bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Women and Water: Making waves in the industry
Authors: Davis Marci Hawk
Published: February 2018

In this article, 17 women who are water industry professionals share their stories of how they found a place in the industry, their successes and challenges, the people who helped them, and the hopes they have for the future. The women include: Jennifer Clancy of Clancy Environmental Consultants, St. Albans, Vermont; Artis Dawson of East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), Oakland, California; Becky Lamoreaux of EBMUD, Oakland, California; Milbree Lankford of the Douglasville‐Douglas County, Georgia, Water and Sewer Authority; Carrie Lewis of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Water Works; Katie McCain of CDM; Sue McCormick of the City of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Pat Mulroy of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, Las Vegas, Nevada; Margie Nellor of the Nellor Environmental Associates, Austin, Texas; Chris Owen of Tampa Bay Water, Tampa, Florida; Jennifer Persike of the Association of California Water Agencies; Joan Rose of Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; Lynn Smarr of the Gwinnett County Department of Public Utilities, Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte Smith, consultant, California; Susan Teefy of Water Quality and Treatment Solutions Inc., Northridge, California; Amy Vickers of Amy Vickers & Associates Inc., Amherst, Massachusetts; and, Sue Vance of Butler County, Ohio, Department of Environmental Services.
Seven Big Rocks
Authors: Hoffbuhr Jack W.
Published: February 2018

In his column, AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr discusses the development of product standards in the water industry, from AWWA's adoption in 1908 of the first official standard for Cast‐Iron Water Pipe and Special Castings, to the more than 140 current AWWA standards covering the essential components and chemicals used by water systems as well as pipe installation and disinfection techniques. In the year 2000 AWWA volunteers and staff reached consensus on standards in three new areas: distribution systems; water treatment; and, source water protection. In 2004 and 2005 AWWA's Board of Directors adopted standards for Distribution Systems and Water Treatment Plant Operation and Management. Hoffbuhr issues a challenge to utilities to use this new breed of standard to see how they measure up, and to use the knowledge gained as part of a continuous improvement program.
Continuing Likelihood of CWA Violations Necessary for Citizen Lawsuit
Authors: Stiegler Mayo H.
Published: February 2018

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has found that water sports and conservationist groups had established a continuing likelihood that the Clean Water Act (CWA) would be violated by hog farms, a finding that was required in order for the citizen environmental groups to establish jurisdiction under the CWA's citizen suit provision.
Developing Performance Measures for the SDWA Regulatory Program: Melding what's Countable with What Counts
Authors: Raucher Robert S. , Roberson J. Alan , Harrod Megan
Published: February 2018

Considerable interest exists among water supply professionals in how well public health protections are generated by the federal drinking water regulatory program as administered under the US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) Safe Drinking Water Act. This interest is heightened because of Office of Management and Budget pressure on federal agencies to develop common performance measures to track the progress of every regulatory program. It is challenging to devise clear, meaningful measures of progress for public sector entities such as the USEPA's federal drinking water regulatory program. Limitations are inherent in the relevant public health data, and it is difficult to attribute any observable trend in public health statistics to drinking water or other possible causal agents. In addition, performance measures that are easily countable may steer results in the wrong direction, whereas indicators that are more oriented toward the ultimate desired outcomes (e.g., better health) may be uncountable or not easily interpreted. This article offers a useful perspective on performance indicators and recommends ideas for how such indicators might be applied to the drinking water regulatory program for defining the monitoring and related data collection requirements.
Developing a Protocol to Evaluate New‐generation Membranes for Desalinating Brackish Groundwater
Authors: Kumar Manish , Adham Samer , Pearce William
Published: February 2018

For some water‐scarce regions, desalination of brackish groundwater represents an important alternative resource for water utilities. High‐pressure membranes that use reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) are recognized as a viable technology for groundwater desalination. Many improvements have been made in membrane production, and new membranes are being rapidly introduced into the market, highlighting the need for standardized evaluation protocols. This article presents a step‐by‐step approach to pilot‐testing new high‐pressure NF and RO membranes. The proposed steps are basic data collection, comparative pilot‐testing, optimization pilot‐testing, membrane autopsy, and feasibility analysis. Within this framework, the article describes the various aspects that must be covered during new‐generation membrane testing at the screening level. In addition, data obtained during pilot‐testing of two new‐generation RO membranes are presented. The pilot tests conducted following this protocol shows clear performance distinctions between an established high‐pressure membrane and a new high‐pressure membrane. Testing also demonstrated that the operating pressures of the new‐generation membranes have been greatly improved, which could lead to substantial operational cost savings. Finally, a preliminary cost analysis revealed that the higher productivity levels of the new membranes could result in power savings of approximately 13% per year.
Water without war
Authors: Thomas Hal , Schaeffer Cathy , Wubbena Bob , Floyd Ben
Published: February 2018

