Conference Papers

The purpose of this abstract is to provide engineers and utility owners with valuable design and construction considerations for connecting to and working with existing, large-diameter (LD), pressurized concrete pipe – which in the context of this presentation includes asbestos cement (AC) and prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP). Risk exposure increases exponentially when working with LD pipe and working with older, susceptible, cementitious pipe materials can exasperate construction challenges. The Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) recently completed a project with an unusual amount of work with and connections to AC and LD PCCP force main (FM). Located along the eastern region of Virginia, HRSD owns and maintains more than 500 miles of pipelines, most of which is LD, pressure FM. Although HRSD has developed detailed design and construction standards for working with these pipe materials, this project included additional, innovative design and risk-mitigation elements to achieve success. The Western Trunk FM Replacement project, located in Virginia Beach, VA, was an US Environmental Protection Agency Consent Order (EPA CO) Rehabilitation Action Plan required project with associated deadline of May 5, 2021. The EPA CO required abandonment of a 6,000 linear foot (LF) section of 20-inch AC FM and transfer of flows to a parallel section of 1970's-era, 48-inch PCCP FM. The project scope also included (non-EPA CO requirement) installation of two 'valve complexes' along the 48-inch PCCP FM. This project carried substantial risks to regional sewer operations, property damage, and public safety if a failure were to occur. Therefore, this presentation will focus on identifying risks during planning, mitigation through design and results and lessons learned during construction. Topics include: - Proper design and execution for approximately 17 planned connections to LD FM - Structural considerations and mitigation to reduce failure of existing pipelines - Corrosion mitigation - Contractor/Subcontractor prequalifications Connections: To meet the project scope, the temporary and permanent work included: - Over 700 LF of new 8-, 12-, 16-, 42- and 48-inch FM - Three FM reconnections from the 20' AC FM to the 48-inch PCCP FM - Installation of two 'valve complexes', each consisting of an inline, emergency 48-inch isolation plug valve and branch 42-inch isolation plug valve (for future connection) and associated LD appurtenances - Two 48-inch by 36-inch dual line-stop and bypass systems To execute the above tasks, the project included two connections to the existing AC FM (including one impromptu connection due to a faulty valve) and 15 connections to the existing 48-inch PCCP FM. For each connection, the design had to evaluate a multitude of failure mechanisms and proper mitigation efforts. Another important factor to consider was the requirement to maintain system flow during construction. The presentation will detail the planning, design and construction of these connections and elaborate on the critical components, including: - Risks of pipe failure, property damage, public safety, - Use of HRSD standards and what additional provisions, design elements were included, - Development of a very complex and ultimately successful sequence of construction, - Results during construction, how design standards and construction checklists added value, - and improvements to design/HRSD standards based on lessons learned. Structural Considerations: Every connection required special attention to newly applied hydraulic, weight loading and stress to the existing pipelines, regardless of size. To minimize risks of settlement and corresponding pipe failures through joints or other means, the design needed to include specific measures, materials and structural designs to ensure the proposed improvements did not cause failure to the existing, active FMs. The massive weight of each 'valve complex' would place stress on the existing 48-inch PCCP joints if not supported properly. The design had to consider provisions to minimize potential for settlement and reduce risks to the existing 48-inch PCCP including detailed bedding design, interior and exterior welds, concrete support pads and testing during construction. The presentation will detail the design and construction of the structural elements of this project and elaborate on challenges and lessons learned during construction. Corrosion Protection: The piping design had to consider exterior corrosion from corrosive soils, internal corrosion from sulfuric acid buildup and galvanic corrosion due to material electrode potential differences. Local soil corrosivity was a major concern with soil resistivity readings below 5,000-ohm/cm and potential for aggressive exterior corrosion to DIP. Although HDPE was considered, certain constraints ultimately led the engineer to select DIP. To protect the new pipe, a complex system of protection was designed including special interior and exterior coatings, cathodic protection system and simple, yet innovative approaches to isolate galvanic corrosion between differing metals. The presentation will cover the design elements included to protect the pipe and the specialized work, including: - system design and innovative approaches to limiting corrosion migration - specialized construction and how systems were inspected - challenges during construction, lessons learned and any improvements to design standards Contractor Prequalification: Due to the high-risk, critical nature of LD FM work and specialized experience for tapping and line-stop work, rigorous qualifications were required of the general contractor and subcontractors to ensure success and timely execution of the work. HRSD's frequent need for pipe tapping and line-stop activities for work on active LD FMs has led them to develop very detailed subcontractor qualifications for both specialties, which were utilized for this project. Ultimately, an experienced contractor, teamed up with a well-known reputable subcontractor to perform both specialties. This presentation will touch on the value of the prequalification requirements, how these impacted bidding and award of the project and contractor/subcontractor performance during construction. Conclusions: On paper, these connections can often appear very simple. However, without proper consideration of historical installation techniques, material properties, construction methods and site specific and locational challenges, reduced service life and/or catastrophic failures can occur. At the time of this abstract submittal, the project has achieved substantial completion and met the Consent Order deadline. Given the location of this project within a busy, multi-lane corridor, any damage to existing FMs could have been catastrophic. However, based on a robust design and an experienced contractor adhering to HRSD's PCCP and AC pipe handling and tapping protocols, zero pipe failures occurred. Engineers and utilities that work with critical, LD pressurized AC and PCCP pipelines, will find value from this presentation with new insights and valuable tools to help during their next project. The presentation will explore the success of HRSD's standards and construction checklists used, additional design provisions for risk mitigation, lessons learned during construction and what improvements could be made in the future. Attendees will enjoy a summary of unexpected issues incurred during construction and how they were resolved without missing contract or Consent Order deadlines.

