Volume 4 Issue 3
One Water at Work in
March 2018
Nashville
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ONE WATER AT WORK IN NASHVILLE
Contents
March 2018 Volume 4, Issue 3 5 One Water in Tennessee By Kris Polly
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Copyright Š 2018 Water Strategies LLC. Municipal Water Leader relies on the excellent contributions of a variety of natural resources professionals who provide content for the magazine. However, the views and opinions expressed by these contributors are solely those of the original contributor and do not necessarily represent or reflect the policies or positions of Municipal Water Leader magazine, its editors, or Water Strategies LLC. The acceptance and use of advertisements in Municipal Water Leader do not constitute a representation or warranty by Water Strategies LLC or Municipal Water Leader magazine regarding the products, services, claims, or companies advertised. MuniWaterLeader
COVER PHOTO: Omohundro, the Eighth Avenue Reservoir and Biosolids Facility of Metro Water Services. MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
PHOTO BY DIPTI VAIDYA.
AGENCY PROFILE 28 Comprehensive Sustainability: Infrastructure 6 One Water at Work in and Workforce Investment at Nashville Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority 12 Looking Long Term at Water By Glenn Page in Tennessee: TN H20 WATER LAW 16 Managing Water Supplies 32 An Indirect Regulation of on the Tennessee River Groundwater: A Look at Hawai'i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui 22 Rebranding Water: By Andre Monette Alan Heymann of Blue Drop IN MEMORIAM 36 William J. Steele
CIRCULATION: Municipal Water Leader is distributed to irrigation district managers and boards of directors in the 17 western states, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials, members of Congress and committee staff, and advertising sponsors. Please send address corrections or additions to Municipal.Water.Leader@waterstrategies.com.
One Water in Tennessee
PHOTO COURTESY OF TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY.
W
hile relatively abundant in surface water, the state of Tennessee still has water supply challenges. The drought of 2007 stressed a lot of municipal water systems, hitting rural water systems particularly hard. In addition, the state’s population is expected to double in the next 50 years, and for the state’s municipal water providers, that means planning ahead to accommodate that growth in a sustainable manner. It also means accounting for water supplies as integrated resources and managing accordingly. Nashville Water Metro Services (WMS) dates back to 1831. The department is uniquely situated to address its aging infrastructure and growing population. It has embraced a one-water philosophy, providing drinking water, wastewater, and storm water services to the greater Nashville metro area. WMS Director Scott Potter explained, “Fundamentally, I think that the one-water approach works well. [WMS] is a water, wastewater, and storm water utility. We can control all things water in our watershed. That puts us in a unique position to coordinate and prioritize projects without harming a single sector of the water system.” Like the city of Nashville, the state of Tennessee is planning for continued growth. A limiting factor to that growth is access to clean water. At the behest of Governor Haslam, a variety of stakeholders—from the Tennessee Municipal League and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to the agricultural community and environmental advocacy organizations—has come together to assess existing water data and paint a picture of current water supplies and make recommendations about the future of supplies in the state. The impetus behind the state effort is to help communities thrive. According to Dr. Shari Meghreblian, deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, “Tennessee’s recent economic growth and the reason it is a great place to live, work and raise a family, is due in part to industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and energy, all of which use our water resources. We need a plan for managing those resources that considers a broad array of perspectives, so that future generations can continue to thrive in our state.” While the TVA is more generally known for its oversight
MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
By Kris Polly of energy production on the Tennessee River, which has a watershed spanning seven states, it is the managing entity for water supply withdrawals on the river. Managing the river is no small feat. The TVA balances navigation, flood control, power generation, water quality, water supply, and recreation.TVA Water Supply Manager Gary Springston provides some details about river operations: “[O]ur river reservoir operating system plan, implemented in 2004, mandates how we operate the system to maintain a balance of all the benefits. We gauge consumptive loss every 5 years to see how much water loss we have in the valley from water withdrawals. We then make forecasts for the future.” Service is as critical to the TVA as the technicalities of river operations. TVA Land Use Manager Tina Guinn noted, “One thing we pride ourselves on in the land use group is our customer service. Each time an application comes in, it is going to go to a program manager who is going to work with the applicant to make sure they are aware of all the forms and information needed. Then they will be handed off to the project lead.” In addition to our stories on Tennessee, we also hear from Glenn Page of the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority, which is undertaking its own sustainability efforts to improve both water transmission efficiencies and workplace opportunities. Blue Drop, a nonprofit spinoff of DC Water, consults with urban and rural water utilities to develop communications solutions to improve customer outreach. We speak with Executive Director Alan Heymann about the nuts and bolts of better communications for water providers. Finally, Andre Monette of Best Best & Krieger provides an update on the Clean Water Act implications of Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui. M Kris Polly is editor-in-chief of Municipal Water Leader magazine and president of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at Kris.Polly@waterstrategies.com.
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Omohundro, the Eighth Avenue Reservoir and Biosolids Facility of Metro Water facilities.
One Water at Work in Nashville
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20 years; prior to joining Metro Water Services, he served in the military for 12 years. Chief Engineer Cyrus Toosi has worked for Metro Water Services for 28 years. Ron Taylor, the program director of Clean Water Nashville, the city’s sewer overflow abatement program, has been in water industry for over 35 years—22 with Metro Water Services. Municipal Water Leader’s editor-in-chief, Kris Polly, spoke with Metro Water Services’ leadership team about Nashville’s comprehensive approach to water management. Kris Polly: What is the status of Metro Water Services’ infrastructure? Scott Potter: We are fond of saying that our infrastructure is aging. I say that not to be flippant. Everyday, it is one day older, and we still have to maintain our water, wastewater, and storm water structure. The pump station for our older water treatment plant was built in 1888 and is still operating. Now, it has had lots of generational changes to it, but some of the piping is MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
PHOTOS BY DIPTI VAIDYA AND COURTESY OF METRO WATER SERVICES.
