Conference Papers

The utility industry is changing at a rate that is faster than ever before. Increased regulatory pressure, higher level of service expectations from ratepayers, and an increased range of available technology and solutions to meet organizational missions are resulting in a need to continually develop and improve utility operations. For the most mature utilities there are often processes in place to facilitate this development organically. For less mature organizations, foundational processes need to be identified and created prior to addressing these new challenges. For utilities, understanding the current maturity of their organization is key to identifying a path to organizational development. Maturity assessments are he primary way to clearly understand the present in order to prepare for the future. In 2014 Winston-Salem/Forsyth County (WSFC) Utilities was facing a defining moment for their organization. The utility was experiencing historically low levels of service, facing USEPA regulatory action, and undergoing a change in leadership. New challenges were becoming more apparent and the institutional knowledge that the utility had historically relied on to make decisions was quickly disappearing. To understand a path to a successful future, the utility needed to develop a strategic plan to build the knowledge and skills to tackle these critical issues. Through the Collection System Improvement Program (CSIP), HDR collaborated with WSFC Utilities to develop this strategic plan. As a first step, a maturity assessment was performed with a diverse set of utility staff to provide a clear understanding of the organizations level of maturity around 12 core functions. The focus of the exercise included collection system operations. Functional areas of expertise were identified through a mix of utility input and industry benchmarking standards including the AWWA Utility Benchmarking Program. These functional areas include key areas of service delivery administered by the utility throughout the collection system: 1.Collection System Management 2.Condition Assessment 3.Capacity Assessment 4.Capital Delivery 5.First Response 6.FOG Management 7.Cleaning 8.Chemical Root Control 9.Easement Maintenance 10.Inspection — CCTV 11.Inspection — Force Mains 12.Construction & Repair These functions, and their associated maturity levels, were defined prior to maturity evaluation by the team. This was a critical step to allow for the objective assessment and goal setting for these functions by team members. Functions were assessed on a spectrum from Not Practiced — the least mature — to Continuous Improvement — the most mature. Maturity levels were defined under the following standards: - Level 5, Continuous Improvement — In addition to meeting the requirements of previous levels, new technology, processes, and approaches are regularly proposed and tested. - Level 4, Measured - In addition to meeting the requirements of previous levels, function is consistently delivered and performance is assessed against established performance goals. QA/QC occurs regularly. - Level 3, Defined & Standardized - In addition to meeting the requirements of previous levels, processes are defined and repeatable. Performance data may be collected but is not actively managed. - Level 2, Repeatable - In addition to meeting the requirements of previous levels processes are not formally defined, but informal standards exist. Limited QA/QC activity is performed. - Level 1, Reactive — Delivery of function is entirely reactive. Processes are established on a case-by-case basis. - Level 0, Not Practiced — The function is not performed by the utility. Target maturity levels were established by WSFC Utilities staff by reviewing level of service goals and connecting these goals to functional area maturity. This is a critical component of directing maturity assessment activities. By developing Target maturity levels, organizations are forced to make decisions about what they believe is achievable with available resources and required to optimize organizational outcomes. In the WSFC Utilities case, easement maintenance and inspection were determined to not require Level 5 maturity to meet the service goals of the utility. Once target maturity levels were established, an assessment of the maturity of the utility was assessed across all functional groups using a nested survey. This survey was administered to a combination of WSFC Utilities staff, members of the CSIP consultant team, and City of Winston-Salem employees from adjacent departments who work directly with the WSFC Utilities. Survey questions included qualitative assessments of the performance of utility functions that mapped directly to maturity levels, but not did not ask participants to specify a particular level. This allowed for a non-biased assessment of utility maturity without the implications of assigning a poor maturity rating. Understanding both target and current maturity levels allowed the team to understand what the gap between current performance and maturity goals were. Using this information, a strategic road map was developed to identify a path to increased organizational maturity through a series of operational initiatives. These initiatives included a range of strategies from implementing new processes and decision-making tools to improve utility performance to field training on the knowledge and skills needed to perform utility functions. Understanding the workload and path dependencies required to improve organizational maturity is key to managing expectations on the timeframe and level of investment required to reach target goals. After six years of assessing their own organization and working through the roadmap of initiatives, WSFC Utilities has made steady, lasting progress in advancing their organization. For all utilities, developing a clear vision and plan of action allows for the strategic investment in organizational development. By continually assessing organizational maturity, the effectiveness of these plans can be measured and adjusted to provide the most value to organizational staff and customers. For the most mature utilities this allows for the update of existing strategies and establishes a foundation for a consistent approach during mid and upper-level management changes. For less mature organizations, this process creates a path to targeted investment in most critical areas and a common vision of the future. Regardless of the position of any individual organization, maturity assessments are an effective way to understand and direct organizational development.

In today's dynamic job market, organizations face challenges in retaining top talent and maintaining a strong workforce. Stay interviews offer a valuable tool for addressing these challenges by engaging and understanding the needs of existing employees. Stay interviews are an emerging mechanism adopted by organizations to improve employee retention. Unlike exit interviews that focus on gathering feedback from departing employees, stay interviews aim to engage and retain existing employees by addressing their concerns, needs, and professional development. This presentation provides an overview of stay interviews as a proactive retention strategy, outlining their purpose, benefits, and best practices. SPR will share their methodology for executing a stay interview project, providing insights into their data collection and analysis processes. They will also showcase their PowerBI dashboard, demonstrating how it visualizes differences between employee populations, including DEI subsets. This in-depth analysis enables leadership to address specific concerns within different groups, make necessary enhancements, and generate ideas for future offerings. Gallup research reports that only about 25% of organizations are currently conducting stay interviews, which can reduce organizational turnover by up to 20%. Overall, stay interviews serve as a valuable tool for enhancing employee engagement, satisfaction, and long-term commitment, contributing to overall organizational success.

