Annual Conference Brochure - AZ Water Association

TO THE PROFESSIONALS DEDICATED 

TO ARIZONA’S WATER: 

Don P. Manthe 

Current Past President 

& Conference Chair 

Join us for the 84th Annual AZ Water 

Association Conference & Exhibition during 

National Drinking Water Week. The beautiful 

Renaissance Glendale Hotel & Spa provides 

the facilities and services we require as the AZ 

Water Annual Conference continues to grow in 

attendance and exhibits. 

The 2011 Conference Program is better than 

ever! Many dedicated volunteers have spent 

tremendous amounts of time and energy putting 

together the conference. Our Program committee 

has been able to select from over 145 abstracts 

submitted to create a program that meets the needs of all in the water 

community. And, with over 140 exhibits, this is your best opportunity to 

see the latest in equipment, technology and services for the water and 

wastewater industry. There’s something for everyone! 

DO YOU WORK FOR A UTILITY? THE CONFERENCE OFFERS… 

• Opportunity to earn Professional Development Hours – 

up to 18 hours 

• Program tracks on Utility Management, Safety, and Facility 

Optimization 

• Easy day trip – no overnight travel approval 

• Opportunity to network with other AZ Water Professionals 

• Meet with vendors to see what’s new and can help streamline your 

operations and maintenance. 

ARE YOU A CONSULTANT/ENGINEER? YOU GET TO… 

• Hear the latest technical information 

~ Explanations about new regulations from AZ regulators 

~ Local research findings on desalination, salinity, reuse, energy 

management, and recovery 

• Network with your clients and market to new clients 

• Find out what your competitors are doing 

• Learn about new ways to: 

~ Fast track project design and construction 

~ Use physical models to optimize design 

ARE YOU A REGULATOR? YOU CAN… 

• Hear the latest technical information on: 

~ Occurrence of and treatments for endocrine disruptors 

~ Future contaminants and the latest measuring techniques 

~ Advanced oxidation 

• Find new research partnership opportunities 

• See what your peers are doing 

• Network with other researchers in private industry as well as 

academia and public agencies. 

There is no other State water conference where you will experience 

this broad spectrum of water knowledge and information enabling you 

to improve your skills, knowledge, and impact for the future. Our lives 

as Arizona citizens and its future generations depend on you and your 

commitment to professional development and training time. The 84th 

annual gathering of the AZ Water Association Conference & Exhibition 

will stimulate thought and raise awareness about our State’s future, and 

its water infrastructure. 

What do you need to do as a water professional in this century to help 

Arizona into the next several decades and beyond? 

Arizona’s Water Future is Here! Come and join us! 

2011 CONFERENCE PROGRAM 

TASK FORCE MEMBERS 

TASK FORCE COMMITTEE CHAIR 

TIMOTHY THOMURE, HDR Engineering, Inc. 

STEVE ACQUAFREDDA, DSWA, a Jacobs Company 

KEVIN CHADWICK, Maricopa County Environmental 

DALE CONOVER, Arizona American Water Company 

RAYMOND CRAFT, Applied EnviroSolutions, Inc. 

JIM CURCIO, McCarthy Building Companies 

MICHELLE DE HAAN, Water Works Engineering 

SHERRIE ECHARTE’, ForeverCreating, Inc. 

DAVID EPPERSON, City of Phoenix 

DIANNE FRYDRYCH, Legend Technical Services 

JANET GALLUP, Metro Water District 

KATHERINE HAMMER, Greeley and Hansen 

GRETCHEN HAWKINS, Arizona State University 

DARLENE HELM, City of Phoenix 

ROBERT HOLLANDER, Alan Plummer Associates, Inc. 

MAUREEN HYMEL, City of Phoenix 

LISA JACKSON, Black & Veatch 

MARK JENSEN, Tetra Tech, Inc. 

DON MANTHE, HDR Engineering, Inc. 

JOHN J. MASCHE, City of Phoenix 

KATHY MILLS, Mills Engineering 

DEBORAH MUSE, AZ Water Association 

ALAN O’BRIEN, Gannett Fleming 

LAUREL PASSANTINO, ARCADIS/Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. 

SREERAM RENGARAJ, Wilson Engineers 

FRED ROUSE, Stanley Consultants 

RICHARD SACKS, City of Scottsdale 

FERNANDO SARMIENTO, Greeley and Hansen 

MIKE SIMPSON, M.E. Simpson Co., Inc. 

DAWN SLAUTER, City of Glendale 

TERESA SMITH-DEHESUS, Black & Veatch 

DAVID SNOW, Arizona American Water Company 

TIM THOMURE, HDR Engineering, Inc. 

STEVE WEDWICK, NCS Engineering 

JAMES WRIGHT, Statewide Disinfection Service, Inc. 

JENNY ZAPANA, Greeley and Hansen 

Cover picture courtesy of 

Patrick EuDaly, Greeley and Hansen, 

Estrella Star Tower Landscape, Goodyear, Arizona

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE 

TUESDAY, MAY 3 

Arizona’s Water Future is Here! 

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR 2012 

85th Annual AZ Water Conference & Exhibition 

PMS 542 

May 3-5, 2012 

PMS 534 

Renaissance Glendale Hotel & Spa 

Glendale, Arizona 

CELEBRATE DRINKING WATER WEEK, MAY 1-7, 2011 

7:30am .......................................Golf Tournament at JW Marriott Wildfire Golf Club, Phoenix ....... Page 7 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4 

8:00am – 5:00pm ......................Exhibit Hall Opens .............................................................. Page 2 

10:30am – 5:00pm ......................Water For People Silent Auction ............................................ Page 10 

7:00am – 5:00pm ......................Conference Registration Desk Opens ...................................... Page 2 

7:00am – 8:00am ......................Breakfast 

8:00am – 10:30am ....................Opening Session ................................................................. Page 4-5 

Welcome / Keynote / Panel Discussion 

Awards Ceremony 

10:30am – 12:00pm ....................Dedicated Exhibit Hall Hours and Break................................... Page 2 & 9 

12:00pm – 1:00pm ......................Luncheon Program (Operator-related Awards)........................... Page 3 

1:00pm – 5:30pm ......................Technical Sessions............................................................... Page 14-17 

2:30pm – 3:30pm ......................Break with the Exhibitors...................................................... Page 2 

6:00pm – 9:00pm ......................Barbecue at University of Phoenix Stadium ............................. Page 3 & 6 

THURSDAY, MAY 5 


8:00am – 11:00am ....................Water For People Silent Auction ............................................ Page 10 

8:00am – 12:00pm ....................Exhibit Hall Opens .............................................................. Page 2 

7:00am – 5:00pm ......................Conference Registration Desk Opens ...................................... Page 2 

8:00am – 10:30am ....................Technical Sessions .............................................................. Page 17-22 

10:30am – 12:00pm ....................Dedicated Exhibit Hall Hours and Break .................................. Page 2 

12:00pm – 1:30pm ......................Luncheon Program with WEF National Speaker ......................... Page 5 

1:00pm – 1:30pm ......................AZ Water Annual Business Meeting ........................................ Page 3 

1:30pm – 5:00pm ......................Technical Sessions .............................................................. Page 17-22 

3:00pm – 3:30pm ......................Break 

FRIDAY, MAY 6 


7:00am – 12:00pm ....................Conference Registration Desk Opens ...................................... Page 2 

8:00am – 10:00am ....................Technical Sessions .............................................................. Page 22–26 

10:00am – 10:30am ....................Break 

10:30am – 12:00pm ....................Technical Sessions .............................................................. Page 22-26 

12:00pm – 1:30pm ......................Luncheon Program with AWWA National Speaker ...................... Page 5 

1:30pm – 3:30pm ......................Technical Sessions .............................................................. Page 22-26 

1042 Willow Creek Road 

A101-510 

Prescott, AZ 86301 

Phone 928-717-9905 

Fax 928-717-9910 

www.azwater.org 

AZ Water Association 84th Annual Conference & Exhibition 

1

GENERAL INFORMATION 

HOTEL RESERVATIONS 


9495 W. Coyotes Boulevard 

Glendale, AZ 85305 

Special AZ Water Group Rate: $154 single/double. To receive this rate 

call 1-800-HOTELS1 (1-800-468-3571) and mention the AZ Water Annual 

Conference. 

Reservations must be made by April 22. The hotel will continue to 

accept reservations at the group rate after the cut-off date, but only if 

rooms are still available. 

CONFERENCE LOCATION 


9495 W. Coyotes Boulevard, Glendale, AZ 85305 

http://www.renaissanceglendale.com 

The Renaissance Glendale Hotel & Spa offers: 

• 320 beautifully appointed guest rooms 

• Spa Botanica – full-service spa with outdoor treatment rooms 

• Center with indoor lap pool and exercise equipment 

• Fully-equipped 24-hour business center 

• Soleil restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner 

• Ray’s lounge with outdoor seating surrounded by water and fire 

features 

• Caffeina’s Marketplace Café – proudly brewing Starbucks® coffee 

PARKING INFORMATION 

The parking lots to the north and southeast sides of the Hotel do not 

belong to the Renaissance Glendale Hotel & Spa and therefore are not 

liable for any damage or towing that may ensue. Currently these parking 

lots can be used for conference attendees during the day, but are 

subject to towing if left overnight (signs are posted). Therefore, if you 

are staying at the Hotel overnight, please use the Hotel parking options. 

The Hotel provides self and valet parking. Self parking is available in 

their covered garage and is accessed hourly up to $11 per day. Each 

individual guest will be responsible for their own parking charges. 

REGISTRATION 

Registration is located in the meeting room lobby (see map on inside 

back cover). Pre-Registration is highly encouraged, however on-site 

registration will be accepted. Registration forms should be mailed, 

faxed, or you may register online at www.azwater.org. 

What Does My Registration Include? Admission to all seminar 

sessions, admission to the exhibit hall (Wednesday and Thursday only), 

instruction materials, and the following meals. 

2 

Full Conference Registration: 

Breakfast: W, TH, F 

Breaks: W, TH, F 

Lunch: W, TH, F 

Barbecue: W 

One-day Registration: 

Wednesday: Breakfast, Breaks, Lunch, Barbecue 

Thursday: Breakfast, Breaks, Lunch 

Friday: Breakfast, Breaks, Lunch 

CANCELLATIONS & REFUNDS 

If you must cancel your conference enrollment, please notify AZ Water 

in writing. Cancellations received before the start of the conference 

will receive a full refund, minus a $35 handling charge. No refunds will 

be issued for cancellations received after the conference has begun. 

Refunds will be issued after the conference. Substitutions are allowed 

for individuals unable to attend the conference. 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HOURS 

Professional Development Hours (PDHs) are available for attending the 

conference technical sessions and workshops. A maximum of 18 PDHs 

will be awarded based on your attendance. The licensee is responsible 

for choosing sessions that meet the PDH requirements for their specific 

certification. AZ Water will issue a certificate to indicate the number 

of PDHs awarded during the conference, but cannot guarantee that all 

PDHs will qualify for every licensee. Four weeks after the conference you 

will receive your PDH certificate. 

EXHIBIT INFORMATION 

Exhibits will be in the Media Room at the Renaissance Glendale Hotel 

(in the same vicinity as the meeting rooms & registration). Prize 

drawings, raffles, and the Water For People Auction will be presented 

during the dedicated exhibit hours on both days. Interested in 

exhibiting? Go to www.azwater.org and download the exhibitor package. 


Exhibit Hall will be open all day 

8:00 am - 5:00 pm 

Dedicated exhibit hours 

10:30 am - 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm 


Exhibit Hall will be open 

8:00 am - 12:00 pm 

Dedicated exhibit hours 

10:30 am - 12:00 pm 

Exhibits close down at noon. 

CONTACT INFORMATION 

General Information: 

Debbie Muse 928-717-9905 

Registration: 

Cindy Martinez 520-575-8100 

Exhibits: 

Jason Vernon 602-275-4303 

Golf Tournament: 

Jay Bailey 602-275-4303 

Web Site: www.azwater.org 

AZ Water Association 84th Annual Conference & Exhibition Arizona’s Water Future is Here!

2011 AZ WATER 

AWARDS PROGRAM 

BEST OF THE YEAR AWARDS 


8:00am - 10:30am 

Projects of the Year 

Water 

Wastewater 

Water Reuse 

Engineer of the Year 

Young Professional of the Year 

Nathan Burbank Environmental Educator Award 

Environmental Stewardship Award 

Quentin Mees Research Award 

Kachina Award for Outstanding Service 

Select Society of Sanitary Sludge Shovelers 

12:00pm - 1:00pm 

Plant and System Operations Awards 

Plant 

Operator 

Operations Supervisor 

Electrician 

Maintenance Mechanic 

Instrument Technician 

Laboratory Analyst 

Gimmicks and Gadgets 

Safety Awards 


12:00pm - 1:30pm / WEF Luncheon 

Arthur Sydney Bedell Award 

William D. Hatfield Award 

Burke Award 

WEF Life Members 

President Award 

Water Environment Research Foundation 

Gift for the National Representative 

AZ Water Scholarships 

FRIDAY, MAY 6 

12:00pm - 1:30pm / AWWA Luncheon 

AWWA Gold Drop Members 

AWWA Life Members 

George Warren Fuller Award 

WFP Kenneth J. Miller Award 

Gift for the National Representative 

Section Chair Award 

Water Research Foundation 

AZ Water Life Members 

Outgoing Board Member Recognition 

Gavel Passing 

Kachina Club Inductees 


ANNUAL CONFERENCE BARBECUE 


6:00pm - 9:00pm 

University of Phoenix Stadium 

1 Cardinals Drive 

Glendale, AZ 85305 

Join us at the University of 

Phoenix Stadium, adjacent 

to the conference location, 

for a fun filled barbecue. Big 

Red will greet the guests and 

mingle throughout the evening 

as you enjoy a mouth-watering 

barbecue dinner, drinks, games, 

raffles, and lively music. 

Private, behind-the-scenes tour 

of the facility is available, so 

be sure to sign up for the tour 

on the registration form. And 

… don’t forget your camera to capture the scenes from the awe-inspiring viewpoints in 

the stadium. 

AZ WATER’S ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING 


1:00pm - 1:30pm 

AGENDA ITEMS 

• Approve 2010-2011 Arizona Section AWWA Board of Trustees 

• Approve 2010-2011 Arizona Water Environment Association Board of Directors 

• Approve 2010-2011 AZ Water Association Board of Directors 

• Approve Amended Bylaws for the Arizona Section American Water Works Association 

• Approve Amended Bylaws for the Arizona Water Environment Association 

• Approve Amended Bylaws for the AZ Water Association 

HEY WHAT HAPPENED TO THE 

THURSDAY NIGHT RECEPTION? 

With the barbecue restored to its traditional spot on Wednesday night, the Conference 

Task Force committee decided to try something new on Thursday night. In lieu of a 

formal dinner or reception, there will be a “Hospitality Night” with the assumption that 

conference vendors, consulting firms, and others would enjoy the opportunity to hold 

their own networking events that evening. Consider it a hall pass from the Conference to 

make your own plans for dinner, entertainment, or other options. The night is yours! 


3

WELCOME 

Elaine M. Scruggs 

Mayor 

4 

Serving in the 

position of Mayor since 

February 1993, ELAINE 

SCRUGGS holds leadership 

positions on numerous 

regional organizations 

and committees. She 

recently completed a 

one-year term as Chair of 

the Valley Metro Regional 

Public Transportation 

Authority (RPTA) Board of 

Directors, and currently 

serves on the METRO Light 

Rail Board of Directors. Mayor Scruggs is also a 

member and past Chair of the Arizona Municipal 

Water Users Association (AMWUA), the Maricopa 

Association of Governments (MAG) Regional 

Council, MAG Transportation Policy Committee 

and has served as President of the League of 

Arizona Cities and Towns. 

As Mayor of Glendale, which is home to Luke 

Air Force Base, Elaine Scruggs was selected to 

serve on the 15-member Arizona Military Affairs 

Commission, which evaluates and authorizes 

projects that sustain the missions of Arizona’s 

military facilities. 

Helping to foster the positive development 

of youth also is a priority for Mayor Scruggs. 

She actively participates in her Mayor’s Youth 

Advisory Commission and serves on the YWCA 

Advisory Board, which honored her with its 

2001 Tribute to Women Public Sector Leadership 

award. Through Mayor Scruggs’ efforts, Glendale 

was named the first Kids at Hope city in the 

United States. 

Fostering leadership is of great personal 

interest to Mayor Scruggs. Her desire for a 

program that would reinvigorate the public’s 

civic participation and their sense of ownership 

of local government led to the creation of 

Glendale University in 1997. Since the program’s 

inception, nearly 700 Glendale residents have 

“graduated” from Glendale University to become 

community leaders through service to nonprofit 

organizations, appointment to municipal 

commissions and election to the City Council. 

Mayor Scruggs’ business career is marked 

with highly specialized management 

assignments within the communications 

industry. Positions held include Corporate 

Training Manager for a seven-state area 

and Arizona Administrative Manager with 

responsibility for a customer account base 

billing in excess of $25 million annually. Mayor 

Scruggs has been recognized by the National 

Association of Women 

Business Owners for her 

support of small business 

endeavors. She has been 

honored as one of Today’s 

Arizona Woman magazine’s 

Top 100, and in 2003, she 

accepted their Woman of 

the Year award. 

KEYNOTE ADDRESS 

A discussion of our State’s Water Resources, Human Resources, and the 

Infrastructure that ties it all together. 


GRADY GAMMAGE, JR. is a part time academic, a practicing 

lawyer, an author, a sometime real estate developer and a former 

elected official. He thinks life is more interesting if you do lots of 

different things. 

In his academic role, Mr. Gammage is a Senior Fellow at ASU’s 

Morrison Institute. His work there focuses on urban growth and 

development, quality of life, and local economic issues. He also Grady Gammage, Jr. 

teaches at the College of Law and at the College of Architecture 

and Environmental Design. 

As a lawyer, he has represented real estate projects ranging from master planned 

communities to sprawling subdivisions to high rise buildings and intense urban mixed 

use redevelopment. 

He served on the Central Arizona Project (CAP) Board of Directors for 12 years, 

and was President during a period of turbulence when the CAP was suing the Federal 

Government over the cost of the canal. 

As a real estate developer, he built an intense, urban mixed use project in the City of 

Tempe which won three architectural awards and has been widely acclaimed. 

Mr. Gammage is the author of the book “Phoenix in Perspective” and numerous 

articles on land use and growth issues. 

PANEL DISCUSSION 

Our panelists will explore key issues facing the water industry in Arizona today. 

Topics will include water supply, changes in the workforce including transitions 

in leadership and generational change-over, and the condition of Arizona’s water 

infrastructure. 

PANELIST: 

DAVID V. MODEER joined the Central Arizona Water 

Conservation District (CAWCD) as General Manager overseeing 

all Central Arizona Project (CAP) operations in January 2009. 

Mr. Modeer has been a leader in water resource management 

for nearly 40 years and has significant experience in all areas 

of water system operations, financing, customer service and 

planning. He has a thorough understanding of political and 

operational water issues impacting the western United States. 

Prior to his arrival at CAP, Mr. Modeer was the Director of 

Water Services for the City of Phoenix and spent 10 years as 

the Director of Water in Tucson, Arizona. Mr. Modeer also has 

David V. Modeer 

more than 26 years of management experience with American Central Arizona Project 

Water Works, Inc. as Vice President of Operations for both the 

General Manager 

Pennsylvania-American and Western Region divisions. He also held 

various managerial positions in the Midwest. 

Mr. Modeer served six years on the publicly-elected Board of Directors of the CAWCD 

prior to his selection as General Manager. 

Mr. Modeer is a graduate of the Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska with a 

Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry and Philosophy. 

In addition to managing and delivering the 

state’s largest allocation of Colorado River water to 

eighty percent of Arizona’s population, CAP operates 

the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment 

District and is the operating arm of the Arizona 

Water Bank. Additionally, CAP owns and operates six 

groundwater recharge facilities, helps shape public 

and political water policy, and plays an active role 

in addressing local, regional and national water 

management and environmental issues. 


John Sullivan 

Salt River Project 

Associate General 

Manager for Water 

PANELIST: 

JOHN SULLIVAN has been 

Salt River Project’s Associate 

General Manager for the 

Water Group since May 

1994. SRP, based in Tempe, 

Arizona, is one of the largest 

public water and electric 

utilities. 

Since joining SRP in 1971, 

John has served as Manager 

of Strategic Planning, 

Manager of Water Customer 

Service and Resource Planning, Manager of Power 

Contracts, Manager of Electric System Planning, 

and Manager of Special Projects. 

John, who received his baccalaureate degree 

in electrical engineering from the University 

of Arizona, is a past 

President of the Water 

for the West Foundation 

and the National Water 

Resources Association 

and is currently serving 

on the boards of both organizations. He is also on 

the Board of Directors of the Colorado River Water 

Users’ Association. He is a former board member of 

the Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Colorado 

River Energy Distributors, Tempe United Way and 

the Desert Botanical Garden. 

He is a native Arizonan and a resident of 

Chandler. John and his wife, Pat, have three 

children: Melissa, Brian and Rebekah. 

SRP administers water rights within its service 

territory; operates six dams on the Salt and 

Verde Rivers, located north and east of Phoenix; 

and provides approximately 1 million acre-feet 

of water annually to Valley of the Sun water 

shareholders through a series of canals traversing 

the Phoenix area. 

Robert (Bob) Johnson 

Consultant and Former 

Commissioner of 

the U.S. Bureau of 

Reclamation 

PANELIST: 

BOB JOHNSON is 

currently a partner with 

Water Consult, a Loveland, 

Colorado firm specializing 

in water engineering and 

planning. Bob also serves as 

a Senior Consultant to HDR 

Engineering and had a 33 

year career with the Bureau 

of Reclamation, culminating 

with his retirement 

in January of 2009 as 

Reclamation’s Commissioner. 

Before his appointment as Commissioner, Bob 

worked primarily in Reclamation’s Lower Colorado 

Region where, as Regional Director, he had 

responsibility for the operation and management 

of the lower Colorado River. 

