools and teachers to train young staff in water treatment and have them graduate with an opportunity to become state-certified water treatment operators. Having been implemented for about a decade, the success of this program has been stellar and the section has been great about supporting and finding volunteers who will continue this program and expand it. As a part of our mission to provide value to the water community, we engage in the legislative process to endeavor to achieve the best outcomes for our members. As such, we facilitated and
16 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
participated in the Tallahassee Fly-In in January, where we met with our state representatives and senators to discuss the upcoming session and help craft potential regulatory changes. One of our successes was having utility workers labeled—by law—as “first responders”! It’s a great acknowledgment of the importance of our industry. In March, we participated in the AWWA Water Matters! Fly-In in Washington, D.C. Meetings with congressional staff and some of our legislators helped us advocate for water issues, such as funding of the State Revolving Fund programs and an exemption to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) legislation so that utilities do not get saddled with the costs of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) disposal or legal entanglements. In October, we participated in another Tallahassee Fly-in as the new Florida legislative session began, forming partnerships with legislators and continuing to establish ourselves as the subject matter experts to guide our representatives and senators. In November, we sponsored and engaged in a panel discussion at the Florida Water Forum to discuss funding, regulatory compliance, and workforce issues with legislators and representatives from utilities, agriculture, and business. One of our goals is to establish FSAWWA as the “go-to” organization for water customers to seek out for information and guidance. One way we do that is with proper messaging. I am excited to share that we have hired a marketing firm to enhance our brand and provide some guidance to us in achieving our strategic goals. As a benefit to the membership, we’ll be developing a toolbox to help provide fact sheets, white papers, public speaking training, and templates for flyers, public presentations, and more. Reaching out and connecting with our members and the customers they serve is crucial to having everyone truly take to heart the value of water.
Leadership Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy and style that emphasizes the idea of serving others before serving oneself. The idea has been around for centuries, with the phrase first coined in the 1970s. This leadership style has since gained popularity as a powerful approach to leadership in various organizational settings. At its core,
servant leadership is built on the belief that a leader’s primary role is to support and empower team members, enabling them to reach their full potential and achieve their goals. A servant leader focuses on the needs and well-being of team members, fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and mutual respect. Respect and trust are the two cornerstones of any team or organization. I have always trusted and respected those who served before me (and continue to serve) and those who will serve next. This leadership approach encourages open communication, active listening, and a genuine concern for the personal and professional development of each individual within the organization. The priority is the growth and success of their team, which, in turn, leads to improved team morale, increased volunteer experience, and better value for our membership. When the team achieves its goals, the whole team succeeds. This has been my bedrock principle during my tenure as chair and will continue to be my philosophy serving FSAWWA in other capacities. This philosophy emphasizes the idea that by serving others, leaders can effectively inspire and motivate others to achieve excellence and create a positive environment, benefiting all. My successors also follow this philosophy, placing the team first. I call upon everyone to please embrace helping those around you in any capacity that you can.
Outgoing Message During my tenure as chair, I appreciated everyone’s guidance, words of wisdom, and discussions. I have enjoyed the path leading up to serving as chair of the section, and I look forward to the path still to come—being a past-chair. I have high expectations for the leadership team of FSAWWA to continue evolving and implementing the programs and initiatives to benefit our members and the water community as a whole. I want to welcome a new section staff member starting next year, Kim Kowalski. She will join our team of Peggy, Donna, Casey, and Jenny to serve the members, as they are critical to our success. I also want to give an enthusiastic cheer to the current chair, Marjorie Craig, a leader who has served various utilities and the section in numerous capacities. I still have many years of service left to give to the water community and the section, and I’m excited to see you all at events scheduled for 2024 and beyond! In closing, I’d like to thank my wife and kids for their support and participation. Without them, I could not have done this. I love you to the moon and back. S
Test Yourself What Do You Know About Disinfection? Charlie Lee Martin Jr., Ph.D. 1. Which of these disinfection agents used in drinking water treatment is not a chemical oxidant? a. Free chlorine b. Ultraviolet light c. Ozone d. Chlorine dioxide 2. Which of these disinfection agents commonly used in drinking water treatment is the strongest oxidant? a. Combine chlorine b. Free chlorine c. Chlorine dioxide d. Ozone 3. Ultraviolet light effectiveness in the disinfection of the protozoan Cryptosporidium is rated as a. excellent. b. good. c. good to poor. d. none of the above. 4. Free chlorine effectiveness in the disinfection of the protozoan Cryptosporidium is rated a. excellent. b. good. c. fair to poor. d. poor. 5. Combined chlorine effectiveness in the disinfection of the protozoan Cryptosporidium is rated as a. excellent. b. good. c. fair to poor. d. poor.
6. Ultraviolet light effectiveness in the disinfection of viruses is rated as a. excellent. b. fair. c. fair to poor. d. good. 7. The disinfectant that does not form regulated chemical byproducts is a. chlorine dioxide. b. free chlorine. c. ozone. d. ultraviolet light. 8. Ozone effectiveness in the disinfection of endospores is rated as a. excellent. b. good. c. fair to poor. d. fair. 9. For free chlorine disinfection the ideal contactor design is a. the over- and underbaffled contactors. b. a pipeline with plug flow characteristics. c. serpentine basins. d. none of the above. 10. In 1908 the research assistant who created a model for a proposed disinfectant with respect to the concentration of the organism was a. Dr. Leroy Scott. b. Dr. David Collins. c. Dr. Herbert Watson. d. Dr, Harriet Chick. Answers on page 54 References used for this quiz: • John Crittenden et al., Water Treatment: Principles and Design Second Edition
Send Us Your Questions Readers are welcome to submit questions or exercises on water or wastewater treatment plant operations for publication in Test Yourself. Send your question (with the answer) or your exercise (with the solution) by email to: charmartin@msn.com
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 17
FWEA Displays Southern Hospitality at WEFTEC 2023 Brad Hayes Led by the legendary Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association Shovelers Brad Hayes, Patrick “Murf ” Murphy, Jason Hopp, and Charles Nichols, the Florida Water Environmental Association (FWEA) made significant progress toward its goal of showcasing the importance of Florida’s essential first responders and their role in protecting public health and safety by attending the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) in Chicago. At the conference, FWEA members judged events, conducted workshops, participated in roundtable discussions, competed in the Operations Challenge, and received recognition at this landmark event! One of the members recognized was Patrick “Murf ” Murphy, who was awarded the WEF Mentorship Award for 2023.
Operations Challenge Fresh off of the 2023 Florida Water Resources Conference, FWEA brought Florida to the international stage by competing in the International Operations Challenge Utility Skills Competition held at WEFTEC. In attendance to
support FWEA’s teams were Joe Paterniti, Dustin Chisum, Brad Hayes, Chris Fasnacht, Ada Levy, Shea Dunifon, and many others. Fifty-five teams from around the world participated in the Operations Challenge. The competition is a skills-based contest consisting of four timed events and one questionnaire event that showcase the knowledge and expertise of wastewater treatment plant operators. The teams display their proficiency in process control, maintenance, safety, collections, and the laboratory. Florida’s Teams Three Florida teams posted impressive performances in their division: S The Fecal Matters (JEA) placed seventh in process control, sixth in collections, and fifth in pump maintenance on its way to an overall finish of 11th place. S St. Pete Dirty Birds placed eight in safety and 15th overall. S The Bio-Wizards placed second in pump maintenance, fourth in safety, and 10th in collections to place 10th overall. This year’s competition was one of the tightest in recent memory, with 11th and first place separated by only 70 points.
The process control event was incredibly challenging this year, with in-depth questions on state point analysis, primary clarification, and membrane filtration. The Fecal Matters team showed its incredible skill to achieve seventh place in this event. The Bio-Wizards and Dirty Birds performed excellently in the safety training reactor, which simulates a confined space rescue. Along with the competition, team members networked with vendors and innovators from around the world with the goal to observe and report on ideas and equipment that will benefit FWEA as it performs it solemn duty to protect public health and safety by providing outstanding quality and service. Women’s Team A highlight of this year’s competition was the participation of the TRAilblazers, a women’s team from Texas. Their expertise is already evident in the way they performed in the reactor event. The TRAilblazers are an inspiration to all utility workers, and it was truly a privilege to see such a valiant effort and accomplishment from the future of the industry. It was expressed at the postcompetition team meeting that teams consisting of only women be promoted, as this incredible workforce has been missing from the utility industry for too long. Competition Management, Judging, and Promotion Oswaldo Lopez, a long-time member of the FWEA Operations Challenge management team, excelled in his new role as national maintenance judge and state maintenance event coordinator. The FWEA judges were integral to the success of the event this year, judging the 55 teams on performance and compliance in the reactors. Lopez performed translation services
The Bio-Wizards team in action at the Operations Challenge.
18 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
while training non-English-speaking teams on the five training reactors at WEFTEC. The FWEA judges represented Florida with distinction and professionalism. Judging support was also provided by JEA, with Mike Fowler, Randy Ellis, Chris Swihart, Zasha Del Orbe, Winston Davis, and James Howard judging in the five reactor events. Their contributions were greatly appreciated. I judged the process control event, along with other Woodard & Curran leaders. The FWEA was recognized as “outstanding” by WEF leadership in its branding and use of the teams as a public outreach program. Select members of the teams were photographed and interviewed for WEF’s flagship publication, Water Environment & Technology, for tips on how utilities can connect with their local communities.