This paper and presentation will survey and analyze the latest lawsuits and regulatory developments affecting the beneficial use of biosolids to provide wastewater and residuals professionals current information that will help inform their decisions on risk, liability, management, and planning. Slaughter and Silton regularly defend land application in litigation, and they are currently working on behalf of a major land application contractor-and its farm partners-to challenge a Pennsylvania locality's attempt to restrict land application. The speakers will discuss the challenges posed by local ordinances, tort litigation, and the ongoing campaign to regulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). This talk will outline potential risks, while also highlighting potential strategies for managing land application and discouraging attacks on beneficial use in the face of a changing legal environment and local communities that may be hostile to land application. Slaughter and Silton will first address the interplay between state and local regulation by exploring several case studies involving local attempts to restrict or ban land application. Their discussion will cover California, where decade-long litigation over a local biosolids ban resulted in a trial and settlement striking down the ban. City of Los Angeles v. Kern County, 2017 WL 1292822 (Tulare Co. Super. Ct. Mar. 14, 2017). Among other things, the Kern trial resulted in findings that land application poses few risks after hearing evidence concerning minimal concentrations of PFAS in soil and groundwater beneath a farm where biosolids had been land applied for decades. The speakers will also address recent developments in other states, including Pennsylvania, where the speakers are currently challenging application of a local waste ordinance to land application. Second, the speakers will survey risks to land application posed by tort law suits. Cases in which plaintiffs' lawyers have alleged nuisance conditions caused by land application will be discussed, including the important decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Gilbert v. Synagro Central, LLC, 131 A.3d 1, which ruled that farming with biosolids is a normal agricultural operation entitled to protection under Pennsylvania's Right to Farm Act. The speakers will also discuss a case brought in Maine, Stoneridge Farms v. 3M, in which a dairy farmer alleges that land application resulted PFAS contaminating his land, groundwater, and dairy cows. This case was voluntarily dismissed but portends a new generation of tort litigation seeking to challenge land application. Third, the talk will assess the regulatory landscape for land application. Legislators and regulators, at the behest of many advocacy groups, have turned their focus to trace chemicals that may be found in biosolids, including PFAS. Silton and Slaughter will highlight recently regulatory developments and their implications for POTWs, biosolids service providers, and farmers. The presentation will conclude with how stakeholders in land application-POTWs, contractors, and farmers-can collaborate to reduce their risks and navigate a challenging, dynamic legal and regulatory landscape.

BACKGROUND The William E. Dunn Water Reclamation Facility (WEDWRF) is in Pinellas County, Florida and is operated by Pinellas County Utilities to treat wastewater collected from the County's northern service area, and to generate reclaimed water supply for the County's reuse distribution system. The WEDWRF is a 9.0 MGD capacity advanced 5-Stage Bardenpho process wastewater treatment facility that currently operates at an annual average flow of approximately 6.5 MGD. The existing solids management system for the WEDWRF includes two (2) rotary drum thickeners (RDT) for thickening waste activated sludge (WAS), two open top sludge holding tanks, two (2) belt filter presses (BFP) and truck loading bay. The existing BFP are old and require replacement. A pilot scale dewatering study was conducted with the following objectives: 1.Evaluate the dewatering performance of new belt filter press and centrifuge. 2.Optimize the polymer dosage to maximize cake solids and solids capture. 3.The efficacy of generating thickened waste activated sludge (TWAS) using RDT to thicken WAS prior to dewatering or bypass the RDT to directly dewater WAS as an operational, energy and polymer cost saving measure. 4.Analyze composite samples of centrate/filtrate stream for Chemical oxygen demand (COD), Ammonia and Phosphorous to determine the quality of the reject stream back to the headworks. 5.Perform life cycle cost analysis of dewatering operation and maintenance for BFP and Centrifuge. PILOT TESTING SCHEDULE The pilot testing was conducted between April 18, 2023 - June 6, 2023. Alfa Laval's BFP was tested between April 18 - April 20 for WAS, April 25 - April 27 for TWAS. Andritz centrifuge was tested between May 9 - May 11 for WAS, May 15 - May 17 for TWAS. Alfa Laval's centrifuge was tested between May 23 - May 25 for WAS, June 5 - June 6 for TWAS. A filtrate/centrate stream composite sample was collected on each day of pilot testing for both WAS and TWAS. RESULTS 1.Waste Activated Sludge The percent cake solids (%TS) obtained for WAS in Alfa Laval BFP ranged between 16.8-18.5% for the polymer dosage ranging between 10.0-16.8 lb/Ton. The solids capture for BFP was between 95 - 99%. Similarly, the percent cake solids (%) obtained for Andritz and Alfa Laval Centrifuge ranged between 20.0-24.5% for polymer dosage ranging between 14.5-62.9 lb/Ton for Andritz centrifuge and 13.2-35.7 lb/Ton for Alfa Laval centrifuge. The solids capture for Andritz centrifuge ranged between 89-96% and Alfa Laval centrifuge ranged between 94-99%. 2.Thickened Waste Activated Sludge The percent cake solids (%TS) obtained for TWAS in Alfa Laval BFP ranged between 15.8-17.7% for the polymer dosage ranging between 7.3-11.4 lb/Ton. The solids capture for BFP was between 96-99%. Similarly, the percent cake solids (%) obtained for Andritz and Alfa Laval Centrifuge ranged between 18.7-22.7% for polymer dosage ranging between 18.7-44.8 lb/Ton for Andritz centrifuge and 27.0-32.0 lb/Ton for Alfa Laval centrifuge. The solids capture for Andritz centrifuge was between 84-99% and Alfa Laval centrifuge ranged between 94-99%. 