LEARN HOW YOU CAN SERVE ON THE LABS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

LABS of CWEA is now accepting nominations for openings on the 2012/2013 Board of Directors.  Volunteers help make LABS and CWEA important contributors to the California wastewater industry, while also providing opportunities for training, networking and development.

Please feel free to contact LABS Vice-President Alec Mackie to discuss oppotunities and how to make a difference at CWEA!

This is a great chance to get involved. Last call for nominations is at the March 16th LABS meeting.

Contact: Alec Mackie
Phone: 714-428-4614
Email: alecm@jwce.com

 

By Wendy Wert, LABS President

On January 21, 2012, the Los Angeles Basin Section (LABS) of California Water Environment Association (CWEA) hosted the 2011 annual LABS awards from the Queen Elizabeth room aboard the Queen Mary.  The event was a celebration of the contributions to the field of Environmental Engineering from the Past, Present, and Future.

The celebration began with an energized 1920’s themed social gathering of CWEA leaders, members, and award winners.  LABS Outreach Coordinator Erika DeHollan provided a photo montage highlighting sponsors whose dedicated support during this economic recovery cycle has allowed LABS to provide training that enhances the education and effectiveness of California’s wastewater professionals.

In keeping with the historical theme, CWEA LABS Directors Basil Hewitt and Wendy Wert welcomed attendees with an interactive narrative on historical contributions from the era before sanitation through the 1920’s.  Not only water professionals believe the advent of basic wastewater collection and treatment in the twentieth century resulted in direct benefits to public health in the United States and other developed countries.  For example, in 2007, thousands of readers of the prestigious British Medical Journal picked sanitation as “the most important medical advance since 1840.”  A reoccurring theme was that the most significant advances are always the result of collaborations involving engineers from multiple disciplines, scientists from multiple fields, academics from multiple global regions, and practitioners from multiple areas of expertise.

[Read more]

The PDF files are here:

www.labsofcwea.com/databases/presentations/?category=25

 

Caltch Professor Michael Hoffmann will discuss his team’s cutting-edge, solar powered processing system designed to bring toilets and sanitation to the 2.6 billion people who need it.

In 2011 the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Dr Hoffman $400,000 to design and build a prototype. The system cleans wastewater and turns residuals into reusable energy. The design also needs to be easy and affordable to install and maintain.

$35 members, $40 non-members, $20 students

When:
Thursday, April 26, 2012
6PM Mixer | 7PM Dinner

Where:
El Portal, Pasadena
695 East Green Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 795-8553

RSVP by 4/20:
https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07e5ie00hw95698b79&oseq=
alecm@jwce.com
Or call 714-428-4614

See flyer for more information

The presentation by David Haug, LACSD Senior Engineer, will provide an overview on the progression of the Districts’ Clearwater Program and focus on the technical aspects of the four tunnel alternatives being evaluated in the EIR/EIS.
$40 members, $45 non-members, $20 students

When:
Thursday, February 23, 2012
6PM Mixer | 7PM Dinner
Where:
Proud Bird
11022 Aviation Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045
(310) 670-3093

RSVP by 2/16 with
meal choice to:
alecm@jwce.com
Or call 714-428-4614

See flyer for more information

Mistakes can be made when reporting biosolids reuse or disposal. These mistakes can range from incorrect entries to misunderstanding the reporting requirements. This seminar will present an overview of the current regulatory compliance aspects for biosolids tracking, monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements.

Tracking requirements will describe the responsibilities associated with several biosolids management practices, such as land application, composting, and disposal. Monitoring requirements for various biosolids management practices will be discussed, including sampling and analytical methods, frequency, and holding times.$10 members, $15 non-members, $5 students

When:
Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012
11am – 2pm

Where:
Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County
Conference Rooms E & F
1955 Workman Mill Road
Whittier, CA

Lunch: deli sandwichs, chips, cookies and sodas

RSVP: alecm@jwce.com by 1/27 please

See flyer for more information

 

(photos by Nicole You, E2 Consulting Engineers Inc.)