Many metropolitan areas across the country face a singular, yet systemic challenge: meeting the water needs of a growing population while, at the same time, upgrading aging water systems. For Nashville Water Metro Services, which can trace its roots back to 1831, the solution to that challenge is holistic. The department has embraced a one-water philosophy, providing drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services to the greater Nashville metro area. Metro Water Services’ extensive water infrastructure system is uniquely adapted to the city’s hilly topography. Fifty-six pumping plants throughout the city facilitate the movement of drinking water to 89 pressure zones. Metro Water Services conveys Cumberland River water to over 660,000 customers with more than 3,000 miles of water main and 37 reservoirs. On the wastewater side, Metro Water Services runs three treatment plants and another 3,000 miles of pipe to serve nearly 750,000 people. More than 800 miles of drainage pipe routes stormwater away from residences and businesses in the city. Metro Water Services’ leadership team knows water. Director Scott Potter has been in the water business for more than
original. We have two valves on the lowest level of that utility that were cast in 1873 that water still passes through on its way to the consumers in Nashville. Kris Polly: What are your pipes made of ? Scott Potter: The water system is mostly ductile—a mix of iron and cast iron. We have inherited some PVC. Ron Taylor: On the wastewater side, we also have some historic infrastructure that dates back to the 1890s. We have brick sewers in the oldest part of town that were developed in the same era. The treatment plants are much newer. Kris Polly: So you are a historic site and a water treatment facility? Scott Potter: We are. We are on the national register of historic places. It's a beautiful building. We have 150-year-old pipe in the ground that is still in service. Interesting side note—we have two water treatment plants. The newer of those two flooded in May 2010, but that historic 1888 structure got us through the flood without losing water supply. It operated at full capacity for 30 days. It is a testament to our engineers, electricians, and mechanics—those who designed it in the first place and those who currently maintain it. Kris Polly: How does aging infrastructure affect your day-to-day operation?
miles of water main. About one-third of our system was built before 1955— the pipes from that time do not have a protective coating inside the pipe. We are going back and rehabilitating that infrastructure. So for every 1,000 miles, we have probably done 200–300 miles and have about 700–800 left to go. Like other communities across the country, Nashville has grown. Aging infrastructure robs the capacity from our system. On the wastewater side, the fluid we deal with is very corrosive. It is tough on our pumping systems—keeping up our facilities is challenging due to the medium we are pumping. Kris Polly: Are there challenges associated with the growth of your city? Scott Potter: Yes, there are. The city of Nashville has rebounded quickly since the recession. Our growth leveled off for a little bit, but it never went down. Now, it is growing pretty quickly. We have realized some challenges with capacity, but we have always planned ahead to keep that capacity there. Kris Polly: What kind of projects are you undertaking to meet the challenges of aging infrastructure and growth? Scott Potter: With respect to our sewer infrastructure, we are replacing sewer pipe lining. Basically, we are placing a new pipe within an old one. It is a cured-in-place lining system. It ends up extending the life of the pipe, because it seals cracks or leaks. On the drinking water side of our operations, we have been cleaning the existing pipe and lining it with mortar. We also found that most leads and services need to be relined—and we will eventually be replacing those.
Scott Potter: People expect to have uninterrupted service for water and wastewater. Meeting that expectation is challenging. The infrastructure, as I've From top to bottom: Metro Water said, is older and very complicated. In Services Director Scott Potter, Clean Water Nashville Program addition, we have 89 pressure zones because Director Ron Taylor, and Chief we are in a very hilly area. In some cases, Engineer Cyrus Toosi. a drop of water goes through six levels of pumping before it gets through our highest Cyrus Toosi: We have developed a master pressure level. That kind of coordination can be difficult. plan that outlines replacement of our infrastructure built in Our pump stations greatly depend on electricity, so we the 1890s and 1900s onward. It is a large investment with a need uninterrupted power at all times. In addition, the long planning horizon. coordination of chemical deliveries cannot be interrupted. The logistics and operational coordination and repair are Kris Polly: How is Metro Water Services financing these hard to maintain on a 365-day, 24-hour basis. long-term projects, and how do you communicate that to your customers? Cyrus Toosi: To echo our director, we have thousands of MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
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Scott Potter: Our governing body is a 40-member council. My boss is the mayor of Nashville, but the council sets the water, sewer, and storm water rates. To adjust Metro Water Services’ rates, we have to get the council’s approval. Financing the rehabilitation and replacement of our infrastructure is something we will have to address in the near future. In the meantime, we are funding most of our capital investments with bonds. We are also pursuing revolving loan funds from the state of Tennessee. The council is unique, but I happen to think it works pretty well. We have representatives from 35 districts in our county, 5 at-large members, and a vice mayor on the council. I do not say this in a negative way, but it is very political. You are accountable to a relatively small number of people, so we get really strong neighborhood representation. It puts us in the position of having to justify what we are asking for, which is a good model. The council meets twice a month—Metro Water Services is present at those meetings to provide a variety of perspectives. We typically do not speak directly about rates until that specific topic comes up. Kris Polly: Please describe your experience using WIFIA [Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act] and SRF [State Revolving Funds] funding. Scott Potter: We have had really great experience with SRF funds. Also, Metro Water Services strongly supports the WIFIA approach. I think that it is good for the federal level to help the nation’s water infrastructure. We are strong proponents of that process. On the SRF side, we have had great success. I think it is a great program, because it is accountable to the ratepayers and taxpayers. It provides us with a good funding mechanism. It is a win-win all the way around. Kris Polly: Tell our readers about Metro Water Services’ overflow abatement program. Ron Taylor: We have been under a consent decree since 2009, which is not uncommon for large utilities with combined sewer systems. We have made a lot of progress beginning in the 1990s until now mitigating combined sewer overflow issues. The biggest single component of our consent decree—about two-thirds—is reinvestment in sanitary sewers to reduce sanitary sewer overflow. Cyrus previously mentioned installing new pipe inside our old pipe—that represents about 40 percent of what we are doing under the consent decree. We are also improving conveyance systems, for example, constructing higher capacity interceptors to convey more flow in wet weather and increasing the capacity of pumping stations to pump more flow in wet weather. We have added equalization tanks to store wet weather flows during rainfall events. For example, Metro Water
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Services teamed with Nashville Metro Parks to locate a large storage tank inside a park. Normally, it would be frowned upon, but rather than spending a lot of money for new land, we worked with the parks department to reinvest that money to renew a park. At the end of the project, we will have a storage tank and new park amenities. We think that this is a good way for city departments to work together. The last component of the program involves the upgrade of our treatment plants. Of our three wastewater treatment plants, two have already been upgraded and the third, which is the largest and located near downtown, is under design. That will be the single-largest project under the consent decree. MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
Kris Polly: What recommendations do you have for other water agencies seeking to integrate drinking water, wastewater, and storm water services?
