AWARDS 2024 OAWWA
• Securely View your plant or facility digitally from anywhere
• Train your personnel quicker, while increasing knowledge retention
• Access from any mobile device or PC
• Offers digital fit-in-field and measurement features
• Can be purchased in phases or in one package
PTSG specializes in Industrial Control Systems, SCADA, Instrumentation, Design, Education, Software, Service, and more.
Established in 1986, our expertise in Water and Wastewater treatment is unrivaled.
We are committed to mainiting the highest standards of quality in customer service and emergency response.
LIFT STATIONS DELIVERED FAST.
Gorman-Rupp’s ReliaSource® Express program offers the opportunity for personalization, delivered at top speed. Choose from a variety of station types configured with your choice of pumps, controls and other components. The combinations are endless without the wait.
CHAIR
Luke Murry lmurry@gpdgroup.com
VICE-CHAIR
Valerie Copanic vcopanic@warren.org
AT-LARGE TRUSTEE
Matt Steele mksteele@columbus.gov
AT-LARGE TRUSTEE Jennifer Webster jennifer.webster@arcadis.com
NE DISTRICT TRUSTEE
Annette Mollet annette.mollet@cantonohio.gov
NW DISTRICT TRUSTEE Scott Ballenger sjballenger@aquaamerica.com
SE DISTRICT TRUSTEE Tyler York yorkta@bv.com
SW DISTRICT TRUSTEE Lance Livesay lance.livesay@amwater.com
TREASURER Valerie Copanic vcopanic@warren.org
SECRETARY Glenn Marzluf gmarzluf@delcowater.com
PAST CHAIR Mike Giangiordano michael.giangiordano@jacobs.com
AWWA DIRECTOR Tyler Converse tyler.converse@cantonohio.gov
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Sydney Spears sydney@assnoffices.com
Tel: 866-985-9780 Fax: 866-985-9799 www.kelman.ca
Celebrating Our Extraordinary Members
LUKE MURRY
Iwant to start by thanking everyone who attended the One Water Conference in August, and hope you found it informative, useful and you were able to connect with your industry friends. I love our state conference because it feels a lot like News Year’s: it breathes new life into the organization, and reinvigorates and energizes our members. Unlike New Years though, our resolutions never end after a month and that is truly a testament to you, our membership! I think we can all agree that we have a lot on our plates now and into the future. To quote Phillip H. Anselmo, “most regular people say it’s hard,” but as our water community, you aren’t regular people. It’s important to make sure you take time every day to remember this and to remind your peers/staff. As a society dependent on social media, we don’t praise each other enough, and can always do better.
I’m excited for the direction of the Ohio Section, and the strides our committees and governing board are taking. With the creation of our strategic plan last year, we are in alignment with a detailed plan that contains actionable goals with schedule we are accountable for. If you haven’t reviewed the strategic plan, I encourage each of you to do so. While you review, remember this is a living document and we want your input to make it an even more impactful document. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me or any of the other board members to provide your insights.
I also want to thank all our committee members and volunteers. Your assistance and dedication help to make the Ohio Section the organization it is today, one that uses its voice to improve policy and our workforce. I’d like to take a second to celebrate our members and our membership committee for growing our membership by over 2% and facilitating a retention rate that is the best of all the top ten sections in AWWA. Great job!
I’m also thrilled to inform you that the revised operator certification rules are in their final approval stages and we should see these in place by the end of the year. This is a testament to OAWWA’s strong working relationship with the OEPA that we have fostered over the last decade. Our WUC committee provided valuable feedback from our membership that was used by the agency to further improve and make this an impactful update. We truly feel this will help lay the groundwork for addressing the huge need we have in Ohio for certified operators. Now we need to get to work on educating a younger generation of the tremendous opportunities in our industry. We can achieve this by volunteering to speak at a local high school or by taking a neighborhood kid to tour the plant. Don’t downplay your work; it is interesting stuff!
Lastly, keep an eye out for all the upcoming District and committee events this fall and next spring. These events are local and are the backbone of our organization. Unlike One Water, they are uniquely Ohio AWWA and more attainable to all our membership. As we continue with the joint conference, it is more important now that we attend and support these local events to keep our identity. We are also looking to develop a separate and specific OAWWA conference (shorter duration, more economical, more location options, more operator focused) to better meet the needs of our membership and strengthen our organization.
I’m humbled and honored to act as your Chair of the Ohio Section for the next year and look forward to seeing you at the district and other events. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me at lmurry@gpdgroup.com if you have any questions, comments or are interested in volunteering and need some ideas on where to start. I’m always happy to listen and do whatever I can to support. As Deadpool says in his most recent movie, “let’s get out there and make a difference!”
ONLY ONE COMPANY BRINGS IT ALL TOGETHER.
ALL THE MATERIALS YOU NEED. ALL THE EXPERTISE YOU NEED. The surest way to ensure your project is a success? Call on AMERICAN for an expansive range of best-in-industry products, all delivered with world-class service. After all, we’re the source for everything from ductile iron pipe, valves, hydrants, and remote pressure monitoring to spiral-welded steel pipe up to 12 feet in diameter--not to mention unmatched expertise. From products to people, we’ll make certain things get done The Right Way, right from the start.
IRON PIPE FLOW CONTROL INTERNATIONAL
SPIRALWELD PIPE
STEEL PIPE
DUCTILE
2024-2025 OAWWA Governing Board
Outgoing Board
Thank you to Denita Bonhart, outgoing NE District Trustee.