International Cooperation The Bio-Wizards had the privilege and honor to assist in the training of one of the local Chicago teams and three international teams prior to the event. Meeting at one of the local biosolids locations, the Bio-Wizards trained with the international teams from Denmark, Germany, and Colombia. The team members passed on their acquired award-winning
knowledge and skills—from one utility to another. Due to their skills and attitude, the Bio-Wizards team has been invited to attend the International Water Association water skills competition in Europe in 2024, IFAT Munich 2024, Texas Water Conference, Rocky Mountain WEA competition, New Jersey WEA Operations Challenge, Tri-Con California WEA, South Carolina WEA in Myrtle Beach, and the 2024 ACODOL X OLIMPIADAS SANITARIAS in Colombia. Of special note, the Bio-Wizards and the Colombian team special forces exchanged equipment and tokens of friendship, with members of the special forces team offering accommodations in their personal homes, if the opportunity to travel to Colombia presents itself. Throughout the year Bio-Wizards had provided videos to the Spanish-speaking teams to assist in their training for the competition at this year’s WEFTEC. For the Colombian team the cost to attend was equivalent to approximately eight years annual salary in their country. Their practice equipment this year consisted of wood and 30-yearold second-hand equipment. The Bio-Wizards contacted nearby teams and other WEF member associations, and each is planning on loaning some of the equipment needed to Colombia’s member association, so that all the
country’s teams will be able to compete at a higher level in the future with the rest of the international community. Along with this the Bio-Wizards will be traveling to Cali, Colombia, to assist with the setup of the loaned equipment and compete in their local competition.
FWEA Support One of the keys to the success of the FWEA teams has been the support of FWEA management and leadership. Their support has been recognized by WEF as a step above the norm, and more like the involvement and support the founders of WEF had in mind! There is no other program that offers such diverse training in the utility industry. Focusing on well-rounded utility workers, rather than single-faceted employees, WEF’s Operations Challenge stands alone! A huge thanks goes out to the sponsors of FWEA and all the volunteers for making this event possible. If you’re interested in supporting the Operations Challenge or FWEA please reach out to me through the FWEA website at www.fwea.org. Brad Hayes is a member of the FWEA board of directors as the Operations Council representative. S
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 19
April 2-6, 2024 @ Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, FL Exhibit Hall open April 2-4, 2024
ATTENDEE REGISTRATION OPENS DEC. 1, 2023
REGISTER ATTENDEES
All tickets are available including Full and One-day tickets, Exhibit Hall only, Booth staff, Speakers, Students, Retired and all add-on options such as b'fast and lunches
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Link to book Gaylord Palms are on www.fwrc.org
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April 2-6, 2024 @ Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee, FL Exhibit Hall open April 2-4, 2024
ATTENDEE REGISTRATION OPENS DEC. 1, 2023 Prices valid until February 29, 2024
Ticket Type
Includes Exhibit Hall
Includes Technical Sessions
Includes FWRC &/or FWEA Lunch(s)
Price (valid thru 2.29.24)
Full Registration
YES
YES
YES
MEMBER: $450 NONMEMBER: $525 RETIRED: $125 SPOUSE: $100
Exhibit Hall Only
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NO
NO
$25
1-Day Registration (Wed OR Thur)
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Wednesday: FWRC Thursday: FWEA
MEMBER: $300 NONMEMBER: $350
1-Day Contestant (Wed OR Thur)
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www.fwrc.org Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 21
FWEA FOCUS
Effective Distribution and Collection Systems are Vital to Maintain Safe, Reliable, and Affordable Water and Wastewater Service Suzanne Mechler President, FWEA
B
uried and aging infrastructure is a challenge to manage. Many water and wastewater utilities in Florida struggle due to a lack of enough funding for this unseen infrastructure and selling the community on something that’s “out of sight, out of mind.” Every year, over 500,000 excavation incidents occur in which a pipe, cable, or wire is damaged or severed during excavation, resulting in over $30 billion in repairs (Dierker, B., April 2023. Unseen Threats to U.S. Infrastructure Reliability. Aii.org). Ask any utility manager and they will tell you that this keeps them awake at night as it’s relatively out of their control. In addition, even if the utility gets money back from the contractor, it’s incredibly slow and difficult and impacts reliability. These assets, however, are vital to a utility’s operation.
Innovation Through Digital, Smart Technologies Digital technologies are shaping our world and are at the center of policy and technological developments worldwide. Innovation is sometimes
overlooked in distribution and collection system management, and yet, it may be the most applicable use of smart technology. Of course, to innovate is one thing, but to implement the innovation is another. These digital solutions, which will improve efficiency and contribute to a more-sustainable and resilient future for the utility, include: Advanced Metering Infrastructure Utilities have either already implemented or are implementing advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). From here on out, data will be available, not only for more-accurate accounting, cost savings, and water conservation, but the data can also be leveraged for making better decisions, improving operational efficiencies, and assisting with long-term planning. The future of AMI is using this data generation tool to support up-and-coming trends, such as system contamination verification and surveillance. Digital Twins and Intelligent Asset Management A digital twin is a virtual model of a physical object and spans the object’s lifecycle. Technology, along with connectivity, measure how much infrastructural assets are securely integrated and determine the limitation of how much influence and impact a digital twin will have. For example, a utility with high connectivity and high technology will be able to provide a digital twin with more real-time
The 2023 Collections Systems Committee Fall Virtual Seminar Series Part 1 included presentations from (top left) Da Yu, P.E., with Trinnex, on digital twins and (top right) Lee Hale, P.E., with Hale Innovation, on grant funding. (screenshot provided by Samantha Hanzel, P.E.)
data, making it more reflective of the actual operational conditions. It will also enable a digital twin to provide more intelligent decision support and advanced automation. This trend, resulting from both technology and regulation, will initiate with larger utility systems, as we have seen with existing geographic information systems and asset management programs. We need to also find a way to support this technology in smaller utilities as well. Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. In the article, “A(I) is for Accuracy” (Ford, J., March 2023. Water Environment Federation. Water Environment & Technology), the author discusses the importance of condition assessment for AI, but also recognizes the burden of these programs on an already limited budget. Many of the utilities now have over 20 years of closed-circuit television (CCTV) use since the National Association of Sewer Service Companies Pipe Assessment Certification Program was introduced in the early 2000s. These years of data can be used to identify trends and system characteristics. The AI efficiencies applied to already-existing tools will reduce the costs of inspection and help in decision making. Innovation and digital solutions should be used as a supplemental resource that supports the larger goal of utilities. Where we get in trouble as an industry—and honestly, as a society—is focusing on the shiny object versus why we need and want the shiny object. We truly do have a ton of data already at our fingertips. If we can be smart with the current data and how to leverage it, all future data conversions and predictive analytics will be more efficient and useful. As servants to our communities, we should always consider methodologies that provide direct value to the utility and/or its customers.
2023 Leadership Innovation Forum for Technology Intelligent Water Systems Challenge An example of the latest innovations, that are practical and useful, is the work going into
22 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
the Water Environment Federation (WEF) Leadership Innovation Forum for Technology (LIFT) Intelligent Water Systems Challenge. Recently, at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) in Chicago, many groups presented and competed to identify innovation solutions that support smart water systems. First place went to the Regional Municipality of York, Canada, with a project entitled, “Leveraging Sanitary Sewer Flow and Rainfall Monitoring Data for System Intelligence.” The goal of this work, similar to some of the concepts I noted for digital technology, was borne out of the current inflow and infiltration (I&I) analysis process being lengthy, resourceintensive, and using third-party software. The project sought to support and advance datadriven decision making by transforming 10 years of flow and rainfall data into actionable insights about I&I in the wastewater system. The project used machine learning to automate I&I analysis procedures and develop scenario planning and forecasting capabilities. Much of the basis for this need was that, as much as analytics can be developed based on past trends, the project also looked for some
future planning analysis associated with climate change (i.e., major rainfall events at increased frequency, volume, and intensity). The project goal is to prepare for the increased risk of flooding and system surcharges into the environment resulting from severe storms. Interestingly, this project is based in Canada, and yet, the concepts and needs are very similar to the issues we are facing in Florida. I use this project as an example of the small, little steps that each utility is taking and, although our datasets may be different, the concepts and lessons learned are very similar. As for the data, an interesting, but not surprising, outcome was that, in some situations, the model did not operate correctly due to a different data format being fed to the script and, as a result, the project will look into building an extract, transform, and load process for data warehousing. For more information on this project and the overall LIFT program, go to www.wef.org and search for LIFT Intelligent Water Systems Challenge. Please look for the next launch in January 2024.
Collection Systems Committee Focuses on Hot Topics and Creative Gatherings Last, but not least, I would like to highlight some of the great work our Collection Systems Committee is doing. As I noted, over the past couple of years I&I and asset management have become the hot topics/themes for collection systems. The committee is hosting three events throughout the year to engage with our members and deliver quality technical presentations to address the hot topics and many more. The first event was a two-week webinar series in November 2023 that presented a “mixed bag” of topics, including digital twins, funding, air release value maintenance, and an update on new submersible pump standards. The committee members received positive feedback from the webinar series and they look forward to seeing the event grow in the future. The committee has two more events planned for the new year: an in-person seminar hosted at Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department on Feb. 15, 2024, and a Legislation and Funding Deep Dive Workshop at next year’s Florida Water S Resources Conference.
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 23
C FACTOR
Magic Mixed Liquor: Part III Patrick “Murf ” Murphy
President, FWPCOA
I
have this edition of my column left before I write my final column as president of FWPCOA, so I’m closing this series to wrap up the discussion on magic mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS). I hope you’ve enjoyed these columns, and that you might have a newfound interest in what most drinking water operators call “the dark side.” The One Water cycle puts the emphasis on “Willing” and “Able,” the two characters in the FWPCOA logo, relying on each other and all their brothers and sisters, whose roles are so desperately important to the common goal of keeping water clean and the citizens of Florida safe!
Plant City Water Reclamation Facility There are very few plants that can show 12 years of consistent effluent quality that has an everyday surface water discharge (not seasonal, not once a year). The total nitrogen (TN) average over 12 years is 0.95 mg/L of the 3-mg/L limit of an advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) plant; the average for 2023 through September is 0.78 mg/L. The total phosphorus (TP) average over 12 years is 0.137 mg/L of the 1-mg/L limit. The surface water discharge is a common line with public access reuse, so these low numbers are in both. It’s very frustrating to me that I must submit an annual progress report for Senate Bill 64 by November 1st every year as part of the legislative plan to eliminate nonbeneficial surface water discharge in accordance with Section 403.064, Florida Statutes (F.S.) when I know there are other facilities that can’t touch these numbers. The basis of the design (pre-2006) for the Plant City Water Reclamation Facility
Screen shot of aeration basin control pages that help maintain consistent nutrient removal.