Conflicts over water are not new. Such conflict has existed for as long as land has been settled and developed. Today, an increased rate of growth in many areas of the United States is placing additional stress on natural resources and existing water projects to both meet drinking water needs and to do so with minimal effect on the environment. The challenge will be to address future demand and manage instream needs such as protection of fish. To meet this challenge without conflict, cooperation and collaboration among private sector, local, state, and tibal government leaders and water managers must occur. This case study conducted in the Walla Walla watershed in Oregon and Washington demonstrates that such cooperation can be successful. Through true collaboration, a plan was created that reflects sound science and good public policy and that gives the community a personal stake in ensuring the plan's efficacy.
Drawing the connection between Malnutrition and lack of safe drinking water in Guatemala
Authors: Braghetta Anne
Published: February 2018

Less than half of the rural Guatemalan population has access to clean water, 98% of the country's water sources are contaminated and only 15 municipalities in the country have operational drinking water treatment systems. Guatemala also has among the world's worst health statistics for chronic malnutrition and substandard child growth attainment. Over the long term, chronic malnutrition and disease leads not only to stunted growth but also to the likelihood that children will not reach their full genetic and educational potential, thus reducing their productivity and earning power. Despite efforts to improve water systems over the past decade, improvements have not kept pace with population increases and migration. Investment in water systems has also declined because of the perceived high cost of centralized water treatment facilities. However, providing safe water does not have to be cost‐prohibitive. This article explores how the lack of safe water significantly contributes to the high incidence of diarrheal disease and chronic malnutrition and what can be done to provide clean drinking water to the Guatemalan population. Four factors, all of which can be accomplished at a relatively minor cost, are identified as key to providing clean drinking water to a household or small community.
Our Public Health Legacy
Authors: Hoffbuhr Jack W.
Published: February 2018

In his column, AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr discusses our public health legacy, recalling the deadly epidemics of the past centuries that wiped out high percentages of the population due to contaminated water. He points out that with the discovery in the 1880s of the causative microorganisms and pathogens, and the founding of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), waterborne disease was finally brought under control through filtration, disinfection, source protection, proper waste collection, and water treatment. He ends with a call to help assist people in developing countries in providing safe water and sanitation through programs such as Water For People, and to keep the issue of public health firmly in mind.
Katrina stories highlight new realities of disaster planning
Authors: Scharfenaker Mark
Published: February 2018

This article summarizes the American Water Works Association's (AWWA) 7th Annual Public Officials Summit. This year its focus was on the new realities facing those responsible for disaster planning, response, and recovery in the wake of the well‐documented failures by local, state, and federal governments to handle Hurricane Katrina. The article relates Katrina response stories presented by water utility managers, operators and state regulatory officials from Mississippi and Louisiana, along with presentations by representatives of utilities from other states that rushed to the aid of water suppliers along the Gulf Coast.
The Metacatalyst: The Right Role for Private Equity in the Water Industry
Authors: Lueneburger Christoph
Published: February 2018

This article discusses how the water market will witness substantial consolidation over the coming years and that much of the opportunity to create value in the process resides in today's small and mid‐sized companies. Many of these businesses, lacking the scale to attract industrial investors or traditional private equity firms, recognize the opportunity inherent in new business models, bundling their offers with other components of the value chain. The right partner for them will be one who understands this opportunity and brings not only the capital but also the strategic resolve and operational skills to help assemble integrated solutions. The article discusses key characteristics common to both the early days of the oil industry and today's water market.
Half Full Or Half Empty? Either Way It's Time to Plan
Authors: Andish‐Lee Perri St , Loboschefsky Erik , Lecina Kristina
Published: February 2018

As population growth, climate change, and water quality decline affect the limited water resources of the western United States, local governments, water utilities, and the public must continue their efforts to sustain supplies. Effective management of both water quality and water quantity is especially important for communities in arid and semi arid regions affected by increasing demand and climate variability. Adding to the hardship is the decline in water quality that results from diminished flows during years of drought. Long‐term planning and development of a portfolio of resources to sustain existing water sources to meet the needs of urban, industrial, and agricultural sectors is imperative. Communities and water agencies must work together. The human population can contend with water scarcity only through responsible development, effective resource management, and the realization that the world shares the same finite water supply. Two utilities in the West and Southwest, the Southern Nevada Water Authority in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Zone 7 Water Agency in Livermore, California, offer examples of how measures to reduce water demand and protect current supply can be implemented successfully.
Climate Change and its implications for the Rocky Mountain region
Authors: Smith Joel B. , Wagner Carolyn
Published: February 2018