As Reclamation’s Commissioner, Bob oversaw 

all of the programs and operations of the Bureau 

of Reclamation. Reclamation is the largest water 

wholesaler in the United States, providing water 

for 30 million people and irrigation of 10 million 

acres of land. Reclamation is also the second 

largest producer of hydropower in the United 

States, producing 44 billion KWH of energy 

annually at 58 power plants. 

Bob is a graduate of the University of Nevada 

where he received bachelors and masters degrees 

in agriculture and resource economics. He currently 

lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, is married, and has 

two grown children. 


WEF LUNCHEON SPEAKER: 


AWWA LUNCHEON SPEAKER: 

FRIDAY, MAY 6 

Edward McCormick, P.E. 

Board Trustee (2010-2011) 

Water Environment Federation 

ED MCCORMICK is a member of the 2010-2011 Board of Trustees 

for the Water Environment Federation (WEF), an international organization of water quality 

professionals headquartered in Alexandria, Va. 

He is currently Manager of Wastewater Engineering at the East Bay Municipal Utility 

District (EBMUD) in Oakland, Calif., where he has worked for over 25 years following five 

years in the private sector. In this role, he is responsible for EBMUD’s wastewater capital 

program, planning, engineering, construction, energy management, information systems, 

and public outreach. Ed spearheaded the creation of the California Association of Sanitation 

Agencies’ (CASA) Biosolids Program, California’s first statewide biosolids management 

advocacy program, and pioneered the first-ever large scale Food Waste-to-Energy Project 

at a U.S. wastewater treatment plant, winning U.S. EPA Region 9’s 2006 Environmental 

Achievement Award. Ed was also Project Manager of the landmark West Coast Benchmarking 

Study of seven major wastewater agencies totaling over 10 million customers. 

A member of WEF since 1997, Ed has served on the Federation’s House of Delegates and 

as the Chair and Vice-Chair of the WEF Utility Management Committee, as well as Vice Chair 

of the Long Range Planning Committee. In addition, Ed chaired WEF’s Peer Review Committee 

for the Assessment of Reconstruction Costs and Debt Management for Wastewater Utilities 

Affected by Hurricane Katrina report that was published in 2006 and presented to Congress. 

Ed is also a member of the California Water Environment Association (CWEA), the San 

Francisco section of CWEA, and the WateReuse Association. In addition, he has served as the 

Land Issues Committee Chair for CASA and actively participates in various project leadership 

roles for the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), including as a Steering 

Committee member for the Effective Utility Management Program. 

He is the recipient of the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Construction Manager of 

the Year Award (1996), JFK University’s Award for Outstanding Leadership in Management 

(1989), and EBMUD’s Management Excellence Award (2005). 

Ed is a licensed Civil Engineer in the State of California, a Certified Value Engineer, and 

a trained WEF/AWWA QualServe Peer Reviewer, having performed peer reviews for agencies 

including Guam Water Works and the Columbus Water Works in Georgia. He holds a B.S. 

in Civil Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, a M.S. in Sanitary Engineering 

from the University of California at Berkeley, and an M.S. in Public Administration from JFK 

University. 

Craig R. Woolard, Ph.D., P.E. 

Immediate Past-President (2010-2011) 

American Water Works Association 

CRAIG WOOLARD, Treatment Division Director of the Anchorage (Alaska) Water and 

Wastewater Utility joined AWWA in 1995. He has served at the national level as President- 

Elect, Vice-President, President, and serves on the Board of Directors and Executive 

Committee. He has served on the Credentialing, Camp Scholarship, Publications Award, Young 

Professionals, and Strategic Planning committees and has recently been chosen to co-chair 

the new Ad Hoc Committee on Water Sector Workforce Development Initiatives. 

At the section level, Craig has served as section chair, and chair of the Annual Conference, 

and the Research and Development Committees. In 1997 he was named the AWWA Alaska 

Section Volunteer of the Year. He received the AWWA George Warren Fuller Award in 2003. 

Before joining the Anchorage utility, Craig served as a university civil engineering 

professor, department chair, and associate dean of research and graduate studies at the 

University of Alaska-Anchorage engineering program for 12 years. While at the university, 

Craig was the principal investigator on more than $1.5 million in research and training 

grants. He has authored or co-authored articles for numerous peer-reviewed publications and 

conference proceedings. 

Craig earned a BS and a PhD in civil engineering from Montana State University and the 

University of Notre Dame, respectively. He did postdoctoral research at the Institute for 

Water Quality and Waste Management at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. He has 

also completed the University of North Carolina’s Water and Wastewater Leadership Center 

program. 

Craig lives in Anchorage, Alaska with his wife Lisa who is also an engineer and an active 

AWWA member. 


5

6 


84 th ANNUAL CONFERENCE GOLF TOURNAMENT 

This year’s tournament is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at the JW Marriott Wildfire 

Golf Club, 5350 E. Marriott Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85054, www.wildfiregolf.com. 

Registration deadline is Friday April 22, 2010. 

The field is limited to the first 216 entrants. Registration is at 6:30 AM with a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start. Awards 

presentation and lunch will directly follow play. This year’s format will be a four person scramble. Dress Code: 

Soft spikes only, collared shirts with sleeves, shorts must be hemmed and no blue jeans. Donations: Firms 

wishing to donate prizes should contact Jay Bailey at 602-317-0333 or jay@coombshopkins.com. 

Tournament sponsorships are $1,000.00 and include a foursome in the tournament and one hole sponsorship. 

All proceeds go to the AZ Water Scholarship Program. Individual hole sponsorships are available for $500.00. 

Hole sponsors are NOT responsible for making their own signs. Email your logo to jay@coombshopkins.com . 

Sponsor/Team___________________________________________________________________________ 

Address _________________________________________________________________________________ 

Email & Phone___________________________________________________________________________ 

◊ TOURNAMENT SPONSOR - $1000.00 (foursome included) Make checks payable to: AZ Water 

◊ HOLE SPONSOR - $500.00 (foursome not included) 

◊ FOURSOME $600.00 or ◊ $150 per player (PLAYER NAMES BELOW) Total Amount $__________ 

1.__________________________________________________ 2.__________________________________________________ 

3.__________________________________________________ 4.__________________________________________________ 

Credit Card (VISA, MC or AMEX) # ________________________________________________ Expires________________ 

Cardholder Name____________________________________ Signature___________________________________________ 

E-mail, Fax or Mail your Sponsorship/Registration to: Jay Bailey, jay@coombshopkins.com 

Coombs Hopkins, 668 N. 44 th Street, Suite 251, Phoenix, AZ 85008 

Phone: 602-317-0333 Fax: 602-636-2555 


AZ Water Association 84th Annual Conference & Exhibition 7

8 

84th Annual Conference & Exhibition 

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITY 

The AZ Water Association strives to provide value to our members by offering an annual three-day conference designed 

to provide professional development, continuing education, and distribution of technical information regarding the 

enhancement of Arizona’s drinking water, water reuse, and environmental resources. The theme for our 84th Annual 

Conference and Exhibition is “Arizona’s Water Future is Here!” 

Your company’s sponsorship of the conference will help AZ Water continue to develop quality education programs that serve 

our members, while keeping registration costs to a minimum. Level Sponsorships are used to help offset annual conference 

events such as the facility, speakers, training materials, awards, luncheon programs, barbecue, and other conference-related 

meals. 

Levels Available: Gold - $750 Silver - $500 Bronze - $250 

What recognition do sponsors receive? 

Company will be listed in conference printed material. 

Company will be listed on the conference web site with a link to the company web site. 

Company will be listed on signage at the conference (during all events and in registration area). 

Company will be listed in the AZ Water summer newsletter as a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Sponsor 

(The newsletter will reach approximately 2,500 AZ Water members). 

Yes, my company would like to sponsor the 84th Annual AZ Water Conference & Exhibition. If your sponsorship form is received 

by April 15 your company will be listed in the Conference Program Guide. If not, you will still be listed on conference signage, the web 

site, and in the summer issue of the AZ Water Newsletter “The Kachina News”. 

Contact Person _______________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Company ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Address ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Phone __________________________________ Fax ____________________________ Email ____________________________ 

Please check the level of sponsorship: 

GOLD LEVEL ($750) ______ SILVER LEVEL ($500) ______ BRONZE LEVEL ($250) ______ 

Payment: MC_____ VISA_____ American Express_____ 

Credit Card Number ______________________________________________________________________ Exp. Date___________ 

Email Receipt to: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Authorized Signature __________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Enclosed is my check for $______________________________ 

(Make check payable to AZ Water) 

For additional information, please contact Debbie Muse at AZ Water, 928-717-9905 or by email musegroup@aol.com. 

Return completed form and payment to: 

AZ Water, 1042 Willow Creek Rd., A101-510, Prescott, AZ 86301 


EXHIBITING Q & A 

Dear Prospective Exhibitor: 

AZ Water is pleased to invite you to exhibit at its 84th Annual 

Conference and Exhibition, May 4-6, 2011 at the Renaissance 

Glendale Hotel & Spa. Last year AZ Water sold out the exhibit space 

with over 140 booths; so please go online at www.azwater.org and 

download the complete Exhibit Package. 

WHO DO I CONTACT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT EXHIBITING 

AT THE 84TH ANNUAL AZ WATER CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION? 

Please phone the AZ Water Conference Exhibit Committee at 

602-275-4303 or send an email to committee chair, Jason Vernon, 

Jason@coombshopkins.com, or committee member, Terry Hirshberg, 

terry@coombshopkins.com. 

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN MY EXHIBIT BOOTH SPACE? 

Each 10’ x 10’ booth will be set with 8’ high back drape and 36” high 

side dividers. Each booth will include the following: 1 table draped, 2 

side chairs, 1 wastebasket, and identification sign. The exhibit hall is 

carpeted. 

WHAT IS INCLUDED WITH MY EXHIBIT BOOTH REGISTRATION FEE? 

You will receive two of the following: 

- exhibitor representative badge 

- access to all conference technical sessions 

- breakfast each morning and breaks each day 

- conference barbecue and drink ticket – barbecue will be inside the 


- conference tote bag with conference program guide 

Note: Luncheons are not included in the exhibit booth registration fee. 

WHAT IS INCLUDED WITH AN EXTRA REPRESENTATIVE 

REGISTRATION FEE? 

- exhibitor representative badge 

- access to all conference technical sessions 

- breakfast each morning and breaks each day 

- conference barbecue and drink ticket – barbecue will be inside the 


- conference tote bag with conference program guide 

Note: Luncheons are not included in the exhibit booth registration fee. 

WHAT ARE THE MOVE IN/MOVE OUT TIMES? 

Exhibitor Setup: Tuesday, May 3rd, 1:00pm – 5:00pm 

Exhibitor Teardown: Thursday, May 5th, 12:00pm – 5:00pm 

The conference does not officially end until Friday, May 6th at 3:30pm. 

WHEN ARE EXHIBITING HOURS? 

It is up to each company to determine the amount of time to spend in 

your booth. 


8:00am – 5:00pm 

Exhibit Hall Open All Day 

8:00am – 10:00am 

Exhibit Hall will be open to anyone in the Water and Wastewater 

industry to view the Exhibits without a conference badge. This may 

be a good time to set up appointments with your clients that are 

not attending the conference. 

10:30 – 12:00pm 

Break and exclusive dedicated exhibit time for all conference 

attendees. There are no conference sessions during this time. 

2:30pm – 3:30pm 


attendees. 

3:00pm – 5:00pm 

Open to anyone in the Water and Wastewater industry to view the 

Exhibits without a conference badge. This may be a good time to 

set up appointments with your clients that are not attending the 

conference. 



8:00am – 12:00pm 

Exhibit Hall Open 

8:00am – 10:00am 

Exhibit Hall will be open to anyone in the Water and Wastewater 

industry to view the Exhibits without a conference badge. This may 

be a good time to set up appointments with your clients that are 

not attending the conference. 

10:30 – 12:00pm 


attendees. 

COLLECTION SYSTEM 

HISTORICAL PHOTO & ARTIFACTS EXHIBIT 

AZ Water’s historian, Jon Schladweiler con ducted the research 

and provided the energy needed to develop an extensive Historical 

Photo Display of Collection System activities – including design, 

construction, operation and maintenance. The photos exhibit 

sanitary sewage conveyance activities that took place from the 

1890’s through the 1950’s. The exhibit was first displayed at the 

Water Environment Federation’s National Specialty Con ference on 

“Collection System’s Op er a tions and Maintenance” held in June 

1993 in Tucson, Arizona. After the 1993 exhibition, the Historian 

began collecting specimens of materials/objects directly related to 

the sewage collection, conveyance and system maintenance to add 

to the display. The Historical Photo and Artifacts Display can be 

viewed during the conference, May 4-5 at the Renaissance Glendale 

Hotel in the Exhibit Hall. 

For further information go to www.sewerhistory.com. 


9

10 

Water For People is 

Proud to Announce the 

6th Annual Exhibitor Silent Auction 

at the AZ Water Annual Conference & Exhibition 

Each year’s event is a lot of fun and raises funds for Water For People! 

We hope to make each year’s auction bigger and better than the last 

and to do so… 

We need YOUR help! Please participate in Water For People’s 

Exhibitor Silent Auction by donating an auction item or displaying one in 

your booth. Attendees will place bids at your booth in hopes of being 

the highest bidder. All proceeds will support Water For People. 

The auction will begin on Wednesday, May 4 th at 10:30am, during the 

dedicated exhibit time in the Exhibit Hall (Media Center) at the 

Renaissance Glendale Hotel. The silent auction will close at 11:00 a.m. 

on Thursday, May 5 th . 

This is a great opportunity to encourage 

attendees to visit your booth and to raise funds for 

one of humanity’s greatest causes: clean water. For the 

past seventeen years Water For People has been working 

alongside communities in need, empowering them to 

implement water and sanitation systems and assisting them in 

achieving this goal. 

If you are interested in having an item displayed at your booth, and/or would like 

to donate an item to the silent auction, please contact Levi Dillon, the Water For 

People Chair, at 602-474-4117 or ldillon@carollo.com. 

Thank you! 

For more information about the AZ Water Association’s Water For People 

Committee, visit www.arizonawaterforpeople.org. 


SCHEDULE – WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2011 

AZ WATER 2011 ANNUAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM — WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2011 

MANUFACTURER’S EXHIBITION 

TECHNICAL PROGRAM 

BREAKFAST 

OPENING SESSION / KEYNOTE ADDRESS / PANEL DISCUSSION 

SERVICE AWARDS PRESENTATION 

MANUFACTURER’S EXHIBITION AND BREAK 

LUNCHEON PROGRAM WITH OPERATOR AWARDS 

TIME 

8:00 - 5:00 

8:00 - 5:30 

7:00 - 8:00 

8:00 - 9:45 

9:45 - 10:30 

10:30 - 12:00 

12:00 - 1:00 

TRACK 1 TRACK 2 TRACK 3 TRACK 4 TRACK 5 TRACK 6 TRACK 7 

Cira A Cira B Cira C Solana F-G Solana H Solana I Aurora A 

Committee Meetings 

Young Professionals 

Moderator: Neil Woodroffe 

Water Treatment 

Moderator: Michelle De Haan 

REGISTRATION 7:00 - 5:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................Renaissance Glendale Hotel 


TBA 

Utility Management 

Moderator: David Snow 

Communication and People – 

The Twin Pillars for Successful 

Management 

Security 

Moderator: Steve Shepard 

National and State Security Threat 

Perspectives 

Management of Reuse Systems 

Moderator: Kevin Chadwick 

Mythbusters: Myths and Realities 

of Water Reuse 

Odor Control 

Moderator: John J. Masche 

Improving Energy Efficiency in 

Wastewater Odor Control Systems 

1:00 - 1:30 

TBA 

Teamwork Builds Success 

Statewide Threat Analysis and 

Exercise 

Commemorating the 10th 

Anniversary of ADEQ’s Reclaimed 

Water Program: What’s Worked, 

What Hasn’t, What’s Ahead 

1:30 - 2:00 

Water Sustainability in 

Desert Cities? 

Odor Control – A Successful 

Case Study of an Assessment 

and Evaluation at a Wastewater 

Treatment Plant 

Phoenix Area WTPs – Focused 

Technology Reduction of DOC 

for TTHM LRAA Compliance 

TBA 

Grant Funding for Rural 

Redevelopment 

Arizona Water/Wastewater 

Agency Response Network 

(AZWARN) 

Applying Pressure to the City 

of Goodyear Reclaimed Water 

Distribution System 

Performance Evaluation of an Odor 

Control Biofilter Installation at a 

City of Phoenix Lift Station 

2:00 - 2:30 

TBA 

Operations of the Neely Water 

Reclamation Plant – A Successful 

Public/Private Partnership 

National Laboratory 

Response Network 

Inspecting Reclaimed Water Sites 

– The Tucson Water Approach 

MANUFACTURER’S 

EXHIBITION BREAK 





2:30 - 3:00 

TBA 













3:00 - 3:30 


Project Delivery 

Moderator: Mark Jensen 

Security 

Moderator: Kal Raman 

Optimization Case Studies 

Moderator: Doug Kobrick 

Filtration Systems 

Moderator: Steve Wedwick 

Wastewater Collections 

Moderator: Michelle Varner 

Water Treatment 

Moderator: Jim Wright 

TBA 



Implementing COOP through 

Tabletop Exercises the Tucson 

Water Way, One Step at a Time 



Evaluating Filter Performance 

– What to Trend and What to 

Look For 

Miami: Small Town Big Sewer 

Problems 

Pests in the Water: Designing 

Experiments to Determine 

Viable Control Strategies for 

Control of Nuisance Organisms 

in WTPs 

3:30 - 4:00 

TBA 

Integrated Delivery for Water 

Reclamation in the Desert 

Scottsdale’s Comprehensive 

Emergency Management Program 

Getting Something for 

Almost Nothing – Leveraging 

Optimization Techniques to 

Re-rate the Ina Road Wastewater 

Reclamation Facility 

My Chemical Romance 

Lessons learned from a Septic to 

Sewer Conversion Project 

Comparison of Microfiltration 

and Slow Sand Filtration as a 

Pretreatment of Desalination of 

Central Arizona Project Water 

4:00 - 4:30 

The Tale of Two CMAR Projects – 

The Mechanics and the 

Paradigm Shift 

Using a Risk Approach to Develop 

Water and Wastewater Security 

Improvements 

Sweetwater Water Reclamation 

Facility – Existing Pressure Filter 

and Fut ure Treatment 

Alternatives Evaluation 

Disk Filtration Technology Reduces 

Operation and Maintenance Costs 

Bisbee Sewer Improvements: Stuck 

Between a Rock and a Hard Place 


TBA 

Full-scale Testing For Correct 

Decision Making: Lessons 

Learned through Chlorine 

Dioxide Testing at the 

City of Phoenix 

4:30 - 5:00 

TBA 

Approach to Quality Management 

to Deliver Quality Construction 

Projects 

Securing Industrial Control 

Systems in a Changing 

Environment 

Pressure & Flow Control 

Alternatives Evaluation to 

Increase Operational Regulatory 

and Recharge Capacity 

It’s all Floc’ed Up® – Performance 

Testing of SBF Process During 

High Turbidity Event 

Force Main Condition Assessment 

Using Hydraulic Modeling 

Disinfection Alternatives 

5:00 - 5:30 

BARBECUE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX STADIUM 

6:00 - 9:00 

Sessions and speakers are tentative and subject to change. Refer to the final conference program guide when you pick up your registration package. 

11

SCHEDULE – THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2011 

AZ WATER 2011 ANNUAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM — THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2011 

MANUFACTURER’S EXHIBITION 


BREAKFAST 

TRACK 1 

TRACK 2 

TRACK 3 

TRACK 4 

TRACK 5 

TRACK 6 

TRACK 7 

Cira A Cira B Cira C Solana F-G Solana H Solana I Aurora A-D 

Biosolids Management 

Green Topics 

Water Distribution 

Construction 

Topics in Infrastructure 

Recharge for 

Moderator: Houssam El Jerdi Moderator: Dale Conover Moderator: Richard Sacks Moderator: Mike McKinney Moderator: Jenny Zapana 

Water Resource Management Committee Meetings 

Moderator: Philip Saletta 

The Future of Residuals and Biosolids Tempe FOG to Energy Feasibility Study Distribution System Application of Selecting a Project Delivery Method Effectively Optimizing Your Water Aquifer Recharge from Vision to Reality 

TBA 

Management 

Surface Aeration for TTHM Reduction 

Distribution System Pressure to Reduce 

Main Breaks and Repair Costs 

TIME 

8:00 - 12:00 

8:00 - 5:00 

7:00 - 8:00 

12 

8:00 - 8:30 

TBA 

Recharge of Reclaimed Water: Reducing 

Risks in the Face of Uncertainties 

Between a Rock & a Hard Place: 

Installing a New Inlet in 

Your Dam Reservoir 

Tempe Town Lake 

Downstream Dam Replacement 

Selection of Pre-treatment Alternatives 

for DBP Reduction at Scottsdale’s 

Chaparral WTP 

Part 1 – Alternatives Analysis 

Assessing Environmental Impacts 

for Making Informed Decisions on 

“Greener” Processes 

Pathogens and Indicators in U.S. 