The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) recently embarked on a digital transformation journey to develop a culture that embraces and actively seeks advanced data solutions to support real-time decision-making that improves outcomes and generates value for its stakeholders. This is the first project of its kind for MMSD and requires a strategic approach that evaluates not only the technical aspects of digital transformation but also the human aspect of digital transformation. From the moment the discussions of advanced data solutions began at MMSD, it was apparent that the concept of digital transformation and advanced data solutions meant something different to just about everyone, and that the level of understanding and perceptions of advanced data solutions such as machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) warranted a strategic pause to define what digital transformation means to MMSD. During the process, it was clear that there were and still are some stakeholders that are skeptical and that buy-in won't be sold but rather must be earned. The discussions were challenging and required careful navigation to get MMSD to the point of getting comfortable being uncomfortable. For MMSD, that meant collaboratively working together to take their first steps forward on something they've never done before: developing a digital transformation framework. This presentation shares MMSD's process to build internal consensus around digital transformation and provides insights into the early phases of the project, to inspire and support peer agencies in building momentum for digital transformation in their organizations. It covers all aspects of pre-launch, including finding an executive champion, finding allies within the organization, developing a cross-functional steering committee consisting of both allies and skeptics, internal outreach, external engagement, and how we scoped a project to develop a digital transformation framework for our organization rooted in education, technology, process, people, and culture. MMSD initially did an RFI to clarify its thinking about digital transformation and to validate and improve the RFP content. They strategically waived some standard RFP requirements to cast a wide net and ensure that all qualified firms would respond, and leaned on the prospective consultants to define the approach that would lead us to success. This resulted in a large pool of strong responses and engaged new prospective project collaborators. The sixteen responses were put through several rounds of evaluation before the final selection was made. This paper also shares progress to date. In July 2023, MMSD and a consultant team led by Brown and Caldwell kicked off the 78-week Digital Transformation Framework Development project focusing on digital transformation within the water reclamation facilities and conveyance system. We will discuss the structured analytical approach that underpins the project, how we organized and managed the project team for success, the kickoff meeting agenda and findings, how the pre-launch work enabled stakeholders to get comfortable with unexpected changes in the core consultant team, how MMSD provided initial data to the consultant team, the best practices workshop agenda and outcomes, and the agenda and outcomes of a series of small group meetings focused on the business risks associated with digital transformation. About MMSD MMSD is a regional government agency that provides water reclamation and flood management services for about 1.1 million people in 28 communities in the Greater Milwaukee Area. The MMSD service area is 423 square miles and covers all, or segments of, six watersheds. Established by state law, MMSD is governed by 11 commissioners with taxing authority. MMSD is most proud of its track record of capturing and treating 98.5% of all wastewater collected since 1994. MMSD has a contract operator, Veolia Water North America, for the operations and maintenance of the conveyance system and water reclamation facilities. Learning Objectives After attending the session, attendees should be able to: 1.Explain, interpret, and practice the approach MMSD used to align itself around a shared understanding of digital transformation, to scope the project, and to participate in initial project work 2.Paraphrase and generalize the analytical framework and methodology 3.Examine the outcomes of the initial work and hypothesize the outcomes of similar work within their own organizations.

The water sector is at a critical juncture, a moment of extraordinary opportunity for utilities and the communities they serve. Digital solutions hold the key to water systems delivering bold water, energy, and cost savings while achieving greater operational and financial resilience in the face of unpredictable economic, demographic, and environmental shifts. Regulators and policymakers, whose decisions set the pace for technology adoption in the water industry, are playing an important role in this transition, but the benefits of digital solutions go well beyond regulatory compliance. A data-driven digital strategy allows water managers to 'turn on the lights' within their systems, empowering them to make better, more informed decisions across a range of operational and financial parameters. And as digital water technologies themselves continue to advance, the game-changing outcomes they can deliver are becoming ever more accessible and affordable for utilities across the map. But if the benefits of digital transformation are well understood by the world's water utilities, the path to realizing those benefits is often less clear. Every community, every utility, and every water system is different, with different starting points and ending points based on their own unique configuration of resources, capabilities, challenges, and strategic priorities. And utility leaders and staff often feel that they lack the time, knowledge, or confidence to chart a successful path forward for their organizations in a rapidly changing digital marketplace. In this presentation, Xylem and Bluefield Research will present a practical how-to guide for 'going digital' in the water industry, based on our in-depth research into the digital transformation stories of more than a dozen pioneering utilities from nine countries across North America, Europe, and Asia. We will highlight the ways that these utility leaders have tackled four of the thorniest problems of digital transformation-how to set a realistic and appropriate pace and direction of change, how to bring staff onboard for the journey, how to turn small wins into lasting benefits, and how to articulate the value of data and digital technology for customers and stakeholders. We will focus on practical, tangible, and accessible advice and lessons learned, to help utilities of all sizes chart the next steps on their digital transformation journeys.