Global climate has changed and is continuing to change, largely as a result of human activities such as burning of fossil fuels. The authors used climate models to project changes in climate and precipitation in the Rocky Mountains and Front Range Region in Colorado through the 2050s. Temperatures are likely to rise in this century. How this increase will affect precipitation is uncertain, and climate models do not agree on whether total precipitation will rise or fall. However, a rise in temperatures will mean earlier runoff, more evaporation from reservoirs, and higher demand for water in the summer. To maintain current soil moisture and water levels, an increase in precipitation will likely be needed to offset higher temperatures. Water managers in the Rocky Mountain region are becoming more concerned about climate change and its effect on water supply and demand. The analysis presented here can assist water managers in their long‐term planning efforts and help ensure that those efforts consider not only population and economic factors but also the implications of climate change.
Effect of adenovirus resistance on UV disinfection requirements: A report on the state of adenovirus science
Authors: Yates Marylynn V. , Malley James , Rochelle Paul , Hoffman Rebecca
Published: February 2018

The dosage of ultraviolet (UV) light required to inactivate adenoviruses serves as the basis for virus inactivation requirements in the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. The rule increases the required UV dose from the standard practice of 40 mJ/cm2 to 186 mJ/cm2 for 4‐log inactivation. Ensuring this delivered dose in the UV reactor requires accounting for uncertainties in the reactor validation testing, which results in an applied UV dose of 200–300 mJ/cm2 for 4‐log virus inactivation credit for a given UV reactor. Concerned about the potential effect of this action on drinking water treatment, a group of experts met to assess the state of the science with respect to adenoviruses in drinking water. This working group reviewed the current science on adenoviruses and identified the effects—positive and negative—on public health protection arising from the elevation of UV design target doses.
Technomania
Authors: Hoffbuhr Jack W.
Published: February 2018

In his column, AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr says that, even as utilities are relying more and more on sophisticated monitoring and instrumentation technology to manage treatment and distribution operations, he prefers a human on site interacting with all of that technology. The human component gives technology its productive power, Hoffbuhr says, and the human‐technology partnership must be used effectively to protect public health and operate efficiently. To take full advantage of this partnership, organizations must make the commitment to train their employees, and employees must be enabled to act on the information that technology makes possible. Without this commitment, adding technology will be as productive as filters without media.
Establishing O&M Procedures for a Water Treatment Plant
Authors: Nelms Eugene E.
Published: February 2018

This article discusses the importance of standardized operation and maintenance (O&M) procedures in achieving maximum asset life and in reducing O&M costs. The article lists three different categories of O&M procedures and several different sources of input to O&M procedures. The article discusses how to develop O&M procedures, along with the challenges and benefits of O&M procedures.
Enforcement of Wetlands Regulations Does Not Equate to Taking of Land
Authors: Stiegler Mayo H.
Published: February 2018

The Court of Appeals of Michigan has ruled that wetlands regulations, which led to a denial by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) of an application by developers for a permit to fill wetlands, did not effect a compensable regulatory taking of the developers' property.
Assessment of water main break data for ASSET MANAGEMENT
Authors: Wood Andrew , Lence Barbara J.
Published: February 2018

Data regarding water main breaks are widely considered important for effective water distribution asset management. This article presents the results of a survey administered to small and medium‐sized utilities to evaluate the state of data collection practices for water main breaks in the United States and Canada. The survey included questions about the amount and type of data collected by water utilities, the utilities' level of comfort with the amount of data collected, and the availability of data elsewhere within the utility. The survey results show that the amount of data collected can be classified by the degree of data richness and defined as either an expanded, intermediate, limited, or minimal data set. Analysis of the results suggests that utilities can implement practices to increase the amount of data they collect and increase the effectiveness of their data collection and processing. The results also suggest that utilities can improve their data sets by considering additional sources of data for water main breaks.
Coliphage as a potential indicator l of distribution system integrity
Authors: Lechevallier Mark W. , Karim Mohammad R. , Weihe Janice , Rosen Jeffrey S. , Sobrinho José
Published: February 2018

