View CWEA’s PFAS resources page, support by Carollo. PFAS Are Ubiquitous in Our Homes and Our Environment Several recent legislative and regulatory efforts across the US to address PFAS have focused on limiting levels in drinking water. However, there has been relatively little conversation about the presence of these chemicals in our everyday lives. In...

DKF Solutions Group has announced the upcoming release of a new reference guide for wastewater collection workers titled “Notes from the Field: Practical Tips and Best Practices for Collection System Operators.” The book was written in collaboration with leading industry experts Andy Morrison, Lenny Rather, and Sam Rose. Wastewater Collection System Operators often become frustrated...

The CWEA safety committee’s number one concern is our members safety. By now, you have received valuable information on all possible precautions you should take to protect yourself and your family members.  Resources: CDC and CAL-OSHA The CWEA Safety Committee is also charged with providing our member agencies resources to assist them in staying in compliance. ehsInc.org...

By Sam Rose, Superintendent, South Placer Municipal Utility District About South Placer Municipal Utility District  South Placer Municipal Utility District (District) is a sewer collection system agency that was founded in 1956 and serves the City of Rocklin, Town of Loomis, the communities of Penryn, Newcastle and a portion of Granite Bay, California.  Its service area is 31 square miles with a population...

By Brett Faulkner(1), Thomas Welche(2)  1 Trussell Technologies, Inc., 380 Stevens Ave, Suite 212, Solana Beach, CA 92075; e–mail: [email protected]  2City of Santa Barbara, 520 East Yanonali, Santa Barbara, CA, 93103; e–mail: [email protected]  Introduction:  The City of Santa Barbara (City) owns and operates the El Estero Water Resource Center (EEWRC). EEWRC treats approximately 6 million gallons per day (MGD) of domestic wastewater with secondary effluent either receiving tertiary treatment to...

By Miguel Rodas, Environmental Compliance Inspector, City of Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment         The article “Understanding Compliance Inspection Using the 6Ps Model” in the July 2018 issue of “Clean Water” magazine published by California Water Environment Association (CWEA) we stated that the 6Ps model serves as a navigational tool not only...

Announcement from the State Water Resources Control Board While the State Water Board and other public agencies encourage Californians to follow the Centers for Disease Control recommendations to clean surfaces with disinfecting wipes to reduce the spread of COVID-19, it is important to discard those items in the trash, not the toilet. Flushing wipes, paper towels and...

A letter from Radhika Fox, Chief Executive Officer, US Water Alliance Dear Colleagues, At the US Water Alliance, we believe anyone can be a One Water leader — and in fact, everyone must be a One Water leader in order to secure our nation’s water future. That is why we are excited to release a new report, One Water Change...

BACWA’s Comment letter sent to the State Water Board Dec 20, 2019. Click here to read BACWA’s full comment letter (pdf) The Bay Area Clean Water Agencies (BACWA) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the proposed ELAP Draft Regulations (proposed Regulations). BACWA is a joint powers agency whose members own and operate publicly-owned treatment works...

Coverage of biosolids and co-digestion supported by Anaergia Using digester biogas for co-generation is a growing feature of many California water resource recovery facilities. Fats, oil & grease (FOG) added to digesters super-charge the digestion process, boost biogas and increases the production of clean, green energy. That’s the theory. We talked with four California facilities...

By Terry Leeds Director, KC Water (originally appeared in the World Water: Stormwater Management Winter 2019 issue) As precipitation increases and collection and treatment systems age, local, regional, and national governments realize the critical need to manage stormwater not only to protect water quality, but also to save lives and property. Of course, we cannot...

From USC news service A team led by USC Viterbi’s Adam Smith has found that purified water returned to Southern California aquifers often becomes contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, a realization that could have major implications on the global water supply. By Avni Shah Wastewater recycling offers a variety of environmental benefits but also a big...

This content is available only for CWEA members. Click here to login. In the summer 2018 issue of the Clean Water1 CWEA magazine, we introduced the 6Ps model system (Products, Processes, Pollutants, Pretreatment system, Parameters, and Plan of the shop) for facility inspections. Each “P” is an integral piece affecting the other Ps. In other...

