ES&E Magazine’s April/May 2020 issue includes ongoing coverage of how COVID-19 is effecting the water and wastewater sectors. Also inside, are many articles covering other water, wastewater and environmental protection subjects. Topics include: Changes since Walkerton in 2000; FOGs; stormwater management; odour assessment; wastewater system inspection; cooling tower water treatment; spill prevention/cleanup; dealing with excess soils; using ROVs to monitor underwater infrastructure; and more.
June/July 2020 Articles
Urban stormwater runoff can add significantly to phosphorus, heavy metals and other pollutant loadings
In the Lake Simcoe watershed in Ontario, over 30% of phosphorus loadings to the lake are now identified as coming from urban stormwater sources. Less than 3% of total loadings are coming from water pollution control plants.
Using ROVs to image underwater infrastructure for structural integrity
Imaging civil infrastructure underwater for structural assessments and reporting is achieved by an ROV in a very efficient and safe way. Engineers do not have to worry about hiring a dive crew and the health and safety implications and liability that can pose.
New tech helps manage FOG at collection and food production sites
It has been estimated that grease trap waste and uncollected grease entering sewage treatment plants ranges from 365 kg to 7,700 kg of grease per restaurant, per year. In response, municipalities continue to adopt more stringent regulations, detailing how food preparation and food processing businesses handle and dispose of grease.
Nutrient kit engages community to take lead on algal blooms
The University of Saskatchewan’s Global Institute for Water Security has designed a new communitybased sampling app kit to engage citizens, farmers and water quality managers in identifying and remediating algal bloom hotspots through the...
New water tanks help Saint John deliver abundant and clean water
Residents on the east side of Saint John, New Brunswick, were all too familiar with boil water orders. For decades, the city drew water from Latimer Lake and chlorinated and pumped it directly to the distribution system.
Careful selection of odour assessment methodologies is important for accuracy
Odour assessment methods are divided into two categories: assessments at potential sources, and ambient assessments at affected areas, which are usually residential areas located close to potential odour sources. There is no standard method for odour assessment, but it can include, or be a combination of, several approaches.
Village’s wastewater oxidation ditches still in service after 57 years of operation
As the Village of Montrose in British Columbia prepares to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility, the makers of the still-working, original aeration technology can safely say that their engineering products are built to last.
Unlocking data from water, wastewater and stormwater systems
Using data from hydrological systems, organizations can properly account for and appropriately allocate water resources while minimizing impacts on the environment.
New regulations may help control the cost of dealing with excess construction soils
Jeff Goldman of SoilFLO looks at how Ontario’s new regulations for the management of excess soil from construction projects will mean greater transparency and accountability, but user buy-in is needed.
COVID-19 detection methods and infectivity
WEF released an expansion document to highlight the unlikely survival of infective COVID-19 virus in feces and wastewater systems. Exposure to wastewater is not a significant transmission route for the COVID-19 virus, WEF officials wrote in their Update and Expansion on The Water Professional’s Guide to COVID-19.
Drinking water source protection in Ontario 20 years after Walkerton
Local committees were established to bring about actions to protect sources of municipal residential drinking water systems across Ontario. They developed source protection plan policies using scientific data, including soil type, watershed time of travel of contaminants, depth of aquifer, etc., to delineate drinking water vulnerable areas.
2020 – The year the earth stood still
By Steve Davey
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” is a classic 1951 film about a humanoid alien visitor named Klaatu that comes to Earth, accompanied by a powerful eight-foot tall robot, to deliver an...
Atmospheric-hydrothermal modelling platforms offer new opportunities
Golder helps Bruce Power separate local heating effects of the plant’s operations from the variable lake-wide natural factors that affect water temperature, providing accurate data for discussions with regulators, local Indigenous communities and other stakeholder groups concerned about possible influences of the facility’s heat profile.
‘Smart’ secondary containment system can prevent catastrophic oil spills
In the event of an oil spill or leak this smart geotextile congeals and seals the oil containment system, preventing oil from passing through.
Surfactant-based extraction product helps minimize impacts from large spill in Alberta
Sampling at the site showed that the oil/water mixture that escaped from the containment area had coursed down the hill rather than penetrated into the soil to any significant depth. So, the consultant decided that it could “do a flush” rather than a “scrape”, which, more precisely, was passive and active surface flushing, rather than excavation and off-site disposal.
Are reinforced concrete pipe joints infiltration proof?
Observing leaky joints during inspection is not uncommon and, in some cases, is too frequent and very costly to repair. Contractors rely on their experience to manage infiltration risks. Installation quality can only be revealed after the pipeline is backfilled and put into service.
Wastewater district digitizes its system inspection workflow and design
New processes required the ability to tie mobile data collection apps directly to GIS software, while ensuring field data remained tied to the asset throughout the inspection and review life cycle.
Reducing the environmental impacts of industrial cooling water discharges
With the demand for water accelerating globally, especially for power generation, significant emphasis has been placed on developing technologies to reduce water use and improve the recycling of water resources.
Billions spent on Great Lakes restoration making progress on Areas Of Concern
A new study of pollution prevention for the Great Lakes found that an estimated $22.7 billion has been spent between 1985 and 2019 on the cleanup and restoration of all U.S. and Canadian areas of concern.
Global Water Futures hosts panel to discuss creation of Canada Water Agency
Many leading water experts currently see Canada at a crossroads in the emerging water-climate crisis and believe that the creation of a Canada Water Agency could deliver water security if collaboration could exist alongside a common vision for the future.
What role can infrastructure play in the global economic recovery?
Michael S. Burke, chairman and CEO of AECOM, looks at how infrastructure plays a key role in the global economic recovery from the coronavirus, and draws from past examples that can serve as inspiration.