Distribution system monitoring programs typically do not include viral indicators. Coliphages are bacterial viruses that infect Escherichia coli and are used as indicators for human enteric viruses. A study of the Iowa‐American Water Company distribution system in Davenport, Iowa, attempted to demonstrate the benefit of coliphage monitoring and suggested that these organisms may be effective indicators of distribution system integrity for contamination resulting from main breaks. Coliphages are particularly well‐suited for detecting viral intrusion in chloraminated systems because of their resistance to chloramines.
Divide deep on SDWA affordability criteria
Authors: Scharfenaker Mark
Published: February 2018

This article discusses small‐system variances (SSVs) that were created with the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments in response to requests by financially strapped small towns for relief from the mounting costs of complying with an aggressive 1986 rulemaking schedule directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to regulate no fewer than 25 contaminants every three years.
Government Contracts Needed to Establish Rights to Arizona Irrigation Water
Authors: Stiegler Mayo H.
Published: February 2018

The Supreme Court of Arizona has ruled that, absent a contract with the US secretary of the interior, agricultural landowners could not establish entitlement to water from the Central Arizona Project (CAP).
Copy–print–scan System Offers Endless Stream of Possibilities for Large Western US Water Utility
Authors: Holland Penny
Published: February 2018

This report discusses how the reproduction services department of a water utility, with the help of a fully integrated large‐format color print, copy, scan system, found creative new ways to help the utility better serve both external and internal customers. Using the Oce TCS400 technology, reproduction services applied the use of color to its large‐format geographic information system (GIS) documents to clarify and communicate the intricacies of vast pipeline networks on paper.
Knowledge retention: A guide for utilities
Authors: Frigo Mark
Published: February 2018

As the Baby Boomer generation reaches retirement age, many utilities are beginning to realize that a significant percentage of their workforce could leave, taking with it knowledge critical to effective operations. A successful knowledge retention strategy focuses on both people and information technology solutions. It is multifaceted and customized for the organization. It allows utilities to institutionalize knowledge, thus reducing the negative effect that a changing workforce might have on operations. The author provides utilities with a straightforward approach to assess the effect that a changing workforce might have on them, to identify critical knowledge at risk of being lost, and to implement a knowledge retention framework.
Workforce development and knowledge management in water utilities
Authors: Grigg Neil S.
Published: February 2018

With experienced long‐term employees retiring at ever‐increasing rates, water utilities face a significant loss of institutional knowledge at a time when stringent regulations and increasing demand require even more technological know‐how. To stem the knowledge drain and improve workforce performance, the author suggests a two‐pronged strategy integrating organizational development, human resources, training, and leadership with emerging information and knowledge management systems. Positive incentives and work environments can help spur employees to create value and use technology. Human resources staff play a major role in building workforce capacity and facilitating knowledge capture, but utility leadership must take the lead in these efforts by demonstrating genuine interest and involvement in workforce and knowledge management programs. Through information systems, water providers can identify, capture, and manage both explicit and tacit knowledge. However, best practices indicate that the roadmap to “knowledge‐enabled” performance should focus primarily on organizational improvement rather than technologies.
Maintaining the course in lawn and landscape water conservation
Authors: Bartlett Norman
Published: February 2018

This article responds to the Perspectives column in the February 2006 issue of the Journal titled, “New Directions in Lawn and Landscape Water Conservation” written by Amy Vickers. This article refutes some of Vickers' statements, and then explores areas of waste that represent a greater opportunity for water savings to the public, without imposing radical plant restrictions that directly affect daily quality of life. Moreover, the American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC) maintains that fundamental, market‐driven supply‐and‐demand economics currently are evolving and will prevail. Areas that offer a greater opportunity for water savings are discussed.
Residual, ORP, and Dual Oxidation Control Solutions for Water and Wastewater Disinfection
Authors: Thomas Edward J.
Published: February 2018

This article discusses a new dual oxidation control system that greatly enhances disinfection and dechlorination and matches oxidant feed to the ever‐changing loadings of organic and ammonia compounds. Integrating the parameters into a single control algorithm allows for each parameter to be weighed against desired results as well as fine‐tuning for specific applications. This control strategy can effectively maintain disinfection and compliance when a plant goes in and out of nitrification.
Integration of validation, design, and operation provides optimal implementation of UV disinfection
Authors: Wright Harold , Gaithuma David , Greene Dennis , Aieta Marco
Published: February 2018