Introduction The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has exposed modern society's vulnerability to infectious diseases. Reliance on clinical testing of symptomatic individuals has proven challenging due to the inability to identify asymptomatic cases and time lags between disease onset and clinical reporting to public health agencies. Wastewater surveillance is a disease-tracking tool that supports early response, such as public health decision making and vaccination efforts. Public health agencies have partnered with local officials, wastewater utilities, research institutions, and consultants to implement practical wastewater surveillance programs. CDM Smith has focused on building these partnerships to facilitate SARS-CoV-2 wastewater testing programs around the globe. Our work aims to support the use of wastewater data to inform specific public health interventions. This presentation highlights wastewater surveillance case studies at facility, neighborhood, and city scales to illustrate best practices for developing wastewater surveillance programs. Wastewater Surveillance Program Development A successful wastewater surveillance program requires collaboration between community leaders, wastewater utilities, epidemiologists, public health officials, engineers, doctors, and other scientists. Our approach to building programs relies on early engagement of these stakeholders. The team defines program objectives, devises a cost-efficient approach to wastewater sampling and analysis, develops communication plans, establishes data presentation techniques, and informs on potential public health interventions. The collaborative approach improves consensus building. Program execution focuses on gathering and presenting reliable wastewater data in a timely and effective manner. Wastewater Surveillance Case Studies CDM Smith has helped develop wastewater surveillance programs at the facility-, neighborhood-, and city-scales in the United States and Middle East with varying goals and objectives. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs developed a program to monitor eight conjugate living centers (CLCs) throughout the U.S (CA, NC, PA(2), TN, TX, WA (2)). The goal of the program was to provide an early warning system to prevent outbreaks in CLCs. From January to June 2021, CDM Smith assisted in grab sample coordination, collection, and delivery to the VA analytical laboratories in Temple Texas. The VA project showed that initial planning of sampling and shipping logistics was critical to rapid turnaround of wastewater surveillance data. The VA labs indicated the SARS-CoV-2 wastewater data was used to target testing resources and mitigate outbreaks in CLCs. In collaboration with CDM Smith, the Massachusetts Department of Health implemented facility and neighborhood programs with the objectives of identifying COVID-19 cases sooner than clinical testing and confirming absence of disease. 24-hour composite wastewater samples were collected three days per week and analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 and other sewage markers. Results are communicated via email to state and city officials, and COVID-19 case data are evaluated for correlation with wastewater virus concentrations. Local-level surveillance provided public health officials an early-warning of an outbreak in a community in eastern Massachusetts. Public health measures included mask distribution, deployment of mobile testing units, and education campaigns. A city-scale surveillance program was established in April 2020 in Detroit, Michigan, and is still ongoing. The program objective is to develop a model to predict spatial and temporal variation in COVID-19 cases based on wastewater concentrations, demographic data, and sewer conditions. Grab samples are collected weekly at 12 locations, including at the wastewater treatment plant, and analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 and other sewage markers. Results are discussed weekly with public health officials, and data are analyzed using principal components analysis. Collaborating with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), CDM Smith helped develop city-scale surveillance programs in Amman, Jordan and Cairo, Egypt. These program building projects focused on analyzing existing research infrastructure to support sampling campaigns and analytical testing, implementing wastewater monitoring and action plans, training seminars, and data visualization dashboards. Insights from U.S. case studies were used to establish recommendations that allow international partners to manage their wastewater surveillance programs. Conclusions and Recommendations Wastewater surveillance is an effective tool to measure aggregated community-level biomarker data. The approach is being used effectively at many scales during the COVID-19 pandemic. CDM Smith's wastewater surveillance work revealed several important findings including: A successful program starts with collaboration between public health agencies, local officials, research agencies, and their partners. SARS-Cov-2 wastewater concentrations are strongly correlated with COVID-19 cases. Normalizing viral concentration data to other wastewater data is helpful to mitigate competing influences in the sewer system. Wastewater surveillance data was used to inform specific public health actions such as awareness campaigns. Development of wastewater surveillance programs can provide a proactive tool to respond to disease outbreaks, understand drug use, and measure other indicators of community health and wellbeing. Future applications of the approach include early identification and understanding of disease outbreaks, understanding antibiotic resistance, and addressing health disparities Widespread development of programs could provide public health officials a proactive tool to respond to disease outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) to improve acceptance of the approach. Wastewater surveillance is being funded through a combination of federal, state, and local support.

Learning objective: Attendees will learn how workforce development is a continuous cycle of assessment, planning, application, measurement, and learning and be able to take actionable steps to enhance workforce development initiatives. Public water utilities face particular challenges to building and developing the talented and committed workforce needed to ensure successful operations. A convergence of challenges makes this especially difficult as we approach the middle of the 21st century. Increasing demands of environmental regulations and economic forces impacting the ability to deliver services cost-effectively are coupled with the loss of experienced professionals and fewer people entering public service. Add to this changing expectations of the employer-employee relationship and competing demands for funding, and the water utility sector is facing an unprecedented challenge. While most utility leaders recognize these workforce challenges, few are able to independently overcome the barriers to tackle the issue and make significant headway. The water utility sector can build a strategic, holistic, compelling vision for its workforce and thrive in today's work environment by adopting a practice of continuous improvement by implementing a Cycle of Successful Workforce Development. This cycle includes five stages: assessment, planning, application, measurement, and learning. In each stage, utility leadership can take tangible, actionable steps to enhance workforce development. This presentation will (1) explore the barriers to significant investment in workforce development in the water industry, (2) introduce the Cycle of Successful Workforce Development, and (3) share examples of several utilities where elements of this cycle were applied for enhancing workforce development. Industry guidance, former utility leadership experience and case studies will be used to walk attendees through the cycle. The cycle begins by performing a comprehensive organizational assessment that considers what skillsets and positions are needed and where gaps exist in the current workforce. Benchmarking, span of control, and matrix of authority reviews are integral parts of this 'on ramp' to the cycle. The results are then utilized for planning business process improvements and assembling the desired organizational structure. Recruiting and hiring are crucial to identifying and securing candidates, and will be guided by competency assessments and job descriptions improvements informed by strategies grounded in the realities of the current workforce supply/demand environment. Onboarding and training are crucial application steps to set up employees for success, whether they are new to the organization or established staffers assuming new and more challenging roles. Well-planned training programs will ensure all know the organization's goals and objectives and have the opportunity to succeed. Training should be coupled with business process improvements. Career ladders, succession planning and leadership training provide flexible pathways for professional growth, improve organizational continuity and resiliency, and help retain talented employees. Measurement of achievement against defined goals helps achieve success through both organizational and individual performance monitoring. Competitive salary, mentorship programs and incentive programs foster a culture of continuous improvement. Reassessment of the organization at budget preparation time each year will identify opportunities to adapt the plan to changing circumstances and external influences. Learning from regular review of both organizational and individual achievement against goals provides opportunity to refine processes and will help employees identify and achieve their career goals.