Chair
Luke Murry, GPD Group
Treasurer Tim McCann, AECOM
NW District Trustee
Scott Ballenger, Aqua
SE District Trustee
Tyler York, Black & Veatch
SW District Trustee
Lance Livesay, American Water Military Services Group
Past Chair Mike Giangiordano, Jacobs
Vice Chair
Valerie Copanic, City of Warren
At-Large Trustee
Matt Steele, City of Columbus
AWWA Director
Tyler Converse, City of Canton
SE District Trustee
Jennifer Webster, Arcadis
NE District Trustee
Annette Mollet, City of Canton
Secretary Glen Marzluf, Del-Co Water Company
2024-2025 Board & Committee Roster
GOVERNING BOARD
Chair
Vice-Chair
At-Large Trustee
At-Large Trustee
NE District Trustee
NW District Trustee
SE District Trustee
SW District Trustee
Treasurer
Secretary
Assistant Secretary (non-voting)
Emerging Leader (non-voting)
Past Chair
AWWA Director
DISTRICTS
NW District Chair
NE District Chair
SE District Chair
SW District Chair
Asset Management
Awards
Charitable Outreach
Competitions
Customer Service
Distribution
Diversity
Education
Lake Erie Water Plant
MAC
Luke Murry lmurry@gpdgroup.com
Valerie Copanic vcopanic@warren.org
Jennifer Webster jennifer.webster@arcadis.com
Matt Steele mksteele@columbus.gov
Annette Mollet annette.mollet@cantonohio.gov
Scott Ballenger sjballenger@aquaamerica.com
Tyler York yorkta@bv.com
Lance Livesay lance.livesay@amwater.com
Tim McCann timothy.mccann@aecom.com
Glenn Marzluf gmarzluf@delcowater.com
Denita Bonhart denita_bonhart@clevelandwater.com
Jeremiah Stratton jeremiah.stratton@bowenengineering.com
Mike Giangiordano michael.giangiordano@jacobs.com
Tyler Converse tyler.converse@cantonohio.gov
Joe Ewers jewers@cityofdefiance.com
Scott Naelitz scott_naelitz@clevelandwater.com
Charles Moore clmoore@columbus.gov
Gina Hayes gina.hayes@epa.ohio.gov
David DiCesare ddicesare@gpdgroup.com
Cliff Shrive cshrive.cincinnati@gmail.com
Alyssa Ramsey alyssa.ramsey@jacobs.com
Chris Briggs cmbriggs@columbus.gov
Kim Spiert kaspiert@columbus.gov
Dylan Peoples dylan.peoples@cantonohio.gov
Niranjan Deshpande niranjan.deshpande@gcww.cincinnati-oh.gov
Steve Heimlich sheimlichalmu@gmail.com
Sam Jacob sjacob@cityofelyria.org
Tony Lococo tony@hlbaker.com
Membership Megan Patterson mpatterson@brwncald.com
Newsletter
Nominating
Ohio WARN
Research
Scholarship
Sourcewater Protection
Technical Program
Technology
Utility Management
Water Utility Council
Young Professionals
Gene Miller millerle@bv.com
Luke Murry lmurry@gpdgroup.com
Tim Truman tim.truman@daytonohio.gov
Rod Dunn rjdunn@columbus.gov
Jason Phillips jphillips@findlayohio.com
Jessica Glowczewski jglowczewski@akronohio.gov
Wendy Bruzas wendy_bruzas@clevelandwater.com
Shawn Wagner swagner@newarkohio.net
Joe Crea jcrea@raftelis.com
Sarah Affrunti affruntis@swwater.org
Dane Elliott elliott.634@buckeyemail.osu.edu
CALL FOR ARTICLES
The Ohio Section AWWA Newsletter is published three times a year and distributed to all Ohio Section members. Highlights include Association news and updates, regulatory updates from the Ohio EPA, timely technical articles, and so much more.
Currently accepting article reservations for: 2025 Spring, Summer and Fall issues
Deadline for technical content:
Spring Issues: February 15
Summer issues: May 15 Fall issues: September 15
Article Requirements/Topics
Length:
• Maximum of 3,000 words or six pages including graphics, whichever is less
Graphics:
• Multiple graphics are encouraged
• Hi-res 300x300 dpi or greater
Format:
• Articles should be formatted in MS Word and include graphic and photo locations. All graphics should be submitted as separate files, in the highest resolution possible.
• The newsletter committee will review the articles and approve the content. Revisions may be requested.
Topics:
• Utility Projects
• Research
• Industry Events
• Industry News
• Technology
• Innovative Utility Member Solutions (think Opflow Gimmick & Gadgets)
How to submit articles:
Send a request with synopsis of the article to oawwa@assnoffices.com
Technical articles should be submitted in a Word document file meeting the above criteria to oawwa@assnoffices.com.
Call for Nominations: Be a Leader
Over the next few months, the Governing Board will be discussing nominations for Section-level positions. All Governing Board members must be an active member of the Ohio Section and are expected to act as a liaison, advisor and advocate to Committees as assigned by the Section Governing Board.
AWWA DIRECTOR:
Term of 3 years (commencing at the AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE))
Must have served at least one term as Chair of the Ohio Section.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to act as a liaison, advisor and advocate to Committees as assigned by the Section Governing Board, report out for each assigned Committee in the absence of Committee Chair, communicate decisions and actions of the Governing Board to assigned Committees, assist and coordinate with Association Officers during visits to Ohio Section activities, represent the Section on the Association Board, represent the Association on the Section Board, report on the Association Board activities, prepare an article for each edition of the Section newsletter,
serve as Chair of the Bylaws Committee, serve as a member of the Nominating Committee.
