Change of Leadership - Water Environment Association of Texas

Official Publication of the Water Environment Association of TexasChange of LeadershipPlus . . .• Student and YP Activitiesat Texas Water• WEF and WEAT 2009Award Recipients• WFP Auction at TexasWater a Huge Success• Operations ChallengeMakes a Splash inGalveston• Tech Talk Articles– Trinity River AuthorityPeak Wet WeatherManagement System– Wastewater TreatmentSystems SCADA DisasterRecovery Center (DRC)May 2009Volume 26 Issue 3

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May 2009 Texas WET | 3Leadership for theWater Environmentin TexasMay 2009Volume 26 Issue 3Texas WET is published six times ayear for the Water EnvironmentAssociation of Texas.2619 Jones Rd, Ste. CAustin, Texas 78745512-693-0060 / Fax 512-693-0062WEAT Staff and VolunteersEditorCheryl SmithAssociation Manager866-406-WEATcheryl@weat.orgAdvertisingChristianne Castleberry512-751-9272c.castleberry@castleberryengineering.comLayout and DesignCSI/Capital Spectrum512-478-3448WET Tech TalkRichard Eason512-261-6222, ext. 14reason@lakewaymud.orgTexas WET Technical EditorStephen H. Jeffus, P.E.512-240-4412sjeffus@rjn.comWEAT WebsiteBruce Wiland512-444-3188wiland@worldnet.att.netTexas WET issues are published inJanuary, March, May, July, Septemberand November. Deadline forsubmitting articles is the 1st day of themonth preceding the issue month.Table of ContentsRegular FeaturesA Message from the President 4WET Tech TalkTrinity River Authority Peak Wet WeatherManagement System 5Wastewater Treatment Systems SCADA DisasterRecovery Center (DRC) 8New Members 14A Message from the Executive Director 16Calendar of Events 16Highlights from the Association Office 18WEAT Section Activities 28Professional Directory 32WEAT Mission Statement, Officers and Committees 34Special FeaturesStudent and Young Professional Activities at Texas Water 15Texas Water 2009 Sponsors 19Utility Management Committee Report 202009 Operations Challenge Makes a Splash in Galveston 22E1 2 Texas Shootout 23WEAT Webinars are Here 23WEF and WEAT 2009 Award Recipients 24Water for People Auction at Texas Water a Huge Success 32On the Cover:Brad Castleberry, Lloyd Gosselink Blevins Rochelle and Townsend, P.C., hands over the gavelto incoming President Betty Jordan, Alan Plummer Associates, Inc. at the Texas Water 2009Awards Ceremony in San Antonio, Texas.Update Membership Info Online: Don’t miss your mailings. Update your membershipinformation online at www.weat.org. Go to membership, then update yourmembership profile. You will need your membership ID number (8 digits on WEFWE&T and WEF Highlights mailing label). Your password is your last name.

4 | Texas WET March 2009A Message from the PresidentBy Betty Jordan, PresidentHappy New Year! Funny thought for May. ButWEAT’s new year begins right after Texas Water whennew officers start their terms and TX Water takes place inApril – so… Happy New Year! When I was in school, thenew year actually started in September – the new schoolyear. Fiscal years can begin any month. Kind of makesyou wonder how real time truly is. New years usuallyencourage reflection, assessment, and vision. So I’mgoing to start this year with some reflections.ReflectionsLooking back, we’ve just had a great Texas WaterConference. In spite of fears that last year’s hurricaneand the recent downturns (plummeting) of the economywould make for a bleak conference, we came very closeto matching the attendance that we had at our recordbreakingconference in San Antonio last year. Some havesuggested that Texas Water, like WEFTEC nationally,is such an integral part of our industry that people feelthe need to attend regardless of economic conditionsor other situations. Perhaps so. It is certainly a timefor us to come together as an industry – clean andwastewater sides – and share lessons learned and plansfor the future. Hats off to Galveston and its remarkablerecovery.Texas Water means something different to eachindividual. No way can I comprehensively addressthe many wonderful aspects of the conference in thiscolumn. But I would like to talk about three specificareas which are near and dear to my own heart and inwhich I have been greatly encouraged recently: youngprofessionals, the awards breakfast, WEAT committees,and then in July I will address Water for People.Young ProfessionalsAs an organization and an industry, we areextremely fortunate with the qualities of young peoplewho are moving in to take over (yikes! Is this a badthing?) leadership in WEAT and in our firms eventually.I have been bowled over by their enthusiasm andcreativity in developing their own tech session, designcompetition, receptions, parties (and more partiesand more parties), sections, and awards. Bravo forTrooper Smith, this year’s emerging leader award winner,for his role in initiating the design competition andthen handing it over to a colleague in a great displayof delegation. Trooper has shown leadership withinWEAT as well as his “day job” in which I’ve had theprivilege of watching him lead project meetings and bethe peacemaker between a group of SPs with strongopinions. And Trooper is not unique among our YPs.What a joy to watch the creativity with which theyapproach engineering projects as well as service projectsand WEAT projects. Let us SPs work together to givethem a leg up and encourage them in their endeavorsand not get in their way. If only we could come up witha way of cloning them!!!The term OF is being replaced by a somewhatmore polite term – SP (seasoned professional). That’sprobably a better term than OF but coming from Texas,the term seasoned professional makes me think of somebig slab of meat ready for the BBQ grill rather than anexperienced engineer. Oh well.Awards CeremonyOh what a morning! Bravo to Mike Howe for aninteresting, inspiring, fun … what else can we say ….morning of awards. I was actually sorry when the awardsceremony ended. That’s never happened before. Whatfun to see the people behind the awards! What fun tosee glimpses into their families. Tears came into my eyeson several of the awards where cities and river authoritieswent to the rescue and aide of Galveston. Aren’t we agreat industry?!WEAT CommitteesIn case you haven’t noticed, the WEAT committeestructure has undergone some very significant renovationduring the last few years. You can find the list ofcommittees at www.WEAT.org or at the end of thismagazine. These are areas in which you can becomevery involved, particularly some of the knowledgecommittees. Recently, I observed the Water QualityCommittee respond quickly to a call for commentson proposed nutrient criteria. Emails whirled backand forth; experts from all over the state were adding,deleting, and modifying a well-written and organizedseries of statements on the proposed criteria. The finaldocument – one in which we can all take pride -- wassubmitted to the legislature. The same thing happenedon the bacteria standards. WEAT will soon be hosting(June 12th) a webcast on the proposed standards.This is what we’re about – providing good technicalinformation related to the pertinent issues of the day.How exciting it is to see it coming together and workingthe way it is supposed to.Water Environment Association of Texas and TexasSection of AWWAWe are a wonderful group with a great history anda dynamic future. Look around you. Thank those whohave helped, encouraged, or inspired you. Go and dolikewise to someone else. Be a part of what is happeningthis year. Check out your opportunities to plug inat www.weat.org or on the association page of thismagazine.

May 2009 Texas WET | 5WET Tech TalkTrinity River Authority Peak WetWeather Management SystemBy Dawn R. Anderson, PE (CP&Y, Inc.),Bill Tatum (Trinity River Authority),David Jackson (Freese and Nichols) andBetty Jordan (Alan Plummer Associates, Inc.)IntroductionThe Trinity River Authority of Texas (TRA) hasevaluated the need to upgrade the treatment plantcapacity to accommodate projected peak wet weatherflows. The Design Team developed and evaluatedalternatives for the management of peak wet weatherflows to the Trinity River Authority’s Central RegionalWastewater System (CRWS) plant.Previous inflow and infiltration evaluations onthe collection system feeding the TRA CRWS plantdemonstrated that by the year 2020, projected two-hourpeak flows could reach 623 MGD. The facility, as it iscurrently constructed, is permitted for a peak two-hourflow of 405 MGD and average flows of 189 MGD, butcan only biologically process 340 MGD for a sustainedperiods during extended wet weather flows. Excess flowsabove the two-hour peak flows are currently stored in theexisting equalization basins.Wet Weather Flow Treatment EvaluationIn a separate study, CP&Y evaluated several highratetreatment technologies, such as enhanced high-rateclarification, high-rate biological treatment, high-ratefiltration, and disinfection for potential use in developinga management plan for handling the full range of flowsprojected as influent to the CRWS plant.CPY also evaluated the quality of influent duringpeak wet weather events. It was predicted that solubleBOD and ammonia serve as the base organic loadingat the facility. Results for tests run during wet weatherevents produced a BOD loading within one percent ofthe dry weather loading. The Design Team found similarresults with ammonia loading.Feasibility StudyThe Design Team conducted a feasibility studyevaluating the use of an existing borrow pit, located inthe plant’s West Landfill for the off-line storage of wetweather flows, to reduce or eliminate the need to expandthe treatment plant to accommodate extreme peakflows. The study also addressed required modificationsto the existing system to provide additional operationalflexibility in routing peak flows to storage. Wetweather flows could eventually be treated by high-rateclarification, which would supplement the existingprimary clarifiers, producing high quality effluent suitablefor storage.The Team performed a cost versus volume analysisto determine the most cost-effective basin volume basedon the size of the existing borrow pit. The basin volumerequiring the least amount of modification to the existingpit, such as excavation and backfill, yielded the smallestconstruction cost. The analysis demonstrated that theleast expensive basin configuration has a total volume of125 MG.HydrographAs a part of the feasibility study, the Design Teamdeveloped a hydrograph for a year 2020 design storm.Historical data was used in conjunction with projectedpeak two-hour flow data to develop a hydrograph thataccurately depicted the magnitude and duration offlows entering the plant during a wet weather event. Thishydrograph shows that during wet weather events, flowto the plant will rise and maintain a higher than averageflow for two or more days.Based on the design storm hydrograph, 100MG of total storage volume available in the existingequalization basins and the on-site storage basin wouldallow a sustained flow through the treatment processContinued on page 6• Water & Wastewater Treatment Plants• Lift Stations & Force Mains• Hydraulic Modeling• Detention/Retention Ponds• Pump Stations & Tanks• Pipeline Design• Master PlansJohn Lindner, P.E.Public WorksManaging Principal512.328.0011 TEL512.328.0325 FAXjlindner@burypartners.comAustin | Dallas | Houston | San Antonio | Temple | TEXAS

