Newsletter - July 2000
ARTICLES OF
INTEREST FROM THIS ISSUE
The University of Ottawa Student Chapter (UOSC) held its inaugural
meeting in November, 1999. The following were elected: Rod Kelly, Chapter President;
Nicole Driscoll, Chair of the Events Committee; Fraser Kent, Chair of the Membership
Committee; Dr. Kevin Kennedy, Faculty Liaison. Fraser Kent has since designed the UOSC web
site and has taken on the job of web site manager.
Dermot Stephens, Trow, offered to be the UOSC-WEAO Liaison during
the student chapter formation process. Greg Ashley, P.Eng., Delcan Corporation, is now the
official liaison.
On November 26, 1999, UOSC members joined Dr. Narbaitz's class on a
field trip to Bowater Mill, in Gatineau, Quebec. In January, 2000, Duncan Ellison,
Executive Director of CWWA, spoke to the students about the Canadian Federal Regulations
on Toxins. He also discussed the trihalomethane debate in Canada and the economics of
infrastructure rehabilitation.
Later in January, a guest lecture was given by Gianne Broughton,
Farrar Brodhead and Cesar Narvaez of Canadian Friends Service Committee, on the Post
Hurricane Reconstruction Project in Nicaragua. Of special interest was the success of
their low tech portable water filters. In April, UOSC members went on a field trip to
Smith Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant.
WEAO approved the UOSC as an official Student Chapter on April 16,
2000. Paul Grenfell submitted an application to WEF recommending UOSC as an official
Student Chapter.
A special thanks is offered to all of our members who have made this
effort possible. Without our membership, we are nothing. A special thanks to Fraser Kent
for designing our web site and to Nicole Driscoll for producing our events.
Thank you Dr. Kennedy for acting as our Faculty Liaison and
supporting the UOSC's request for faculty endorsement. Dr. Narbaitz has also supported the
UOSC by encouraging membership in WEF, not just this year but many years in a row. He has
also invited UOSC members to participate in two field trips that he organized for his
courses.
We also appreciate the efforts of Dermot Stephens and Paul Grenfell
for acting as our Liaison with WEAO during this inaugural period. A special thanks to
Dianne Crilley, Manager of WEF Student Chapters, for being a source of leadership,
enabling us to complete the stages of founding a student chapter.
Rod Kelly, UOSC President
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The theme of this year's Operations Challenge competition was Celebrating
10 years of excellence. Excellence on the competition floor. Without question. Within
a relatively short period of time, our teams have developed the skills and expertise
necessary to allow them to challenge the very best at the annual North American
championships.
Ten first place event trophies and two divisional championships at
WEFTEC, since 1994. Not just good results occasionally but rather exceptional results
consistently.
How have our teams been able to regularly achieve this high degree
of success? The answer lies, quite simply, in the theme of Celebrating 10 years of
excellence. To consistently produce winning teams you require an excellent base upon
which to build and a support system that encourages excellence. Since 1991, at the first
Challenge held in Niagara Falls, all of the ingredients necessary for success have been
present.
The first Operations Challenge Committee, consisting of Reg Ranton,
Phil King, Brian Runstedler, Benny Seminario, and Bill De Angelis, laid the foundation for
all future Challenges. Subsequent committees have fine-tuned their work and the Challenge
has gradually evolved into the format with which we are now familiar. The original intent
of the Operations Challenge has not been lost over the years: to demonstrate the skills
and professionalism of operators; to promote the education of operators and the audience;
and to provide an exciting and challenging competition of skill.
Winning teams are comprised of exceptional individuals able to work
well together as a cohesive unit. Team members and coaches have worked hard to achieve a
high degree of excellence. Competitors have consistently demonstrated that they possess
all the attributes necessary to reach the top.
Our employers deserve recognition for the ongoing support provided
to the teams, event coordinators, judges and score keepers. Without this support there
would not be an Operations Challenge.
Equipment suppliers and event sponsors have ensured that our teams
are competitive by providing the Challenge with the resources necessary to stage the
competition and the tools required to set up training locations across the province.
The Water Environment Association of Ontario and the Ontario
Pollution Control Equipment Association have provided the financial, administrative, and
organizational support necessary to guarantee the continued success of the competition and
the level of excellence we have all come to expect.
When we celebrate 10 years of excellence, we acknowledge the
exceptional results achieved by our teams both at home and south of the border. We also
celebrate a support system that has and will continue to encourage excellence.
To receive your copy of the Operations Challenge 10th Anniversary
Commemorative Booklet, contact John Thompson, Tel: (416) 392-5172, Fax: (416)
392-3836, E-mail: jthomps1@city.toronto.on.ca.