These positions are elected during the Annual Conference Member Appreciation Luncheon in Cleveland, OH in August 2025. If you or someone you know would like to be considered by the Nomination Committee, please forward by February 15, 2025, name, email, and phone number to Luke Murry at lmurry@gpdgroup.com. The persons elected will have the opportunity and responsibility to help guide our organization by serving on the Governing Board. If elected, you will also develop many lasting friendships with people throughout our profession. This volunteer position requires attendance at several committee and Governing Board meetings in addition to various District meetings and committee workshops throughout the year. Because the work of the Governing Board does take time, the individual selected by the nomination committee must have full support of his/her employer. In addition to the time requirement, we also ask the employer to be prepared to absorb a significant portion of travel and lodging expenses related to Governing Board business.
Jim Schaffer 440-725-3211 (cell) jimschaffer@bergren.com Mike Murphy 216-778-0579 (cell) mikemurphy@bergren.com Water & Wastewater Treatment Equipment Sales Main Office 419-843-2170
Quality sales & service for over 50 years
2024 JOINT CONFERENCE & EXPO
This past August, over 1,600 water and wastewater professionals from around Ohio attended the 2024 One Water Conference and Expo in Sandusky. Conference attendees participated in over 90 educational opportunities, 24 Water and Wastewater tracks, six networking events, and two regulatory updates. Attendees has the opportunity to visit with over 200 exhibitors. Pre-conference events included a Lake Shore Cleanup Event at Battery Park Marina with the Erie County Water Conservation team, as well as the annual Golf Outing available on two courses this year. Planning has already begun for 2025: we hope to see you next year at the Huntington Convention Center in Cleveland, from August 11–15.
2024 OAWWA Awards
Congratulations to all award winners.
Larry Huber, City of Lima
In recognition of a lifetime of service to the water works profession, AWWA created the George Warren Fuller Award in 1937. This illustrious award is presented to a member for distinguished service to the water supply field, and in commemoration of sound engineering skill, brilliant diplomatic talent, and the constructive leadership, which characterized the life of George Warren Fuller.
SECTION CHAIR AWARD
Dane Elliott, Stantec
This award is given by the Ohio Section Chair annually to recognize a Section member who has made an outstanding contribution to a particular initiative or project during the Chair’s tenure. This is an important opportunity to recognize members who put their time and talent into the Association and Section, making it more valuable to all members.
LARRY VALENTINE MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT AWARD
Matthew Hewitt, Cleveland Water
The Larry Valentine Membership Recruitment Award is given to the top new member recruiter. This award recognizes an Ohio Section member’s effort to grow and develop the Ohio Section AWWA membership.
GEORGE WARREN FULLER AWARD
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR AWARD
Megan Patterson, Brown & Caldwell
To recognize and honor an individual an individual Ohio Section AWWA member who has advanced the Mission of the Ohio Section AWWA through their volunteer time and efforts and has been a support to Ohio Section AWWA staff. The VOY Award is intended for volunteers that have gone “above and beyond” for a single task, and over a short period of time (6–18 months).
JOHN J. SADZEWICZ AWARD
Susan Schell, Arcadis
This award commemorates John J. Sadzewicz for his outstanding contributions to safe public health practices and for encouraging the use of proven new technologies and promoting sound operational approaches in meeting regulatory requirements and ensuring safe, potable drinking water for the citizens of Ohio.
OPERATOR, MERITORIOUS WATER TREATMENT SERVICE
Jeff Swertfeger, Greater Cincinnati Water Works & Cliff Shrive, Shrive Ops Solutions (no photo)
This year’s award is given in recognition of work with the Ohio EPA to establish and implement procedures ensuring safe operation of public water systems within health care settings.
RICHARD MELICK AWARD FOR EDUCATION
Jason Gibboney, Avon Lake Water
The Richard F. Melick Award may be presented to a member of the Section who has distinguished himself/herself by giving unselfishly to the field of operator training and technical education through the Ohio EPA, Operator Training Committee of Ohio, Inc., and/or the American Water Works Association. Richard F. Melick was the third Executive Director for Operator Training Committee of Ohio, Inc.
KENNETH MILLER FOUNDERS’ AWARD
Alyssa Ramsey, Jacobs
The Kenneth J. Miller Founders Award was established in 2001 by Water For People to honor outstanding service to this international humanitarian effort. This award recognizes those who dedicate time out of their already busy schedules to help bring an end to the global water crisis.
TECHNICAL PROGRAM COMMITTEE AWARDS
(no photos)
• Best Presentation at an Annual Conference: ‘Keeping Up with Steel Transmission Mains in Akron by Rob Hrusovsky Jr.
• Best Paper: ‘Corrosion Control: Evaluations Triggered by Source and Treatment Changes’ by Lucas Froelich
• Best Presentation at a Regional Conference: ‘PFAS Overview’ by Miranda McGrothers
• Best Presentation at a District Conference: ‘Operational Stages of a Well: Well Maintenance’ by Matt Barnes
• Best Paper/Presentation by an Operator: ‘The Challenges of Extending Waterlines through a Developed Community’ by Tyler Converse & Brent Burrier
TATLOCK AWARDS (OUTGOING DISTRICT CHAIRS)
• NW District Rob Reeder, Aqua Ohio (no photo)
• NE Distict David Gilbert, Lake County (no photo)
• SE District Charles Moore, City of Columbus
• SW District Joe Bates, City of Xenia
D&I Committee
Booth activities from One Water.
