Microbial fuel cells can be used to create electricity from wastewater. To understand how they work, think about The Matrix, Bruce Logan suggests. “The premise of the movie was that humans were in these pods, and they were supplying electricity to the machines,” he says. “You and I eat food and generate energy,” and bacteria do the same thing. In aerobic conditions, the electrons they generate latch onto oxygen. But in a microbial fuel cell, the wastewater-dwelling bacteria are deprived of oxygen. Those electrons have to go somewhere, and in the fuel cell, they travel to an electrode. From there, they flow to the other side of the cell, creating an electrical current. On the other side, those electrons find oxygen and protons, with which they can combine. The end results: electricity and water.

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2011 CWEA Annual Conference
Engineering and Research Committee/American Academy of Environmental Engineers Breakfast
Friday, April 15, 2011
7:00 AM-8:30 AM
View flyer for more information!

Michael Strenstrom is a Distinguished Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering
Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. His research and teaching are in
the field of environmental engineering, with an emphasis on biological treatment methods
and applications of mathematical modeling and optimization to environmental engineering
research.

Be sure to sign up for the ERC Breakfast when you register for the annual conference!

The book is getting glowing reviews in places like Slate, Newsweek and on Amazon.

Rose is a former writer for London newspapers the Guardian and Independent. Her website is here.

The EPA and Natural Resources Defense Council have settled a lawsuit started in 2006 over the Agency’s ocean water quality testing procedures.

The Associated Press reports EPA will look at a wider range of illnesses including hepatitis, rashes and ear and eye infections; in addition, results will be posted the same day they’re completed.

“Sound science and partnerships are key…. This agreement should help reduce litigation and increase collaboration, ” said Benjamin Grumbles, EPA assistant administrator for water.

Stormwater and urban runoff are the largest contributors to poor ocean water quality at the beach. The new rules will be developed within two years and results are due by 2010.

MSNBC story here.

However city officials feel even more studies are needed.  ”Unsure what path to take next, the city is patiently awaiting the results of a Pacific Coast Water Study that has been gathering data,” according to The Log website for boaters.

News story here.

The study’s details are here.

By Wendy Wert,
Sewer Leaks Editor 

On May 22, the Los Angeles Basin Section (LABS) of California Water Environment Association (CWEA) hosted a training meeting at TAIX Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. The featured speaker at the event, James Clark Vice President B&V Corp., presented an overview of the Reconstruction Issues and Lessons Learned by Wastewater Utilities Affected by Hurricane Katrina.

WEF, in collaboration with Black & Veatch and several municipal water agencies, released a report on April 25, 2006 that assessed damage and reconstruction costs to wastewater systems affected by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast. The resulting report, Assessment of Reconstruction Costs and Debt Management for Wastewater Utilities Affected by Hurricane Katrina, was presented to Congress, U.S. EPA and USDA. Mr. Clark explained that under the challenging conditions encountered coalition building was critical to a successful assessment.

Contributors to the assessment included: EPA, DEQ, City of Los Angeles DPW, Columbus (GA) Water Works, LACSD, EBMUD, Montgomery (AL) Water Works and Sanitary Sewer Board and OCSD.

The assessment found infrastructure damages due to Katrina in Jan 06 US dollars were as follows: $50 million for Alabama, $925 million for Louisiana, $231 million for Mississippi for a total of $1.2 billion for the Gulf coast affected. Surprisingly, many of the concrete hydraulic structures used in the wastewater treatment industry were not significantly damaged by the storm surge and associated flooding. The majority of the damages were in electrical and mechanical equipment and in collection systems.

Unfortunately, the FEMA legislation is complex and inflexible. For example, FEMA cannot provide any relief for the damaged collection system because it cannot be placed exactly as constructed or attain its original pre-Katrina condition. In addition, FEMA dollars can only be applied to exact replacement of pre-existing systems. This is a hurdle, since it may be logical during reconstruction to combine fragmented treatment systems into one larger system. This would help to concentrate relief and construction efforts, however, FEMA funds cannot be used for this purpose, rather individual facilities, with treatment technologies identical to those existing before the disaster must be constructed.

The report recommends that the wastewater sector: offer training and assistance to POTW’s in emergency preparedness, promote mutual aid compacts such as WARN, develop best practices for emergency preparedness and response, develop best practices for system design to withstand natural disasters, provide redundancy, safeguard rolling assets, store backup data off-site, and highlight the value of wastewater infrastructure.

LA Times story here.

“Dilution is not the solution for some of these newer compounds,” said Steven Bay, a toxicologist with the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project in Costa Mesa. He expects the study to raise policy debates over upgrading sewage-treatment plants.

LA Times article is here. SCCWRP outline is here.

On Saturday researchers with the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project presented the data at the 2008 American Association For The Advancement Of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting. The SCCWR is a joint powers research agency of several SoCal agencies including LA City, LACSD and local RWQCBs.

WEF has a discussion board for Microconstituents on their website here.

On a side note – LAT reporter Ken Weiss has been given plenty of room in the newspaper to report on protecting the oceans. His in-depth series Altered Oceans in 2006 won the Pulitzer Prize (www.latimes.com/oceans). Despite the massive cut-backs at the Times I think Ken is going to continue generating lots of stories about ocean health - it is a hot topic for readers (take a look at reader comments).

After nearly getting wiped out by DDT in the 1970s, the Brown Pelican, common in many Southern California bays and harbors, has rebounded.  The population is now strong and healthy enough the U.S. Secretary of Interior on Friday proposed removing them from the Endangered Species List.

It’s an environmental success story three decades in the making.

Money quote:

When you see a flock of pelicans fly by, you think all’s well out there (in the environment). When you don’t see them, then you know something’s wrong. – Daniel Anderson, UC Davis

LAT story here.  DOI press release here.