Treatment of odors from municipal sewage collection systems and wastewater treatment plants often proves challenging in harsh middle east climate conditions. Some of the main challenges include underestimation of the odor concentrations in the municipal collection systems and wastewater treatment plants, and the selection of inappropriate odor treatment technologies for these applications. Odor concentrations are often orders of magnitudes higher than what is experienced in the USA and other Western climates, which is mostly attributed to the very high summer ambient temperatures and often long residence times of the sewage in the collection systems. This paper provides an overview of a comprehensive odor study that was performed at the headworks of the Al Filaya WWTP in Ras Al Khaimah (WWTP), UAE to determine the design criteria for the odor control system. It also reports on the successful implementation of biotrickling filter technology to treat the odors at the headworks. In 2021 Ras Al Khaimah Wastewater Agency (RAKWA) contracted with BioAir Solutions to perform a comprehensive odor study at the newly constructed headworks at the WWTP to determine suitable design criteria for the odor control system. The study included the measurement of both liquid phase pH, temperature, and dissolved sulfide, as well as vapor phase H2S, methyl mercaptan, ammonia and ammine concentrations. It also included the estimation of suitable air ventilations rates from the various odor sources at the headworks, including the inlet chamber, screen channels, vortex grit removal system and others. The odor study revealed that the sewage at the headworks is very septic, and the dissolved sulfide concentrations vary between 12 mg/L and 32 mg/L. Henry's law equilibrium calculations, which incorporated sewage pH, dissolved sulfide, and temperature, resulted in an equilibrium vapor phase H2S concentration of between 580 and 3,200 ppmv. The final design basis for the odor control system was 3,500 Am3/hr of airflow at design average and peak H2S concentrations of 2,350 ppmv and 3,525 ppmv, respectively. The required H2S concentration in the air after treatment was < 0.25 ppmv, which equites to 99.99% H2S removal efficiency. Biotrickling filter technology was selected as the most suitable technology for the application. RAKWA decided to upgrade the existing biotrickling filter and add a second reactor to treat the odors at the headworks. BioAir Solutions supplied and installed two EcoFilter biotrickling filters which were put in operation in December 2021 (see Figure 1). Once the system was fully acclimated, its performance was tested to validate that it achieved < 0.25 ppmv H2S concentration in the discharge stacks of the two reactors. Figure 2 provides the performance data for the two EcoFilter reactors. This case study demonstrates the importance of performing odor studies to verify the odor concentrations and ventilation rates for existing WWTP applications in harsh climate environments. If new greenfield WWTPs are developed, it is important to use data from similar other plants in the region to develop a suitable design basis for the odor control system. The study further demonstrates the suitability of biotrickling filter technology for successful odor removal in hot middle east environments, without the need for secondary carbon polishing. It is, however, very important that the system be design for the appropriate H2S concentrations to avoid media failures that may occur if the actual H2S concentration is much higher than the design H2S concentration.