MEMBERSHIP TENURE AWARDS
Silver Water Drop Award – 25 Years
• Brian Hines
• Michael Nixon
• Michael Glisic
• Leon Smith
• James Varatta
• Todd Hone
• Michael Reker
• Eric Saylor
• A. Schaffer
• Christy Soncrant
• David Tahmassebi
• Linda Weavers
• James Welp
• Lorraine Brown
• John Wagner
• Jeffrey Rathge
• David Wahman
• Jacob Troutman
Gold Water Drop Award – 50 Years
• David Barber
Life Member Status Award
• Paul Matrka
• Thomas Borck
• Timothy Weaver
• Edward Kidston
• Anthony Margevicius
• Michael Leis
• Randy Gilbert
• John Wood
• Rickey Adamson
• Said Abou-Abdallah
• Lawrence Moster
• John Huck
• Jennifer Jenkins
Advantages & Benefits of SpectraShield
Reduces O&M Costs & Capital Expenses
Very Low Life Cycle Cost
Helps Protect the Environment
Prevents Corrosion
Rapid Trenchless Installation
As a result of the impervious nature of the SpectraShield Liner System, infiltration and ex-filtration is eliminated in structures. Operating and maintenance expenses are reduced, plant capacity is preserved, and plant expansion requirements may be delayed or eliminated.
As a result of the long life and competitive installation cost, the life cycle cost for the SpectraShield Liner System is very low. In many cases the ROI is under 24 months.
Groundwater entering the system is reduced, allowing more to percolate to the aquifer. Reduced pumping requirements reduce energy use reducing the carbon footprint. SSOs (Sewer System Overflows) are reduced as infiltration is reduced.
The Spectrashield Liner System provides a protective barrier that prevents H2S and moisture from reaching the surface of the structure.
The SpectraShield Liner System can be installed in a typical 7 foot deep manhole in about an hour without any excavation. The manhole may be returned to service immediately upon completion of the installation. An average sized pump station or wet well application takes about 2 days from start to finish. The pump station or wet well may be returned to service immediately upon completion of the installation.
Flexibility
Long Life
Versatile Experience
Cost competitive
The multi-layer SpectraShield Liner System is flexible, allowing it to handle the stresses associated with structure settling, traffic loading, and freeze thaw cycles.
The SpectraShield Liner System has a design life of 100 years and comes with a 10 year manufacturer warranty. The first structures lined in 1993 are still in place, and in good condition.
The SpectraShield Liner System may be used in a variety of structures, such as; manholes, lift stations, wetwells, large diameter pipes, box culverts, headworks, grit chambers, weirs, and package WWTPs.
Since 1993, in-house applicators, and trained certified licensees, have applied the SpectraShield Liner System in over 105,000 structures. Over 11 million square feet of the SpectraShield Liner System have been applied.
The SpectraShield Liner System installation cost is very competitive with all other liners and coatings.
OPERATOR COMPETITIONS 2024
As always, the Operator Competitions at the One Water show in Sandusky were thrilling. The competition for Pipe Tapping, Hydrant Hysteria, AWWA Meter Challenge, and Top Ops was strong.
A very special thank you to Chris Briggs, Patrick Crumley, Jimmy Roberts, Daniel McClain, and Marvin Banks from Columbus Water, along with Shawn Justus of Cleveland Water, Lenny Solomon of Clow Valve, Zach Walker of Kennedy Valve, and Kelly Byrd from Neptune Equipment Company, for their help in coordinating the competitions. Without their willingness to go above and beyond, these events would not have been possible.
PIPE TAPPING
This year we had five men’s teams competing: Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Lima, and Montgomery County – along with special guest tappers from Michigan. The Columbus team, consisting of Coach Patrick Crumley, Cranker Daniel McClain, Feeder Chris Briggs and Copper Jimmy Roberts, cruised to victory by besting their 2023 title-winning time by nearly a minute. But it wasn’t easy – Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Lima put forth extremely strong teams. To put it into perspective, Lima’s 2024 time would have won in 2023 and Cleveland’s 2024 time would have been less than 5 seconds off the 2023 winning time. Cincinnati and Montgomery County had a bit of bad luck with broken tapping bits resulting in ‘no taps.’ With this much improvement, 2025 will no doubt be a highly competitive event.
Full Results:
Columbus – Daniel McClain, Chris Briggs, Jimmy Roberts, coach Patrick Crumley: 1:22.06
Lima – Sam Bodine, Derek Lingenfelter, Michael Coffey, coach Brad Hutchinson: 2:10.88
Cleveland – Ryan Powers, George Black, Colin Powers, coach Mark Shepherd: 2:17.53
Montgomery Co. – Tyler Sexton, Karter Peck, Taylor Sherrill, coach Tyler Howard: 3:16.40
Cincinnati – Eddie Byrd, Shawntez Scott, Raymond Williams, coach Ronald Payne: No Tap
Michigan (demo only) – Jon VanDommelen, Richard Garza, Brad Lundquist, coach A.J. Puente: 1:31.50
A special thanks to our sponsors A. Y. McDonald Mfg. Co., American Ductile Iron Pipe, Kennedy Hydrants, Mueller Co., EBAA Iron, Riehl Systems, Core & Main, Ferguson, and the City of Columbus. Shout-out to Cliff Shrive for being the MC.
District Competitions for the AWWA Meter Challenge (formerly Meter Madness) took place at the Southern Ohio Utilities Expo in Wilmington and the Northern Ohio Water & Waste Water Expo in Wooster. From those competitions we got Three District winners to take on the reigning Champion David Marinella of Cleveland Water at the Conference Competition. The competition was fierce between David and NW champ Paul Tucker of Lima Water, SW champ Billy Coleman of Fairborn, and SE champ Bob Simmerman of Columbus.
The competition features two rounds, with assembled meters being tested for leaks, loose bolts, etc. Dave Marinella posted a penalty-free time of 36.10 seconds in Round 1 to edge out Paul Tucker’s time of 43.55 seconds.
A special thanks this year to Neptune Meters for sponsoring the Meter Challenge and providing all the practice and competition meters. Jeff Cunningham, of Core and Main, helped coordinate the competition and test the meters.
