Winter 2006                                                                                                                                  Volume 1, Number 1

 

 

October 23, 2006

 

More than 100 million Americans will enjoy greater protection of their drinking water under a new rule issued by the U.S. EPA. The rule targets utilities that provide water from underground sources and requires greater vigilance for potential contamination by disease-causing microorganisms.

 

"The Bush Administration's Ground Water Rule boosts drinking water purity and public health security," said Benjamin H. Grumbles, assistant administrator for water. "These first-ever standards will help communities prevent, detect and correct tainted groundwater problems so citizens continue to have clean and affordable drinking water."

 

The risk-targeting strategy incorporated in the rule provides for:

 

·         Regular sanitary surveys of public water systems to look for significant deficiencies in key operational areas;

 

·         Triggered source-water monitoring when a system that does not sufficiently disinfect drinking water identifies a positive sample during its regular monitoring to comply with existing rules;

 

·         Implementation of corrective actions by groundwater systems with a significant deficiency or evidence of source water fecal contamination; and

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B.L. Myers Bros. has been in business since 1884 and has weathered the storm of changing regulations, new environmental laws, and numerous mandatory increases in workplace safety. Customers today often have difficulty clearing the hurdles to HSE compliance and we have heard the call for help. Whether your needs exist in the field with employee training, safety audits, or command of hazardous materials releases or in the office with program development, program audits or risk management assistance, B.L. Myers can provide you the professional experience you seek.

 

Our health, safety and environmental compliance program is directed by Michael D. Cassella, CET. A certified health, safety & environment trainer (CET) and ExxonMobil authorized loss prevention systems (LPS) trainer, Mr. Cassella has over 20 years experience servicing consultants, contractors, engineering firms and manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S.

 

For more information on B.L. Myers HSE services, contact Michael Cassella,

Health & Safety Manager at mcassella@blmyers.com or 610-942-2030 ext. 233.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

evidence of source water fecal

contamination; and

 

·         Compliance monitoring for systems that are sufficiently treating drinking water to ensure effective removal of pathogens.

 

A groundwater system is subject to triggered source-water monitoring if its treatment methods don't already remove 99.99% of viruses. Systems must begin to comply with the new requirements by Dec. 1, 2009.

 

Source: EPA  October 23, 2006

 

 

 

Whaddya Know About H20?

 

Did you know that a leak of one drop per second could waste up to 2400 gallons of water a year?

 

How much of the Earth is covered with water?

  

About 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water.

 

Ninety-seven percent of the water on the earth is salt water. Salt water is filled with salt and other minerals, and humans cannot drink this water. Although the salt can be removed, it is a difficult and expensive process.

 

Two percent of the water on earth is glacier ice at the North and South Poles. This ice is fresh water and could be melted; however, it is too far away from where people live to be usable.

 

Less than 1% of all the water on earth is fresh water that we can actually use. We use this small amount of water for drinking, transportation, heating and cooling, industry, and many other purposes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 24, 2006

  

The town of Millsboro, Del., has selected an advanced solution from Parkson Corp. as a key part of its wastewater treatment plant upgrade. Parkson’s DynaLift™ membrane bioreactor (MBR) system will be used to help expand the town of Millsboro’s wastewater treatment capacity from 0.6 mgd to 1.15 mgd. Parkson’s MBR technology is a flexible, out-of-basin membrane system that uses ultra filtration tubular membranes with a simple biological wastewater treatment plant to provide extremely high-quality effluent for beneficial reuse.

 

After evaluating numerous technologies, CABE Associates, Inc. recommended that the town of Millsboro choose Parkson’s DynaLift system for its ability to meet the most stringent current and future permit requirements, and also because it fit onto the existing plant site

 

According to Chuck Morgan, DynaLift MBR product manager, both submerged and external membrane bioreactor configurations were carefully evaluated for the project.

 

Lee Beetschen, president of CABE Associates, Inc., said the town of Millsboro selected the DynaLift system based on several factors. These included the easy accessibility and maintenance of the external membrane systems, the low operating cost as a result of the innovative airlift design, the use of rugged tubular membranes, and the simple, safe and automatic membrane cleaning.

In addition to grit removal, flow equalization and sludge dewatering, the upgrade will include: a new headworks building with two new Parkson Rotomesh, internally fed, fine-mesh drum screens; screenings dewatering using a Parkson shaftless screw conveyor and Parkson dewatering press; new anoxic/oxic biological tanks utilizing high-efficiency, ultrafine bubble Parkson HiOX Aeration Panels; a new membrane building with Parkson external DynaLift membrane skids; and a plant-wide Parkson integrated control and SCADA system.

 

Source: Parkson Corp.   October 24, 2006

 

 

Most people pay for water delivered to their home according to the amount they use. In the United States the water rate is charged for each 1,000 gallons used (in other countries the charge is for each cubic meter used). Prices vary greatly, but a typical cost is about $2 (U.S.) for 1,000 gallons. A gallon of tap water costs less than one penny. For the cost of one bottle of designer water you could refill it 2,000 times with tap water.

  

One thousand gallons of water would serve one consumer for about 20 days, so tap water is not very expensive. Of the amount charged for 1,000 gallons, about $0.30 to $0.50

is for treatment; the rest is for paying the mortgage on the treatment plant and the pipes in the street, the salaries of the employees who work for the drinking water utility, and some profit for privately owned water companies.

 

You can figure the cost of water in your area by looking at your water bill and dividing the total cost for water by the total amount of water used (just use the water part of the bill if other costs are included). In general, in the United States we spend about 0.5 percent of our income on both drinking water and wastewater disposal.

 

 

Excerpted from Plain Talk Drinking Water by Dr. James M. Symons