january/february 2012 issue

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18 WATER SYSTEM OPERATOR

Public-private partners

Realizing the size of the challenge, and aware the city was under

orders from regulators to remedy the backwash water issues, Gray sought

advice and attended a state drinking water conference in Columbus, Ind.It was a productive trip because he heard a presentation by Tom Hogan of

Johnson Controls on performance contracting.

Ultimately, Johnson Controls and the city agreed to work together on

the city’s issues, using performance contracting to fund the improve-

ments. “We started talking to Chuck,” recalls Hogan. “We looked at the

water loss, the old metering system, the booster stations, the boil orders,

and the negative publicity. Mount Vernon had become famous for proj-

ects that didn’t work.

“It was a paradigm shift for us because normally, we hadn’t worked

with communities with less than 10,000 population. But it turned out tobe a good working relationship.” Out of those discussions came a three-

phase project, in which performance contracting provided the funding in

most cases. Johnson Controls acted as a project manager, bidding design

and execution out to engineering firms and contractors.

Meters first

In the first phase, at a cost of $1.94 million, Mount Vernon and John-

son Controls collaborated to replace the city’s entire system of 2,375

meters, install an automatic meter reading (AMR) system, and design

and install a new north booster station. “Meters are your cash register,”

says Gray. “We had every type of

meter there is in the ground, and

we were losing money. Now we’re

able to spot leaks and inform cus-

tomers before they get a big bill.

It’s been a boon to customer

service.”

The AMR system is saving

even more money. “Before, we had

two guys spending 14 days each

going around the system taking

readings,” Gray says. “Now, one

guy can do it in a day and a half.

We’re using a Master Meter Dia-

Before the improvements at

the Mount Vernon Water TreatmentPlant, the city was losing jobs —

not because of the economy, but

because it couldn’t guarantee

developers a reliable source of

good water. “This is a good loca-

tion,” says water superintendent

Chuck Gray. “We’re right on the

river, have good rail service, and

are only 15 miles from Evansville.”

Still, he says, the city had to turndevelopers away because of the

problematic water system. “We had

one development that would have

resulted in 2,000 jobs,” Gray says.

“But we had to tell them ‘no.’”

It’s different now. A new ethanol

plant is purchasing 25-30 million

gallons of water from his plant each

month. “We are working with our

development people,” Gray says.“When clean water is a deciding

factor, we’re in the running now.”

WATER AND

DEVELOPMENT

LEFT: Chuck Gray at the Trident Microfloc (Siemens) unit control panel. ABOVE: Gray checks the effluent turbidity readout on a Hach turbidimeter.




Best-tasting waterThe product at Palm Coast is also a winner. The utility has received

accolades for its great-tasting water, beating six utilities in northeastern

Florida in 2011 to win the Florida Section of the American Water Works

Association Best Tasting Drinking Water award. They also won this award

in 2007 and 2009.

Each competing utility collects a gallon of water within 24 hours of

the tasting. Engineers and utility operators act as judges, and the winner

receives a trophy. So, what makes Palm Coast’s water the best tasting?

“That’s a secret,” says Hogan. “We all take pride in performing our

day-to-day activities. The Top Ops team gets all the glory when they win,

but while they’re away, the rest of our operators are working diligently to

make good-quality water.” Hogan also credits the high-quality water

from the aquifers, and the lime softening and nanofiltration processes.

“At 33 years, our lime plant may be old, but you don’t see that many out

there that look as good as ours, no matter how old they are,” he says.

One philosophy Twenty-five staff members and three water plants, along with four

water-quality technicians, meet quality specifications for water that serves

77,000 people over 140 square miles. The source water is a confined surficial

aquifer with 39 wells and the Upper Floridan Aquifer, with eight wells.

Each plant has a chief operator in charge of the overall facility and the

well field, and a lead operator who

assists and is in charge of all shift

operations. A maintenance tech-

nician floats between all threeplants. There is a also a lead water-

quality technician.

Hogan’s management style em-

powers his staff and allows them

to excel. “I am lucky to have three

highly competent chief operators,

and I give them a lot of latitude,”

he says. “They have taken owner-

ship of their facilities, and they do

an absolutely phenomenal job of

running their plants.”