Story by HDR, click here for original post…. “Honesty, Integrity and Respect” for Environment, Community The new Orange County Sanitation District Headquarters Complex at Plant 1 is designed to illustrate OCSD’s core values of “honesty, integrity and respect for interactions between employees, the greater public and community.” Working closely with OCSD, our HDR team developed a...

PFAS compounds are contained in dozens of common household products, in the dust we breathe, and in the blood of nearly every person in America. There are over 3,000 varieties of PFAS that have been created, with about 75 of these used in commercial applications; very little is known about most of them. What is...

Reprinted with permission from Woodard & Curran If a water reclamation facility goes off-line, it is a major problem. Yet there are certain major maintenance operations that can’t be done while the process is running normally. So, what gives when this particular irresistible force meets this immovable object? You have to get creative. The City...

Upcoming training opportunity – CWEA’s free skills building webinar 10/17 at 11am – The Phishing Epedemic w/ David Malm, Deputy Manager of IT for IEUA Make Yourself Accountable for Your Utility’s Cybersecurity The theme for this year’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) is “Own IT. Secure IT. Protect IT,” which was selected, in part, to...

Attention Safety Professionals and Local Section Leaders Allow me to introduce myself – I am Marjorie Del Toro, your newly appointed Safety Chair for 2019-2020.  I am currently the CEO/President of ehsInc.org, SARBS past president, and part of the exclusive 5S club. I may be new to some of you; however, I am not new...

This article originally appeared as a Best Best & Krieger LLP Legal Alert. Reprinted with permission. By Lowry A. Crook and Shawn D. Hagerty Best Best & Krieger LLP Concerns about rising health risks from a group of chemicals called PFAS in water supplies are spurring responses from both federal and state lawmakers, regulators and...

By Nicole Lygo Envirosight Artificial intelligence is spreading across every area of our lives, from ride-sharing apps to spam filters to smart personal assistants. In the last few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has also seeped into the wastewater industry in the form of automated defect coding. AI promises major benefits over traditional operator inspection, mostly...

The City of Los Angeles has completed the One Water LA 2040 Plan. A roadmap connecting plans, ideas, and people to arrive at better and more fiscally-responsible water planning solutions.    Meaning of One Water   The One Water LA Plan takes a holistic and collaborative approach to consider all water resources from surface water, ground water, potable water, wastewater, recycled...

By Michael Arceneaux and Jennifer Lyn Walker Water and wastewater utilities provide critical lifeline services to their communities and their regions. Supporting these vitally important functions requires secure information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), yet the sector’s IT and OT networks continue to face an onslaught of threats from cyber criminals, nation states, and...

Originally published on LinkedIn, reprinted here with permission… Ahhh. That feeling that comes over you when you come home after a hard days work, plopping yourself onto that every so comfy couch that envelops all of your achy tired bones. Your twin toddlers come running out of the rear of the house, screaming with joy...

  This article was produced and published by the Water Education Foundation as part of its Western Water news. The Foundation can be found at www.watereducation.org. Our thanks to WEF for permission to republish their article. By Gary Pitzer Water Education Foundation WESTERN WATER NOTEBOOK: Lower flows damage equipment, concentrate waste and stink up neighborhoods;...

A press release from the San Diego Regional Water Quality Board… Ten public agencies suspected of discharging human fecal waste into the Lower San Diego River and its tributaries today were ordered to investigate and identify the sources of the harmful material and report the extent of their involvement to the San Diego Water Board....

Silicon Valley Clean Water Regional Environmental Sewer Conveyance Upgrade Program By Janet McGovern When employees go to work three years from now in a new pre-treatment facility that is being built at the wastewater treatment plant in Redwood Shores, it will actually be a case of déjà vu all over again, thanks to an innovative...

By Heidi Sanborn, Executive Director National Stewardship Action Council This bill is currently on the suspense file of the California State Assembly, and we will find out TOMORROW whether it moves forward to the Assembly Floor for a full vote by May 31.  The opposition is lobbying hard against this simple yet important bill and...

From the San Francisco Bay RWQCB Region 2…. The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board updated its regulations on nutrient discharges into the San Francisco Bay watershed on Wednesday to protect the watershed from harmful effects of discharges from municipal wastewater treatment plants and other sources. Although San Francisco Bay is not impaired...

