Breeze Spring 2023

Executive Board of Directors

Section Chair

Rob Isabel

CDM Smith

Ph: 651-252-3716 isabelrs@cdmsmith.com

Section Chair-Elect

Doug Klamerus Rochester Public Utilities, Ph: 507-280-1500 dklamerus@rpu.org

Section Past Chair

Uma Vempati Kimley-Horn Associates Ph: 612-209-1912 uma.mnawwa@gmail.com

AWWA Director

Eric Volk City of New Brighton Ph: 651-638-2110 eric.volk@newbrightonmn.gov

Section Secretary-Treasurer

Jim Hauth

City of Columbia Heights Ph: 763-706-3711 jhauth@columbiaheightsmn.gov

Think Vertical Think Johnston

Leader in the municipal water industry, irrigation & flood control

Re-introducing Johnston Pump

Products built with quality, not only as a core design feature, but a brand identity. With NSF certification, an array of standard features, and the ability to be extensively customized, no wonder it’s been the vertical pump brand of choice for over 100 years.

Welcoming Spring with Open Arms

Spring is finally here and it’s my favorite season of the year. I love watching the snow and ice melt, listening to the chirping of the birds as they return, and the smell of the flowers as they start to bud. It’s also the only time of the year when 32 degrees feels warm and I wonder if it’s time to get the shorts out of the closet!

Spring is also an exciting time for the Minnesota section. Our Southeast, Southwest, Northeast and Metro section operator schools will take place again this spring. These schools provide outstanding educational opportunities for our members and allow you to network with others in our industry. I highly encourage you to attend the school in your district, if you are able. To learn more about these schools, you can always visit our website at www.mnawwa.org and browse the different opportunities under the ‘Events’ tab.

Our 2023 Annual Conference will be held again in Duluth on September 19–22. The Conference Council is working hard reviewing the abstracts received for our technical sessions, and booking an excellent keynote speaker. The Manufacturers and Associates Council (MAC) is starting to coordinate all of the competitions, exhibit hall, and many of the other fun networking events that occur each year. Please save the date and I hope to see you all in Duluth.

Lastly, one of our Section goals for 2023 was to develop Council and Committee Strategic Plans. Our Council Chairs have been diligently working on the draft plan for their Council to

define their purpose and benefit to our membership, determine whether the committees under each Council are still relevant, whether new committees should be added, and to determine each Council’s and committee’s strategic goals and objectives for 2023 and beyond. We will be discussing the draft plans at our March board meeting, and finalizing them in June. I look forward to seeing how we can continuously improve our Section and provide additional value to our members.

I want to close this message by thanking each of you for all the hard work and dedication to keep the water flowing every day. I am truly amazed by how effortless you make this herculean and vital task appear. Thank you! •

Robert Isabel

“I look forward to seeing how we can continuously improve our Section and provide additional value to our members.”

TTREATMENT'S REATMENT'S TTOTAL OTAL SOLUTION SOLUTION

Best-in-Class Process-Pump-Flow Control Equipment

Custom Chemical Feed Skids

Local Service and Product Support

Proudly Serving Municipal & Industrial Markets

I Can Just Buy a Bigger Wrench

It has been said by many great minds throughout history: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got.” Nothing can be truer when hiring. If you continue to hire the same type of person, you will always have the same result.

Awhile back, I had my first experience hiring a woman operator. We were going through interviews and had our usual choices of men; young and middle aged. We also had a woman who had a good reputation in the water and wastewater community. The challenge I was faced with is that she is five foot nothing, and a stiff northwestern Minnesota wind could knock her over. I was asked by my supervisor, “Is she big enough to do the job?” My answer to him simply was, “I can just buy her a bigger wrench, but I cannot buy her motivation and effort.”

I am regularly posed the question from other supervisors around our community; “How is your hiring going?” My answer to them every time is “it is going great!” I explain to them that when I am looking for candidates, I am looking for individuals that are motivated and want to do a great job. Someone who takes pride in their work and in a job well done. Since starting in my current position, I have hired eight different individuals, and only one of them was working at a different city. We hire for fit, and we train motivated people to get the job done. Our public works crew is a young bunch that shows up every day,

works hard, and is committed to the organization. When we hire, we like to say that we don’t just want people on the bus: we want the right people on the bus.

One of the keys to successful longevity in business is to diversify. The same goes for employees.

So, the next time you are going through the hiring process, take a chance; break it up a bit. Hire that mechanic to be a water operator. Hire the furniture salesman to be a maintenance worker. Provide the tools and provide the training to build yourself a team of amazing employees. •

Eric Volk

“When we hire, we like to say that we don’t just want people on the bus: we want the right people on the bus.”

Drinking Water Institute Wraps Up 2022

Science teachers from the 2022 Drinking Water Institute gathered in December for a follow-up session at Minneapolis Water Works. The 2022 Institute had been held August 8-10 in Red Wing. Sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Section of American Water Works Association, the Institute has been held since 2001. Science teachers from around the state come together and develop action plans to create inquiry-based activities that they can integrate into their existing science curriculum. One of the 2023 graduates wrote of the experience, “Teachers need more hands-on training that relates to real world problems. The information is so relevant to all my students. This was exactly what I needed to find my drive-in teaching after the last 2 years.”

The 2023 Institute will be August 7–9 in Minneapolis. More information is at www.health.state.mn.us/communities/ environment/water/institute.htm •

Water

Supply, Treatment, Reclamation, Reuse

Solutions

has revolutionized dechlorination of potable water during field applications such as hydrant flushing, reservoir overflows, in-line backwash lines, splashpads, waste water flow,

new main installations, pipeline sanitizing.

Pair it with ZDe-Chlorinator equipment, designed specifically to work with Vita-D-Chlor Tablets, and you have a perfect setup for hydrant flushing and in-line applications.

Vitamin C based product is safe and easy

What you get with Vita-D-Chlor:

• 100% organic and environmentally safe

• Does not reduce oxygen levels in water

• Instantaneous reaction time with total chlorine in water

• Operator safety in product handling

• Available in both tablet and granular forms

Setup is fast and simple

“Teachers need more hands-on training that relates to real world problems. The information is so relevant to all my students.”

| MWRF |

Minnesota Water Research Fund

Minnesota Water Research Fund: Students Matter

Author: Tricia Christensen is a MWRF Advisory Committee member. She has spent her 20-plus-year career in water and is currently the Upper Midwest Planning and Asset Management Lead at Black & Veatch. She can be contacted at christensenp@bv.com

THANK YOU TO MWRF PARTNERS

Gold Partners

Bernie Bullert

SL-serco

Silver Partners

American Waterworks Association-MN Section

TKDA

Bronze Partners

M.E. Simpson Co., Inc.