A passionate and consistent workforce is critical to ensuring a successful water/wastewater industry for years to come. The high-level goals of this presentation is: -Understand what employees value in their careers. -Hear how they are feeling on a wide range of topics including flexibility, mentorship, workload, and team support. -Learn what changes they desire to increase their motivation and contentment. The objective of this presentation is help create a better workplace for employee retention. This presentation will offer perspectives on workforce development from two sides of the workforce. Kathleen Mannion is considered a 'rising professional' with 7 years of experience all in the consulting industry. Molly Nause-McCord is considered a 'seasoned professional' with 13 years of experience all in the public sector working for the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. In addition to their own perspectives, this presentation will offer the insight that Molly and Kathleen learned from a survey they sent out to other members of the industry. The survey was anonymous, consisting of 25 short answer questions on a wide variety of topics including experience level and duration, motivations for joining the field, employee engagement, and professional development. Kathleen and Molly widely distributed the survey to get a diverse set of respondents. The distribution included via email list serves sent by the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association, as well as distribution through Kathleen and Molly's networks. There was a lot of interest in the survey and 159 responses were received while the survey was open in July and August 2023. There was good representation amongst the respondents across sectors (52% public sector, 43% consulting, and 5% other), years of experience (22% 0-5 years of experience, 20% 5-10 years of experience, 20% 5-10 years of experience, and 28% of 20+ years of experience), and gender (53% female, 41% male, and 6% all others). After reading through the thoughtful responses and survey results, the information was categorized into four categories: -Individual to Industry: how individuals view the water/wastewater industry including their motivations for joining, motivations for staying, confidence that they will remain in the industry, and greatest challenges they see for the industry moving forward. -Employee Contentment: evaluated how content employees are, how that compared across different demographics and groups, and what is contributing to employee contentment. -Mentorship and Growth: assessed how employees are feeling about themselves as a mentor, relationships they have with their own mentors, and obstacles that are preventing further mentorship. -Airing of Grievances: understanding the top contributors to employee dissatisfaction at work including amount of workload, lack of recognition, monotonous tasks, and personal work/life balance. We also evaluated how this varied across different groups, races, and demographics. This presentation will present the results of the survey, as well as the personal input from Kathleen and Molly and their differing backgrounds. Overall, the results from the survey were very positive with 73% of respondents listing themselves as content and engaged. A Gallup poll from the first half of 2021 stated that 36% of workers in the United States were engaged. Therefore, this shows that the water/wastewater work force is significantly more engaged and content than the rest of society. However, there were helpful takeaways from this presentation highlighting areas for improvement to further progress the workplace. This presentation was given at the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association (PNCWA) annual conference in September 2023 and received lots of positive feedback. The attendees had several questions and stayed after the presentation to discuss more. The presentation was given a 30-minute time slot at the PNCWA conference, but attendees recommended a longer time slot in the future to dive further into the survey results. If the Conference Planning Committee has any specific areas of the survey results that they would like the presentation to focus on we would be happy to tailor our presentation as requested.

In December 2020, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) launched an innovative wastewater surveillance program to monitor SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) at correctional facilities, shelters, youth homes, and other congregate settings across the state. NMED is supported by Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG) to provide field teams, data analysis, and epidemiology expertise and LuminUltra Technologies for laboratory analysis support. For this program, wastewater samples are collected twice weekly at one or more locations, intentionally selected to represent distinct populations, at each facility. Results from these samples have successfully triggered additional individual testing for SARS-CoV-2, leading to earlier detection of viral spread than otherwise would have occurred under limited individual testing. As one such example, ERG identified and notified NMED of a spike in SARS-CoV-2 from wastewater (i.e., concentration >10^-6 copies/L) collected at one of the sampling locations at the Luna County Detention Center in January 2021 (Figure 1). NMED staff immediately notified facility staff, who then promptly initiated individual testing of more than 300 individuals - inmates and staff - for COVID-19. The individual test results revealed 27 inmates and 10 staff with COVID-19, all of whom immediately isolated to control the virus' spread and prevent a much larger outbreak. Through examples like this, NMED has found wastewater surveillance to be a cost-effective, early warning indicator of SARS-CoV-2 spread in congregate settings that can complement other data and further inform public health action. While this program provides valuable information to decision-makers and helps reduce the spread of COVID-19, it was not developed or implemented without challenges. These challenges included access to sampling equipment in the face of increased demand during a global pandemic; limited in-state laboratory capabilities and capacity; and interpreting and communicating results to facility staff and the public taking into consideration the various scientific unknowns. Through collaboration with multiple entities and as more scientific information became available on wastewater epidemiology for disease surveillance, the NMED project team was able to address and overcome these challenges. The team has also explored the utility of alternative passive sampling methods as a way to further improve data interpretation and reduce costs. Whenever possible, ERG's field teams collect 24-hour composite samples using automatic samplers (Figure 2). These samplers are, however, costly to rent; time consuming to set up and take down; and sometimes impractical due to physical constraints, low flow, or security concerns. When unable to use an automatic composite sampler, ERG's field teams collect grab samples. However, data from grab samples represent only the wastewater flowing through the sewer at the moment that the sample is collected and have the potential to miss SARS-CoV-2 shed from COVID-19 positive individuals in a facility. Given the limitations of composite and grab samples, there is a need for a more practical and cost-effective composite sampling method. One such approach is the 'Moore swab' method, which involves suspending gauze in the wastewater stream to collect microorganisms/pathogens for a time period comparable to a composite sample (e.g., 24-hours). This method was first used in the 1940s to track Salmonella Paratyphi B and has since been used to detect several other fecal borne pathogens such as Vibrio cholerae, poliovirus, and Escherichia coli (Sikorski and Levine, 2020). Recent literature suggests that this type of passive sampling approach can also be used to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. In some cases, research and field teams have explored the use of gauze swabs, while others have assessed the utility of tampons as a modified passive sampler (e.g., Liu et al., 2021, Rafiee et al., 2021, Bivens et al., 2021). The tampon, in particular, has potential to serve as an inexpensive and simple passive sampling tool that could be easily implemented by staff with no prior sampling experience and little training. To explore the utility of this method, our field teams collected grab samples, 24-hour composite samples, and 24-hour passive samples using rayon-based super/maximum absorbent tampons concurrently at six facility locations and one community location twice weekly for three consecutive weeks. The goal of this effort was to determine whether 24-hour passive samples provide equivalent or better detection for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in comparison to grab samples, and if the data from passive samples correlate to 24-hour composites. For passive samples, field staff tied tampons to fishing line with weights and then secured the line to a manhole cover (Figure 3). They set up the composite and passive samples at the same time and then collected a grab sample at the start of the 24-hour sample period. The grab samples were shipped the day of collection to LuminUltra Technologies for analysis. The passive and composite samples were collected after 24-hours and also shipped to LuminUltra Technologies for analysis. LuminUltra squeezed the water from the passive samples, rinsed with a lysate buffer to extract additional RNA, and then filtered and processed the extracted wastewater using the same method as for the composite and grab samples. All samples were analyzed via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) for two SARS-CoV-2 associated genetic markers (N1 and N2) and one fecal indicator (pepper mild mottle virus [PMMoV)]). ERG scientists compared the presence and absence of the virus and evaluated trends and correlations across the three sample types. Preliminary results indicate that the 24-hour passive samples provide equivalent or better detection of SARS-CoV-2 than both 24-hour composite and grab samples. Of the six rounds of samples collected at each of the seven locations (n=42 samples), the passive samples detected SARS-CoV-2 when the virus was detected in the corresponding grab and/or 24-hour composite samples with only two exceptions. These exceptions were at low concentrations (<10,000 copies/L) and likely due to varying limits of detection between the passive, composite, and grab samples. The passive samples also detected SARS-CoV-2 in six instances when the virus was not detected in analogous 24-hour composite or grab samples. Furthermore, the overall trends observed across sample types were generally consistent, especially between 24-hour composite and 24-hour passive samples, and results from composite and passive samples were moderately to highly correlated (see example from one sampling location in Figure 4). These results suggest that passive sampling approaches may be useful for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at the facility level and that additional study is warranted.

