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| Peter J. Laughton |
ONDEO Degrémont is providing the City of Thunder Bay with its Biofor C Biologically Aerated Filter (BAF) technology for the upgrade of the Atlantic Avenue Water Pollution Control Plant from primary treatment to secondary treatment. "We are very satisfied that after months of comparative testing and analysis, third party experts have retained our Biofor C BAF technology for this upgrade. With our bio-filtration technology, Thunder Bay will be able to meet the new and more demanding requirements of the Ontario water regulation. This will be the first Biofor installation in Ontario and the largest Biofor installation to date in North America," noted M. André Léger, CEO of ONDEO Degrémont.
Less than 10 years ago, the company supplied the CUQ (Urban Community of Québec) with the largest installation of first generation biofilters in Canada. With the Thunder Bay award, ONDEO Degrémont will install its Biofor process (co-current upflow) in what will become the largest second generation biofiltration plant in Canada.
The city of Thunder Bay mandated third party experts to perform comparative analysis. XCG Consulting evaluated the process through lengthy pilot studies of alternative technologies. EarthTech Canada (formerly Reid Crowther, Winnipeg) evaluated the competitiveness of Biofor through an in-depth analysis of capital and operating costs. The product of ONDEO Degrémont R&D's efforts, the Biofor process combines two operations in one: biological degradation and retention of suspended solids.
Designed to treat a maximum flow of 225 ML/d, the secondary treatment installation will use 11 biofilters (1,177 m3). This two year-long contract is valued at over $7.7 M and was obtained with the active support of Aqua Technical Sales, ONDEO Degrémont's representative in Ontario.
India's Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, has appointed R.V. Anderson Associates Limited of Toronto, in a joint venture with Mott MacDonald of the UK, for a 32-month feasibility study aimed at developing a new master plan for sewage collection, treatment and disposal in the Greater Mumbai (Bombay) area. Working with Indian consultants PHE Consultants Ltd. and Mahindra Acres Consulting Engineers Ltd., the joint venture team will also undertake preliminary engineering design for the plan's principal components and develop a phased implementation program.
Mumbai's present sewerage system, parts of which originate from the 1880s, incorporates over 1,300 km of sewers, 51 pumping stations and treatment plants serving an estimated 15 million people in an urban area of 420 km2. Following various improvements and extensions over the years, a sewerage master plan had been developed in 1979. Major changes in wastewater standards for marine discharge, coupled with substantial population growth since then, and the need to provide improved health and environmental benefits to Mumbai's metropolitan area, mean that the plan now needs updating to bring improved environmental conditions in the surrounding coastal and creek waters.
The consultancy team is constructing a computer model of the system, studying available population and sewage flow data, and predicting future figures based on current urban development plans, plus emerging growth trends in the region. The next stage entails reviewing proposed sewerage plans and formulating an optimum system allowing maximum use of existing collection facilities. The team will also identify additional works needed to deliver the required environmental improvements, develop an operation and maintenance strategy, and identify training needs for staff tasked with operating and managing the system.
Zenon Environmental Inc. has been chosen by three communities in the United States to provide its proprietary drinking water technology for contracts totalling approximately C$12 million.
Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) provides water services to a 555-square mile area with a population of 440,000 in western Riverside County in California. According to Bruce Mitzel of EMWD, engineering consultants CH2M Hill and Carollo provided them with a solution to achieving both a high level of water recovery along with premium water quality consistently.
"The best technology for our application was the Zenon membrane," said Mr. Mitzel. "Instead of purchasing potable water from the Metropolitan Water District and expanding the existing pipeline, we felt that building a new, more efficient plant was the viable economical alternative for our customers."
Evergreen, Colorado and Marysville, Washington, will also be the sites of two new drinking water plants for the technology. The Evergreen Metropolitan District's new plant will use ZeeWeed® membranes in a two step process to optimize water recovery.
Initially, ZeeWeed membranes will purify surface water taken directly from nearby Evergreen Lake. The remaining untreated water will then be treated in a second step, again using ZeeWeed membranes, to provide additional premium quality drinking water.
In addition to decreasing the amount of wasted water during treatment, concerns over current and anticipated future regulatory requirements influenced the City of Marysville in its decision to choose the right technology for the new drinking water plant.