Many engineers size an ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system based on design conditions of flow, UV transmittance (UVT), and lamp output, and then assess operation and maintenance costs based on average flow. However, flow and UVT vary among water treatment plants and response to these variables by the UV system varies among equipment. As a result of the limitations of this approach, many installed systems today are significantly overdosing. Simulations of the performance of UV system alternatives that account for critical variables provide the best foundation for selecting UV systems for drinking water applications. This article provides an overview of UV disinfection, identifying the benefits of applying the key features associated with dose monitoring, validation, and design and a new approach for integrating these factors to obtain optimal design.
An alternative interpretation of disinfection kinetics
Authors: Najm Issam
Published: February 2018

During the past 100 years, several mathematical models have been developed and used to represent the dose‐response behavior observed when a microbial population is exposed to a disinfectant. These models are based on the premise that the interaction between a microorganism and a disinfectant is a kinetic process identical to that between chemicals undergoing a kinetic reaction. The rate of microbial inactivation has been expressed as a function of disinfectant concentration, microbial count, and water quality (such as temperature and pH). This article revives an alternative explanation to the dose‐response behavior of microbial disinfection, one that was also considered but abandoned about 100 years ago. The author argues that the relationship of continual decline in viable microbial count upon increased exposure to a disinfectant is not the result of a chemical‐type reaction process but rather attributable to the diversity of the microbial population in its resistance to the disinfectant. Using this hypothesis, the author provides example scenarios illustrating how environmental stresses to microbial populations could significantly alter their disinfection dose‐response curve.
Occurrence and removal of dissolved organic nitrogen in US water treatment plants
Authors: Lee Wontae , Westerhoff Paul , Esparza‐Soto Mario
Published: February 2018

Two seasonal sampling campaigns of raw and finished waters from 28 water treatment plants were conducted to investigate the occurrence and removal of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). A new dialysis pretreatment technique was applied for accurate DON determination. The average DON concentration was 0.186 mg/L nitrogen (N) in raw waters and 0.148 mg/L N in finished waters. On average, total dissolved nitrogen in the raw waters consist of 10% DON and 90% dissolved inorganic nitrogen. The dissolved organic carbon (DOC)‐to‐DON ratio of raw waters averaged 18 mg DOC to 1 mg DON. DON removal during water treatment closely mirrored that of DOC removal. The molecular weight distribution of DON roughly parallels that of DOC, and higher‐molecular‐weight fractions (> 10,000 D) of both DON and DOC were preferentially removed across the full‐scale water treatment plants.
Using the ELISA method to track atrazine occurrence in a national monitoring program
Authors: Graziano Nicole , McGuire Michael , Adams Craig , Roberson Alan , Jiang Hua , Blute Nicole
Published: February 2018

During the past two decades, numerous monitoring programs have been conducted to characterize the occurrence and use of atrazine, the most commonly applied herbicide in the United States. In 2003, AWWA and the Water Industry Technical Action Fund jointly sponsored the Atrazine Monitoring Program to expand on previous studies and assess atrazine occurrence patterns in US drinking water systems. A commercially available enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test method was used to determine atrazine occurrence in 38 water sources from 33 utilities surveyed. The ELISA method used, although relatively precise, was found to be inaccurate for many of the waters tested in this study; the testing kit has since been modified to address interferences caused by oxidants. However, the data presented here, collected using the original ELISA method, reflect observed “trends” in atrazine occurrence rather than accurate atrazine concentrations.
A Crisis of Geography
Authors: Hoffbuhr Jack W.
Published: February 2018

In his column, AWWA Executive Director Jack W. Hoffbuhr talks about worrying and the three kinds of worriers. He discusses what people should do with all their print copies now that the National Geographic Magazine has come out on CD‐ROM, and how costly it would be to recycle the print copies. In the end, he states that the only solution is to shun the CD, continue hoarding the never‐ending issues, and let future generations worry about it ‐ just like the federal debt.
Water World 2020: Where Will Our Leaders Come From?
Authors: Nattress Joe
Published: February 2018

This article addresses the challenge of planning for and developing future leaders in the water industry. The reality is that the workforce is shrinking, due to the looming retirement of the baby boomer generation, and the challenge will be to provide a rewarding career path that combines growth and development opportunities for current and future water professionals. The risk of not meeting this challenge will be losing the public's trust in our ability to deliver safe, reliable drinking water. The article provides viewpoints from two young professionals in the water industry on future leadership in the water industry.
Creating Our Future
Authors: Jordan Brian
Published: February 2018

