The decisions made today will determine whether the U.S. will neglect its current and future infrastructure needs or retake its position as the world’s leader in economic and social progress. The key to securing ongoing infrastructure leadership rests in the determination, creativity and innovativeness of public and private institutions to fund and finance the necessary investments. Each day that passes without substantial commitments to U.S. infrastructure development merely postpones the inevitable, multiplies the expense, and increases the likelihood of an intractable public works crisis that will last for generations.

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MONROVIA, Calif. –(BUSINESS WIRE)– MWH Laboratories, a division of MWH, the global wet infrastructure sector leader and provider of environmental engineering, construction and strategic consulting services, has introduced a new method to identify the presence of wastewater in ground and surface waters.

The advancement comes as municipalities address new evidence of contamination in U.S. water supplies, including bacteria often found in sewage. The method detects gadolinium (Gd) and other rare earth elements that are a proven and reliable indicator of sewage contamination, offering a new, cost-effective tool for water purification and treatment plants and others to identify the presence of wastewater in recycled water.

“This is a groundbreaking development for treatment plants charged with delivering clean water to the public as well as companies relying on clean water sources,” said Dr. Andrew Eaton, technical director for MWH Laboratories. “Plants can add an extra level of certainty to their work, using the same samples that they are already testing and with minimal added expense.”

Drinking water contaminated by wastewater can lead to serious illness. In 2009, research by The New York Times concluded that more than 20 percent of U.S. water treatment systems had violated key provisions of the U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act in the past five years, including thousands of cases of wastewater contamination of surface water.

MWH Laboratories now can analyze at ultra-low levels for gadolinium (Gd), a rare earth element typically injected into patients undergoing MRI scans to improve the imaging quality of the medical test. Once it passes through the body, gadolinium enters sewer systems. In samples of reclaimed water, a high level of gadolinium relative to other earth elements is one indicator of wastewater contamination.

MWH Laboratories experts can now identify a “gadolinium anomaly,” or excess levels of Gd, at parts per trillion (ppt) levels to determine the presence of wastewater despite extremely low concentrations or significant dilution.

The new method has been used by the U.S. Geological Survey and researchers at the University of Queensland and will be used by MWH Labs for a major study of reclaimed water in Florida set to begin this spring, sponsored by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. MWH Laboratories uses a state-of-the-art Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (Perkin Elmer 9000 ICPMS DRC2) equipped with special sample handling capabilities, to measure the entire suite of rare earth elements at levels as low as 1 ppt and then uses a special algorithm to normalize the data and identify the presence of the Gd anomaly.

About MWH

MWH, globally driving the wet infrastructure sector, is leading the world in results-oriented management services, technical engineering, construction services and solutions to create a better world. The wet infrastructure sector encompasses a full range of water related projects and programs from water supply, treatment and storage, dams, water management for the natural resources industry and coastal restoration to renewable power and environmental services. MWH is a private, employee-owned firm with offices in 34 countries on six continents. For more information, visit the Web site at www.mwhglobal.com. For more information on MWH Laboratories, visit www.mwhlabs.com.

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Photo: Psomas. Artist’s rendition of the South Los Angeles Wetland Park. The park will feature trails, boardwalks, and observation decks.

Los Angeles, CA, is a city famous for its pavement. What other city lauds a mere concrete slab as a notable tourist attraction? However, apart from the landmark Hollywood Walk of Fame, life, like the concrete, can be a little harder. Mile upon mile of freeways and boulevards, punctuated by parking lots and service facilities, sprawl over the region, distancing residents from the pleasures and benefits only nature can provide.

Until recently, public works departments across the country have shown a similar affinity for pavement, as have the road builders and developers. Sean Vargas, senior project manager with Psomas Engineering, says the rationale “was basically flood control. You were just trying to prevent a capital flood from causing damage to public health and safety. They were just draining these very highly urbanized watersheds to paved channels and discharging directly into the ocean, with no treatment.” The same was true in Los Angeles.

Thus, untreated stormwater, carrying with it metals from the roadways, nutrients, bacteria, and other contaminants, flowed right to the oceanfront beaches, making the region’s parks even less safe and less accessible.

Los Angeles was saddled with two major quality of life problems: a critical parks deficit within the city, and severely polluted stormwater flowing from city streets and storm drains into the rivers and beaches.

Read more about the development of the South Los Angeles Wetlands Park

 CWEA’s Engineering Research (E&R) Committee Chair Zeynep Erdal initiated the proceedings.  Mike Selna continued with an introduction to AAEE, which explained that the mission of the organization is to improve the practice, elevate the standards and advance the cause of environmental engineers.  Paul Friedlander highlighted the 2009 E&R award recipients.  The keynote speaker for the event, Glen Daigger of  CH2M Hill,  then presented a state of industry discussion titled Sustainable Practices for the Wastewater (and Water) Industry.

Mr. Daigger reviewed the causes of our global water situation, such as exponential population growth, increased standard of living, climate change, and urbanization.  As a result of these factors nearly half the global population will experience water stress by 2025.  Mr. Daigger highlighted the evolution of the environmental engineering profession, emphasizing problem solving and resource recovery initiative.