AWWA METER CHALLENGE
Full Results:
Dave Marinella – Cleveland: 36.10
Paul Tucker – Lima: 43.55
Bob Simmerman – Columbus: 53.54
Billy Coleman – Fairborn: 58.42
HYDRANT HYSTERIA
Hydrant Hysteria had teams from Cincinnati Waterworks, Columbus Water, Cleveland Water, Lima, and Montgomery County that have clearly been putting in hours upon hours of practice, because the fastest time and the slowest time was separated by only 16 seconds across the five teams. The teams competed round-robin style to determine which two teams would face off in the finals.
Montgomery County’s team of Chad Wehrley and Brett Shepard, coached by Brandon Izor, beat Lima’s Mark Develbiss and Chris Staup, coached by Larry Huber, in the finals with a winning time of 1:36.00.
Full Results:
Montgomery Co – Chad Wehrley, Brett Shepard, coach Brandon Izor: 1:36.00 (finals)
Lima – Mark Develbiss, Chris Staup, coach Larry Huber: 1:48.72 (finals)
Lima – Mark Develbiss, Chris Staup, coach Larry Huber: 1:31.68
Montgomery Co – Chad Wehrley, Brett Shepard, coach Brandon Izor: 1:33.57
Cleveland – Emmanuel Santos, Lewis Roginsky, coach Dan Powers: 1:38.12
Columbus – Deon Brown, Mark Evans, coach Charles Moore: 1:40.09
Cincinnati – Travis Stockstill, Adrian Cook, coach Tremaine Willis: 1:47.68
A special thanks to Zach Walker of Kennedy Valve who provided the hydrants for practice and organized and ran the competition.
TOP OPS
Shawn Justus (Cleveland Water) and Marvin Banks (Columbus Water) did an amazing job hosting Top Ops. The event was another exciting competition with the NE District team of Kevji Janku, Richard Readinger, Scott VanMeter, and coach Vincent McMichael from Cleveland Water taking top honors. The NW District team of Tessa Caprella, Chris Jackson, and coach by Tim Williams from Lima, put forth an awesome effort and truly made them earn their victory.
We also want to thank Tim Wolfe for doing a magnificent job of emceeing this event.
Partnership Programs
Announce 2024 Awards
The Partnership for Safe Water (PSW) and Partnership for Clean Water (PCW) are pleased to announce the program’s 2024 awardees. The list of awardees represents utilities that have gone above and beyond by participating in the Partnership Programs. We are proud to recognize these utilities for their outstanding commitment to delivering safe, high-quality water and we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to these awardees.
Partnership Programs include the water industry’s premier utility optimization programs. These programs aim to train utility operations to create and maintain a culture of excellence, exceeding compliance with the ambitious goals of the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act. The programs’ self-assessment guides help utilities transform their approach to operations, much like a team of coaches trains a professional athlete to pursue excellence. The following Ohio plants were recipients of awards.
2024 DIRECTORS AWARDS – FIRST YEAR
• Aqua Ohio, Inc.: Mentor Water Treatment Plant – OH
2024 DIRECTORS AWARDS – 20 YEAR
• Cleveland Division of Water: Crown Water Treatment Plant – OH
SYSTEM (SRS)
The Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) is updating to a Surveillance and Response System (SRS) from the previous Water Security Program, designed to support the monitoring and management of the water quality of the distribution system. The new system enhances GCWW’s capability to monitor and manage the distribution system water quality as well as quickly respond to anomalies that might indicate water quality contamination
Background
The Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) is a municipally owned water utility founded in 1839 supplying more than 43-billion gallons of water a year to more than 1.1 million customers in southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky.
GCWW has two treatment plants. The Richard Miller Treatment Plant is a conventional treatment plant containing GAC contactors and source water from the Ohio River. The Charles M. Bolton Treatment Plant is a lime-softening groundwater plant. Both plants use free chlorine as a disinfectant and feed water into a common distribution system. The distribution system consists of 32 tanks and 24 pump stations located throughout the system and is divided into 11 service areas. Although both plants serve the distribution system, generally the water from each plant serves a dedicated area with a common interface that can move slightly depending on demand and system pumping.
“
Additional advanced features include a new alarm management system, remote access to controller displays, the potential addition of contaminant tracing models, data from the health department pertaining to potential water-related illnesses, reviewing of customer complaint call data, and data integration of up and downstream monitoring locations for incident investigation.
In 2009, GCWW implemented what was then deemed the Water Security Program to monitor for potential contamination in the distribution system. Seventeen locations were chosen throughout the distribution system based on public health impacts, detection time, and the number of potential events detected. Each location consisted of water quality monitors sending live data to an online dashboard. Alarms were triggered when a parameter exceeded a set range. In 2019, GCWW moved to upgrade the Water Security program to an all-encompassing SRS.
Project
The surveillance system consists of several separate components: Online Water quality monitoring (OWQM), customer complaint surveillance (CCS), and public health surveillance (PHS). The upgraded system consists of a new centralized interface, a dashboard aggregating live data from multiple data sources into a display. The dashboard provides real-time data from 48 monitoring sites in the distribution system combining tanks, pump stations, and external locations. In addition, the dashboard allows users to configure, manage, and visualize the data in real time using graphical and geospatial presentations, which allow for advanced highlighting of potentially problematic zones.
Additional advanced features include a new alarm management system, remote access to controller displays, the potential addition of contaminant tracing models, data from the health department pertaining to potential water-related illnesses, reviewing of customer complaint call data, and data integration of up and downstream monitoring locations for incident investigation. All features combined give us a better understanding of water quality throughout the distribution system and enhance GCWW’s capability to quickly detect and respond to water quality incidents.