The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District operates the Renewable Energy Facility (REF) at the Southerly Wastewater Treatment Center. Commissioned in 2014, the REF includes sludge dewatering, incineration, and energy recovery processes. The facility receives an average of 120 dry tons per day of biosolids from two of the District's three treatment plants. Combustion in a fluidized bed incinerator is a complex process with many factors that affect operation. The incineration process at REF faces two primary challenges to realizing efficient process operation: first, the biosolids loading is approximately 20% lower than the projections used for design conditions and second, the volatile solids proportion is relatively low as a result of the District's majority combined sewer collection system. In order to overcome these challenges and maximize autogenous operation, the following three strategies are in various stages of deployment: 1.Implementation of informational tools to fully optimize combustion process 2. Full use of a Grease Merchant Facility 3. Exploration of an Intermittent Operating Strategy In 2021, operations and engineering staff began an FBI optimization effort. As part of this work, a mass and energy balance was developed to represent operating conditions in the process. This tool is able to be implemented in real time by integrating with the Plant's process management software to quickly pull in new data as it becomes available. By using this tool, operations staff is able to build a more robust understanding of the process and predict the effect of various operational changes when deciding on a course of action to take. In 2016, the Grease Unloading Station (GUS) was completed. This is a merchant facility that allows the grease processing system to receive a higher volume of loads from grease trap haulers. This is a significant benefit to the incineration process which allows grease addition to the cake feed system. Despite representing about 5% of the biosolids feed by weight, the grease can account for 20-30% of the chemical energy in the feed. Currently District operations staff are planning a full pilot of an intermittent operating strategy for the three incinerator trains at the REF. Each train is rated to process 100 dry tons of biosolids per day and the average daily loading to the facility is 120 dtpd. This means that, when running at a steady state, our units are loaded at approximately 60% of capacity. In order to maintain a higher uptime of operation without supplemental fuel addition, intermittently operating one and two units at a time would fully load each incinerator that is operating. Past attempts at this strategy have not fully utilized the capacity of the incinerators and it's expected that an updated implementation of this operating strategy would yield much improved results from past attempts. Note to reviewers: There are two main components to this prospective presentation: (A) an introduction/overview of the mass and energy inputs/outputs to the fluid bed combustion process and (B) a demonstration of how we use this understanding to optimize operation at our facility with the three parts I discuss above. Part A is more a presentation on the fundamentals of the process and Part B is geared towards presenting data and a unique challenge at our facility. If selected, I can tailor the presentation towards one end or the other depending on feedback from the conference program committee and how it is intended to fit with other sessions.