3.Centrate/Filtrate Analysis A composite sample of centrate/filtrate was collected on each day of pilot testing for both WAS and TWAS. For WAS centrate stream, the concentrations of COD ranged between 60 - 470 ppm, ammoniacal nitrogen between 0.1 - 0.3 ppm, total phosphorus between 2 - 48 ppm. For TWAS centrate stream, the concentrations of COD ranged between 102 - 2,440 ppm, ammoniacal nitrogen between 0 -150 ppm, and total phosphorus between 133 - 490 ppm. It is noteworthy to mention that the concentration of analytes reported here as received from the contracted laboratory. The key observations in the filtrate/centrate composite sample analysis are: 1.Concentration of the analytes appear to be lower during the belt filter press dewatering operation when compared to the centrifuge dewatering operation. 2.Concentration of analytes for TWAS filtrate/centrate stream appear to be significantly higher than for WAS. This indicates that there is release of nutrients in the holding tank. 3.The P concentration in the filtrate for TWAS appears to be in high enough concentrations that it could lead to the formation of struvite in the facility. This could decrease the dewaterability of the sludge and create maintenance issues, due to buildup in pipes and valves, at the facility. KEY TAKE-AWAYS The pilot testing results indicate that both BFP and centrifuge technology could be suitable for WEDWRF dewatering improvements. The BFP consistently achieved a cake solids concentration of 17.5 (%TS) for WAS. In the case of TWAS, the average percent cake solids were about 17.0 (%TS). Similarly, both the centrifuges performed better than BFP producing cake solids at an average of 22.0-23.0 (%TS) for WAS and 20.0 (%TS) for TWAS. However, the polymer consumption in the case of centrifuge was at least twice as much as BFP polymer consumption for both WAS and TWAS to achieve a 3-5% increase in percent cake solids. The centrate/filtrate composite analysis samples showed interesting observations with high concentrations of nutrients for TWAS. This could be attributed to the release of nutrients in the sludge holding tank. A determination of the exact duration and conditions that would cause this release of nutrients and soluble COD is something the pilot did not focus on. An understanding of the impacts of sludge degradation in sludge holding tanks especially in hot summer months is important for this and many other plants that use sludge holding tanks as buffers to limit plant dewatering operations schedules to only a few days a week. This could also impact the dewaterability of TWAS which was evident as the cake solids (%) obtained in TWAS was relatively lower than WAS. Furthermore, higher nutrient and COD loading in the centrate stream recycled to the headworks of the plant could lead to increase in aeration demands to treat the increased ammonia load . Similarly, there could be an impact in disinfection chlorine demand. To conclude, both BFP and centrifuge should be evaluated for both WAS and TWAS to have a complete understanding of overall life-cycle cost implications on each of those equipment. Life cycle cost analysis will be performed and presented by the time of Residuals and Biosolids Conference in 2024. This presentation will cover the pilot testing equipment operating parameters, feed characteristics, relationship between wastewater sludge cake solids and polymer consumption of dewatering WAS and TWAS, important parameters for plant operations decision making. Furthermore, the presentation touches upon nutrient and COD impacts of dewatering recycle streams and their potential impacts on plant effluent limits. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The presenters thank Pinellas County Utilities, Alfa Laval, and Andritz for providing pilot testing equipment trailers and for assisting during the pilot testing phase.

Background and Project Goals Reduced acceptance of wastewater solids at landfills, paired with increased disposal tip fees, are a problem noted by wastewater utilities across the nation and one that has worsened in the past two years throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. A biosolids landfill study was conducted for a wastewater utility that treats 220 million gallons of wastewater per day, generates 105,000 wet tons of solids per year, and covers a service area with a population of nearly 900,000 residents. Approximately 18% of production is managed through landfill disposal. Regional landfills have enacted limitations on the utility over a two-year period that range from reduced tonnage and disposal times to complete cessation of acceptance. In response, a biosolids trends analysis project was initiated with a focus on landfill challenges and subsequent disposal policies. The primary purpose of the project was to establish the sustainability of landfill as a routine outlet for the utility's solids, and if regional capacity exists for potential emergency situations. A secondary goal was to provide understanding of the causes of extreme landfill heating (subsurface internal temperatures 250 °F up to 1500 °F) and slope failures at landfills — challenges that landfills reported as the main cause of biosolids volume restrictions. The project included interviews with industry experts to investigate causes of extreme landfill heating and slope failure, and surveys of regional landfills to understand limitation policies and identify potential disposal opportunities. Project Findings The most noteworthy finding of the project is that 'existing' approved landfill capacity can change from week to week. Verbal reports regarding capacity and acceptance by landfill representatives is unreliable. Figure 1 shows the monthly solids production volume that would go to landfills if other management programs failed in comparison to the ever-changing 'available' and 'approved' capacity reported by regional landfill representatives. The graphic shows approved capacity at the start of the project in January 2020 (6,380 wet tons per month) compared to approved capacity in August 2020 (2,910 wet tons per month). Also displayed is the available capacity reported during project interviews conducted from March to June 2020 (11,815 wet tons per month) versus capacity landfills were willing to accept post-completion of the project