Class B Biosolids, National and 

Historic Distributions 

8:30 - 9:00 

TBA 

Making the Most of Underground Water 

Storage Facilities: 

3 Case Studies in Arizona 

In-Plant Secondary Effluent Pump 

Station Maximmizing Beneficial and 

Cost Effective Reuse of WWTP Effluent 

Plant Operations Involvement 

in Design and Construction 

Selection of Pre-treatment Alternatives 

for DBP Reduction at Scottsdale’s 

Chaparral WTP 

Part 2 Bench-scale Testing 

Automation for Energy Operations 

Optimization in Water Distribution 

Systems 

EDCs in Biosolids: Occurrence and 

Implications 

9:00 - 9:30 

TBA 

Metro Water District’s CAP Water 

Implementation through Recharge 

and Recovery 

“Since I Fell For You” – It’s Not Just 

CCTV and SONAR Anymore 

Lincoln Drive Water Transmission Main 

– Shutdown MOPO #2 

Bubbles Low or Droples High THM 

Removal from a Potable Water Reservoir 

Sustainable Organic and Nitrogen 

Removal via Microbial Fuel Cells 

A Small Community Recycling 

Program Using In-Vessel Biosolids 

Composting 

9:30 - 10:00 

TBA 

Drilling Methods at Work: 

Chilean Minor Rescue 

Filter Underdrain – Mono-Pour Grout 

Installation 

Team Approach to Quality During a 

Complex Concreate Pour at the 91st 

Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant – 

UPO5B Project 

Assessing Tempe’s Irrigation System 

Water Loss Control 

91st Avenue WWTP Biosolids 

Master Plan, Part II 

10:00 - 10:30 

MANUFACTURER’S EXHIBITION BREAK 

LUNCHEON, BUSINESS MEETING, WEF SPEAKER [Solana ABCDE] 

TRACK 3 

TRACK 4 

TRACK 5 

10:30 - 12:00 

12:00 - 1:30 

REGISTRATION 7:00 - 5:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................Renaissance Glendale Hotel 

TRACK 7 

TRACK 6 

TRACK 2 

TRACK 1 

AZ Water Association 84th Annual Conference & Exhibition Arizona’s Water Future is Here! 


Salinity & Water Resources 

Moderator: Doug Kobrick 

Asset Management 

Moderator: Dianne Frydrych 

Construction 

Moderator: Val Hammer 


Moderator: Matt Tasch 

New Facilities 

Moderator: Lisa Jackson 

Bioenergy and Biofuels 

from Wastewater 

Moderator: David Quinby 

TBA 

Central Arizona Salinity Management 

Assessment Toolbox (CASMAT) 

The Trenchless Rehabilitation of 

Potable Water Mains 

Advantages and Disadvantages of using 

CM @ Risk Method for a Multi-Phased 

Horizontal Pipeline Project 

Pump System Optimization Services 

(SOS) 

Commissioning of Deer Valley WTP – 

a 65 MGD Municipal WTP 

Biofuels from Wastewater: 

State of the Industry 

1:30 - 2:00 

TBA 

Overview of Impact of TDS in the 

Phoenix Metropolitan Area 

Wastewater Main Condition Assessment 

Utilizing Ultrasonic Thickness Gauge 

Plant Shutdowns – Overcoming 

Challenges To Get More Done With 

Less Time 

Pump Explosion Captured on Video 

Construction and Start-up of the 

City of Glendale Zone 4 Groundwater 


Microbial Fuel Cells: Generating 

Electricity, Hydrogen and Chemicals 

from Wastewater 

2:00 - 2:30 

TBA 

Update on the Yuma Desalting Plant 

Eliminating Collection System 

Maintenance through Proactive Repair 

in Glendale, AZ 

Pima County Regional Wastewater 

Reclamation Department Santa Cruz 

Interceptor Project 

Knowledge Retention and Succession 

Planning in the Wastewater and Water 

Industry 

Sustainability in the Design and 

Construction of a New 18 MGD Water 


Energy Recovery from Dried 

Wastewater Solids 

2:30 - 3:00 

BREAK 

3:00 - 3:30 


Topics in Water Quality 

Moderator: Laurel Passantino 

Instrumentation & Control 

Moderator: Michael Simpson 

Construction 

Moderator: Val Hammer 


Moderator: Mike Barone 

Design Standards & Tools 

Moderator: Asha Pai 

Topics in Residuals 

Moderator: Maureen Hymel 

TBA 

Applied Geochemistry: The Search for a 

Nitrate Source 

Instrumentation and Control is Not 

Voodoo 

The Challenges of Digester 

Rehabilitation in an Existing Plant 

Safety Isn’t For Cowards! 

Water and Wastewater Standards for a 

Pleasant Surprise 

Using Biosolids, a Sustainable 

Carbon Source for Denitrification 

3:30 - 4:00 

TBA 

Filamentous Bacteria in Wastewater 

Comparison of On-line Chlorine 

Analysis Methods and Reagent 

Discharge Implications 

Construction Start-Up Activities: 

Let’s Get on the Same Page with the 

Terminology 

Tank Design and Selection 

Building Information Model (BIM): Its 

Role in WWTP Design/Build Projects 

4:00 - 4:30 

TBA 

Modeling of Advanced Oxidation 

of Trace Organic Contaminants by 

Hydrogen Peroxide Photolysis 

Real Time Control to Optimize VFD 

Driven Pumping Operation 

When is CMAR not CMAR? When it 

Masquerades as Design Build for the 

City of Surprise’s SPA-2 WRF 

Concrete Surface Preparation – The 

Anchor for a Solid Foundation 

Picturing Project Success with 3-D 

Design Tools 

Controlling Activated Sludge 

Inventories 

4:30 - 5:00 

HOSPITALITY NIGHT – DINNER AND NETWORKING ON YOUR OWN 

6:00 - 9:00 

Sessions and speakers are tentative and subject to change. Refer to the final conference program guide when you pick up your registration package.

SCHEDULE – FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2011 

AZ WATER 2011 ANNUAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM — FRIDAY, MAY 6, 2011 


BREAKFAST 

TIME 

8:00 - 3:30 

7:00 - 8:00 

TRACK 1 TRACK 2 TRACK 3 TRACK 4 TRACK 5 TRACK 6 TRACK 7 

Cira A Cira B Cira C Solana F-G Solana H Solana I Aurora A 


Wastewater Treatment 

Moderator: Kevin Rose 

Arizona and Shortage 

on the Colorado River 

Moderator: Warren Tenney 

Applications in 

Hydraulic Modeling 

Moderator: Fred Rouse 

Research 

Moderator: Steve Davis 

Regulatory 

Moderator: Korissa Entringer 

Onsite Treatment Systems 

Moderator: Kathy Mills 

TBA 

Nitrification/ Denitrification, Bio-P, 

and Recycle 

Rates for these Systems 

The Rules of the Game for a Shortage 

on the Colorado River 

Hydraulic Modeling: An Important 

Process in a Water Infrastructure 

Master Plan 

Resilient, Sustainable Water and 

Wastewater Infrastructure Planning 

On-Site System Technology Selection 

8:00 - 8:30 

EPA Drinking Water Regulatory Update 

TBA 

Aeration System Upgrades at the 

Chandler Ocotillo WRF 

How Arizona Has Prepared For and 

Postponed a Shortage on the 

Colorado River 

Using Water Distribution System 

Modeling, DBP Modeling, and SDS 

Testing of CAP Water to Develop an 

Optimum Water Quality Solution for the 

Ak-Chin Indian Community 

Water Quality Transformations in Water 

Reuse Distribution Systems 

Responsibilities and Obligations for 

the Contractor 

8:30 - 9:00 


TBA 

Showcasing Energy Recovery 

Possibilities for WRFs 

What Happens When a 

Shortage is Declared? 

Agua Fria Optimization Study for 

Arizona American Water Company 

Optimizing Advanced Oxidation 

Processes for Removal of Trace Organics 

from Water and Wastewater 

ADEQ Water Quality Division Update 

Septic System and Alternative 

System Installation Problems 

9:00 - 9:30 

TBA 

Buy One, Get One Free – One Design 

for Two MBR Scalping Plants 

The Future – Is the Glass Half Full or 

Half Empty? 

Water Distribution System Supply 

Reversal: The Town of Payson 

Conversion from a Multiple 

Groundwater Well Supply to a Single 

Source by the “Flip of a Switch” 

Bioremediation of Uranium in an 

Anaerobic Biofilm Reactor 

The ABCs of Water Quality Enforcement 

The Case for Point-of-Sale Systems 

Inspections 

9:30 - 10:00 

BREAK 

10:00 - 10:30 



Moderator: Ryan Rhoades 

Topics in Water Treatment 

Moderator: Robert Hollander 

Applications in 

Hydraulic Modeling 

Moderator: Fred Rouse 

Research 


Regulatory 

Moderator: Korissa Entringer 

Water For People 

Moderator: Katherine Hammer 

An Analysis of DOC Removal at 

CAVSARP and the Potential for 

Groundwater Recharge in the Phoenix 

Metropolitan Area 

10:30 - 11:00 

REGISTRATION 7:00 - 12:00 ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................Renaissance Glendale Hotel 

TBA 

Solar Membrane Distillation 

Overcoming Complications of Ground 

Water Treatment for Removal of 

Multiple Constituents 

Two Approaches for Identifying Optimal 

Water Security Monitoring Station 

Locations in the Distribution System 

using TEVA-SPOT 

Where the Money Goes – Executing 

Water For People’s Mission 

The Disinfection By-Products Rule: 

Transitioning from State 1 to Stage 2 

TBA 

Nanofiltration Softening – Soften 

Water with Effluent Reuse in Mind 

Full Scale Experiences Optimizing 

Coagulation/Filtration Ground WTPs for 

As, Mn and Fe 

City of Scottsdale Wastewater Model 

Update 

Scale Control in a Simulated Cooling 

Tower Using a Physical Water Treatment 

Device 

Results You Can See! – Water For 

People’s New Data Collecton Tool 

11:00 - 11:30 

TBA 

New Primary Solids Rotary 

Drum Thickener 

Advances in Certification of Water 

Treatment Products 

City of Phoenix Sewer Hydraulic Model 

and 2010 Field Calibration 

An Evaluation of Alternatives to 

Domestic Ion Exchange Water Softeners 

Updating the 1984 Design Manual and 

the 2003 City of Tucson/Pima County 

Standard Specifications and Standard 

Details 

Water For People Video Potpourri 

11:30 - 12:00 

LUNCHEON, GAVEL PASSING, AND AWWA SPEAKER 

12:00 - 1:30 



Moderator: Andrew Gilmore 

Topics in Disinfection 

Moderator: Robert Hollander 

Metals Treatment and Fixation 

Moderator: Robin Bain 

Research 


Master Plan Case Studies 

Moderator: Gustavo Lopez 

Facility Start-Up Case Studies 

Moderator: John Watson 

Focused Pulsed (FP) Treatment for 

Internal Utilization of Waste Activated 

Sludge as an Electron Donor for 

Denitrification or Enhanced Methane 

Production 

The Combining of Chlorine and 

Ammonia to form Chloramines and its 

Implication on DBP Formation 

Arsenic Crystallization Technology for 

the Long-Term Stabilization of Arsenic- 

Bearing Solid Residuals Under Landfill 

Conditions 

Development of a Catalytic Ozonation 

Fixed Bed Reactor for Advanced 

Treatment of Wastewater Using 

Titanium Oxide 


TBA 

West Area Water Reclamation Facility 

Master Plan – A Perfect Roadmap to 

Glendale’s Wastewater Future 

New Treatment Facility Start-up 

1:30 - 2:00 

TBA 

Controlling Aeration With 

Ammonium Sensors 

Filter Improvements Save Money and 

Improve Design Criteria for UV System 

Iron Biomineralization: Implications on 

the Fate of Arsenic in Landfills 

Photocatalytic Nitrate Reduction 

Signal Butte Water Treatment Plan – 

Designing Mesa’s Water Future 

Treatment Train Start-up – 

Constraints and Challenges 

2:00 - 2:30 

TBA 

Designing High-Speed Direct Drive 

Turbo Blower Installations to Achieve a 

20-year Operating Life 

Energy Efficient UV Upgrade at the 

Arrowhead Ranch Water Reclamation 

Facility 

Iron Morphological Changes in Landfills 

and Arsenic Leaching 

Removal of Engineered Nanomaterials 

During Wastewater Treatment 

The Adaman Project: A Collaborative 

Approach to Securing a Reliable, 

Treatable, and Cost Effective Drinking 

Water Supply for the City of Goodyear 

Startup & Testing – GAC Filter 

Adsorber 

2:30 - 3:00 

TBA 

Using the Oxidation Index (OXI) as an 

Activated Sludge Process Control Tool 

Kinetics of Ciprofloxacin Degradation 

by Ozonation: Effects of Natural 

Organic Matter, the Carbonate System, 

and pH 

Operational Optimization of Adsorption 

Treatment Arsenic Removal Technology 

at Arizona American Water Company– 

Central Operations 

Removal of Emerging Pollutants 

(Trace Organics and Nanoparticles) in 

Constructed Wetlands 

91st Avenue WWTP Master Plan Update 

(2010-2035) 

Start-up of the New UV Disinfection 

System at Tempe’s Johnny G. 

Martinez WTP 

3:00 - 3:30 

Sessions and speakers are tentative and subject to change. Refer to the final conference program guide when you pick up your registration package. 

13

TECHNICAL SESSIONS 


OPENING GENERAL SESSION / 

KEYNOTE / PANEL DISCUSSION 

8:00 – 9:45am 

KEYNOTE ADDRESS 

Grady Gammage, Jr. 

Arizona’s Water Future is Here 

A discussion of our State’s Water Resources, Human 

Resources, and the Infrastructure that ties it all together. 

PANEL DISCUSSION 

David Modeer, Central Arizona Project General Manager 

John Sullivan, Salt River Project Associate General 

Manager for Water 

Robert Johnson, Consultant and Former Commissioner of 

the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation 

Our panelists will explore key issues facing the water 

industry in Arizona today. Topics will include water supply, 

changes in the workforce including transitions in leadership 

and generational change-over, and the condition of 

Arizona’s water infrastructure. 

TRACK 1 - WATER TREATMENT 

1:00 – 2:30pm 

Phoenix Area WTPs - Focused Technology Reduction of 

DOC for TTHM LRAA Compliance 

Michelle De Haan, Water Works Engineering; Mark Gross, 

Carollo Engineers; and Chao-An Chiu, Arizona State 

University 

With April 2012 just around the corner, most Valley surface 

water systems are ready to meet compliance with the DBP 

– Stage 2 Rule. This session will focus on DOC reduction 

impacts of individual treatment process trains by process 

component for DOC and resultant TTHM reduction. ASU’s 

Regional Water Quality Project team continually evaluates 

many plants throughout the Valley for a number of 

water quality parameters including DOC molecular weight 

compound identification (e.g. large, medium and small) 

and associated removal performance through specific 

treatment processes. This presentation will assess DOC 

and resultant TTHM reduction of conventional treatment 

and new technologies in the Valley including Actiflow, 

DAF, membranes, GAC adsorbers, UV, alternate oxidants, 

biologically active adsorbers with and without ozone, and 

DOC enhanced coagulation processes. 

3:30 - 4:00pm 

Pests in the Water: Designing Experiments to 

Determine Viable Control Strategies for Control of 

Nuisance Organisms in Water Treatment Plants 

Joseph Hernandez, City of Scottsdale 

Control of nuisance organisms is a developing problem 

in the source waters serving the Valley. This talk focuses 

on the identification, investigation, and experimental 

approaches used by the City of Scottsdale to control an 

invasive snail species at the Chaparral WTP. The goal of 

this investigation was to determine what complementary 

processes could be developed for the WTP that would 

enhance plant performance while controlling or eliminating 

the colonization of the submerged membrane treatment 

system by nuisance pulmonate snails. A pilot system was 

developed which utilized a flow through macrofauna 

observation system. The results of the long-term, low-dose 

oxidant control strategies utilizing chlorine dioxide, sodium 

hypchlorite alongside a control system will be presented. 

14 

4:00 - 4:30pm 

Comparison of Microfiltration and Slow Sand Filtration 

as a Pretreatment of Desalination of Central Arizona 

Project (CAP) Water 

Andrea F. Corral, University of Arizona 

Sustainable water supply in the semi-arid Southwest United 

States and elsewhere depends on the utilization of impaired 

quality water including brackish and reclaimed waters. 

Colorado River water is high in TDS (~800 mg/L) by the 

time it reaches the Central Arizona Project (CAP) turnout. 

A pilot study was conducted to establish the long-term 

feasibility of reverse osmosis (RO) treatment of CAP water. 

Microfiltration (MF) and Slow Sand Filter (SSF) are the 

proposed pretreatment options for the RO. A comparison 

between Slow Sand Filtration and Microfiltration was 

performed in order to determine the best pretreatment to 

optimize the desalination process. This study generated 

a record of side-by-side performance of the SSF units and 

the MF unit over a year. Two SSF units, each capable of 

providing filtrate up to 8 gallons per minute (gpm), and a 

MEMCOR, Continuous Microfiltration (CMF), unit running at 

8 gpm were used in this study. 

4:30 - 5:00pm 

The Importance of Full-scale Testing For Correct 

Decision Making: Lessons Learned through Chlorine 

Dioxide Testing at the City of Phoenix 

Jacqueline Shaw, ARCADIS / Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. 

In addition to bench and pilot-scale testing, full-scale 

testing is a vital component to sound decision-making when 

a chemical change at a facility is involved. In 2009, the City 

of Phoenix began to evaluate the use of ClO2 on the fullscale 

to assist in controlling THM formation. Initial testing 

results indicated that ClO2 effectiveness was dependant on 

source water type: TTHM reduction was observed for Salt 

River water, but not in Verde River water. Based on these 

findings, a Phase II testing plan targeting Salt River water 

was developed. This presentation will discuss the findings 

of the full-scale study and how including a full-scale testing 

program resulted in an informed and sound decision 

regarding the planned future use of ClO2. 

5:00 - 5:30pm 

Disinfection Alternatives 

Rick Reed, Chemical Feeding Technologies 

The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the 

disinfection alternatives that are generally available 

(Chlorine: gas, hypochlorites, chloramination, on-site 

generation of hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, ozone and 

ultraviolet) and then give a detailed review of chlorine gas, 

sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, chloramines and 

on-site generators of sodium hypochlorite. Since chlorine 

is the disinfectant used in all the methods, a portion 

of the talk discusses chlorine safety for all the forms of 

chlorination. Each method of disinfection is evaluated with 

a discussion of the pros and cons of each method. 

TRACK 2 - ODOR CONTROL 

1:00 - 1:30pm 

Improving Energy Efficiency in Wastewater Odor 

Control Systems 

Steve Davidson, Brown and Caldwell 

Wastewater treatment plant odor control systems utilize 

significant resources in terms of electrical energy, water use 

and in some cases, chemical consumption. Multiple design 

objectives of fugitive odor control, effective odor treatment, 

NFPA 820 compliance, and safe operating environments, 

often produce systems that ignore energy efficiency, water 

conservation, and are costly to operate. This presentation 

evaluates odor control design and equipment options that 

have significant impact on the energy efficiency, operating 

costs, and carbon footprint. It will show how to recognize 

an over-designed odor control systems, and options 

to improve operations and reduce energy use without 

compromising odor control goals. 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Odor Control - A Successful Case Study of an Assessment 

and Evaluation at a Wastewater Treatment Plant 

Fred L Kriess Jr., Severn Trent Services 

Odor Control - A Successful Case Study of an Evaluation 

and Assessment at a Wastewater Treatment Plan. Severn 

Trent Services began to provide operational services for the 

City of Gallup (New Mexico) wastewater treatment plant 

facility on July 1, 2010. One of the first tasks completed 

was a comprehensive assessment of the plant headworks 

area and plant processes for odors (principally hydrogen 

sulfide). They developed protocols and procedures for 

the monitoring and assessment of odors throughout 

the facility. The presentation will provide an overview of 

the steps and technology used that were required to set 

up the assessment. A brief overview of the sources and 

characterization of various sources of odors typically present 

in wastewater will also be discussed and exposure limits. 

Learn about helpful guidelines and concepts for plant 

personnel to perform similar assessments at their facilities. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Performance Evaluation of an Odor Control Biofilter 

Installation at a City Of Phoenix Lift Station 

Carolina Baertsch, Kennedy/Jenks Consultants 

The City of Phoenix installed an odor control biofilter at 

Lift Station 40 (LS 40) for mitigation of wet well odors 

to replace the existing chemical odor scrubber system. 

The performance of this biofilter is being evaluated and 

documented through a field sampling program of hydrogen 

sulfide emissions and through comparison of operations 

and maintenance efforts and cost to gain insight into 

the benefits of this technology. The City of Phoenix has 

experienced changes in maintenance efforts and decrease 

in operations and maintenance cost with the use of the 

new biofilter odor control system compared to the chemical 

scrubber used previously at the same site under the same 

conditions. O&M efforts and costs will be compared between 

the two odor control systems and discussed. 

TRACK 2 - 

WASTEWATER COLLECTIONS 

3:30 - 4:00pm 

Miami: Small Town Big Sewer Problems 

Mike Worlton, AMEC 

In 2010 the Town of Miami undertook an ambitious sewer 

system upgrade and replacement program to improve 

its dilapidated and constantly failing system. The Town’s 

system was plagued with failures resulting from sewer pipes 

that had completely eroded away to lines that were filled 

with sand. This presentation discusses the challenges that 

were faced and the solutions developed for designing a new 

sewer system in an area where the existing sewer system 

records were minimal, where the manholes had been 

paved over numerous times, where the existing utilities 

were unmapped, and where sewer service needed to be 

maintained to customers during the construction process. 

Discussed will be the funding mechanisms that were used to 

complete the design and construction of the project. 

4:00 - 4:30pm 

Lessons Learned from a Septic to Sewer 

Conversion Project 

Carmen Kasner, PBS&J 

Lake Havasu’s 53,000 residents are nearing the end of a 10 

year program converting their individual septic tanks to a 

City-wide sewer system. The Waste Water System Expansion 

program is expected to be completed two years early 

and nearly $100 million under budget. This presentation 

will talk about lessons learned along the way including 

standardization of packages, ramping up of the program, 

coordination with affected groups, public outreach and 

database management. A portion of the presentation will 

focus on the sociology of the sewer conversion and the 


extenuating impacts on not only the wastewater system, 

but the water system as well. Adding a new utility bill to 

residents that are on a fixed income, nearly collapsed the 

adopted rate structure at one point. 

4:30 - 5:00pm 

Bisbee Sewer Improvements: Stuck Between a Rock 

and a Hard Place 

Mark Ipson, AMEC 

The City of Bisbee is expanding its wastewater system to 

serve additional communities within City limits. One such 

community, Tintown, provides a unique perspective on 

challenges often faced by cities planning similar projects. 