Currently, water from the Stillaguamish River is only disinfected with chlorine. The new plant will use ZeeWeed membranes to provide a safe and reliable drinking water supply to the community. Both the Evergreen and Marysville plants are scheduled for completion by mid 2002.
At any given time, an estimated one half of people in developing countries are suffering from diseases caused either by infection through the consumption of contaminated water or food, or indirectly by disease-carrying organisms (vectors), such as mosquitos, that breed in water. These diseases include diarrhea, schistosomiasis, dengue fever, infection by intestinal worms, malaria, river blindness (onchocerciasis), and trachoma (which alone causes almost six million cases of blindness or severe complications annually).
Unless action is stepped up, the number of people without access to safe water will increase to 2.3 billion by 2025, with the number of those affected by unsafe water expected to jump sharply as well. (Unsafe water is currently estimated to cause 3.3 billion illnesses and 5.3 million deaths yearly). Right now, 20 percent of the world's population in 30 countries, face water shortages, a figure that will rise to 30 percent of the world's population, in 50 countries, by 2025, according to UN figures.
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| Peter J. Laughton |
The Albert E. Berry Medal from the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, for the year 2001, went to Peter J. Laughton, Chairman and Director of Environmental Engineering, R.V. Anderson Associates Limited. Dr. Laughton obtained a B.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering in 1966 and a M. Eng. in Civil (Environmental) Engineering in 1973 from the University of Toronto. In 1987, he obtained a degree in Computer Science from York University and received an honorary doctorate in engineering from Ryerson Polytechnic University in 1997. He is a registered professional engineer in Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
In 1995, Dr. Laughton was the recipient of the Professional Engineers Ontario Engineering Medal for "engineering excellence". He has also received the Bedell Award, as well as awards from the Canadian Association on Water Quality and the Pollution Control Association of Ontario (now the Water Environment Association of Ontario).
Peter Laughton has served on Environmental Science & Engineering's Advisory Board since the magazine was launched in 1988.
ITT Flygt has received a record order for 195 mixers for the new wastewater treatment plant in the city of Shaoxing, on China's east coast, about 250 km south of Shanghai.
The delta area of the Yangze river on China's east coast is one of the country's most developed areas. With a population of around one million people, the city of Shaoxing's major industries include chemical fibre printing and dyeing, clothes making and wine production. With no existing wastewater treatment plant the water has been emptying directly into the Yangze River and then on to the East China Sea.
The local government has made the decision to build a wastewater treatment plant to tackle this problem. A loan of US $20 million from the OECF (Overseas Economical & Co-operative Funds) will help finance the new US $60 million plant that will serve the city.
ITT Flygt will supply all the mixers, plus all the control equipment for the units, their largest single order to date for mixers.
When completed the sewage treatment plant will be able to handle 300,000 tons a day, and will include a series of race track aeration tanks to handle the active sludge being produced from the clothes dying industry, which accounts for around 90% of the wastewater.
Recently, the USEPA responded to letters from both the Pennsylvania Environmental Network and the National Sludge Alliance that called on the Agency to issue an immediate moratorium on the spreading of biosolids on farmland and strip mines. The activists' letters cited complaints from people who claim to have suffered health effects from exposure to biosolids, an article that looked at the potential health effects of odours from animal operations and wastewater treatment/byproduct recycling, and testimony from a court case.
EPA's response states that the information and data available to the Agency do not justify imposing a moratorium on recycling of Class B biosolids. Moreover, efforts are underway at the Agency to evaluate practices that can reduce odours associated with treatment of wastewater residuals, animal production systems, and recycling of residuals. CWWA Bulletin
The Water and Waste Department for the City of Winnipeg reports that lead levels in the city's water have been reduced. The department began adding orthophosphate to the city's water supply last year to reduce lead levels that, in some neighbourhoods, exceeded national standards. The lead leaches into the water supply when water corrodes old lead pipes. Orthophosphate coats the insides of pipes and reduces corrosion and lead levels. The city reported homes in the test area now meet the Canadian standards. Orthophosphate is a food-grade phosphoric acid often used in soft drinks. CWWA Bulletin
A proposed Ontario drinking water regulation would place strict requirements on schools, day nurseries, nursing and retirement homes, and social and health care facilities that have their own water supply system and do not fall under the existing Drinking Water Protection Regulation (Ont. Reg. 459/00).