6 | Texas WET May 2009WET Tech Talk Continued from page 5of 315 MGD during extended wet weather events. Thehydrograph shows that the volume under the curveabove flow 315 MGD is equivalent to the necessarytotal storage volume. The existing six equalizationbasins will be utilized for wet weather storage and totalapproximately 22 MG of storage capacity. As a result,approximately 78 MG of storage capacity is required inthe on-site storage basin. Figure 1 shows the hydrographfor the year 2020 design storm.The primary purpose of the on-site storage pumpstation is to drain the basin after a wet weather event. Itcan also serve as additional pumping capacity during dryweather emergencies. Figure 3 shows a schematic of thewet weather operation of the peak flow storage facilities.Figure 3: Peak Flow Storage Facilities Flow SchematicFigure 1: Year 2020 Design Storm Hydrographwith Required Storage Capacity OperationThe peak flow storage facilities will store peak flowsin excess of the plant’s existing biological treatmentcapacity, which will reduce the flows that the CRWStreatment plant would be required to treat and dischargeduring wet weather events, and would potentiallyeliminate the need to expand the treatment capacity tohandle projected peak wet weather flows.The peak flow storage facilities will include alarge 125-MG storage basin, an on-site storage pumpstation, fine screens, and a direct gravity connection tothe collection system. These facilities will provide thecapability to store screened raw wastewater, in additionto potential future high-rate clarification, chemicallyenhanced primary treatment effluent, or secondaryeffluent during dry weather or wet weather conditions. Apartition wall will divide the basin into an eastern sectionand a western section. Figure 2 shows a section of theproposed storage basin.Figure 2: Section of Proposed On-Site Storage BasinPeak flows will be screened, degritted, and conveyedto the basin. Future uses could include the use ofhigh-rate clarification or chemically enhanced primarytreatment process units for suspended solids removalprior to storage. Flows can be conveyed to temporarystorage in either the existing equalization basins or thewestern section of the storage basin. Gravity influentflows in excess of 405 MGD will be conveyed to theeastern section of the storage basin directly from oneof the main plant interceptors. The excess flows willundergo fine screening before storage.As the wet weather flows subside, the eastern sectionof the basin can be drained, pumped by the 50-MGDpump station to the plant headworks, equalizationbasins or directly to secondary treatment. Sluice gatesin the partition wall between the eastern and westernsections of the basin will be opened, allowing thewastewater stored in the western section to drain to thepump station. During smaller wet weather events, thepartitioned basin allows the use of one section. Duringlarger wet weather events, wastewater can be allowed tospill over the partition wall, filling the eastern section.The connection to interceptor also allows storageduring dry weather emergencies affecting the operationof the influent pump stations. Up to approximately 220MGD can be diverted to the east basin and the on-sitestorage pump station can pump from that location at arate of 50 MGD back to the plant headworks.DesignTRA has contracted the Design Team to provideengineering services for the design of the peak flowstorage facilities. The proposed storage basin willprovide the capability to temporarily store screened rawwastewater and/or secondary effluent during dry weatheror wet weather conditions. In addition future plansinvolve storage using high-rate clarifiers or potentiallychemically enhanced primary treatment effluent. The

May 2009 Texas WET | 7storage basin will be sized to accommodate up to 125MG of wet weather storage and approximately 51 MG ofstorage for dry weather emergencies. A partition wall willdivide the basin into an eastern section and a westernsection, which will provide the capability to separatehigher quality wastewater from raw wastewater insidethe basin. During normal operation the raw wastewaterin the east section will not mix with the primary effluentin the west section of the basin. Only during emergencystorage conditions there will be a mix of east and westbasin wastewater.A new junction box will be constructed at the maininterceptor feeding the plant. From the new junction box,approximately 2,300 linear feet of 110-inch piping will berouted through the plant to the proposed on-site storagepump station. The influent conveyance piping will allowinstantaneous flows of up to 220 MGD to flow by gravityto the on-site storage pump station.Flow from the interceptor would be routed through a200-MGD screening structure prior to discharge into theon-site storage basin. The on-site storage basin pumpstation will be a 50-MGD submersible pump wet wellpump station, consisting of three 25-MGD submersiblepumps equipped with variable frequency drives. Theon-site storage pump station will have the ability to serveas a dual-use pumping facility to allow for filling andemptying of the proposed on-site storage basin.The new storage basin is being designed to storea significant volume of wastewater. The existing 112-MG borrow pit is located within the slurry trench walland will provide the capacity and footprint requiredfor the new storage basin. The basin was designedwith a stepped-configuration, following the existingshale layer contour, to minimize the amount of shaleexcavation. The top length and width of the basin willbe approximately 1,100 feet and 700 feet, respectively.A partition wall will divide the two levels, allowingadditional operational flexibility. The eastern sectionof the basin will be designed to provide 51 MG gravitystorage of raw wastewater from the collection systemand the western section will be design to provide storageof approximately 26 MG of primary treated wastewaterto the top of the partition wall. The basin can be filledabove the partition wall for a maximum storage volumeof 125 MG. The eastern section of the basin will have abottom elevation of 368 feet and the western section at390 feet.The basin side slopes shall be at 3H:1V and the basinbottom shall slope from west to east at 0.25 percentwith a maximum water surface elevation at 410 feet. Thebasin bottom slab and the side walls shall be reinforcedconcrete with a minimum thickness of 8 inches. Eachsection of the basin shall also be provided with an accessramp for vehicle and maintenance equipment access.The partition wall shall be 24-inch thick reinforcedconcrete and will have sluice gates to drain the westernsection of the basin into the eastern section. A 5-footwide channel shall be constructed to the east of thepartition wall to evenly distribute flow from the westernsection across the width of the basin and flush theeastern section.The basin design includes an automatic flushingsystem that would rinse the basin walls and bottom toreduce the build-up of particles that may settle duringtemporary storage and to minimize plant staff’s effortin cleaning the basin. The flushing system would consistof two separate systems for the eastern basin section:a distribution system for rinsing the walls and a gate/weir system on the partition wall for flushing the basinbottom. Both systems would use the higher qualitywastewater stored in the western section to rinse thewalls and floor of the eastern section. As a secondarysystem for basin wall cleaning, a water cannon systemwill be installed as well.The flushing water distribution system will consistof a 48-inch header pipe installed in the basin wall,routed along the perimeter of the eastern section, withports spaced at 10-foot intervals along the walls. Watercannons will also be installed along the basin perimeterto provide additional flushing flexibility.Physical Hydraulic ModelingThe Design Team is collaborating with Dr. DaveWerth, with Clemson Engineering Hydraulics Inc., duringContinued on page 31

8 | Texas WET May 2009WET Tech TalkWastewater Treatment SystemsSCADA Disaster Recovery Center(DRC)By Yehuda Morag, Principal Technologist,CH2M HILL and Hoss Forouzan,Wastewater Operations, City of HoustonIntroductionSCADA systems monitoring and controlling the CityWater and Wastewater systems are expected to functionwithout any disruptions, however several planned(preventive maintenance) or unplanned (short termpower outage, equipment failure) system shutdownsmight occur periodically, and in most cases thosesystem’s operations are restored in a short time.While many SCADA system vulnerabilities can bereduced or eliminated using the proper engineeringdesign, technical, and operational procedures, somesevere disruptions caused by natural disasters, terroristattack, or large accident (fire, toxic gas evaporation,train derailment, etc) require the City to prepare aneffective contingency plan. The execution of this planincludes SCADA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC)/ Emergency Operation Centers (EOC), testing andexercising, training, and auditing and updating thecontingency plan and policy.This paper will discuss the steps taken to design,construct, and maintain the Wastewater SCADADisaster Recovery Center to respond to future severesystem disruptions caused by natural disasters, terroristattack, or large accidents, and the lessons learnedfollowing the past years Atlantic hurricane season.Several steps were taken to accomplish this task:Develop SCADA Emergency Plan PolicyWastewater SCADA contingency planning includedthe tasks to identify threats and vulnerabilities thatmight shut down the SCADA system and prevent theCity from operating the wastewater system securely andeffectively. Those threats were classified as:l Natural – Hurricane, tornado, flood, and fire.l Human – Operator error, implant of maliciouscode (computer virus), sabotage, and terroristattacks.l Environmental – Power failure, SCADAsystem failure (hardware or software), andtelecommunication network failure.The City felt that the current SCADA system designand the procedures in place can respond to theenvironmental listed threats and most of the humanerrors; however the City was very concerned with thenatural disasters affects and the ramification of anyterrorist attack on the central SCADA system.Various types of contingency plans were studied;however the COOP (Continuity of Operation Plan)was adapted, customized for the City’s wastewateroperations, and developed to match the currentlyoperating SCADA system.The COOP was selected, as it focuses on restoringthe wastewater SCADA essential functions at alternatesites and performs the necessary functions for a certainperiod of time before returning to normal operations.The COOP was also chosen because it addresses the CityCenter of Operations model requirements on one hand,and is developed and executed independently from theBCP (Business Continuity Plan) that applies to generalCity services and the IT system on the other. Becausethe COOP emphasizes the recovery of the SCADAoperational capability at an alternate site, the planintentionally does not include the City’s IT operations.In addition, minor disruptions such as short term powerfailure or local communication failure that do notrequire relocation to an alternate site were taken intoconsideration, and therefore were not addressed.In accordance with PDD-63, Critical InfrastructureProtection, COOP plans for systems that are critical tosupporting the nation’s infrastructure are to be in placeby May 2003.Once it was established that the DRC design wouldfollow the COOP standards, the System DevelopmentLife Cycle (SDLC) was examined to reduce the overallcontingency planning costs, to enhance contingencycapabilities, and to reduce the impacts to systemoperations when the contingency plan is implemented.l Initiation Phase. During the initiation phase,DRC system requirements were identifiedand matched to the City wastewater SCADAoperational processes. The DRC system requiresvery high availability therefore redundant,real-time mirroring at an alternate site andContinued on page 10