INTRODUCTION Arlington County (County) is implementing new biosolids management facilities at the Arlington County Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP). The Arlington County WPCP Re-Gen Program (Program) is a comprehensive program that will include the engineering, design, construction, maintenance, startup, and operation necessary to add sustainable equipment and systems to effectively recover the County's renewable resources, produce a Class A biosolids product, and most efficiently utilize the biogas. The Program includes upgrades or replacement of nearly all existing solids handling processes. A thermal hydrolysis process (THP) followed by anaerobic digestion (AD) form the backbone of the new treatment train. The overall process flow diagram for the Facilities is shown in Figure 1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF STUDY The purpose of the biogas utilization evaluation is to review all feasible alternatives for the beneficial use of the biogas to assist in meeting the County's sustainability goals while also meeting the energy needs of the WPCP and then perform monetary, non-monetary, and sustainability evaluations to determine the recommended alternative for the County. It is not a stated goal of the Program to be 'cash positive' many additional factors impact the overall Program cost. The scope of the analysis included only biogas utilization portion of the Program, and not any other of the solids handling components. ALTERNATIVES DEVELOPMENT There are several options for the beneficial use of the biogas produced in AD, each with its own advantages and disadvantages including biogas conditioning requirements, capital cost, O&M requirements, financial benefits, sustainability impacts, and GHG emissions. From the potential biogas uses the following six major alternatives were developed: Alternative 1: Process and building heating Alternative 2A: CHP with Engines Alternative 2B: CHP with Turbine Alternative 3A: RNG to Pipeline Alternative 3B: RNG as CNG Alternative 4A: RNG and CHP with Engines Alternative 4B: RNG and CHP with Turbines For each of the alternatives, an energy balance was developed to help illustrate the sources and flows of energy purchased and produced. The resulting diagrams show the process and building heating requirements, electrical power requirements and production, equipment efficiencies, NG purchase, and biogas flaring for each alternative. These energy balances formed the basis for the financial, non-financial and sustainability analysis performed. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS A financial analysis focused on the financial costs over a 6-year period of construction and 25-year period of subsequent operations. Figure 2 presents the original conceptual construction cost (inclusive of contractor overhead and profit [O&P], mobilization and other preliminary costs, and contingency), and total present value of all capital and net operating costs through 2052, assuming a 3 percent discount rate. The financial analysis indicates that although Alternatives 3A and 3B (RNG alternatives) do not have the lowest capital cost, they do have the lowest total present-value cost due to the anticipated value of the RNG. In comparison, Alternatives 4A and 4B (RNG and CHP alternatives) would entail larger capital costs and comparable present-value costs when compared to Alternatives 2A and 2B (CHP alternatives). The initial present-value financial analysis supports eliminating Alternatives 4A and 4B for further consideration because of high capital costs, high overall complexity, and comparable present financial values to Alternatives 2A and 2B. NON-FINANCIAL ANALYSIS To account for non-monetary factors that impact stakeholders a comprehensive non-financial analysis was completed. This analysis included the development of evaluation criteria, shown in Table 1, and then the subsequent weighting of the criteria and scoring each alternative for those criteria. The results of the non-financial analysis are shown in Figure 3. Alternative 3A had the highest (most favorable) non-financial score at 68.2, followed by Alternative 1 at 67.5. Alternative 2B had the lowest non-financial score of 57.6. The main differentiators between the RNG alternatives (Alternatives 3A/3B) and CHP alternatives (Alternatives 2A/2B) were that the RNG alternatives had: -Lower localized emissions -Reduced noise -Increased flexibility and reduced flaring -Lower maintenance complexity -Adaptability to future opportunities SUSTAINABILTY CRITERIA The sustainability, or environmental impact, of the alternatives was identified by using the anticipated reductions of GHG emissions (namely CO2) for each alternative and using a social cost of GHG approach to monetize the reductions. The net GHG change presented is solely for the biogas utilization equipment, not the entire Program. Table 2 presents net change in GHG emissions for each of the sources of energy for 2037. Overall, Alternatives 2A, 3A, and 3B have greater emissions reductions than Alternatives 1 and 2B. COMPOSITE RESULTS To complete the analysis and understand the ultimate best use of biogas for the program the financial results, non-financial scoring and GHG emissions reduction, are combined into plots to illustrate the composite results for each alternative. Figure 4 presents the composite results of the base case scenario. Four additional scenarios were developed to reflect the variability of RIN prices, electrical prices and the social cost of carbon. For this base scenario, without considering the social cost of carbon, Alternative 3A had the highest non-financial score and the second lowest present financial value. SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS Finally, a computationally rigorous sensitivity analysis, using Monte Carlo simulation methods, was completed to assess the combined impact of changing several factors at once. Table 3 presents the limits and estimated value for variables that are included in the Monte Carlo model. Separate probability distributions are formed for each of these factors and the sources for these distributions include HDR assumptions and existing data. The results from the Monte Carlo simulation are presented as a probability distribution of possible outcomes, given the range of possible inputs of uncertain parameters. Figure 5 shows the distributions of possible present values of total financial and social outcomes for all five alternatives, in both probability density function (PDF) and cumulative density function (CDF). The CDF has a useful interpretation for decision making because it can clearly indicate the probability that a condition holds, such as if total present value of benefits exceeds costs. Figure 5 shows that Alternatives 1, 2A and 2B all have a very narrow range of potential financial values, showing that costs exceed benefits for the modeled parameters. Alternatives 3A and 3B have a wide range of potential financial values, which is a function of the uncertainty in the RNG market. However, even with the wide range, a majority of the model runs indicate a negative financial value (i.e., benefits exceed costs for the modeled parameters) for the 3A and 3B gas utilization scenarios. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the analyses presented, the Water Pollution Control Bureau (WPCB) recommends proceeding with Alternative 3 (RNG) as the selected biogas utilization approach. The basis for this recommendation is as follows: -The RNG alternatives have the lowest net present value for the baseline conditions using conservative capital and operating costs. -Alternative 3A (RNG into pipeline) scored the highest in the County's non-financial scoring. The County found that the RNG alternatives would be less complex and result in fewer localized impacts than the CHP alternatives. -A sensitivity analysis concluded that when considering multiple variables, including RIN volatility and changes to electrical rates, Alternative 3A had a very high likelihood of being more financially advantageous than Alternative 2A. -The County has the ability to retain GHG credits if the biogas is used within Arlington County for transportation purposes. Should the biogas be used outside of Arlington County, the revenue from the RINs could be used to purchase an equivalent amount of GHG credits on the open market. -Benefits of on-site CHP are limited because the CHP size would not be sufficient to power the entire WPCP and the existing WPCP has adequate stand-by power. The County's current preference is for Alternative 3A (RNG into pipeline) over Alternative 3B (RNG as CNG) due to this option's diverse opportunities for end use customers, rather than relying on a specific direct customer. However, the final decision to inject RNG into the NG utility pipeline or use CNG will be made in the future as more discussions with the stakeholders are conducted.