24 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
(WRF) 2008 plant expansion was to utilize simultaneous nitrification and denitrification within the aeration basins for nutrient removal. The influent flow to the plant before and during design and construction was a 6-milliongallon-per-day (mgd) annual average, and the process was closer to a Modified LudzackEttinger (MLE), which would have internal recycle and return activated sludge coming back around to a separate anoxic tank acting as a selector prior to entering the aeration basins. The design would incorporate automatic control of the blowers (four each with 400 horsepower) and the air flow from the blowers to the aeration basins via two separate control modes: dissolved oxygen and nutrient mode. Either mode reported to the programmable logic controller at the master control center to control the blower speed(s) and air flow to each aeration basin. The 2008 recession happened and the influent flow dropped to 3 mgd. Losing three industrial users also had an impact, and the first nine months were a struggle in attempts to make the process work as designed. I had already operated another facility
Aerial of the Plant City Water Reclamation Facility.
with a similar pattern for over 10 years, and we had to make this work, so anoxic zones were set up within the carousels to achieve the nutrient numbers we desired, and a different control ladder logic was developed to assist the operators in making it happen. Those changes got us on the right track.
The Murphy Method Not to be confused with a process or strategy that should be commonly practiced, this method is more to show that mixed liquor can be magical. It’s identifying a sweet spot in your treatment, understanding that sweet spot and the options needed when there is an anomaly, and having amazing and dedicated operators who are constantly monitoring the process to ensure the continuous success in the treated effluent. (Here is a shout-out to all the operators who have worked at Plant City— thank you for your diligence and tolerance!) Every wastewater operator should already know or have been trained on the bacteria growth curve chart; there are variations of how it’s displayed, but to simplify it (I hope), the charts show lag, log, and declining growth to
endogenous phases. These charts, the settling characteristics of the phases, and the related microscopic predominance of indicator organisms are test-worthy questions because these observations will quickly tell the operator the age of the sludge and how healthy it is, and the condition of the activated sludge. Lag growth is indicative of young sludge, and the bugs are going to be converting the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) into cell mass. If there’s more food (BOD) than bugs, there is poor settling, and it will be seen in the secondary clarifiers and reflected in the settleometer readings and under the microscope, with indicator organisms being amoeba and some flagellates. Log phase is the exponential growth and reproduction of the MLSS concentration with the uptake of oxygen; the faster it grows, the fewer amoeba and then flagellates. Declining growth phase is where the microorganisms are sufficiently populated to use the food, the bacteria population is reaching level production, the food-tomicroorganism (F/M) ratio is in the right range, free swimming ciliates and stalked ciliates will become abundant, the bug glue
will start working, and a target settling can be identified. This is where the operators are trained to run their process, counting on the biology of the mixed liquor to produce a clear effluent quality. The endogenous phase is indicative of old sludge (more bugs than food) outside of the designed F/M ratio for your process. Microorganisms will be using stored food in their cells and begin to die with rapid settling. This isn’t good for clarification, with the possibility of pop-ups in your clarifiers (commonly referred to as denitrification), which is sometimes confusing to new operators. You don’t want to keep old sludge in the bottom of the clarifier to the point that it pulls the oxygen compound off the nitrate and the nitrogen escaping drags clumps of sludge to the surface and possibly over the weirs. This isn’t the same thing as controlling denitrification in your process or pin-floc in the secondary clarifiers, and the deeper you go, more stalked ciliates and rotifers turn into less stalked ciliates and more rotifers, nematodes, and bigger tardigrades. Continued on page 26
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Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 25
Continued from page 25 So, the golden rule of the process control parameters (i.e., constant MLSS, F/M ratios, mean cell residence time, etc.) is that there are simple observations that the operator can follow, and there are things that one must teach the trainees, which will be the items that are on the state licensing exams. This always makes me hesitate to share the Murphy Method. If I draw the mirror image onto the growth curve, and then keep the settling that would be in the range for the biological declining growth target on the new line, which will be mass-related and settling that’s based on its ability to break surface tension, then I’m able to waste whatever I want to maintain the yield factor of growth for a constant mixed liquor. I don’t need to be scared about wasting too much or too little and getting out of the declining growth phase, messing up the biology. This isn’t something that a package plant can do, as there are drawbacks to managing it if you aren’t going to be diligent. You must train the operators that the difference is doing the inverse of the wasting strategy for the declining growth phase and make sure that they understand that this will never be on any of their licensing exams. We run out of the F/M optimum range at 0.03, instead of the 0.05 to 0.1 that it should be at, and we have more MLSS, but it also helps with buffering the 15 to 20 percent of industrial load that comes into the plant. If a hurricane is coming, and I need even better settling, the more I waste the more it heads backward toward the endogenous phase with increased settling. Bad things can happen with any process you have; knowing where you are
in your process is more of a battle to most operators. The permit limits for AWT plants is 5 mg/L carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD) and total suspended solids (TSS), 3 mg/L for TN, and 1 mg/L for TP. Due to the load allocations put on us for increasing our surface water discharge, our actual limits are 2.12 mg/L for CBOD, 5 mg/L for TSS, 1.67 mg/L for TN, and 0.49 mg/L for TP. Tell an engineering firm that you want your plant designed for these limits, instead of the AWT limits, and see the look on their engineers’ faces!
Magic Mixed Liquor Suspended Solids In Part I of this series, I mentioned the two British researchers, Edward Arden and W.T. Lockett, who are credited for the discovery of the activated sludge process. Back when that occurred, E. Moore Mumford, a research assistant for the superintendent at the Davyhulme Wastewater Treatment Works in Manchester, England, and a chemist, Gilbert Fowler, who was said to have been part of the inspiration for the discovery, were working on a bacterium that was isolated from local collieries (coal mining facilities), known as M7, which was able to clarify sewage in the presence of air and salts. Just recently, I read the article, “Scientists Discover Bacteria That Can Break Down Certain ‘Forever Chemicals,’” published by the University of California, Riverside, on July 23, 2023. It states that scientists at the university have identified two naturally occurring bacteria
Find the sweet spot that gives you the best treated effluent.
26 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
species that can break the chemical bonds of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Every plant is unique, everyone’s raw influent to their facility is diverse, and the naturally occurring bacteria that will grow in a wastewater plant may have bacteria that is also unique to the geographic location or specific industrial or unusual sewage contributors. Even indicator organisms, and different types of rotifers, ciliates, etc., will be seen at one location and not another. For example, if you have a potato processor discharging to your facility, it’s possible you will have more nematodes, or particular types of filamentous organisms, that will create settling issues; or, there may be someone pumping basins that store water in a lagoon, and you will see diatoms and/or blue green algae in your process. Some of the algae rods are worse than filamentous for settling issues; watching them under the microscope, they not only bridge the sludge (not letting it flocculate properly), but they thump as if they don’t like being touched. Like some software programs that one learns enough to get by, with the true abilities of the program far exceeding what it’s being used for, mixed liquor can do more!
Happy Holidays to All Thank you to all the hard-working people in our industry. I hope everyone enjoys the holidays. Don’t eat or drink to excess, which is what I intend to do. Let’s keep that water clean and work safe! S
Longtime friend Ted Long invited me south to his plant where he had plenty of this type of rotifer to check out. I’ve only seen one at another facility in more than 35 years.
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 27
Operators: Take the CEU Challenge! Members of the Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association (FWPCOA) may earn continuing education units through the CEU Challenge! Answer the questions published on this page, based on the technical article in this month’s issue. Circle the letter of each correct answer. There is only one correct answer to each question! Answer 80 percent of the questions on any article correctly to earn 0.1 CEU for your license. Retests are available. This month’s editorial theme is Distribution and Collection. Look above each set of questions to see if it is for water operators (DW), distribution system operators (DS), or wastewater operators (WW). Mail the completed page (or a photocopy) to: Florida Environmental Professionals Training, P.O. Box 33119, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 33420-3119. Enclose $15 for each set of questions you choose to answer (make checks payable to FWPCOA). You MUST be an FWPCOA member before you can submit your answers!
___________________________________ SUBSCRIBER NAME (please print)
Article 1 ____________________________________ LICENSE NUMBER for Which CEUs Should Be Awarded
If paying by credit card, fax to (561) 625-4858 providing the following information:
___________________________________ (Credit Card Number)
___________________________________ (Expiration Date)
Enhanced Inflow and Infiltration Reduction Through a Programmatic Approach Brett Cunningham, Kristen Sealey, and Adrian Myrtle (Article 1: CEU = 0.1 WW02015429) 1. G ainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) identified the approach of investigating and evaluating the success of certain rehabilitation protocols in a limited area for subsequent wider application as a. p ilot testing. b. early-out. c. p rogrammatic analysis. d. geocoding. 2. Th e industry standard for rainfall that becomes rainfall-dependent infiltration and inflow is ___percent. a. 5 b. 10 c. 1 5 d. 20 3. _ _____________ increased the statewide emphasis on infiltration and inflow reduction. a. S enate Bill 721 b. The Clean Waterways Act c. Th e Federal Clean Water Act d. Chapter 62-610, Florida Administrative Code 4. Th e GRU estimated that sewer laterals contribute _______ percent of overall gallons per day per inch diameter mile of infiltration. a. 5 to 10 b. 10 to 15 c. 1 5 to 20 d. 20 to 25 5. Th is evaluation revealed that the only useful predictor of groundwater infiltration was a. a ge. b. pipe joint type. c. p ipe material. d. soil type.
EARN CEUS BY ANSWERING QUESTIONS FROM PREVIOUS JOURNAL ISSUES! Contact FWPCOA at membership@fwpcoa.org or at 561-840-0340. Articles from past issues can be viewed on the Journal website, www.fwrj.com.
28 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
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FWRJ READER PROFILE
Bina Nayak
Pinellas County Utilities, Largo Work title and years of service. I have worked as a water research project manager for Pinellas County Utilities for eight years.
Bina receives the Golden Spigot Award at the 2023 Water Quality Technology Conference. She’s pictured with fellow awardee Dr. Christine Owen. Florida volunteers rock!!!