Since this project will serve relatively few parcels, it is 

critical that the new collection system be reliable, easy to 

maintain, and have minimal capital cost. Issues faced in 

meeting these objectives include shallow rock throughout 

the project area, deep washes between the community 

and the proposed tie-in location, and permitting agency 

requirements. Several options for sewer service have been 

investigated by the project team. By embracing the project 

challenges and balancing the desires of all stakeholders, the 

project team worked together to find a feasible solution to 

ensure the project’s success. 

5:00 - 5:30pm 

Force Main Condition Assessment Using Hydraulic 

Modeling 

Venkat Radhakrishnan, ARCADIS / Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. 

This presentation will show how hydraulic modeling can be 

used to determine steps to contain the current and future 

flows within the collection system when a portion of the 

network is out of service. 

TRACK 3 - 

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS 

1:00 - 2:30pm 

Water Sustainability in Desert Cities 

The Young Professionals’ session will present an overview 

discussion on the State of Arizona’s current and future water 

resources. Four speakers from a variety of agencies with 

backgrounds ranging from the Central Arizona Project; Salt 

River Project; and Arizona Department of Water Resources 

will discuss the history and background of Arizona’s water 

resources, current challenges of meeting water demands, 

and the future projections of the state’s water supply. 

Presentations will be followed by a panel discussion/debate 

regarding the state’s future water resources and ultimately 

answer the question: Is Arizona’s water sustainable? 

TRACK 3 - FILTRATION SYSTEMS 

3:30 - 4:00pm 

Evaluating Filter Performance - What to Trend and 

What to Look For 

Lisa Jackson, Black & Veatch 

This presentation will graphically illustrate filter performance 

for rate-of-flow control type operation. It will provide 

guidelines that engineers, start-up teams and operators can 

utilize for evaluating filter performance and expected trends. 

4:00 - 4:30pm 

My Chemical Romance 

Damien Tonnelle, Wilson Engineers 

As the reconstruction of the Deer Valley WTP East Basins 

near completion, the new treatment processes, namely 

Sand Ballasted Flocculation (SBF) and GAC Filter Adsorption, 

had to be proven to produce the high water quality that 

was intended during design. This presentation will focus 

on how the startup team had to adjust the coagulant, 

sand and polymer dosages to meet the requirements of the 

performance testing of the new basins. Challenges included 

being the first SBF plant to treat Arizona Canal water and 

reevaluating chemical dosages and locations when testing 

for both SBF and Filters. 


4:30 - 5:00pm 

Disk Filtration Technology Reduces Operation and 

Maintenance Costs 

Carlos A. Chavez, Tetra Tech, Inc. 

The Superstition Mountain Communities Facilities District 

No. 1 has been experiencing release of algae slugs and 

duck weed at their wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) 

coming from the secondary clarifiers to the chlorine contact 

basin and ultimately to the infiltration wells. The 2.0 MGD 

plant currently recharges the aquifer with treated effluent 

that meets Class B+ reclaimed water standards through 

infiltration wells into the vadose zone. 

5:00 - 5:30pm 

It’s all Floc’ed Up® – Performance Testing of SBF 

Process During High Turbidity Event 

Sreeram Rengaraj, Wilson Engineers 

We all remember the October hail storm that most 

Phoenicians got battered upon due to the bruises our cars 

received. This event also gave us the perfect opportunity to 

test the robustness of the Sand Ballasted Flocculation (SBF) 

process for a couple of reasons – spike in instantaneous 

turbidity in the source water to approximately 750 NTUs 

in the SRP canal and the available detention time in the 

SBF process. Since the Deer Valley Water Treatment Plant 

(WTP) is downstream of other COP WTPs, it allowed us to 

collect samples and perform jar tests to optimize chemical 

dosages for the SBF process prior to turbidity spikes reaching 

the plant. 

TRACK 4 - 

MANAGEMENT OF REUSE SYSTEMS 

1:00 - 1:30pm 

Mythbusters: Myths & Realities of Water Reuse 

Channah Rock, University of Arizona 

Increased demands on limited water resources have made 

water reuse a critical issue in the semi-arid Southwest. 

However, concerns about the real or perceived risks of water 

reuse result in decision-making driven more by perception 

of risks rather than by scientific assessments. Regulatory 

agencies and other stakeholders need direct guidance 

related to the actual public health risks of this resource. 

Our team will present case studies comparing conventional 

source waters (e.g, surface water and groundwater) 

with reuse supplies to describe the real and perceived 

risks of water resource scenarios in the Southwest. Water 

quality data related to both chemical and microbiological 

constituents while highlighting recent research 

advancements related to emerging contaminants and public 

health will be discussed. 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Commemorating the 10th Anniversary of ADEQ’s 

Reclaimed Water Program: What’s Worked, What 

Hasn’t, What’s Ahead 

Chuck Graf, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality 

In 2001, ADEQ completely overhauled its reclaimed water 

program, implementing a new approach that integrated 

its Reclaimed Water and Aquifer Protection Permit (APP) 

programs. In that year, ADEQ adopted new rules for 

reclaimed water conveyances, reclaimed water permitting, 

reclaimed water quality standards and end uses, and Best 

Available Demonstrated Technology (BADCT) requirements 

under APP for sewage treatment plants. This set of rules 

is generally regarded as being a significant contributor to 

expanding the safe reuse of reclaimed water in Arizona. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Applying Pressure to the City of Goodyear Reclaimed 

Water Distribution System 

Hector Ortiz, City of Goodyear 

The City of Goodyear has operated a reclaimed water 

distribution system since the early 1990’s for construction 

use and commercial irrigation. The 157th Avenue Water 

Reclamation Facility is responsible for treating wastewater 

collected to A+ classification, and discharging to the 

pressurized system for metered use and to the 96-inch 

APS Palo Verde Pipeline. Intense growth over the last 10 

years have placed unanticipated strained on the existing 

high pressure effluent pump station, requiring expedited 

attention. Learn about the challenges faced by the City 

to keep the existing facility operational, and the obstacles 

experienced in completing and permitting the design of a 

reclaimed water reservoir, booster pump station and Gila 

River Outfall within strict scheduling guidelines to secure 

federal WIFA stimulus funding. 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

Inspecting Reclaimed Water Sites – 

The Tucson Water Approach 

Karen Dotson, Tucson Water/City of Tucson 

This presentation will include information about: • Tucson 

Water’s reclaimed water system • Tucson Water’s initial 

and periodic reclaimed water site inspection program • 

Tucson Water’s reclaimed water site tester training class 

for private certified backflow testers • Tucson Water’s data 

entry and record system used to track reclaimed sites. 

Tucson Water has operated a regional reclaimed water 

system since 1984 and currently delivers reclaimed water to 

900+ sites. In 2009, 17,249 acre-feet of reclaimed water 

was delivered to customers including 18 golf courses, 39 

parks, and 52 schools. The information presented will be 

useful to communities that have reclaimed systems and are 

considering periodic site inspections and to communities 

that are in the process of determining what will be required 

to operate a reclaimed water system. 

TRACK 4 - 

OPTIMIZATION CASE STUDIES 

4:00 - 4:30pm 

Getting Something for Almost Nothing – Leveraging 

Optimization Techniques to Re-rate the Ina Road 

Wastewater Reclamation Facility 

James Dettmer, ARCADIS / Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. 

The Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation 

Department (PCRWRD) owns and operates the Ina Road 

Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WRF). The Ina Road 

WRF consists of the West Plant, a 25-mgd high-purity 

oxygen activated sludge facility; and the East Plant, a 12.5 

mgd biological nutrient removal activated sludge facility. 

An optimization of the East Plant, which first went into 

service in August 2006, was conducted by Malcolm Pirnie 

that indicated the plant was capable of treating up to 18 

mgd. PCRWRD used the optimization study to support an 

application to the Arizona Department of Environmental 

Quality for increasing the rated capacity of the plant from 

37.5 mgd to 43.0 mgd. The re-rating was approved by 

ADEQ in August 2010 providing PCRWRD with 5.5 mgd of 

additional capacity with minimal associated capital costs. 

4:30 - 5:00pm 

Sweetwater Water Reclamation Facility – Existing 

Pressure Filter and Future Treatment Alternatives 

Evaluation 

Ty Morton, CH2M HILL 

Tucson Water would like to expand the future treatment 

capacity of their Sweetwater Water Reclamation Facility 

from 10 million gallons per day (mgd) to 30 mgd. 

Their current pressure filter system is 25 years old, and 

requires refurbishment to improve effluent quality, reduce 

maintenance, and improve overall operability. CH2M HILL 

and Tucson Water performed a detailed evaluation of 

the pressure filter system and developed rehabilitation 

alternatives and costs for consideration by Tucson Water. 

CH2M HILL also evaluated alternatives and costs to expand 

the filter treatment capacity, by either augmenting the 

current pressure filter system or replacing it entirely with 

a new system. Alternate filter technologies evaluated 

including conventional filtration, traveling bridge filters, and 

cloth filters. 


15


5:00 - 5:30pm 

Pressure & Flow Control Alternative Evaluations to 

Increase Operational Reliability and Recharge Capacity 

Ryan Shy, Black & Veatch 

This presentation will describe the pressure and flow control 

alternatives and the evaluation methodology for increasing 

recharge capacity at the CAWCD Pima Mine Road Recharge 

Project facility. Both In-line energy dissipation alternatives 

and free discharge energy dissipation alternatives were 

evaluated. The alternative selected will provide non-clog 

service that reliability and accurately controls both pressure 

and flow to the PMRRP basins and helps assure the facility 

meets its recharge goals. 

TRACK 5 - SECURITY 

1:00 - 1:30pm 

National and State Security Threat Perspectives 

Presented by DHS/ACTIC 

The Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 (HSPD-7) 

established U.S. policy for enhancing critical infrastructure 

protection. It identified Water Sector as one of the 19 critical 

infrastructure sectors that warranted protection and resiliencebuilding 

programs under the US Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS). At the state-level, the Arizona Fusion Center, 

also known as the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information 

Center (ACTIC), is a joint effort between the Department of 

Public Safety, Arizona Department of Homeland Security, 

Federal Bureau of Investigation and other participating 

agencies, aimed at supporting Arizona homeland security 

effort. The presentation will provide both the federal and state 

perspectives on security threats to the Water Sector. It will 

high-lighten mutual assistances that can be provided between 

these agencies and the water systems. 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Statewide Threat Analysis and Exercise 

Anthony Cox & William Ross, Arizona Division of 

Emergency Management 

The Hazard and Threat Assessment Unit of Arizona Division 

of Emergency Management (ADEM) is responsible for 

the timely gathering and analysis of information about 

natural hazards in the state of Arizona, such as floods, 

droughts, wildland fires, and severe winter storms plus 

awareness of potential disasters resulting from human 

threats. The presentation will discuss the State’s perspectives 

on reasonably likely natural threats that can impact the 

Water Sector. ADEM is also in the planning stages for the 

Arizona Statewide Exercise 2011. Learn ways that the 

Water Sector can get involved in this exercise and the 

opportunity it provides to evaluate your emergency response 

plans, policies, and procedures in a statewide interagency 

environment. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Arizona Water / Wastewater Agency Response Network 

(AZWARN) 

Steve Shepard, Metro Water District 

This presentation will provide attendees with information on 

the Arizona Water / Wastewater Agency Response Network 

(AZWARN) and the benefits for water and wastewater 

utilities during emergencies. The common goal of water and 

wastewater utilties in an emergency is to keep customers 

in service. AZWARN is a network of water and wastewater 

utilities recognizing the benefits of mutual aid. AZWARN 

assists utilities by providing access to critical resources to 

meet the common goal. 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

National Laboratory Response Network 

Randy Gottler, City of Phoenix 

The Laboratory Response Network (LRN) was established 

by the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers 

for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in accordance 

with Presidential Decision Directive 39. LRN and its partners 

16 

maintain an integrated national and international network 

of laboratories that are fully equipped to respond quickly to 

acts of chemical or biological terrorism, emerging infectious 

diseases, and other public health threats and emergencies. 

The presentation will discuss the status of LRN, regional 

member agencies and how local water systems can benefit 

from this network during emergencies. 

3:30 - 4:00pm 

Implementing COOP through Tabletop Exercises the 

Tucson Water Way, One Step at a Time 

Allan Tarket, City of Tucson 

This presentation demonstrates the involvement of Tucson 

Water personnel in a NIMS/ICS environment during a 

hypothetical emergency scenarios in an informal setting. 

This exercise was used to assess the Tucson Water Coninuity 

of Operations (COOP) plan, policies, and procedures. To 

determine the systems and personnel needed to respond 

to, and recovery from a defined incident. Used to promote 

cooperative thinking, and to allow staff to preactice so that 

they are more prepared for emergency situations when they 

actually arise. The presentation covers the use of an After 

Report (AAR) to identify weak points, so that in the event 

that an actual scenario occurs, the utilty will be ready to 

respond. 

4:00 - 4:30pm 

Scottsdale’s Comprehensive Emergency 

Management Program 

Chris Mitchell, City of Scottsdale 

Scottsdale Water Resources Department adopted a 

comprehensive Emergency Preparedness Program in 2004, 

in response to the Bioterrorism Act. Hear about the program 

goals, reasons for adopting a comprehensive approach, 

program elements (assessments, risk mitigation, policies & 

procedures, technical support and training), and benefits 

realized to-date. A roadmap for other water systems to 

adopt a similar emergency preparedness program will be 

discussed. 

4:30 - 5:00pm 

Using a Risk Approach to Develop Water and 

Wastewater Security Improvements 

Kerry Brough, GHD, Inc. 

The City of Surprise recently completed a Security Master 

Plan for its water and wastewater facilities. The Plan utilized 

a risk assessment approach conducted by GHD to identify 

threats and vulnerabilities, and to determine the overall 

risk level of more than 25 facilities. The risk approach was 

used to progressively apply security improvements at each 

facility until the desired risk reduction was achieved. The risk 

approach identified how the City could achieve the desired 

water and wastewater facilities security at the lowest cost. 

5:00 - 5:30pm 

Securing Industrial Control Systems 

in a Changing Environment 

Brandon Erndt, Brown and Caldwell 

In 2003, Presidential Directive 7 named Municipal Water 

and Wastewater facilities as critical infrastructure that must 

be protected from both physical and cyber-attacks. The 

creation of Stuxnet, however, the first cyber-attack aimed 

specifically at Industrial Control Systems that has the ability 

to not only disable, but change control system operations, 

has forced operational staffs to re-assess the ways they 

protect their control systems. Physical or logical isolation 

of control system and business networks are no longer 

adequate solutions to ensure protection. This presentation 

focuses on the combined skill sets of Control Systems 

Engineering, Information Systems and Risk Management 

that must come together and work collaboratively to protect 

the SCADA networks that are used every day to successfully 

operate water and wastewater facilities. 

TRACK 6 - UTILITY MANAGEMENT 

1:00 - 1:30pm 

Communication and People - 

The Twin Pillars for Successful Management 

Arif Rahman, City of Glendale 

Communication and People are the two most vital 

parameters in management. Unfortunately, these major 

paradigms of management are poorly understood in 

the technological field. The purpose of this presentation 

is to analyze these two highly powerful dimensions in 

management and try to quantify them to evaluate their 

impact on the outcome and success of Utility and Project 

management. 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Teamwork Builds Success 

Jerry C. Bish, Greeley and Hansen 

In order to implement the Regional Optimization Master 

Plan (ROMP) CIP program, Pima County required the 

services of a Program Management team. The Greeley and 

Hansen/Parsons team, along with several other consultant 

firms, provided the resources and expertise to support the 

program delivery of this $536 million project. Support 

was provided on two levels: (1) Program level working 

with PCRWRD’s management to deliver ROMP CIP and 

(2) Personnel Resource level to provide a wide range of 

resources for ongoing activities and program management 

planning and development. Major elements of the Capital 

Improvement Program included infrastructure rehabilitation, 

regulatory compliance, regional reclamation and reuse 

program development, and regional coordination. The 

presentation will focus on the identified 28 tasks and the 

coordination needed to produce the associated deliverables. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Grant Funding For Rural Redevelopment 

Edwin J. Muccillo, Burgess and Niple 

The small mining Town of Hayden, population 808 and 

declining, had no form of wastewater treatment and an 

outdated, failing wastewater collection and transmission 

system. Burgess & Niple and Pacific Municipal Consultants 

worked together to obtain funding from multiple sources 

for the Town, including WIFA loan/ grants, WIFA Technical 

Assistance grants, a Community Development Block Grant, 

and USDA Rural Development loan and grant monies. It 

is anticipated that 100% of the selected project will be 

funded by loans and grants. The original project intent was 

to procure funding for wastewater treatment, lift station 

rehabilitation, and minimal collection system repairs critical 

to public health and structural integrity; however, the team 

was ultimately able to procure funding for these items as 

well as replacing the Town’s entire collection system. 

2:30 - 3:000pm 

Operations of the Neely Water Reclamation Plant - 

A Successful Public/Private Partnership 

Mark Horn, Town of Gilbert 

The Town of Gilbert’s Neely Water Reclamation facility has 

been successfully operated and maintained by private 

sector employees since it was first constructed and placed 

in service in 1986. Discussed will be the key components 

that are necessary for the public and private sectors to work 

together in a positive and cooperative manner. Several 

examples will be provided that demonstrate the power of 

both parties working together to mutually develop solutions 

that are better than if approached on an individual basis. 

The Town has benefitted from innovation and cost savings 

through this partnership and has access to a national and 

global network of wastewater treatment professionals which 

provide assistance and resources to the local on site staff. 


TRACK 6 - PROJECT DELIVERY 

4:00 - 4:30pm 

Integrated Delivery for Water Reclamation 

in the Desert 

Michael Gritzuk, Pima County Regional Wastewater 

Reclamation Dept. 

The presentation will set the stage for an integrated 

delivery project by outlining the factors that created the 

new 32 MGD Water Reclamation Facility (WRF), Design- 

Build-Operate opportunity, discuss the business case 

factors and development, and outline the quantifiable and 

non-quantifiable risks for the project. Insight on the process 

undertaken by the Pima County management team and 

the challenges faced by the Owner in achieving the current 

integrated project delivery success will be provided. In 

December 2007, the need for a new WRF was identified. In 

August 2008, the final approval was made to proceed with 

a DBO for a 32 MGD WRF. Request for Qualifications were 

issued in January 2009, and qualifications received in May 

2009 with shortlisted firms approved in October 2009. 

4:30 - 5:00pm 

The Tale of Two CMAR Projects – The Mechanics and 

the Paradigm Shift 

Arif Rahman, City of Glendale 

City of Glendale has recently completed two major landmark 

projects using Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) as 

the project delivery vehicle. These projects have helped us 

immensely in enhancing our understanding of the CMAR, an 

alternative delivery method, and its mechanics. The purpose 

of this presentation is to present the invaluable lessons 

learned about the CMAR process and its mechanics, which 

was a paradigm shift from a conventional design-bid-build. 

5:00 - 5:30pm 

Approach to Quality Management to Deliver Quality 

Construction Projects 

Willie Paiz, CH2M HILL 

Applying quality management standards through the life 

of a project will greatly improve the outcome of success for 

your construction projects. Ideas and approaches to utilize 

best practices and tools to support a quality management 

approach and enhance their understanding of how to 

deliver quality construction project will be presented (all 

types of water, wastewater, reuse and recharge project). 

Those involved with planning, designing, operations, 

management, and construction of these types of projects 

will benefit from the information shared in this session. 

TRACK 7 - COMMITTEE MEETINGS 

Committee Meetings are TBA 

1:00 – 5:30pm 


TRACK 1 - 

BIOSOLIDS MANAGEMENT 

8:00 - 8:30am 

The Future of Residuals and Biosolids Management 

Ian Pepper, University of Arizona 

The National Biosolids Partnership (NBP), in conjunction 

with the Water Environment Federation (WEF), held a 

Future of Biosolids Management Forum in December 2010. 

The purpose of this facilitated forum was to identify trends 

in technology, operations, and management; regulatory 

and public policy drivers; research needs; and professional 

and training needs over the next three, five, and ten years 

for biosolids. A panel of invited biosolids experts from a 

broad spectrum of disciplines and geographical areas were 

provided with a background document that referenced 

past, current and future biosolids management practices. 


The panel formed several breakout sessions that focused on 

external drivers and trends in the following areas: Regulatory 

and Public Policy, Technology Trends, and Operations and 

Management Trends. This presentation provides an overview 

of the findings of the forum. 

8:30 - 9:00am 

Pathogens and Indicators in U.S. Class B Biosolids, 

National and Historic Distributions 

Ian Pepper, University of Arizona 

A study of the incidence of indicator organisms and 

pathogens found within Class B biosolids from 18 WWTPs 

across the United States will be presented. This is the 

first major study of its kind since the promulgation of the 

USEPA Part 503 Rule in 1993. In general, the bacterial 

indicators total and fecal coliforms decreased from the 

1980s to present. Enteric virus concentrations after 1993 

are much lower than those reported in other studies in 

the 1980s, illustrating that the Part 503 Rule has been 

effective in reducing public exposure to pathogens relative 

to 17 years ago. The percent reduction of both indicators 

and pathogens during anaerobic mesophilic digestion was 

between 94 and 99% for all organisms, illustrating that 

such treatment is effective in reducing pathogen loads. 

9:00 - 9:30am 

EDCs in Biosolids: Occurrence and Implications 

David Quanrud, University of Arizona 

It is estimated that by 2025, it will be necessary to reclaim 

and reuse approximately 100,000 AFY of wastewater in 

the Tucson Active Management Area. Among the myriad 

trace organic contaminants present in wastewater effluent, 

endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are of greatest 

concern to human and environmental health. Although the 

fate of these compounds during conventional wastewater 

treatment is somewhat uncertain, the hydrophobic 

character of known estrogenic compounds suggests that 

they will associate with treatment sludges. Soil application 

of biosolids for agricultural purposes raises a concern on the 

final fate of EDCs. This presentation discusses estrogenic 

activity and EDCs at various stages of wastewater treatment 

plants emphasizing EDC transformations that occur in 

sludge digestion processes, and fate of EDCs in biosolids and 

soils treated with biosolids. 