fully compliant with the regulations. There is a whole lot that goes into that, but fundamentally, you have to be a trustworthy utility provider that is open and transparent.
Scott Potter: Fundamentally, I think that the one-water approach works well. Metro Water Services is a water, wastewater, and storm water utility. We can control all things water in our watershed. That puts us in a unique position to coordinate and prioritize projects without harming a single sector of the water system. Most important is having a good relationship with your respective governing body. You have to establish trust, maintain communication, be supportive, and be
Kris Polly: What is the vision for Metro Water Services in the future?
MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
Scott Potter: In general, a water utility is a day-to-day, hourto-hour, minute-to-minute operation. Sometimes, we get too focused on the day to day and do not provide adequate strategic planning or execution. Metro Water Services is being deliberate about its planning and is trying to execute what we have planned so that we can turn over this utility to the next generation of operators. M
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Looking Long Term at Water in Tennessee: TN H2O In January 2018, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam led an effort to begin evaluating water supply in the state of Tennessee. The plan, named TN H2O, started with the appointment of a steering committee, chaired by Tennessee Deputy Governor Jim Henry and consisting of 25 business, academic, community, federal, and state leaders. Six working groups have since been developed to focus on specific areas of interest— surface and groundwater, water and wastewater infrastructure, water reuse and land conservation, and institutional and legal framework. There is no imminent water crisis in Tennessee, but the state has decided that now is the time to plan for the future and evaluate the water needs of its growing population. Municipal Water Leader’s senior writer, John Crotty, spoke with Dr. Shari Meghreblian, deputy commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and Elaine Boyd, senior advisor for department’s Bureau of Environment, about the development of the TN H20 plan and the goals for the initiative. John Crotty: Where did the drive for the water plan come from? Shari Meghreblian: Ever since Governor Haslam took office, he has been focused on improving and making state government better for the citizens of Tennessee. Knowing that he is in his last year in office, he did not want to let off the gas; he challenged our agency to implement,
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enact, or start a project that would help move the state forward in a positive way. As an agency, we chose to focus on a comprehensive study of water availability that ranges from the water source to delivery systems and end users, and what we can do to ensure that our water remains as it is today for generations to come. All else being constant, the population in our state is expected to roughly double in the next 50 years. Effective water planning will be an essential component for managing this anticipated growth. There are other water availability issues at the forefront as well, such as questions surrounding the use of the Memphis Sand Aquifer. Knowing how many taps we have into the aquifer—and how much is being taken out—is imperative. In addition, aging drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and interstate battles over water rights stress the need for this plan. One of the [steering] committee members is the president of the Tennessee Municipal League, which represents about 300 cities and municipalities. The league president indicated that if the league were to poll every one of its municipalities today, water availability probably would be one of their top three issues.
From top to bottom: Deputy Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Dr. Shari Meghreblian, Senior Advisor for the Bureau of Environment Elaine Boyd.
assessments. It was a pilot that began after we experienced a drought in 2007–2008. Based on the outcome of the pilot, we came up with guidelines for regional water resources planning. TN H2O is more of a proactive effort, and it is statewide in scope, which I believe is a first for the state.
John Crotty: Has the state done anything like this before?
John Crotty: How is this being perceived by the public and those participating in the working groups and steering committees?
Elaine Boyd: In the past, we have conducted regional water resources
Elaine Boyd: The people involved are excited because they are affected by MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
Davy Crockett State Park.
water resources or have been working on similar efforts on their own. They are happy to be involved in this statewide effort. You have the Tennessee Municipal League, Tennessee American Water, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the agricultural community, environmental advocacy organizations, and the list goes on and on. It is truly a group effort, which is what the governor intended. Shari Meghreblian: For this to really work for future administrations, the best way to put forth a plan is to have public buy-in. There is a lot of information available that the public has not had an opportunity to review or have input on, so we hope this brings some of that to light. We have not had any negative feedback up to this point. However, we are not at the point in the process where proposed recommendations are being made. I'm sure MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
when we open the plan for public comment, there will be feedback—both positive and negative—which we are looking forward to gathering. Public input will be another critical component of this plan. John Crotty: How were the working groups constructed? Shari Meghreblian: There is kind of a two-level effort going on here. There is the steering committee, which oversees the whole program at a high level. People such as Jim Strickland, the mayor of Memphis, and William D. Johnson, chief executive officer of the Tennessee Valley Authority, make up this committee. They were chosen to provide input into the high-level goals and needs for the plan. The six working groups, on the other hand, are more specific. They focus on groundwater, surface water, technical data collection, infrastructure, legal and institutional
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Cummins Falls on the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River.