What does your job entail? I manage utility participation in drinking water, wastewater, reclaimed water, and cooling tower research studies. These studies are conducted by universities, federal agencies, and engineering firms with grant funding from the Water Research Foundation (WRF), National Science Foundation (NSF), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). I serve on technical/project advisory committees and grant application review panels for research funded by these organizations. I also manage the innovation program for my utility. What education and training have you had? I have a doctoral degree in biology from the University of South Florida in Tampa. After graduating, I worked as a postdoctoral scholar for six years managing microbial source tracking and environmental microbiology projects, as well as in proteomics researching cancer and Alzheimer’s proteins. I have taught several undergraduate- and graduate-level biology courses as an adjunct instructor. What do you like best about your job? The best part of my job is that I get to work with awesome people (both nationally and internationally) who are passionate about research in the water industry. I am an environmental microbiologist by training, so the initial learning curve was steep. I am constantly assimilating valuable information about the latest technologies, advances, inventions, and treatment solutions from source to distribution thanks to my peers and collaborators. I am fortunate to have a
holistic view because of my involvement in both drinking water and wastewater research. Staying involved in the industry by volunteering for various organizations is part of my job description—how cool is that?! As a former academic entering the water industry, I was worried I might lose my connection with education and students, but I was pleasantly surprised at the level of interaction I am afforded through my volunteer work. I have ample opportunities to attend career fairs, present relevant topics to undergraduate and graduate students as an invited speaker, participate in the Great American Teach-In, provide one-on-one career advice to graduating students, review submissions for the FWEA Stockholm Junior Water prize, etc. My involvement in planning and organizing local, state, and national meetings, webinars, and conferences gratifies the educator in me. What professional organizations do you belong to? I volunteer as chair for the FSAWWA Technical and Education Council and as trustee for the AWWA Water Quality and Technology Division. I am also an active member of the WEF Waterborne Infectious Disease Outbreak Control (WIDOC) Committee. Through my organization, I am a member of FWEA, National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), and the WateReuse Association. How have the organizations helped your career? Volunteering for these organizations provides me with numerous networking opportunities and has contributed to my
With Ed Torres, with Orange County Utilities, at the 2022 Florida Water Resources Conference in Daytona.
With Dr. John Norton, from Great Lakes Water Authority, at a research workshop in Denver.
30 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
The spectacular coastline of Cornwall, England.
With Shea Dunifon (left), from Pinellas County Utilities, and Courtney Dantone (center), with Archer Western, at the Atlanta Botanical Garden after the 2023 WateReuse Symposium.
professional growth. As part of the WEF WIDOC Committee, I coauthored factsheets, journal articles, and a book chapter. As the past chair of the AWWA Organisms in Water Committee I coauthored articles in Opflow and Journal AWWA, all of which are important to my professional development. What do you like best about the industry? The people, the opportunities, and the constant development of new and improved technologies. This is an industry that encompasses every profession, every rung of
Queen Mary’s Rose Gardens, London, England.
“It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream.” – Sir Bernard Williams.
the career ladder (from beginner to almost retired), and every skill set. It’s absolutely rewarding to contribute to this community and welcome new members. I am constantly learning something new and connecting people from different groups. With the aging workforce issue, it’s fulfilling to steer students and young professionals to apply for water industry jobs. What do you do when you’re not working? In my free time, I enjoy reading, taking long walks, and traveling. I am really
looking forward to spending this Christmas and New Year’s visiting my best friend in Croatia. Although I have no professional training, I love taking pictures of sunsets and nature. I enjoy cooking for my daughter and the ever-starving graduate students in her laboratory, while also offering free personal and career advice (I find that my advice sinks in better when mixed with food). Several of them have adopted me as their “mom” and actually think I’m “cool,” which (LOL!) is a label that isn’t easy to achieve. S
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 31
F W R J
Enhanced Inflow and Infiltration Reduction Through a Programmatic Approach Brett Cunningham, Kristen Sealey, and Adrian Myrie
A
significant challenge for utilities is assessing and prioritizing the rehabilitation and renewal of aging infrastructure. One result of aging infrastructure is an increase in the amount of inflow and infiltration (I&I) into the wastewater collection system. Every wastewater collection system has some I&I entering the sewer system, and small amounts of I&I are expected and tolerated. Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) has been implementing I&I reduction practices, such as gravity sewer lining and smoke testing, over the years with some success, but after experiencing back-to-back years of wet summers and associated increases in I&I, GRU recognized the need to accelerate I&I reduction efforts and increased its renewal, replacement, and rehabilitation capital improvement budget. With this greater investment, GRU desired to better target areas with high I&I in order to extend the life of GRU facilities, recover system capacity, and reduce the risk of system failures and sanitary sewer overflows. In 2018 an I&I reduction program (program) was initiated by GRU, with Jones Edmunds and Jacobs, to prioritize and target areas for rehabilitation and I&I reduction. The objective of GRU for the program was to develop a plan with a targeted approach to reduce I&I in its wastewater collection system that would result in the following: S Reduce costs for transporting and treating wastewater. S Minimize liability from public health risks and water pollution by reducing the risk of sanitary sewer overflows in storm events. S Reduce the burden, disruption, and cost of operations responding to sewer surcharging, backups, and overflows. S Defer capital costs of expanding the wastewater treatment facility capacity. S Preserve surplus capacity of the system for future development. The GRU provides wastewater service to approximately 200,000 people in the Gainesville area. Its wastewater collection system includes over 1,100 mi of piping,
15,500 manholes, 172 lift stations, and 65,000 customer connections. The combined permitted capacity of the two GRU water reclamation facilities (WRFs) is 22.4 mil gal per day (mgd) annual average daily flow. The WRFs receive and treat over 6 bil gal of wastewater per year and beneficially return clean water back to the environment. Best utility practices are used in operating and maintaining the system and GRU strives to be proactive in its activities.
Program Overview An important element of the program was for it to include tangible actions with quantifiable I&I reductions within the collection system. The program included an “early-out” area that focused on one of the major lift station service areas. The concept of the early-out area was for the team to do comprehensive field investigations and subsequent rehabilitation efforts in a pilot area, take the elements that worked well, develop a workflow, and apply it in other parts of the system. The team developed a successful workflow process that resulted in predictable and quantifiable I&I reductions and was applied to other parts of the system during the program. The GRU continues to use the workflow process in its ongoing effort to programmatically tackle I&I. Concurrent to the early-out effort, the program team conducted a flow analysis for the remainder of the system in two parts. First, the team developed hydrographs from runtime data for over 170 lift stations and compared them to Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) rainfall to quantify I&I and prioritize the remaining lift station basins for field investigation and rehabilitation. This analysis provided a much longer time series for analysis than typical flow monitoring studies and was performed at less than 20 percent of the cost. Analysis of collection system flows revealed that groundwater infiltration (GWI)—particularly during the wet season— is an overall bigger problem than rainfalldependent infiltration and inflow (RDII) for the GRU collection system. Using the
32 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
Brett Cunningham, P.E., is a senior vice president at Jones Edmunds in Gainesville. Kristen Sealey, P.E., is a supervising engineer at Gainesville Regional Utilities. Adrian Myrie, E.I., was an engineer student intern at Gainesville Regional Utilities when the article was written and now works at Hazen and Sawyer in Hollywood.
results of the flow monitoring analysis, the team established key performance indicators (KPIs) with data-driven level-of-service (LOS) criteria. Starting a LOS established a framework for targeting and prioritizing the leakiest parts of the collection system for field investigation and rehabilitation. By the end of the three-year program, a workflow process incorporating the lessons learned throughout the program effort was developed and GRU continues to implement this workflow to programmatically address I&I and target renewal and replacement efforts. Although every utility addresses I&I at some level, Senate Bill (SB) 712, Clean Waterways Act, was passed in 2020 and the subsequent rulemaking that came from it increased the statewide emphasis on I&I reduction. The project team developed a process that GRU is carrying forward that continually identifies rehabilitation areas and sets priorities for where the next best investments are in the system for I&I reduction. This continuous, targeted, and planned process helps GRU fulfill the requirements of SB 712.
Early-Out Field Investigation The program team decided that it would be valuable to go through the entire process of analysis, field investigation, recommendations, rehabilitation, and postrehabilitation monitoring in a pilot, or early-out area, before implementing measures in larger parts of the system. This step allowed the team to learn lessons and refine the approach with limited risk. The early-out area was applied in a part of the collection system believed to have significant
I&I based on GRU’s system knowledge and experience. The early-out area contains 34 mi of gravity main and receives flows from five lift stations. The program team used existing closed-circuit television (CCTV) data and performed flow monitoring, manhole inspections, smoke testing, and night flow isolation for the early-out area condition assessment. The information was used to carry out a top-down (flow monitoring) and bottom-up (assessment information) approach to develop rehabilitation recommendations. The gravity main flow was monitored at 15 locations, and four rain gauges were installed to capture adequate spatial variability in rainfall across the study area. Flow meters were strategically located at manholes based on providing approximately 10,000 ft of gravity main upstream of each meter location. Runtime data from four lift stations were also converted to a flow time series to characterize flows. The monitoring period was approximately three months during the wet season, which was an adequate period to capture several storm events. All the monitored areas had very little response to rainfall, i.e., very low RDII (less than 1 percent); however, the GWI, which was normalized to the length-diameter product of the collection system (gal per day per in. diameter mi [gpd/idm]) to help remove the bias of basin size, varied by nearly a factor of 20 across the study area. These findings were used to prioritize where initial I&I reduction efforts were focused. Figure 1 presents the results of the flow monitoring, with the metersheds delineated by low, intermediate, and high GWI. Manhole inspections were carried out by inspecting 100 percent of the manholes in three flow-monitored areas and a random 10 percent of the remainder of manholes in the early-out area. This effort was conducted to determine if a 10 percent manhole inspection could be a representative sample set, and the 100 percent inspected manhole areas were used as a control. The 10 percent manholeinspected areas did not give conclusive results; therefore, it was determined that future analyses use the full manhole inspection method within metersheds that are found to have high GWI from flow monitoring or other top-down information. Other activities performed in the earlyout area were smoke testing with “find-andfix,” nighttime flow isolations, and CCTV inspection. The smoke testing revealed a relatively large number of possible inflow locations, but the flow monitoring in the early-
out area generally showed a low response to RDII. The low response could be explained by a large number of the inflow sources not being subject to much surface ponding and/ or the pathway from the surface being very limited. The “find-and-fix” concept had merit in that simple fixes (e.g., missing cleanout caps) could be repaired during smoke testing, bypassing the need for a second pass in the field; however, GRU’s standard practice for resolving these problems may not lend itself to a “find-and-fix” approach. For example, replacing a cleanout cap near a driveway may not be sustainable if it’s subject to frequent damage. The GRU standard is to provide a more-sustainable fix that will prevent future damage. Implementing the “find-and-fix” approach in the future may be possible with upfront coordination and clear specifications with the contractor. The nighttime flow isolations in the earlyout area were of limited value because they did not reveal localized differences and the rehabilitation ended up being comprehensive, as opposed to piecemeal. The information, however, could be a useful element of the
program because of the cost-effectiveness of the data collected. A recommendation was made for future nighttime flow isolations that would reduce the number of manholes inspected and be more targeted toward key locations, particularly if it would be possible to identify smaller areas where immediate rehabilitation may not be warranted. The approach would be similar to locating flow meters, but at a much smaller scale (e.g., one manhole at the end of each block and one at the midpoint for longer blocks).