9:30 - 10:00am 

A Small Community Recycling Program Using In-Vessel 

Biosolids Composting 

Phil Hayes, Pinetop-Lakeside Sanitary District 

The Pinetop-Lakeside Sanitary District solved its biosolids 

disposal problem by employing an in-vessel rotating 

biological composting reactor. The composting system was 

implemented by integrating two residual streams: Biosolids 

and Recyclable Waste. Biosolids is a biologically active and 

nutrient rich material produced by a wastewater treatment 

facility during the process of water reclamation. Recyclable 

Waste is a waste stream that includes material with high 

carbon content such as paper, cardboard, and food waste 

products. The process is nature’s method of decomposition 

accelerated through the control of temperature, moisture, 

oxygen, and mixing inside a 125-foot long, 10-foot 

diameter reactor. The finished product has the look and feel 

of organic potting soil and is sold by the cubic yard to the 

general public as an ingredient for landscaping. 

10:00 - 10:30am 

91st Avenue WWTP Biosolids Master Plan, Part II 

Angie Klein, CH2M HILL 

The City of Phoenix is conducting a 25-year facilities master 

plan update study for the 91st Avenue WWTP. This presentation 

is the second part of the 91st Avenue WWTP Biosolids 

Master Plan presented at the 2010 AZ Water Conference and 

Exhibition. The results of the biosolids master planning analysis 

will include the decision process and approaches to achieve 

operational reliability and robustness within the solids handling 

system as well as address capacity constraints. Furthermore, 

the presentation will include contingency plans for Class A 

requirements and options for beneficial use of biosolids and 

biogas at the 91st Avenue WWTP. 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Biofuels from Wastewater: State of the Industry 

Fernando Sarmiento, Greeley and Hansen 

A recent WEF article suggests WWTPs of the future seem 

poised to become lean, green, resource-recovery machines. 

Our industry is experiencing an increasing emphasis on 

recovery of resources from wastewater streams in the form of 

biofuels. These biofuels are materials created from wastewater 

treatment byproducts that can be used as an energy source. 

There are a number of different byproducts of the wastewater 

treatment process that fall under the umbrella of biofuels and 

can be categorized into one of three main categories: Biogas 

and Biomethane, Dried Wastewater Solids, and Biodiesel. This 

presentation provides an overview of the current state of our 

industry’s production of biofuels and describes the growth 

potential of this trend as the wastewater industry continues 

to evolve into a resource recovery industry. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Microbial Fuel Cells: Generating Electricity, Hydrogen 

and Chemicals from Wastewater 

Cesar Torres, Arizona State University 

The concept of microbial fuel and electrolysis cells (MXCs) 

holds great promise for renewable energy production from 

wastes. Inside an MXC, anode-respiring bacteria (ARB) 

catalyze the direct conversion of organic matter into 

electrical current, which has been successfully produced 

from a variety of organic compounds, including wastewater, 

wastewater sludge, animal and agricultural wastes, sugars 

and alcohols. The electrical current produced can be used 

to generate electrical power, fuels such as hydrogen (H2), 

or high-value chemicals of interest to the water and 

wastewater industry (i.e. caustic, hydrogen peroxide). 

The presentation will address the latest research advances 

in developing and understanding MXCs for these various 

applications, as well as new exciting applications of MXCs 

outside the wastewater treatment field. 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

Energy Recovery from Dried Wastewater Solids 

Chris Wilson, Greeley and Hansen 

Wastewater solids are produced at a rate of approximately 

0.1-0.2 lb (day-capita)-1, resulting in a total production 

of 7,100,000 dry tons of wastewater solids per year. The 

value of this material as a nutrient-rich fertilizer source has 

long been acknowledged, with use as fertilizer accounting 

for about 55% of all wastewater solids residuals produced 

in the United States. Recently, beneficial use of wastewater 

solids has come to not only include biosolids production and 

land application practices, but also the use of wastewater 

solids as a fuel source. This presentation will describe the 

established and emerging technologies that currently exist 

for use of wastewater solids as a fuel source including 

several case-studies of their application. 

TRACK 1 - TOPICS IN RESIDUALS 

3:30 - 4:00pm 

Using Biosolids, a Sustainable Carbon Source for 

Denitrification 

Jared Alder, Arizona State University 

Due to lower regulatory limits, wastewater treatment plants 

that have high nitrate concentration and insufficient influent 

organic carbon have caused more plants to add new or 

improve existing denitrification processes. Current treatment 

technologies typically rely on external organic donors, 

such as methanol or ethanol, to drive the denitrification 

reactions. The expense to import, store, and safely handle 

the supplemental carbon can be a major operating cost, 

meanwhile, a free organic electron donor, biosolids, is 

trucked from the plant on a regular basis. Increases in 

external carbon source demand and significant fluctuation 

in commodity prices illustrate the great need for simpler, cost 

stable, and more renewable alternatives to existing organic 

materials used as an exogenous electron donor. 


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4:00 - 5:00pm 

Controlling Activated Sludge Inventories 

Paul D. Cornejo, Arizona American Water Company 

This presentation will provide an in depth analysis of solids 

inventory control practices and procedures common to the 

wastewater treatment industry. The pros and cons of various 

sludge wasting practices and procedures will be reviewed 

e.g. wasting based on a MLSS set point, F/M Ratio, and 

MCRT. Participants will learn how to choose the best control 

strategy for their facility, how to calculate wasting rates, and 

how to implement a control strategy in order to optimize 

plant performance. 

TRACK 2 - GREEN TOPICS 

8:00 - 8:30am 

Tempe FOG to Energy Feasibility Study 

David McNeil, City of Tempe 

Using grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, 

the City of Tempe, with HDR Engineering, embarked on 

a study to determine the feasibility of diverting fats, 

oils and grease (FOG) from its wastewater stream and 

utilizing FOG as feedstock for the generation of renewable 

energy. The focused FOG-to-biodiesel scope evolved to 

provide Tempe with valuable information regarding FOG’s 

potential for methane generation, opportunities for regional 

partnerships to achieve economies of scale for energy 

generation, and creative public-private partnerships for the 

collection of FOG and its beneficial use for the generation 

of renewable energy. Tempe and HDR will provide the 

results of this feasibility study and discuss Tempe’s plans for 

implementation. 

8:30 - 9:00am 

Assessing Environmental Impacts for Making Informed 

Decisions on Greener Processes 

Zhuang Liu, Carollo Engineers 

With the development of environmental awareness, utilities 

are showing increasing interests in making sustainable 

decisions. More sustainability studies start to use life 

cycle assessment (LCA) to provide a cradle-to-grave 

evaluation and a comprehensive view on environmental 

impacts beyond simply carbon footprint analysis or energy 

performance evaluation. The general LCA methodology 

and a recent completed City of Phoenix case study about 

lowering energy and chemical usages for RO concentrate 

management will be presented. Learn how to improve the 

communication of the abstract LCA results with general 

public by relating the impacts to average American’s 

annual contribution and using preset screening matrix. The 

information will help the utility to make informed decisions 

with sustainability considerations. 

9:00 - 9:30am 

Automation for Energy Operations Optimization in 

Water Distribution Systems 

Julie Inman, Black & Veatch 

Energy management and operations optimization provide 

a significant positive impact for utilities as well as the 

environment. These impacts include: Minimized facility 

operating costs; Reduced energy consumption to help 

long-term sustainability of energy resources; Sustainable 

decisions in facility expansions, upgrades and retrofits; 

Reduced carbon emissions as a result of less energy 

consumption This presentation will discuss optimization 

drivers, identify key strategies for water distribution 

optimization and offer approaches utilizing SCADA 

system and other software applications to implement the 

strategies. Attendees will gain an understanding of different 

optimization approaches and benefits based on utility case 

studies. The approaches reviewed in the utility examples 

vary from simple low cost solutions to highly automated 

operations and energy management software and can be 

applied to large or small utilities. 

18 

9:30 - 10:00am 

Sustainable Organic and Nitrogen Removal via 

Microbial Fuel Cells 

Caitlyn Butler, Arizona State University 

With the cost of energy increasing, lower energy, 

decentralized treatment processes are becoming more 

attractive. This is particularly true for agricultural waste 

streams where point-of-production treatment could alleviate 

eutrophication of the receiving waters. We propose using 

amicrobial fuel cell (MFC) for decentralized treatment 

of agricultural wastewaters, yielding electricity. A three 

chamber MFC was constructed, including a BOD-oxidzing 

anode, a nitrification chamber, and a denitrifying cathode. 

During the preliminary operation, BOD fluxes of 18 mg/L-d 

in the anode, nitrification fluxes of 2.3 mg-N/L-d in the 

intermediate chamber, and denitrification fluxes of 1.9 

mg-N/L-d in the cathode were observed. A maximum 

power production of 2.5 W/m3 was achieved. The power 

generated from the MFC has potential to sustain or off-set 

the energy requirements of treatment. 

10:00 - 10:30am 

Water Loss Control 

C. Scott McElroy, M.E. Simpson Co., Inc. 

This class will teach you the benefits of a Water Audit based 

on the American Water Works Association’s standards. Plus, 

hear about the benefits of having a Meter Testing and Leak 

Detection program and the cost savings of these programs. 

TRACK 2 - NEW FACILITIES 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Commissioning of Deer Valley WTP – a 65 MGD 

Municipal Water Treatment Plant 

Yang Zhang, Wilson Engineers 

The reconstruction of the East Basins of Deer Valley WTP 

is completed in 2010. The City retained the services of 

Wilson Engineers to support the commissioning of the Deer 

Valley WTP East Basins. The plant commissioning started in 

November 2010 with the East Basins and the existing West 

Basins in operation at 15 MGD each. This presentation will 

focus on the detail of commissioning and also highlight 

process optimization measures during commissioning. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Construction and Start-up of the City of Glendale Zone 

4 Groundwater Treatment Plant 

Ryan Rhoades, CH2M HILL 

The City of Glendale’s 10 MGD Zone 4 groundwater 

treatment plant began construction in 2009 and will 

enter start-up and operation in January 2011. The design 

incorporates five wells with differing groundwater quality 

but generally has high arsenic and nitrate with elevated 

sulfate and chloride. The groundwater treatment process 

is ion exchange with special consideration on residuals 

concentrations and handling. Operational strategies of 

blending raw and treated groundwater with treated surface 

water will provide maximum flexibility and optimization for 

treatment performance and operability. The presentation 

will also cover the start-up challenges and commissioning 

strategies to demonstrate effectiveness of the ion exchange 

treatment system, achieve regulatory approval, and maintain 

operations of the existing surface water treatment plant. 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

Sustainability in the Design and Construction of a New 

18 Mgd Water Treatment Plant 

Jack Bryck, ARCADIS / Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. 

The Consolidated Mutual Water Company (CMWC), a not-forprofit 

water utility serving 50,000 customers in the City of 

Lakewood CO, delivered by CM@Risk a new 18 MGD water 

treatment plant with low pressure membrane filtration 

placed in operation October 2009. The plant design lead 

by the Malcolm Pirnie Phoenix office replaced a sixty year 

old 10 MGD plant. Sustainability was critical element in 

the plan. The commonly held definition for sustainability is 

“development that meets the needs of the present without 

compromising the ability for future generations to meet 

their own needs (Brundtland Commission, 1987)”. 

TRACK 2 - 

DESIGN STANDARDS & TOOLS 

3:30 - 4:00pm 

Water and Wastewater Standards for a 

Pleasant Surprise 

John B. Richardson, Carollo Engineers 

The presentation will focus on the definition of the City’s 

DSG, the design workshop process, reference design 

documents, the document review process as well as 

discuss the process used to individual portions of each of 

the Volumes 1 through 3 as follows: Volume 1 – General 

Standards and Guidelines Permitting requirements, project 

submittal requirements, pre-design requirements, bid phase, 

construction phase, operation and maintenance manuals, 

as-built drawings, civil design, geotechnical design, 

structural design, corrosion control, chemical facilities, 

electrical requirements, instrumentation and control, 

heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Volume 2 – Water 

Standards and Guidelines Onsite water piping, potable 

water transmission pipelines, water pump stations, pressure 

reducing stations, water storage reservoirs, water production 

wells Volume 3 – Wastewater Standards and Guidelines 

Large diameter wastewater interceptors, wastewater lift 

stations, reclaimed water pipelines, reclaimed water storage 

reservoirs, reclaimed water pump stations, recharge facilities. 

4:00 - 4:30pm 

Building Information Model (BIM): It’s Role in WWTP 

Design/Build Projects 

Dan Miller, PCL Construction 

During the design phase and construction of this project, 

Water Works Engineers and PCL Construction utilized BIM 

technology together as a means to assist and refine the 

design effort and to facilitate LEAN Construction Methods. 

This BIM model included structural elements, mechanical 

processes and underground utilities for the entire project 

campus. We will present this BIM model of the facility and 

discuss and illustrate how its use proved to be indispensable 

to the rapid and efficient design and construction required 

for this project along with an open discussion on what 

benefits & post construction use Owners may have with the 

BIM product. 

4:30 - 5:00pm 

Picturing Project Success with 3-D Design Tools 

Jim Detweiler, Carollo Engineers 

This presentation will illustrate how the use of 3-D design 

tools helped to make the Ak-Chin Indian Community 

Water and Wastewater Capital Improvements Project 

both successful and internationally awarded. Effective 

integration of 3-D design tools accelerated an otherwise 

stringent design schedule, improved the overall quality of 

the final design, and enabled Community stakeholders 

and operations staff to better envision project elements in 

order to efficiently gain their acceptance and endorsement. 

Unique project circumstances made excecuting these goals 

particularly important. 

TRACK 3 - WATER DISTRIBUTION 

8:00 - 8:30am 

Distribution System Application of Surface Aeration 

for TTHM Reduction 

Jeanne M. Jensen, DSWA, a Jacobs Company 

The Cities of Phoenix and Mesa are planning full-scale 

distribution system testing of surface aeration, which is a 

new application of the existing surface aerator technology. 

Since surface aerators have historically been used in 

wastewater applications, obtaining NSF certification was 


a critical step for using these units in potable systems. The 

design and permitting strategies, NSF-certification process, 

as well as the implementation of and pre- and posttreatment 

results for Cities of Phoenix and Mesa full-scale 

demonstration testing of surface aeration systems for TTHM 

reduction will be presented. 

8:30 - 9:00am 

Selection of Pre-treatment Alternatives for DBP 

Reduction at Scottsdale’s Chaparral WTP – Part 1 

Alternatives Analysis 

Steve Acquafredda, DSWA, a Jacobs Company 

The City of Scottsdale is conducting a Pre-Treatment Study at 

the Chaparral WTP to address a number of project objectives 

including: 1) reducing DBP formation potential in treated 

water, 2) reducing TOC and GAC replacement frequency, 3) 

reducing UF membrane fouling that limits WTP capacity, and 

4) maintaining arsenic removal capability. This presentation 

will focus on the alternatives analysis conducted and how 

criteria scoring and testing were used to differentiate the 

alternatives. Results will be presented in a context relevant 

to other utilities looking for solutions to attain Stage 2 DBP 

Rule compliance while maintaining the performance of 

existing water treatment processes. 

9:00 - 9:30am 

Selection of Pre-treatment Alternatives for DBP 

Reduction at Scottsdale’s Chaparral WTP – Part 2 

Bench-scale Testing 

Amlan Ghosh, DSWA, A Jacobs Company 

Discussed will be the use of bench-scale testing for selection 

of treatment alternatives at Scottsdale’s Chaparral WTP. 

In the face of worsening raw water quality, and upcoming 

Stage 2 DBP rule compliance deadline, the Chaparral WTP 

existing treatment processes are experiencing performance 

and operational issues. As such, several alternatives were 

evaluated with bench-scale testing to determine their 

applicability as a pre-treatment process at Chaparral 

WTP. The tested processes included pre-oxidation with 

chlorine dioxide; enhanced coagulation with and without 

clarification using alternative coagulants including ferric 

sulfate, aluminum chlorohydrate, polyaluminum chloride, 

and polyferric sulfate; and MIEX® ion exchange. Detailed 

results from bench-scale testing and describe the alternatives 

selection process using these results will be presented. 

9:30 - 10:00am 

Bubbles Low or Droples High THM Removal from a 

Potable Water Reservoir 

Ray W. Pulver, Wilson Engineers 

The City of Phoenix Water Services Department currently 

owns and operates the 1-ES3 Reservoir facility located in the 

South Mountain Park Preserve at 27th Avenue and Ceton 

Drive. 1-ES3 is one of two major reservoirs that serve the 

Phoenix Ahwatukee Area Potable Water Distribution System. 

Historically, the Ahwatukee area has elevated concentrations 

of Trihalomethanes in the system. Pursuant to the USEPA 

Disinfection By-Product Stage 2 Rule, which goes into effect 

in 2012, the City of Phoenix has selected Wilson Engineers 

to design an aeration system for the removal of THMs 

from the reservoir. Wilson investigated two technologies to 

achieve the City’s treatment goals: surface aeration and 

diffused bubble aeration. The presentation will discuss the 

design aspects and cost impacts of each technology and 

guide the audience through the selection process. 

10:00 - 10:30am 

Assessing Tempe’s Irrigation System 

Maria Brady, Stantec Consulting 

Since the 1920s, the City of Tempe has provided irrigation 

and maintenance services to a portion of the City’s 

flood irrigated properties, with over 18,000 individual 

deliveries each year. For nearly 20 years, Stantec has 

performed analysis of Tempe’s irrigation system. Inspection 

techniques have varied from lamp and mirror to CCTV. 

Recommendations have varied from concrete wraps to full 

pipe lining. Rate studies have been performed to balance 

O&M costs and rates paid. This has been complicated by 


increasing restoration costs and by limited jurisdiction the 

City has over the system. A balance appears to have been 

found to all of these issues and we will present the history 

and the current direction on maintenance, restoration, cost 

and authority to operate and maintain the system. 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Pump System Optimization Services (SOS) 

Eric Dole, Tata & Howard, Inc. 

The cost of energy can account for 40% to 60% of the 

overall life cycle costs of a typical pump depending 

on geography, design and operation. For this reason, 

it is critical to optimize pump systems to consume as 

little energy as possible, while successfully meeting all 

performance criteria. Verifying that the pump was designed 

to operate in its best efficiency range is the first step. This 

presentation will touch on the 1’s and 2’s of designing 

efficient pump systems, performing pump efficiency studies, 

troubleshooting inefficient pump systems, performing 

wire-to-water efficiency analysis and implementing energy 

efficient pump control schemes. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Pump Explosion Captured on Video 

Christopher Hill, Metro Water District 

November 27, 2008 brought about a serious event 

requiring a multitude of responses. A vertical line shaft can 

booster pump had separated in the column assembly. The 

separation allowed the stuffing box to displace from the 

pump head, leaving a gap to allow pressurized water to 

escape at 1000 gallons per minute. The flow of water ran 

for 50 minutes prior to response to shut the pumps off, 

causing a flood in the building ensuing in considerable 

damage. This presentation deals with the response to 

this event and precautions that have been added since 

this failure. Also included is a video capture of the pump 

separation and the recorded acitvity of the 1st responders. 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

Knowledge Retention and Succession Planning in the 

Wastewater and Water Industry 

Jerald A. Postema, City of Goodyear, Public Works 

Department for Environmental Services 

During the summer of 2004, the City of Glendale was 

experiencing multiple retirements in the Utilities work 

force. It was found that over 50% of the work force was 

50 years old or older with 20+ years of experience and 

were either currently eligible for retirement or would be 

eligible in the next five years. This was a significant amount 

of institutional knowledge that would be lost. The City 

was faced with the issue of how to retain the knowledge 

of veteran employees while attracting and training new 

employees. 

3:30 - 4:00pm 

Safety Isn’t For Cowards! 

Janet A. Gallup, Metro Water District 

Safety isn’t for cowards, in fact a working safety culture is 

essential to those of us employed in the water/wastewater 

field. The ways in which safety can be brought to the 

forefront and enhance the important work performed by 

water industry personnel will be discussed. 

4:00 - 4:30pm 

Tank Design and Selection 

Matt Tasch, Superior Tank Solutions, Inc. 

Tank Design and Selection presentation discusses the 

three primary tank types (welded steel, bolted steel and 

pre-stressed concrete) and identifies the benefits and 

draw-backs of each tank type. All appropriate standards 

are referenced and discussed in an effort to support all 

conclusions. The program will conclude on the subject of 

tank maintenance and will focus on proven methods and 

procedures used to achieve tank service life expectations in 

excess of 100 years. 

4:30 - 5:00pm 

Concrete Surface Preparation – 

The Anchor for a Solid Foundation 

Eric Brackman, RFI Consultants, LLC 

The most widely used construction material in the world 

today is concrete. Concrete is a simple combination of 

mixing Portland cement, sand, crushed rock and water. 

However, nothing is ever as simple as it may appear. 

Therefore our discussion will review concrete as a substrate, 

its surface preparation, and the application of coatings. 

TRACK 4 - CONSTRUCTION 

8:00 - 8:30am 

Selecting a Project Delivery Method 

Larry W. Ayers, Brown and Caldwell 

Owners in Arizona and throughout the country now have 

a myriad of project delivery methods to choose from 

including, Design-Bid-Build, Construction Manager at Risk, 

Design-Build, and Job Order Contracting. Each delivery 

method has pros and cons that Owners must consider for 

each project before deciding which delivery method to 

employ. This presentation briefly considers the risks and 

benefits of each project delivery method and will help 

Owners approach this decision in a logical manner. 

8:30 - 9:00am 

Tempe Town Lake Downstream Dam Replacement 

Adam Gordon, PCL Construction 

This presentation will discuss the Tempe Town Lake Dam 

Replacement project. As many are well aware, one of the 

existing rubber dam bladders on the Town Lake ruptured on 

July 20th, 2010 releasing approximately 977 million gallons 

of water down the Salt River within a few short hours. Hear 

about the history of the Town Lake, cause of the bladder #2 

failure, construction of the four new replacement bladders 

and changes made to the design to prevent future bladder 

ruptures. This presentation will close out with a discussion 

of new dam design alternates that are currently under 

review by the City of Tempe. 