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10 | Texas WET May 2009WET Tech Talk Continued from page 8fail-over capabilities were built into the systemdesign. During this phase, the new DRC systemwas also evaluated against other existing andplanned SCADA and communications systems todetermine its appropriate switch over and recoveryprocedures.• l Development/Acquisition Phase. During thedesign phase significant emphasis was given to theredundancy and robustness of the DRC systemarchitecture to optimize reliability, maintainability,and availability during the operation/maintenancephase. By incorporating those factors into theearly stages of the DRC design, implementationcosts were reduced and issues relating to futureplanned system upgrades were dealt with as well.Continuous data replication and mirroring wasplanned to take place to ensure that the DRCwas ready to take over when needed. DRC datacommunication system reliability and availabilitywere one of the major concerns during thedesign phase, as the City wastewater SCADAcommunications components, services and pathshad to be carefully examined. SCADA power supplysystems (regular feed and UPS) had to be reviewedand appropriately sized for load balancing.l Implementation Phase. The City WastewaterSCADA DRC system implementation was plannedto be accomplished in two steps. The initialimplementation phase included the installation ofthe DRC with new and upgraded communicationcomponents but utilized mostly spare CitySCADA equipment currently installed at variouswastewater treatment plants. By doing so, theinitial cost of the DRC was reduced substantiallywhen the target of fully tested and operationalDRC were achieved. The second and final DRCimplementation phase included the replacement ofthe outdated wastewater SCADA system hardwareand software, and the addition of networksecurity devices and software. Test proceduresand forms were developed to ensure that the DRCcontingency plan technical features and recoveryprocedures are fully functional and respond tothe City requirements. Once the DRC system wastested and approved for operation, the developedprocedures were documented and distributed tothe dedicated DRC team.l Operation/Maintenance Phase. Duringthe operational phase, the City DRC team,administrators, and managers are required tomaintain training and awareness of the DRCplan procedures. The SCADA team exercises andperiodically tests the system to ensure that thesystem functions per the DRC procedures. It isalso the DRC team’s responsibility to update theprocedures and DRC documentation to reflectchanges based on hardware or software changesbut also on lessons learned.l Disposal Phase. As the City DRC projectwas carried out in two consecutive steps,considerations were given to the process of retiringthe currently installed computer system and theinstallation of the system replacing it.Conduct Business Impact AnalysisThe BIA objective is to verify the City wastewaterSCADA system components with the critical servicesthat they provide, and based on that information,to determine the impact and consequences of thedisruption of that system in case of a component failure.The results from the BIA analysis were then incorporatedinto the development of the COOP and the DRC designand implementation.The City SCADA system is very complex. The systemmonitors and controls a large number of wastewaterfacilities dispersed over a large geographic area, withnumerous components, interfaces, and processes. Thefirst step taken to evaluate the SCADA system was todetermine the critical functions performed by the systemand to identify the specific system resources required toperform them.The City and Engineer’s DRC team had identifiedand coordinated with the City and AT&T personnel thesystem dependency on various communications links,and external support in case of disruption Continued and the on need page 12to switch over to the DRC. This coordination suppliedthe DRC design team with the needed information tocharacterize the full range of support provided by thesystem, including security, managerial, technical, andoperational requirements.While performing the Business Impact Analysis,the DRC team followed the contingency plan policyrequiring the City wastewater SCADA system to berecovered immediately (within 15 minutes, but notmore than 8 hours in case of a major catastrophe). Bydocumenting and reviewing the recovery strategies, theDRC design team could make well informed, tailoreddecisions regarding contingency resource allocations andexpenditures, saving time, effort, and costs. Based on theBIA, it was defined that:l The DRC system is to have all the functionalityof the existing SCADA system, excluding thebackup redundancy, and to have at the minimum,necessary hardware, software and communicationequipment to access the current WWTPs and fieldsites.l The DRC system is to be designed based on thecurrent SCADA system, including the necessaryhardware, software and configuration for a fullyfunctional and operational system. To save the Citycost, it was decided that several of the currentlyinstalled but not used servers be utilized for theDRC, following a hardware upgrade. Databasetags and graphic screens were to be identical toboth sites, when new LCD wide display screens will

May 2009 Texas WET | 11be installed at the DRC to complete mirroring ofthe SCADA control system.l It is anticipated that during normal operation,database values collected by the system willbe exported to the DRC via the existing Citycommunication system, and will be stored at thelocal DRC servers as well for future use.l In the case of a SCADA system failure, the switchoverto the DRC is to be performed manually byAT&T or by the dedicated City DRC designatedand authorized personnel utilizing the suppliedNetwork Management Console / Workstationwith the appropriate software, for communicationsystem configuration, testing and switch-overcapabilities.l Per the developed BIA it was also defined that theswitchover is not to be considered “hot transfer”however AT&T is guaranteeing that such transferwill take place within 15 minutes but not morethan 1 to 8 hours in a worst case scenario.l The SCADA communication and WAN/LANhardware components were also upgraded perthe BIA, in a manner to make the communicationsystem compatible with the DRC-AT&Tcommunication system.Develop Recovery Strategy and Operation ProceduresRecovery strategies provide the required means torestore the SCADA operations quickly and effectivelyfollowing a service disruption, in the allowable outagetimes identified in the BIA. Several alternatives wereconsidered when developing the City wastewater SCADAstrategy, including cost, allowable outage time, andrequired systems’ security, but initially without theintegration with the larger, City- level contingency plans.The selected DRC strategy addressed the potentialimpacts identified in the BIA and therefore wasintegrated into the system architecture during the designand implementation phases of the system life cycle.The DRC design included a combination of methodsto provide wastewater SCADA monitoring and controlrecovery capabilities over a full spectrum of incidents.One of the major tasks was to select the offsite DRCfacility, where the following criteria were considered:l Geographic Area: Distance from the City SCADAcenter mainly trying to avoid the probability ofthe DRC site being affected by the same disaster(flood, terrorist attack, long term power orcommunication outage).l Accessibility: Length of time necessary to have theDRC operating team access this facility, have thecommunications switched over to DRC, and havethe DRC facility fully operational.l Security: Security capabilities of the designatedDRC facility and employee confidentiality, whichmust meet the data’s sensitivity and securityrequirements.l Environment: Structural and environmentalconditions of the DRC facility (i.e., temperature,humidity, fire prevention, and power managementcontrols).l Cost: Design, construction, and operation andmaintenance costs to have the disaster responseand recovery services.Searching for the appropriate site to support the DRCsystem operations as defined in the plan and followingthe BIA, several site types were studied during the DRCdesign:l Cold Sites typically consist of a facility withadequate space and infrastructure (electricpower, telecommunications connections, andenvironmental controls) to support the SCADAsystem. The space may have raised floors and otherattributes suited for computer operations. This sitedoes not contain SCADA equipment and usuallydoes not contain office automation equipment,such as telephones, facsimile machines, or copiers.Should the cold site alternative be selected, the Cityhas to provide and install the necessary SCADAequipment and telecommunications capabilities.l Warm Sites are partially equipped office spacesthat contain some or all of the system hardware,software, telecommunications, and power sources.The warm site is maintained in an operationalstatus ready to receive the relocated SCADA DRCTexas Ad:Layout 1 12/9/08 1:37 PM Page 1Continued on page 12

12 | Texas WET May 2009WET Tech Talk Continued from page 11system. The site may need to be prepared beforereceiving the system and recovery personnel. Inmany cases, a warm site may serve as a normaloperational facility for another system or function,and in the event of contingency plan activation,the normal activities are displaced temporarily toaccommodate the disrupted system.l Hot Sites are office spaces appropriately sized tosupport the SCADA DRC system requirements andconfigured with the necessary system hardware,supporting infrastructure, and support personnel.Hot sites are typically staffed 24 hours a day, 7days a week. Hot site personnel begin to preparefor the system switchover as soon as they arenotified that the contingency plan has beenactivated.l Mobile Sites are self-contained, transportableshells custom-fitted with specifictelecommunications and SCADA equipmentnecessary to meet the DRC system requirements.Usually the time required to configure themobile site can be extensive, and without priorcoordination, the time to deliver the mobile sitemay exceed the DRC system’s allowable outagetime.l Mirrored Sites are fully redundant facilitieswith full, real-time information mirroring.Mirrored sites are identical to the primary sitein all technical respects. These sites provide thehighest degree of availability because the data isprocessed and stored at the primary and alternatesite simultaneously. These sites typically aredesigned, built, operated, and maintained by theorganization.In analyzing the above options, it became obviousthat the mirrored site was the most expensive choice, butensured a virtual 100 percent availability. Cold sites werethe least expensive to maintain; however, they requiresubstantial time to transport and install the necessaryDRC equipment. Partially equipped sites, such as warmsites, fall in the middle of the spectrum. In many cases,mobile sites may be delivered to the desired locationwithin 24 hours. However, the time necessary forinstallation can increase this response time.The City DRC team selection was for the fixed-sitelocation, taking into consideration that it is operationalwith City employees 24/7 and the time to transport thededicated DRC personnel there is minimal. In addition,the selected fixed site is located in a geographic area thatis unlikely to be negatively affected by the same disasterevent (e.g., weather-related impacts or power gridfailure) as the SCADA center. As sites were evaluated, theCity and the Engineer team reviewed that the system’ssecurity, management, operational, and technicalcontrols were compatible with the required plan andresponded to the BIA.However following the devastating Atlantic stormsKatrina and Rita, it became obvious that only one DRCsite might not respond to the City wastewater SCADAemergency plan policy as traffic became a significantgridlock with many people trying to evacuate, and theDRC managers and operators simply could not commuteto the dedicated DRC site and operate the system.It then became clear that to effectively operate thewastewater SCADA system more sites would be needed.The Business Impact Analysis was reviewed andrevised to include additional EOC sites geographicallydispersed in various areas, accessible to the DRC team.To keep the cost low for those EOC sites, it was decidedto have several City services commonly share the DRCequipment and operations.DRC Testing, Personnel Training and Plan ExerciseThe DRC intensive testing plan, which was a criticalelement to ensure that the system is ready to operateper the design and the policy set forth by the City, wascarried out initially by the contractor installing the DRCsystem and periodically by the DRC team. The thoroughtesting enabled the DRC technical and operationaldeficiencies to be identified, addressed and corrected.The performed tests also assisted in evaluating the abilityof the recovery staff to implement the plan quickly andeffectively. The following areas were addressed during thetests:l System switchover to the DRC with alternatemethods (by the DRC team and AT&T)l Coordination among DRC team membersl SCADA system performance following the DRCswitchoverl Notification proceduresl Restoration of normal operations after testingPrior to DRC system delivery to the City, the contractorwas required to perform the following tests:l Failure mode and backup procedures includingpower failure, AUTO restart, and disk backup andreload.l Dual Computer Operation: Processor transfermodes, peripheral switching, and communicationsswitching.l Message logging and alarm handling.l Communication with field interface units.l Data acquisition.l Human-Machine Interface: Database and displayconfiguration and use of all types of displays.l Data collection and data retrieval.l Report Generation: Creation of a typical reportand production of specified reports.l Operational Readiness Test.l Performance Acceptance Test.l Reliability Acceptance Test.Training for the City DRC team with the contingencyplan responsibilities came to complement testing.Training took place during system construction and is