Early-Out Rehabilitation Rehabilitation on gravity mains, manholes, and laterals was performed in three basins. Three different treatments for laterals were used, with one treatment in each basin. Postrehabilitation monitoring was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the rehabilitation. Three monitoring locations were repeated from the prerehabilitation monitoring period where no rehabilitation occurred upstream of the monitors. The GWI results were compared from the preContinued on page 34
Figure 1. Inspected gravity mains and manholes, along with metershed map, indicating high, intermediate, and low groundwater infiltration areas.
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 33
Continued from page 33 and postrehabilitation monitoring periods to determine how different the water table conditions may have been between the two monitoring periods. The GWI was very similar at the three control locations, which suggests that no significant adjustments for differences in water table conditions
were necessary to compare the GWI results between the two monitoring periods. Table 1 shows the reductions in GWI in the three basins where rehabilitation was performed. Concluding how much influence the lateral rehabilitation type had on the overall GWI reduction is difficult because is was estimated that laterals are
Table 1. Early-Out Postrehabilitation Results Lateral Rehabilitation Type
Name
Prerehabilitation Wet GWI (gpd/idm)
Postrehabilitation Wet GWI (gpd/idm)
Percent Reduction
Cedar Grove
CIPP Lining
10,800
2,000
81
MLK Jr. Center
Grouting
7,400
2,000
73
Lincoln Estates
None
11,100
1,300
89
typically only about 20 to 25 percent of the overall idm and only about 25 percent (i.e., the public portion) of that amount would be subject to rehabilitation. The percent reduction may be more influenced by the magnitude of prerehabilitation GWI. Additional postrehabilitation monitoring in other parts of the system is being conducted to have more-conclusive evidence about the effectiveness of the lateral rehabilitation methods. It may also be useful to monitor the Martine Luther King Jr. Center basin again in another five to eight years to test whether the grouting is still achieving a similar GWI reduction. Although the percent reductions are highly significant, the results show that a moderate amount of GWI will still be coming from the rehabilitated areas. This finding supports the assumption presented later about the lower-end effectiveness of rehabilitation.
Lift Station Runtime Flow Analysis
Figure 2. Lift station 8 flow meter and runtime flow analysis comparison.
Figure 3. Wet season groundwater infiltration versus average pipe age.
34 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
The program team derived useful hydrograph decomposition data on 163 lift stations to characterize base wastewater flow (BWF), GWI, and RDII in each lift station service area to prioritize where future detailed monitoring, field investigation, and rehabilitation to reduce I&I will occur. Runtime data are recorded by GRU for all its lift stations. The program team used the runtime data and previously developed collection system modeling information to convert the runtimes into flow time series of approximately two years. The analysis period of 2017 and 2018 was selected because it contained a significant drought and two wet seasons and was the most reflective of current I&I conditions. The extreme range of hydrologic conditions and having two wet and dry seasons helped to understand the full range of GWI and RDII flow components that may be encountered in the collection systems. The RDII was determined by pairing the flow time series with 2-kilometer (km) x 2-km NEXRAD rainfall data after separating BWF and GWI. Flow results were verified using data from eight lift station flow meters and comparing the data to winter sewerage billing data (Figure 2). The derived results compared favorably with the measured results at the lift station and WRF levels. This level of accuracy is useful for quantifying where further I&I field investigation is or isn’t necessary at a fraction of the cost of traditional flow Continued on page 36
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 35
Continued from page 34 monitoring, allowing the traditional flow monitoring that is performed to be more targeted and of a higher value. The analysis of flow data showed that GWI is generally more problematic in GRU’s collection system than RDII. The R-values were calculated in over 70 basins and a large
majority of them were under 1 percent. Of the basins evaluated, only two lift station basins had R-values greater than 5 percent. Although RDII contributes to peak flows at the two WRFs and in the collection system, sustained GWI during the wet season is generally more problematic than RDII in most of the collection system, which was
an important and not necessarily intuitive finding. Measures to reduce GWI are typically more time-consuming and expensive than measures for reducing RDII.
Poor Correlation to Predictors of Inflow and Infiltration One of the analyses performed during the program was to determine whether any characteristics of the collection system (e.g., pipe condition indices, age, material, water table, and elevation) could be used as reasonable predictors of I&I. If any existed, prioritizing I&I rehabilitation would have been possible without the need—or at least a reduced need—for flow monitoring. The analyses, however, did not discover many useful correlations. The correlations to soil type were considered, but abandoned based on the poor results found with other factors. Although the correlation was not strong, the one useful predictor found in the analyses is the relationship between GWI and age (Figure 3). This relationship allowed the team to predict how GWI may increase systemwide over time in the absence of or with limited rehabilitation.
Level of Service Figure 4. Normalized wet season groundwater infiltration distribution for the Kanapaha Water Reclamation Facility collection system.
Figure 5. Normalized wet season groundwater infiltration distribution for the Main Street Water Reclamation Facility collection system.
36 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
Using data from the lift station runtime analysis and flow monitoring, distributions of the basins’ leakiness normalized by gpd/ idm were created. Figure 4 shows the GWI distribution for basins in the Kanapaha WRF gravity main collection system. As expected, a high-side bias occurs at the wetter end for the smaller systems since leakier areas in larger systems are balanced to a lower average with other parts of the system that are not as leaky. The Main Street WRF gravity main collection system has a similar distribution and shows a high-side bias at the wetter end for the smaller systems (Figure 5). Approximately one-third of the Main Street collection system and three-quarters of the Kanapaha collection system are under 1,500 gpd/idm for wet season GWI. These data helped the team understand how the system was performing and to develop LOS criteria for the system. Table 2 presents LOS criteria for GRU’s gravity collection system. Development of LOS criteria for lift stations and force mains was ultimately deferred to future efforts, since more analysis of them was beyond the scope of this project. Since I&I in the GRU system is heavily influenced by the wet season and resulting antecedent soil moisture conditions, wet season GWI is used as a KPI. Different
GWI LOS was developed for small, medium, and large basins. Lower GWI thresholds are used for larger basin sizes since larger areas tend to contain a range of GWI values, which can dampen them. The breakpoints between small, medium, and large basin sizes are idms of 16 and 50, respectively. Although industry standards for R-values (i.e., the percent of rainfall that becomes RDII) are 10 percent, analysis found almost no basins in GRU’s collection system that exceeded 5 percent, with most being less than 1 percent. Even at the currently low levels compared to industry standards, parts of the system still experience capacity limitations in wet weather. A lower threshold, therefore, is more appropriate for GRU’s collection system. The lift station runtime analysis and flow monitoring data were also used to estimate the lower-end effectiveness of rehabilitation. In other words, looking at the basin performance in the majority of the system, a reasonable target for postrehabilitation wet season GWI was estimated. It’s also estimated that rehabilitation can result in a wet season GWI of approximately 1,500 gpd/idm. This translates to approximately 2,000 gpd/idm overall since a larger portion of the overall lateral length will typically not be rehabilitated. The postrehabilitation GWI estimate has been corroborated in the early-out area (Table 1) and other parts of the system using postrehabilitation flow monitoring.
Field Investigation and Rehabilitation Priorities After establishing the LOS criteria, the team was able to prioritize areas in the system for field investigation and rehabilitation. The efforts are largely focused on wet season GWI since that was identified as GRU’s more-prevalent challenge; however, a small percentage of the collection system has elevated RDII and is being prioritized in GRU’s smoke testing efforts. As previously discussed, the wet season GWI LOS are grouped by basin size, since there is a greater likelihood of sub-basin leakiness being more variable with a larger basin size. The following shows details of the collection system performance in each basin category and recommendations for a path forward. Figure 6 shows a map of the wet season GWI results. Small Basins The 22 basins out of 126 that represent
Table 2. Level of Service Gravity Collection System Criteria
Figure 6. Basin results for wet season groundwater infiltration.