Stantec

Tenon Systems

WSB

MWRF ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Bernie Bullert (Chair)

BCE 1968, MBA 1977, UMN SL-serco

Michelle Stockness (Vice Chair)

BSCiE 2001, Univ. of Missouri-Columbia Barr Engineering

David Allen

BA Mass Comm. 1993, UMN SL-serco

Lisa Cerney

BCE 1999, UMN Hennepin County

Tricia Christensen

BSCE 2001, South Dakota State Univ.

Black & Veatch

Bo Johnston

MSCE 2005, UMN

Black & Veatch

Andrew Ohrt

MSCE 2005, UMN West Yost

Naeem Qureshi

MSCE 1985, UMN

Sambatek

Karl Streed

BCE 1972, UMN

Stew Thornley

BS Bus. Administration 1981, UMN

MN Department of Health

Shannon Wolkerstorfer

UMN External Relations

The third installment in the four-part Minnesota Water Research Fund (MWRF) series focuses on students and the impact of research.

Every spring, MWRF Advisory Committee Members meet to review funding proposals from University of Minnesota faculty and students. For committee members, it is the best time of the year. We get to see MWRF’s mission in action by funding real world research and supporting students.

MWRF currently makes annual distributions in the range of $5,000 –$10,000. The Advisory Committee aims to support emerging research and provide seed funding for projects that do not yet have other funding sources. Many of the projects address problems unique to Minnesota’s rural areas. The funding positively impacts multiple UMN professors, graduate students, and undergraduate students who work on the research projects.

STUDENTS MATTER

Students are the next generation of water industry leaders. The MWRF annual distributions support student education and hands on learning. The opportunity for students to learn through research helps clarify their choice of degree program, career interests, and post graduate plans. Research strengthens written and oral communication, critical thinking, technical skills, and information literacy. These are all things that enrich the student’s experience. The water industry needs engaged, innovative thinkers to be working on the world’s water challenges.

Funding research also supports the development of mentoring relationships. Mentors help students expand their networks, navigate new experiences,

boost confidence and can potentially open new opportunities. The close relationships that are developed through sustained research work give participants a sense of community and can help some students find their niche on campus.

Research is vital to ensuring adequate supplies of clean water to protect life and livelihood, safeguard and restore watershed and ecosystems, and strengthen the economy. It is also fundamental to the success of universities. As universities become known for research in certain fields they become magnets for students, faculty, grants, media coverage and philanthropy. This impacts everything from student recruitment and faculty retention, to attracting new investments. Students matter, Minnesota matters, and water matters, the MWRF is having an impact on all three.

MWRF IMPACT

Each year the MWRF recommends two projects for funding. The projects vary in the types of research being conducted, but always support the MWRF mission of innovative research to improve water treatment technologies and water quality

“Funding students and helping to achieve research project goals are the most important impacts of the MWRF.”

– Bernie Bullert MWRF Founder

in the environment. Funding highlights from the last three years are presented below.

2020

In 2020, ‘Optimization of Water Quality Monitoring in Streams’ led by Adjunct Associate Professor Paul Capel with undergraduate students Aldo Bazan, Malik Khadar, Sam Maijala, and Abdimohsin Sahidm was selected for funding. Monitoring streams and rivers for water quality is expensive but critically important. Monitoring data is necessary for informed decision making by water resource managers. This project applied machine learning methods to existing high frequency water quality and streamflow data from a variety of streams to quantify the degree of accuracy of commonly used monitoring strategies. Suggested targeted strategies were made based on stream characteristics. The outcome of this work helps the numerous agencies that conduct water quality monitoring improve the accuracy of their data.

2021

Judy Yang and graduate student

Shih Hsun Huang were selected for ‘Impacts of Vegetation on Surface Water/Groundwater Interactions.’ Preserving the health of streams is vital to ensure safe drinking water and fishery products, yet many streams are degraded and contaminated. Projects to restore streams cost over a billion dollars per year in the US, however the environmental impacts of many restoration strategies, such as replant vegetation, have not been fully understood. Vegetation can induce hyporheic exchange which is exchange of water, solutes, and particles between surface water and underlying sediment and groundwater. As a result, revegetation projects could potentially cause an increase in release of contaminants from sediment and groundwater into the surface water and vice versa. Quantitative understanding of hyporheic exchange due to vegetation is currently lacking. This research project

took place in the Environmental Transport lab led by Professor Judy Yang.

Transparent sediment (hydrogel beads) and translucent vegetation (acrylic rods) are combined with fluorescent dye to study how vegetation enhances the exchange of water, solutes, and particles between surface water and sediment/ groundwater. This work helps ecologists design better stream restoration projects that ensure safe drinking water and fishery products.

In 2021 the MWRF also funded the purchase of four ISCO automated water sampling devices for CEGE faculty and students to use when doing water research and in the process of teaching students. Projects utilizing this equipment include stormwater quality and treatment, drinking water treatment, wastewater treatment, and surface water quality assessment. Having experience with the ISCO automated water sampling devices is beneficial for students when they seek employment within the industry.

2022

Professor Emeritus John Gulliver with Ph.D. candidate Vinicius Taguchi were selected to study ‘Phosphorus Retention in Stormwater Ponds.’ Minnesota has over thirty thousand stormwater retention ponds that treat and control stormwater runoff. However, there is increasing evidence that ponds may no longer be proving the water quality benefits they were originally designed to deliver. Results from this study will be used to maintain older ponds and to apply design retrofits to existing and new ponds to improve stormwater pond performance and benefits.

The year 2022 wouldn’t be complete without a little COVID-19 research!

Professor William Arnold, along with student researchers, were selected to study ‘Quaternary Ammonium

“The MWRF wants to encourage future leaders and great ideas in Minnesota. The world’s water problems are challenging and only going to get worse, we want to continue to grow the pipeline of students in the water field and facilitate their contributions to the water industry.”

– Michelle Stockness, MWRF Advisory Committee and VP Barr Engineering

MWRF Goals:

• Annually fundraise and fund top-quality water research at UMN

• Achieve an endowed chair status for the fund by 2030 (a $2 million goal)

• Develop and support research ideas and priorities in any aspect of water in Minnesota, including climate change’s effects on MN water resources.

Compounds in Minnesota Waters –Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic.’

Because of recommendations regarding surface disinfection made during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sales of quaternary ammonium compound (QAC) disinfectants increased dramatically. The vast majority of QACs are discharged to municipal sewers upon use, and thus these compounds wind up in wastewater treatment plants and surface waters. This project collected water and sediment samples downstream of wastewater outfalls to assess the presence and persistence of QACs in Minnesota rivers. This information is useful for the assessment of potential QAC impacts and the development of passive treatment systems, such as treatment wetlands for the removal of QACs.