9:00 - 9:30am 

Plant Operations Involvement 

in Design and Construction 

Kirby Anderson, MGC Contractors 

As technology in the water and wastewater industry 

continues to advance in todays market it has created a 

need for involvement from plant operations staffing for the 

overall success of projects. Design team and Construction 

team members on the Ak-Chin Indian Community Capital 

Improvements Project have proven success of involving 

plant operations staff from the very beginning of project 

conception through the construction phase and through out 

start up and commissioning period. 

9:30 - 10:00am 

Lincoln Drive Water Transmission Main Water 

Transmission Main – Shutdown MOPO #2 

Ezra M. Page, Dibble Engineering 

The Engineer designed approximately 7,400 linear feet of 

24-inch and 30-inch water transmission main (WTM) along 

24th Street and Lincoln Drive. During project construction, 

seven (7) connections were required from the new WTM 

into the existing potable water system. The City of Phoenix 

Water Operations Department requires Maintenance of Plant 

Operation (MOPO) to be written and followed to ensure 

that the City, Engineer, and Contractor have analyzed the 

shutdown procedure for the large diameter WTMs and the 

impacts on the water distribution system. This ensures 

the City’s customers are not negatively impacted and the 

operation of the water system is not compromised. This 

presentation will discuss the MOPO development, MOPO #2 

construction, and lessons learned. 


19


10:00 - 10:30am 

Team Approach to Quality During a Complex Concrete 

Pour at the 91st Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant 

– UP05B Project 

Rich Distler, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. 

The project team of McCarthy Building Companies and 

Malcolm Pirnie successfully completed their cast in place 

Odor Control Facility in one continuous concrete pour. 

Located in southwest Phoenix, this pour consisted of 12 

thick walls that extended 32’ tall with an architectural 

reveal pattern and multiple system blockouts, penetrations, 

conduit, and embeds. The success of this single complex 

pour was the result of coordination, planning, and 

teamwork from the early stages through completion. 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using CM@Risk 

Method for a Multi-Phased Horizontal Pipeline Project 

John J Masche, City of Phoenix Water Services 

The City of Phoenix Water Services Department selected the 

CM at Risk delivery method for a program spanning nine miles 

which includes the construction of over 100 manholes and over 

50,000 linear feet of new pipe due to the known complexities 

on the project including poor soil conditions, 30-foot trench 

depths, unknown utilities, use of multiple installation 

techniques, quality control, safety and the use of multiple 

design firms. At the halfway point in the project, the project 

team will share their experiences with how this delivery method 

has worked well, and they will share their lessons learned in 

how the CM at Risk method has been challenging. The project 

team will discuss issues raised between pre-construction and 

construction and issues raised during construction. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Plant Shutdowns – Overcoming Challenges To Get More 

Done With Less Time 

David Rieken, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. 

The presentation will involve an overview of the plant, 

discussion of the various big picture work components in the 

100+ shutdown items, review the major challenges with the 

shutdown and how we planned around the challenges, and 

finish up with what the shutdown set the stage for (i.e., on 

time completion of the entire project 6 months later). 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation 

Department Santa Cruz Interceptor Project 

Glen E. Peterson, Pima County Regional Wastewater 


When the 1990 Metropolitan Facility Plan for the Pima 

County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department 

(RWRD) was released, the Department identified that there 

was a need to provide additional wastewater capacity for 

the conveyance system serving the central, southeastern and 

southern Metropolitan Tucson area. The additional capacity 

was needed at the end of the system where the flow is 

conveyed to the Roger Road Wastewater Treatment Facility. 

3:30 - 4:00pm 

The Challenges of Digester Rehabilitation in an 

Existing Plant 

Dana Lebeda, PCL Construction 

The Tolleson WWTP Solids Handling Improvements project 

focused on improving the plant’s solids handling capabilites 

mainly through rehabilitation of three of the plant’s existing 

digesters. Each of the three working digesters were designed 

to be outfit with new fixed concrete covers, new sludge 

mixing systems, and a new gas collection system. During 

the construction phase, the project team faced several 

challenges when planning and executing a sequence of work 

that would prevent impact to plant operations. Dedication 

to a team approach, and daily communication between 

plant and project staff enabled the team to successfully 

overcome these challenges. 

20 

4:00 - 4:30pm 

Construction Start-Up Activities: 

Let’s Get on the Same Page with the Terminology 

Craig Tweed, Brown and Caldwell 

As construction is significantly completed at a given site 

the verification that the equipment operates properly along 

with the initiation of the start-up plan takes place with the 

contractor, engineer and operational staff working together 

to accomplish this. Communication between each party is 

critical so each must know their role in the steps of the startup 

plan. The four primary steps are pre-operational testing, 

functional testing, operational testing, and commissioning. 

These terms and the responsibilities associated with each 

will be discussed to outline testing from beginning to end. 

When these terms are defined up front with the project 

team members it with promote success in the project 

staying on schedule. 

4:30 - 5:00pm 

When is CMAR not CMAR? When it Masquerades as 

Design Build for the City of Surprise’s SPA-2 WRF 

John Doller, Carollo Engineers 

Presented will be a unique perspective on the use of CMAR 

in what could be more accurately defined as Design/ 

Build to complete the City of Surprise SPA-2 2.0 mgd MBR 

Water Reclamation Facility. The circumstances surrounding 

the procurement process will be discussed along with the 

resulting facility and the lessons learned on the way to 

successful completion. 

TRACK 5 - 

TOPICS IN INFRASTRUCTURE 

8:00 - 8:30am 

Effectively Optimizing Your Water Distribution System 

Pressure to Reduce Main Breaks and Repair Costs 

Mel Huntspon, Arizona American Water Company 

This presentation will show how water production operators 

and water distribution utility workers came together to 

solve a problem of numerous costly water main breaks. By 

analyzing data, this strategy identified a way to reconfigure 

a pressure zone and change operating parameters to reduce 

the pressure range that was ultimately the root cause for 

repeated breaks within a 5 square mile area resulting in 

numerous water outages, extensive restoration repairs, 

negative public attention, and wasteful water loss. 

8:30 - 9:00am 

Between a Rock & a Hard Place: Installing a New Inlet 

in Your Dam Reservoir 

Thomas M. Galeziewski, HDR Engineering, Inc. 

The City of Phoenix Water Services Department has been 

actively implementing improvements to its distribution 

system to minimize the formation of disinfection 

byproducts, and reduce the level of trihalomethane (THM) 

concentrations in the water delivered to consumers. The 

pressure zones located south of South Mountain are a key 

area of concern, as the water age in these zones can be 

significant. The zones are supplied from Reservoirs 1-ES3 

(South Mountain) and 1-ES4 (42nd Place), each 20 MG 

capacity storage reservoirs, together with booster pump 

stations and large transmission mains. 

9:00 - 9:30am 

In-Plant Secondary Effluent Pump Station Maximizing 

Beneficial and Cost Effective Reuse of WWTP Effluent 

Carter Biesemeyer, DSWA, a Jacobs Company 

DSWA designed the In-Plant Secondary Effluent Pump 

Station to convey effluent flows from the 91st Ave WWTP to 

the Tres Rios constructed wetlands. The design effort began 

in 2003, coordinating with several projects at the 91st Ave 

WWTP including the Unified Plant and Unified Pump Station 

projects. This project is co-sponsored by the City of Phoenix 

and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Design 

considerations included selection of the pump station layout, 

accommodation of future facilities per the 91st Ave. WWTP 

Master Plan, conveyance of effluent from all five treatment 

facilities at the site and flexibility in effluent flow control. 

9:30 - 10:00am 

Since I Fell For You – 

It’s Not Just CCTV and Sonar Anymore 

Charles G. Wilmut, Burgess and Niple 

The quest for a method to more effectively identify sources 

of rainfall dependent infiltration (RDI), groundwater 

infiltration, and exfiltration has led to the development 

of electro‐scan technology using the Focused Electrode 

Leak Locator (FELL). Since its introduction, FELL testing 

has provided a cost effective and time saving tool for field 

inspection of a broad range of non‐ferrous pipes. 

10:00 - 10:30am 

Filter Underdrain - Mono-Pour Grout Installation 

Ben Julson, Black & Veatch 

In recent years Leopold, a division of ITT, has recommended 

a new Mono-Pour Grout Installation Method for installing 

their filter underdrain systems compared to the traditional 

installation method of installing the underdrain blocks 

into a grout bed. This presentation will explain the new 

installation method provided by Leopold and will provide 

advantages and disadvantages compared to the traditional 

installation method. 

TRACK 5 - ASSET MANAGEMENT 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

The Trenchless Rehabilitation of Potable Water Mains 

Joe Graham, Dibble Engineering 

This presentation will introduce the relative new area of 

structural rehabilitation of potable water mains using an 

NSF approved, fiberglass reinforced epoxy cured-in-place-pipe 

(CIPP) structural lining. A case study of the first such project 

in the State of Arizona – the City of Phoenix Sweetwater 

Avenue/Interstate 17 Potable Water Main Rehabilitation, 

completed in December 2010 will be discussed. Discussed will 

be the advantages and limitation of trenchless technology 

along with the existing pipe preparation procedures and 

recommended quality control testing essential to a successful 

potable water rehabilitation project. Recommended 

procedures will be highlighted through photographs taken 

during construction. Samples of the materials used for the 

case study project will be made available. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Wastewater Main Condition Assessment Utilizing 

Ultrasonic Thickness Gauge 

Bhaskar Kolluri, Burgess and Niple 

The Arizona State University‐Tempe (Main) Campus has 

approximately five miles of utility tunnels within the 

campus underneath the sidewalk, and approximately 

four miles of water mains are located throughout these 

tunnels serving different buildings. The condition of this 

piping system is critically important to ASU. A failure of 

a water main in the tunnel environment with limited 

drainage would lead to flooding and possible infrastructure 

failure. The purpose of this study was to assess the existing 

condition of these exposed water mains utilizing General 

Electric DMS 2 ultrasonic thickness gauges for water main 

testing. Recommendations for improvements and necessary 

replacements were made to ensure efficient and safe 

operation of the water distribution system. 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

Eliminating Collection System Maintenance through 

Proactive Repair in Glendale, AZ 

Ron Ablin, Brown and Caldwell 

Poor design and construction can create continuous 

maintenance problems within a collection system. The 


City of Glendale initiated a proactive program to address 

specific areas within the City’s collection system that were 

mandating frequent maintenance due to poor hydraulic 

conditions. Solutions were developed to improve the 

operation of the system. These included the use of both 

conventional and trenchless technologies based on the best 

available and appropriate technology. This presentation will 

review the overall project, the maintenance issues identified 

and the process for developing solutions. 

TRACK 5 - 

INSTRUMENTATION & CONTROL 

3:30 - 4:00pm 

Instrumentation and Control is Not Voodoo 

Dana Watts, Felix Construction 

Instrumentation and Control (I&C) has evolved into an 

essential role in the water industry. Whether it’s potable 

water production, treatment, or distribution; wastewater 

collection, treatment, or reuse; central plants, or remote 

sites, I&C has become universally ingrained into the process. 

The presenter’s intent is to provide an introduction to I&C 

for the person who interfaces with the highly technical 

practitioner. Often times, the non-technical person who 

is responsible for collecting information, communicating 

information, managing meetings, etc. is anxious about 

his or her involvement. This session will be divided into 

three parts: 1. Common I&C Hardware Components and 

Fundamental Terminology, 2. Process Control Systems, 

3. Where it’s Headed. 

4:00 - 4:30pm 

Comparison of On-line Chlorine Analysis Methods and 

Reagent Discharge Implications 

Terry L. Engelhardt, Hach Company 

Selection of an amperometric probe or an instrument 

utilizing the DPD colorimetric method for monitoring 

chlorine residual is not as simple as it may appear. Technical 

considerations of water temperature, pH, mineral content, 

and whether free or total chlorine residuals are to be 

measured will all impact the instrument selection. Chemical 

discharge from both amperometric and colorimetric 

systems may also have an impact on the selection process. 

Finally, frequency of maintenance, including calibration, 

and costs associated with maintenance and calibration 

procedures should be considered. This presentation will 

explore the technical aspects of the measurements as well 

as maintenance and discharge considerations for both 

measurement technologies. 

4:30 - 5:00pm 

Real Time Control to Optimize VFD Driven 

Pumping Operation 

Ken Chandler, Brown and Caldwell 

Water and wastewater variable speed pumping systems 

utilize numerous variable frequency drives (VFD). VFDs are 

commonly utilized to vary the pump speed in response 

to varying conditions such as wet well level or discharge 

pressure. Many of these systems do not operate properly 

due to insufficient VFD and control system configuration 

that wastes energy and results in premature pump wear 

and motor failure. Close integration of all aspects of the 

pumping system is required for optimized efficiency, 

reliability, useful life, and therefore life-cycle costs. 

Configuration of control system operation must then also 

consider pump best efficiency point (BEP) and minimum 

pumping speed, in addition to control of level or pressure. 

TRACK 6 - 

RECHARGE FOR WATER RESOURCE 

8:00 - 8:30am 

Aquifer Recharge From Vision To Reality 

Don Hanson, Clear Creek Associates 

Artificial aquifer recharge of reclaimed water has become 

commonplace among many Arizona municipalities and 

water providers as they implement various strategies 


to manage and augment their limited water resources. 

The objective of this talk is to provide water resources 

professionals with an overview of the most important factors 

to be considered when planning, siting, designing, and 

operating a recharge facility. The presentation will review 

the basic concepts of aquifer recharge, including the primary 

recharge techniques and facility siting criteria, such as: 

Current populations and projected growth; Existing water 

resources; Current and future reuse demands; Treatment 

plant capacities, locations, surrounding land use, and 

population densities; Available options for reclaimed water 

disposal; Hydrogeologic considerations; Water quality; and 

Capital and O&M costs. 

8:30 - 9:00am 

Recharge of Reclaimed Water: Reducing Risks in the 

Face of Uncertainties 

Michele Robertson, Montgomery & Associates 

Recharge of excess reclaimed water is an attractive option 

for municipalities and utilities to meet future water 

supply needs, but the specter of emerging contaminants 

raises concerns. Arizona’s APP Program allows recharge of 

reclaimed water that meets aquifer water quality standards. 

However, these standards account for only a small portion of 

the potential contaminants in reclaimed water. It is unlikely 

that standards for these emerging contaminants will be 

established in the foreseeable future. This presentation 

describes considerations for reclaimed water recharge and 

approaches for reducing potential water quality affects on 

potable groundwater supplies in the face of uncertainties 

surrounding emerging contaminants. Combining effective 

treatment methods with appropriate recharge (and 

recovery) facility siting and design, based on hydrogeologic 

factors, will reduce future risk. 

9:00 - 9:30am 

Making the Most of Underground Water Storage 

Facilities: Three Case studies in Arizona 

Robert F. Buss, Carollo Engineers, Inc. 

Three case studies of how water providers in our state 

addressed their particular water resources needs using 

spreading basins to recharge water underground for future 

recovery as well as make the most of these public water 

projects for other beneficial purposes will be addressed. 

These providers are: the Central Arizona Water Conservancy 

District (CAWCD), the Town of Gilbert, and the City of 

Chandler. Lessons learned include: 1. Location is key to 

success, so take the time to find the right property and 

geology. 2. Make the recharge facility a place to visit for 

public education and recreation. 3. If possible, team up with 

other city departments to maximize the use of the property. 

9:30 - 10:00am 

Metro Water District’s CAP Water Implementation 

through Recharge and Recovery 

Mark Stratton, Metro Water District 

The Metropolitan Domestic Water Improvement District 

(Metro Water District) has been planning for the 

introduction of CAP water to its service area for over a 

decade. Many options have been researched, tested, and 

evaluated including a wide range of treatment and delivery 

options. Key drivers for the District include finished water 

quality, long-term reliability, and potential climate change 

impacts, among others. A key outcome of the District’s 

planning efforts is the decision to pursue recharge and 

recovery as the near-term mechanism to bring the CAP 

allocation into use. The District recently purchased the 

existing Avra Valley Recharge Project and has laid out a 

conceptual recovery plan for this facility. This presentation 

will discuss the District’s overall CAP program and the factors 

that have influenced the decision to use recharge and 

recovery as the near-term water supply solution. 

10:00 - 10:30am 

Drilling Methods at Work: Chilean Miner Rescue 

Lisa Culbert, Layne Christensen 

Layne Christensen has been in business since 1882 finding 

clean water and over the years Layne has diversified 

into other business sectors including mining exploration, 

specialty drilling and water treatment. Layne’s expertise 

in the drilling business allowed them to participate in 

the Chilean Miner Rescue and in fact Layne was the first 

drilling company to reach the trapped miners. Research, 

preparation and collaboration all played important roles in 

this very successful human interest story. 

TRACK 6 - 

SALINITY & WATER RESOURCES 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Central Arizona Salinity Management Assessment 

Toolbox (CASMAT): SROG Concentrate Minimization 

Demonstration Testing Project Update 

Charlie He, Carollo Engineers 

Reclaimed water from SROG facilities is used for turf/crop 

irrigation, cooling, wetland restoration and groundwater 

recharge. TDS and individual ions in the reclaimed water 

adversely impact the reuse potential, causing infrastructure 

corrosion, worsened soil conditions and WET failure. SROG 

has been studying salinity issues for years and recently 

funded a brine minimization study to execute pilotscale 

testing on cost-effective concentrate management 

technologies. Instead of testing a single silver bullet 

technology, the project is delivering a toolbox, where 

a handful of concentrate treatment and pretreatment 

technologies will be assembled to meet specific end use 

requirements for different users at different facilities. This 

presentation will provide an overview on SROG’s salinity 

management approaches and a project update on the 

alternative evaluation, bench testing and modeling. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Overview of Impact of TDS in the 

Phoenix Metropolitan Area 

Gustavo Lopez, Greeley and Hansen 

An overview of an issue that is growing in the Phoenix 

Metropolitan Area which is related to the TDS accumulation 

and how this constituent is impacting the water resources 

for this area will be presented. If this issues is not properly 

addressed it could result in a reduction of the available 

water resources for the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Answers 

for questions consistently raised regarding quantifies and 

the sources of salts entering the Phoenix Metropolitan Area 

based on data collected at the water supply sources, water 

treatment facilities and wastewater treatment facilities will 

be addressed. The presentation will also discuss the impact 

of salts to urban users, agricultural demand, environmental 

aspects and wastewater treatment. 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

Update on the Yuma Desalting Plant 

Angela Adams, US Bureau of Reclamation 

The Yuma Desalting Plant (YDP) was constructed under 

authority of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act 

of 1974 to treat saline agricultural return flows from the 

Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District. The 

treated water is intended for inclusion in water deliveries to 

Mexico thereby preserving the like amount of water in Lake 

Mead. Construction of the plant was completed in 1992 

and it operated on two occasions following its completion. 

The plant was maintained, but largely not operated, due 

to surplus and then normal water supply conditions on the 

Colorado River. In recent years, however, steady increases in 

water demand on the lower Colorado River coupled with the 

effects of a prolonged drought over the entire Colorado River 

Basin have prompted continued interest in plant operation. 

In 2007, Reclamation completed a Demonstration Run of 

the plant and in 2009 Reclamation developed a plan for 

a Pilot Run of the plant. This presentation will provide an 

update of the Pilot Run results. 


21


TRACK 6 - 

TOPICS IN WATER QUALITY 

3:30 - 4:00pm 

Applied Geochemistry: The Search for a Nitrate Source 

Erick Weiland, ARCADIS / Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. 

Results of a geochemical/isotope study undertaken at 

the CAP - Hieroglyphic Mountains Recharge Project will 

be presented. This study was undertaken on behalf of the 

Central Arizona Water Conservation District to: identify 

the source of nitrate; determine the nature and extent 

of nitrogen in the environment; determine likely future 

impacts; and, develop operational control recommendations 

that may decrease nitrogen loading and mitigate impacts 

of elevated nitrate in groundwater. General geochemical 

parameters, as well as stable isotopic data (nitrogen, 

oxygen, and boron), were utilized in evaluating nitrogen 

sources and fate. Geochemical data will be presented to 

show that the source of the nitrate is naturally occurring 

organic-nitrogen and not potential sources such as ancient 

playa lakes (mineral), fertilizers (synthetic and organic), or 

human/animal wastes. 

4:00 - 4:30pm 

Filamentous Bacteria in Wastewater 

Mary McReynolds, Arizona American Water Company 

A significant, but little understood group of wastewater 

bacteria, are those that form filaments. When operational 

conditions encourage rapid and undesired growth of 

filamentous bacteria in activated sludge, settleability 

problems may occur. Optimum waste treatment in 

activated sludge treatment plants depends on maintaining 

a healthy population of microorganisms in ever changing 

environments with numerous variables. Because of this wide 

range of variables, troubleshooting operational problems 

in activated sludge can be challenging. Realizing a need 

for a user friendly reference guide to identify filamentous 

bacteria and their subsequent effect on wastewater 

treatment process, a single source informational tool and 

troubleshooting guide was created. This program allows 

its’ user, through microscopic examination, to identify 

filamentous bacteria, link process problems with causes, 

and arrive at solutions. 

4:30 - 5:00pm 

Modeling of Advanced Oxidation of Trace Organic 

Contaminants by Hydrogen Peroxide Photolysis 

Mario Roberto Rojas, University of Arizona 

In this session, we investigate advanced oxidation of an EDC 

that is typically present in wastewater effluent: nonylphenol 

(NP). The experimental work focused on NP degradation 

in aqueous solution via UV-irradiation using doses of H2O2 

between 10 and 200 mM and wavelengths in the range 

between 240-280 nm. The initial concentrations of NP 

used were in the range 15-25 microM. Simulations of the 

UV/H2O2 model can be used to anticipate the kinetics 

of advanced oxidation involving any target compound 

for which there is a known apparent second-order rate 

constant for reaction with hydroxyl radical. The presence of 

radical scavengers was successfully treated by the model, 

suggesting that the model can be generalized to the 

treatment of complex matrices. 