in October 2020 (4,190 wet tons per month). Total approved monthly landfill capacity dropped by 54% over the course of eight months and actual capacity secured at regional landfills post-project was 65% lower than what was indicated by representatives during project surveys. When interviewed for the project, representatives from six landfills reported available capacity but only one provided an approval to the utility beyond one load per day. Additionally, four landfills reduced existing approvals to 'emergency use only' though this was not indicated during landfill interviews. Even more surprising was three of those same landfills had also reported an abundance of available capacity to the County the year prior in a pledged long term 10-year plan submission. The reasons cited to the utility consistently involved wet waste restrictions and alleged connection between biosolids and extreme landfill heating and/or slope instability. In fact, all sixteen landfills participating in surveys noted operational changes and disposal restrictions based on those issues — with only two experiencing either challenge at their site. Another key finding from the project, based on interviews with industry experts, is that biosolids are not a direct standalone cause of either of these landfill challenges. Industry experts reported that extreme landfill heating and slope instability challenges are both caused by a combination of operational, biological, and chemical factors. Saturated waste masses do increase the chances of both landfill challenges — a primary reason the landfill limits are targeting reduction of 'wet wastes' as a preventative measure. While biosolids do add to the wet waste ratio, experts reported that a ratio of 20% wet waste to 80% municipal solid waste (MSW) is acceptable as long as sound operational practices are in place. Despite this, Waste Management is enforcing a strict 5% wet waste limit as a company policy and others (i.e., Republic, Advanced Disposal) are set at 10 - 15% in a conservative effort to avoid either challenge. Although the exact mechanisms are still under investigation, primary contributors to extreme landfill heating include poor liquid management, inefficient landfill gas collection systems, and exothermic reactions between wastestreams. Elevated temperatures can lead to drastic operational challenges including melting of leachate and landfill gas collection system piping, rapid decomposition and settling within the waste mass, and geysers of leachate due to pressure built up (Figure 2). One of the most interesting findings about extreme landfill heating is that one cause is the reaction between ash (i.e., fly ash, MSW incinerator ash) and organic wastes. The oxides in the ash mixed with organic material (including biosolids) can cause exothermic reaction over time — and lead to pockets of subsurface trapped heat. In other cases, subsurface extreme heating is occurring at landfills that used mixtures of ash and organics as an alternative daily or intermediate landfill cover, leading to a disproportionate ratio of reactive wastestreams in the deep waste mass. Extreme landfill temperatures can lead to slope instability and/or failure but are only one of the reported causes. Figure 3 shows a portion of a 12-acre slope failure at a landfill due primarily to inadequate design and stability analysis. As in the case of elevated temperatures, limiting biosolids acceptance is not the key answer to assuring slope stability. Sound operational handling practices including mixing wet wastes with solid wastes, spreading wet wastes out, and avoiding wet waste disposal at the toe of slope or at the interface of two landfill cells — can help to ensure safe disposal of wet wastes including biosolids. Conclusion As more is discovered about the mechanisms of the reactions leading to extreme heating and root causes of massive slope failures are identified — the industry is shifting recommendations away from over-saturating landfills, encouraging more focus on segregation of wastestreams that could lead to exothermic reactions, and homing in on how important it is to properly mix and spread out wet wastestreams. As a result, landfills are taking precautions by setting even stricter than recommended wet waste ratio limits and in some cases ceasing acceptance altogether. The utility is bearing the results of this with the most recent restrictions effectively reducing the approved disposal sites from eight to three sites over a period of three months. The main takeaway is that even a large utility, one with 900,000 resident's dependent on their facility, can essentially be refused disposal of solids, and landfill approvals can change at any moment — making landfill disposal an unreliable long-term biosolids management plan.

The intern program at South Platte Renew was formalized in 2019 to highlight the work of professional engineers in the water/wastewater field. Over the last four years, the program has evolved into a comprehensive experience for junior to senior level university and college engineering students to showcase the diverse engineering and problem-solving opportunities available within a professional setting. Experiences range from construction inspection, design and planning, budgeting, technical and process optimization, lab work, and piloting treatment technologies. In providing several resources and contacts, students can explore different facets of the wastewater field and experience the unique offerings from a public entity. Along with classic engineering technical skills, interns are shown the political drivers and challenges that must be considered when working as a government agency. Students are also given the opportunity to grow their professional networks, complete vital trainings, and build resumes with applicable experience. The main goal of the SPR Intern Program is to engage young engineers in the diverse work of wastewater in hopes to inspire them to join the workforce in the public sector. This presentation highlights the efforts and methods by SPR to build and maintain an intern program and how others can benefit from a university-to-organization pipeline. The framework and planning documents can be customized for the 3-month internship based on the organization's needs and focuses for that year.