These and other important research projects have been supported by the MWRF since 2017. Visit cse.umn.edu/ cege/mwrf-project-summaries to learn more about the research projects funded by MWRF.

FUNDING

The University of Minnesota provides students with the opportunities of a world-class research university while remaining affordable. Financial support is an integral part of this cycle and funds like the MWRF are vitally important. The MWRF can’t support students without funding. Please consider joining our growing list of organizations, private companies, and individuals supporting MWRF. Partnership opportunities are available, contact Bernie Bullert (bernie.bullert@sl-serco.com) for more information or refer to online form umn.edu/Sponsor

MNWaterResearch to indicate your partnership support. Your support of the MWRF drives discovery!

The Summer Breeze will contain the last installment in the four-part MWRF series. The article will focus on getting involved in the MWRF. Our volunteers

and partners drive our success! More information about the MWRF can be found online at minnesota-water-research-fund

Bernie Bullert

HDD and HDPE

The PERFECT MATCH

ASTM F1962 – 22

Standard

Guide for Use of

Maxi-Horizontal Directional

Drilling for Placement

of Polyethylene Pipe or Conduit Under Obstacles, Including River Crossing

By Dr. Lawrence Slavin, PhD,

HISTORY

ASTM F1962, Standard Guide for Use of Maxi-Horizontal Directional Drilling for Placement of Polyethylene Pipe or Conduit Under Obstacles, Including River Crossings, was originally approved in 1999, following development within the F17.67 Trenchless Technology Subcommittee of the ASTM, 1 and reissued in 2005 and 2011, and previously reinstated in 2020. The corresponding changes to the document, if any, were minimal, including providing additional or updated references, as well as correcting a typographical error in one of the equations. The most significant reference was to the alternative guidelines TR-46 provided by the Plastics Pipe Institute (which has been superseded by MAB-7 provided by its Municipal Advisory Board), as more appropriate for mini-HDD operations. However, the latest revision of ASTM F1962, approved in 2022, contains a significant change by providing the physical properties for the most recent high-density polyethylene (HDPE) material, PE4710. This material is significantly tougher than older, previously used PE products, facilitating successful completion of more complicated, difficult maxi-HDD projects. The allowable pulling loads are based upon a minimum tensile yield strength of 3,500 psi, with a significant reduction to limit non-recoverable viscoelastic deformation, as well as to account for the effective cumulative load

duration on the pipe (assumed to be 12 hours), resulting in a safe pull stress of 1,330 psi.

Its convenient methodology for selecting an appropriate pipe strength (wall-thickness), based on the project characteristics, has led to its increasing popularity and widespread usage within industry. A description of ASTM F1962, and its application, was provided during industry events and conferences, including NO-DIG (Slavin and Petroff, 2010) and ASCE Pipelines (Petroff, 2010) conferences in 2010. ASTM F1962 is the only available ASTM standard for horizontal directional drilling.

OVERVIEW

The ASTM document provides overall guidelines for a maxi-HDD operation (see Figure 1), addressing preliminary site investigation, safety and environmental considerations, regulations and damage prevention, bore path layout and design, implementation, and inspection and site cleanup. One of the most significant contributions of ASTM F1962 is the provision of a rational, analytical method for selecting the pipe strength based upon the estimated installation loads on the polyethylene pipe. Thus, ASTM F1962 provides a means of determining project feasibility, as well as initial design information. Such results could be further refined by competent engineering expertise, including an analysis of pipe

and soil characteristics and interaction, often including the use of relatively sophisticated software tools, possibly based on the ASTM F1962 methodology. The procedure is straightforward and has been incorporated into various software tools (e.g., PPI Boreaid®) as an engineering and design aid for such projects.

The ASTM standard specifically addresses polyethylene pipe (PE), a flexible product, for which the effects of any bending stiffness on drag forces at route bends or path curvature may be ignored. Relevant material properties for PE pipe, such as safe pulling tension/stress, are also provided in the document. Because of its high ductility and flexibility and ability to be fused in continuous lengths, per the well-established ASTM standards and by experienced contractors, polyethylene pipe, particularly high-density polyethylene (HDPE), is the most commonly used product for HDD projects.

Although ASTM F1962 is intended for carefully designed, well-controlled maxi-HDD installations, the methodology has been extended, via appropriate assumptions and mathematical simplifications, to provide a simpler methodology that may be advantageously applied to typical, less well-controlled mini-HDD projects. This is the basis of MAB-7 (2020), MAB Guidelines for Use of Mini-Horizontal Directional Drilling for Placement of HDPE (PE4710) Pipe in Municipal Applications, as referenced in the 2022 edition of ASTM F1962.

principal at Outside Plant Consulting Services, Inc. in Rockaway, New Jersey

DESCRIPTION

Figure 2 illustrates a typical geometry for a maxi-HDD operation, in this case corresponding to a river crossing. The indicated bore/pipe path comprises three segments spanning the pipe entry (point A) to its exit point (point D), with horizontal projected distance Lbore, equal to the sum of the three horizontal (projected) segments L2, L3 and L4. There is an additional length L1 exterior to the drilled path which allows for handling at both ends and possible other effects (path curvature, thermal contraction, stretching, etc.). The intermediate horizontal segment, L3, may be of zero length, similar to the geometry in Figure 1.

ASTM F1962 contains ten main chapters or sections, as briefly described, including several appendices.

Scope, Referenced Documents and Terminology (Sections 1, 2 and 3)

ASTM F1962 addresses the overall planning and design, product selection and installation practices for the placement of polyethylene pipe using maxi-HDD equipment. The primary focus is on commonly used high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe with a material designation

code of PE4710. For the larger diameters typically used for such applications, the polyethylene pipe is supplied in discrete segments which are fused together in the field, with essentially no loss in tensile strength, facilitating the pulling operation.

Preliminary Site Investigation (Section 4)

Both ends of the bore path, must be investigated to confirm their feasibility for successfully completing the installation of the large, long pipeline. The drill rig and auxiliary equipment located on the

Figure 1. Typical Maxi-HDD Operation. (Courtesy of Murphy Pipeline Contractors)

Figure 2. Typical Maxi-HDD Route (Obstacle or River Crossing) (Courtesy of Outside Plant Consulting Services, Inc.)

pipe exit side are relatively large, and require water access, storage and mixing and pumping facilities. The pipe entry side, opposite the drill rig, must accommodate the long length of assembled (fused) pipe. In addition, there should be a detailed subsurface investigation, including test borings and soil analysis, to confirm the general suitability for the drilling operation, and to determine the appropriate equipment and hardware.