118,000 ft and 175 idm of gravity mains are not meeting the KPIs for I&I for small basins. The priority basins should generally require no additional monitoring, with field investigations being the next step for them. Medium Basins The 19 basins of the 69 total that represent 264,000 ft and 412 idm of gravity mains are not meeting the KPIs for I&I for medium basins. Basins that are close to the 16 idm threshold may not require additional monitoring, depending on the uniformity of their contributing areas. If distinct sub-basins are within these basins, it’s recommended performing additional flow monitoring, which may result in very leaky areas and areas that are tight enough to not be prioritized for rehabilitation. Large Basins The eight basins of the 30 total, which represent 554,000 ft and 879 idm of gravity mains, are not meeting the KPIs for I&I for
large basins. It’s recommended that GRU perform a drawdown test for basins where flows were derived using lift stations that do not have a recent drawdown, followed by neighborhood-scale flow monitoring in these basins. It’s likely that leakier areas and tighter areas exist within these large basins; therefore, rehabilitation would likely only be needed in a portion of each of the basins. The general approach for I&I reduction is primarily to quantify and target GWI reduction in areas with high GWI. The quantification has occurred for much of the system at approximately the 10,000-ft scale. These areas can be packaged as rehabilitation projects without additional flow monitoring. Several larger basins (idm > 16) exist that likely have pockets with enough leakage to be rehabilitated. Flow monitoring in these areas will need to continue until the areas with more leakage have been identified to the 10,000-ft scale. The I&I reduction efforts are also being carried out in the few basins with higher RDII. Continued on page 38
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 37
Continued from page 37
Rehabilitation Approach Rehabilitation will continue with developing projects at the neighborhoodor 10,000-ft scale. This project scale makes possible performing field investigations, recommending rehabilitation measures, packaging work for rehabilitation contractors, and having the rehabilitation performed while the data are still current and manageable. The GRU frequently combines multiple project areas into larger work releases assigned to its rehabilitation contractors. This approach has worked well for GRU and accommodates the amount of work that is budgeted on an annual basis. Once a project area, identified through the flow-based prioritization, is selected for rehabilitation, the project will enter the design phase. Several technologies are available for renewal of the collections system, and no single technology or product is suited for every asset. The general approach by GRU for rehabilitation is to select the method to be applied based on the known pipe or manhole material and estimated conditions. The following are the common types of rehabilitation methods used in GRU’s system: S C ured-in-place pipe (CIPP) mains S C IPP laterals S L ateral chemical grout sealing S M anhole coatings S M anhole grouting S P oint repairs
Action Plan to Meet Key Performance Indicators The program resulted in a flow-based prioritization of the system. The information is used by GRU to simultaneously drive its smoke test and lining programs and identify areas to monitor flow in larger basins not meeting the KPIs. In collaboration with GRU, the team developed the workflow (shown in Figure 7) for GRU to “take the keys” and continue the I&I reduction program. The colored boxes indicate work that is currently being performed and the clouds identify areas GRU will incorporate into the program as the effort evolves. Postrehabilitation monitoring is being conducted after mainlines, manholes, and laterals are rehabbed to continue to verify the postrehabilitation GWI estimates. Aging is a continuous process throughout the collection system and a periodic re-evaluation of I&I will be necessary to continue focusing rehabilitation efforts in areas where they will provide the greatest benefit. The dashed line in the figure represents a re-evaluation of the system and KPIs approximately every seven years. Budgeting for planned rehabilitation will continue to be an important part of the program to ensure that rehabilitation occurs on the desired timeline. Rehabilitation budget estimates were based on prices contracted by GRU in 2020, along with several assumptions based on experience with rehabilitation in GRU’s collection system and characteristics
Figure 7. Inflow and infiltration reduction program workflow with future considerations.
38 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
of it based on geographic information system analysis. Meeting the I&I KPIs over a 20-year planning horizon would require rehabilitation in approximately 593,000 ft of gravity mains and associated manholes and laterals. Using an average unit cost of $69/ft results in a cost of approximately $41 million, or $2 million per year in 2020 dollars. This estimate accounts for degradation of the collection system over a 20-year horizon. Alternatively, to meet the I&I KPIs for only basins currently exceeding the threshold would require rehabilitation of approximately 530,000 ft at a cost of $37 million, or $3.7 million per year in 2020 dollars over a 10-year planning horizon. This estimate does not account for degradation of the collection system over a 10-year horizon.
Conclusion The program was a three-year collaborative effort among Jones Edmunds, Jacobs, and GRU that established a framework to achieve the overall program objectives to extend the life of GRU facilities, recover system capacity, and reduce the risk of system failures and sanitary sewer overflows. The program resulted in GRU having a solid understanding of I&I in its collection system and a data-driven action plan that prioritizes and targets rehabilitation in the leakiest areas of the system. The early-out area identified practices that work well for GRU and that are effective in reducing I&I. Piloting several approaches in the smaller early-out area offered GRU the opportunity to try different methods at a scale that had a lower cost risk, and apply the lessons learned in the larger system. The lift station runtime analysis provided a flow-time series of approximately two years at a fraction of the cost of traditional flow metering, and provided valuable information for the team to: S Understand that GWI is driving acute RDII operational issues during wet weather. S Set KPIs and LOS criteria. S Prioritize field investigation and rehabilitation efforts. S Develop a process for GRU to carry forward that continually monitors data to set priorities for where the next best investments are in the system for I&I reduction. Additionally, this effort resulted in a continuous process that helps GRU fulfill the S requirements of SB 712.
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Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 39
FSAWWA
AWWA
Is the Sum of Our Members
Like droplets of water converging to create a powerful stream, our members have created the strong community that is AWWA. Together members are advancing public health by ensuring communities have access to safe and clean water. We thank each member for their dedication and celebrate their contributions to the water community.
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Register Now for the 2024 Florida Water Resources Conference Contests! Participants are encouraged to sign up for the Operations Challenge and Top Ops competitions, which will be held at the Florida Water Resources Conference in Kissimmee, scheduled for April 2-6, 2024, at the Gaylord Palms Resort.
Operations Challenge Treatment plant operators from across Florida will compete in the annual Operations Challenge. Participants will be timed in five separate operational competitions to determine the state’s representative for the national Operations Challenge at WEFTEC 2024 in New Orleans. The contest promotes team building, leadership, education, and pride within a utility. Any utility that didn’t have a team in the 2023 contest is especially encouraged to participate in next year’s event. For information and entry forms, contact Chris Fasnacht, Operations Challenge chair, at 407-254-7224.
Top Ops Competition The annual statewide Top Ops contest will also be held at the 2024 conference. Top Ops is the “College Bowl” of the water industry. Teams of one, two, or three water operators or laboratory personnel from the FSAWWA regions compete against each other in a fastpaced question-and-answer tournament at the conference. A moderator poses a wide range of technical questions and math problems,
and the team scoring the most points in the final round is awarded the Florida Section AWWA Top Ops championship. The winning team will earn a trip to next year’s American Water Works Association (AWWA) Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE24) in Anaheim, Calif., where it will compete with teams from other sections in the national Top Ops contest. Utilities throughout the state are
44 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
encouraged to enter. Teams do not have to consist of employees of the same utility, and multiple utilities can sponsor a team. No video, audio, or digital recordings will be allowed during the competition. For registration forms, more details, and to receive the competition rules, contact the Top Ops Committee chair, Andrew Greenbaum, at 352667-4138 or at agreenbaum@regionalwater. org, or visit www.fsawwa.org/topops. S
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 45
Acknowledging Hurricane Ian Responders: Our Heroes Debbie Wallace and Renee Moticker The Florida Water and Pollution Control Operators Association (FWPCOA) Region 7 would like to recognize the cities, water and wastewater utility professionals, and
operators who gave their time, talent, and equipment to help their fellow utilities in Hurricane Ian’s aftermath. We know it was a hardship for them and would like to express our gratitude and appreciation. They are our heroes.
Hurricane Ian Makes Landfall Hurricane Ian hit the west coast of Florida on Sept. 28, 2022, as a Category 4 hurricane, with winds up to 155 miles per hour. Considerable damage was not just wind-related, but it was the 13- to 15foot storm surge that laid waste to homes, businesses, trees, boats, and infrastructure. The waters reached second floors and submerged one-story homes, while beaches nearby were sucked dry, providing the extra water that surged 10 miles upstream and cause flooding as high as 5 feet. After traveling more than 24 miles inland, the surge, in a couple of hours, receded as fast as the water had swept in. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime weather event. The affected areas of Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island are expected to need an 80 percent rebuild.
Lifesavers After catastrophic damage like this, in Continued on page 48 Claud Andrade, City of Deerfield Beach, delivers two 125 horsepower generators to Cape Coral following Hurricane Ian’s devastation. Hallandale Beach team members work on a lift station in Bonita Beach.
Seacoast crew (left to right) Craig Stone, Jose Altuna, Frank Lopez, Mario Rodriguez, Daniel Jankow, Kyle Dean, Shawn Whippy, Shane Herbold, and Ryan Smith work on 13 devastated lift stations running on hand mode.
46 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
Palm Beach crew (left to right) Elton McGowan, Greg Baltazar, Gerardo Castellano, Richard Rivers, Jovani Pineda, Lee Goldstein, Chris Trapasso, Wes Davisson, and Daniel Jimenez deploy eight trailermounted pump units to restore lift stations in Naples.
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Continued from page 46 came many utility professionals to rebuild potable water and wastewater infrastructure. The task was daunting, scary, dirty, and seemed almost impossible. The incoming workers were appreciated by fellow operators after they worked long hours and many days without a break. They were fresh and ablebodied professionals, ready to jump right in to lend a hand, bringing needed generators, pumps, pipe, and supplies. Our hats are off and we offer a big salute to these utility first responders as we share the many stories from various cities and utilities and recognize the brave men and women for their expert help.
Approaching the Damage The roads in Naples were impassable and covered with sand and debris. Houses on the beach had the first floor washed out and front yards were littered with the contents of nearby homes. This was just the beginning of the havoc this hurricane created. The Palm Beach crew wondered what kind of devastation they would be driving into since they were hauling heavy
pump equipment. Employees at Broward County said their focus was to get to their assignments and start making a difference as soon as possible. The City of Plantation crew noted extensive damage to Punta Gorda: residences with no roofs and no power, trees on top of houses, and people in line for drinking water. The Broward County crew could see various levels of devastation in the Fort Myers area, and were glad that they were sent to help, hoping they never have to be on the receiving end of such a storm. “There were thoughts of sympathy for the residents of North Port who clearly lost so much. The effort required to rebuild from this quickly entered our minds,” says Randy Rennekamp with the Pompano Beach crew. The Town of Jupiter crew had previously helped with another hurricane, but Ian was different. They were sad and speechless seeing the amount of destruction in Cape Coral. Jody Podbeusek in Jupiter said, “I felt badly for the people who live here; they had nothing left. Everything they had worked for was gone and we were ready to help and get to work.”