Conceptualized in 2006 and completed in early 2021, the Lick Run Greenway in Cincinnati, OH, is a unique example of how a community and a wastewater utility can work together on a creative, green solution for sewer overflows. On the surface, the Lick Run Greenway looks like a park with a stream running through it, but this stormwater management/combined sewer overflows (CSO) reduction project eliminates 800 million gallons of CSOs annually into the Mill Creek, which in 1997 was named the most endangered urban waterway in America. In 2006, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) began working on a Wet Weather Program with a focused solution for the Mill Creek. The original project was a purely gray concept: a CSO storage tunnel. MSD proposed a green alternative that would not only meet the same CSO reduction goals at a reduced cost but also help revitalize a disadvantaged community. MSD deliberately selected and brought the project to South Fairmount, a low-income, transient neighborhood that was once a thriving community. The basis of the project was could we fix an environmental problem while also reinvigorating a neighborhood. From the beginning, the project sought to not only to inform local residents, but to engage them in the decision-making process, including historic/cultural mitigation and a series of community design workshops that led to a Master Plan. During construction, MSD continued to engage through public meetings, tours, neighborhood briefings, social media, website, media coverage, and monthly drone flyover videos showing construction progress. MSD additionally developed a series of educational signs on the cultural history of South Fairmount and ecological benefits of the project. The signage was also converted into a virtual experience for visitors through the Lick Run Heritage Trail website. As the project neared completion, MSD turned its attention to how to make the park welcoming, clean, and safe for visitors and a resource for outdoor and environmental education. In early 2021, MSD rolled out the Lick Run Greenway Ambassador program, which includes an Adopt-A-Spot program, hiring local youths through a partnership with the Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC) and Groundwork Ohio River Valley to welcome visitors and help beautify the Greenway, and designing an anti-litter campaign. MSD also began working closely with the South Fairmount Community Council and Cincinnati Recreation Commission to help bring programming to the Greenway. In early summer 2021, MSD hired a college co-op to create and host weekly interactive, pop-up environmental education events geared toward children. The intern also created partnerships with the Queen City Pollinator Project and Cincinnati Red Bike. During the summer of 2021, MSD hosted a number of programs for the community at large, including an inaugural 5K run/walk, a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra concert, a community-wide cleanup, and a Pumpkin Fest. Planning for 2022 is already underway, with the intent of bringing more programming and more environmental education to the South Fairmount community. The South Fairmount community has embraced the Lick Run Greenway, and MSD has embraced the challenge of helping revitalize this neighborhood.

Prince George's County, MD is located within the 80,000 square mile Chesapeake Bay watershed. EPA and the State of Maryland prepared the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (Bay TMDL) for restoring the Chesapeake Bay's chemically, biologically and physically impaired waters. The Bay TMDL requires States, Counties and Cities within the watershed to limit the amount of Total Phosphorus, Total Nitrogen and Total Suspended Sediment that is discharged through point and non-point sources (urban stormwater runoff). Prince George's County combined meeting regulatory requirements with targeted local workforce and business development for this pioneering alternative delivery project. Prince George's County (County) and Corvias Infrastructure Solutions (CIS) developed the Clean Water Partnership (CWP) to design, build and maintain urban stormwater quality treatment best management practices (BMPs) to meet the County's Bay TMDL obligations. In addition to infrastructure improvements, the CWP balances risk, priorities, and social needs, through this Community Based Partnership (CBP). Bringing financing, engineering design firms, contractors, outreach and social/economic goals to this project, environmental compliance is being achieved with local economic growth and community involvement. This groundbreaking and innovative alternative delivery method is the first in the country and required a pioneering, dynamic and responsive team effort to meet the multiple program objectives. The two main CBP program elements include: 1) Environmental goals of design, permitting and construction of stormwater treatment devices, located throughout the 500-square mile County, to treat urban stormwater runoff. 2) Social and economic goals to meet aggressive target class utilization (40% for local, small and minority businesses) and local workforce (51% county resident utilization). Between 2016 and 2021, CWP has successfully implemented over 150 projects, certified over 300 BMP devices to help meet the County's MS4 stormwater permit requirements. In this process, CWP spent over $140 million in design and construction and reduced approximately 53,700 lb. of Total Nitrogen (TN), 7,300 lb. of Total Phosphorus (TP) and 4,405,100 lb. of Total Suspended Solids (TSS). In addition, more than 15,000 acres of drainage area is also treated to reduce pollutants to Chesapeake Bay. A key to the success of the CWP Program has been clear programmatic metrics including indicators and beneficiaries from day one. Primary program metrics focused on schedule/speed, scale economies and performance, community outreach, local disadvantaged subcontractor utilization, local subcontractor development, workforce utilization, and workforce development. Additional metrics were related to alternative compliance and partner programs, and project budget books and schedules. Moving forward, the CWP Team is focused on executing efficiencies to design and construct additional large pond retrofit projects and stream restoration projects based on their monitoring and tracking of BMP cost-effectiveness throughout earlier phases. In addition to complete data inventories on the number of BMPs built and drainage area managed, the CWP Team analyzed pollution removal and cost data of BMPs to determine Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorus and Total Suspended Solids reduction for 10+ different types of BMPs. This performance summary information directly influenced the planning and siting of each subsequent phase of BMP design and construction. At the same time the Program Management team will continue to rely on performance data and think creatively to achieve its program goals and metrics in future phases. The CWP team has been focusing on asset management as the Program matures to its subsequent phases. This presentation will provide useful information for utility and public works department leaders, and stormwater management staff about creating or tailoring an existing program to meet large-scale targets for capital project delivery intended to meet water quality goals or other stormwater related objectives such as resiliency and flood risk reduction. Partnership goals, organizational structures and integrated delivery partners roles and responsibilities, and program metrics will be shared for discussion. Detailed information will also be presented related to specific program elements and BMP performance data that helped the CWP Team to achieve program milestones. As more communities face increasing regulation and climate-related threats to their stormwater infrastructure, bundling capital improvement projects for cost-effective and timely implementation may be necessary. The CWP Team will share lessons learned from their 6+ years of program execution, specific keys to success for other communities to consider and adaptive management strategies for future CWP success.