framework, and our natural resources. We have a chair and co-chair leading each group, and they were responsible for coming up with a list of people to serve on the committee. The only thing we told them to do was to select a group of diverse individuals to offer a variety of opinions on the issues. They can create subcommittees to handle certain issues if they see fit. Shari Meghreblian: There are many light bulbs going on in these groups as they discover all the data held by various organizations involved with the project. Folks are really excited about the amount of information that is available but was not previously shared. Additionally, one of the other benefits to these working groups is that individuals are being exposed to different perspectives on water and how it serves our needs. Farmers are working next to regulators, environmental groups are working next to farmers, and so on. It is really great to see the collaboration taking place.
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John Crotty: What do you, as an agency, hope to get out of this? Shari Meghreblian: As an agency, we are really here to implement the water quality aspect of the Clean Water Act. But with this effort, we are not only looking at the quality, but at the quantity as well. Tennessee’s recent economic growth and the reason it is a great place to live, work, and raise a family, is due in part to industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, and energy, all of which use our water resources. We need a plan for managing those resources that considers a broad array of perspectives, so that future generations can continue to thrive in our state. M TN H2O is expected to have initial research and a state water plan submitted to Governor Haslam in October 2018. At that point, the public is encouraged to review the plan and submit comments to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. For more information on the plan, steering committee, working groups, or recent news, visit www.tn.gov. MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
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Managing Water Supplies on the Tennessee River Founded in 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a corporate agency of the U.S. government focused on providing navigation, flood-damage reduction, power generation, improved water quality, water supply, recreation, and economic growth along the Tennessee River. The TVA manages the fifth-largest river system in the United States, covering 40,910 square miles, including portions of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. TVA water contributes to the water supplies of cities across the Southeast, including Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Kingsport in Tennessee and Huntsville and Decatur in Alabama. And while the Tennessee River has the most water extractions per square mile in the United States, it has one of the lowest levels of consumptive loss. Municipal Water Leader’s senior writer, John Crotty, spoke with Gary Springston, water supply manager; Amanda Bowen, civil engineer for TVA water resources; and Tina Guinn, manager of reservoir land use and permitting, about TVA’s water supply operations, drought management procedures, and preparations for the future. John Crotty: Can you describe the role of municipal water supplies within TVA operations?
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PHOTO COURTESY OF TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY.
Gary Springston: The TVA operates the Tennessee River system for navigation, flood control, power generation, water supply, water quality, and recreation. Our part involves water supply. Water extractions from the Tennessee River water system require a permit from the TVA. As a federal entity, we are required to follow the guidelines of the National Environmental Policy Act and complete a thorough environmental review associated with the implementation of a new water withdrawal or an increase in an existing water withdrawal. We have to look at volumes being removed to see whether they have any effect downstream or valleywide. At the 20,000-foot view, our river reservoir operating system plan, implemented in 2004, mandates how we operate the system to maintain a balance of all the benefits. We gauge consumptive loss every 5 years to see how much water loss we have in the valley from water withdrawals. We then make forecasts for the future. As long as consumptive loss is within what was anticipated
Guntersville Dam.
MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
when we implemented this system, we can ensure that water withdrawals won’t affect the balance of beneficial uses in the valley. John Crotty: What is the process a municipality goes through to withdraw from the system? Tina Guinn: We regulate obstructions—anything that displaces water—within the Tennessee River and its tributaries. We treat water intakes as any other obstruction and issue a 26a permit. The difference is that we attach special conditions on the permit that regulate the withdrawal rate and, in some cases, limit approved uses. We depend on our water supply specialists, Gary and Amanda, to make those determinations. We also ask for an annual reporting form to be filled out and sent to our water supply specialists. We advise the municipality that other permits may be required, such as from the state. Gary Springston: We do not authorize anything unless all appropriate permits have been obtained. If a municipality comes to the TVA wanting to have an intake, we ask to see the location, the design, and the documented need. The TVA permits intake structures for periods anywhere from 5 to 20 years. We only permit what is logical and needed. John Crotty: How do you balance an increase in withdrawals with the other purposes of the TVA? Gary Springston: Unlike the [U.S.] Army Corps [of Engineers], the TVA does not have a dedicated water supply in its reservoirs. When the TVA implemented its operating system, we decided that we could continue to have increases in water withdrawals as long as the consumptive loss did not exceed assumptions. Once loss exceeds what is anticipated, there could be a point at which it affects the balance of beneficial uses in the valley. MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
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Tina Guinn: We are not at that point at this time. If something negative were to occur [from a proposed withdrawal], it would most likely be noticed during an environmental impact review. Gary Springston: We also require annual reporting, which started in 2005. Additionally, upon the renewal of a permit, if we notice that the water user is not using as much water as the initial go-around, the TVA may cut back the intake volume. We permit only what is necessary and do not allow water reserves. John Crotty: What have been some of the challenges to your supplies? Gary Springston: The biggest challenge we have is drought. A fair amount of intakes in the Tennessee River watershed are not affected by the TVA's operation. They are in uncontrolled waterways, so we cannot do anything to keep water over those intakes. For the ones that are in a reservoir or on controlled waterways, we make every effort to keep them under water. However, the TVA does not guarantee any water level or water quality. That can be a challenge. Although we ran into that in 2007, we had the flexibility to change operations at one of our dams slightly to keep one intake underwater. When this occurs, we balance competing demands on the system and determine an overall value to the public. I look at this like a juggling act. John Crotty: Are their any new projects or technologies the TVA has adopted to improve efficiencies? Amanda Bowen: With the help of the National Weather Service, we just implemented a new forecast system customized to our watershed to measure the amount of water coming into our reservoirs. It provides more accurate modeling of inflows and has shown huge benefits during drought and flood conditions.