Frequent alarms from the old surveillance system were not only difficult to manage but lessened the validity of alarms received. The new dashboard displays the pattern alarm values from the instrument controllers that use internal validating and analyzing tools along with machine learning and trend analysis to dictate potential contamination or false alarm. This, along with more specified alarm values, has helped drastically decrease the number of false alarms received and, therefore, has created a more manageable and reliable system.
The addition of remote access to controller displays through the dashboard allows GCWW to address alarms as they occur, instead of going out in the field to each alarming location. It also allows for easier upgrades to the controllers, easier adjustments of alarms, and easier investigation of the stations. Having online access gives GCWW the ability to make any adjustments to the controllers that you would typically do in the field, from the office, and therefore offers the possibility of quicker response times. The upgrade of the CCS portion of the dashboard allows GCWW to have a visual representation of customer complaints; where they are in relation to each other, the details of each call-in comparison to nearby calls, and the service zone of each complaint. These geographically displayed complaints allow GCWW to better identify water quality issues in each service area of the distribution system. The addition of PHS data to the dashboard allows for similar visualizations from the perspective of health complaints potentially related to water quality. Customer and public health complaints can be compared to live water quality data within the same platform allowing for ease of use.
Challenges in this multi-year project included coordinating with multiple divisions internally, as well as within the contracted company, staffing changes within GCWW and within the contracted company, and budgetary limitations. Early stages of the SRS project were slowed due to the onset of COVID 19 and the focus to compliance related tasks. The time away from the project created a loss of focus from internal departments. This, along with staff turnover, has led to training deficiencies and a lack of complete understanding of project as a whole. Similarly, the contracted companies that were hired to help implement the project experienced large staffing changes which resulted in loss of information and understanding of the final product desired. Additionally, the budget for the project was limited and was not able to encompass all features that were initially outlined. As the new system is implemented and progresses, changes will be able to be made by both internal and external support. This allows the system to be flexible to our needs, as they may change throughout time.
Overall, the new SRS system allows for a smarter, adaptable, all-encompassing program to better the monitoring and reactions to distribution water quality anomalies and potential contamination events.
Careers Start Here: YP Committee Update
One Water 2024
Many young professionals from around Ohio attended the One Water conference this year! The conference featured many opportunities for YPs to connect, including the annual YP Committee business meeting, where nearly 30 young professionals gathered to discuss current events and future opportunities within Ohio Section AWWA’s Young Professionals Committee. This year also featured a YP Scavenger Hunt, where participants were challenged to connect with other professionals attending the conference, attend various events and talks, and explore the exhibit hall.
Quotes from YP’s attending their first One Water Conference:
“I had a great time connecting with both YPs and industry leaders at One Water. It was awesome hearing about all the interesting projects that my peers were working on across the state. I definitely look forward to attending again in the future.”
–
Alex Short
Fresh Ideas
Each year, the YP Committee hosts the Fresh Ideas competition, which is a competition held for undergraduate and graduate students to showcase
their research either through an oral or poster presentation. The winners of the competition receive cash prizes and complementary student membership. Additionally, the first-place winner of the oral presentations receives Ohio Section support to attend the AWWA Annual Conference and Expo (ACE), where they compete in the poster competition.
This year, the Fresh Ideas Winner was Jacob Gardner, at student at The Ohio State University, with his presentation titled ‘Addressing the Impact of Proposed PFAS Regulations on Water Affordability in the State of Ohio.’ Jacob delivered a fantastic presentation, even despite a city-wide power outage halfway through! We wish Jacob the best of luck next June at ACE, which is to be held in Denver, CO. Thank you for representing Ohio, Jacob!
We would also like to congratulate Tolulope Odunola, the first-place winner of the poster presentation. Tolulope is from the University of Cincinnati and her presentation is titled ‘Integrated Approaches for the Consideration of
Distributive Justice in Water Project Planning and Evaluation under Climate Change.’ Full results for the technical talks and poster presentations are listed below.
Oral Presentation Results:
• First Place: Jacob Gardner, The Ohio State University, ‘Assessing the Impact of Proposed PFAS Regulations on Water Affordability in the State of Ohio’
• Second Place: Kaiden Murphy, The Ohio State University, ‘Field Evaluation of Ultrasound on Algal Blooms for Mitigation’
• Third Place: Haiping Ai, Case Western Reserve University, ‘Mitigating Lake Erie’s Harmful Algal Blooms: Machine Learning Models For Predicting Blooms And Phosphorus Reduction In Agricultural Runoff’
Poster Presentation Results:
• First Place: Tolulope Odunola, University of Cincinnati, ‘Integrated Approaches for the Consideration of Distributive Justice in Water Project Planning and Evaluation under Climate Change’
• Second Place: Faris Aldossari, University of Toledo, ‘Flow-Induced Electromagnetic Field Enhances Natural Polycardanol Antibiofouling Activity for Water Treatment’
• Third Place: Clayton Hensley, Miami University, ‘Adsorption Systems for Sustainable Removal of Heavy Metals From Water’
The YP Committee business meeting had a great turn out at One Water!
Fresh Ideas winner Jacob Gardner posing next to his presentation, titled ‘Addressing the Impact of Proposed PFAS Regulations on Water Affordability in the State of Ohio.’
Poster presentation winner Tolulope Odunola with her poster titled ‘Integrated Approaches for the Consideration of Distributive Justice in Water Project Planning and Evaluation under Climate Change.’
Careers Start Here: YP Committee Update
District Events
SE District
Coca Cola Plant Tour and Happy Hour –June 27, 2024
OAWWA and OWEA Southeast District YP’s took a tour of the wastewater side of operations at the Coca Cola Plant in Columbus, Ohio. Wastewater system treats process wastewater and consists of solids removal (strainers), pH adjustment (sodium hydroxide), equalization, aerobic bioreactor (BOD removal) and ultrafiltration membranes.