Safety and Environmental Considerations (Section 5)

Safety is a primary concern, during any activity, including construction utilizing maxi-HDD equipment and procedures. Potential safety issues fall into two general categories: (1) those directly related to the setup and operation of the maxi-HDD equipment, related to the machine and hydraulic operations, as well as the drilling fluid under high pressure, and (2) those associated with accidentally striking buried electric power lines or other existing pipelines. Although not considered to be hazardous materials, the proper handling and disposal of drilling fluid is also discussed to avoid possible environmental issues.

Regulations and Damage Prevention (Section 6)

Depending upon the location and extent of the operation, a variety of permits or approvals may be required, possibly from federal, state or local jurisdictions. These may include the need to file environmental, health and safety plans, or permits for passing beneath waterways, and there may be special requirements for drilling beneath railroads.

Bore Path Layout and Design (Section 7)

The planned bore path, such as illustrated in Figure 2, must be consistent with the steering capability of the maxi-HDD equipment as well as the bending capability of the drill rods. The stiffness of the steel drill rods determines their allowable curvature, in order to avoid fatigue. Unnecessarily large curvatures (sharp bends) also contribute to bending stresses in the HDPE product pipe, although are generally not significant for such a flexible product. Additional route bends, beyond those shown in Figure 2, as well as possible bends in the horizontal plane, should be avoided, and will increase the required pulling forces.

Pipe Design and Selection Considerations (Section 8)

Any pipe installed by HDD is subject to loads of a different type and/or magnitude than that experienced in other construction methods, including by direct burial in a trench. In addition to external pressures due to the head of the relatively dense drilling fluid/slurry or subsequent (post-installation) soil loads, the pipe must withstand the axial tensions induced during the pullback process. While the document provides useful information for evaluating the potential for collapse under lateral pressures, either during of following the installation, the most widely used portion of ASTM F1962 is the set of formulae for estimating the pulling tensions corresponding to the leading end of the pipe reaching point A, B, C and D. These formulae account for the frictional drag acting on the pipe along the surface of the borehole, primarily due to the high buoyant weight of the HDPE pipe, within the relatively dense drilling fluid,

especially for vacant pipe, but are sufficiently general to consider the possible implementation of anti-buoyancy measures to reduce these otherwise high frictional forces. (The theoretical basis for the formulae for estimating the required pulling force is provided below.) Thus, a commonly used procedure for difficult or very long installations is to fill the pipe with water to reduce the buoyancy. In the absence of ballast, the maximum total calculated tension will typically occur towards the end of the installation; e.g., at point C or D.

The net resulting peak tensile stress is required to be less than the safe pull tensile stress of the HDPE pipe. The physical properties of the PE material(s) are provided in existing appendices, which allow a determination of an appropriate wall thickness for the pipe, depending on the pipe diameter and estimated peak pulling force (or tendency to collapse). Software tools such as Boreaid ® (www.boreaid.com, www.ppiboreaid.com), are based on the ASTM F1962 document and model.

Implementation (Section 9)

Due to the magnitude and complexity of maxi-HDD equipment and control systems, a well-trained, experienced crew is essential to plan and execute the operation. The initial decision involves selecting the size and capacity of the machine, which, at a minimum, should be able to provide the necessary pulling force based on the estimated required pulling force for the pipe itself, with possible additional capacity for accomplishing reaming. It is important to properly use the drilling fluid for the initial pilot bore and reaming operations, and to accurately locate and track the bore path. The pipe must be securely gripped, including a swivel and possible breakaway link. As-built drawings must be provided, preferably supplemented with details of the soil characteristics and drilling operation.

Inspection and Site Cleanup (Section 10)

The HDPE pipe should not be cut prematurely, but should first be allowed to reach mechanical and thermal equilibrium,

It is important to properly use the drilling fluid for the initial pilot bore and reaming operations, and to accurately locate and track the bore path. The pipe must be securely gripped, including a swivel and possible breakaway link.

to avoid shrink back onto the borehole. The exposed leading end of the pipe should be inspected for possible damage, and a pressure or leakage test may be required, for fluid transport applications.

Appendices

The ten main sections outlined above are supported by several appendices which provide the physical properties of the HDPE (PE4710) material as well as a means of determining the post-installation loads and pipe deflection.

THEORETICAL BASIS FOR LOAD ESTIMATION

The theoretical model used to develop the formulae for estimating the peak required tension assumes that the local frictional drag forces on the pipe are proportional to the local normal bearing forces applied at the pipe surface. For flexible PE pipe, with minimal bending stiffness, the considered bearing forces are those due to the dead (empty) weight of the pipe where above ground,

the buoyant weight of the submerged pipe (possibly reduced by the use of ballast), or the bearing forces resulting from (previously induced) pipe tension tending to pull the pipe snugly against any curved surfaces (“capstan effect”). In addition, there is a contribution due to the drilling fluid/slurry flowing along the length of the pipe, but which is relatively low, based on the present model.

Frictional Drag Due to Weight and Buoyancy

In the absence of anti-buoyancy techniques, such as internal water ballast, the frictional drag developed within the borehole is generally much greater than that developed outside. Because of the high buoyant weight for an empty PE pipe. For such cases, the buoyant weight of the submerged pipe, in combination with the corresponding frictional characteristics, is the major factor in determining the required pull force. ASTM F 1962 provides formulae for determining the buoyant weight

under various conditions. The buoyant weight is a function of the density of the drilling fluid/slurry, for which a conservatively high value is suggested for design purposes.

Capstan Effect at Bends

Although pipe stiffness effects may generally be ignored for flexible PE pipe, there is nonetheless a potentially important effect due to route bends or any path curvature that should can be significant. Tensions induced in the PE pipe as it passes any curve, become amplified because the tensile forces tend to pull the pipe against the curved surface. Such effects are independent of the pipe stiffness, pipe diameter, borehole clearance, radius of curvature or direction of curvature, and, in some cases become a major consideration due to their compounding effect. This phenomenon is referred to as the “capstan effect” as it is the principle of the capstan winch, as illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Example of “Capstan Effect” (Courtesy of Outside Plant Consulting Services, Inc.)

ADDITIONAL FRICTIONAL DRAG DUE TO TENSION AT BENDS – CAPSTAN WINCH

However, for the geometry shown in Figure 2, with relatively shallow entry and exit angles, the associated load amplification due to this effect is not major, although for more complex paths the effect could be very important. Mini-HDD applications, for

instance, tend to contain bore paths with additional curvature because of the need to avoid known obstacles or follow a curved right-of-way, as well as more subtle curvature due to path corrections characteristic or these typically less precisely controlled installations.

Hydrokinetic Surface Drag (Fluidic Drag)

The effect of the shear forces directly imparted on the surface of the pipe by the drilling fluid (“fluidic drag”) has been handled in a widely disparate manner within the industry, and is sometimes considered to be a major consideration. In contrast, the convenient model employed in ASTM F1962 results in a very low magnitude effect, which is directly added to the estimated pulling forces due to the frictional drag, including the capstan effect.

