Join Fast Company writer and bestselling author Charles Fishman for a deep dive into the wonderful world of water and hear amazing stories about the people and projects providing clean, safe water in America and around the world. In a country with an abundance of clean water, available 24/7 and for less than a penny a gallon, are we missing a bigger picture? What happens when the water runs out.
Hosted by the UCLA Chapter of ASCE we’ll also discuss the state of America’s infrastructure, where the jobs will be in the water industry and the business opportunities available in cleaning water.
Join us as Charles takes us on a journey to cities who went to the abyss of massive water issues only to pull themselves back with smart, innovative and economical water management solutions.
Read the book and join us for a lively discussion about water and the engineers and workers who clean it, deliver it, and then take it away in the Los Angeles Basin and around the world.
To learn about water industry careers visit the Water Environment Federation website www.WorkForWater.org <http://www.workforwater.org/>
FREE Event
FREE refreshments
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
UCLA Boelter Penthouse, Samueli School
Use NW elevator in Boelter Hall (Elevator #137). 8th Floor.
Please RSVP by June 20th: kendrarusinek@gmail.com<mailto:kendrarusinek@gmail.com>
To view the event flyer click here<https://mail.jwce.com/media_IOE/files/June-22_UCLA-ASCE_Fishman_Big-Thirst-ff-n3j.pdf>.
Special Instructions:
Directions: Use Westwood Plaza entrance and Park in Lot #9. $8. Boelter Hall is north of Lot 9, to the right of large brick building with brown glass windows (Engineering IV bldg). Boelter Hall cannot be seen from the street, so ask parking attendant for precise directions.
www.ascebruins.org<http://www.ascebruins.org/>
Join bestselling author Charles Fishman for a deep dive into the wonderful world of water and hear amazing stories about the people and projects providing clean, safe water in America and around the world. In a country with an abundance of clean water, available 24/7 and for less than a penny a gallon, are we missing a bigger picture? What happens when the water runs out.
Join us as Charles takes us on a journey to cities who went to the abyss of massive water issues only to pull themselves back with smart, innovative and economical water management solutions.
Hosted by the LA Chamber, Los Angeles & San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council, Water for People LA and LABS of CWEA (LA’s association of wastewater professionals) we’ll also share an interesting story about one of LA’s innovative water projects with Charles and the audience.
Read the book and join us for a lively discussion about water and the people who clean it, deliver it, and then take it away in the LA Basin and around the world.
Author bio: Charles Fishman is the author of The Wal-Mart Effect, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. Fishman is a former metro and national reporter for The Washington Post. Since 1996, he has worked for the business magazine Fast Company. He has won numerous awards, including twice winning UCLA’s Gerald Loeb Award for outstanding business writing, the most prestigious award in business journalism. His story about bottled water, “Message in a Bottle,” was a finalist for the 2008 Gerald Loeb Award for magazine writing.
To attend, please click to RSVP:
http://events.lachamber.com/default.asp?cale_id=2938&details=true
10:30am – Noon
Wednesday, June 22nd
Hosted by: Los Angeles & San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council
FREE
Parking $6
LA Chamber
350 S. Bixel Street
Los Angeles, CA 90017
The next GREEN workshop, dealing with Injury Illness Prevention Plan (IIPP) Preparation, is scheduled for Friday June 3, 2011 from 8 am – 12 noon at the South Whittier Education Center.
The South Whittier Education Center is located at 14307 E. Telegraph Rd., Whittier Ca 90604 and is in front of the Sheriff’s Training Center. There is free parking at the center.
All existing GREEN participants should bring your GREEN Training Binders to this next event. You will also be given the next set of training materials for your GREEN library. If you do not have a GREEN binder, one will be provided for you at the workshop.
If you know of any company or individual that can use and/or benefit from this much needed IIPP training, please invite them to attend this next training event.
Please contact Steve Katnik at 562-463-7501 or email me at skatnik@riohondo.edu if you have questions.
Map to South Whittier Education Center
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new strategy to promote the use of green infrastructure by cities and towns to reduce stormwater runoff that pollutes the nation’s streams, creeks, rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Green infrastructure decreases pollution to local waterways by treating rain where it falls and keeping polluted stormwater from entering sewer systems. In addition to protecting Americans’ health by decreasing water pollution, green infrastructure provides many community benefits including increased economic activity and neighborhood revitalization, job creation, energy savings and increased recreational and green space.
Large volumes of polluted stormwater degrade the nation’s rivers, lakes and aquatic habitats and contribute to downstream flooding. Green infrastructure captures and filters pollutants by passing stormwater through soils and retaining it on site. Effective green infrastructure tools and techniques include green roofs, permeable materials, alternative designs for streets and buildings, trees, rain gardens and rain harvesting systems.