This article provides demographic statistics of the Baby Boomer generation and discusses the effect their retirement from the workforce will have on the water industry. The article stresses the importance of developing a future generation of industry leadership, and mentions the dedication of the members of the AWWA Young Professionals Committee to the water industry. The article mentions a report published by the Awwa Research Foundation titled, “Succession Planning for a Vital Workforce in the Information Age”, written by Myron A. Olstein, which assesses the current workforce demographics for the water and wastewater industry and provides guidance on creating a succession strategy.
‘Scavenger’ Boat Helps Restore Miami River's Health
Authors: Miner Gary , Uchiyama Isaac
Published: February 2018

This article presents the Scavenger?, a small sturdy‐looking work boat that has played a major part in restoring the Miami River in Florida to good health. Its goal is to reverse the growth of pollution in this heavily used waterway and to enhance the quality of life along its shores by picking up debris and contaminants from the river's surface and restoring water quality below the surface. The boat's technological water cleaning process is discussed and basically works by introducing enough oxygen into the water to raise dissolved oxygen levels to the maximum that water can contain. Its patented Oxy‐Plus? system is an advanced water decontamination system that treats and revitalizes waterways by directly aerating the water with a combination of ozone and oxygenation. The article includes an insert, The Power of Ozone, that lists the effects of the Oxy‐Plus? system on treated water.
Build or Buy?—The Answer Isn't so Simple Anymore
Authors: Dermody Chris , Irvin Robert , Kadiyala Raja , Williams Corey
Published: February 2018

The decision of whether to develop a software application in‐house or buy a commercially available software package is a common dilemma faced by information technology (IT) professionals in the water and wastewater industries. The right choice has become even more elusive with recent IT developments such as open‐source software (OSS) and application outsourcing options like pay‐for‐subscription products and direct outsourcing of custom‐built solutions. Application outsourcing has dramatically reduced the overall costs of developing software in recent years, and OSS applications also have substantial advantages that are worth considering. This article explores the software implementation decision process and the effect of OSS and application outsourcing in the water and wastewater industries. There are pros and cons to the various solutions, which is why, more than ever, a hybrid solution that combines features of both “build” and “buy” alternatives may be the best course of action.
A Little Bird Named Enza
Authors: Hoffbuhr Jack W.
Published: February 2018

In his column, AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr discusses pandemics, beginning with the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. He describes how the virus originated in wild birds and eventually mutated to become infectious to humans. He links the Spanish Flu to the current new strain of bird flu through epidemiological and laboratory evidence that indicates that the new strain is related to the Spanish Flu, though it is not moving globally as quickly as feared at first. However, he does urge utilities to create pandemic response plans to deal with the high absenteeism rate when the flu does hit, which is definitely coming. Hoffbuhr urges utility managers to discuss plans with local health department officials and use resources that are available from AWWA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others.
Evaluation of arsenic field test kits for drinking water analysis
Authors: Spear J. Mitchell , Zhou You “Mark” , Cole Charles A. , Xie Yuefeng F.
Published: February 2018

Seven arsenic field test kits were evaluated for their ability to detect arsenic III, V, and a combination of species, and their performance was compared with that of graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Performance was evaluated for precision, accuracy, matrix effects, linearity, operator bias, and ease of use. Precision, determined by standard deviation, was relatively good for all test kits. However, accuracy, as calculated using percent recoveries, varied greatly among the test kits. Matrix effects were evaluated using known additions of sulfide and antimony in reagent water. Field samples were also tested at various arsenic concentrations to determine performance throughout the working range (linearity) of the test kits. Results indicated that two of the seven field test kits met acceptable criteria of accuracy, precision, linearity, expense, and ease of use as defined by the authors. Given the varied performance among the testing kits, the authors concluded that water professionals should be cautious in choosing field test kits for noncompliance analyses.
Making a business case for water security and preparedness
Authors: Roberson J. Alan
Published: February 2018

This article discusses how determining an appropriate level of security investment and maintaining that level for utilities becomes more difficult the farther we move away from 9/11 without any specific attacks in the U.S. It suggests that adopting a philosophical shift away from developing a culture of traditional physical security improvements (guns, guards, and gates) to a culture of preparedness (response, recovery, and resiliency) would make a utility's emergency response plan (ERP) as important as its vulnerability assessment (VA). The article discusses the economics of a total‐loss‐of‐service scenario, role‐playing exercises for top officials (TOPOFF) involving local, state, and federal officials that should help improve the response to a terrorist attack, and the lack of research studies on the economic impacts of loss of water service.
Asset management too complicated? just think about your car
Authors: Cromwell John E. , Speranza Elisa
Published: February 2018