The proposed Drinking Water Protection Regulation for Designated Facilities was posted to the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) Registry for public comment in July, and is the next step in Operation Clean Water, which focuses province-wide efforts to improve water quality and delivery in the province.
This regulation follows feedback the Ministry of the Environment received during extensive consultation with stakeholders and the public. The ministry will consider all public comments posted to the EBR Registry before finalizing the regulation.
These facilities will be provided with information they need to comply with the proposed new stringent requirements, which include:
Furthermore, the MOE and its partner ministries will provide owners and operators of small facilities not covered by the proposed regulation such as cottages, homes, gas stations, camp and playgrounds with the information they need to ensure clean, safe drinking water.
On World Population Day, July 11, 2001, the number of people on Earth was estimated at 6,169,232,446 and climbing. Speaking on the occasion of World Population Day, UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, linked the growing population to ecological stress on the planet's resources. Calling attention to deforestation, pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, he said: "Our ecological footprints on the earth are heavier than ever before."
The United Nations Population Division says world population is currently growing at an annual rate of 1.2%, or 77 million people per year. Six countries account for half of this annual growth: India for 21%, China for 12%, Pakistan for 5%, Nigeria for 4%, Bangladesh for 4%, and Indonesia for 3%.
Population in more developed regions, currently 1.2 billion, is anticipated to change little during the next 50 years because fertility levels are expected to remain below replacement level, the UN predicts.
By mid-century, the populations of 39 countries are projected to be smaller than today. Japan and Germany will be 14% smaller, Italy and Hungary will be 25% smaller, and the Russian Federation, Georgia and Ukraine, will be up to 40% smaller, UN population analysts forecast.
World population is expected to be around 9.3 billion by 2050, the UN estimates, but it could be anywhere between 7.9 billion and 10.9 billion, depending on fertility, longevity and rates of death.
Moncef Nehdi, a professor in the University of Western Ontario's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, recently received a grant to investigate new ways to use scrap tires in civil infrastructure. He is one of just ten researchers around the world to receive the grant from the Lindbergh Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Minnesota.
Nehdi has found that ground scrap tires can replace aggregates in concrete to make a more flexible construction material. The flexible concrete is more resistant to impact and better at insulating heat and sound than traditional concrete, making it an ideal material for use in foundation pads for machinery, earthquake shock absorbers, heat and sound insulation, railway buffers and bunkers, tunnel linings, trench filling, and pipe bedding.
Each year, more than 250 million scrap tires are generated in North America, adding to more than three billion scrap tires already stockpiled. Often left in illegal dumps, these tires are not only an environmental threat, but also fire hazards and breeding grounds for mosquitos.
Contact Moncef Nehdi at: (519) 661-2111, ext. 88308.
Lafarge Canada has turned over 163 acres of land surrounding its Winnipeg cement terminal to a non-profit environmental education facility. The land agreement with the Fort Whyte Centre reinforces a long-time association between the neighbouring facilities and Lafarge's ongoing support for the Centre.
Fort Whyte Centre is located just 10 minutes from downtown Winnipeg on 363 acres that were at one time owned by the cement and construction materials company. The Centre provides education and outdoor recreation programs that promote environmental awareness and action leading to sustainable living.
According to Lafarge Canada Chairman John Redfern:"200 years ago this land was home to bison, and 80 years ago it was mined for its high quality clay." Approximately half the land in question is currently being used to house a herd of bison. The other half consists of wet meadow, forest and a lake that has been stocked with rainbow trout and will be available for special-use angling programs.
The largest single investment in groundwater source protection in Ontario's history was announced August 22 in Kitchener-Waterloo when Environment Minister Elizabeth Witmer earmarked $10 million in funding for municipal groundwater studies. Speaking at the Mannheim Treatment Facility, the Minister said: "Three million Ontarians depend on groundwater. These studies will greatly enhance communities' ability to protect their water right at the source."