Introduction The Heights Hilltop Interceptor Local Sewer System Evaluation Study (HHI-LSSES) and Southwest Interceptor Local Sewer System Evaluation Study (SWI-LSSES) are two of four Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD, District) Regional SSES projects implemented to support District initiatives to address water quality and quantity problems associated with sanitary sewer infrastructure. The problems adversely affecting human health and the environment include sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), basement backups, illicit discharges and failing home sewage treatment systems (HSTSs, septic tanks). The studies focused on the local member community sewer systems upstream of the District interceptors. The HHI-LSSES project area covers 26,200 acres and 15 communities while the SWI-LSSES project area covers 51,600 acres and 14 communities. Two other LSSES projects are covering the remaining 31 District communities. The collection systems serving the District member communities range in age from new development to over 120 years. The LSSES projects were implemented at a planning level to use existing information and new field investigations, flow and rainfall monitoring, and sewer system hydrologic/hydraulic modeling to support District and member communities' understanding of system performance and regional water quality. The projects also developed and optimized feasible system improvement alternatives and prioritized potential solutions and costs to address the problems identified. Objectives - Review and understand existing information and ongoing problems. - Conduct targeted field investigations to confirm and/or discover existing problems. - Develop and calibrate hydrologic/hydraulic sanitary sewer system computer models for local collection systems tributary to District interceptors. - Correlate observed existing system performance and ongoing problems with the updated calibrated model. - Identify problem causes and cost-effective potential solutions using the calibrated model and a suite of analysis and costing tools integrated with the model. Consider how variation in rainfall may affect problems observed and the type, size, and cost of potential solutions. - Use ArcGIS Online (AGOL) to document and convey all key project information and results developed in near real time, including existing problem locations and areas, field investigations, condition assessment, feasible improvement alternatives considered and suggested potential improvements for community consideration. - Develop individual summary reports and supporting field investigation and condition assessment data files for each community to parallel the AGOL information. - Develop comprehensive summary reports and supporting information for each District interceptor LSSES project area to parallel the AGOL information. Status The HHI-LSSES project began in 2016 and was completed in 2020. The ongoing SWI-LSSES project began in 2018 and is scheduled for completion in Fall 2021. Fieldwork, modeling and alternatives analysis were completed in the spring of 2021. Methodology The LSSES projects completed four primary tasks: 1. Local system assessment strategy – Task 1 compiled and reviewed existing information from the District, local communities, and Cuyahoga County as the basis for project planning and development of the approach for system investigations and monitoring performed in Tasks 2 and 3. Community work plans were developed to share with the communities and confirm receipt of relevant existing information. Technical memoranda were developed to prioritize the study area for field investigations based on existing information and to define the field activities, standard operating procedures (SOPs), including the AGOL project platform set-up, and protocols for the investigations. 2. Local system inspection and condition assessment – Task 2 completed field investigations including manhole inspections, dyed water (dye) testing, sewer CCTV, smoke testing, and elevation surveys to identify and document sewer system connectivity, invert and overflow elevations, and condition and causes of reported and model-projected problems. The information developed was used to update District system documentation, including the AGOL geodatabase files, and to target and corroborate subsequent flow monitoring and sewer system model development and analysis. 3. Local Sewer System Evaluation – The local sewer system evaluation used information developed in Tasks 1 and 2, in conjunction with local sewer system flow and rainfall monitoring and modeling, to characterize existing system performance and identify significant problems to be considered for capital improvements or other corrective actions. Task 3 findings were provided to the local communities for review prior to development of potential solutions in Task 4. 4. Prioritized Capital Solutions and Maintenance and Policy Recommendations – Task 4 developed and analyzed alternatives to solve the identified problems and achieve the desired public health and water quality benefits. Feasible system improvement options, such as common trench sewer separation and rehabilitation, peak flow storage and private property I/I reduction, were analyzed to simulate potential solution alternatives for the local sewer systems. The alternatives were compared and optimized using planning level costs and non-cost criteria such as long-term system performance and serviceability, operation, and maintenance requirements, and potential effects at downstream District facilities to recommend potential solutions and suggested prioritization. Implementation considerations were developed to include coordination with the District's Member Community Infrastructure Program (MCIP) which provides technical and funding support to help communities implement improvements. Potential solutions, associated costs, and implementation considerations were documented in reports developed for each community. Findings The projects have largely corroborated community identified sanitary sewer problem areas and have identified other projected basement backup problem areas and SSOs based on monitored/modeled rainfalls. Other findings include high correlation of problems with aging common trench sewer systems (sanitary and storm sewers constructed in same trench). The alternatives analysis, summary reporting and AGOL system provide member communities with a prioritized roadmap of feasible, cost-effective solutions for their consideration and long-term implementation. The feasible solutions have been prioritized into three tiers to focus limited resources on the most critical water quality and system performance issues first (Tier 1), followed by longer term improvements (Tiers 2 and 3) to reduce risk of failure and improve system resilience. The approximate cost distribution across the three tiers is 10%, 60% and 30%, respectively. Significance The projects are helping the District and member communities understand the scope and important details of the local community sewer system problems, as well as potential system improvements, prioritization, and costs. This information helps the District plan and manage downstream conveyance and treatment facilities and helps communities plan for implementation of local system improvements that will support successful operation of the larger system. Parallel District stormwater master planning projects are providing findings and potential improvements for regional stormwater systems that are being considered in conjunction with the LSSES findings and potential solutions with the overall goal of integrating improvement projects where feasible to minimize cost and disruption and improve long-term resilience.