The City of Pompano Beach crew (left to right) Eric Bryant, Alfonso Zayas, John Bernat, Garron McGee, Vinnie Banarsi and Randy Rennekamp take daily readings to fix and keep running 60 lift stations in North Port.
City of Plantation crew (left to right) Nickholas Butler, Tony Roger, Najwah Reid, Ricci Singh, and Wyatt Rosselot restore broken water mains and home service lines in Punta Gorda.
48 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
Greetings All the local utility crews in the affected areas were happy to see the incoming help; having worked 16 and 18 hours a day for over seven days, they were totally exhausted. Every incoming crew expressed how humbled they were by the warm welcome. The “we are not abandoned” looks in their eyes showed sheer gratitude, and made everyone want to hug, pat backs, and get to work right away. Cape Coral staff told Jody Podbeusek in Jupiter that they were overwhelmed. “It wasn’t a lack of staff, but the workload compared to staff that was unrealistic. They said they were grateful we were there. They were relieved that they could move on to something else of major importance, while we managed the small stuff for them.”
Living Conditions After working 16-hour shifts, crews had only six hours of sleep at a time. Sleeping arrangements were often made on cots, which were not very comfortable. Some crews slept in their trucks, in mobile homes, and some under the stars—until the
Miami-Dade crew (left to right) Ricardo Acosta, Luis Zamora, Eric Marcenaro, Irshad Ali, Armando Fernandez, Ariel Fernandez, Tomas Martin, Lazaro Cabrera, Jake Bermudez, Director Roy Coley, Tulio Garcia, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Cedric Walker, Jimmy Morales-Chief Operations Officer, Jiovanni Barrero, Phyllip Lopez, Reginald Coffie, Alfredo Horta, Arturo Viton, and Roberto Rodriguez repair water main breaks for 14 miles of main lines and restore water service lines in Fort Myers. Those in the very back include (left to right) Angelo Ortiz, Christopher Martinez, Edgar Moore, Alex Suarez, and Daren Tamargo.
Palm Beach crew members delivering and hooking up pump units to lift stations in Naples.
City of Oakland Park crew Luis Herrera and Anthony Damiani set up bypass pumps and generators to put lift stations into operation in Charlotte County.
City of Boca Raton employee Nick Erro works on water distribution, while Lisa Wilson-Davis, operations and regulatory compliance manager (not pictured), oversees the response coordination incident command in Pine Island.
Town Boynton Beach Utility crew (left to right) Tavans Pinkney, Karey Isom, Ron Prado, Juan Castro, Marc Filsaime, Edward Hollis, Johny Civil, and Tremaine Johnson restore power to a water treatment plant and set up portable generators or bypass pumps to lift stations.
mosquitos arrived. Punta Gordo mosquitos seemed to be the largest ever seen! Some teams had air-conditioned comforts and others did not. Broward County teams slept in the public works building where they had amenities in the breakroom. The Jupiter crew was lucky and had accommodations with hot showers, food, and bathrooms in their building, with adequate sleeping arrangements. The City of Oakland Park group worked in Charlotte County for 14 hours, then drove 45 minutes south to Fort Myers each evening where their sleeping accommodations were located. The Miami-Dade County crew was provided mobile homes with restrooms and bedrooms. The City of Plantation crew stayed at the Punta Gorda wastewater plant and slept where they could find room. Randy Rennekamp in Pompano Beach said, “We had a newly constructed water plant that wasn’t even in operation yet. We had air conditioning and a quiet place to rest, but the plumbing wasn’t hooked up yet. There was a working garden hose out back and we got creative and made it work for supplying water to the building.”
Town of Jupiter crew (left to right)) Jody Podbeusek, Paul Romero, and Danny Adams fixing leaks in a water line in Cape Coral.
Broward County crew (left to right) Dan Rozelle, Dave Bolden, Mark Darmanin, and Ed Yarrow keep the distribution system running, while Mark ensures diplomatic communications in Fort Myers.
Work Conditions Working conditions were not great; there was the smell of sewers and overflows, and the ground was so saturated that everything was wet. There was debris everywhere: downed power lines, and broken water and wastewater mains. “It was rough,” said Charles McClelland in Jupiter. Anthony Damiani, with City of Oakland Park, said, “The most awkward thing was trying to navigate the streets. There was a GPS signal, but the roads were littered with debris, which made them impassable. All the street signs were uprooted, and the streetlights were not working. Florida Highway Patrol was at each intersection directing traffic. Traveling at night was impossible.”
Work Stories The City of Plantation crews made a repair after a huge palm tree had ripped a resident’s service line completely out of the water main. They had to first cut the palm tree down, then excavate the service line to
make the repair. All cheered on the crews for their valiant efforts. When the City of Palm Beach County crew arrived at lift stations, numerous station entrances were covered and surrounded with contents of destroyed homes. Residents were piling up debris and garbage everywhere, with some of it put right in front of the lift stations, blocking their access. The debris had to be removed before crews could hitch up the pump units or make repairs.
Stories to Tell Cape Coral operators had no working wastewater system, drinking water, or power, and were stuck at one of their plants. They told the Jupiter crew that Hurricane Ian was one of the worst storms they had ever encountered, and they would not stay around for the next one. It was certainly a life-changing storm experience for them. As the city of Pompano Beach crews entered North Port, the residents cheered and waved as the trucks drove by because they knew help was now there amid all the destruction. Continued on page 50
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 49
Continued from page 49 Jody Podbeusek in Jupiter commented that residents of Cape Coral and Bonita Springs came together to help others among all the devastation. “It was neighbors helped neighbors under the most difficult circumstances.” The Jupiter crew helped five elderly couples put gas in their generators and started them because they were unable to do so. Residents offered the crews dry socks and whatever food they had left. A true spirit of helping and giving was readily seen.
Good Byes After hooking up the trailer-mounted pump units and ensuring the City of Naples crews were all set, Palm Beach crews departed, happy to have been able to help, and sad the residents experienced all the hardships of the hurricane’s devastation. They were originally only there to deliver equipment, but ended up staying to help install all eight pump units. The Naples crew was incredibly grateful for the help with these installations. The City of Plantation crew felt
accomplished by providing the City of Punta Gorda residents with clean drinking water after repairing service lines and water mains. They were tired, but were glad to help. They said it was a wonderful experience and very rewarding, and they would do it all over again, if needed. The Broward County crews were exhausted, but they understood their contributions were needed and appreciated. New friends and contacts were made, and a rejuvenation of the human spirit occurred, relayed Mark Darmanin. The Cape Coral staff kept asking Rodney Carroll of the Jupiter crew to stay on. “They kept thanking us and asking us to stay; they really needed more assistance. They were so happy we had come to help and didn’t want us to leave.” Charles McClelland said, “I felt badly leaving because they needed more help. Their guys were exhausted, as we all were, but we had to return to Jupiter. They could have used us longer.”
stories and personal insights about the destruction water and wind can cause, all the lives they touched, and how grateful everyone was. These dedicated professionals were willing to take their knowledge and skills on the road to help others. Recognition also goes to the Florida Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (FlaWARN) system. Its ever-growing expertise makes available the personnel and materials needed by those in disaster areas. The FWPCOA Region 7 recognizes these individuals who helped with Hurricane Ian’s recovery. Thank you! The help provided was needed, valued, and will long be cherished. They are truly our heroes. Debbie Wallace is FWPCOA Region 7 newsletter editor and historian. Renee Moticker is FWPCOA Region 7 chair and director, state board awards committee chair, instructor, and proctor. S
Recognition Hurricane Ian has left a big mark on everyone. Utility workers came back with
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POSITIONS AVAILABLE City of Temple Terrace Water Plant Operator
Technical work in the operation of a water treatment plant and auxiliary facilities on an assigned shift. Performs quality control lab tests and other analyses, monthly regulatory reports, and minor adjustments and repairs to plant equipment. Applicant must have State of Florida D.E.P. Class “A”, “B”, or “C ” Drinking Water License at time of application. Excellent benefits package. To apply and/or obtain more details contact City of Temple Terrace, Chief Plant Operator at (813) 506-6593 or Human Resources at (813) 5066430 or visit www.templeterrace.com. EOE/DFWP. SALARY RANGES: $22.13 - $35.42 per hour • w/”C” Certificate $24.34 - $38.96 per hour • w/”B” Certificate (+10% above “C”) $26.77 - $42.86 per hour • w/”A” Certificate (+10% above “B”) $1,000 Hiring Bonus!
Water Reclamation Facility Operator III This is skilled technical work, with supervisory responsibilities, in the inspection and operation of a water reclamation plant. The person in this position fills the role as the shift leader. Work involves responsibility for the safe and efficient operation of a water reclamation facility, routine adjustments to equipment and machinery operating controls, inspection of equipment inside and outside the plant site. An employee in this class exercises considerable independent judgment in adjusting machinery, equipment, and related control apparatus in accordance with established procedures and standards to produce a high-quality reclaimed water product. An employee in this class must be able to report to work outside of normally scheduled work hours at the discretion of management. Required Qualifications:
♦ Possess a valid high school diploma or GED equivalency. ♦ Possess and maintain a valid Driver License. ♦ Possess and maintain a State of Florida Wastewater Operator “B” License. ♦ Must be able to perform shift work. ♦ Acknowledge this position is designated as Emergency Critical (EC) and if hired into the position, you must be immediately available to the department before, during, and after a declared emergency and/or disaster.
