By SYLVIE DALE
WaterWorld Online Editor
DENVER - The 119th American Water Works Convention and Exposition brought more 13,353 registered attendees to the Mile High City, giving Denver its biggest conference for the year and bringing an estimated $21 million to local businesses, according to Doug Marsano of AWWA.
The Denver Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau confirmed that the June 11-15 conference was the biggest of the year, and one of the biggest AWWA's home town has ever hosted. Twenty hotels in the Denver area are booked solid with AWWA attendees.
The conference brought drinking water professionals, environmentalists, and regulators together to discuss some of the most important issues facing public drinking water providers and consumers. Scheduled forum topics include the multi-billion dollar arsenic rule recently proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, water supply and conservation in the face of severe drought expected this summer, and the future of safe drinking water.
This is the fifth time Denver has hosted AWWA's annual conference. Established in 1881, AWWA has been headquartered in Denver since 1974. With more than 56,000 members throughout North America, AWWA is the oldest and largest scientific and educational organization dedicated to the provision of safe drinking water. AWWA's 4,200 utility members provide drinking water to more than 180 million Americans.
Proposed arsenic rule may cost consumers $1.5 billion per year
DENVER - In the face of EPA's proposal to reduce the arsenic limits from 50 parts per billion (ppb) to 5 ppb in drinking water, AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr said the move would cost consumers $1.5 billion per year.
"AWWA continues to strongly support reducing arsenic levels in drinking water and believes it can be done affordably," Hoffbuhr said.
"Consumers should understand that EPA's proposed rule will cost them $1.5 billion annually and water rates in some areas of the southwest and New England will increase by more than $100 a year per consumer."
Poster sessions, technical sessions and exhibits at this year's conference offered current research on the arsenic problem and new technologies to solve it.
According to research presented in a poster session by Brandon C. Yallaly and Timothy Kramer, powdered activated alumina and ultrafiltration may be methods suitable for arsenic removal. Joanne Barnes, John Simms and J. Upton presented research Monday on the process optimization of a 20 million liter per day granular ferric arsenic adsorption plant in the UK. The exhibits on the showroom floor included some solutions for arsenic removal, including one product from APYRON Technologies, Inc., called Aqua-Bind. The product is an alumina-based adsorption media that can selectively remove the two most common aqueous forms of arsenic, arsenite (As+3) and arsenate (As+5).
Currently, the World Health Organization has a standard for arsenic in drinking water of 10 ppb. Meeting that standard in the U.S. would cost $600 million.
Lowering the limits to 5 ppb would cause some cities to fall out of compliance, according to a report from the United States Geological Survey. To learn more, visit USGS' web site at http://co.water.usgs.gov/trace/pubs/fs-063-00/fig3.html .
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has followed through on its threat to sue the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in relation to the EPA's proposed arsenic rule. The lawsuit alleges that OMB has illegally delayed the issuance of a proposed arsenic rule, which was due January 1, 2000.
Several types of cancer have been linked to arsenic present in drinking water concentrations higher than observed in U.S. drinking water supplies. In addition, high levels of arsenic have been reported to affect the vascular system in people and have been associated with the development of diabetes.
Hoffbuhr said that this litigation will only hurt efforts to reduce arsenic levels.
"Unfortunately, this lawsuit could hamper efforts to make the timely, responsible reductions to the federal standard that the National Research Council, EPA, and the drinking water profession all support," he said.
New equipment offers solutions to new water quality problems
Dozens of new products got a first showing at the annual water conference, offering solutions to heightened regulations, new cost realities and increasing pollution. Some of the new products include a chlorine analyzer, a sodium hypochlorite generator, a plant monitoring and control system and a leak detection system.
A new chlorine analyzer from USFilter, the Depolox® 3 plus residual analyzer, functions without the need for reagents. The membrane probe has a buffered electrolyte solution behind it. When a low current moves from one electrode to another, the conductivity of the water is measured and translated into a chlorine residual amount. The analyzer measures from 0 to 2 mg/l to 0 to 20 mg/l. It uses an isolated 4-20 mA output, configurable alarm relays and an RS-485 digital interface with which to transmit the signal.
The analyzer may also be used to measure free chlorine residuals, fluoride residuals or pH.
The OSEC®-BP System, also from USFilter, can generate 50 lbs per day of sodium hypochlorite, a disinfectant safer to use than chlorine gas. The anodes are titanium plates with a metal oxide coating. The generator would be appropriate for plants up to 10 mgd.
A new, modular, portable mass transfer system called the Breeze is being used by the drinking water industry to strip dissolved gases such as H2S, CO2, methane and radon from water. The product, offered by Aeromix, is capable of handling flow rates up to 200 gpm. Multiple units can handle any flow rate. It is 30 in. tall and wide, and requires little maintenance. Designed to be energy efficient, the system allows a choice of fine or coarse-bubble aeration.
Plantscape® by Honeywell is a new hybrid control and monitoring system. It combines control functions with SCADA, safety, building and security functions. The system, offered jointly by USFilter and Honeywell, uses a touchscreen and visual representations of the property being monitored. Signals are sent over radio frequency to the Plantscape system, but from there they can be accessed remotely using an 800 number. This feature helps USFilter Control Systems to troubleshoot and diagnose water utility systems using the technology.
A new leak detector from Fluid Conservation Systems and Palmer Environmental can run continuously for 10 years on a single battery. Designed to minimize labor use in finding leaks, the Permalog® system consists of several small lead detectors which attach magnetically to metal fittings, plus a hand-held unit designed to collect the leak survey information from up to 100 yards away. A two to three hour drive around a utility's water pipes will collect all the information needed to find suspected leaks. Information is returned on whether or not a leak exists, what type of leak it is, and which logger found the leak.
A high-solids tank lining from Sherwin-Williams is designed to have minimal impact on the environment. Epoxide HS Tank Lining contains 70 percent solids by volume and has a VOC emission of 2.0 lb/gal. The lining is safe to use in potable water storage tanks. It is intended to protect against corrosion by forming a hard, tough film that is acid and alkali resistant. It can bond to steel and concrete as well.
The Aria family of membrane microfiltration systems from Pall Corp. filter drinking water in municipalities that serve 10,000 or less. The skid-mounted, fully automated systems use a straightforward operator interface - once programmed, the system can run unattended. It uses Microza® Drinking Water Microfiltration Modules, which provide finished water exceeding EPA's Surface Water Treatment Rule. It can also remove pathogenic substances such as cysts, oocysts and viruses. The system can be cleaned while on-line.
Schlumberger acquires CellNet Data Systems
Schlumberger Ltd.'s Resource Management Services has acquired most of the assets of CellNet Data Systems, Inc., a provider of telemetry services, for a total of $235 million. Schlumberger bought the controlling interest as part of CellNet's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and has agreed to take on some of CellNet's debts. Schlumberger's revenue was $8.4 billion in 1999.