May 2009 Texas WET | 13planned to be provided at least annually to ensure thatthe DRC operations are able to execute their respectiveDRC procedures without the aid of actual documentsor the assistance of the DRC management team. This isan important goal to achieve to ensure that the team isready to operate the DRC even if documentation is notavailable due to the extent of the disaster. DRC personnelare to be trained as follows:l Classroom Exercises. Walk through the procedureswithout actual DRC switch over and operationsoccurring. Classroom exercises are the most basicand least costly of the two types of exercisesand should be conducted before performing thefunctional exercises.l Functional Exercises. Functional exercises requirethe event to be simulated and the DRC switchoverand operation to take place. The functionalexercise is to be coordinated with the City EOCmanagement, with the AT&T team and thewastewater SCADA operations. This exerciseincludes the actual switchover to the DRC site,thorough communication testing and SCADAsystem recovery following the successful testing.DRC Plan MaintenanceTo keep the DRC fully functional and to maintain itsreadiness, the plan procedures and policies must be kept.However, as the City SCADA systems undergo frequentchanges because of technology upgrades, or new internalor external policies, the DRC operational plan is beingreviewed and updated periodically as part of the Citychange management process. Certain elements arerequired to be taken into consideration:l Operational requirementsl Security requirementsl Technical proceduresl Hardware, software, and other equipment (types,specifications, and amount)l Names and contact information of DRC teammembersl Names and contact information of AT&Tl Vital records (electronic and hardcopy)A copy of the DRC procedures is kept on locationhowever additional copies are stored at the DRC teamsites and with the backup media. Storing a copy of theplan at the alternate site ensures its availability andgood condition in the event local plan copies cannot beaccessed because of the disaster.Changes made to the DRC plan, strategies, andpolicies are coordinated through the City DRC planningcoordinator, who then communicates the changes to theDRC team members as necessary.The DRC coordinator also evaluates the supportinginformation to ensure that the information is current andcontinues to meet system requirements adequately. Thisinformation includes the following:l DRC team contactsl Hardware and software requirements and licensesl System network communicationsl Security requirementsl Recovery strategyl Contingency policiesl Training and awareness materialsl Testing scope, and required testing scheduleConclusionIn this age of highly computerized control andmonitoring systems, much of the information received isavailable only via computer and digital network systems.Regularly backing up the information stored on theSCADA system computers is a very important step thatmight protect the loss of information due to computerfailure. However the SCADA system itself could bedestroyed or damaged due to flood, earthquake, terrorattack, or other natural disaster or man-made problem.Furthermore those actions might prevent access to theSCADA monitoring and control center and will preventthem from supplying the required wastewater services toCity residents.The City wastewater SCADA DRC systemimplementation project, which added a fully functionalbackup system to the wastewater SCADA monitoringand control system have supplied the city with theContinued on page 21

14 | Texas WET May 2009WEAT Welcomes New Members for March and April 2009James AinsworthA&S EngineeringHouston, TXJason FulcoCity of The ColonyThe Colony, TXEdward MurphyMbroh Engineering, Inc. (MEI)Dallas, TXDanny ReibleUniversity of TexasAustin, TXDavid AlvisoCity of PleasantonPleasanton, TXPete AnayaCity of Corpus ChristiWastewaterCorpus Christi, TXRobert AshcraftCity of GarlandGarland, TXJohn BakerCity of GarlandRockwall, TXMichael BarfieldWichita Falls, TXJoshua BerryhillAlan Plummer Associates Inc.Fort Worth, TXRichard BostonCity of RichardsonRichardson, TXRandy W. BoydCity of HendersonHenderson, TXMichael BrownCity of LongviewLongview, TXKaren Stafford-BrownTrinity River AuthorityArlington, TXKevin CaslerCasler Remediation Group -CRG Texas, LLCRichmond, TXMichael ClarkeCDM ConstructorsHouston, TXHeather CookeAustin Water UtilityAustin, TXAdam N. FargusonCity of JustinJustin, TXThomas FosterSouthside WastewaterTreatment PlantDallas, TXMichelle GlavanHouston, TXRichard GrayumHuitt-ZollarsAustin, TXCynthia GreenAustin, TXCarlton HoeflingGBRAVictoria, TXRichard HuntonThe Hunton GroupHouston, TXNooreen JilaniCity of HoustonHouston, TXMetting JohnCity of PleasantonPleasanton, TXMartin JordanSchertz, TXDavid KurtzPure TechnologiesDallas, TXSarah LacourHDR EngineeringDallas, TXJoe Leal, Jr.Guadalupe BlancoRiver AuthorityLockhart, TXKimberly MathisEnviroquip, Inc.Austin, TXJay MiddletonBrazos River AuthorityMarble Falls, TXBethany MillerJones and Carter Inc.Houston, TXSharon MillerHDR EngineeringDallas, TXAnthony MbrohMbroh Engineering, Inc. (MEI)Dallas, TXJack MurphyCity of League CityLeague City, TXEbrahim NassiriCity of Houston-PublicWorks & EngineeringHouston, TXCarl R. NaumannCity of JustinJustin, TXRussell NealSan Antonio River AuthorityConverse, TXJulio R. OviedoCity of McAllenMcAllen, TXLaverne PedersenGulf Coast Waste DisposalAuthorityOdessa, TXTina PetersenCDMHouston, TXMarvin PetselPetsel & AssociatiesPlano, TXRichard PostmaTrinity River AuthorityArlington, TXJerry PressleyCity of Fort Worth Water Dept.Fort Worth, TXKen Rainwater, Ph.D.Texas Tech UniversityLubbock, TXWastewaterWaterInfrastructureBusiness ConsultingTEXAS OFFICES:Austin: 512.328.8975 • Dallas: 972.393.3100 • El Paso: 915.545.4400Houston: 713.759.0999 • San Antonio: 210.824.894945 Offices Nationwide • BrownandCaldwell.comMistie SaulBrazos River AuthorityRound Rock, TXTom ScarboroughReef Industries Inc.Houston, TXDaniel Salkeld SmithCity of Austin - Austin WaterUtilityAustin, TexasCraig StowellBrown & Gay Engineers, Inc.Austin, TXJustin WareCH2M HILLAustin, TXBobby WilliamsPolk County Fresh Water SupplyDistrict No. 2Onalaska, TXPerry WilliamsCity of Fort Worth Water Dept.Fort Worth, TXMike WilsonCity of PlanoPlano, TXRick WorthingtonPolk County Fresh Water SupplyDistrict No. 2Onalaska, TXJoe WrightARCADISAtlanta, GA

March 2009 Texas WET | 15Student and Young Professional Activities at Texas WaterThank you all for supporting the Young Professional initiativesat the Texas Water Conference in Galveston! Wehad a great YP Technical Session with a very diverse audienceattending the personal development presentations.For the career fair, we had a great turnout of studentslooking for internships and also full time positions in ourwater industry.For the WEAT Student Design and UniversityForum Competitions, congratulationsto all teams and individual presenters!These students dedicated significanttime in addition to their normal activitiesin order to prepare papers, presentations,engineering calculations and more.For the WEAT Student Design Competition,four (4) university teams prepared1st Place Winnersdesign alternatives for Nutrient Removalat the Trinity River Authority (TRA) CentralRegional Wastewater System (CRWS)Treatment Plant. Student Teams assumedthat TRA currently has the systemimprovements to handle existing permitrequirements for CBOD/TSS/NH3/DOof 7/15/(2/4)/6. Additionally, Student2nd Place WinnersTeams assumed that the permitted capacitywill remain 162 MGD. The NutrientRemoval solution developed by theStudent Teams was capable of handlingthe addition of nitrogen and phosphoruslimits to the projected 2015 permitrequirements of 5/5/0.5/10/1/6 CBOD/TSS/TP/TN/NH3/DO. The teams’ TexasWater presentations and technical notebookswere impressive! The following3rd Place Winnerslist details the placement for the WEATStudent Design Competition:l 1st Place - Southern MethodistUniversity Team (Angellia Chandler,Drew Aleto) Total prize = $4,300which includes a travel allowance forthe team to compete at the WEFTECStudent Design Competition inOrlando, Florida.l 2nd Place – Lamar University (QianzhenXie, Sehul Patel, Roulin Zhang)Total prize = $650l 3rd Place – Texas Tech University(Kristin Peterson, Nubia Estrada,Felipe Estrada, Glenda Smith, KristenFaith, Steven Broadaway)Total prize = $4004th Place WinnersUniversity Forum WinnersBy Trooper Smith and Alissa Lockett, YP Co-chairsl 4th Place – Texas A&M University (Adam Slusser, PaulWitkowski, Taylor Morrison, Chris Haeckler)Total prize = $250For the University Forum, several students prepared presentationsabout their research work at their local universities.Guided by the leadership of Dr. BillRixey, the University Forum program atTexas Water was narrowed down to theTop 6 abstract submittals. The individualpresentations were magnificent! The followinglist details the placement for theUniversity Forum Competition:l 1st Place – Leon Downing / RobertNerenberg (University of Notre Dame)– Membrane Aerated Biofilms: Whois There, What are They Doing, andWhy are They Beneficial– Total prize = $1,000 and a trip toAWWA ACEl 2nd Place – Scott Hekman / DesmondLawler (University of Texas at Austin)– Improved Concentrate Recoveryfor Reverse Osmosis Treatment ofBrackish Groundwater– Total prize = $600l 3rd Place – Sunghyuk Park / BillBatchelor (Texas A&M University)– Perchlorate Reduction Using a TitaniumMembrane Hybrid System– Total prize = $400For the finale, the Young ProfessionalReception was a hit!! Total attendancewas over 250 Young and Older Professionals.With the appetizers, beer andhumor from Raj Bhattarai, everythingwas perfect.Again, thank you to all sponsors, volunteersand attendees for your supportof the Young Professional initiatives atthe Texas Water Conference! Keep themomentum, be a mentor, be a leader andencourage new YPs to get involved.If you have any questions about theYoung Professional Committee, ourinitiatives and goals, or if you want to bemore involved, please contact us: TrooperSmith (tws@freese.com) or Alissa Lockett(LockettAR@CDM.com), WEAT YoungProfessional Co-chairs.