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John Crotty: Is there a special drought contingency plan within the TVA’s operating plan? Amanda Bowen: Our operations plan is based on minimum flow requirements at key points across the valley. It's a little different than a lot of reservoir operations that have to meet elevation targets. Our flow requirements have different targets based on the volume of water available in our tributaries. We have a system minimum operation guide, and if we get below the system minimum of storage, our flow requirements actually step down with that. It is a built-in drought trigger. We have never reached a point at which we could not maintain the flows or had issues with our elevations. We got close in 2007 on one reservoir, but we had a backup plan for emergency operations. In 2007, we experienced an extreme drought: Rainfall levels were significantly lower than the prior 104 years, and we were still able to maintain our minimum flow requirements without having any intakes without water. Minimum flows are based on water MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
PHOTO COURTESY OF TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY.
Gary Springston: The water supply program has implemented a GIS-based platform. We map out each water extraction and waste discharge point in the valley. One of the biggest things we do is to facilitate communication. As a federal agency over seven states, open communication between federal and state agencies is key. Because of this, we started the Tennessee Valley Water Partnership. The group is composed of the TVA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the seven Tennessee River Valley states. We get together on a regular basis to discuss issues. During drought situations in any state, we participate in state-sponsored drought communications. When the whole river valley is in drought conditions, we are in constant communications with all partnership agencies. Through this open communication, we can ensure that no one is caught off-guard.
Pickwick Dam.
quality requirements, navigation requirements, and some recreation agreements. If a larger drought ever warranted, we have the flexibility to work with the navigation and recreation industries to fluctuate the flow requirements to preserve water in the reservoirs. John Crotty: What are the big lessons from your most recent water supply study and your projections for the years to come? Amanda Bowen: The study has water use projections out to 2040. We project a decrease in overall total withdrawals at 19 percent due to the projected decline of water use for thermoelectricity production. Most of our system withdrawals are connected to energy production. Apart from that, we show an increase for industrial needs at 16 percent, an increase in public supply need at 21 percent, and irrigation increase at 40 percent. Withdrawals for public supplies increased 50–60 million gallons per day (mgd) per year from 1995 to 2010, and then, from 2010 to 2015, it decreased about 30 mgd. MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
Some of that decrease is due to increased public awareness about water conservation. Additionally, one of our largest municipalities overhauled its distribution system, improving efficiencies and decreasing its water losses. John Crotty: What advice do you have for municipalities that may be thinking about applying for a permit? Tina Guinn: One thing we pride ourselves on in the land use group is our customer service. Each time an application comes in, it is going to go to a program manager who is going to work with the applicant to make sure they are aware of all the forms and information needed. Then they will be handed off to the project lead. Gary Springston: Make sure you properly plan for the future. Our permits are based on yearly blocks, so you don't want to build a structure and have unexpected growth. They really have to have a grasp on how much water they are using and losing. M
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Rebranding
WATER
Alan Heymann of Blue Drop Blue Drop is a nonprofit spin-off of DC Water that provides consultation services to help urban and rural water utilities navigate communications challenges. Executive Director Alan Heymann and his team of experts help water agencies develop a communication strategy, discover new leadership, energize their workforce, and provide advice on the development of green infrastructure. Mr. Heymann spent many years under the tutelage of former DC Water General Manager George Hawkins as head of the agency’s external affairs department. He brings DC Water’s spirit of shared ownership and collaboration to Blue Drop. Municipal Water Leader’s senior writer, John Crotty, spoke with Mr. Heymann about the logistics of rebranding a water agency and the services Blue Drop provides to water providers in need of help with communications. John Crotty: How did Blue Drop get started?
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PHOTO BY JULIA TERBROCK .
Alan Heymann: I joined DC Water in 2010 and worked under [former DC Water General Manager] George [Hawkins] for 3 years. I left to run communications for a national organization based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and stayed there for 2½ years before coming back to the general manager’s team. George and I stayed in touch during my absence from DC Water. We originally had this notion of marketing products and services on behalf of DC Water—mainly as a source of revenue, but also as a way to get better mileage out of the investments DC Water made in the things we are good at. We specifically wanted to share our knowledge of external affairs and stakeholder engagement, which is what DC Water has really become known for in the water sector. Until recently, the water industry was stuck thinking that it was underground and should stay there, and it wholeheartedly believed that the only reason its members would interact with communications departments would be if there were a service disruption or if it was time to pay the MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
bill. We quickly learned that this is not enough, especially if there is a reputation or a water quality issue at hand. In response, we built the DC Water communications program from the ground up and received national recognition for our efforts. My purpose in coming back was to help build some sort of vehicle to put the lessons we learned from our own program to use and launch a consulting service. We ultimately added on market sales. In the end, we decided to launch a small company from within DC Water that became Blue Drop. John Crotty: What was the state of DC Water’s communications department at the time you were beginning your efforts? Alan Heymann: The agency was operationally sound. The previous general manager was an engineer and established significant expertise in the field. He did the right things to have the right people, but as you know, in the early 2000s, Washington, DC, had a lead crisis. The bottom line is that there could have been a lot more done to communicate the risks of lead to customers. The agency's reputation was in tatters as a result of that lack of communication. There was public mistrust. There was a notion that even though we are saying the water is safe to drink and that lead levels were at historic lows, that information was not good enough for the public. The reputation with customers had to be rebuilt, and the reputation with new customers moving into DC had to be built from scratch. We decided that the best way to do that was a systematic examination of our role in the customers’ lives. We needed to tell the utility’s story, rather than letting the utility’s story be told by someone else. We did not have a good relationship with members of the media, which is a big problem if you are a public agency. We rebuilt all of that. We started having open houses for reporters. We built a community outreach team. We even held tap water taste tests. We rebranded the agency as DC Water. This started with a logo that even my then 2-year-old daughter could understand. John Crotty: Would you say that this is a common story for agencies nationwide? Alan Heymann: I think it is common. The good news is that most utilities do not have a lead crisis like DC had years ago. As such, they are starting from a slightly higher baseline, and it will be easier for them. There is a greater public expectation for utility leaders to have a social presence and to realize why it’s important to interact with customers. Nowadays, one does not have to work as hard to justify the creation of a communications team. Should utilities have more than one staffer based upon their size? Probably. It is a lot easier to justify the creation of communications positions than it used to be. MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
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John Crotty: How does Blue Drop connect with water agencies in need of help, and what is the company’s process?
