News Briefs

Sept. 1, 2000
Citing the health risks and cost of treating drinking water for the commonly used pesticide atrazine, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to better protect drinking water sources from pesticide pollution.

AWWA Calls Atrazine Biggest Threat to Drinking Water Quality in Midwest

Citing the health risks and cost of treating drinking water for the commonly used pesticide atrazine, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to better protect drinking water sources from pesticide pollution.

Despite detection of atrazine levels above federal guidelines in three major U.S. rivers —all of which are sources of drinking water— EPA may stop monitoring for pollution from atrazine and other pesticides under the Clean Water Act later this year.

"Atrazine is dangerous to humans and difficult to clean up," said AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr. "EPA must continue monitoring for atrazine pollution as long as drinking water utilities — and consumers — must pay to clean it up."

Water utilities report more water quality violations due to atrazine than any other pesticide. Although public drinking water providers employ special water treatment methods to combat atrazine contamination, the pesticide is very water soluble and does not degrade quickly, making it at times impervious to treatment efforts. Nevertheless, water utilities generally double their treatment costs in trying to get atrazine out of the water supply, which in turn raises consumer water rates.

Atrazine is widely used by corn and soybean farmers. Almost 20,000 metric tons of the pesticide are spread over crop fields in states along the Mississippi River every spring. After spring rain or irrigation, atrazine runs from those fields into rivers, lakes and streams that also serve as the drinking water sources for millions of Americans.

Currently, EPA considers atrazine a "possible" carcinogen and enforces a standard for atrazine in drinking water of 3 ppb. The U.S. Geologic Survey has detected atrazine levels above the federal standard in the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers.

Ingestion of atrazine has been linked to a number of health risks including heart congestion, birth defects and muscle spasms. The pesticide may also be carcinogenic. Last year, a Canadian study linked atrazine ingestion to stomach cancer. In response to growing concerns about the pesticide, EPA assembled a panel of scientists to review the cancer threat posed by atrazine.

"Given atrazine's threat to human health and household budgets, USEPA must continue monitoring for it in our source water," Hoffbuhr said. "Regulators must remain as committed to controlling pesticide pollution as water utilities are to cleaning it up."

Detroit Powers Pumps with New Drives

ABB Automation Inc., Drives and Power Products Group, New Berlin, Wis., has delivered five new ACS 1000 medium-voltage drives to optimize control of the 5,000 - 6,000 horsepower variable-speed water pump motors to be used at the City of Detroit's Imlay Station Pumping Facility. The delivery includes three 4.16 kV, 6,000 hp drives and two 4.16 kV, 5,250 hp drives.

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The ACS 1000 is designed as a standard product that requires minimal engineering in the set-up process, and offers operators of large motor-driven fans, pumps and compressors shorter delivery times, faster installation, commissioning and start-up, and more competitive purchasing costs than like-sized engineered drives.

Also delivered on time as part of the agreement are five ABB 6 MVA power transformers, three 6,000 hp induction motors, two 5,250 hp induction motors, and assorted 13.8 kV and 4.16 kV switchgear for inline and bypass operation. Two additional 6,000 hp synchronous motors and one 5,250 hp synchronous motor, for use at 13.8 kV, are included, as well. All drives, transformers, motors, and switchgear for the pumping operation have been supplied by ABB.

"The key factor in supplying this major municipal contract is the total system efficiency the electrics provide under full load operation," said Ram Bhatia, an ABB spokesman.

ABB's ability to supply a totally integrated package helped the company secure the contract last year, he said. The value of the agreement is estimated at $5.5 million.

Pittsburgh Makes Room

for 40-mgd UV Disinfection System

A new 40-mgd drinking water treatment system, to go online by the end of the year, will be the largest UV disinfection system in the U.S. for municipal drinking water, according to Calgon Carbon Corporation.

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The contract with West View Water Authority in Pittsburgh, Pa., will provide a Sentineltrademark UV disinfection system to help treat the water for this community of 200,000. In a 10-year service agreement, the company will also service and maintain the system. This will be the first UV disinfection system of its kind in Pennsylvania for surface water treatment.

Construction on the Sentinel unit has begun at Calgon Carbon's facility near Pittsburgh, and delivery is expected in the fourth quarter, according to Bob O'Brien, senior vice president of the company.

Currently, the plant uses chlorine to disinfect the drinking water after it goes through a standard process of coagulation, settling and activated carbon filtration. After chlorine is added, fluoride is added and the pH is stabilized with sodium hydroxide.

"Sentinel will not change anything in the treatment process, but it will provide an additional barrier against giardia, viruses and cryptosporidium," O'Brien said.