Ohio Section YP Summit
When: November 15, 2024
Where: DelCo Wolf Water Center Registration is open for the inaugural Ohio YP Summit! Scan below or visit the Ohio Section AWWA website to find more information and register. Email dane.elliott@stantec.com with questions.
Student Memberships
Are you a college student interested in learning more about the water industry or do you know one? OAWWA has generously sponsored a limited number of student memberships FREE to students who reach out to Megan Patterson at mpatterson@brwncald.com
Signing up is easy! What are you waiting for?
YP Committee Openings
Are you interested in becoming a part of the OAWWA YP Committee? YP members are encouraged to join monthly YP Committee calls before committing to a role. Please email dane.elliott@stantec.com to be added to the meeting invitation and get involved! Current open committee positions include:
• NE District Co-Rep
Jacobi Activated Carbon Tour –Late Fall 2024
Keep an eye on your inbox for additional details.
NE District
In August, the NE District YPs attended a tour at the Akron Water Supply Bureau. Several YPs enjoyed an engaging tour of the plant led by Jessica Glowczewski, the watershed superintendent.
Joint Brewery Tour with OWEA YPs –Fall 2024
Keep an eye on your inbox for additional details.
• OAWWA Newsletter Committee Representative
• University Co-Representative
• Charitable Outreach Committee Chair
YPs gather at the Coca Cola tour, a SE District event co-hosted by OWEA and OAWWA.
2024 Plan Approval Updates
Since revisions to Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapter 3745-91 went into effect August 12, 2023, Ohio EPA has developed additional guidance to help water systems understand and meet the requirements. The most significant changes, summarized below, were to rules 3745-91-02, 3745-91-06, and 3745-91-09. The latest edition of the rules is available on the division’s Effective Rules page. The Guidelines for Design of Small Public Ground Water Systems was also updated in June 2023.
OAC 3745-91-02 was updated to reflect the electronic submittal of plans and to change the requirements for general plan submittal. Per the updated rule, a general plan may be required to be submitted for both community and noncommunity water systems for projects with a high degree of complexity, non-standard technology, unusual features, phased implementation, compliance schedules or deviations from standards and guidelines used by the agency. A general plan is also required to be submitted prior to receiving Water State Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA) funding for either a water treatment plant design or construction loan. A general plan is required for public water systems which are planning to build a new water treatment plant or those planning major improvements to water treatment plants. The requirements for a general plan are outlined in rule. Notably, systems are required to evaluate regionalization as an alternative in the general plan, cost comparison of alternatives that includes capital and operation and maintenance costs and provide a justification of the selected alternative. A new small system general plan template and updated general plan guidance are available on the website.
OAC 3745-91-06 requires a project summary sheet to be submitted with detail plans when applicable. Currently, project summary sheets exist for waterline extensions, pump
stations, pressure reducing and air valves, storage tanks, and several chemical feeds. Ohio EPA is developing project summary sheets for additional types of projects.
OAC 3745-91-09 specifies iron and manganese treatment requirements. Community water systems that make a substantial change in source or treatment are required to treat for iron and manganese, if the entry point result is above the secondary maximum contaminate level (SMCL). The SMCL for iron is currently 0.3 mg/L and the SMCL for manganese is currently 0.05 mg/L. Non-transient noncommunity (NTNC) water systems that make a substantial change in source or treatment will need to treat for manganese, if the entry point result is above 0.24 mg/L, which is 80% of the U.S. EPA Health Advisory Level (HAL). If treatment is installed at either a community or a NTNC, then the system will be required to meet the SMCL.
The latest edition of the rules is available on the division’s Effective Rules page.
The Guidelines for Design of Small Public Ground Water Systems is applicable for non-communities and small communities utilizing ground water with less than 500 service connections. The foreword discusses applicability in more detail. The document was updated to refer to the 2018 version of Ten States Standards, and the new iron and manganese requirements. PFAS treatment guidance has been developed for Ohio and is available on the website under the tab: Standards, Policies, Guidance, and White Papers.
Ohio Lake Erie Commission Announces Another Milestone for the Cuyahoga River
Family fun is closer than you think! Make your way to the Cuyahoga River as it continues to get healthier and stronger, making for a beautiful backdrop for your next family getaway.
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission, Ohio EPA, and the local Cuyahoga River AOC Advisory Committee are announcing U.S. EPA has approved the request to remove the Beach Closings (Recreational Use) Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) from the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern (AOC).
This is the fifth BUI removed from the initial nine BUIs for the Cuyahoga River AOC, in addition to a local impairment for public access that was previously removed.
“Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River are such great resources for recreation and tourism here in Ohio,” Ohio Lake Erie Commission Executive Director, Joy Mulinex, said. “The improvements being made to improve water quality ensure that everyone in Ohio can go to the beaches along the Cuyahoga River for swimming, paddling, and boating.”
BUIs identify problems that can prevent a body of water from meeting its full potential. After reviewing applicable data, the Ohio Lake Erie Commission, Ohio EPA, and the local Community Advisory Committee recommended removing the Beach Closings (Recreational Use) BUI from the Cuyahoga River AOC.
“The removal of the AOC beach closure impairment represents a triumph of community resilience and environmental stewardship,” Community Advisory Committee Chair, Jennifer Grieser, said. “With improved water quality and enhanced recreational amenities, residents and visitors alike can enjoy the splendor of Lake Erie’s shores. From swimming and sunbathing to picnicking and paddleboarding, there are countless activities to experience and cherish along our revitalized beaches.”