As part of the strategy, EPA will work with partners including local governments, watershed groups, tribes and others in ten cities that have utilized green infrastructure and have plans for additional projects. EPA will encourage and support expanded use of green infrastructure in these cities and highlight them as models for other municipalities around the country. The ten cities are: Austin, TX; Boston, MA; Cleveland, OH; Denver, CO; Jacksonville, FL.; Kansas City, MO.; Los Angeles, CA; Puyallup, WA; Syracuse, N.Y.; and Washington, D.C. and neighboring Anacostia Watershed communities.
EPA will continue to work with other federal agencies, state and local governments, tribes, municipalities, and the private sector to identify opportunities for using green infrastructure and provide assistance to communities implementing green approaches to control stormwater. EPA will also provide additional tools to help states and communities leverage green infrastructure opportunities within other innovative environmental projects.
For more information on EPA’s green infrastructure agenda: http://epa.gov/greeninfrastructure
By Tom Fang, PE and Alec Mackie
Where can LA County get more green energy for the future? One source is an extensive power generation project at the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (JWPCP) in Carson. When completed, the state-of-the-art facility will turn wastewater sent into Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts’ (LACSD) sewer system into as much as 36 megawatts (MW) of clean, green power every day.
When JWPCP flips the switch later this year, the Power Generation Facility, known as the Total Energy Facility, will produce enough electricity to run the entire plant and, at times, sell surplus to the power grid. Turning sewage biogas into electricity is the goal of the Steam Cycle Modifications Project, according to LACSD Engineer Tom Fang who spoke during a March 17th dinner meeting of the Los Angeles Basin Section (LABS) of CWEA.
JWPCP’s Total Energy Facility dates back to the 1980s and is an important source of power for the facility. Steam can be produced at the facility to heat the anaerobic digesters, and methane from the digesters, in turn, is used to fuel the power plant.
What’s unique about the Total Energy Facility is the combined cycle power plant. First, up to three 9.9 MW gas turbines burn digester gas much like a jet engine to directly generate electricity (the Brayton power cycle). The exhaust heat is then tapped to make steam that powers an 8.7 MW steam turbine generator (the Rankine cycle). Known as cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP), the upgraded facility will have 36 MW capacity and is expected to generate 23 MW on average. That’s enough power for the entire JWPCP and then some.
Tom explained project planning dates back to late 1990s when LACSD expanded JWPCP to full secondary treatment. As part of the expansion, digesters were added requiring more heat and generating more digester gas.
In 2008 the upgrade took on greater urgency when the former steam turbine generator suffered a catastrophic failure. The reduced capacity meant more purchased power, raising the facility’s electric bill by $2-million per year.
Tom took the audience step by step through the project’s phased construction and major elements. The equipment being replaced in the project includes a steam turbine generator (STG), heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs), cooling towers, condenser, steam-to-steam generator, HVAC Chillers, High Pressure Gas Treatment System, and the Plant Control System. The three combustion turbines were previously upsized in 2001 and thus not part of recent upgrades. Startup is planned in late 2011.
Tom pointed out the project has taken years to become reality, but the payoff for the agency and its customers will be huge. Benefits include energy savings, reliable power and steam for the plant, less dependence on the grid, and avoiding utility emissions – thus fulfilling LACSD’s commitment to cost-effective, environmentally friendly operations.
In January, the project team was honored by LABS with the Engineering Achievement Award for 2010. Tom’s presentation is available on the LABS website at www.labsofcwea.com.
The Long Beach Water Department is holding a Free Earth Day event in front of the Aquarium of the Pacific on April 9th from 9AM – 4PM
LONG BEACH, CA – On Saturday, April 9th, the Long Beach Water Department will join the Aquarium of the Pacific in hosting its annual Earth Day Celebration. The event will be held from 9AM to 4PM and is free to the public. A coupon good for $10 off admission to the Aquarium on the day of the event has been made available on the Water Department’s website at www.lbwater.org.
Last year’s Earth Day Celebration at the Aquarium drew an estimated 7,000 people. This year’s event will offer kids’ games, an interactive local wildlife exhibit and live music. It will also feature a California Friendly landscaping section, which will include a plant giveaway by the Long Beach City College Horticulture Program and local landscape designers that will be on site to answer general landscaping questions. Earlier in the day, the Water Department will offer a free landscape design class in the Aquarium that will run from 8:30 AM to Noon.
The combined Long Beach Water Department and Aquarium of the Pacific Earth Day event is the largest Earth Day event in Long Beach and draws broad participation from a variety of local and national environmental organizations.