Since UV technology does not produce the byproducts that chlorine does, it would be helpful to West View to use the Sentinel instead of chlorine disinfection, but O'Brien explained that the State of Pennsylvania does not currently give CT credits for this type of disinfection.

"If this changes in the future," O'Brien said, "West View Water may be able to reduce the amount of chlorine it uses for disinfection, which could have a positive effect on disinfection byproduct levels."

West View reported in its 1998 Consumer Confidence Report (available through www.waterdata.com) that its TTHMs ranged between 17 and 60 ppb, still well below the Environmental Protection Agency maximum of 100 ppb.

Portland Plans CSO Tunnel

Parsons Brinckerhoff has been awarded a contract to design a new combined sewer overflow (CSO) tunnel for the city of Portland, Ore.

The West Side CSO tunnel is part of the Willamette CSO program for Portland. The 14-foot-diameter tunnel will be approximately 3.7 miles long, extending from the area near Marquam Bridge, proceeding north paralleling the Willamette River. It will pass under Waterfront Park and seven bridges.

The tunnel will collect flow from the southwest parallel interceptor and intercept overflows from existing combined sewer and storm outfalls that discharge to the Willamette River from the central business district and basins immediately north.

As prime engineering consultant, Parsons Brinckerhoff will be responsible for tunnel design, project management, geotechnical engineering, design of drop shafts, civil engineering, specifications and cost estimates. The company will oversee a team of 11 subconsultants.

Construction on the $90 million project will begin in early 2002, with completion slated for December 2006.

Company Wins O&M Contract

Brandywine Valley Engineers (BVE) has been named engineering consultant for the Southwest Delaware County Municipal Authority (SWDCMA) in Aston Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. As engineering consultant, BVE will oversee the administrative aspects of the authority and the operation and maintenance of its treatment facility.

The SWDCMA facility is a 6 mgd sewage treatment plant consisting of primary treatment, primary clarifiers, aeration tanks, secondary clarifiers and anaerobic digesters. The facility serves Aston Township and portions of Middletown, Upper Chichester and Upper Providence townships.

BVE is a division of Vollmer Associates, which provides comprehensive services in civil, structural and municipal engineering.

Company Negotiates Contracts with Communities

Azurix North America has been selected to negotiate agreements to provide water and wastewater services to three U.S. communities.

The Council of Jefferson Parish, La., has voted to award a $10 million five-year contract to Azurix to operate and maintain its East Bank Wastewater Treatment Plant. The contract has two five-year options for renewal giving it a potential value of up to $30 million.

The Middlesex County Improvement Authority of Middlesex, N.J., also voted recently to commence negotiations on a 20-year contract with Azurix to operate and maintain water treatment and distribution systems for the city of new Brunswick and the town of North Brunswick. Azurix is teamed with local contractor JJS Services for the contract, valued at more than $120 million.

"We are beginning to see the results of our efforts to expand the service business in North America," said Rebecca mark, chairman and CEO of Azurix. "We are very gratified that our efforts to earn the confidence of these new clients is proving successful. It demonstrates our ability to meet the specific needs of municipal clients in a cost effective and creative way."

Utility Selects New Flowmeter To Monitor Variable Flows

The Region of Queens Municipality in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, recently installed a new flow measurement system to help obtain consistent flow readings over widely varying flows into its water treatment facility.

The Liverpool plant was challenged with measuring flow rates that were high in the day and low in the evening. The plant selected a new V-Cone flow meter from McCrometer equipped with two transmitters, one for high range and one for low range flows. The goal was to help track the differing flows, and detect any potential problems such as leaks and pipe ruptures.

The V-Cone flowmeter provides differential pressure flow technology that provides an accuracy of up to +/- 4 percent, +/- 1 percent repeatability, and flow range of 10:1 or greater. It can be sized for line diameters from 12 inches to over 120.

Water, Sewer Rate Survey Finds Increases Top Inflation

A study of water and sewer rates in the six county northeastern Illinois area noted increases that are larger than the nationwide inflation rate.

Wight Consulting's biennial Potable Water and Sanitary Sewer Connection Charges and Rates Report includes data gathered through April 2000. It shows annual sewer connection charge increases of 7 percent and rates up 4.5 percent annually in the region. The annual potable water connection charges increased 8 percent and the rates were up almost 5 percent.

The latest two year record reflects increases that are a combination of stricter regulations at the state and federal level along with the inflation rate.

The study provides an opportunity for public sewer and water utilities to make comparisons and determine the details as to how rates and charges are imposed at different locations, according to a Wight spokesman.

The study is in its 16th year. Cost is $55. For more information, contact Wight Consulting, Tel: 847-381-1800.

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