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| Garry Palmateer |
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| Garry Palmateer |
Water safety in Walkerton was the fascinating theme at a one-day seminar held May 30, in Toronto, sponsored by the Ontario Water Works Association. Experts from the Ontario Clean Water Agency recounted the various procedures in scouring, disinfecting, and replacing water mains. Problems encountered in providing full disinfection included cul-de-sacs and other areas where the mains water did not flow through. Other problems were encountered with basement cisterns designed to catch rainwater.
Some stretches of mains showed advanced tuberculation which was ideal for the lethal E. coli 0157:H7. The last speaker, Garry Palmateer, from GAP EnviroMicrobial Services, took the audience on a fascinating trek inside one of the ancient water mains which had provided an ideal habitat for lethal bacteria inside the system. "Slime, which protected organisms from chlorine, was a problem in ensuring total disinfection," he said. He pointed out how some organisms could envelope themselves with a slimy substance which helped protect them during disinfection operations. Swabbing, pipe replacement and several disinfection operations were done until the system was declared safe for Walkerton residents. Tom Davey
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| Photo - Alan Chandler |
Torrential rainfalls, storms and hurricanes have become frequent occurrences worldwide. Increasingly, there is contamination of streams and rivers after floods, threatening a risk of epidemics.
Hydrok UK, an engineering company based in south-west England, has developed the Airmex, a low-cost mechanical screen device for cleaning up storm overflows. Powered by its own nitrogen cylinders, the equipment is designed to be installed in remote locations where electricity supplies are not available, providing the benefits of a mechanical screening without costly maintenance and controls. It can also be supplied with a battery-operated storm-monitoring device which records date, time and duration of overflow operation.
During storms and flooding, the Airmex screens the storm sewage through stainless-steel wedge wire, with an aperture of six millimetres by six millimetres, providing good protection for the receiving waters.
Screens are physically cleaned by mechanical brushes inside and outside of the wedge wire. Brush mechanisms are activated and deactivated by a non-fouling level float opening and closing an air-feed cylinder.
The whole system is constructed from stainless-steel and facilitates minimal mechanical servicing; all parts are easily replaced with minimum skills. The heavy-duty brushes require replacement on average, only once every five years. If a breakdown occurs, the screen will still operate for a limited period as a static screen.
The Airmex is designed to be fitted to existing overflow chambers with minimum disruption to the system and can easily be exchanged between overflows if required. Its modular design allows for multiple installation depending on weir length and flow rates.
E-mail: info@hydrokuk.co.uk.
The British foot-and-mouth livestock epidemic may finally have waned, but it has already led to the slaughter of more than 2.2 million animals. What if a similar livestock epidemic happens in North America? Some environmental angles have surfaced in the UK:
These are only a few of the problems resulting from the disposal of animal carcasses in Britain.
Section 02531 "Sewage Force Mains", of the National Master Specifications Secretariat, is underway. The Canadian Concrete Pipe Association was contacted by Public Works and Government Services Canada to let the concrete pipe industry know about the update. Some producer members are affiliated with companies, or divisions within their organization involved with sewage force mains.
National Master Specifications (NMS) are written to ensure that a broad industry-wide standard of operation is provided across Canada. NMS undergo a three-year review cycle.
The current Sewage Force Main Section does not specifically provide the choice for concrete pressure pipe. Material specifications, as well as installation/testing requirements are required.
Contact E-mail: info@ccpa.com.
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| Auger Monster at Niigougawa WWTP. |
Tomoe Engineering Company has sold the first Auger Monster into the Asian market. An ACD 1800 shipped early September 2000, has been installed in a pump station in Takayama City.
JWC Environmental worked closely with Tomoe to install a trial ACD5000 unit at the Niigougawa WWTP at no cost, and in return, this became a working installation site for potential customers to view.
A Saskatoon man who fell asleep in a garbage bin survived a terrifying ordeal. He had been picked up by a garbage truck which compacted the load and dumped him and the garbage into a landfill site. He was found by two men dumping garbage at the landfill site.
Fire and ambulance personnel had to extricate the 36 year-old man from a stacked pile of garbage before he could be loaded on to a stretcher. He suffered fractures to his jaw, arm and ribs. The man, who told police he had climbed into the bin for shelter, was expected to remain in hospital for some time.
The garbage truck picks up bins and dumps them over the cab into a 'packer' storage unit, which compresses the loads to one-fifth their original size.
Considering how close the man was to not being discovered, some are saying: "How many are there that we don't find?"
USFilter has announced an annual $25,000 research award for innovative work in biosolids management. Applicants must be from the United States or Canada, and the application deadline for this year's award is August 1.
The award has been established by the North American Technology Center (NATC) of Vivendi Water and USFilter. The award applications will be competitively judged on originality and relevance to the existing needs in biosolids management. The research may also focus on state-of-the-art treatment processes, addressing current operational issues within biosolids management systems.
The selected individual or team will conduct the research project for approximately one year, commencing in September of each year.
The selection committee will consist of members of the NATC, USFilter biosolids experts, and independent acknowledged scholars in the environmental field.
More information about the award can be obtained from Dr. Abu-Orf at Vivendi Water/USFilter, North American Technology Center, 1901 West Garden Rd., Vineland, NJ, 08360, E-mail: abu-orfm@usfilter.com.
The Cape Breton Regional Municipality has put a high price on peace and quiet with a new noise by-law. The by-law covers several sources including loud engines, horns, power tools, stereos, and even singing all in response to more than 880 noise complaints since January, 2000. Violators could face fines of up to $5,000.
The American Concrete Pipe Association is building its library of concrete pipe application/installation, manufacturing/yard and theme photos.
Please send duplicate prints, or digital files, with at least 300 dpi resolution, to Mike Saubert at the ACPA, 222 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 641, Irving, TX 75039. Please send digital photo files on zip disks.
Odours from the St. Stephen, New Brunswick, wastewater treatment plant were becoming so unbearable that some of the 4,976 residents of the small Canadian border town had to wear surgical masks when they went outside.
The aerobic bacteria that feed off the organic materials that caused the odours, died because of a lack of oxygen. The smell over a three-week time frame became so bad that it caused local residents to stay indoors and close their windows. "It was one of the worst things I have ever smelled," said Tim Devlin, St. Stephens Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator.
The Town placed an emergency order of three, 20-hp Aeromix Systems Tornado Surface Aspirating Aerators. The aerators were sent overnight to St. Stephens where they were put into operation immediately.
"With the increased mixing and aeration of the lagoon, it took about a month for the aerators to fully take care of the odour problem; but we haven't had any problems since," said Devlin.
Aracruz Celulose S.A. has selected USFilter's HPD Products and Confab S.A. to design and install a seven-effect evaporation system as part of Aracruz's $620 million expansion project at its Espirito Santo pulp mill in Brazil.
The new seven-effect black liquor evaporation train is part of Aracruz's new 700,000 tons per year pulp production line, which will double its pulp capacity to 1.9 million tons per year. USFilter and Confab will provide full turnkey project support on the evaporator expansion from engineering and fabrication to installation and start-up.