The AWWA Water Utility Council commissioned a study in 2005 to help utilities begin thinking about asset management. The primary objectives of the study were to articulate the need for infrastructure stewardship via asset management and to help utilities convey this need to governing bodies, customers, and other stakeholders. This article is derived in part from the resulting report, Water Infrastructure at a Turning Point: The Road to Sustainable Asset Management, published by AWWA in 2006. The authors dispel the common barriers utilities face in starting an asset management program by relating the principles of asset management to the familiar processes of maintaining a personal vehicle. Many people adopt intervention strategies to manage the economic life of their cars to get as much value as possible out of them. These car management strategies are the same as those used in traditional asset management.
Water Audits Got a Little Easier in 2006
Authors: Chastain‐Howley Andrew
Published: February 2018

This article discusses the water audit software released in 2006 developed by the AWWA Water Loss Control Committee (WLCC). The WLCC's Water Audit Software v2.0 operates as a spreadsheet designed in Microsoft Excel format and provides an effective, standard structure to perform a water audit and develop the water balance. This new methodology guides the user utility in quantifying apparent and real loss volumes and in assigning cost impacts to these losses. It calculates a number of new performance indicators that allow for reliable benchmarking with other water utilities and target‐setting to strategically reduce excessive losses. The AWWA Water Audit Software uses the International Water Association (IWA)/AWWA water audit methodology published in 2000 as part of the IWA publication “Performance Indicators for Water Supply Services.” It is also designed to dovetail with the upcoming publication of the revised AWWA Manual M36. The article describes how the software works and discusses keys to the software's success. It gives instructions on downloading the software from the AWWA website.
Maintaining a Continuous Target Ratio of Chlorine and Ammonia
Authors: Hutcherson Danny
Published: February 2018

This article discusses the difficulty of maintaining the precise ratio of chlorine to ammonia during disinfection and presents the solution that the City of Newport Beach Water Department uses to maintain a precise 5.0:1.0 ratio at all times. The system it uses incorporates online chlorine residual and ammonia analysis with sophisticated programmable logic control (PLC) and human‐to‐machine interface (HMI). The article discusses chlorine analysis and control, ammonia analysis and control, and safety and maintenance.
An online real‐time biomonitor for contaminant surveillance in water supplies
Authors: Mikol Yves B. , Richardson William R. , Van Der Schalie William H. , Shedd Tommy R. , Widder Mark W.
Published: February 2018

Automated biomonitoring systems provide continuous, real‐time monitoring of changes in water quality and can rapidly identify toxicity associated with a wide range of chemical contaminants and increase public confidence in drinking water quality. Although widespread in Europe, biomonitor use is rare in the United States. Using case studies of a biomonitor that continuously monitors fish ventilatory patterns, this article illustrates how biomonitors can contribute to an early warning monitoring system for source and finished water protection. The case studies provide a context for a discussion of considerations important for biomonitor implementation, including toxicant responsiveness, event confirmation, implementation of biomonitors in a decision‐making process, and cost. Recommendations are also provided for biomonitor use at raw water intake and distribution systems.
Applying the “make–or–buy” decision process to sodium hypochlorite in water treatment plants
Authors: Garibi Alberto
Published: February 2018

This article discusses the pros and cons of utilities either buying sodium hypochlorite or making it onsite as an alternative to using chlorine gas for disinfection. The buy option requires minimum capital investment but high operating costs (cost of the chemical). The make option offers lower operating costs but higher upfront investment. The decision process involves calculating the life‐cycle cost (LCC) of each alternative. The article discusses the make‐or‐buy decision process.
The City of Boca Raton: A case study in water utility cybersecurity
Authors: Horta Richard
Published: February 2018

This article discusses how the City of Boca Raton, Florida, handled a situation where the water plant's supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system locked up causing the plant to shut down for nearly 8 hours. It was difficult to troubleshoot the source of the problem because no monitoring system for network traffic existed. Therefore, the city of Boca Raton made various network upgrades with little or no effect in eliminating the issue. The city concluded that it needed a solution to better manage traffic and monitor security on the plant floor network because of several conditions that existed. After going through the bid process, the city selected a security technology solution called the Industrial Defender (ID), designed specifically for the real‐time control environment to meet its network traffic management and security monitoring needs.
A simplified approach to developing future contaminant candidate lists
Authors: Rosen Jeffrey S. , Roberson J. Alan
Published: February 2018

