Dr. Kharaghani is head of the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation Watershed Protection Division and oversees stormwater projects, flood control and regulatory compliance.

 The American Society of Civil Engineers, Metropolitan Los Angeles Branch honored Dr. Kharaghani  at their Oct. 8th meeting in Downtown Los Angeles.

Learn more here>

We’re honored to have the fine folks at Rain for Rent sign-up as a LABS sponsor this month!

The Los Angeles Basin contact is:

Anthony Gaddie
Branch Manager
Rain for Rent
1301 E Spring St
Long Beach, CA 90806
Tel: 562-595-7760
fax: 562-595-7357
Email: agaddie@rainforrent.com

Known as the Complete Solutions, Proven Results company, here’s a quick summary of Rain for Rent…

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By Wendy Wert
LABS Director
Chair, CWEA Training Coordination

On October 15, 2009 the Los Angeles Basin Section (LABS) of California Water Environment Association (CWEA) hosted its annual Industrial Tour.  This year’s event included a tour of the THUMS (Texaco, Humble (now Exxon), Union, Mobil, and Shell) Island White facility located in Long Beach harbor.  LABS attendees joined the more than 1,800 visitors who tour THUMS each year. 

Upon arrival at the Port of Long Beach, participants were shown a safety video and then ferried across the harbor to Island White.  Upon arrival, LABS participants were introduced to the facility by tour guides Diana Lang and Jim Van Camp.  Currently THUMS employs approximately 200 people.

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Nominations for 2009 LABS Awards must be mailed by Monday, November 23rd.

Visit our Awards Page to download a nomination form today!

In the latest twist to LA’s on-going hunt for answers of major water main breaks – scientists from NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena have been called in to see if tectonic movement is causing the “major blowouts” as the DWP calls them. Overall water main breaks are down according to a spokesperson, but the number of “major” breaks is above average.

From an LA Times story…

The DWP said it’s too early to determine a cause. But officials confirmed they are seeking assistance from USC, JPL and Cornell University, but declined to comment further. As part of JPL’s effort, scientists will be analyzing radar data of ground movement taken from a NASA airplane.

Engineers also stressed that the city’s 7,200 miles of pipe aren’t actually leaking more than usual — in fact, the number of leaks, about 1,400 a year, is down from the past and represents a lower rate per mile of pipe than in other cities.

 

Read more

All day workshop features complimentary lunch. Workshop leader: Dr. Patti G. Trahern, Ph.D., P.E.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
City of Los Angeles
Industrial Waste Management Division
2714 Media Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90065
(turn left at the guard shack and go to the far building at the end)

Based in Arizona, Dr. Trahern works with municipalities, wastewater authorities, and other consulting firms providing technical expertise and direction on pretreatment programs, wastewater process design and analysis and regulatory issues. While working at Malcolm Pirnie Dr. Trahern managed numerous local limits projects for municipalities and authorities in USEPA Region 9.

Dr. Trahern concurrently developed local limits guidance materials for USEPA Region 9. Recent projects include development of pretreatment programs for the City of Prescott, AZ and the City of Surprise, AZ and local limit updates for the City of Mesa, AZ and the City of Hopewell, VA. Dr. Trahern earned her Master’s and doctorate at Virginia Tech University.

• Introduction to Local Limits
• Establishing Needs and Understanding the Process
• Identifying Pollutants of Concern
• Conducting A Preliminary Analysis
• Safety Factors
• Characterizing Flows & Loads
• Evaluating Allocation Methods
• Calculating Allowable Headworks Loadings
• Developing Control Strategies for Toxic and
• Conventional Pollutants
• Updating Pretreatment Ordinances

Flyer and RSVP form, go>

Attendees are requested to print and bring a copy of the EPA guidance manual to the workshop. The manual can be downloaded free as a pdf file from: www.epa.gov/npdes/pubs/final_local_limits_guidance.pdf

CWEA needs Collection System Maintenance volunteers of different grade levels to review and revise the current test content areas (what’s on the CSM cert tests). There are two ways to be involved:

• Post a comment on our revalidation wiki page. Create quick username and password and post on discussion boards. Other members can also add to your discussion
• Be part of the revalidation panel. Fill out this short application form and become part of at least 20 experts who will be reviewing CSM test content area.

By Andre Schmidt, LACSD
First published by SCAP.

The California Recovery Task Force recently announced that one percent and three percent interest loans funded through $25 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Economic Stimulus Package) funds are available for eligible public energy efficient and renewable energy projects in California.