SUMMARY

The recent (2022) edition of ASTM F1962 has revised the relevant physical characteristics of the PE materials, providing the physical properties for the most recent high-density polyethylene (HDPE) material, PE4710. This material is significantly tougher than older, previously used PE products, facilitating successful completion of more complicated, difficult maxi-HDD projects. The physical properties of the PE4710 material allow greater pulling forces and also provide greater resistance to collapse.

REFERENCES

Standard Guide for Use of Maxi-Horizontal Directional Drilling for Placement of Polyethylene Pipe or Conduit Under Obstacles, Including River Crossings, ASTM F1962-22, American Society for Testing and Materials, 2022.

MAB Guidelines for Use of Mini-Horizontal Directional Drilling for Placement of HDPE (PE4710) Pipe in Municipal Applications, MAB-7 2020, Municipal Advisory Board, Plastics Pipe Institute, 2020.

Directional Drilling Design with ASTM F1962: A Decade of Success, L. Petroff, ASCE International Pipelines Conference, 2010.

Discussion of ASTM F 1962 or “How are the Pulling Load Formulas Derived and How are they Used?”, L.M. Slavin and L Petroff, NO-DIG, 2010. •

The physical properties of the PE4710 material allow greater pulling forces and also provide greater resistance to collapse.

701.282.4692 mooreengineeringinc.com

WOODBURY REMOVES PFAS FROM DRINKING WATER

The Temporary Treatment Facility, and Moving Forward with Plans for the Permanent Plant

BY STEW THORNLEY AND ALYCIA OVERBO • MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

The issue of perfluorochemicals in groundwater has been vexing residents and municipalities in the Twin Cities, specifically Washington County in the eastern part of the metropolitan area.

Dubbed ‘forever chemicals,’ the substances went by different names and acronyms and are now under the umbrella term of perand polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Household and industrial products, PFAS substances include stain repellents, lubricants, and fire suppressants. The 3M Company began making PFAS at a facility in Cottage Grove in the 1940s and historically disposed of PFAS wastes in four east metro locations, the source of identified PFAS impacts in Washington County groundwater.

The state of Minnesota and east-metro communities have coordinated efforts with 3M on water quality monitoring, disposal site remediation, and drinking water treatment solutions. In February of 2018, 3M and the state reached an agreement for 3M to pay approximately $700 million towards drinking water treatment and potential PFAS mitigation efforts in the east metro area.

One of the affected communities is Woodbury, which has a population of about 75,000. In 2017, the Minnesota Department of Health established health standards for specific PFAS parameters and, with subsequent revisions, have issued health risk advisories on nine of Woodbury’s 19 municipal wells. The city proactively took those wells out of service and explored its options.

Woodbury water background and temporary facility

Woodbury had performed limited water treatment (the addition of chlorine and fluoride) at its wells, which fed directly into the distribution system, producing more than 32 million gallons per day. Ranging in depth from 380 to 540 feet, the wells draw from the Jordan aquifer.

To deal with the PFAS situation, Woodbury made shortand long-range plans for a water treatment facility. In 2020, a temporary plant was constructed near the intersection of Tower Drive and Valley Creek Road in the central part of the city.

Woodbury had purchased land on this site in the early 1970s with thoughts of someday constructing a water treatment facility. Jim Westerman, the assistant public works director for Woodbury, said the city probably didn’t anticipate the growth that would take place over the next half-century. A centralized treatment facility to handle the city’s current population would have overwhelmed the site. However, a short-term plant

was manageable. The site is within the city’s main well field, one that has the highest detections of PFAS. “Geographically, this was the spot to do it,” Westerman said.

The 9,500-square-foot facility originally treated water from four of the affected wells, numbers 4, 6, 7, and 17. Anticipating additional wells receiving health advisories, the city left room on the northwest portion of the building to bring in more filters and add capacity. When another four filters were added to the existing 12 in 2022, Wells 3 and 5 – which had subsequently received health advisories – were brought into the treatment process. The plant now treats six of the nine wells with health advisories. The other three wells with health advisories currently remain out of service.

Although the facility has a capacity of around 5.7 million gallons per day (MGD), Westerman says that not all the water that passes through may be treated. “In coordination with the MPCA (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) and DNR (Department of Natural Resources), this was designed to be a blending plant,” he explained. “We will bring more water here than we can treat at one time.” The plant has bypass mechanisms to allow for blending treated and untreated water. Westerman understands that, although their water now meets all health requirements, anticipated upcoming advisories may require altering the blending scenarios or treatment of all the water.

The temporary treatment plant.

MDH/EPA PFAS DASHBOARD AND ROADMAP

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is testing for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in community water systems across the state to evaluate whether Minnesotans are exposed to PFAS at levels above MDH health-based guidance values in drinking water.

In addition, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developing maximum contaminant level goals for perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and will release proposed maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) before the end of 2022. Final MCLs, which will be enforceable, are expected to be announced in the fall of 2023.

In some states, including Minnesota, agreements have been reached with accountable entities to provide funds for addressing PFAS in the water. At the federal level, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law addresses funding to water utilities, including significant contributions to the Drinking Water Revolving Fund.

MDH and the EPA have a dashboard and roadmap for status updates and other information:

• MDH Interactive Dashboard for PFAS Testing in Drinking Water: https://tinyurl.com/3xdez8y2

• PFAS Strategic Roadmap: EPA’s Commitments to Action 2021–2024: https://tinyurl.com/3f98za8e

The treatment facility uses pressure filters, each with a diameter of 10 feet, filled with granular activated carbon (GAC) to adsorb natural organic compounds and remove PFAS. Adsorption is the physical and chemical process of removing a substance, such as PFAS, from a liquid or gas through its attachment to a solid treatment surface. Activated carbon is an effective adsorbent because it is highly porous and provides a large surface area to which contaminants may absorb. (One teaspoon of GAC has the same surface area for treatment as half a football field.)

The treatment involves a lead-lag system with the vessels split into eight pairs. Incoming water is split evenly between the pairs depending on operational needs. The water passes through each pair in series, first through the lead vessel and then the lag vessel. The use of two vessels provides a high level of protection with the lag vessel ensuring the removal of the contaminants to the lowest feasible level.

When the media is replaced, one of the options is for the old media to be taken to one of a limited number of disposal sites in the country (the nearest is in Illinois) to have the PFAS,

under high temperatures, desorbed from the carbon media and the carbon-fluorine bonds destroyed. Standard landfills aren’t sufficient because of the possibility of the leaching of forever chemicals. Westerman thinks the filter media will last up to two-and-a-half years before it requires replacement. They have not yet had a change-out at the original plant.