The 21st Century urban water management system will include water conservation, distributed stormwater management, distributed water treatment, water reclamation, energy recover, nutrient recovery, and source separation components.  Water and Wastewater electrical energy consumption is small compared to overall consumption.  For example the average global resident uses 1,450 watts per person, with a mere 18 to 25 watts per person used for water and wastewater related activities.  That said, about half of that energy is used for water distribution.  Mr. Daigger encouraged the profession to embrace innovative strategies, such as decentralized systems, to respond to these challenges.  Societies, which sustain remain true to their core values and adapt practices to existing realities. 

Mr. Daigger concluded by listing the core values of the profession such as, dedication to public service, environmental protection, belief in science-based approaches, and perseverance that will lead to sustainable solutions.

Consulting engineer firm CDM presents this video detailing their efforts helping the City of Los Angeles develop an integrated resource plan (IRP) for managing water, stormwater and wastewater. The video is one of three and part of CDM’s “Cities of the Future” marketing campaign. Narrated by NPR’s Scott Simon, host of “Weekend Edition Saturday.”

Consulting engineer firm Tetra-Tech has acquired the 1,200 person Canadian firm Wardrop Associates in order to expand into the Canadian market.

Press release here.

MWH Laboratories, a leading U.S. water testing laboratory, announced today that Ed Wilson has joined the company as managing director. In this position, he is responsible for overall leadership and management of a 130-person team and four facilities.

Wilson has 35 years of experience in environmental chemistry and brings exceptional executive -level leadership skills to MWH Laboratories, including diverse business management and technical experience. Wilson will provide broad knowledge of current state and federal regulations and a thorough understanding of the latest developments in drinking water and wastewater treatment processes. As Managing Director, Wilson will proactively manage and provide the direction and operation of MWH Laboratories at the Monrovia facility.

“Ed is a seasoned manager with a reputation for leading, motivating and inspiring teams,” said Dr. Andrew Eaton, vice president and laboratory technical director for MWH Laboratories. “He has an impressive record of applying his technical background and business acumen on a variety of initiatives to achieve significant results. This focus on continuous improvement further strengthens MWH Laboratories’ ability to provide our clients with unparalleled service. We are pleased to have him on our team and look forward to working with him.”

Wilson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Conn. His previous experience includes serving as Laboratory Director responsible for the leadership of multiple laboratory facilities in the western United States. Most recently, he served as Director of Information Technology for a nationwide environmental testing laboratory network, where he led a successful laboratory information system implementation and Website redesign.

MWH Laboratories website

On November 20, 2008 The Los Angeles Basin Section (LABS) of CWEA hosted an dinner and training presentation at TAIX French Restaurant in Los Angeles. The featured speaker at the event, Gilbert Borboa P.E. Water Resources Manager for the City of Santa Monica, discussed MTBE and the Restoration of the City of Santa Monica’s Public Water System. Mr. Borboa began with an amusing antedote on the top 7 reasons why women live longer than men.

After drawing in attendees, Mr. Borboa paralleled these survival strategies to the City of Santa Monica’s (City) complex water supply system in light of concerns regarding Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE). MTBE is a fuel oxygenate, octane booster, replacement for lead pursuant to the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990. MTBE was not required but was the oxygenate of choice in California (11% of gasoline in CA). MTBE is highly soluble in groundwater, has a low odor (5 to 50 ppb) and taste (10 to 100 ppb) threshold, and is a possible human carcinogen.

The City, founded in 1875, occupies an are of approximately 8 square miles with a residential population of 85,000 and a daytime population of 250,000. The City owned and operated water system includes approximately 17,000 water connections. MTBE was detected in late 1995. To alleviate the concern all City Charnock wells were closed by June 1996.

The maximum well concentration reached 610 ppb. Prior to closure, the Charnock wells supplied 45% of all City water. In 1995 the City’s water demand was 14,415 acre-feet (AF), and 70% was provided by City wells. In 2008 the City’s water demand was 14,557 AF, and only 14% of water demand was provided by City wells. Within a political climate of investigations, litigation, and settlements, the City of Santa Monica is moving forward in a effort to reduce their reliance on imported sources by designing and building a treatment facility to address MTBE.

The City’s proposed remediation process is currently in preliminary design with a target completion date of December 2010. The City’s remediation program includes: granulated activated carbon (GAC) removal of MTBE at Charnock (schematic below), and a combination of softening and fluoridation at Arcadia. The treatment goal is to reduce MTBE to less than 0.5 ppb. To accommodate the fast track schedule, the City is progressing with a Design/Build approach.

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Black & Veatch, a LABS sponsor, is the design/build consultant for the Charnock Well Field project.

“It’s the old classic story,” founder and President Frank Dudek said. “Greg Luke and myself rented 100 square feet above a Mexican restaurant on Encinitas Boulevard. Within six months, we hired our first employee, a drafter, and we’ve been growing ever since.”

Dudek’s LA County office is in Valencia.

Read the story here.