The $10 million will be distributed to municipalities until March 2002. Emphasis will be given to those municipalities that are highly dependent on groundwater and that are ready and able to begin work immediately. Participating municipalities will receive funding to cover a minimum of 70% and as much as 85% of approved groundwater study costs.
The municipal groundwater studies will help map sensitive groundwater areas and identify potential risks. Contaminants will be inventoried and surveys will record how water is used and how aquifers recharge. This information will help municipalities and regions better map and protect their wellheads.
North American shipments of polyethylene pipe, tube and conduit totaled 1.39 billion pounds last year, an increase of 0.2 percent from 1999, according to the 2000 Statistical Review released July 24, by the Plastics Pipe Institute.
The market demand for pipe in the oil/gas production markets rebounded to 180 million pounds, a 55 percent increase over the prior year. The industrial/sewer and the gas distribution markets combined to ship more than 460 million pounds of pipe, representing a total increase of nearly four percent for these two applications.
The report provides an estimate in pounds of the volume of pipe, tubing and conduit shipped to six market segments, including water, gas distribution, oil/gas production, industrial sewers, conduit, and export/other markets. Data is also provided on shipments of polyethylene pipe, tube, and conduit from 1997-2000, as well as on total market volumes from 1982-2000.
North American shipments of polyethylene pipe, tube and conduit to all six markets totaled nearly 1.4 billion pounds in 2000, an increase from the 1999 rate total of more than two million pounds, and an increase of about 20 percent since 1998.
Contact: www.plasticpipe.org.
Ric Robertshaw, P.Eng., has been given a Top Ten Leader of the Year award by the America Public Works Association (APWA). As Director of Environmental Services for the Region of Halton, Ontario, he has provided innovative leadership in all public works areas and particularly in infrastructure management and operations. A past president of the Canadian Public Works Association (CPWA), he has served as the Chair of the Expert Panel overseeing the performance measurement and benchmarking exercise for the water and wastewater functions of 11 of the largest municipalities in Ontario.
Judith M. Mueller, APWA President, has stated: "The Top Ten Public Works Leader of the Year award is the ultimate professional honour a public works professional can receive."
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released its most recent report entitled, Global Trends 2015. The report looks at the world over the next 15 years from the perspective of the national security policymaker. Regarding water, the report stated that: "water has been a source of contention historically, but no water dispute has been a cause of open interstate conflict; indeed, water shortages often have stimulated cooperative arrangements for sharing the scarce resource.
"But as countries press against the limits of available water between now and 2015, the possibility of conflict will increase. Nearly one-half of the world's land surface consists of river basins shared by more than one country, and more than 30 nations receive more than one-third of their water from outside their borders. Turkey is building new dams and irrigation projects on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which will affect water flows into Syria and Iraq two countries that will experience considerable population growth.
"Egypt is proceeding with a major diversion of water from the Nile, which flows from Ethiopia and Sudan, both of which will want to draw more water from the Nile for their own development by 2015. Water-sharing arrangements are likely to become more contentious. Water shortages occurring in combination with other sources of tension such as in the Middle East will be the most worrisome."
View the complete CIA document at: www.africa2000.com/INDX/trends2015.html. CWWA Bulletin
Zenon Environmental Inc. has concluded a licensing agreement with ONDEO Degrémont. The agreement will allow them to assemble water and wastewater treatment systems using Zenon's proprietary ZeeWeed® immersed membrane technology.
According to Zenon, this relationship is strategically important to them to ensure better penetration of the French market and to take advantage of global opportunities where the wide range of capabilities of the ONDEO Degrémont Group are needed to complement Zenon's technologies.
Leaks in aging pipes could allow parasites like Cryptosporidium to seep into water distribution systems and pose a threat to public health, even in major North American cities with state-of-the-art water purification plants. A researcher with the American Waterworks Service Company has been studying breaks in water distribution pipes. He has found that sometimes surges of water are created when a valve is very quickly opened or closed. This rush of water, a pressure wave, puts a lot of pressure on the pipe and, on some occasions, the pipe bursts open.