entities that do not have as many resources to work with but would like to develop their communications efforts?
Alan Heymann: As you know, there are many associations that represent the water sector. Blue Drop is involved with most of them. We speak at conferences, reach out to our colleagues in the field, and rely on the strong connections George [Hawkins] fostered before we started this program. Blue Drop is really a traditional consulting firm. Because we have a small staff, we can keep the cost down for our clients. Most of our clients have a problem, or a series of problems, that they need help solving. Generally, Blue Drop will work on a project for 3 to 6 months, although some projects last longer due to services being added. From the onset, Blue Drop spends time gathering information and examining collateral, relationships, and stakeholder interactions. We interview members of an agency’s executive team and outside affiliates. We do a workshop with stakeholders to get consensus. We then pull all that information together for a report.
Alan Heymann: This is an area that is developing for us. We have done a couple of communications projects for RCAP [Rural Community Assistance Program]. RCAP helps small communities and water utilities improve. Our goal is to pull services together for more than one client at the same time. We did something similar in New Jersey last year. New Jersey Future, a nonprofit, hired us using a foundation grant to help a group of utilities at the same time. In this case, it was combined sewer overflows in urban environments. So while it may be urban, the idea of combining is the same.
FROM BIOSOLIDS TO BLOOM Bloom is the name of DC Water’s Class A EPA-certified Exceptional Quality (EQ) biosolid. At the time it launched the brand in May 2016, DC Water was the first utility to commission the thermal hydrolysis process to produce renewable energy and EQ biosolids. Bloom is a nutrient-rich soil additive sold in wholesale bulk to interested customers. Blue Drop markets and sells Bloom. DC water generates 450 tons of biosolids a day. DC Water pays $45 per ton to have contractors remove the biosolids from its facilities and apply it on farms in Virginia. During the winter, our contractors remove the biosolids and store it until there is demand. Farmers receive this material for free, and there is a 2-year waiting list. Blue Drop sees an opportunity there. For every ton of biosolids Blue Drop sells in bulk for $5 to individual customers in Washington, DC; Maryland; Virginia; and Pennsylvania, DC Water saves $45. Blue Drop is working with one of its commercial partners to dry, bag, and sell Bloom directly to consumers.
John Crotty: Do you have a success story you would like to tell our readership about?
John Crotty: What do you say to more-rural municipal
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Alan Heymann: First, agencies should look at every customer interaction as an opportunity to pass along information. If they are sending a postcard to customers about the availability mandatory water quality report, they can use any extra real estate to get other information across. They must use the space they already have to communicate because it costs nothing extra. Second, take advantage of technology to spread messages far and wide with less effort and costs. Have as much information on the website for people to read as possible and avoid a phone call. I would not advise a small utility to dive into social media right away because it can be a pitfall. I like to say that having a free social media account is like having a free puppy. It requires a lot of love and attention. It can also be expensive and time consuming. Third, the way you approach this depends on your community and your team. Let the community see you. If there is one big signature event in your community, you need to be there and be active. One way we did this in DC is by putting a tool on fire hydrants to provide people with cold tap water when they are at these events. That becomes a conversation starter. M MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
LOGO COURTESY OF BLUE DROP.
Alan Heymann: We have a few! We finished up a project with Capitol Region Water (CRW) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was a great client for us, because it was the first time we could test our full range of services. Additionally, CRW is similar to DC Water. It is an agency independent from the city with a separate procurement system. However, it is about one-tenth the size of DC Water. We were able to boil down some of the techniques we learned at DC Water to benefit CRW. CRW’s communications staffer told us at the end of the engagement that we accelerated CRW’s external affairs effort by a number of years in a matter of months.
John Crotty: What are three things any water agency should have in its communications tool belt?
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AGENCY PROFILE
Comprehensive Sustainability:
Infrastructure and Workforce Investment at Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority By Glenn Page
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stablished as Georgia’s first water authority by the state legislature in the mid-1900s, we at Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority (CCMWA) have positioned ourselves as the second-largest drinking water provider in Georgia. Although we do not provide residential service, we supply water to about 900,000 people through our 13 retail water customers. CCMWA’s two main sources of supply water are the Chattahoochee River and Allatoona Lake. We own and operate treatment plants for both sources: The James E. Quarles Water Treatment Plant can produce 86 million gallons of water a day from the Chattahoochee River, and the Hugh A. Wyckoff Water Treatment Plant processes 72 million gallons per day from Allatoona Lake. Through continued investment in our infrastructure and people, CCMWA is poised to provide reliable service to our customers now and well into the future.