John Thompson, 2000 Operations Challenge Chair
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During the WEAO annual conference in April, at a press conference,
George Powell gave some staggering statistics on infrastructure funding deficits. A Senior
Vice President of CH2M Gore & Storrie Limited, George was the 1989 President of WEAO.
"With good construction, in-ground infrastructure should last
75 years. Well constructed above-ground infrastructure, such as treatment facilities,
should last 35 years. This could be significantly less where corrosion or inferior
materials are factors. These stark figures tell us that we should be spending about $895
million per year on infrastructure replacement - this would be 1.8% of the estimated asset
value," he said. He noted that this was just to keep the infrastructure in
satisfactory working condition, without considering growth-related expenditures, process
improvements, problems, or catch-up funding to make up for deferred spending.
Difficult choices
He said Ontario's water industry is facing difficult choices -
either investing more in protection of vital infrastructure or being reactive to its
safekeeping, ultimately resulting in premature infrastructure replacement at far higher
overall cost. Globally, staggering numbers are emerging on the need for infrastructure
spending. A 1992 Needs Study conducted for the Ontario Water Services Secretariat,
estimated the province's expenditures at $19 billion for water and wastewater alone.
Responding to the massive future spending estimates, governments at all levels are taking
a far more critical look at public infrastructure, he noted.
Mr. Powell pointed out that: "While Ontario public drinking
water utilities have traditionally been managed on a fee-for-service basis, with accounts
managed to recover the full cost of the service provided, wastewater services have not
followed this management approach. According to 1994 data, only 50% of the total water and
sewage expenditures are being recovered by the user rate. Ontario's investment in water
and wastewater infrastructure has not kept pace with economic growth. Since the late
1970s, infrastructure growth has remained static or has declined, as have provincial and
federal grants to local governments for water systems. Using 1992 as the base year, the
province has shown a decrease in total annual expenditure from 1995 to 1997, of 17%.
"The MOE Needs Study back in the early 1990s, recognized
upgrading requirements estimated at $19 billion spread over 15 years, or $1.3 billion per
year. Growth-related expenditures, normally covered by development charges and the house
owners, must also be recognized. The cost to service a new home with water and wastewater
services is about $8,000 per capita, while development charges for water and wastewater,
intended to pay for trunk mains, pumping stations, reservoirs and treatment facilities,
are about $5,000 per unit. Growth-related water and wastewater infrastructure costs in
Ontario are estimated at $1 billion annually, based on a 1% growth rate.
"In summary, annual capital spending on water and wastewater
infrastructure should be approximately $2.3 billion. In 1997, the total annual spending
was $971 million - a gap of $1.3 billion between what is being spent and what is needed.
The longer the delay, the greater the gap will become," he stressed.
What is Affordable?
"The 1999 American Water Works Association survey of
municipalities shows the average Ontario household uses about 272 cubic metres of water
per year and pays $397 annually for water and sewage services. Water and wastewater costs
represent about 0.7% of household income, far less than the maximum 2% of median household
income (not including sewerage charges) recommended by the US Environmental Protection
Agency. Existing estimates on necessary infrastructure expenditures would mean a household
increase of approximately $750 per year, an increase of about $1 per household per day
from the current rate - most reasonable in comparison to consumer costs in many other
parts of the world.
Recommendations
"Integration of our water and wastewater systems into a single
unit with full cost recovery of all system costs by the user will provide a
financially-sound and sustainable basis. The user-based, full-cost approach would decrease
dependence on government assistance and increase user awareness of consumption, water
conservation, and pollution prevention, ultimately leading to a more sustainable
environment," he concluded.
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Environment Canada and Health Canada released the Priority
Substances Assessment Report - Ammonia in the Aquatic Environment for 60 days public
comment on May 6, 2000. Both the executive summary and the draft reports can be downloaded
at: www.ec.gc.ca/cceb1/public/index_e.html.
Following consideration of the comments received, the assessment
report will be revised as appropriate and published with final conclusions as to whether
or not the substance is considered as toxic as defined in the Canadian Environmental
Protection Act (CEPA). If the substance is declared as CEPA toxic, then further studies
will be carried out to assess management options.
The report will have significant implications for municipal sewage
treatment plant design and operation. Municipal sewage effluent is a major source of
ammonia discharged into surface water. The threshold acute toxic concentration of
unionized ammonia has been reported between <0.1 and 0.3 mg/L in the literature. The
relationship between total ammonia and unionized ammonia concentration is dependent on the
effluent pH and temperature. At 20°C and pH 7.5, total ammonia concentration required to
meet <0.1 and 0.3 mg/L unionized ammonia would be in the range of <8 mg/L and 25
mg/L.
Tony Ho, MOE
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