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The City of Tarpon Springs, Florida PUBLIC SERVICES DIRECTOR $82,672 - $133,188 /yr The City of Tarpon Springs is seeking a Public Services Director with a collaborative leadership style that fosters creativity and initiative to provide high quality and cost-effective services. The position vacancy is due to the current Public Services Director retiring after 23 years of service. The department provides a wide range of services to the community including Water and Sewer Utilities; Municipal Golf Course; Recreation; Cemetery; and Sustainability. The department staffing includes approximately 110 employees. The Utilities Divisions provide complete water, sewer, and reclaimed water service with our own water supply and wastewater treatment facilities. The City maintains a consistent record of regulatory compliance and is the recipient of multiple awards for excellence in operations. Qualifications for the position include a required bachelor’s degree, with a degree in public administration, business, engineering or a related field preferred. Five to nine years supervisory/management experience is required and five to seven years executive management level experience in the public sector is preferred. Licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of Florida is desirable. The City may consider a combination of training and/or experience as a substitute for required education, experience and/or management experience. Must possess and maintain a Florida Driver’s License and establish permanent legal residency within the City within 1 year of hire date. The position will remain open until filled. To apply please submit a cover letter, detailed resume, and a completed City application via mail, fax, or email to: City of Tarpon Springs Human Resources Attn. Ms. Savannah Bass 324 East Pine Street Tarpon Springs, FL 34689 Fax: (727) 942-5621; e-mail: sbass@ctsfl.us The City offers excellent benefits as a part of employment compensation. For more information on the position posting and benefits, please visit: https://www.ctsfl.us/jobs
Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 51
Water Distribution Manager $78,949 - $122,198/yr. Utilities Program Coordinator $61,859 - $95,744/yr. Utilities Compliance Coordinator $61,859 - $95,744/yr. Utilities Asset Management Coordinator $61,859 - $95,744/yr. Utilities Electrician $61,234 - $86,163/yr. Utilities Treatment Plant Operator I or Trainee $55,542 - $78,152/yr. or $50,378 - $70,885/yr. Utilities Mechanical Specialist $47,979 - $67,511/yr. Utilities System Trainee or Operators II & III $41,446, $45,693 - $64,297, $50,378 - $70,885/yr. Apply Online At: http://pompanobeachfl.gov Open until filled.
City of Winter Park - Multiple Positions Water & Wastewater; Public Works; more! https://bit.ly/3vzP9Dt
Water Plant Operator
Clermont is seeking a Florida Licensed Water Treatment Plant Operator with a “Class C” or better license. Applicant would perform duties such as frequent sampling, monitoring and adjusting treatment systems and processes, operation and maintenance of treatment and pumping equipment. May also assist with documentation and reporting. Clermont is a dynamic and rapidly growing city and offers a competitive wage starting at $22.39 per hour, excellent benefits package, and a good working environment. Application for employment may be submitted online at www.clermontfl.gov/jobs through NEOGOV or completed in person at the Human Resources Department in City Hall, 685 W Montrose Street in Downtown Clermont.
Town of Longboat Key
This classification performs highly responsible professional, administrative and operational duties relating to the direct oversight and management of operations, maintenance, and the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for the Utilities Division (Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection) of the Town’s Public Works Department. The Town gets its potable water and wastewater treatment from Manatee County. This position performs work for and reports to the Public Works Director. For more information: https://www.longboatkey.org/Home/ Components/JobPosts/Job/145/145
52 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
The City of Marco Island has multiple positions available in the Water & Sewer Department, The City of Marco Island is a great place to work with an excellent benefits package. Positions available include: Drinking Water Plant Operator Trainee, I, II or III Stormwater Engineer Wastewater Plant Operator, I, II or III Water & Sewer Field Representative Compensation will be based upon the level of experience and license level. To view the complete job posting, salary ranges and instructions for applying for this position, please visit our website, Job Opportunities | Sorted by Job Title ascending | City of Marco Island Careers (governmentjobs.com) EOE/AA/ADA/VET Employer
Journeyman Electrician The Coral Springs Improvement District is currently accepting applications for the position of Journeyman Electrician. The qualified applicant must have a high school diploma or equivalent and have a Journeyman Electrical certificate of competency issued by Broward County. Must have a valid Florida Driver’s License, be able to pass a background check and pre-employment drug screening. What The Job Involves: Electricians, under direction, perform work on the installation, repair, and maintenance of high- or low-tension electrical systems for light, power, and communications throughout the facility. They install, repair, replace and maintain electric wiring systems and components, equipment and apparatus within district offices, water, and wastewater facilities. Electrical troubleshooting of motors, VFD’S, PLC, 3-Phase systems, Circuit breakers, etc. Knowledge of electrical tools and equipment, safety precautions used in electrical repair and maintenance including but not limited to Arc Flash & LOTO. CSID Offers: Salary Levels are at the top of the industry. The district has excellent company paid benefits including a 6% non-contributory investment money purchase plan, and voluntary 457 plan with match up to 6%. EOE. Salary: The salary range for this position is $30.94/Hr.- $38.23/Hr. Salaries to commensurate relative to level of licensure and years of experience. Applications may be obtained by visiting our website at www. csidfl.org/resources/employment.html and fax resume to 954-7536329 or Email to Jzilmer@csidfl.org Attention Jan Zilmer, Director of Human Resources.
Facilities Electrician - Cocoa Beach, FL, 32931 Seeking FL State Licensed Journeyman Electrician 4 years’ experience w/knowledge of current codes. Salary range starts at $68,139($32.76/hour)plus a generous benefit package including PTO, 11 paid holidays, Pension, Insurance & more.
Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator A Salary: $95,000/year
The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority’s WASTEWATER DIVISION is looking for a WWTP Operator with a Florida “A” license. You will perform skilled/technical work involving the operation and maintenance of a wastewater treatment plant. This requires technical knowledge and independent judgment to make treatment process adjustments and perform maintenance on plant equipment, machinery, and related control apparatus in accordance with established standards and procedures. Annual salary $95,000. Benefit package is extremely competitive! Location: Cudjoe Key, Florida located in the Lower Florida Keys. Must complete on-line application at https://www.fkaa.com/212/Opportunities EEO, VPE, ADA, DF
Apply for this position and view other opportunities at: http://www.cityofcocoabeach.com/
POSITIONS WANTED Neil Kirkland - 45 years old, current dual ‘B’ licensed. Passed both ‘A’ w/ww exams this year w/ hours completed. 20 combined years’ experience. Willing to relocate. Call (386)290-9975 email: KMOSUL4@yahoo.com
PRINCIPAL ENGINEER The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority is searching for the right professional with the perfect balance of Engineering and Operations knowledge and education in water and wastewater utility systems operation. This position would be at an advanced professional level. Must be a Registered Professional Engineer (PE) in Civil or Environmental Engineering in the United States, with the ability to obtain registration in the State of Florida within six (6) months of hire. Salary based on experience. Benefit package is extremely competitive. Location: Florida Keys. See Job description/requirements and online application at http://www.fkaa.com/employment.htm. EEO, VPE, ADA, DFW
Executive Director
Florida Rural Water Association (FRWA) is seeking an applicant to replace the existing Executive Director who is retiring after 35 years. FRWA is a non–profit organization that represents water and wastewater systems throughout the State of Florida. For more information, questions, job description, or to submit your resumé please contact FRWA Attention: Search Committee, 2970 Wellington Circle, Tallahassee, Florida 32309 or Search@FRWA.net, or visit https://www.frwa.net/executive-director-advertisement. Florida Water Resources Journal • December 2023 53
SERVING FLORIDA’S WATER AND WASTEWATER INDUSTRY SINCE 1949
Test Yourself Answer Key January 2016
Editorial Calendar January........Wastewater Treatment February.......Water Supply; Alternative Sources March............ Energy Efficiency; Environmental Stewardship April..............Conservation and Reuse May ...............Operations and Utilities Management June.............. Biosolids Management and Bioenergy Production July ...............Stormwater Management; Emerging Technologies August..........Disinfection; Water Quality September... Emerging Issues; Water Resources Management October........ New Facilities, Expansions, and Upgrades November....Water Treatment December.....Distribution and Collection Technical articles are usually scheduled several months in advance and are due 60 days before the issue month (for example, January 1 for the March issue). The closing date for display ad and directory card reservations, notices, announcements, upcoming events, and everything else including classified ads, is 30 days before the issue month (for example, September 1 for the October issue). For further information on submittal requirements, guidelines for writers, advertising rates and conditions, and ad dimensions, as well as the most recent notices, announcements, and classified advertisements, go to www.fwrj.com or call 352-241-6006.
Display Advertiser Index Anue WaterTechnologies ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 25 Aqua Aerobics ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 15 AWWA Member Appreciation ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 41 Blue Planet Environmental Systems ���������������������������������������������������������������������� 55 Data Flow ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 23 Engineered Pumps �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 47 FJ Nugent & Associates ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 45 Florida Water Resources Conference ��������������������������������������������������������������� 20-21 FWPCOA Training Calendar ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 39 FSAWWA Holiday Greetings ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 40 FSAWWA 2023 Fall Conference Thank You ����������������������������������������������������������� 42 FSAWWA 2023 Fall Conference Thank You Regional Sponsors ������������������������ 43 Gerber Pumps ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 9 Heyward ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 2 Hudson Pump & Equipment ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 27 Hydro international ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5 Lakeside Equipment Corporation ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7 Poly Processing ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 19 Smith & Loveless ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 35 U.S. Submergent Technologies ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 29 Water Treatment & Controls Technology ��������������������������������������������������������������� 50 Xylem ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 56
54 December 2023 • Florida Water Resources Journal
Continued from page 17 1. B ) Ultraviolet light Ultraviolet light is a disinfection agent that is not a chemical oxidant. 2. D ) Ozone Ozone is the disinfectant agent that is commonly used in drinking water treatment that is the strongest oxidant. 3. D ) excellent. Ultraviolet light effectiveness is excellent is disinfecting waterborne viruses. 4. B ) fair to poor. Free chlorine effectiveness in disinfecting protozoa is fair to poor. 5. D ) poor. Combined chlorine effectiveness in disinfecting protozoa is poor. 6. B ) fair. Ultraviolet light effectiveness in disinfecting viruses is fair. 7. B ) ultraviolet light. Chlorine dioxide forms chlorite, free chlorine forms trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), and ozone forms bromate; however, ultraviolet light forms no known regulated byproducts. 8. A ) excellent. Ozone effectiveness in the disinfection of endospores is excellent. 9. B ) pipeline with plug flow characteristics. The ideal contactor design for free chlorine is a pipeline with plug flow characteristics. 10. D ) Dr. Harriet Chick. In 1908 Dr. Harriet Chick created a model for a proposed disinfectant with respect to the concentration of the organism.