(Photos by Kent McKintosh, LACSD)

On Nov 10th 45 members of LABS participated in a unique, behind the scenes tour of the rapidly expanding Space X manufacturing facility in Hawthorne. The event was LABS’ annual Industrial Waste tour and arranged by members of the Los Angeles County Sanitations Districts’ Industrial Waste Section.

Founded just a few years ago by Elon Musk, the entrepeanuer behind PayPal and Tesla electric cars, Space X is working on designing and building the next generation of rockets that will take people and supplies to the international space station, whicle also cutting the cost of building, launching and recovering the rockets. The company is building new rockets in response to competitions created by NASA to fund the next generate of private rocket launching companies.

[Read more]

CWEA One-Day Specialty Workshop
Biosolids: Energizing Your Gas Production.
FOG and Food Waste Co-Digestion Workshop

Get the latest information you need to know about
co-digesting FOG and food waste from suppliers to
operators. This workshop will provide information
about the state of the regulations, availability and
competition for FOG and food waste, operational
experiences, and considerations that can be
incorporated into new designs.

Who Should Attend:
Operators, practitioners, and managers practicing in
the wastewater, and resource recovery industries
throughout California.
Approved for CWEA Contact Hours:

  • Environmental Compliance Inspector (ECI)
  • Laboratory Analyst (LAB)
  • Operator (OP)
  • Biosolids Land Application Management (BLAM)

Earn up to 8.9 CWEA Contact Hours

Wednesday, January 18, 2012
City of LA Hyperion WTP
12000 Vista Del Mar
Playa del Rey, CA 90293

See flyer for more information

Please join us for a roaring 1920s themed awards banquet aboard the Queen Mary on Saturday Jan 21st, where we will honor our industry’s best and have a lot of fun too!

When:
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Drinks: 6 p.m.
Dinner: 7 p.m.

Where:
Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth Dining Room
1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach

Pay at the door cash/check: $50 CWEA members or $60 non-members
Parking $12

RSVP by Jan 13

See flyer for more information

FOG clogs sewers and costs sewer customers additional money. Every day, large amounts are illegally washed into sewers mainly from food preparation establishments (usually through kitchen sinks and floor drains) that do not have adequate grease control measures in place. FOG attaches to the inner lining of the private plumbing system on your property, as well as the public sewer system in city streets.

 

(PDF formats)

CWEA One Day Specialty Workshop

Biosolids: Energing Your Gas Production. FOG and Food Waste Co-Digestion Workshop

When: January 18, 2012 – Southern California
City of Los Angeles Hyperion WTP
12000 Vista Del Mar
Los Angeles, CA

View flyer for more information!
For additional information/questions contact Serena Miller at 510-382-7800 x 115 or visit: www.cwea.org/conferences

 

 

Join LABS Students and Young Professional

 Holiday Party!

When: December 8, 2011 (Thursday) from 6 to 8:30 pm!

Where: Lucky Strikes
800 W. Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90015

Cost: $5 – Includes Happy Hour Food, one non-alcoholic drink and free bowling!

Parking: $5 – 2 hours without validation

RSVP: Nicole (nicole.you@lacity.org) 

 See flyer for more info!

Photos by Kent McIntosh, LACSD

Tons of trash normally swept to the ocean by the Los Angeles River should be captured by thousands of trash screens that have been installed beneath nearly every storm drain in the lower reaches of the river. The project is believed to be the largest debris-capturing effort in the nation and marks the most aggressive attack yet on river trash in the Los Angeles region. The project spans 16 cities and is expected to keep 840,000 pounds of debris — the equivalent of about 450 Volkswagen Beetles — from reaching the ocean each year, according to the Gateway Authority, a coalition of cities and public water agencies in southeastern L.A. County.

The biggest winner from the project is Long Beach, where workers routinely have to scoop floating islands of plastic bottles, grocery bags and other debris flowing from dozens of communities upstream before it litters the city’s coastline. In August 2010, crews began installing the stainless-steel, full-capture trash devices inside nearly 12,000 catch basins. The simple mesh contraptions sit just below the drains where water from city streets flows into the storm-water system and can catch debris as small as a cigarette butt.