The temporary facility will operate until a permanent plant, anticipated to be mostly financed by funds available from the 3M settlement, is constructed in the next estimated five years.

Permanent Water Treatment Facility

Last year the city purchased land south of Hargis Parkway and east of Radio Drive for a permanent facility to be located about three-and-a-half miles south of the current temporary plant. A massive project, the permanent plant will have a capacity of 32 MGD and require the installation of 14 miles of transmission lines to carry water from its Tamarack, East, and South well fields, the city’s three well fields. The South well field, located near the site of the permanent plant, is currently expanding with the

OTHER MINNESOTA PFAS TREATMENT FACILITIES

Under different agreements and arrangements than the February 2018 settlement, other cities have received money from 3M. They include the east-metro suburb of Oakdale. 3M conducted a pilot study using GAC filters to remove PFAS, and eventually built a facility to treat the water from two of Oakdale’s wells. (For more on the Oakdale water treatment facility, go to https://tinyurl.com/v549a8bf.) Bemidji also received money from 3M to cover maintenance and operating costs of a treatment facility to remove PFAS (https://tinyurl.com/3dstcu43).

Well 21, being drilled near the site of the permanent plant.

construction of Wells 20 and 21. Well 20 is anticipated to be in service by early 2023 and Well 21 by early 2024.

The new permanent water treatment plant will continue to have pressure filters although the city is conducting pilot tests to determine the type of media to be used in the pressure filters. Pilot testing for Woodbury’s effort has three phases. The first was done in a laboratory in Ohio, where water from Woodbury wells was sent. Phase II was performed on a pre-treatment skid in the temporary plant. Westerman explained that the studies are needed both to select a media type and to determine if pretreatment is necessary.

Phase III will use water from both the Tamarack (location of the temporary facility) and South well fields (the one near the site of the permanent plant). The two-location phase of the pilot is to assist in evaluating water quality differences in the aquifer and the impact it may have on the treatment media. Water quality differences such as iron and manganese content could affect the filter media.

Westerman acknowledged the intricacies of a project that will take years to complete and that will have an impact of the citizens of Woodbury for decades. “This is going to take some time, but we have a great team of utility experts here working on this around the clock.” •

Jim Westerman and Jason Egerstrom from the city of Woodbury with Alycia Overbo of MDH in front of the GAC filters.

A skid for the pilot testing being done at the temporary treatment plant. The testing is done to determine a media type for the permanent plant and to see if pre-treatment will be needed. Jim Westerman points to one of the media being considered.

SMART WATER SYSTEMS - ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE (AMI):

Trends for 2023 & Forward

Why the fast trend to deploying Smart Water Technology and Systems in 2023 and beyond?

Smart Water Systems require Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and Meter Data Management (MDM). AMI generally refers to a distribution-wide network providing communications from the meters to the MDM. AMI is the data delivery mechanism.

With introduction of public wireless carriers and multi-purpose networks into the AMI field, the utilization of AMI is expanded to all utilities regardless of meter population or geographic size.

A meter data management system is a sophisticated data repository. In addition to large volume data storage, it also serves as a data hub for large scale integration.

MDM systems offer flexibility by utilizing powerful cloud-based systems Cloudhosted MDMprovides a high level of scalability, security and interface capability.

Over the last decade, budgetary concerns and staffing issues have required utilities to do more with less. Efficiency is essential. Building out collectors & repeaters with a fixed base system can add to

Figure 1: Color Coded One Minute Data Household Consumption

the upfront project cost as well as the long-term maintenance costs associated with single-purpose networks. No need to add “Network Administrator” to a Utility Director’s business cards. Minnesota utilities can benefit enormously by employing strategic B2B partnerships with the nation’s largest cellular networks carriers (e.g., Verizon, AT&T etc.), which allows the utility to take advantage of the vast coverage of wireless providers and their expertise of network maintenance.

“Twenty years ago, before AMI, it used to be about which meter technology to deploy. Now the trend is all about the gain of specific data that can be derived from these meters and directed straight to the office (or phone) in an easy to navigate fashion. There is Immediate leak detection, daily consumption text alerts, monthly budgeting and overall utility water loss just to name a few types of information that can be derived by algorithmically parsing this data.” states Kyle Moore, Regional Manager for Metron Farnier.

For many years, Minnesota water conservation professionals have needed the tools that high resolution AMI systems can provide. No longer is AMI thought to be an all or nothing scenario. Current technology offers solutions that are both reliable and completely scalable to fit a municipality’s time frame and budget. Full system deployment may be the trend but it’s not a necessity. Water service providers can now incorporate cellular read meters in concert with their existing radio drive by meter reading program allowing for “strategic deployment ” Utilities can insert a handful of units for high value commercial accounts or helping their residential customers effectively manage & configure their own water consumption. The wireless network is already in place ready to be utilized.

The capability to examine high resolution data logging combined with machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) allows systems to develop consumption & time-based algorithms which can learn water usage patterns of household fixtures, appliances or irrigation systems f or example.

In having this type of data readily available, Minnesota utilities could limit service calls while still providing transparent and accurate information to customers. Future distribution system modeling would also benefit from this type of comprehensive data set

Water is a highly valued commodity and input costs show no signs of reversing their upward movement. We all should want to take an interest in how we use it. For Minnesota water utilities needing resolution to constant rereads, accurate m onthly estimations, billi ng errors and d emonstrable data for dispute resolution, re liabl e cellular AMI technology is providing the perfect solution for utilities of all demographic and geographic sizes.

Your Trusted Source for Quality Valve Solutions

Vessco is known for providing a total solution to the water treatment world and for partnering with the best equipment providers in the industry! DeZURIK is recognized worldwide as an industry leader in valve solutions for water and wastewater. Our broad range of valves include the DeZURIK, APCO, Hilton, Willamette, Red Valve, Tideflex and RKL Controls brands. These quality brands, combined with in-depth expertise of our technical staff and representatives, uniquely positions us to provide options for practical, cost-effective eccentric plug valves, butterfly valves, check valves, pump control valves, surge relief valves, air valves and isolation valves. Contact us today for valve solutions that provide superior performance and value.

www.vessco.com

www.dezurik.com

SPRAY-IN -PLACE PIPE REHABILITATION METHOD Extends Life of Water Mains for City of Wyandotte, Michigan

By J. Ross Smith, Product Manager, Concrete, Plant and Pipeline Services, Veolia North America

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2021 Report Card for American Infrastructure, 2.2 million miles of underground pipes bring drinking water to millions of people across the country. However, as a community’s water infrastructure ages, the incidence of leaks and water main breaks escalates. The ASCE report notes that there is a water main break every two minutes, resulting in the loss of an estimated 6 billion gallons of treated water every day. Not only does this impact the utility’s bottom line; it also results in an increase in costly repairs or replacement, as well as shutdowns that cause disruption to consumers and the local economy.