Substantial investments at the federal, state, and local levels have been directed toward reducing bacteria and improving water quality and beach conditions. Locally, significant investments have been allocated to the longterm control plan addressing combined sewer overflows near the beaches.
The remaining issues impacting the AOC beaches have been identified and are being addressed outside of the AOC program. Current beach monitoring programs will continue. Beach advisories within the Cuyahoga River AOC may still occur, though the number is comparable to other beaches within Lake Erie’s central basin.
An information session was hosted July 17, and the public was invited to provide comments through July 31. A summary of the proposed recommendation is available on the Ohio Lake Erie Commission’s website, lakeerie.ohio.gov/home.
Lake Erie Communities and Coastal Resilience Grant
The Ohio Lake Erie Commission is now accepting applications for the Lake Erie Communities and Coastal Resilience Grant. It’s the second year for the program, which supports projects addressing resilience in underserved communities within Ohio’s eight Lake Erie coastal counties.
The program awarded eight grants in 2023.
“Lake Erie remains a vital asset and serves as a unifying element across northern Ohio,” Ohio Lake Erie Commission Exec. Director, Joy Mulinex, said. “The Lake Erie Communities and Coastal Resilience Grant provides an opportunity for applicants to address underserved areas and enhance resilience along our coast.”
Grants of up to $150,000 will be considered for qualifying communities in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Lake, Lorain, Lucas, Ottawa, and Sandusky counties.
The rise and fall in lake water levels, coupled with severe weather events, have caused an onset of conditions including
nutrient loss, coastal erosion, flooding, increased prevalence of invasive species, beach closings, fish and wildlife consumption advisories, and associated reduction in public access to Lake Erie resources.
Grant funding to landscapes and coastal communities that have varying needs will support resilience to changing environmental conditions that have impacted the ecosystem and local economy. For more information and guidance on the Lake Erie Communities and Coastal Resilience Grant, or to access application materials, please visit www.lakeerieohio.gov. See the following page for a roundup of the 2024 Lake Erie Protection grant awards. The Ohio Lake Erie Commission administers Ohio’s Lake Erie Protection Fund, which was established to finance research and on-theground projects aimed at protecting, preserving, and restoring Lake Erie and its watershed. More than $12 million has been distributed to over 365 projects since 1993.
LAKE ERIE PROTECTION FUND
ANNUAL REPORT STATE FISCAL YEAR 2024
& Engineering
$50,000 West Creek Conservancy for Grand River Casement Floodplan Restoration Project GRANTS AWARDED
$50,000 City of Bay Village for Cahoon Park Lakefront Bay Point Final Design & Engineering
$49,998 Ohio Sea Grant for Assessing Marine Debris Prevention & Removal at Marinas in the Lake Erie Watershed
$49,998 Ohio Sea Grant for Assessing Marine Debris Prevention & Removal at Marinas in the Lake Erie Watershed
$50,000 West Creek Conservancy for Grand River Casement Floodplan Restoration Project
Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Areas of
Photo Submission by Doug Tayek
Life on
Lake Erie
Photo Submission by Doug Tayek
Advertiser Product & Service Center
WATERFRONT is made possible by the companies below who convey their important messages on our pages. We thank them for their support of OAWWA 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.
BissNuss, Inc.
GPD Group
419-755-1011 www.gormanrupp.com/en/gorman-rupp
www.gpdgroup.com
Gripp, Inc. 28 317-896-3700 www.grippinc.com
Hawkins Water Treatment Group 6 877-839-3777 www.hawkinsinc.com
Hazen and Sawyer 6 513-469-2750 www.hazenandsawyer.com
HDR Engineering, Inc.
614-839-5770 www.hdrinc.com
J&S Valve 3 866-498-4283 www.jandsvalve.com
Jacobs 36 614-888-3100 www.jacobs.com
Jones & Henry Engineers, Ltd. 8 419-473-9611 www.jheng.com
MASI Laboratories 36 614-873-4654 www.masilabs.com Pittsburg Tank
Pro-Tech Systems Group
Ribway Engineering Group, Inc. 22 614-221-6009 www.ribwaygroup.com
Smith Comeskey Ground Water Science 16 419-235-4955 www.groundwaterscience.com
SpectraShield Liner Systems 20, 21 303-378-1101 www.spectrashield.com
Strand Associates, Inc. 33 608-251-4843 www.strand.com
Sullivan Environmental Technologies
The Bergren Associates
859-426-5178 www.sullivanenvtec.com
www.bergren.com
The Henry P. Thompson Company 40 513-248-3200 www.hpthompson.com
UIS SCADA 37 866-439-9660 www.teamuis.com
Trusted Systems. Resourceful Thinking.
Tonka Water, a Kurita brand, has been dedicated to meeting the potable water needs of public water systems across North America since 1956. As part of Kurita America, Tonka Water remains a trusted brand in municipal water treatment with over 2,700 installations. We are dedicated to understanding your specific needs to customize designs that deliver the optimal solution for each application.
Protect Your Investment with Our Aftermarket Expertise
We offer the products and services you need to maintain your system and extend equipment life to get the most out of your investment. This includes hard-to-find parts, troubleshooting assistance, and refurbishment packages. Our experienced field service professionals offer on-site support based on your current need or as part of an extended service contract. Contact our aftermarket services team for the support you need. Our water treatment experts are ready to help.
Explore Backwash Optimization
Tonka Water’s Simul-Wash™ backwash system provides optimal cleaning of media filters while minimizing water waste. Central to the process is our innovative trough design, which prevents media loss during combined air/ water backwash without restricting flow, allowing for sustained cleaning durations to realize the greatest value.
a Kurita brand