Leaks in water pipes happen on a fairly regular basis in most cities and the high pressure water system actually prevents microbes from getting into pipes most of the time, because escaping water spurts out of a leak at such a high speed. What the researcher is worried about is the trough or the bottom of the pressure wave, which creates a low pressure environment inside the pipe. In tests, he has found that the trough can become so big after a surge and it creates a negative pressure inside the pipe. CWWA Bulletin
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| The US Marine Corps headquarters has authorized the conversion to polyurethane coatings containing water-reducible resins for all Marine Corps ground vehicles. |
Bayer Corporation received the US EPA's 2000 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for developing an industrial coating material that uses water instead of chemical solvents, thus reducing volatile air emissions by as much as 99 percent.
The Bayer technology, a two-component waterborne polyurethane, cuts VOCs released into the atmosphere by 50 to 90 percent, and hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions by 50 to 99 percent, while maintaining durability and aesthetic standards previously only achieved by solvent-based coatings. The waterborne coatings raw materials are used in a broad range of applications, such as industrial and wood finishes, floor and automotive coatings, adhesives and paper applications.
Abstracts in English or French, for oral or poster presentations, will be considered for the Tenth National Conference on Drinking Water, to be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 27-30, 2002. Abstracts of approximately 500 words, submitted by electronic mail or on diskette (WP or Word) must be received by December 1, 2001.
Supporting agencies include: Health Canada, Nova Scotia Environment, Canadian Water and Wastewater Association, Halifax Regional Water Commission, and the Centre for Water Resources Studies, Dalhousie University.
Abstracts should be sent to: 10th National Conference on Drinking Water, c/o CWWA, 2nd Floor, Unit 20, 5330 Canotek Road, Ottawa, ON, K1J 9C3. Tel: (613) 747-0524, Fax: (613) 747-0523, E-mail: admin@cwwa.ca.
Montréal's tap water is full of wholesome minerals and compares favourably with the water of other major North American cities, a McGill University study states. The water has high levels of calcium and magnesium, minerals that are considered healthy. The researchers studied the tap water of the 25 most populous cities in Canada and the United States. Mineral content varied widely among the cities. In the last decade, tap water consumption has dropped in North America and Europe as more people have turned to bottled water. But the lead researcher for the study says that most North American bottled spring waters contain very low, or in some cases, absolutely no minerals.
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| Mayor of Qingdao, Du Shicheng (left), presents Derek Yue (right), with the Qingdao Award. |
Industry's Canada's Derek Yue was presented with a prestigious award for his significant contribution to the social and economic development of the City of Qingdao in China. He was instrumental in the establishment and project development of the Canada-Qingdao Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI). He visited Qingdao many times while working on the SCI project, and speaks fondly of the city and its people.
During a visit to Toronto, the Mayor of Qingdao, Du Shicheng, presented Derek with the award, the highest honour presented to foreigners from the City of Qingdao. He is the first Canadian to receive this award.
The Galapagos Islands are a fascinating corner of the world, where only a few inhabitants share the territory with turtles, iguanas and hundreds of bird species. The place became famous and well-known worldwide when Charles Darwin carried out research there, and the unique paradise islands are now visited by thousands of tourists every year.
The Galapagos belong to Ecuador and consist of more than a dozen islands. Today, the area is a National Park and Marine Biology Reserve, where environmental protection is a natural lifestyle. One of the largest islands is Santa Cruz, where several resorts are located. A Santa Cruz hotel recently purchased two AFP 1546 pumps for their sewage pumping station. The pumps had an unusual way of finding their final destination.
The pumps were first sent from an ABS manufacturing unit in Ireland to Cartagena in Columbia, and then on to Guayaquil in Ecuador. The trickiest part was then delivering them to Santa Cruz.
The Galapagos are located in the Pacific Ocean right on the equator and more than 1,000 kilometres from the continent. The solution was a Hercules C-130 carrier from the Ecuadorian Air Force.
But, if it was easy to load the plane with the pumps, using the cranes at the airport in Guayaquil, imagine how difficult it was to unload and transport them to the pumping station in a place without any facilities no cranes, no trucks, no roads. The only way was to hire natives who unloaded the pumps with their own bare hands and then transported them on their shoulders for about six kilometres.