By John Rowe, CSUS Office of Water Programs Americans have used water as though their supply would never run out.  Drought conditions have forcibly brought about a need to conserve and properly budget water resources. As supply and demand tightens, governments are starting to view wastewater as a valuable resource. North America generates an estimated...

Two water associations join forces for the first time to create certification for those taking the “waste” out of wastewater By Lynn Lipinski A new voluntary certification program created by two of California’s longest-standing water sector organizations aims to ensure that water and wastewater treatment operators are prepared and knowledgeable about advanced water treatment technologies...

“Atmospheric River” is a meteorological term coined in the 1990s that’s recently entered common public usage. They are bands of concentrated moisture traveling in the air over a region.  Atmospheric rivers can contain as much moisture as major river, such as the Amazon. On February 5th, the Scripps’ Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes...

Public outreach programs can reap multiple benefits for utilities and other public agencies, including community support for projects and utility rate increases; third-party credibility with community and policymakers; increased awareness among community members about project issues; lasting relationships with community leaders; and, in many cases, better decisions. An effective public outreach program takes effort and...

By Alexandra Chrystal Babcock Laboratories Last week, drinking water fixtures at Grant Union High School in Sacramento were shut off after elevated levels of lead and copper were found in the water. Grant Union High School is not the first school to experience risky lead levels in its drinking water; it is merely the most...

Coverage of water workforce topics supported by waterTALENT Debi Lewis Past President 2017-2018 Professional Engineer Stantec Debi Lewis’ career began in business administration working for an ad agency. She started as a secretary in the Pasadena office of James M. Montgomery, which later became MWH and is now Stantec. Eventually she became an office manager...

About this series:  Each month CWEA is interviewing an innovative thinker in the water profession. We’re asking each person “The future of the water profession is …” Juan Guerreiro Deputy Director City of San Diego, Public Utilities Department Grade V Wastewater Treatment Operator, SWRCB Dual-Associate Degrees, Water and Wastewater, Cuyamaca College Bachelors Degree, San Diego State University...

Story republished with State Water Board permission. WPCF is a class V Tertiary plant that has recently been updated to an Advanced Treatment facility. The upgrade was completed in December 2016. There were several upgrades including: An upgrade of the secondary treatment process to the Modified Ludzak-Ettinger fine bubble diffuser aeration with an anoxic zone...

About this series:  Each month CWEA is interviewing an innovative thinker in the water profession. We’re asking each person “The future of the water profession is …” Prior to becoming a water professional, Richard Salas worked for McDonald Douglas as a structural mechanic. “Working at McDonald Douglas gave me an appreciation of attention to detail,” Richard...

Can 1+1=3, or maybe even more?  That is the question Stanford and Silicon Valley Clean Water (SVCW) hope to answer with two pilot plants using an innovative anaerobic secondary treatment process. The ‘SAF-MBR’ project, which stands for Staged Anaerobic Fluidized-bed Membrane Bioreactor, has two main components – the membrane system and the fluidized-bed. Both are...

If sewage smells pretty much the same everywhere else, would it be safe to say that the resulting odors are caused by the same chemical compounds? That is the general premise of this article. If true, this can greatly simplify the odor control at your agency. All Sewage is Created Equal This premise applies not...

This story was originally posted on the Woodard & Curran blog.  CWEA’s coverage of wipes issues is supported by Aqualitec.  Those of us who have witnessed the destruction non-woven wipes are having on our pipes and pumps understand the impact a simple word like ‘flushable’ can have. Since the mid-2000’s, the wastewater industry has been battling...

  The path to on-site non-potable water reuse has been beset by roadblocks, but a new initiative is removing them to clear the way for more efficient water management. Whether challenged by multiyear drought, extreme flooding, impacts due to a changing climate, or increased demand on water supplies due to population growth, water utilities across...

By Jennifer Kazy, WaterISAC This month marks the 14th annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM, #CyberAware Month), a program co-founded by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The theme for National Cyber Security Awareness Month is Our Shared Responsibility. This theme centers on one of the most...

At the June 29, 2017 LABS dinner meeting, Russ Vakharia of the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) gave a presentation on the construction of a 7.5-foot inside diameter (ID) replacement sewer in metropolitan Los Angeles County. The talk highlighted the many challenges encountered during the construction, including tunneling under public and private property, tunneling...