Another 5,400 drains in the most-littered areas also were outfitted with street-level retractable screens as a second layer of defense.

Link to article

***Sorry, this event is SOLD OUT..***

 Established in 2002 by Elon Musk , the founder of PayPal and the Zip2 Corporation, SpaceX has already developed two brand new launch vehicles, established an impressive launch manifest, and been awarded COTS funding by NASA to demonstrate delivery and return of cargo to the Space Station.

SpaceX is privately developing the Dragon crew and cargo capsule and the Falcon family of rockets from the ground up, including main and upper stage engines, the cryogenic tank structure, avionics, guidance & control software and ground support equipment. Sign-up to tour this amazing new facility in Hawthorne and learn more about the next generation of space travel.

$30 CWEA members; $35 non-members; $15 students

Notes: ITAR Security regulations allow only US citizens to take the tour; please bring ID; closed toe shoes. RSVP today – tour limited to 40 people.

Dinner
Buffet dinner at Nat’s Airport Ballroom next door, including choice of chicken, beef, veggies and carrot cake for dessert.

RSVP
RSVP by 11/8 please:
alecm@jwce.com
or call Alec Mackie
(714) 428-4614

See flyer for more information

(ALEXANDRIA, Va.) — The Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) recognized the City of Los Angeles with its Award for Excellence in Innovation on Tuesday afternoon for the Bureau of Sanitation’s Terminal Island Renewable Energy (TIRE) project. TIRE has offered numerous environmental solutions and a successful diversified biosolids management program while potentially saving millions of dollars annually since the facility began operating in 2008.

This new WERF award recognizes organizations that have made improvements to wastewater and stormwater collection, storage or treatment operations, facilities, or processes by applying WERF research. The City of Los Angeles Department of Public Works is one of two organizations to receive the award in its inaugural year.

The TIRE project is the nation’s first full-scale demonstration project of an innovative technology to convert biosolids into clean energy by deep-well placement and geothermal biodegradation. “The Bureau of Sanitation is honored to have been selected by the Water Environment Research Foundation for this award. The Terminal Island Renewable Energy project improves air quality and reduces greenhouse gases by using wastewater treatment byproducts as a renewable resource in an innovative and environmentally safe manner,” said Bureau of Sanitation Director Enrique C. Zaldivar.

Placing biosolids in deep subsurface formations using state-of-the art technology further protects groundwater as opposed to land application. TIRE also reduces truck traffic and associated exhaust emissions, pollutants, odors, and dust by 520,000 miles per year. There is a reduction in land application of biosolids in an exposed environment of 54,750 tons per year. Also, there is elimination from the atmosphere of 84 tons of NOX and 13 tons of carbon monoxide (CO) per year. Currently, WERF is working with the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation and others to identify other parts of the country where this work can be replicated.

A team of WERF volunteers, who themselves are some of the most recognized individuals in the water quality industry, selected the award recipients from a field of many well-qualified organizations. “We encourage those applicants who did not receive this year’s award to re-apply next year, emphasizing the progress they have made in their implementation efforts,” states Selection Committee Chair and WERF Board Member Joseph Zuback of Global Water Advisors, Inc.

Additional information on this award can be found at www.werf.org or www.lacity.org.

Date: Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Time: 7:00 am to 3:00 pm
Location: Phoenix Club – 1340 S. Sanderson Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92806

Topics:

  • Storm Water Prevention
  • Emergency Preparedness
  • Hazardous Materials-RCRA
  • Arc Flash NFPA 70E
  • Fall Protection
  • OSHA Inspections
  • And more!
  • Traffic Control Certification Offered!

For additional information, or to register visit our website: www.cwea.org/conferences

For sponsorship or exhibiting information please contact:
Tray Hall
Municipal Maintenance Equipment
(916) 505.6497

See flyer for more information