8:00am – 5:00pm 

22 

FRIDAY, MAY 6 

TRACK 1 - 

ONSITE TREATMENT SYSTEMS 

8:00 - 8:30am 

On-site System Technology Selection 

Justin O. Ramsey, Environmental Hydrosystems, LTD 

In Arizona there are two ways to treat and dispose of 

wastewater back into the ground, the Individual Permit and 

the General Permit. Individual Permits can be requested 

for any flow volume, but a General Permit is the primary 

method for flows under 24,000 gpd. The rules have specific 

permits with specific requirements for multiple treatment 

and disposal methods. The designer must match the most 

appropriate treatment and disposal method with the site 

constraints and pollutant load of the wastewater to be 

treated. This presentation will discuss the advantages 

and disadvantages of the treatment and disposal systems 

covered under General Permits and design tricks to aid in 

quick approval and a fully functioning system. 

8:30 - 9:00am 

Responsibilities and Obligations for the Contractor 

Mark Schweiger, Registrar of Contractors 

This presentation will be an overview of the Registrar of 

Contractor’s licensing requirements, types of licenses, and 

which licenses allow a contractor to install an on-site 

wastewater system. Violations of scope, inspections, the 

complaint process, hearings, and the Recovery Fund will also 

be discussed. 

9:00 - 9:30am 

Septic System and Alternative System 

Installation Problems 

Brian Bishop, Bishop Construction, LLC 

Installer education and certification requirements are the 

weakest links in Arizona’s on-site wastewater program. Site 

investigators, designers, and Notice of Transfer inspectors 

have special education requirements. Contractors must pass 

the Registrar of Contractor’s exam, which permits them to 

install any kind of system, Conventional or Alternative. The 

exam content is barely rigorous enough to cover the old 

traditional rock-and-pipe installations, much less, some 

newer disposal technologies and Alternative systems. Poor 

septic system installations can affect the environment, 

personal health, and long term costs. This presentation 

will discuss installation issues and ways that the designer, 

owner, and regulator can assist. Suggestions for tightening 

the contractor requirements will be presented. 

9:30 - 10:00am 

The Case for Point-of-Sale Inspections 

Dawn Long, American Septic Service 

Point-of-Sale (POS) inspections, mandated by the 

Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) 

Comprehensive Septic Tank Inspection Program, protect 

all involved parties. Inspection reports reduce risks, avoid 

liability issues, and minimize consumer complaints. This 

presentation shows photographic evidence supporting 

the necessity for the ADEQ rule - 278 examples from 

point-of-sale inspections conducted between July 2006 and 

December 2007. Mandated inspections provide factual data 

on the state onsite systems in Arizona. A standardized POS 

inspection is the first step to the integration of maintenance 

and management of onsite systems. As an inspector, 

American Septic Service insures that the buyer has a full 

disclosure regarding their onsite system and in turn POS 

inspections contribute to the protection of the aquifer. 

TRACK 1 - WATER FOR PEOPLE 

10:30 - 11:00am 

Where the Money Goes – 

Executing Water For People’s Mission 

Levi Dillon, Carollo Engineers and Venkat Radhakrishnan, 

ARCADIS / Malcolm Pirnie 

Have you ever donated or just thought of donating to Water 

For People and wondered about the details of how they 

put the money to good use in the countries around the 

world where they work? Come listen and find out! You’ll 

experience an up-to-date overview of Water For People’s 

structure, strategies, programs, development models, and 

tools that they utilize to change people’s lives through water 

and sanitation projects and education. 

11:00 - 11:30am 

Results You Can See! – 

Water For People’s New Data Collection Tool 

David Christiana, Arizona Department of Water Resources 

Truly transforming lives means taking transparency, 

accountability and sustainability seriously. To attain this 

goal, Water For People developed and launched a visual 

technology in 2010 called Field Level Operations Watch 

(FLOW). Program data are gathered with an Android cell 

phone and uploaded to the Internet to display the status 

of a water point or sanitation solution on Google Maps and 

Google Earth. With a view of what’s working, what’s on the 

verge of disrepair, and what’s broken, Water For People can 

use the data to make better programming decisions, and 

build upon its programmatic strengths and identify areas of 

weakness that need to improve. Learn more about this new 

tool and see how Water For People is using FLOW in all its 

programs. 

11:30 - 12:00pm 

Water For People Video Potpourri 

Various Water For People Committee Members 

Join us for various videos that document the work abroad 

of Water For People. The videos will be intermixed with 

discussion about various development topics such as water 

and sanitation as a business and common hurdles to 

sustainable development. 

TRACK 1 - FACILITY START-UP 

CASE STUDIES 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

New Treatment Facility Startup 

Joseph Cornejo, Arizona American Water Company 

Hear about the challenges of starting up a new surface 

water treatment plant and the challenges of dealing with 

changes in source waters such as unexpected turbidity 

spikes. This presentation will touch on having to shut down 

the facility yearly when the source water (CAP) is offline, 

shutdown procedures, as well as system restart. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Treatment Train Start-Up - Constraints and Challenges 

Venkata Yeddanapudi, Wilson Engineers 

The City of Phoenix decided to replace the east train in 

the treatment basins at Deer Valley WTP, due to settling 

issues. Following substantial completion of construction, 

start-up of the new treatment train is currently in progress. 

This presentation will focus on challenges faced by the 

construction team during start-up period and how they 

were resolved in a time effective manner to help meet the 

project schedule. This involved in developing a detailed 

start-up plan that works for the entire process and also 

simultaneously from an individual equipment viewpoint. 

Further, the modifications required to implement the startup 

plan drawn, shall be discussed in depth. 


2:30 - 3:00pm 

Startup & Testing – GAC Filter Adsorber 

Austin Fleck, McCarthy Building Companies 

The presentation will involve an overview of the existing 

plant and new GAC Filter facilities, followed by a review of the 

process used to ensure the GAC Filters where installed properly, 

how the filters were disinfected, the media loading and 

washing steps, the backwash and air scour checkout process 

and how this was done with minimum impact to plant 

operations. The discussion will finish up with examples of the 

tables / charts used to to plan / monitor the work progress 

and how the water use/disposal was managed. 

3:00 - 3:30pm 

Start-Up of the New UV Disinfection System at 

Tempe’s Johnny G. Martinez WTP 

Mark Urban, Carollo Engineers 

At the City of Tempe’s Johnny G. Martinez WTP, a recent 

Construction Manager at Risk (CM@R) project has provided 

an ultraviolet (UV) disinfection system. This is the City’s 

second UV system for drinking water and was validated 

under the newer EPA UV Disinfection Guidance Manual. This 

newer validation has yielded lower power requirements at 

the same effective level of disinfection as compared to the 

City’s South Tempe WTP. Significant permitting and testing 

tasks were performed to receive County approval. The 

system has been approved for up to 4-log removal credits 

for Cryptosporidium and Giardia, under the EPA’s final UV 

Disinfection Guidance Manual. A primary objective of the 

new UV system is to improve plant performance, by reducing 

disinfection by-products via decrease chlorine dose. 

TRACK 2 - REGULATORY 

8:00 - 9:00am 

EPA Drinking Water Regulatory Updates 

Daria Evans-Walker, USEPA Region 9 

Water utilities will be impacted by new EPA regulations 

in the coming years. Learn about revised drinking water 

regulations and developments in EPA drinking water 

strategy. EPA will present highlights of important new 

requirements and implementation strategies. In the 

discussion, EPA will demonstrate the tools created to 

improve drinking water security and small community water 

system capability. 

9:00 - 9:30am 

ADEQ Water Quality Division Update 

Mike Fulton, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality 

The ADEQ Water Quality Division regulates public drinking 

water systems, and the discharge and treatment of 

wastewater in Arizona. The Division Director will present 

updates regarding recent water quality legislation, 

administrative rules and ADEQ organizational changes. 

9:30 - 10:00am 

The ABCs of Water Quality Enforcement 

Cynthia Campbell, Department of Environmental Quality 

Learn about the compliance and enforcement processes 

utilized by ADEQ to address violations of water quality 

laws (Aquifer Protection Program (APP), Arizona Pollutant 

Discharge Elimination System (AZPDES) and the Safe 

Drinking Water Act (SDWA)). The processes are compiled 

in the agency’s Compliance and Enforcement Policy. The 

presentation will provide a condensed description of each 

regulatory program relating to water quality, including 

a general description of the need for applicable permits. 

There will also be an explanation of the inspection process; 

Notices of Opportunity to Correct (NOCs); Notices of 

Violation (NOVs); administrative orders and civil actions. 

10:30 - 11:30am 

The Disinfection By-Products Rule: 

Transitioning from Stage 1 to Stage 2 

Donna Calderon, Arizona Department of Environmental 

Quality 

This presentation will cover the upcoming regulatory 


requirements for public water systems to transition from 

Stage 1 to Stage 2 disinfection byproducts monitoring. This 

will include time lines for implementation for schedules 

1-4, stage 2 compliance monitoring requirements, reduced, 

increased and decreased monitoring, and operational 

evaluation levels. 

11:30 - 12:00pm 

Updating the 1984 Design Manual and the 2003 City 

of Tucson/Pima County Standard Specifications and 

Standard Details 

Carol A. Johnson, Pima County Regional Wastewater 


The Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation 

Department (RWRD) has the responsibility for the operation 

and maintenance of 3,500 miles of the region’s public 

sewerage system and associated reclamation facilities. 

Part of that responsibility is to develop and implement 

engineering design standards that meet (or exceed) 

ADEQ’s minimum design criteria. Pima County RWRD has 

recently completed a comprehensive update of their 1984 

Design Manual, which was incorporated into the 2003 

City of Tucson/Pima County Standard Specifications and 

Details sewer section. This update was needed to clarify 

certain standards and to improve the communication and 

information exchange between RWRD and the private 

development engineering and construction community. 

The final manual will be web-based and describe the 

development process for sewer layout, design, and 

construction. The evolution of this manual has many twists, 

with some yet to be untied as we move into the public 

comment period and formal acceptance. 

TRACK 2 - 

MASTER PLAN CASE STUDIES 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

West Area Water Reclamation Facility Master Plan – 

A Perfect Roadmap to Glendale’s Wastewater Future 

Brent Start, DSWA, a Jacobs Company 

Learn about the challenges posed to the study team and 

the recommendations of the Final Master Plan for the City 

of Glendale’s West Area Water Reclamation Facility. The 

presentation will describe an integrated strategy to address 

the City’s water resources challenges including collection, 

treatment, SROG obligations, and recharge. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Signal Butte Water Treatment Plant – 

Designing Mesa’s Water Future 

Teresa Smith-DeHesus, Black & Veatch 

Mesa’s future CAP WTP is taking shape. Combining the 

familiar with a forward thinking edge Mesa has settled on 

conventional treatment with ozone and deep bed biological 

filtration. These technologies will treat 24 mgd of CAP water 

in the first phase of the plant, with future capacity master 

planned for up to 48 mgd. This CAP resource is essential 

to Mesa’s prospective development in the southeast. This 

presentation will highlight key decisions made by the team 

in developing the conceptual design. As the project moves 

forward into detailed design, the team will share challenges 

and opportunities affecting the facility plan including: 

technical engineering challenges, approach to aesthetics 

and integration into the community, and potential use of 

green technologies in plant design. 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

The Adaman Project: A Collaborative Approach to 

Securing a Reliable, Treatable, and Cost Effective 

Drinking Water Supply for the City of Goodyear 

Jessica Dresang, ARCADIS / Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. 

The City of Goodyear entered into a bulk water purchase 

agreement with the Adaman Mutual Water Company for up 

to 10 mgd of pumped groundwater, and embarked on the 

Adaman Well Development, Storage, Booster, and Pipeline 

Project to design and construct 28,000 ft of 30-inch 

diameter transmission pipeline, 1.7 mgd Water Production 

Facility to be owned by AMWC, and Arsenic Treatment 

Facility. Ultimately, the agreement will help provide a more 

reliable, treatable, and cost-effective option for drinking 

water and help maintain capacity above growing demands. 

Thanks to the successful partnering on design, construction, 

permitting, equipment procurement, land acquisition, and 

budgeting challenges between the City, Malcolm Pirnie, and 

PCL Construction, the system will begin delivering water 

December 2010, with the first expansion coming online 

May 2011. 

3:00 - 3:30pm 

91st Avenue WWTP Master Plan Update (2010-2035) 

Arthur K. Umble, Greeley and Hansen 

This presentation documents the dramatic changes in flows 

and loads that the 91st Avenue WWTP has experienced in 

the recent years and illustrates how the plant’s treatment 

capacity has been affected by these changes. Discussed will 

be details of the process model used to determine the actual 

treatment capacity of the liquid train under the actual loads 

today. Furthermore, the presentation will illustrate how 

the results of the process model provided the baseline for 

a plant-wide mass balance on solids that was necessary to 

establish the true capacity of the solids treatment train, and 

formulate the basis for proposed improvements necessary to 

align the solids train capacity with the liquid train for today 

and for the future. This reconciliation of the liquid and solids 

stream became the fundamental basis for the 91st Avenue 

WWTP Master Plan Update for 2010. 

TRACK 3 - RESEARCH 

8:00 - 8:30am 

Resilient, Sustainable Water and Wastewater 

Infrastructure Planning 

Kevin Lansey, University of Arizona 

An ongoing NSF-funded project is examining the 

opportunities and triple bottom line costs of integrating 

water and wastewater planning to take advantage of 

water reuse. This talk will provide a summary of the project 

and important progress to date including indicators for 

water resource sustainability and resilience for water 

supplies and users, assessment of public perception and 

institutional context, models for triple bottom line costs for 

wastewater systems that extend WateReuse Foundation 

tools, optimization models and results for regional water 

and wastewater infrastructure design, and optimal design 

tools for dual water distribution systems on regional and 

local scales. Results are applied to the Tucson and Phoenix 

regions in conjunction with project partners, Tucson Water, 

Pima County Wastewater, and Global Water. 

8:30 - 9:00am 

Water Quality Transformations in Water Reuse 

Distribution Systems 

Channah Rock, University of Arizona 

Water quality transformations of reclaimed water during 

distribution and storage are not well understood. Presented 

will be the results from a WateReuse Foundation project 

that (1) monitored water quality in several distribution 

systems, (2) developed water distribution system models 

of those networks to gain a broader understanding of the 

transformations and possible controls to improve water 

quality, (3) conducted controlled studies of reclaimed water 

during storage, and (4) conducted a survey of utilities to 

identify water quality issues and solutions. Studies considered 

alternative reclaimed treatment systems and collected data 

from utilities across the US. Field data, model calibration and 

predictions, and overall project results will be presented. 

9:00 - 9:30am 

Optimizing Advanced Oxidation Processes for Removal 

of Trace Organics from Water and Wastewater 

Mario Rojas, University of Arizona 

Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) collectively provide one 

of several methods for polishing (i) treated surface waters 

containing trace organics that are incompletely removed via 

conventional water treatment and (ii) secondary effluent 

from treatment of domestic wastewater that is destined 


23


for aquifer recharge or indirect potable reuse. AOP differs 

in the method of generation of hydroxyl radicals, the 

primary agents of contaminant destruction. Learn how the 

production and fate of radicals generated via UV-dependent 

breakdown of hydrogen peroxide is analyzed mathematically 

to establish near-steady levels of radical concentrations and 

predict rates of disappearance of residual trace organics in 

treated waters. In its current form, the model can be used 

to optimize aspects of design and operation of UV/peroxide 

treatment systems. 

9:30 - 10:00am 

Bioremediation of Uranium in an Anaerobic 

Biofilm Reactor 

Jim Field, University of Arizona 

Groundwater contamination with hexavalent uranium 

(U(VI)) poses an environmental health risk due to 

chemotoxicity causing damage to kidneys after long-term 

exposures. Reductive precipitation of soluble U(VI) to 

insoluble tetravalent uranium (U(IV)) in the form of the 

mineral uraninite (UO2) is one of the more promising 

approaches to uranium remediation. The objective of this 

study was to evaluate whether methanogenic biofilms from 

high rate anaerobic wastewater treatment reactors have the 

capacity to catalyze the reductive precipitation of uranium 

and be applied as a treatment technology for removing 

uranium from groundwater. Two methods were used to 

confirm the presence of uraninite as the dominant species 

of uranium accumulating in the solid phase. 

10:30 - 11:00am 

An Analysis of DOC Removal at CAVSARP and the 

Potential for Groundwater Recharge in the Phoenix 

Metropolitan Area 

Sean Wilson, Arizona State University 

The organic carbon removal capacity of CAVSARP was 

evaluated using the historical data. CAVSARP is a 

groundwater recharge project that is actually providing 

water treatment, since the water is recovered for potable 

purposes. The evaluation of CAVSARP was extrapolated to 

determine how groundwater recharge could enhance water 

quality in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. 

11:00 - 11:30am 

Scale Control in a Simulated Cooling Tower Using a 

Physical Water Treatment Device 

Tiffany Yee, Arizona State University 

Decreasing water use in cooling towers can be done by 

increasing the cycles of concentration which usually requires 

chemical treatment to prevent scale formation. A simulated 

cooling tower was operated with and without a physical 

water treatment device to determine if scaling could 

be prevented at increasing cycles of concentration. The 

potential for the physical water treatment device to remove 

existing scale was also evaluated. 

11:30 - 12:00pm 

An Evaluation of Alternatives to Domestic Ion 

Exchange Water Softeners 

Mara Ramos, Arizona State University 

Domestic Ion Exchange water softeners limit the ability to 

reuse water for many applications. Four different alternative 

technologies were evaluated for their ability to prevent scale 

formation in a water heater using three different water 

sources. All of the technologies were capable of reducing 

scale formation, and two of the technologies were very 

effective. 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Development of A Catalytic Ozonation Fixed Bed 

Reactor for Advanced Treatment of Wastewater Using 

Titanium Dioxide 

Michelle Barry, Arizona State University 

This research focuses on reactor design of a catalytic 

24 

ozonation system as an advanced treatment process. More 

specifically, the goals are to: (1) develop a model of a 

fixed-bed reactor; (2) conduct bench scale tests to identify 

catalyst and ozone concentrations for optimal reaction 

rates; and (3) develop and test a bench-scale fixed bed 

reactor design. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Photocatalytic Nitrate Reduction 

Kyle Doudrick, Arizona State University 

Nitrate is a prevalent pollutant in groundwater and is often 

a reason limiting the use of these local resources. Research 

into reducing nitrate to nitrogen gas during photolysis in the 

presence of commercially available and tailored titanium 

dioxide catalysts are discussed with the initial eye towards 

treating ion exchange brine. 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

Removal of Engineered Nanomaterials During 


Yifei Wang, Arizona State University 

Engineered nanomaterials from titanium dioxide, nanosilver 

and others are or will be entering our wastewater systems. 

Understanding the ability to remove these potential 

emerging pollutants is the focus of this talk. Specifically, the 

talk focuses on long-term operation of a sequencing batch 

activated sludge reactor exposed to nanomaterials. 

3:00 - 3:30pm 

Removal of Emerging Pollutants in Constructed 

Wetlands 

Fariya Sharif, Arizona State University 

This presentation will include a background primarily stating 

the purpose of the study. An overview of the existing 

wetlands will be presented which will include the design 

features and removal trends for bulk and trace pollutants. 

Selected target compounds will be presented with the 

justification for their selection, physico-chemical properties 

and the analytical strategies used for quantification. 

Details of the laboratory experiments will be included 

in the presentation. Wetland mesocosms, abiotic and 

biotic experiments will be briefly discussed. Data from the 

experiments will be presented to determine the relationships 

between design hydraulic loading rates and emerging 

compound removal. Based on the experimental data, abiotic 

and biotic processes will also be evaluated for the selected 

compounds. Scope for the future work will be addressed. 

TRACK 4 - APPLICATIONS IN 

HYDRAULIC MODELING 

8:00 - 8:30am 

Hydraulic Modeling: An Important Process in a Water 

Infrastructure Master Plan 

Nabin Khanal, ARCADIS / Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. 

This presentation will stress on the importance of hydraulic 

modeling in a water infrastructure master planning process. 

8:30 - 9:00am 

Using Water Distribution System Modeling, DBP 

Modeling, and SDS Testing of CAP Water to Develop 

an Optimum Water Quality Solution for the Ak-Chin 

Indian Community 

Lisa Snyders, Carollo Engineers 

The Ak-Chin Indian Community has historically utilized 

groundwater as the primary source of potable water. 

However, continued deterioration of groundwater quality, 

recent struggles associated with identifying and obtaining 

a new high quality groundwater source, and availability of 

a Central Arizona Project (CAP) surface water supply have 

prompted the Community to design and construct a new 

surface water treatment plant (SWTP). This presentation will 

describe how distribution system modeling, DBP formation 

modeling, and water quality sampling and testing of the 

CAP surface water were successfully combined to develop 

optimum DBP mitigation strategies including enhanced 

coagulation, Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) contactors, 

and various distribution system operational strategies. 

9:00 - 9:30am 

Agua Fria Optimization Study for Arizona American 

Water Company 

Pranam Joshi, NCS Engineers, Alex Louisetto, Arizona 

American Water Company 

A hydraulic model was created for Arizona American Water 

Company to develop a strategy for incorporating a new 

surface water treatment plant into the Agua Fria Water 

District (AFWD) service area. AFWD has groundwater sources 

as well as the new surface water treatment plant. The 

purpose of the model was to identify cost optimal solutions 

that satisfy demands, maintain water quality, and balance 

the system’s numerous constraints. The model used data 

from the SCADA system and data collected in the field. 

Calibration was done using real data from locations in the 

distribution system. A genetic algorithm was created to find 

the optimal solution. 

9:30 - 10:00am 

Water Distribution System Supply Reversal: The Town 

of Payson Conversion from a Multiple Groundwater 

Well Supply to a Single Source by the Flip of a Switch 

Tanner D. Henry, Tetra Tech, Inc. 