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF COBB COUNTY-MARIETTA WATER AUTHORITY.
Lasting Infrastructure Aging infrastructure is a challenge for most water utilities across the country. In 2007, we recognized this problem and formalized a capital reinvestment plan to address our infrastructure needs. In the plan, we scope out numerous projects, from replacing faulty pipelines to updating filtration systems. As a water wholesaler, CCMWA is considered a consecutive system under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, which subjects our treatment plants to the EPA disinfection byproduct rule. CCMWA could have easily passed the regulatory burden onto its customers, requiring each retailer to aerate the water, but we decided it was our responsibility. We did about 3 years’ worth of pilot testing of treatment techniques to minimize the precursors for the disinfection byproducts. Through our research, we discovered that the most effective procedure was to use a granular activated carbon post filter. We invested $20–30 million into the project to build the largest postfiltration granular activated carbon facility in a drinking water plant in the United States in 2014.
James E. Quarles Water Treatment Plant.
MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
AGENCY PROFILE
MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
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AGENCY PROFILE
HLC Reservoir.
In the same project, we updated our water treatment facility on Allatoona Lake, replacing the original sediment basins. Between the two capital improvement projects, we invested close to $80 million. Capital investment runs deep here at CCMWA. In the 1980s, we took advantage of a road corridor expansion to replace some water transmission pipe nearing failure. In addition, we reworked our transmission system loop to replace faulty pipe and place a trunk main from the northwest corner to the southeast corner of the county to provide redundancy. Investments such as these improve our system so that we can efficiently provide better service to all our customers. CCMWA has done almost all this work with its own funds. We are fortunate that our board has set utility rates at a reasonable level, which allows us to pay for the depreciation of our capital in a very real way. Each year, we are able to reinvest $40–50 million on capital projects without using money from an alternate source; we do not have plans to go to the bond market at any time in
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the foreseeable future, unless there are some projects necessitated by activities outside our control. That being said, we do have some bond debt that will be paid off in its entirety by 2029. This type of fiscal responsibility is the key for us to excel as an organization. Workforce Investment Investing in employees is just as important as infrastructure. We believe in promoting from within. Pursuing this strategy ensures that employees have the best knowledge of CCMWA operations and are invested in our culture. As a result, we have made our workforce development plan one of our key goals. When we began this program, we outlined the necessary competencies for each position so that we know what makes an ideal candidate. From there, we can perform an analysis of our employees to see how they fit into each role when someone retires, or when we are looking to cultivate the next leader. Essentially, we are trying to have people with senior leadership roles be prepared to move up into director roles. MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
AGENCY PROFILE
Many surprising things have come out of this effort. When our director of human resources retired, he recommended we hire one of our operators as his replacement. The previous director noticed that he had a passion for developing people. Now, he is leading the workforce development team and managing the contract to review our systems. It has been really exciting to see someone unexpected from deep within the organization lead this initiative. The current average tenure for an employee here is 18 years, and we want to make sure we are doing everything we can so that people continue to grow within our company and work here for many years to come.
steps, we will be able to maintain institutional knowledge to ensure that the next generations of administrators are taking care of CCMWA’s assets for our customers. Maintaining financial security is another way we have been blessed, and we look to maintain fiscal responsibility for the future. Additionally, we want to do all we can to ensure that we have a sustainable water source while pursuing other water resource opportunities. By following these steps, we can ensure that we remain well positioned to provide exceptional service to our region. M
Future Efforts Looking toward the future, we think of sustainability differently than most. We define it as the ability to meet our mission, at an affordable cost, while providing the resilience and robustness that people depend on to enjoy quality water. We need to continue to invest regularly in asset replacement and workforce development. Through these
Glenn Page has been with CCMWA for 31 years and has served as general manager for the last 11. If you have any questions for Mr. Page, you can reach him at (770) 514-5300 or gpage@ccmwa.org.
MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
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WATER LAW
O
An Indirect Regulation of Groundwater:
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In June 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Hawaii Department of Health, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, and researchers at the University of Hawaii conducted a study on three of the four wells to gather data on the hydrological connections between the injected recycled water and the coastal waters. The study involved placing tracer dye into the wells and monitoring submarine seeps off the nearby beach. The study concluded that a hydrogeologic connection exists between two of the three wells tested and the nearby coastal waters. Eighty-four days after injection, tracer dye introduced into two of the wells began to emerge from the seafloor along North Kaanapali Beach, near Kahekili Beach Park, about a half-mile southwest of the treatment plant. According to the study, 64 percent of the treated wastewater injected into the two wells eventually makes it to the ocean. In 2012, after prior reports that recycled water from the Lahaina treatment plant was discharging to the ocean, four environmental advocacy groups filed suit under the CWA against the County. The lawsuit alleged that the discharges to groundwater were effectively to surface waters and subject to the CWA’s NPDES program. The Federal District Court for the District of Hawaii agreed, holding that that the groundwater was acting as a conduit for the discharges, making them within the CWA’s NPDES requirements. The County appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. There, a three-judge panel agreed with the lower court, holding that any time there is a “fairly traceable” connection between a discharge to groundwater and discharges from the groundwater to a surface water, the original discharge will be subject to the CWA’s NPDES program. The court’s decision represents a major departure from past application of the CWA. The plain text of the CWA provides that any discharge of a pollutant from a point MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
PHOTO COURTESY OF FLICKR/RODRIGO SALA.