16 | Texas WET May 2009A Message from the Executive DirectorBy Carol Batterton, Executive DirectorLegislative UpdateAs a result of Hurricane Ike, there have been five billsfiled in the Texas Legislature dealing with auxiliary powerrequirements for water and wastewater treatment plants.As filed, three of these bills would have required all waterand wastewater utilities to maintain full standby powerto fully operate the plant in the event of a power failure.WEAT, along with other water organizations andutilities, testified at the hearings for two of these bills,HB 632 and SB 361, and questioned the need for thisrequirement state-wide. As a result, Senator Patrick hasproposed a committee substitute for SB 361 which nowonly applies to water plants in Harris County. As of thiswriting, Sen. Patrick’s bill has passed the Senate and hasbeen sent to the House.Rep. Turner has also filed a committee substitute forHB 632 which has been voted out of committee and hasgone to the full House for consideration. The committeesubstitute applies to water and wastewater utilitieswithin 100 miles of the Gulf of Mexico.Rep. Corte has filed HB 1831 which is directed atensuring that water and wastewater utilities’ power needsare recognized during emergencies. The bill calls foran “annex” to the State Emergency Management Planwhich includes provisions for restoring power to criticalwater and wastewater infrastructure. Critical wastewaterinfrastructure is defined as “wastewater collection ortreatment equipment that is essential to prevent thedischarge of untreated wastewater to water in the state”.Additional bills that WEAT is following closelyinclude HB 1433 by Lucio and SB 2316 by Averitt.These companion bills as filed call for an increase in thecap of the consolidated water quality (CWQ) fee from$75,000 to $200,000. The bill sponsors have indicatedthat these increases are needed to provide additionalfunding to TCEQ to replace General Revenue that haspreviously been available to fund the agency’s waterquality programs. TCEQ is concurrently proposing newrules to amend the formula for calculating the CWQ fee.Raising the cap on the CWQ fee would enable TCEQ todistribute the fee increase equitably among all fee payers.HB 1433 has passed the House with a cap of $150,000.Sen. Watson and Rep. Howard have filed companionbills relating to the disposal of medical waste, specificallypharmaceuticals. The bills call for TCEQ to study currentmethods of disposal of pharmaceuticals. TCEQ isrequired to solicit input from a number of stakeholders.The bill as filed does not require TCEQ to solicit inputfrom wastewater utilities, and WEAT has requestedthat the authors add wastewater utilities to the list ofstakeholders.Regulatory UpdateTCEQ has announced the implementation ofcomputer based testing (CBT) for its occupationallicensing programs. TCEQ is entering into contractswith a number of testing facilities across the state andwill soon begin phasing in the computer based examsfor water and wastewater. TCEQ expects to have over50 exam sites across the state by the end of 2009.Applicants must pre-qualify for CBT and receive anapproval letter prior to going to a CBT site. A smalladditional fee will be charged for the CBT. TCEQ has noplans to discontinue written exams at the present time.TCEQ has also issued notice of a proposedunderground injection control general permit authorizingthe use of a Class I injection well to inject non-hazardousbrine from a desalination operation or non-hazardousdrinking water residuals. A public meeting on thisproposed general permit will be held on June 2, 2009,at the TCEQ offices. Additional information is availablefrom TCEQ’s website: http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/permitting/waste_permits/advgroups/uic_gp.htmlOn May 20, 2009, TCEQ will propose rules toinclude bacterial limits in permits. The comment periodis expected to be from June 5-July 5, with adoptionestimated for October 28, 2009.2009June 10July 16July 19August 3-6August 6&7August 24&25August 27&28October 10-14November 5&6December 2CALENDAR OF EVENTSWEAT Webinar – Bacteria RulemakingNorth Texas Section Meeting, Euless, TXWEAT & TAWWA Summer Social,Dell Diamond, Round Rock, TXRegion 6 Pretreatment Assn. Workshop,Dallas, TXTexas Environmental Superconference,Austin, TXCMOM Workshop, Austin, TXOdor and Corrosion and BiosolidsConference, San Marcos, TXWEFMAX.09, Orlando, FLFROG Workshop, Houston, TXSan Antonio Section End of the YearMeeting, San Antonio, TX

18 | Texas WET March 2009Highlights from the Association Office13th Annual Joint Texas Water ConferenceThis year’s Texas Water was held on April 14-17, 2009in Galveston at the Moody Gardens Hotel. Spearheadingthe conference were co-chairs Kim Chanslor (WEAT cochair)and Dave Scholler (TAWWA co-chair) and over100 volunteers. We had 350 exhibit booths with over1,200 exhibitors registered and over 2,000 attendees.Special thanks go to Rhonda Harris, Texas Waterexhibits chair and her committee along with all thecommittee chairs for Texas Water. For the second time,exhibitors could register for exhibit space for Texas Water2010 at Corpus Christi. As of this writing, 90% of thebooths have been sold for Texas Water 2010. Go to theTexas Water website at www.texas-water.org for moreinformation.There were 26 sessions with 155 total presentations.Again, the Students and Young Professionals helda Career Fair, technical sessions, university forum,Student Design Competition and reception at TexasWater (see article in this issue). The Texas Women ofWater luncheon had Dallas Water Utilities Director JodyPuckett, P.E. as the speaker with 100 women and men inattendance. The Gloyna Breakfast had 30 in attendanceto hear Dr. Qilin Li, Assistant Professor of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering at Rice University. Water forPeople silent auction hit another record this year of over$16,000 in donations (see article in this issue). Therewas so much to see and do at Texas Water this year andif you missed it, you missed a great conference. Do planto attend Texas Water 2010 happening April 13-16,2010 in Corpus Christi, TX.WEAT held their election of officers at Texas Water2009. Congratulations to all the new officers. The new2009-2010 slate of officers are:l President, Betty Jordanl President-Elect, Jody Zaboliol Vice-President, David Briggsl Treasurer, Heather Harrisl Secretary, Jennifer CovingtonBy Cheryl Smith, Association ManagerTexas Water 2009 Co-Chairs, Kim Chanslor (WEAT) and DaveScholler (TAWWA) with Brad Castleberry.What’s Happening6th Annual EPA Region 6 CMOM Workshop will beheld at the Austin Convention Center on August 24-25,2009. On-line registration will be available on the WEATwebsite. This workshop is held in collaboration withTCEQ, WEAT and City of Austin. Visit the WEAT websitefor more information.Call Raj Bhattarai at 512-972-0075, if you have anyquestions about the workshop.The WEAT Biosolids and Odor and CorrosionConference will be held at the new Embassy Suites in SanMarcos on August 27-28, 2009. On-line registration,attendance and exhibit information can be found at theWEAT website (www.weat.org).WEFTEC.09 will be held October 10-14 in Orlando,Florida. WEAT will be sending three or four teams tocompete in Operations Challenge at WEFTEC. Wewill also hold our Texas Reception on Monday night,October 12th.The FROG (Fats, Roots, Oil and Grease) Workshopis scheduled for November 5&6, 2009 at the HoustonHobby Airport Marriott Hotel in Houston, TX. Check theWEAT website for more details in the near future.Lastly, I wish to give my special thanks to BradCastleberry for being such a great President for WEATand pushing the staff to make things happen. A lot wasaccomplished during his presidency and a lot moreis in store. Let’s continue to make WEAT the strongassociation it is today.(L-R) Jody Zabolio, David Briggs, Jennifer Covington, Betty Jordan,Heather Harris amd Brad Castleberry.

TEXAS WATER 2009SPONSORSANNUAL DINNERMay 2009 Texas WET | 19DIAMONDPLATINUMGOLDCarollo Engineers, P.C.CDMKlotz AssociatesPateEngineersRJN GroupR.W. Beck, Inc.Treatment Equipment CompanySILVERAce Pipe CleaningAqua Water Supply CorporationEndress + HauserHartwell Environmental CorporationMaster Meter, Inc.Magna FlowPacheco Koch Consulting EngineersPreload Inc.R.E. Merrill and Associates, Inc.WL Plastics

2 0 | Texas WET May 2009Utility ManagementCommittee ReportBy Yehuda Morag, ChairThe Utility Management knowledge committeemembers are:l Yehuda Morag (Chair), CH2M HILLl Jane Burazer (Co-Chair), City of Austinl Joey Gerner, Lower Colorado River Authorityl Robert Johnson, City of Dallasl Matt Irvin, City of Odessal Steve Clouse, San Antonio Water Systeml Charles Schoening, Malcolm Pirniel Paul Roach, CP&YWe work with the Water Environment Associationof Texas (WEAT) officers and members to identifyand address the most pressing business challenges inManagement Consulting, Financial Services, KnowledgeManagement, Facility Automation, Program Controlsand O&M Optimization. We search for processes andtools assisting utilities to get the most out of theirsystems, and wisely utilize the resources entrusted tothem.The committee team also assisted WEAT membersthroughout the year, responding to numerous UtilityManagement questions and provided recommendationsor directions in various cases.If you need additional information, or have anyquestions please contact: Yehuda Morag, CH2M HILL12301 Research Blvd., Bldg. 4, Suite 250, Austin TX,78759, Tel 512-453-1980, Email yehuda.morag@ch2m.comSAVE THEDATE!ODOR AND BIOSOLIDS MANAGEMENT:Bridging to the FutureA Specialty Conference Sponsored by theWater Environment Association of TexasAUGUST 27 & 28, 2009 – SAN MARCOS, TEXASNEW San Marcos Convention CenterWith changing regulations and ever increasing economic pressures, managing successfulodor and biosolids programs is more challenging than ever. Join your peers for insights intotools to develop sustainable programs that will meet your odor and biosolids managementneeds today and into the future.LOOK FOR MAILOUT REGISTER ON LINE SOON AT www.weat.orgThe Committee has developed a “WEAT UtilityManagement Questionnaire” targeting WEAT First-linemanagers, Mid management, Senior management,Municipalities, River authorities and Consultantsdepicting training needs for current Water andWastewater Utility managers and staff. The Committee islooking to share the outcome of this questionnaire in thenext quarter.

May 2009 Texas WET | 21WET Tech Talk Continued from page 13required tool to be prepared for contingencies anddisasters.The DRC project team discussed the strategies toprovide continuous operation for the City wastewaterSCADA operations, and identified the best means forrecovering with minimum or no delay. As cost of the DRCsystem vary and is greatly dependent upon the systemsand sites selected, the team performed a thoroughBusiness Impact Analysis (BIA). Recovery strategieswere developed and implemented to make sure that theresponse to the disaster would be quick and effective.The implemented plan was tested time and again toassure that procedures were in place and that the DRCpersonnel were well trained and the systems exercised. Adisaster recovery maintenance plan was put into placewith the policy to update it regularly and to remaincurrent with systems enhancements and modifications.The continuous and thorough project review process,followed by the implementation and testing of theSCADA systems, and the fact that the DRC contingencyplan is kept as a ‘live document’ incorporating everynecessary update, along with the team effort thatincluded City PW&E, together with the consultingengineering firms made this DRC project successful andvaluable for the years to come.WEAT SCHOLARSHIP FUNDWEAT currently has two endowmentswithin the V.M. Ehlers Foundation, theBob Derrington and Ronald SiegerScholarship. If you have a son ordaughter who is attending college andpursuing a course of study which isrelated to the water utilities industry,they can submit an application for ascholarship.Application and more information canbe found on the WEAT website atwww.weat.org.Deadline to submit applications forScholarship is JULY 15 th . The applicationmust be post marked by that date.The Texas Water Golf tournament fundsthe scholarships. You can also givedirectly to the fund which is taxdeductible. Information on thewebsite.Retrofit Traveling Bridge Sand Filters with AquaDiamond ® Cloth Media Filtersfor 2-3 times the flow capacity with an equivalent footprint.AquaDiamond ® Cloth Media Filters have much to offer in the way of design andperformance compared to sand media filters.• Utilize OptiFiber ® pile cloth filtrationmedia instead of sand media.• Lower operation andmaintenance costs.• Higher solids loading per squarefoot of media.• Reduced backwash water volume.• Reuse quality effluent.Call 800.940.5008 for a quote, or visitwww.aqua-aerobic.com/aquaDiamond.aspto submit a FREE online DesignRequest Form.• Retrofit into existing concrete traveling bridge filters withminimum civil work, or install in new plants.Visit www.aqua-aerobic.com/library-filtration.asp to view additional photos and to readAquaDiamond ® Cloth Media Filter Success Stories.6306 N. Alpine Road • Rockford, IL 61111 • PH 815.654.2501 • FX 815.654.2508 • www.aqua-aerobic.com • solutions@aqua-aerobic.com