Main breaks aside, the deterioration of pipes increases water quality issues, such as pipe corrosion and tuberculation in steel, cast iron, and ductile iron pipes, and the buildup of biological material.

Most pipes are underground, and some date back to the 19th century. Even those laid in the mid-20th century are nearing the end of their useful life. Fortunately, many utilities have implemented pipeline asset management programs to proactively repair and rehabilitate their aging infrastructure.

Advanced Solutions offers an innovative Spray-in-Place Pipeline (SIPP) rehabilitation process that extends the life of existing underground pipes using an efficient, effective and longlasting alternative to the traditional dig-and-replace pipe or direct replacement solution.

SIPP and Wyandotte, Michigan

A look at the program utilized by the city of Wyandotte in southeastern Michigan provides insights into how SIPP works.

The Wyandotte Municipal Water Plant serves over 12,000 customers and can produce up to 15 million gallons of water per day. The distribution system consists of 110 miles of water mains ranging from 4 inches to 30 inches in diameter. 850 fire hydrants throughout the community provide fire protection. The water system has a 500,000-gallon elevated storage tank and 4.5 million gallons of ground-level storage for peak demand periods such as fighting fires or other emergencies. The Wyandotte Municipal Water Utility has annual revenues of over $3.5 million and sells over 1.5 billion gallons of water annually.

According to Bill Weirich, Superintendent of the Wyandotte Water Department, the utility’s traditional method of maintaining the water mains was open cutting and direct replacement, which entails trenching the entire length of pipe to be repaired or replaced and laying down new pipe in the trench. This method has several downsides including the high cost, the lengthy time

Exhilarating Something Experience

involved in the process, and the disruption and inconvenience that customers and the city encounter.

In addition, the presence of underground utilities presented Wyandotte with another issue with the ‘open cut and direct’ replacement method. “Having all the other utilities underground makes it almost impossible to relocate your

Water System Improvements—Isle MN Having gone unused for seven years, the city’s water tower was deconstructed and removed as part of a water system improvement project.

mains without running into gas and electric, and we also have underground cable,” Weinrich says., “However, we heard about the SIPP process offered by Advanced Solutions and decided to give it a try on small areas and see what happened,” he recalls.

At Weirich’s suggestion, Wyandotte elected to use this system for pipe maintenance in the older part of the township. With aging cast iron pipes that dated back to the 1930s through the 1950s, this area had experienced numerous water main breaks and faced the potential for more. Wyandotte intended to remediate the aging infrastructure through SIPP with the goal of extending the life of the pipes by another 50–75 years.

Weirich describes how the process worked on the section of pipes marked for the SIPP. “We took some main on which we had about 10 to 15 repair clamps. We did three parts of the system: a four-inch pipe and two six-inch pipes. With the SIPP program, we were able to open up three holes to remediate the pipes rather than open cut the whole area and replace the main,” he says.

After locating the pipe next to a valve on each end, Advanced Solutions inserted a receiving pit for the robotic device that applied the epoxy coating. After one section was done, the valve was replaced, and spraying of the lining continued down the line to the next valve, and so on.

Weirich notes that “In essence, we were lining the pipe and putting in two new operational, more up-to-date valves to replace the older ones that dated back to the 1950s. This gives us a more reliable way to shut the system down. And by sealing the inside of the pipes, I think we’ve greatly reduced the likelihood of main breaks in that area.”

A closer look at SIPP SIPP process, such as that offered by Advanced Solutions, is an efficient and long-lasting trenchless pipe rehabilitation solution consisting of four steps.

• Once the utility agrees on the two access point locations, an access pit is dug one foot below the host pipe at each end of the SIPP run. A three-foot section of the host pipe is removed to allow access to the relining equipment. Using closed-circuit television (CCTV), Advanced Solutions confirms the section of pipe to be restored.

• The pipe interior is then prepared by drag scraping, and/or hydro-jetting to create a clean, smooth, dry surface.

• A second CCTV inspection is conducted to determine if there are any leaks, infiltration or repairs that are needed outside of the SIPP scope of work to ensure that the pipe is properly prepared for application of the epoxy coating. Any repairs needed to address current piping issues are undertaken without the need for additional excavation.

• The epoxy coating is then applied via a spray nozzle attached to a state-of-the-art, computer-controlled robotic spray rig. The 2-part component epoxy material is ANSI/ NSF Standard 61 approved for potable water supply. Once the coating has cured, a final CCTV inspection is conducted to make sure the lining is correct. The sections of pipe that were removed at the access points are reassembled, and the utility proceeds with the chlorination/disinfection before system restoration.

The cured epoxy creates an internal seal inside the pipe, preventing leaks and providing long-lasting protection against future corrosion and biological buildup in the water main. Additionally, SIPP extends the service life of water or

sewer pipelines, reduces the frequency of maintenance, and minimizes repair costs and system down time.

This rehabilitation solution works on pipes made of varied materials and ranging from 4 inches to 36 inches in diameter.

Positive results

According to Weirich, the SIPP program has yielded numerous benefits.

“In all, Wyandotte rehabbed approximately 3,500 feet of main in only about one month. If we would have open cut that, we would have likely worked on it all summer,” he says. He also notes that “We were getting only about 1500-2000 feet for the same amount of money with the open-cut method.”

“When we talk about cost savings with SIPP, we compare it to traditional dig-and-replace pipe, or direct replacement, where you dig up the entire length of the pipe that needs attention and replace it all. That causes a lot of disruption, whether you’re digging up a roadway, someone’s yard, driveway, and so forth. We estimate that, on average, SIPP can yield a cost saving of about 30% when compared to direct replacement,” he says.

Weirich also notes a benefit that transcended cost: the ability to minimize inconvenience to consumers by using SIPP rather than open cut and direct replacement. “I look at SIPP as being

unobtrusive to the customer because you are not creating a major construction zone. We try as much as we can to prevent inconvenience our customers.”

Because it is a trenchless technology application, SIPP requires only two access points: the first point, where the equipment is inserted, and the second at the other end of the segment – the discharge – where equipment is, in essence, attached and pulled through. And because only very small access points are required, disruption is minimal. There is no need to dig up the whole length of the road. SIPP is great for applications underneath railroads, interstates, highways, buildings, and so forth. That provides a huge benefit to communities and their customers.

“I believe we were the first water department in Michigan to use SIPP. That’s why we started small, so we could make sure that the process was going to work. We took a worst-case scenario to see how this would work. Going forward, we’re going to expand on where we started and begin expanding out to the whole system from those three points,” adds Weirich.