We are in the midst of a generational shift taking place right before our eyes. With this shift, America's workforce is changing, and rapidly. According to the Pew Research Center, Millennials have surpassed Baby Boomers as the nation's largest living adult generation. This trend is expected to continue through the 2030s as the millennial generation continues to grow and join the workforce while Boomers continue to age and retire. The impact of this ongoing transition is felt in nearly all segments of the economy, including the utility industry. Vast amounts of knowledge and experience are walking out the door as retiring employees look to start new chapters of their lives. In too many cases, this is happening without that valuable knowledge and insight being imparted to the next generation of utility professionals. As a critical component of the utility management infrastructure, especially during and after the COVID-19 public health crisis, water utility leaders need to be thinking proactively and strategically about ways to effectively leverage aging employees as a valuable resource and develop a succession plan to ensure future continuity within the organization. This session will provide historical and projected labor force data and emphasize the importance of growth, development and learning for employees from onboarding through retirement. We will demonstrate what a strategic talent management process looks like in today's environment and review the stages of developing and implementing an effective plan. The speakers will highlight the benefits of strategic talent management for both current success and future sustainability. Key learning objective: Discuss and demonstrate the importance of an effective talent management program for water utilities, including an understanding of the full talent management lifecycle from talent acquisition (workforce planning, recruitment, selection), through talent development (onboarding, training, performance management), talent retention (leadership development, employee engagement, rewards and recognition) and talent sustainment (succession planning, knowledge transfer). Participants will learn about the critical stages of talent management and understand the essential components of a strategic talent management program, along with leading industry practices to help utilities successfully manage changing workforce challenges.

This presentation is targeted toward leaders faced with impending shortages in their workforce leadership due to a gap in knowledge and lack of sufficiently prepared, experienced, or confident future leaders qualified for promotion. Why focus on identifying and recruiting experienced leaders in a tight labor market, when your best future leaders likely are within your current team? Shift your organization's focus, efforts, and resources to help your current workforce master the leadership competencies that align with your values and strategic goals. The results will be a workforce that feels valued, challenged, useful, and confident in a future within your organization. At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to — 1.Understand how the labor shortage impacts leadership positions, not just skilled technical workers. 2.Assess their organization's leadership potential in the current workforce. 3.Apply aspects of this presentation to your potential leaders. Like so many utilities throughout the nation, Pinellas County Utilities (PCU) is feeling the impact of the industry-wide labor shortage. With a workforce of 428 FTEs, PCU averages about 12 percent vacancies. Twenty-five percent of our workforce has more than 20 years' tenure with the County, and nearly 10 percent have more than 30 years with the County. Of the remaining workforce, 47 percent have less than five years' experience working at PCU, and about 12 percent of our new employees leave in the first three years. The future looks bleak as many — including senior and executive leaders — retire from PCU, and the institutional knowledge, practical skills, and experience walk out the door with them. Our workforce has passion, drive, and a desire to learn, but are lean on practical experience. Because of this skills and knowledge gap, leaders often were hired from outside the organization, rather than being promoted from within. This resulted in workforce tension and low morale, as evidenced by a 2019 biennial Employee Voice Survey which revealed that only 51 percent believe PCU provides opportunities for a career path. PCU then committed to growing leaders rather than hiring them. The executive leadership team identified 21 competencies desired in future PCU leaders. Working with Human Resources' Organizational & Talent Development (OTD), we aligned these competencies with the Korn Ferry Competency Framework to better quantify the skills needed for mastery. Some of the competencies identified are: - Instills Trust - Ensures Accountability - Presentation Skills - Executive Presence - Managing Meeting (In-person and online) DLIU evolved as a 3-tier career development and leadership program: - Explorers — This track is for those interested in finding out what being a supervisor is all about. It is an eight-month introductory program designed to broaden understanding of a leadership role and expose participants to career possibilities. - Navigators — Designed for those currently working in a supervisory role, or for those who have previous leadership experience and are interested in progressing further into management. It dives deeper into the same topics as Explorers and addresses additional competencies. This track is 18 months. - The Fearless program is for current manager or senior leader interested in future executive leadership. This 22-month program is intensive and covers the same topics as Explorers and Navigators from a strategic perspective and touches on additional competencies. All tiers include leadership book clubs, ride-alongs and site visits to learn more about PCU, involvement with industry-related organizations and events, engagement in the interview process, and attendance at meetings of the Pinellas County Employee Advisory Council and the Unified Personnel Board. In addition, every participant in the program is assigned a coach, and the Navigator and Fearless participant are coaching fellow participants, and being coached. Fearless participants also work on PCU projects, give presentations, and participate in the budget process. OTD staff developed curricula for each identified competency, including pre- and post-class assignments, case studies, and support materials. The OTD team presents most of the coursework in a classroom environment with no more than 20 participants per tier. External consultants and guest speakers provide specialized presentations on specific competency development. The first year we had 87 applicants for 45 slots. When the course began, we had expanded to 55 slots. The Explorers, Navigators, and Fearless participants all began their journey in October 2020. Thirteen Explorers graduated from the program in March 2021. Eighteen Explorers are enrolled in Cohort 2, which began June 2021. Ten DLIU program participants have been promoted since the program began October 2020.