22 | Texas WET May 20092009 Operations Challenge Makes a Splash in GalvestonWith three of the four teams competing in the 2009WEAT Operations Challenge State Competition beingfrom Division I, there was little doubt that this year’s statecompetition was going to be a close one. Little did anyoneknow how close of a competition it would be! Every teamdid their part. It was obvious that all of the competitorshad worked hard and prepared and it showed duringthe awards ceremony. Every team was recognized atsome level (see score sheet) with the final outcome beingextremely close. In the end the TRA CReWSers narrowlybeat out the Dallas Aqua Techs in points. It should benoted that the Aqua Techsmanaged to win three of the fiveevents and even won the covetedProcess Control event for thefirst time in their team’s history.But proving that consistencyTeam #1MAis the key, the TRA CReWSersTRA1TRAmanaged to beat them out onCReWSersetotal points. The Power SAWS,2 Aqua Techs DALanother Division I team, came3 Dillo Xxpress AUSin third overall, with the DilloXxpress from Austin finishing up 4 Power SAWS SAWSin fourth with a very respectfulMaintenanceshowing.I do not think that most people understand Best Timethe 257.50level sof competition that is present in our State. To try andSlowest Time 381.40put things into perspective, three of our Texas teamsare ranked in the Top 10 in the Nation. Time To Points earn a Ranking spot Timein Division I’s Top 10, a team must 257.50 have placed 100.00 first 1 or 111.16second at the national level in Division 381.4II 0 in 25.00 order to 4 move 78.06up to Division I and they must place in the top 10 at the334.7253.26 3 111.88Division I level every year in order to stay there. Many260.60 98.12 2 104.57times the difference between 1st and 2nd in an event isseparated by hundreds of a second, and often times thefastest team does not win the event but rather the teamthat demonstrates their ability to minimize their mistakesthrough the entire competition. The only Division II teamthat we have competing at our state competition wouldhave finished in the top second or third at the Nationallevel in two of the events based on last year’s Nationalscores, this being indicative of how strong our teams havebecome. Would you be happy if your sports team finishedranked in the Nation’s Top 10 every year? I mean comeon, not everyone can be LSU!The level of professionalism demonstrated by all of ourTexas teams is noteworthy; win or lose these competitorsappreciate the opportunity to compete and enjoy thefriendship developed because of the competition. Theyare all assets to their employers and I hope that eachof you appreciate them for the efforts they put forth.In the end, the goal of this program has always been topromote professionalism and education. There is not anindividual on one of these teams who has not advancedtheir knowledge of our industry and in turn benefited theirBy John Bennett, PWO Representativeemployer for their advanced knowledge. Once again we(Texas WEAT) have the opportunity to send four teamsto the National Competition in Orlando, Florida. We allknow and feel the economic impact of our times. Theseguys are all dedicated to their craft and will work hardto be a positive representation of WEAT at the nationalcompetition, but we cannot do it by ourselves. We needyour support, assistance with training, and financialassistance to send all of these teams. Please contact JohnBennett, Orren West or Jeff Sober if you would like toassist.Laboratory SafetyLaboratoryProcessSafetyBest Time 522.13 Best Time Best Time 204.00 522.13 Most PointsBest Time 2174.00204.00Slowest Time 998.02 98.0Slowest TimeSlowest Time401.00 998.02 98.0Least PointsSlowest Time755.00401.00Team #1 MA Team Time#1PointsRankingMATimeTimePointsPointsRankingRankingPointsTimePointsPointsRankingRankingPoTRATRA 581.04 190.72CReWSers2TRA204.00581.04 100.0090.7211671.002204.0073.41100.0021167e2 Aqua Techs DAL 522.132100.00Aqua Techs1DAL365.00522.1338.71100.0032174.001365.00100.0038.71132173 Dillo Xxpress AUS 998.02 98.0325.00Dillo Xxpress4AUS401.00 998.02 98.025.0025.004988.004401.0037.3225.00349884 Power SAWS SAWS 780.88459.22Power SAWS3SAWS230.00780.88 90.10 059.222755.003230.0025.00 90.10 042755CollectionsoMaintenanceCollectionsoBest Time 257.50 Best Time Best Time 78.06257.50Final Best ResultsTime 78.06Slowest Time 381.40 Slowest TimeSlowest Time111.88 381.40 Slowest Time111.88Final ResultsTime Points Ranking Time TimePointsPointsRankingRankingPointsTimeRankingPointsRankingPointsRanking257.50 100.00 1 111.16 257.5026.60100.0031390.73111.1626.6013390.731381.40 25.00 4 78.06 381.40 100.0025.0014363.7178.06100.0021363.712334.72 53.26 3 111.88 334.72 25.00 53.26 43165.57111.8825.0044165.574260.60 98.12 2 104.57 260.6041.2198.12 22313.66104.5741.21 32313.663David Barber Award WinnerRichard Hamilton, Captain of the Austin Dillo Xxpress, was chosen by thecompetitors and judges as the person who best exemplifies the spirit of competitionand professionalism that was demonstrated by David Barber, a long time operationschallenge competitor that tragically lost his life in 2007. Richard’s competitive nature,personality and intensity during the competition made him a natural for this award. Aplaque commemorating this honor was presented to him by Ms. Judy Barber and theirson Matthew Barber.

May 2009 Texas WET | 23TRA CREWsers take 1st place.Dallas Aqua Techs take 2nd place.EI2 Texas ShootoutOnce again Karl Krueger of the Power SAWS finishedfirst place in the EI2 Texas Shootout by winning first inboth the fastest Hole Saw and Fastest Saw competition.This is the second year that Karl has won both events.This year he narrowly beat out James Ray of the DallasAqua Tech’s on the fastest saw event and RaudellJuarez of the TRA CReWSers for the fastest hole sawevent. This competition is open to all members of theoperations challenge teams and spectators alike. It is theopportunity to seehow fast a personcan perform onesmall aspect of thecollections eventand has continuedto grow annually.Each competitormust donate $5 toenter and can enteras many times asthey like. All of theproceeds go to theWater for PeopleCharity; this yearwe raised a record$180 dollars. A bigthanks to all thatparticipated.WEAT Webinars Are Here!Power SAWS take 3rd place.Austin Dillo Xxpress takes 4th place.With everyone’s busy schedule and withrestricted travel budgets, WEAT has decided tolaunch its first Webinar. The Webinar topic willbe on “Bacteria Rulemaking” that will take placeon Wednesday, June 10, 2009 from 12 Noonto 1 p.m. CST. The speakers are: Sherry Smith(Texas Commission on Environmental Quality),Rex Hunt (Alan Plummer Associates, Inc.) andCurtis Smalley (Brazos River Authority). Thecost is $20.00 per person and $50 for threeor more registrants. Webinars are web-basedseminars that are transmitted over the web withinteractive elements – the ability to give, receiveand discuss information. Registration for thisWebinar is only online at www.weat.org. Don’twait, sign up today.Photos courtesy of John Jodrosich

24 | Texas WET May 2009WEF and WEAT 2009 Award RecipientsWEF Arthur Sidney Bedell AwardCarol BattertonWEF Outstanding Service AwardBrad CastleberryWEF Arthur Sidney BedellAwardCarol Batterton (WEATExecutive Director) is therecipient of the WEF BedellAward. The award wasestablished to acknowledgeextraordinary personal serviceto a Member Association.WEF Outstanding ServiceAwardBrad Castleberry (LloydGosselink Rochelle andTownsend, P.C.) is the recipientof the WEF OutstandingService Award that recognizesindividuals who have madeoutstanding contributionsto the water environmentprofession and to theFederation and its MemberAssociation.WEF Outgoing WEF Director Service Award 2005-2008Foster D. Crowell (Cityof Corpus Christi) is therecipient of the WEFOutgoing WEF DirectorService Award 2005-2008 to honor thededication, outstandingservice, and tirelessefforts in support of theobjectives of WEF andWEAT.WEF Outgoing Director Service AwardFoster D. CrowellWEAT Lifetime AchievementAwardAlan H. Plummer, Jr. (AlanPlummer Associates, Inc.) isthe recipient of the WEATLifetime Achievement Awardhonoring an individual who hasdemonstrated continual andtireless contributions towardthe improvement of the waterenvironment throughout a longand distinguished career in thewastewater treatment industryand in WEAT and WEF.WEAT Lifetime AchievementAward, Alan H. Plummer, Jr.WEF William D.Hatfield AwardGurdip S. Hyare (Cityof Houston) is therecipient of the WEFHatfield Award which ispresented to operatorsof wastewater treatmentplants for outstandingperformance andprofessionalism.WEF William D. Hatfield AwardGurdip S. HyareWEF George W. Burke, Jr.AwardDenton Creek RegionalWastewater System, TrinityRiver Authority is the recipientof the WEF Burke Award. Theaward acknowledges an activeand effective safety program ina wastewater facility.WEAT T. L. Satterwhite AwardDavis L. FordWEAT T.L. SatterwhiteAwardDavis L. Ford, Ph.D., P.E.,DDE (Davis L. Ford andAssociates) is the recipient ofthe WEAT T.L. SatterwhiteAward that recognizesa member of WEAT, anengineering firm, or industrialentity for the developmentof a solution to an industrialwastewater treatmentproblem.Award photos courtesyof Cliff Averyand Malcolm CowdinWEF George W. Burke, Jr. Award, Denton Creek Regional WastewaterSystem, Trinity River AuthorityContinued on page 26