The Long Beach Water Department is an urban, southern California, retail water supply agency and the standard in water conservation and environmental stewardship.
A year after work was completed on an elaborate system in Hermosa Beach that prevents storm water from reaching the ocean, the project has earned the city another prestigious prize.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week named the Strand Infiltration Project as the winner of the 2010 Performance and Innovation in the State Revolving Fund Creating Environmental Success – or PISCES – Award.
The award was created in 2005 and recognizes public works projects aimed at cutting down environmental pollution that are efficiently designed, managed and financed.
“It is truly an honor for the city and everyone involved in this project to have this recognition for all of the hard work and planning that went into the Strand Infiltration Trench Project,” Hermosa Beach Mayor Peter Tucker said in a statement. “Our city is committed to exploring new opportunities to make Hermosa Beach green.”
It is the second award the city has received for the ambitious project, which prevents filthy storm water from reaching local waters off the coast. In December, the Strand Infiltration Trench was named Project of the Year by the American Public Works Association.
City engineers designed the project to take advantage of the city’s location – on a massive sand dune – by using sand as a natural filtration system for polluted urban water runoff.
Work was completed in April and funded with about $950,850 in American Recovery and Reinvestment
The infiltration trench lies underground and stretches about 1,000 feet south of the city’s pier, collecting storm water and filtering it before returning it to groundwater tables.
Water is collected in city storm drains and processed through a pretreatment system, which removes trash, sediment and other toxins. The storm water is then filtered by sand to remove bacteria as it slowly flows safely to replenish ground water.
The infiltration trench is the second public works project completed by city engineers within the last year aimed at reducing the beach town’s environmental footprint.
In October, work was completed on the Pier Avenue Beautification Project. Improvements to the city’s main thoroughfare include wider sidewalks, a landscape center median and an additional storm drain and water-filtration system that further keeps polluted water from reaching the ocean.
The recent EPA award is the second the city has received from the agency for the pair of recently completed public works projects.
In December, the Pier Avenue project earned a 2010 Environmental Achievement Award from the EPA.
Hermosa Beach officials say the successful projects – and the national attention they are receiving – are proof the city is moving forward with bold environmental initiatives.
“We’re pushing the envelope when it comes to improving the environment,” Councilman Michael DiVirgilio, who has been leading the city’s environmental agenda, said in December. “And we’re doing it aggressively.”
City Manager Steve Burrell, who traveled to Sacramento last week on behalf of the city to accept the award, touted city engineers for their work on the project and said the new system has not encountered any problems, despite recent heavy rains.
“It’s a demonstration project and the idea is to show that this type of system could work,” Burrell said.
By the year 2013, 36 U.S. states are expected to face serious water shortages. Save Water Today is a public service campaign from the Student Conservation Association and American Water, in partnership with EPA’s WaterSense program.
Created by Emmy Award-winning writer and director Gilly Barnes, the videos feature celebrities sharing easy tips on how everyone can do their part to use water wisely and start making a difference in a matter of hours or days.
International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.
Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. The objective of World Water Day 2011 is to focus international attention on the impact of rapid urban population growth, industrialization and uncertainties caused by climate change, conflicts and natural disasters on urban water systems.
This year theme, Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge, aims to spotlight and encourage governments, organizations, communities, and individuals to actively engage in addressing the challenges of urban water management.
Please see http://www.worldwaterday2011.org/ for more information
Southern California laid miles of pipe and tunneled through mountains to import water. But it also built a storm drain system to quickly get rid of rainfall. The contradiction played out again this week.
Eight cities from across the country will receive the National League of Cities’ (NLC) 2010 Awards for Municipal Excellence for creating outstanding programs which improve the quality of life in America’s communities. These awards recognize city programs that demonstrate community determination and individual commitment at the local level.
Partnering with GeoEnvironment Technologies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Los Angeles created the Terminal Island Renewable Energy project (TIRE). TIRE is the nation’s first project aimed at producing green energy from a renewable biosolids –organic materials remaining after treatment of domestic sewage at a wastewater treatment facility. Not only is the project innovative in the way it utilizes wastewater treatment byproducts as a renewable resource, but it also improves air quality, protects water quality and reduces greenhouse gases.
On Nov. 18th join LABS for a discussion with Distinguished Speaker Tracy Egoscue, Senior Environmental Council at Paul Hastings, about her unique experience as the former Executive Officer of the State of California Regional Water Quality Control Board Los Angeles Region. She’ll share her vision for sustainable water quality initiatives and discuss the intersection of water quality with water supply and how the two are becoming more and more linked in the complex Southern California environment.