Available through the California Energy Commission, the loans will help local jurisdictions stimulate their economies and job growth while investing in energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions – all in a cost effective manner. Cities, counties and special districts are eligible to apply.

Types of projects eligible for loans include:

• Automated energy management systems/controls
• Energy audits and feasibility studies may be eligible for loans
• Energy generation including renewable and combined heat and power projects
• Heating and air conditioning modifications
• Lighting systems
• Pumps, motors and variable frequency drives
• Wastewater treatment equipment

The maximum loan amount is $3 million per application. There is no minimum loan amount. Projects must have a simple payback of 11 years or less based on energy costs savings. Loans for energy projects must be repaid from savings within 15 years. For more information see the following CEC website: www.energy.ca.gov/efficiency/financing/index.html.

The EPA Region 9 office announced a plan to spend $50 million on a Superfund project to cover a 5-mile area of DDT and PCB pollution on the sea floor near the Palos Verdes Peninsula.  The pollution built up from the 1950s through 1971 when Montrose Chemical Company in Los Angeles washed chemicals into the sewer system. Montrose was the largest maker of DDT in the world at the time.

The EPA has conducted studies and test runs and believes the cap will lower contamination levels in fish and wildlife in the region. The EPA provides education for local anglers on avoiding fish from the area and minimizing contact with contaminated fish.

“Signing this interim cleanup plan is a major milestone that puts the Palos Verdes Shelf Superfund Site on the road to remediation,” said Keith Takata, Superfund director for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “The EPA will spend more than $50 million to cap the most contaminated sediment on the shelf, as well as continue the highly effective public outreach program to protect at-risk populations from consuming contaminated fish.”

Read the EPA press release, go>

Certified wastewater treatment operators and collections system workers are needed to volunteer for training classes to help students prepare for upcoming certification tests.

To become a volunteer trainer contact LABS certification guru Kris Flaig at Kris.Flaig@lacity.org .

The City of Malibu broke ground on their long awaited stormwater treatment plant – one piece of the City’s Legacy Park Project.  The project not only includes a stormwater treatment plant to clean surface water before it reaches nearby beaches but also includes a park, learning center and native habitat. The treatment plant is scheduled to go on-line one year from now.

“Legacy Park is going to act as Malibu’s environmental cleaning machine,” said Mayor Andy Stern. “It will reduce pollution from stormwater, improve the city’s water quality, and allow residents to enjoy the health and recreation benefits of an open space area and a clean ocean.”

The City is leading the effort. RMC Water and Environment is the consulting engineer on the project.

 

2009 CWEA Young Professionals Conference

Effective Leadership (PDF)
Adapting a Successful Formula for a Younger Adapting a Successful Formula for a Younger Profession

James H. Clark, P.E., Vice President of Black & Veatch and Past-President of CWEA

CWEA 2009 Southern Regional Safety Conference
June 4 – Carson, California

(PDF files)

Opening Remarks
Tim Page-Bottorff,
Conference Organizer, JoshuaCasey Corporate Training

CalOSHA is Here – Now What
Dick Monod De Frodeville
Industrial Health & Safety Engineer, CalOSHA

What is a competent person? Fall Protection Awarness
Keith Henerson
JoshuaCasey

Traffic Control Procedures
Sandra Valle
TMI, Inc.

Hazardous Energy Control Procedures
Steve Laren
CWEA Safety Committee, Delta Diablo Sanitation District

Keynote Address – Safe Start
John Kevin Cobb
Electrolab Training Systems

CWEA Odor Control Conference
February 24
City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Sanitation
Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant

John Mays, PE, Moderator, City of Los Angeles

Agenda (click links below to open presentation in PDF format)