26 | Texas WET May 2009Awards Continued from page 24WEAT Emerging Leader AwardTarlton “Trooper” Smith, P.E. (Freese & Nichols), is therecipient of the WEAT Emerging Leader Award. The awardhonors a young WEATmember who hasprovided outstandingservice in support ofthe Association in theform of committeeinvolvement,recruiting, volunteertime, eventWEAT Emerging Leader AwardTarlton “Trooper” Smithparticipation, andother contributions.WEAT Pillars of the Profession AwardM. Truett Garrett, Jr.WEAT Pillars of theProfession AwardM. Truett Garrett, Jr.,Sc.D., P.E. (PBS&J),is the recipient of theWEAT Pillars of theProfession Award.The award honors anindividual of provenpreeminence whohas demonstratedsubstantial contributionstowards the improvements of the water environmentvia a distinguished career in the wastewater industry.WEAT Winfield S. Mahlie AwardTheo Glanton, P.E(City of Houston) isthe recipient of theWEAT Mahlie Award.The award honors aWEAT member whohas made significantcontributions to theart and science ofwastewater treatmentand water pollutioncontrol.WEAT Winfield S. Mahlie AwardTheo GlantonWEAT Sidney L. Allison AwardLeigh A. Cerda, P.E. (GSW &Associates) is the recipientof the WEAT Allison Award.The award is presented toa person who has madesignificant contributions tothe engineering, science, and/or operation and maintenanceof wastewater collection andpumping stations.WEAT Sidney L.Allison AwardLeigh A. CerdaWEAT Ronald B. Sieger BiosolidsManagement Award, Central RegionalWastewater Systems Biosolids Program,Trinity River AuthorityWEAT Ronald B.Sieger BiosolidsManagement AwardCentral RegionalWastewater SystemsBiosolids Program,Trinity River Authorityis the recipient of theWEAT Ronald B. SiegerBiosolids ManagementAward. The award ispresented to a WEATmember, an engineering firm, a specific project, a municipality,or a specific wastewater facility that has made significantaccomplishments in the field of biosolids technology andmanagement practices within the State of Texas.WEAT Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant of the Year – Category 1(less than 1 MGD) City of Somerset Wastewater Treatment Plant, SanAntonio River AuthorityWEAT Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant of the Year – Category3 (more than 15 MGD) Keegans Bayou Wastewater Treatment Plant,City of HoustonWEAT Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant of the Year – Category 2(1-15 MGD) Lockhart Wastewater Treatment Plant No. 2, Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority

May 2009 Texas WET | 27WEAT Outstanding Municipal Operator of the YearRon Lucero (UTRWD’S Lakeview Regional Water ReclamationPlant) is the recipient of the WEAT Outstanding MunicipalOperator of the Year. This award is presented to a municipalwastewater treatmentplant operator in theState of Texas whohas demonstratedoutstandingprofessionalism athis facility and hasperformed his dutiestirelessly and withdedication to thebetterment of thewater environment.WEAT Outstanding Municpal Operatorof the Year, Ron LuceroWEAT Medal of Honor for HeroismCity of Galveston, Municipal Utilities Department is therecipient of the WEAT Medal of Honor for Heroism.WEAT Medal ofHonor for HeroismTrinity BayConservation Districtis the recipient of theWEAT Medal of Honorfor Heroism.WEAT Medal of Honor for HeroismTrinity Bay Conservation DistrictWEAT Medal ofHonor for HeroismRandy Ward,Galveston CountyM.U.D. #12, is therecipient of the WEATMedal of Honor forHeroism.WEAT Medal of Honor for HeroismGalveston M.U.D.Honor for HeroismSteve Hodges andAndrew Esquibel(Trinity RiverAuthority’s DentonCreek RegionalWastewater System)are the recipients of theWEAT Medal of Honorfor Heroism.WEAT Medal ofHonor for HeroismGalveston CountyM.U.D. is the recipientof the WEAT Medal ofHonor for Heroism.WEAT Medal ofWEAT Medal of Honor for HeroismSteve Hodges and Andrew EsquibelWEAT Medal ofHonor for HeroismThomas Barnett(Texas Commission onEnvironmental Quality)is the recipient of theWEAT Medal of Honorfor Heroism.WEAT Medal of Honor for HeroismRandy Ward, Galveston M.U.D.WEAT Laboratory Analyst Excellence AwardJosephine “Josie” C. Longoria (Guadalupe-Blanco RiverAuthority) is therecipient of the WEATLaboratory AnalystExcellence Award thatrecognizes a member ofWEAT for outstandingperformance,professionalism, andcontributions to theWEAT Laboratory Analyst ExcellenceAward, Josie Longoriawater quality analysisprofession.WEAT 2008-2009 Presidential AwardThe City of Midlandis the recipient of theWEAT 2008-2009Presidential Awardfor recognition ofoutstanding efforttowards promoting theuse of reclaimed water.WEAT 2008-2009 Presidential Award,City of MidlandWEAT Medal of Honor for HeroismThomas BarnettContinued on page 30

28 | Texas WET May 2009WEAT Section ActivitiesAbilene Representative neededAmarilloRepresentative Dr. Paul T. Baumgardner, 806-353-7798AustinRepresentative Lynne Moss, 512/346-1100, mosslh@cdm.comThe Central Texas Section of WEAT met on March 17,2009, where Ms. Carol Batterton, WEAT’s Executive Director,was our guest speaker. Ms. Batteron presented an overviewof the bills that WEAT is tracking in the Texas 81st legislativesession, including a bill requiring standby auxiliary generators atwastewater treatment plants and bills filed to increase the capon water quality fees.As WEAT’s Executive Director, Ms. Batterton coordinatesWEAT’s legislative activities, with a primary focus on promotingWEAT as a technical resource in the legislative process. Shealso coordinates WEAT’s interaction with regulatory agenciesinvolved with water issues. She received a B. S. in Biology fromBaylor University and a M. A. in Biological Sciences from theUniversity of Texas, Marine Science Institute. Prior to servingas WEAT’s Executive Director, Carol worked for the TexasCommission on Environmental Quality for 25 years.Many thanks to meeting sponsors: LNV Engineering, HDRand Environmental Improvements, Inc.The Young Professionals held a Happy Hour on Thursday,April 30th at Hula Hut.Quite a few YP’s showed up and enjoyed the nice weatherand good company. Many thanks to Diamond Fiberglass forsponsoring the event. WEAT and TAWWA have decided to haveanother happy hour in June. If you would like to be added tothe announcement list, please email Justin Ware at justin.ware@CH2M.com.In other news… The Central Texas Section scholarshipassistance program will provide a $500 award for two studentswho attend either a 4-year college or university with accrediteddegree programs (preferred) or a junior college. Preference willbe given to students who are interested in pursuing a careerrelated to water quality, who have outstanding academicrecords, and who are actively involved in extracurricularactivities. Scholarship applications are available at www.weat.org/central/index.htm.And finally, congratulations to Central Texas WEAT AwardWinners:Arthur Sidney Bedell Award - Carol BattertonOutstanding Service Award - Brad CastleberryEmerging Leader Award - Trooper SmithSidney L. Allison Award - Leigh CerdaExemplary Employer Award - City of AustinLaboratory Analyst Excellence Award - Josie C. LongoriaAdditionally, Centex WEAT members receiving PresidentialService Awards included: Bruce Wiland, Raj Bhattarai, LynneMoss, Margaret Cathey, David James, and David Briggs.Our next gathering will be a joint event with the CapitalArea Chapter of TAWWA and WEAT that will be hosting thejoint summer social event on Sunday, July 19. This year, comeout to cheer on the Round Rock Express play the OklahomaRed Hawks. The event will be held in the United Heritage Centerfacility located on the first base line at Dell Diamond. The eventwill include burger/hot dog buffet with chips, cookies, softdrinks, beer, and stadium tickets. Please stay tuned for moredetails. If you have any specific questions, please contact JoeHoepken at: joe.hoepken@ci.austin.tx.us.Beaumont/Port ArthurRepresentative Karin Warren, 409-785-3006Bryan/College Station Representative neededCorpus ChristiRepresentative Foster Crowell, 361-857-1801Dallas/Fort WorthRepresentative Becky Guthrie, 940-349-8938The North Texas Section of WEAT met on March 19,2009 at Texas Star located in Euless. The dinner meeting topic“Emerging Contaminants” was presented by Glenn Clingenpeelfrom the Trinity River Authority and Lorien Fono with CarolloEngineers. The presentation focused on emerging contaminantsand how they affect both drinking and ambient waters, theTrinity River system in terms of geography, hydrology, andrelationship between discharges and drinking water supplies,and treatment technologies and the results of the samplingfor pharmaceuticals. Meeting sponsors included: CarolloEngineers, CDM, FloTec, Halff Associates and NewmanRegency Group.Future North Texas Section WEAT Meetings: May 21, 2009at CityPlace Dallas; July 16, 2009 at TexasStar Euless.Del Rio/Uvalde Representative neededEl PasoRepresentative David Ornelas, 915-594-5730Harlingen/Brownsville Representative neededHouston/GalvestonRepresentative Jennie Almerico, P.E., 281-367-9512Our last regular meeting of the season was March19th. Mr. Charles Pennington, P.E., with the Texas Board ofProfessional Engineers was our speaker. He spoke on the topicof Ethics. We will have our annual social on May 21st at St.Arnold Brewery at 6:00 p.m.The 50th Anniversary of the Science Engineering Fair ofHouston was held this year at the George R. Brown ConventionCenter on March 12 - 14, 2009. WEAT and TAWWA judged theevent and presented awards to students.WEAT presented awards in 17 different categories at aspecial Awards Breakfast on April 16th in conjunction with theTexas Water conference. Our section did very well and won infour categories. Congratulations to all the award winners.- Dr. M. Truett Garrett (PBS&J) won the WEAT Pillars of theProfession Award.- Gurdip Hyare (City of Houston) won the WEF William D.Hatfield Award.- Theo Glanton (City of Houston) won the WEAT Winfield S.Mahlie Award.- The City of Houston won the Municipal Plant of theYear Award (> 15 MGD) for their Keegans Bayou WWTP.Congratulations to Ali Khairandish, Thomas Martinez, SidneyBomer, Das Lachhman, and the many other City of Houstonemployees that helped make this award possible.