Who:
Tracy J. Egoscue, JD of Counsel in the Environmental Practice of Paul Hastings, Los Angeles
When:
Thursday, November 18th
Location:
Parkers’ Lighthouse
in Shoreline Village
435 Shoreline Village Dr. Long Beach, CA
Dinner:
1. Grilled Miso Glazed Salmon
2. Shrimp Arrabbiata
3. 6 0z. Sirloin
4. Pasta marinara w/grilled veggies
RSVP:
With meal choice by 11/12:
wwert@lacsd.org
email preferred
or call Wendy Wert
(562) 908.4288 ext. 2128
Directions:
710 fwy south
Exit 1C Downtown Long Beach
Merge onto Shoreline Drive
Follow signs to Shoreline Village
Parking: $1, 2-1/2 hours, w/validation.
See flyer for more information
Sixteen cities in southeast L.A. county are installing screens under storm drains that flow into the L.A. River. The project could keep 840,000 pounds of debris from reaching the ocean a year.
Every time it rains, workers in Long Beach rush to the mouth of the Los Angeles River to scoop up the floating islands of plastic bottles, grocery bags and other debris before it’s all swept onto local beaches or pulled out to sea.
Check out Heal the Bay’s mockumentary narrated by Jeremy Irons, on the plastic bag’s adventures as it travels to the great garbage patch in the Pacific.
July 27, 2010
By Daniel Strain and Mark Shwartz
Within the sludge of wastewater treatment plants is an invisible world teeming with microbes. Here, diverse species of bacteria convert solid and liquid wastes into gases, some of which contribute to global warming.
Now two Stanford University engineers are developing a new sewage treatment process that would actually increase the production of two greenhouse gases – nitrous oxide (aka, “laughing gas”) and methane – and use the gases to power the treatment plant.
Water, along with plastic bags and other trash, rushes head-on into a metal stormdrain gate that will soon be installed in 16 cities upstream along the Los Angeles River. Credit: Long Beach Post
About 12,000 metal gates will be installed at the opening of stormdrains in sixteen cities that empty into the Los Angeles River, as a measure to reduce pollution that accumulates in the river and ultimately, the Pacific Ocean and the coast of Long Beach.
Come join us for a LABS-SARBS event to help clean up the coast! Hawaiian picnic to follow.
When: Saturday, September 25, 2010
Clean-Up – 9:00 am to 1 pm
Picnic – 1 pm to end
Where: Doheny State Beach
25300 Dana Point Harbor Drive, Dana Point
Cost: Event is free, but State Beach parking fee is $15 per vehicle
Questions? Contact Paul Schmidtbauer at 949-234-5412
See event flyer for more information
Equinox Center Study Shows Treated Wastewater Safe To Drink
SAN DIEGO — When it comes to the prospect of turning wastewater into drinking water, a new report from the non-partisan research group Equinox Center shows it could be safer than most would think.
“Purified, recycled water is safer to drink than what we are drinking today,” said Aaron Contorer of the Equinox Center. “A significant portion of our water today is extracted from wastewater upstream.”
The Equinox Center’s report reveals a map of some 350 sewage plants that discharge wastewater into the waterways the country draws its water from before it is treated locally.
Essentially, the report shows everyone routinely drinks recycled wastewater.
Las Vegas already recycles its wastewater to drink, and that drinking water also ends up in the San Diego water supply.
“All the tests have shown purified, recycled water is safe and clean,” said Contorer. “According to our research, it’s safer, cleaner, more reliable and uses less energy than other water sources.”
The Equinox Center’s report comes days ahead of a critical vote, when the San Diego City Council will vote on a construction contract for an $11.8 million wastewater recycling pilot project.
It is a first step that could lead to recycled water in San Diego faucets if it is deemed successful.
Other areas that have wastewater-to-tap programs included Long Beach, Orange County, Reno and the country of Singapore.
Heather Wylie was a key instigator of what must be the biggest, most important boating expedition ever undertaken on the Los Angeles River.
With two dozen others in kayaks and canoes, she braved the river’s shallow waters, paddling past garbage trucks at the water’s edge, homeless bathers and other unexpected riparian obstacles.
“I’ve never had so much fun on a boating trip,” Wylie told me. “It was a new kind of adventure.”
That adventure cost Wylie, then a 29-year-old government biologist, her job — and $60,000 salary — with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. But it helped save the L.A. River.
Here’s an entertaining video describing how bottled water is bad for the environment and promoting switching back to tap water. There’s an interesting comment on how our clean water infrastructure is under-funded as well:
Link to video
Annie Leonard used to spout jargon. She reveled in the sort of geek-speak that glazes your eyeballs.
Externalized costs, paradigm shifts, the precautionary principle, extended producer responsibility.
That was before she discovered cartoons.