The City of Oceanside California operates and maintains three critical ductile iron force mains installed during the 1970's and 1990's, the 42' Combined Sewer Line, the 24' Mission Ave Force Main, and the 24'/36' Land Outfall. The six-mile-long Land Outfall conveys effluent from the San Luis Rey Water Reclamation Facility (SLRWRF) at the northern end of the City to the La Salina Wastewater Treatment Plant (LSWWTP) near the ocean outfall. The two other pipelines are approximately 3 miles long and begin near the intersection of Mesa Drive and Garrison Street, run parallel to the Land Outfall, and flow toward the SLRWRF. Past failures on the Land Outfall prompted the City to create a condition assessment project to evaluate these force mains as well as construct improvements on appurtenances and create access points for inspections. Due to the topography, portions of the force mains are in gravity flow conditions, which complicated the condition assessment plans along with the fact that portions of the mains run along and under the City's major roadway and through culturally and biologically protected lands. The condition assessment team, consisting of Arcadis and Infrastructure Engineering Corporation, utilized multiple steps and technologies in a phased approach to collect the most relevant data using a cost-effective approach including the following:
Development of Base Maps. The team compiled information on the existing pipelines into a base map including location, flow data, baseline soil corrosivity, desktop geotechnical data, planning level biological and cultural studies, conservation easements, connection details, and plan and profile views.
Up-Front Capital Improvement Projects. The team identified several locations to prioritize as an immediate need for replacement including air valves on the Land Outfall and lining of the 24' gravity portion of the Mission Avenue Force Main. The City also indicated that they intended to rehabilitate the 42' combined sewer from the interconnect to Mission Avenue Lift Station and preferred not to inspect that section of line. •.
Development of Condition Assessment Plan. A Condition Assessment Plan was written that included the proposed following assessments:
Acoustic screening using Smart Ball on the Mission Avenue Force Main to identify gas pockets and the potential for internal corrosion failure.
Broadband Electromagnetic (BEM) testing on the Land Outfall, Mission Avenue Force Main, and Combined Sewer Line to establish baseline wall thickness data, inspect locations in high corrosivity soil locations, and inspect high points.
Internal Electromagnetic testing using Pipe Diver on the Land Outfall including area with a river crossing and a large passenger railroad crossing.
Additional soil corrosivity opportunistic testing at excavated areas.
Internal Electromagnetic testing using Pipe Diver on the Mission Avenue Force Main and Combined Sewer Line to analyze the river crossings (this was later removed from the project due to the difficulty in accessing the lines, lack of redundancy and high risk at Mission Avenue Lift Station related to flow diversions). As part of the condition assessment plan for the internal inspections, flow conditions were analyzed on paper and specific actions were detailed regarding operations of the Mission Avenue Lift Station and the SLRWRF effluent pumps to maintain 2 feet per second of full pipe flow during the inspections as well as depressurizing and repressurizing for the Land Outfall Pipe Diver inspection. Flow diversion plans were also created to restrict industrial customers that discharge directly into the Land Outfall. There were intentions of performing a dry run to simulate the required flow conditions prior to performing the Pipe Diver inspection as well as having all of the air valve repairs completed, but due to weather impacts on the construction and the inconvenience of customers having to hold their flows, the flow test was not performed. During the Land Outfall inspection of the river crossing section, the team was able to control the flow at 2 feet per second (fps) for the two Pipe Diver runs after some unanticipated trial and error of partially closing a valve downstream to fully fill the pipe after it was depressurized. The testing lasted longer than anticipated but was successful. However, the Land Outfall section at the railroad crossing was more challenging and the team was not able to turn the downstream valve and maintain full flow at 2 fps and the test was abandoned. Analyzing the data collected from the successful inspections on the Land Outfall was inconclusive to determine the condition of the railroad crossing portion of the force main. BEM testing at the beginning and end of the railroad segment did not show any wall loss internally at the crown or any external corrosion. However, various soil analysis performed along the full force main length did not correlate with some of the observed external pitting, and some pipe segments were found to have polywrap to protect the pipe from external corrosion and some did not. Even more concerning, the results from the river crossing Pipe Diver inspection showed many small areas of corrosion up to 50% wall loss that seemed to be from corrosive soil hot spots and or deteriorated polywrap or no polywrap present. It would have been easy to give up and say that based on the two BEM test points the railroad crossing was in good condition but since it was such a large crossing and included passenger trains, the team felt it was worth further exploration to prevent a failure in the area. The City and condition assessment team worked closely together to perform additional hydraulic evaluations, perform a dry run to get the required flow conditions prior to conducting the inspection, and writing up a detailed protocol to follow on inspection day. With this advance effort, Pipe Diver was successfully deployed and provided meaningful data. The data showed multiple localized areas of corrosion up to 70% wall loss. Approximately 1,500 feet of pipeline was recommended for immediate replacement at a planning level cost of $1,454,700. Lessons learned are that you should do all possible up front planning and modeling, including dry runs if flow conditions may be difficult to achieve, to support a successful internal condition assessment, and selecting point inspections based on base map data may not provide a full picture of pipeline conditions if external corrosion hot spots exist and the pipeline has not been consistently protected. Additional inspections are recommended for Mission Avenue Force Main and the Combined Sewer line. At this time, the City is evaluating if the Mission Avenue and Combined Sewer Force Mains may need increased capacity or be taken out of service as part of decommissioning the LSWWTP. Additional inspections will be planned in conjunction with parallel pipeline construction as necessary.