The contaminants identified on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Contaminant Candidate List are a natural focus for monitoring by utilities, industry, government, and academicians. If contaminants are chosen that are not of real concern, then resources will be wasted monitoring these contaminants while contaminants of real concern are left unchecked. Prioritizing contaminants for monitoring and for consideration as candidates for regulation is complex. Both occurrence and health effects data must be factored into the decision. Often, data for unregulated contaminants are scarce and difficult to interpret. An understandable and repeatable process is necessary in order to effectively assess, organize, summarize, and use available data to prioritize contaminants for further monitoring and regulation. Significant progress has been made in mining and organizing the available data, however the classification of contaminants of potential concern still needs an understandable approach. The method proposed here will allow all stakeholders to visualize and understand the relative priority of contaminants that are of possible concern to the drinking water industry.
Laser scanning cytometry for enumeration of fluorescent microspheres
Authors: Ladner David A. , Lee Benjamin W. , Clark Mark M.
Published: February 2018

Water research has been enhanced in recent years through the use of polymer fluorescent microspheres. Microspheres have been used to simulate bacteria, viruses, Giardia cysts, and Cryptosporidium oocysts in an array of water treatment applications. Microspheres most commonly are enumerated by direct count with fluorescence microscopy, which requires skilled operators and expensive equipment. Although other methods exist, they are less accurate. A new microsphere enumeration method has been developed with laser scanning cytometry technology, and a prototype laser scanning cytometry device has been designed, built, and tested in the laboratory. The prototype performance compared well with fluorescence microscopy in counting 2‐μm microspheres. It is envisioned that a laser scanning cytometry device such as the prototype described here could be used in many applications as a fast, userfriendly, and inexpensive way to enumerate microspheres.
High Court Lets Stand NPDES Permit for Water Transfer
Authors: Scharfenaker Mark
Published: February 2018

This article discusses how water supply interests opposed to applying Clean Water Act (CWA) discharge permit requirements to routine water transfers have failed to convince the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that ordered just such a permit, one that New York City is now striving to comply with. The February 26 decision by the high court to deny the city's writ of certiorari lets stand a ruling by the Second Circuit appeals court that required the city to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for a decades‐old water transfer operation in its Catskill River watershed. New York City, backed by AWWA and many other water supply interests across the country, had petitioned the court last November to overturn the ruling.
The Infrastructure “Crisis”?
Authors: Cromwell John E. , Speranza Elisa , Reynolds Haydn
Published: February 2018

Much has been written about the infrastructure “crisis” facing water and wastewater utilities. Today's utility managers and governing board members are in a position to mobilize and sustain proactive investments in utility infrastructure asset management to prevent catastrophic or disastrous conditions from developing. When asset management initiatives are grouped into a coherent risk management program, it is possible to see the connections between a given level of capital replacement and the necessary repair, rehabilitation, and condition assessment. In turn, board members can better appreciate risk management and begin to make the case for ramping up key expenditures. In addition to providing a risk management framework, asset management is a continuous improvement process that facilitates knowledge transfer from one generation of managers and board members to the next. It also provides direction for research and development of repair and replacement technologies and a better understanding of sustainable service levels.
Dear Public Official
Authors: Hoffbuhr Jack W.
Published: February 2018

In his column, AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr poses as a water customer who sends an email to his local public official. He begins the email by expressing his appreciation for the water service provided to the public. He continues by giving some feedback on raising water rates, saying not to be embarrassed because it's still the best value for our money. He urges the public official to be creative in communicating with the public about the value of water, water resources in the future, and home water treatment units.
World's Largest Municipal Ultrafiltration, Biologically Active Carbon, and Ozone Plant Prepares for Startup
Authors: Farr Andrew J. , Stampone Pete
Published: February 2018

This article highlights the Lakeview Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in the Region of Peel, Ontario, Canada. The WTP combines ozone and biologically active carbon (BAC) pretreatment with immersed ultrafiltration (UF) membranes in one of the most technologically advanced municipal water facilities. This article discusses the factors that influenced the expansion of the conventional treatment plant with advanced treatment technology.
Navigating Smoothly Through a Rate Increase
Authors: Crovo Christopher , Kane David , Clements Michelle
Published: February 2018

This article discusses a rate increase strategy at Portland Water District (PWD) in Portland, Maine.
Are You Ready for the TV Cameras? Communicating with the Media and the Public Following Negative Incidents
Authors: Hoffman Judy , Moyer Jack
Published: February 2018

This article discusses having a crisis communication plan (CCP) in place for addressing the public and the media following any type of negative incident. Also, it stresses the importance of having a designated public information officer (PIO) to act as the primary liaison with the media agencies. The article lists the basics of communications, the reality of the media, putting a “face” on the organization, preparing employees and other key stakeholders, preparing the message, being honest, and checking your crisis readiness.