The Town of Payson Water Distribution system currently 

serves approximately 17,000 people with drinking water 

from 42 active groundwater wells. As a part of the Arizona 

Water Settlement Act, the Salt River Project acquired the 

C.C. Cragin Reservoir and infrastructure from Phelps Dodge 

Corporation. Accordingly, the C.C. Cragin reservoir became 

a viable alternative for supply of 3,000 acre-feet of water 

being delivered for nine months per year. Tetra Tech, Inc. 

developed a plan to reverse flow to the existing 25 pressure 

zones, 10 booster stations, and 12 storage tanks with 

minimal infrastructure. The proposed infrastructure will 

convert the system annually to the new single source by 

activating a single booster station. The presentation will 

cover the evaluation of the existing system, planning, and 

modeling of the proposed design. 

10:30 - 11:00am 

Two Approaches for Identifying Optimal Water 

Security Monitoring Station Locations in the 

Distribution System Using TEVA-SPOT 

Brad Jeppson, Carollo Engineers 

Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of two 

methods for optimizing on-line distribution system security 

monitoring using TEVA-SPOT software tool. 

11:00 - 11:30am 

City of Scottsdale Wastewater Model Update 

Bill Roberts, GHD, Inc. 

This presentation focuses on the lessons learned by GHD 

Inc and the City of Scottsdale during the recent update 

of the City’s wastewater model. The model now reflects 

the economic changes that have occurred over the last 

five years and illustrates the importance of accounting for 

Rain Derived Infiltration and Inflow (RDII). The recent 

loading revisions were based on billing data allocated within 

the model using GIS information. Those flows were then 

calibrated with data collected at more than 35 meter sites 

throughout the City’s collection system. GHD also created 

current day and future built out models with steady state 

and extended period scenarios that addressed wet weather 

flows and RDII using model generated storms that were 

calibrated against recorded data. 


11:30 - 12:00pm 

City of Phoenix Sewer Hydraulic Model 

and 2010 Field Calibration 

Camila Fernandez, NCS Engineers, Eric Lais, City of Phoenix 

A sewer hydraulic all pipes model was created for City of 

Phoenix for current operations to aid in future development 

infrastructure questions and current operational questions. 

The field data collected included flow, velocity and depth 

as the measure for calibration. Field data collected included 

over 80 points of metering throughout the collection system. 

The collection system for the calibration period handled an 

average of 178 MGD, serving over 411,000 customers. 

TRACK 4 - 

METALS TREATMENT & FIXATION 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Arsenic Crystallization Technology for the Long-Term 

Stabilization of Arsenic-Bearing Solid Residuals Under 

Landfill Conditions 

Madhumitha Raghav, University of Arizona 

Arsenic Crystallization Technology (ACT) is a potentially 

eco-friendly and cost-effective technology for long-term 

stabilization of arsenic-bearing residuals that is being 

investigated in our laboratories. The objective of this 

technique is to convert arsenic residuals into minerals 

with a high arsenic capacity and long-term stability 

under disposal conditions, particularly those prevailing 

in mixed solid waste landfills. Various minerals are being 

considered as candidates in order to stabilize arsenic in 

an environmentally benign phase including scorodite, 

arsenate apatite and ferrous arsenate. The suitability of 

these minerals to act as long-term arsenic repositories has 

been evaluated based on their synthesis conditions and 

arsenic leaching as determined from standard leaching 

procedures. Preliminary results suggest that ferrous arsenate 

is a promising candidate in terms of favorable synthesis 

conditions and arsenic leachability. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Iron Biomineralization: Implications on the Fate of 

Arsenic in Landfills 

Sahar Fathordoobadi, University of Arizona 

The goal of this project is to study two processes for the 

stabilization of arsenic in landfills; iron biomineralization 

and arsenic re-precipitation. A set of column experiments is 

being conducted under anaerobic conditions as proof-ofconcept 

analogs to MSW landfill conditions. Columns are 

loaded with a sludge of As co-precipitated with AFH (as 

a representative ABSR) and with iron reducing bacteria 

obtained from anaerobic digester sludge produced in a 

wastewater treatment plant. The conditions within the 

columns will be manipulated to promote various types of 

biomineralization and arsenic re-precipitation. The research 

highlights the importance of iron on the fate and mobility 

of arsenic after iron mineralization. This research will focus 

on how arsenic-bearing wastes will be influenced by iron 

biominerals formation in landfills. 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

Iron Morphological Changes in Landfills and 

Arsenic Leaching 

Christopher Olivares, University of Arizona 

Evidence of Fe (II) minerals like vivianite and siderite was 

found in continuous laboratory scale columns that were run 

for ~500 days. The columns were loaded with amorphous ferric 

hydroxide (AFH) sludge and arsenic. Anaerobic digester sludge 

from a local wastewater treatment plant was used as inoculum 

to generate a microorganism population. The distribution 

patterns of these Fe (II) minerals will be discussed, as well as 

the decoupling of arsenic and iron leaching in these systems. 

In addition, isotherms of the Fe(II) minerals were performed 

to support the data found from the column experiments. This 

project sheds light into understanding structural changes that 

iron undergoes under anaerobic biologically active conditions 

and their effect on arsenic leaching. 


3:00 - 3:30pm 

Operational Optimization of Adsorption Treatment 

Arsenic Removal Technology at Arizona American 

Water Company - Central Operations 

Jeremiah Mecham, Arizona American Water Company 

This presentation will provide background information about 

Arizona American Water Company and American Water 

Company. AAW Arsenic removal strategy will be discussed 

setting a foundation for the rest of the presentation. 

Design Criteria, Flow Configuration, Water Quality, Waste 

Management and Data Collection strategies will be discussed 

with their associated role in the optimization of adsorption 

technology related to Arsenic removal. Water Treatment 

Results, Operational Enhancements, Associated costs/ 

savings, along with lessons learned will be discussed as well. 

TRACK 5 - ARIZONA AND SHORTAGE 

ON THE COLORADO RIVER 

8:00 – 8:30am 

The Rules of the Game for a Shortage on the 

Colorado River 

Perri Benemelis, Arizona Department of Water Resources 

A discussion about the framework that the Seven Colorado 

River Basin States work within for the management of the 

Colorado River. The presentation will include an overview of 

the historic 2007 General Shortage Agreement reached by 

the Seven Basin States. 

8:30 – 9:00am 

How Arizona has Prepared for and Postponed a 

Shortage on the Colorado River 

Tom Buschatzke, City of Phoenix 

This session presents various successful efforts by Arizona 

and other States to delay a shortage declaration on 

the Colorado River. Topics will include a review of the 

Arizona Water Banking Authority, construction of Brock 

Reservoir, augmentation efforts, and Arizona’s overall water 

management efforts. 

9:00 – 9:30am 

What Happens When a Shortage is Declared? 

Tom McCann, Central Arizona Project 

Media accounts regular talk about a coming shortage 

declaration for the Colorado River, but what does that 

actually mean for Arizona? Learn about the specifics of who 

is impacted, how, what happens in other States, and does it 

mean that we’ll run out of water? 

9:30 – 10:00am 

The Future – Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty? 

Panel Discussion with Perri Benemelis, Tom Buschatzke, 

and Tom McCann 

An open, free discussion about the future for water resource 

management in Arizona in light of continued drought on 

the Colorado River and the threat of a shortage declaration. 

Your questions will be answered by our esteemed panel. 

TRACK 5 - 

TOPICS IN WATER TREATMENT 

10:30 - 11:00am 

Overcoming Complications of Ground Water Treatment 

for Removal of Multiple Constituents 

Vance G. Lee, Water Works Engineers 

This presentation provides a background and an overview 

of Water Quality Issues and selection of the Optimum 

treatment process to reduce the levels of arsenic, nitrates 

and fluoride in the water being provided to the Thunderbird 

Farms DWID customers. 

11:00 - 11:30am 

Full Scale Experiences Optimizing Coagulation/ 

Filtration Ground WTPs for As, Mn and Fe 

Michelle De Haan, Water Works Engineers 

With water systems needing to install groundwater 

treatment due to limited high quality supplies and/or 

regulatory changes (e.g. arsenic rule), many coagulation/ 

filtration (C/F) systems have been installed to reduce 

concentrations of arsenic (As), iron (Fe) and/or manganese 

(Mn). This presentation will discuss two optimization 

case studies in California and Arizona. For one C/F system 

very low filter run times were being experienced and in 

late 2009 the underdrain systems failed, causing much 

of the media to leak into the distribution system. In the 

second case study iron breakthrough was occurring in the 

finished water above the secondary MCL. Both systems 

have been optimized through a detailed water quality and 

engineering evaluation with implementation of associated 

recommendations. 

11:30 - 12:00pm 

Advances in Certification of Water Treatment Products 

Dave Purkiss, NSF International 

This presentation will address advances that have been 

made in establishing criteria for the evaluation of treatment 

chemicals and treatment processes including criteria for: 

testing and safe handling of sodium hypochlorite to reduce 

bromate and perchlorate levels; evaluation of regenerated 

and reactivated media to ensure these products are 

contaminant fee; and evaluation of the performance of 

low pressure membrane and UV disinfection sytems in 

accordance with LT2 requirements. 

TRACK 5 - 

TOPICS IN DISINFECTION 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

The Combining of Chlorine and Ammonia to form 

Chloramines and its Implication on DBP Formation 

Darryl Jones, University of Arizona 

The formation of two emerging disinfection by-products, 

the iodinated trihalomethanes and nitrosamines, from 

chloramination will be discussed. The order of chlorine and 

ammonia addition, the free chlorine contact time, and 

the mixing efficiency of the reactor will be evaluated. An 

investigation into these important factors on Cl/N ratio 

will lead to a better understanding of DBP formation in 

practice. Certain modifications may be necessary to reduce 

the formation of I-THMs and nitrosamines, and yet still 

minimize the formation of regulated DBPs. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Filter Improvements Save Money and Improve Design 

Criteria for UV System 

Greg K. Chung, Kennedy/Jenks Consultants 

A six month field study is underway at Nevada County 

Sanitation District No. 1’s Lake Wildwood Wastewater 

Treatment Facility to determine if recent media replacement 

in existing pressure filters will improve effluent quality 

for addition of UV disinfection. The District implemented 

continuous monitoring of the effluent turbidity and UV 

transmittance to quantify results. Initial results from the 

first three months of monitoring have yielded transmittance 

readings above 70%, even during periods of high flows. 

Confirmation of these results over a six month period will 

allow a more economical UV system design without costly 

filter replacement. 

2:30 - 3:00pm 

Energy Efficient UV Upgrade at the Arrowhead Ranch 

Water Reclamation Facility 

Andrew Mally, Black & Veatch 

The City of Glendale has received an Energy Efficiency and 

Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) from the Department of 

Energy (DOE) to implement cost saving measures at the 

Arrowhead Ranch Water Reclamation Facility (ARWRF). 

The primary component of the project is replacement 

of the existing medium pressure UV disinfection system 

with a more energy efficient low pressure high output UV 

disinfection system. As part of the conditions of receiving 

the funding, the City has a finite timeline in which to 

deliver a complete project. In order to facilitate design 


25


and installation of the new UV disinfection equipment in 

the allotted timeframe a pre-selection process must be 

implemented to ensure timely manufacturing of equipment. 

3:00 - 3:30pm 

Kinetics of Ciprofloxacin Degradation by Ozonation: 

Effects of Natural Organic Matter, the Carbonate 

System, and pH 

Corin Marron, ARCADIS / Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. 

The presence of pharmaceutical compounds in water 

supplies is an environmental and public health concern. 

Conventional drinking water treatment processes are 

often ineffective for removing trace organic contaminants. 

Advanced treatment processes, such as ozonation, have 

demonstrated the ability to remove pharmaceutical 

compounds from water supplies. During ozonation of 

drinking water, the primary oxidants are ozone and hydroxyl 

radicals, which form during ozone decomposition. Both 

oxidants contribute to the transformation of pharmaceutical 

compounds; however, the relative rates of transformation by 

these oxidants depend on treatment operating conditions, 

background water chemistry, and structure of the target 

compound. This presentation discusses the relative impact 

of natural water characteristics, such as natural organic 

matter, the carbonate system, and pH, on the removal of 

the fluoroquinolone antibiotic ciprofloxacin by ozonation. 

TRACK 6 - 

WASTEWATER TREATMENT 

8:00 - 8:30am 

Nitrification/Denitrification, Bio-P, and Recycle Rates 

for these Systems 

Roger Greaves, Burns & McDonnell 

The presentation will focus on the IFAS process, major 

equipment, technology advantages, process flow diagrams 

and process control considerations. 

8:30 - 9:00pm 

Aeration System Upgrades at the 

Chandler Ocotillo WRF 

Lance Mason, Brown and Caldwell 

During an upgrade to the aeration system at the Chandler 

Ocotillo WRF, the fine-bubble diffusers were significantly 

increased at the head of the aeration trains and the 

aeration blowers were replaced with the new high-speed 

direct drive units. With the high-speed unit installation came 

many new considerations in terms of design, construction, 

and start-up. These upgrades have proved to be most 

beneficial in terms of energy efficiency but have also proved 

valuable in reducing maintenance costs, noise, and initial 

capital costs. The lessons learned during this installation of 

new technology will be discussed in this presentation along 

with the associated power efficiency improvements that 

have been observed subsequent to the installation. 

9:00 - 9:30am 

Showcasing Energy Recovery Possibilities for WRFs 

David Emon, City of El Mirage 

This presentation is a brief showcase of energy recovery 

technologies fit into a WRF. Many, many, gadgets, 

technologies, and conceptual possibilities exist that could be 

applied to a WRF. The presentation is intended to allow your 

imagination to flourish and to share ideas, example: imagine 

a wind turbine mounted on an odor control discharge running 

every day, all day. What about thermal energy locked up in 

effluent discharge being utilized to cool a nearby industrial 

process, or ever thought about in-pipe turbine generators for 

all of the water flowing down hill that is inherent to WRF? 

Energy recovery is a green means to do the right thing. 

9:30 - 10:00am 

Buy One, Get One Free – One Design for Two MBR 

Scalping Plants 

Andrew Gilmore, Carollo Engineers 

26 

The design team developed a one-plant design approach, 

for two MBR WRPs that would minimize design and 

construction costs, provide commonality in operations, and 

meet more stringent future effluent quality requirements. 

This presentation will focus on the main challenges, 

approaches, and solutions of an innovative one-plant design 

concept for two sub-regional MBR WRPs. 

10:30 - 11:00am 

Solar Membrane Distillation 

Bryan Moravec, University of Arizona 

We will discuss the development of a fresh water recovery 

pervaporation reactor that is envisioned as the core unit in a 

complete, ZLD, solar-driven, membrane distillation process. 

In its current configuration, solar-heated, brackish water is 

fed to the reactor on the outside of a hydrophobic, hollow 

fiber membrane bundle, while air is passed through the 

inside of the membrane fibers. Water evaporates through 

air-filled membrane pores and is swept from the reactor via 

the air stream. As the air cools, water vapor condenses and 

is collected as pure product. Results show that permeate 

fluxes from 1-6 L/m2∙d can be achieved with average 

transmembrane temperature differences of 20-40˚C. Current 

efforts focus on further improving permeation flux as a 

function of transmembrane temperature difference and feed 

solution salinity. 

11:00 - 11:30am 

Nanofiltration Softening – Soften Water with Effluent 

Reuse in Mind 

Joshua Brown, DSWA, A Jacobs Company 

The Pinal County Justice Complex in Florence, AZ is 

constructing a 150 gpm nanofiltration (NF) water 

treatment system to provide softened water for its facilities 

including the Superior Court, Sherriff’s Office, the 1200+ 

bed County Jail and Juvenile Detention Center. Softening 

the water will protect valuable plumbing infrastructure, 

most notably the thousands of solenoid valves used to 

operate prison sinks, showers and toilets. The County opted 

for an NF system in lieu of the typical ion exchange system 

to avoid adding sodium to the wastewater stream. The 

new system includes GAC for chlorine removal prior to NF 

and calcium carbonate for post filtration pH control. This 

presentation will discuss the basis for process selection and 

describe the system design. 

11:30 - 12:00pm 

New Primary Solids Rotary Drum Thickener 

Steven Puterbaugh, Brown and Caldwell 

A new primary solids (PS) thickening process utilizing rotary 

drum thickeners and a new rapid solids withdrawal pumping 

system were installed at the Tolleson WWTP. Intent of the 

upgrades was to reduce the volume of PS discharged to 

anaerobic digesters and improve operation of the primary 

sedimentation tanks (PST’s). Rapid solids withdrawal 

reduced septicity in the PST’s, and benefited downstream 

biological treatment at first and second stage trickling filters 

that would otherwise have increased requirements to treat 

additional BOD loadings resulting from solubilization of 

PS. Anaerobic digestion also benefited by increasing the 

mass of PS delivered. A secondary benefit was a noticeable 

reduction in soluble sulfides discharged in the primary 

effluent which normally volatilizes at the trickling filters and 

contributes to hydrogen sulfide odor generation. 

1:30 - 2:00pm 

Focused Pulsed (FP) Treatment for Internal Utilization 

of Waste Activated Sludge as an Electron Donor for 

Denitrification or Enhanced Methane Production 

Prathap Parameswaran, Arizona State University 

Recent research from our group has elucidated the 

significance of using Focused Pulsed (FP) (OpenCEL®) pretreatment 

as a feasible technology for enhancing methane 

production rates in anaerobic digesters and for utilizing 

waste activated sludge (WAS) as an internal electron 

donor to fuel denitrification. In FP treatment, the WAS is 

subjected to high-voltage pulsed electric fields for a short 

time, and the sludge flocs and cells are disrupted, making 

them readily bioavailable for use as an electron donor. Here, 

we evaluate using FP-treated WAS from the Irvine Ranch 

Water District (IRWD). In particular, we evaluate methane 

production through Biochemical Methane Potential (BMP) 

tests and denitrification using batch denitrification rates 

compared to a wide range of conventional electron donors, 

such as methanol, ethanol, and glycerol. 

2:00 - 2:30pm 

Controlling Aeration With Ammonium Sensors 

Bob Dabkowski, Hach, Inc. 

The City of Peoria’s Beardsley Water Reclamation Facility 

had a problem. The original ammonium sensors installed 

with their aeration upgrade weren’t working and would 

have to be sent back to Europe for repair. Also, running 

the aeration system using only a DO setpoint was using an 

excessive amount of power. An upgrade of the facility was 

in the planning stages to ensure water quality standards 

were being met. Instead, staff decided to give another 

instrument manufacturer a try, replacing the original 

ammonium sensor with the Hach NH4Dsc ammonium 

probe. The NH4Dsc proved to be reliable, and allowed the 

aeration system to be controlled correctly. That, along with 

a few other improvements saved the facility $90,000 in 

energy costs and $3,000,000 in capital improvements. 

2:30 - 3:00am 

Designing High-Speed Direct Drive Turbo Blower 

Installations to Achieve a 20 Year Operating Life 

Edmond Low, Brown and Caldwell 

Recent experiences in the design, testing, installation and 

start-up of high-speed direct-drive turbo blowers have 

identified installation temperatures, factory test standards 

and integrated control equipment as important design 

considerations that could impact long term reliability. 

Turbo blowers come prepackaged in sound enclosures with 

onboard PLC’s, HMI’s and VFDs, and utilize permanent 

magnet electric motors which make them susceptible to 

high ambient temperatures. Current testing codes (PTC-10 

and ISO 5389) fall short of providing rigorous criteria for 

testing turbo blowers. Because of ultra high operating 

speeds and the catastrophic effects of operating under 

surge conditions, fully integrated local and master controls 

equipment are essential. Turbo blower technology relies 

heavily on instrumentation, power conditioning and 

harmonic filtering equipment which have specialized 

operational and maintenance requirements. 

3:00 - 3:30pm 

Using the Oxidation Index (OXI) as an Activated 

Sludge Process Control Tool 

Ronald G. Schuyler, Tetra Tech, EAS-IMR 

A common activated sludge process control approach is 

to adjust the amount of biomass according to the season 

of the year. As temperatures depress from summer to 

winter, process controllers usually try to increase mean cell 

residence time (MCRT). The opposite occurs from winter 

to summer. However, the nagging question is always How 

much should I change the MCRT? The answer is related to 

amount of Treatment Power (TP) required. The TP required 

can be determined, compared to the TP provided (OXI) and 

the process modified. The OXI depends upon the number 

of microorganisms available, controlled by MCRT; the time 

in which they have to act, controlled by return sludge flow 

rate; and the temperature of the process related through 

the factor ‐T-20. 



8:00am – 3:30pm 




27

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• Keep left at the fork to continue toward I-10 W and 

merge onto I-10 W 

• Take exit 133B to merge onto AZ Loop 101 N 

• Take exit 7 for Glendale Ave. 

• Keep right at the fork, follow signs for Glendale Ave. 

E and merge onto W Glendale Ave. 

• Turn right at N 95th Ave. 

• Turn left at W Coyotes Blvd. 

Spa Botanica 

lower lobby Level 

9495 W. Coyotes Boulevard, Glendale, Arizona 85305 | (623) 937-3700 | renaissanceglendale.com 

Loop 

101 

LOS ANGELES 

Flagstaff 

Glendale Avenue 

Camelback Road 

I-10 

north 

I-17 

9495 W. Coyotes Boulevard, Glendale, Arizona 85305 | (623) 937-3700 | renaissanceglendale.com 

Cascade 

A 

Loop 

101 

Downtown Phoenix 

SKY HARBOR INTL AIRPORT 

GREATER PHOENIX 

METROPOLITAN AREA 

SR 51 

Cascade 

B 

I-10 

Cascade 

C 

Scottsdale 

Loop 

202 

TEMPE 

Tucson 

Cascade 

Boardroom 

Cascade 

D 

Loop 

101 

MESA 

Cascade 

G 

Cascade 

E 

Cascade 

F

MAIL TO: 

Conference Registrar 

c/o Metro Water District 

P.O. Box 36870 

Tucson, AZ 85740 

1042 Willow Creek Road, A101-510 

Prescott, Arizona 86301 

3 WAYS TO REGISTER: 

FAX TO: 

(520) 877-1189 

Credit Card Payment and Purchase Order 

ONLINE: 

www.azwater.org 

Credit Card Payment Only 

Non-Profit 

Organization 

U.S. Postage 

PAID 

Permit No. 1362 

Phoenix, Arizona

Annual Conference Brochure - AZ Water Association

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