n February 1, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a highly anticipated decision in Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, No. 15-17447 (9th Cir. Feb. 1, 2018). The court held that the County of Maui (County) is required to obtain a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit to dispose of recycled water via discharge into groundwater that is hydrologically connected to the ocean. The case has broad implications for water supply and wastewater treatment agencies across the West because it would require certain types discharges to groundwater to be regulated under the CWA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)—thereby importing all the CWA’s surface water–related requirements (including the ability for private citizens to bring enforcement lawsuits) into the groundwater setting. The discharges at issue in the Ninth Circuit case emanate from the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility on the northwest coast of Maui (between Lahaina and the Kapalua airport). The facility is the principal municipal wastewater treatment plant for West Maui. It receives approximately 4 million gallons of sewage per day from a collection system serving approximately 40,000 people. That wastewater is treated and used as recycled water for irrigation throughout the area, including on nearby golf courses. Excess recycled is injected into wells at the facility. While the County initially considered building an ocean outfall to dispose of excess recycled water directly into the ocean, it decided against that because of potential harm to coastal waters. Instead, the County installed two wells in 1979 as part of the original plant design, and two more were installed in 1985 as part of an expansion project. The County uses the wells to dispose of a large portion of the recycled water it produces at the plant, approximately 3 to 5 million gallons per day.
WATER LAW
A Look at Hawai'i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui
By Andre Monette Maui, Hawaii.
source to waters of the United States requires an NPDES permit. The term “waters of the United States” has been defined broadly by the courts and EPA but does not include groundwater. As a result, discharges to groundwater on their own do not trigger NPDES requirements. These discharges are not unregulated, however. Under state law, most states regulate the quality of groundwater and the use of groundwater from both a supply and a quality perspective. Federal law does as well, in the form of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as the Superfund act). The Ninth Circuit noted this aspect of the CWA. Instead, like the lower court, the Ninth Circuit held that discharges through groundwater could be subject to NPDES requirements, even if the intermediary water body was not subject to the same requirements. The court compared the discharges at issue in Maui to cases involving the aerial application of pesticides. In those cases, and famously in a related case involving the Navy’s discharge of explosive ordinance during live fire exercises in Puerto Rico, courts have held that discharges to air over water are subject to the NPDES program. If the court’s decision stands, it will have major implications for water supply, wastewater, and flood control projects. One example is groundwater recharge. Underground storage of water allows agencies to have a place to put water while reducing losses from evaporation. To protect the raw water from saltwater intrusion, some projects also rely on injecting recycled and potable water into groundwater basins to create a barrier between saltwater and freshwater. Under the “fairly traceable” standard, if an agency puts water containing elevated TDS, nitrogen, chlorine, or any other “pollutant” into the ground as part of a groundwater recharge project and that pollutant MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
migrates to any “waters of the United States,” the discharge would require an NPDES permit. Requiring an NPDES permit puts existing and future recharge projects at risk because it can be difficult to develop appropriate or attainable permit requirements. Traditionally, the CWA imposes effluent limitations that apply at the end of the pipe that the water discharges from. A discharge that moves through another medium can change during that journey in ways that are hard to quantify. Thus, what leaves a groundwater aquifer and enters a surface water can be very different than what was discharged into the groundwater in the first place. The CWA has strict requirements that were developed to apply to discharges to surface water that will be difficult to manage in the groundwater setting. Similar cases are pending in North Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, New York, Tennessee, and Virginia. If these courts adopt the Ninth Circuit’s rationale, it will expand the reach of the CWA to a whole range of activities that it currently does not cover. For those in the water supply, wastewater, or flood control industries, it would mean greater regulation by the federal government and exposure to private lawsuits from environmental groups. The fact that so many other courts are considering the issue also raises the potential that the Supreme Court may weigh in. As of March 2018, the County of Maui has asked the Ninth Circuit to reconsider its decision. If that request is denied, it is likely that the County will ask the Supreme Court to take the case. M Andre Monette is a member of the Environmental & Natural Resources practice group in Best Best & Krieger LLP’s Washington, DC, office. You can reach him at andre.monette@bbklaw.com.
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In Memoriam
William J. Steele
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based in the Temecula, California, office, and in March 2002, he assumed the area manager position, which he held until his December 2016 retirement. Bill included serving as a member of the California Governor’s Desalination Task Force from 2002 to 2004 among his career highlights. Kevin Price, a long-time colleague at Reclamation, said, “I knew Bill as a great federal water planner who understood water holistically, asking why can’t we do something for this water district, this Native American tribe, this military base, or that association. He inspired many of us to look for new ideas and technology to make sure there would be enough water in the future.” Bill retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel with 28 years of service. He is survived by his wife, Cherri; three children; and grandchildren. M MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION.
ill Steele, formerly with the Bureau of Reclamation, died on March 8 in Chula Vista, California, following complications from a lingering infection and subsequent surgery. He was 70 years old. In 1972, after graduating from Clemson University with a master's degree in resource economics, Bill spent 3 years as a graduate research assistant and a Federal Water Pollution Control Fellowship intern. He began his 38-year career with the federal government in 1975 as the chief of the economic program for Reclamation’s Southwest Region in Amarillo, Texas. This position was followed by assignments in Reclamation’s Lower Missouri Regional Office, involving water projects in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming. He began working in the Lower Colorado Region in April 1998 as the Salton Sea Program Manager
Bill Steele.
Group photo at Mono Lake.
Clockwise from top: Bill Steele at the Oxnard Project; Bill Steele at the Groundwater Replenishment System of Orange County Water District; Bill Steele, Rich Nagel, Ann Castle, Mike Gabaldon, and Rose Davis during a visit to Reclamation's Southern California Area Office projects.
MUNICIPAL WATER LEADER
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