•

WHATEVER YOUR SITUATION, DSG MAKES WATER WORK

J. Ross Smith, P.E., is Product Manager Concrete, Plant and Pipeline Services, for Veolia North America. He can be reached at joshua.smith@veolia.com

612-600-8716|tony.schrantz@gmail.com

Since 1913, HR Green has provided solutions that build communities and improve lives.

One Water Solutions Start Here

Through holistic planning, we help communities map out a sustainable water future. Our One Water approaches focus on affordable, equitable and implementable design.

hdrinc.com /one-water-solutions

Appleton Celebrates New Water Treatment Facility

By Stew Thornley

he west-central Minnesota city of Appleton is known for honoring its veterans. Residents claim that after World War II, Appleton had more citizens serving in the military per capita than any other city in the state. It was at this time that Appleton began naming its streets after residents who were killed in the war.

Appleton is also the birthplace of Jerry Koosman, although other cities also claim him as a native son. In 1969, when Koosman was a star southpaw on the Miracle Mets and helping lead the formerly hapless team to the world championship, the nearby town of Holloway pointed out that Koosman grew up there. Koosman attended high school in Morris, giving that city bragging rights, too.

Although Koosman served in the army and pitched for a team at Fort Bliss in Texas, he does not have a street in Appleton named after him. In fact, many of Appleton’s younger residents haven’t heard of him.

One particular fan of Koosman won two games in the 1969 World Series, and is Appleton city administrator Willie Morales. Born 12 years after Koosman, Morales grew up as a Mets fan in Queens, New York, before spending nine years in

Europe as an opera singer. He returned to the United States and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees covering liberal studies, public policy, and forensic accounting at the University of Northern Iowa and Merrimack College in

Mayor Dan Tosel cut the ribbon for the new water treatment facility in Appleton on September 26, 2022. At the far left is Tim Paustian of Apex Engineering Group. To Tosel’s left are city administrator Willie Morales and director of public works Ryan Gallagher.

The four cells of the anthracite/greensand filters.

Originally published in the Winter 2022/2023 Waterline, the quarterly newsletter of the Minnesota Department of Health, Public Water Supply Unit.

Andover, Massachusetts. After managing communities in Massachusetts (all of which have populations under 3,000), he came to Appleton in 2019 and speaks with pride of his current home.

Morales was eloquent in his remarks at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the city’s new water treatment plant on September 26. “We are celebrating the great tenacity for which Minnesotans are known. Despite our modest size [1,411 at last count], this community offers a full range of services,” he said, referencing Appleton’s new library, broadband installation, and municipally owned hospital. Morales emphasized, “All rely on the availability of clean water. Despite all best efforts, water infrastructure and natural resource management crises do happen.”

Morales spoke of water problems in other parts of the country – from Flint, Michigan, six years ago to more recent troubles in Jackson, Mississippi – and added that sometimes, “We don’t pay attention to crises right around the corner.” Appleton has avoided any crises because, as Morales put it, “The Appleton city council has preserved the tradition of providing safe water.”

The tradition goes back more than half a century to the city’s first treatment plant, which was built to remove iron and manganese. With a capacity of 500 gallons per minute, it occupied a small plot of land on Ronning Avenue (named after Corporal Alvin Ronning, who was killed during the initial Allied landing

operations in North Africa on November 8, 1942). The process to replace the aging plant began with an application for funding in 2019, a journey that was made more complicated with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic later that year.

“They got full use out of the old facility,” said Bob Schlieman of Apex Engineering Group, the firm hired by Appleton to oversee the design and construction of the new plant.

The existing plant was rusting and on its final legs; Kris Knutson of Apex Engineering said that ongoing welding and patching were needed to keep it going until the new plant was ready. Apex’s Tim Paustian added, “We were developing contingency plans in case it went kaput.”

However, it soldiered on until the new plant went online June 1, 2022. The old plant was demolished over the summer and now is a parking lot immediately to the west of the new facility. One of the old wells was sealed and another one added to join an existing well, both of which can produce 800 gallons per minute.

Like the previous plant, the new one oxidizes and removes iron and manganese. A Mazzei aeration system introduces oxygen into the water before it goes into a two-cell detention tank, where the iron oxidation takes place. Following aeration, sodium permanganate is added to oxidize manganese as the water flows into a four-cell gravity filter consisting of

Living Memorial Endures through Appleton Street Names

Mayor Robert Miller came up with the idea of naming streets after the city’s war dead in 1946. Miller was a lieutenant colonel (and later a full colonel) and a battalion commander with the 135th infantry regiment of the 34th “Red Bull” division. Appleton was growing quickly and in need of, among other things, a reorganization of its streets. Miller noticed that the number of streets and number of Appleton war dead were nearly equal.

A shortage of metal held up the project, but Lyle Signs of Minneapolis made a special effort to get new signs to the city, and 26 named and renamed streets and avenues were christened on Decoration (now Memorial) Day in 1947. The names remain today with about 270 separate street signs.

City administrator Willie Morales said Appleton wants to replace some of the older signs and has about $40,000 from Miller’s estate for the project. Morales said the total cost will exceed that amount, and the city hopes to get a matching grant. He added that the sign replacement will start following their underground utility and street overlay projects, which are scheduled for 2023.

One of the filters being backwashed.

18 inches of anthracite and 12 inches of greensand. The design flow rate is 1.5 gallons per minute per square foot. More chlorine is added after the water reaches the clearwell. Phosphate and fluoride complete the chemical process before the water enters the distribution system. In addition to the 200,000-gallon clearwell, storage consists of a 250,000gallon elevated tank.

For safety reasons, the disinfection was switched from liquid to gas chlorine

with the new facility. Knutson said the new plant has a more reliable chemical feed and a “phenomenal SCADA system.”

Appleton typically produces 200,000 gallons per day in the summer, with about a third of it being used by a large industrial customer, JUST, Inc., which makes plant-based eggs.

The general contractor was Magney Construction of Chanhassen, Minnesota. The total project cost, including the new well, was $6.1 million and was financed

with a Drinking Water Revolving Fund loan over 30 years at 1%.

“Water is easy to take for granted,” said Jeff Freeman, executive director of the Public Facilities Authority, which manages the state and federal funding.; Appleton mayor Dan Tosel noted that the new treatment facility was “A long time in coming,” while concluding, “This will benefit the citizens of Appleton and also the businesses that are part of our community.” •

The Mazzei aeration system. Appleton’s SCADA system.

Advertiser Product & Service Center

Breeze is made possible by the companies below who convey their important messages on our pages. We thank them for their support of The Minnesota Section of the American Water Works Association (MN AWWA) and its publication, and encourage you to contact them when making your purchasing decisions. To make it easier to contact these companies, we have included the page number of their advertisement, their phone number, and, where applicable, their website.

To reach water professionals through Breeze magazine and its targeted readership, contact Jeff at your earliest convenience to discuss your company’s promotional plans for 2023.