1. 8:15 – Bob Gaudes, P.E., VP, Mgr Air Quality Group, CDM – Progress in Odor Capture and Control at the Ringsend WWTW, Dublin, Ireland, 2005-2008 – The 130-mgd Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Works was commissioned in 2005.  It had been procured under a design-build-operate with minimal guidance with regard to odor capture and control.  Odors from the works were often intense and impacted a large area of the City.  Within a few months from start-up the Dublin City Council (DCC) commissioned an odor study, which recommended nine areas of improvement.  By the end of 2008 improvements had been made addressing all nine recommendations. The presentation discusses the study and its recommendations and the manner in which DCC implemented the remedial facilities.
2. 9:00 – 9:45 James Clark, VP, Black & Veatch – Collection Systems Odor Control: State of the Science -  There is a generally increasing public concern and intolerance of odors and other air contaminants from wastewater collection systems, and management of air emissions has become a significant activity in many cities across the United States.  Furthermore, federal, state, and local regulations require that a number of air pollutants be controlled.  Some regulations are based on odor nuisance, some on health risk assessment, some on ambient air concentration of specific compounds, and some on established emission limits or the use of specific emission control technologies.  This presentation will provide specifics of potential locations of odorous emissions within collection systems, design and operation considerations for reducing emissions, and treatment alternatives that are available when odor problem occur.
3. 10:05 – 10:50 – Dr. Mel Suffet, Environmental Science & Engineering, UCLA – How to Investigate and Solve Odor Nuisance Problems Not Caused by Hydrogen Sulfide at Waste Water Treatment Plants – Sensory assessment and characterization of methods for odor nuisance  emissions from wastewater treatment plants will be described. Then the use of these methods will be described for America and Europe case studies.
4. 10:50 – 11:35 Charles McGinley, St. Croix Sensory, Inc. – Municipalities Address Odor Issues – Authority to regulate odor is granted by a state to municipalities through zoning and police powers.  Odor ordinances must harmonize with state licensing and may be blended with existing local nuisance ordinances. Odor ordinances may include bright line odor limits.
5. 11:35 – 12:05 – David McEwen, Brown & Caldwell – Odor Control at Union Sanitary District: Innovative Approaches for Upgrading Aging Atomized Mist Scrubbers- At the Union Sanitary District Alvarado Wastewater Treatment Plant, 18 atomized mist chemical scrubbers have provided odor control for various process units since the 1980s.  After conducting a thorough odor sampling and testing program, Brown and Caldwell determined that many of the scrubbers are removing odors at below design levels, and could be near the end of their useful life.  Odor complaints and dispersion modeling also indicate significant offsite odor impacts.  An early 2009 odor evaluation will make recommendations to provide optimal use of the existing wet scrubbers for odor control, including retrofitting the vessels that are structurally intact and employing a more effective technology, such as packed tower chemical scrubbing or biotechnology.
6. 1:00 PM – 1:45 – Larry Hottenstein, Partner, ERM – When Controlling Emissions Can Cause Odor Problems - With increased interest in energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions, WWTP and other sources of methane emissions such as landfills may look to use their methane or digester gas emissions in power-producing engines.  Recent and evolving air pollution regulations, however, typically limit carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from such internal combustion engines, which may require the use of an oxidation catalyst system.  This paper presents a case study where the use of an oxidation catalyst to limit CO emissions had the additional benefit of oxidizing aldehydes and other odorous compounds, but resulted in increased odor complaints from the oxidation of nitric oxide in the engine exhaust.
7. 1:45 – 2:30 – Richard (Dick) Pope, PE, BCEE, VP, Odor Control/Air Services Group, Malcolm Pirnie – Why Does Odor Control Cost So Much – Odor control costs, both capital and operating, needed to address emissions from wastewater treatment plants are constantly being scrutinized by owners around the world.  The challenge is:  how can I achieve compliance with odor regulations, satisfy the affected communities/residents and minimize my cost.  In many instances the costs are dictated by the controls that are required to satisfy local, city and state ordinances.  In addition to the capital cost necessary to erect odor control systems, the annual costs to operate, maintain, monitor and optimize the systems must be evaluated to determine life cycle costs.  The conclusion most often reached is that odor control is not cheap.  What is it that drives up the cost involved in implementing odor control?  The answer is directly linked to the planning process where community and regulatory drivers play a key role in dictating the degree of odor control required.  The owner is then obligated to incur the cost to make it happen, consistently.  This is a case history of one such facility in New York City that ran into escalating odor control costs as they planned to upgrade their largest wastewater treatment plant.
8. 2:50 – 3:35 – David Clidence, PE, Design Engr., Eco Oxygen Tech – Title: Dissolved Oxygen Prevents Hydrogen Sulfide Formation A Case Study on Super Oxygenation, Moulton Niguel, CA - Generation of malodorous hydrogen sulfide gas in the Upper Salada force main has plagued the Moulton Niguel Water District for many years.  In 2008, MNWD sought additional new methods for preventative, non-chemical, in pipe treatment and chose ECO2 SuperOxygenation technology to sustain aerobic conditions in the force main to prevent H2S formation and the associated corrosion.
9. 3:50 – 4:20 – Philip Wolstenholme, Brown & Caldwell – Controlling Odors from a Pump Station Surrounded by Upscale Development – Description of an odor control project from concept through construction. Two unique innovations were included in the project. 1) The first known use of a two-stage dry media radial odor control vessel. 2) An underground duct routed from the pump station to a brick stack that blended into the architectural features of the adjacent garage.