Green infrastructure and source control technologies are increasingly accepted as a best practice for reducing stormwater impacts on water quality and aquatic habitat in urban areas. However, impacts continue to grow in many watersheds within the United States even as progress is being made on other sources of water pollution (NRC, 2009). Stormwater management practices have been improved at the site level, but they are not being implemented on a large enough scale to offset water quality degradation caused by urban and suburban land use trends (WEF Stormwater Institute, 2015). Philadelphia is one city implementing green infrastructure on a large scale as a key component of its approach to manage urban stormwater and combined sewer overflows. The Philadelphia Water Department will complete its tenth year of program implementation in 2021. This paper will cover the status of the program, provide statistics on the types and locations of green infrastructure that have been implemented, and summarize performance monitoring data collected from systems operating in the field. PWD submitted its Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan Update in 2009, as required by its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits. In 2011, a modified version of that plan was approved for implementation through a Consent Order and Agreement (COA) with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The COA specifies combined sewer overflow reductions, pollutant load reductions, and implementation of green stormwater infrastructure targets intended to improve water quality in local watersheds and the Delaware tidal estuary. As the program approaches the ten-year milestone, it has implemented stormwater management features managing surface runoff generated by approximately 1,100 acres of impervious urban surfaces (Figure 1). Stormwater management features have been implemented through a variety of programs and on a variety of land uses (Figure 2). These include projects on private property initiated by code requirements governing redevelopment. Projects have been implemented on public property, including streets, sidewalks, and public facilities. Finally, projects have been implemented through incentives for private property. Post-construction monitoring data from selected sites indicate that systems are generally meeting or exceeding design performance expectations (Figure 3).

The South Shore Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) began operations in 1968 in the city of Oak Creek, Wisconsin. The plant receives wastewater from the southern, far western, and far northern portions of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) as well as diverted waters from the Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility. In addition to residential wastewater, South Shore receives the majority of diverted industrial wastewaters in the MMSD service area. In 1974, South Shore was expanded and upgraded to provide secondary treatment utilizing an activated sludge process. The plant has conventional barscreens, grit removal tanks, primary clarification, activated sludge basins, final clarification and sodium hypochlorite disinfection. South Shore currently has a maximum treating capacity of 250 million gallons per day (MGD) and a peak flow of 300 MGD. Average flows are maintained from 65-85 MGD. Description of Problem South Shore has an extensive collection and tunnel system that creates anaerobic/anoxic conditions during warmer months. This results in elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide (2.0 mg/l - >5.0 mg/l) as well as organic volatile fatty acids (250mg/l - 400 mg/l) entering the plant. Elevated levels of soluble BOD (300mg/l -400mg/l) and COD (900-1400 mg/l) entering the plant are also typical. Ortho-phosphorous and nitrogen deficiencies are typically below the recommended BOD5:P ratio of 100:1. It is suspected that elevated ferric chloride dosing concentrations prior to the primary clarifiers designed to aid sedimentation may be contributing to this situation. It is also suspected that this overall combination of factors is leading to an overgrowth of filamentous bacteria in the activated sludge basins that further effects sedimentation in the secondary clarifiers. Since filamentous bacteria have been demonstrated to overgrow where an organic acid concentration of >100 mg/L and a sulfide concentration of >1-2 mg/L exist it is logical to assume that a reduction in these two factors may reduce filamentous growth and lead to improved settling.

Figure 1 Corrective Action Treatment Method In July of 2020, Streamline Innovations and Veolia North America partnered with Veolia Operations to perform a study to determine if a REDOX Process could reduce sulfides, and decrease filamentous bacterial populations to improve settling and reduce bulking. The REDOX process utilizes a patented liquid organically bound iron that is dosed in combination with an oxidant, in this case 50% peroxide. The REDOX reaction that takes place is as follows: Overall Reaction The hypothesis of the trial was centered on the premise that reducing total sulfide and volatile fatty acid levels using a vigorous REDOX process, filamentous growth would not have sufficient food leading to a reduction in their prevalence and improved settling of solids in the activated sludge basins and secondary clarifiers. The treatment goals were to maintain total sulfide levels at <0.8 mg/l. A Hach spectrophotometer was used to verify sulfide levels in the wastewater. H2S atmospheric levels were also monitored before and after treatment to verify gaseous reductions in hydrogen sulfide before and after treatment to further document the efficacy of the REDOX process. The detention time between REDOX chemical injection and water testing was around 1.5 hours under normally occurring flows. Total sulfide tests were conducted every 6 hours from the primary influent and 1-2 times per day from the injection manhole. An average dosage of 80 gallons per day of organically bound iron and 500 gallons per day of 50% peroxide were dosed into the headworks.

Conclusions
Sulfide levels decreased after treatment and maintained averages of 0.25 mg/l. After approximately 5 days, filamentous populations began to drop in the activated sludge basins (Averages ranging from 3.5-4.5 down to 1.5-2.0). Nuisance. Odors in the preliminary building, grit chamber and primaries were also noted to have improved. At the time of this submittal the destruction of hydrogen sulfide, a notable food source for filamentous organisms, correlates with a significant reduction in 021N and Thiothrix sp. filaments to manageable levels. A reduction in hydrogen sulfide corrosion in the front of WRF is also expected and will be studied. As of the writing of this submittal, there have been no deleterious effects to the overall operations of South Shore WRF using the described REDOX treatment approach. Since this chemistry has been used in scores of wastewater plants, none are expected. Additional research on the reduction of iron chloride use in the primary influent is ongoing and is expected to paint a more complete picture on microorganism species richness and diversity impacts and sludge volume index (SVI) metrics. Further studies to understand the organic acid concentrations before and after treatment are currently underway.