May 2009 Texas WET | 29If you would like to receive the Houston/ Galveston Section9 e-newsletter, please email me (jalmerico@sjra.net) or contactone of our officers and ask to be added to our distribution list.As always, if you are interested in getting involved in theHouston/ Galveston Section of WEAT, please contact one of theofficers. You will find all of our officers’ contact information onour website www.weat.org/southeast.Laredo Representative neededLongview/Tyler/Texarkana/LufkinRepresentative Kathy J Bell, MS P.E., 903-647-1278LubbockRepresentative Dr. Andrew Jackson, 806-742-2801Midland/OdessaRepresentative Debbie McReynolds, 915-335-4625Port Lavaca Representative neededSan Angelo Representative neededSan AntonioRepresentative Dennis Laskowski, P.E., 210-233-3682The San Antonio Section is continuing its dedicationto it local members by organizing and planning the yearfor their benefit. So far we have had some outstandingmonthly meetings, a young professional social, science fairparticipation, and an adopt-a-river clean up get-together. Forthe coming months plans are to continue this dedication by thecontinuation of monthly meetings, an annual bowling social,young professional socials, young processional facility tour,adopt-a-river cleanup, and the annual end of the year dinner.The previous monthly meeting was on April 23rd atthe San Antonio Water System Headquarters with EdwardGelsone from Environmental Treatment Technologies, Inc. withthe topic on MBR Technologies. The next meeting will be onMay 21st with the featured speaker being Steve Raabe fromthe San Antonio River Authority with other speakers in themonths following. Aside from the monthly meetings, look forthe bowling social to take place in June, another cleanup theriver get-together in the Fall of the year, and the end of the yeardinner which will take place on Dec. 2nd at the Petroleum Club.Other activities in the works are a web site for the section and ascholarship for local students. Keep your eyes open.If anyone wants to get involved in the San Antonio Section,the section will be having officer elections for the position ofVice-President and Treasurer. To submit a nomination e-mailis preferred to Ana Julia Tijerina at aptijerina@carollo.com orDennis Laskowski at dlaskowski@saws.org prior to the Junemonthly meeting.And as always, if you are receiving the Texas WET magazineand are in the San Antonio Section area, but are not receivingthe electronic local chapter newsletter, please let me know viae-mail (dlaskowski@saws.org) or by phone (210-233-3682).This newsletter will allow you to be up-to-date with the latestinformation on your section and its events when you are addedto our distribution list.Heart of TexasRepresentative Trey Buzbee, 254-761-3168Wichita Falls Representative needed

May 2009 Texas WET | 31WET Tech Talk Continued from page 7the project design phase to conduct a physical hydraulicmodel study of the storage basin. The hydraulic studywill determine potential locations for particle depositionunder both peak wet weather and dry weather emergencyconditions considering dynamic TSS loadings over theevent and will develop the optimum hydrodynamicdesign in an effort to minimize unforeseen operationaldifficulties associated with areas of debris deposition.Physical hydraulic modeling is an effective tool foranalyzing complex flow scenarios where intermittentor unstable flow phenomena, which otherwise cannotbe solved analytically or by computer modeling, are ofinterest. The objective of physical hydraulic modelingfor the TRA CRWS storage facilities is to developan optimized basin configuration and ensure that itoperates effectively. The study will develop an accuraterepresentation of the flow patterns and settlingcharacteristics of the basin, which will help develop abasin configuration that effectively prevents debris fromaccumulating in areas that would hinder efficient basinoperation. The study will evaluate how the basin fills anddrains in addition to the particle settling characteristics.In addition, the study will determine the most effectivecleaning system for removing accumulated debris fromthe sides and bottom of the basin after draining.The scale for the physical model will be 1:12. Thisscale will allow the construction of a geometricallysimilar model that is undistorted and minimally affectedby viscous scale effects. The dimensions of basin itselfare fixed, but the type, size, and placement of flushingsystems are variable and will be tested to determine theoptimum configuration.Baseline testing of the model will be conductedto establish the baseline flow characteristics of thebasin and to identify locations of debris accumulation.The manner in which the basin fills and drains will bemonitored to identify potential problems associatedwith debris affecting the operation of the pump station.The baseline testing will be conducted using the originallayout of the basin without a flushing system. After thebaseline conditions have been established, the basinconfiguration will be modified as needed to improvedeposition characteristics. In addition, the testing willdetermine optimum flushing procedures or sequences.Inc., and CP&Y, Inc. with participation of MWB Groupon the development of the hydrographs. Additionally,the author would like to thank Dr. Dave Werth fromClemson Engineering Hydraulics, Inc.About the AuthorsDawn Anderson is a Senior Associate and ProjectManager with CP&Y, Inc. She is a graduate of TheUniversity of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor’s inCivil Engineering. Prior to joining CP&Y in 1995, sheworked for the City of Garland at the Duck Creek WaterRecycling Facility for over 7 years as a treatment plantoperator and laboratory technician. Ms. Anderson isa Registered Professional Engineer and holds a Class AWastewater Operators license in the State of Texas.Bill Tatum is Project Manager with the Trinity RiverAuthority’s Central Regional Wastewater System. Heis a 1988 graduate of North Texas State Universitywith a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science Degree inManagement. He began his career with the CentralRegional Wastewater System in 1974. Mr. Tatum holdsboth a Class A Wastewater Operators license and a ClassA Water Operators license in the State of Texas.David Jackson is a Principal and Water, Wastewater andReuse Treatment Group Manager for Freese and Nichols,Inc. Dallas and Fort Worth offices. He is a graduate ofTexas A&M University with a Bachelor’s and Master’sin Environmental Engineering and a Board CertifiedEnvironmental Engineer.Betty Jordan is a Principal and Manger of Technologyfor Alan Plummer Associates, Inc. She is a graduate ofthe University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor’s inchemistry and civil engineering and a Masters in CivilEngineering. Ms. Jordan is a Registered ProfessionalEngineer.Status of the ProjectThe on-site storage facilities for the CRWStreatment plant are currently under design. Constructionis anticipated to begin in 2010. The current totalconstruction estimate for this project is approximately$52M.AcknowledgementsThe author would like to acknowledge the TrinityRiver Authority of Texas for their assistance during allphases of this project. The project Design Team consistsof Freese and Nichols, Inc., Alan Plummer Associates,

3 2 | Texas WET May 2009Water for People Auction at TX Water a Huge Success!The joint WEAT and TAWWAWater For People Committeeheld its annual Silent Auction atTexas Water 2009 in Galvestonin April, and it was anothergreat success. Over $16,000 wasraised to help Water For Peoplefund safe drinking water andsanitation projects in developingcommunities.Thank you to all of theindividuals and organizationsthat donated an impressive lineup of auction items andraffle items, to all of the conference attendees that bidon auction items and bought raffle tickets, and to ourgenerous sponsors. Special thanks are in order for all ofthe volunteers that helped organize all of the donationsand run the auction and raffle during the conference. Inparticular, special thanks to Chris Varnon (CDM) andRichard Weatherly (Freese and Nichols) as our Auctionco-chairs, and to Betty Jordan (Alan Plummer Associates),who does such a wonderful job every year stimulatinginterest in the raffle, which this year accounted for nearlya third of the revenue of the event. We’d also like to thankour generous sponsors by name, which included HRMEnvironmental and CDM at the Country Level ($1,000+),CH2M HILL and Briones at the Community Level ($500+),Jenifer Elms, Patrice Melancon, and Marlo and MattBerg at the Project Level ($100+), and Roger Brown andSean and Becky Tenney at the Education Level (

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORYBusiness Card Ad_Template_Texas WET_Dec08-ArchitectureEngineeringPlanningjacobs.comHelping makecommunitiescleaner and saferfor more than100 years.Solutions for LifeAustin • Dallas • El Paso • Ft. WorthHouston • San AntonioOffices Nationwide • www.pirnie.comOffices NationwideDALLASMIDLAND972.437.4300 432.695.4744FORT WORTHSAN ANTONIO817.595.2199 210.651.1661• I/I Analysis• Wastewater CollectionSystem Analysis• InfrastructureRehabilitation Design• Asset Management• CMOM Compliancewww.rjn.com

34 | Texas WET May 2009Water Environment Association of Texas Mission StatementThe Water Environment Association of Texas is an open association of water environmental professionals,practitioners and operations specialists with a broad range of expertise working together to:1 Meet the needs of its members for professional growth and development;2 Educate the public on water environmental issues;3 Benefit society through protection and enhancement of the water environment.Executive CommitteePresidentBetty Jordan817-284-2724President-ElectJody Zabolio972-219-1228Vice-PresidentDavid Briggs512-346-1100SecretaryJennifer Covington972-980-2188TreasurerHeather Harris512-453-2468Member-at-largeAlberto Rodriguez210-841-2800WEF DirectorRichard Eason512-261-6222, Ext. 14WEF DirectorCurtis Smalley254-495-8482Past WEF DirectorFoster Crowell361-826-1801Executive DirectorCarol Batterton830-990-1029HistorianJoe King972-735-3000Past PresidentBrad Castleberry512-322-5800PWO RepresentativeJohn Bennett817-430-4657Knowledge Committee ChairsAir Quality and Odor ControlChris Quigley512-453-2468, Ext.225Biosolids ManagementLynne Moss512-346-1100Collection SystemsLeigh Cerda(214) 306-9266Electrical, Instrumentation &ControlsV.K. Gupta972-490-7661Environmental ManagementSystemsDavid James512-239-3184Ground WaterAndrew Chastain-Howley817-335-5408Industrial Waste & PretreatmentMartha Martin281-490-9535LaboratoryDana White512-461-4318Municipal Waste TreatmentWalter Chiang214-638-0500Operations and MaintenanceCurtis Smalley254-495-8482StormwaterHeather Harris512-453-2468Utility ManagementYehuda Morag512-453-1980Water ReuseMike Morrison512-617-3150Wastershed ManagementMichael Bloom281-493-5100Delivery Committee ChairsAwardsBob Hill281-367-3556Manufacturers & RepsKent Guilbeau512-306-0575Ops ChallengeJohn Bennett, Chair817-430-4657Orren West, Vice-Chair512-972-1957PublicationsRichard Eason512-261-6222, Ext. 14ScholarshipCathy Henderson Sieger972-262-5186Specialty ConferenceChamindra Dassanayake (CD)972-663-2153Meera Victor512-461-4318Texas Water SteeringJody Zabolio972-219-1228Texas Water ProgramJeff Caffey817-806-1700, ext.1123Texas Water ExhibitsRhonda Harris214-821-7393Texas Water PlanningRichard Eason512-261-6222Jim Taafe817-594-2277Stakeholders Committee ChairsGovernment AffairsHolly Tichenor512-652-1147Public Education (co-chairs)Karen Bick214-665-7539Cathy Henderson Sieger972-262-5186Young Professionals (co-chairs)Alissa Lockett210-826-3200Trooper Smith214-217-2219YP Texas Water University ForumBill Rixey713-743-4279YP Student SectionsJohn Marler512-912-5188Management Committee ChairsAdministrationPaul Roach214-638-0500Audit and BudgetDavid Briggs512-346-1100BylawsDavid Jackson817-735-7300Committee Leadership CouncilPaul Roach214-638-0500Management ReviewPaul Roach214-638-0500MembershipDawn Anderson214-640-1726Sharon Miller972-960-4437NominatingBrad Castleberry512-322-5800Strategic PlanningJody Zabolio972-219-1228Liaisons Committee ChairsTAWWABrad Castleberry512-322-5800InternationalJaya Zyman-Ponebshek512-419-5316Texas Water ManagementTBDWERFRichard Eason512-261-6222, Ext. 14Water For PeoplePhil Spitzer214-346-2800Texas Water ForumCarolyn Ahrens Wieland512-472-3263TWUARaymond Longoria214-217-2252TWRFRichard Eason512-261-6222, Ext. 14

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