Hogan conducts monthly water-

quality meetings attended by the

chief operators, the water-quality

Besides placing in the top three

of the American Water Works

Association Top Ops competition

every year since 2005, the Palm

Coast Public Works Utility Division

has earned an impressive number

of other awards.

The utility has won the Florida

Department of Environmental

Protection (FDEP) Plant Operations

Excellence Award 19 times since

1979, the AWWA Most Outstanding

Plant Award three times, the

Southeast Desalting Association

Plant Excellence Award three times,

and the Florida Section of the

American Water Works Association

Best Tasting Drinking Water award

three times.

They also won the American

Membrane Technology Association

(AMTA) National Membrane facility

award in 2009. Water operations

manager Jim Hogan won the

Southeast Desalting Association

Operator of the Year Award in 2005,

and chief operator Peter Roussell

won that award in 2009.

HIGHLY DECORATED

Palm Coast Water Treatment Plant Operation staff includes, from left, maintenance technician Kevin Hollingsworth, trainee Allen White, operator III Tom Martens,trainee Edward Frankie, chief operator Donald Holcomb, lead operator Michael Morris, utility systems manager Jim Hogan, chief operator Peter Roussell, chiefoperator Fred Greiner, lead operator Ryan Bellerive, and operator III Grant Newlin.

“Droughts are seemingly an annual occurrence,

and then we get torrential rain during the

summer rainy season. The drought in 2011 was

particularly bad.”

JIM HOGAN



wsomag.com January/Feb ruary 2012 25

lead technician, and an environmental specialist, who handles all envi-

ronmental compliance issues. Hogan is also in charge of water distribu-

tion system quality, and holds a monthly meeting with those staff members.

Safety training is a priority, and Roussell leads that effort. “We havea training syllabus and we get everyone together at least monthly to

review topics like hazardous chemicals and heat stress,” he says. “We have

a good safety record.”

Three quality plantsThe team oversees high-performing facilities. Plant #1 was built in

1979 with a capacity of 2 mgd, and expanded in 1982 to 6 mgd. It uses con-

ventional lime softening and filtration, along with aluminum chlorhy-

drate coagulant. Storage capacity at the site is 3.5 million gallons and

includes a 2.5-million-gallon ground storage tank.In 2010, the plant began using ammonium sulfate in the chloramine

disinfection process, as it is safer than anhydrous ammonia or ammo-

nium hydroxide. The plant also installed a sulfuric acid feed system for

pH control. This eliminated “cementing” of the filters caused by calcium

carbonate scale. The following year, the plant installed a PAX active mix-

ing system (PAX Water Technologies) for one of two elevated tanks to

enhance water quality by eliminating thermal stratification. Plant #1

draws water from 31 wells.

Plant #2 was commissioned in July 1992 with an initial capacity of

2 mgd. It uses a nanofiltration membrane process to soften the water. New

membranes installed as part of an upgrade in 2004 had larger capacity to

allow more permeate flux. Plant capacity is now 6.384 mgd.

Since there was sand in the raw water, the plant’s pretreatment system

was modified with sand separators, extending the life of the prefilters and

membranes. The chemical feed system was modified to inject sulfuric acid

at the concentrate discharge rather than at the feed. This lengthened fil-

ter runs by reducing calcium sulfate formation and cut costs for prefilter

replacement and sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide feed.

“After the improvements, it’s estimated that the facility saved about

$100,000 in the first year alone,” says Hogan. Storage capacity at the plant

is 2 million gallons, and the plant draws water from eight wells.

Plant #3 was commissioned in June 2008 as a nanofiltration facility

with two 1.125 mgd treatment skids. Rated at 3 mgd, the plant is expand-

able to 9 mgd. The facility started with eight wells. Work began in 2010

on 12 more to add source water production and allow rotation of the exist-

ing wells to eliminate over-pumping.

PREPARING FOR COMPETITION

The Top Ops Water Buoys from the City of Palm Coast have placed

in the top three of the American Water Works Association Top Ops

competition every year since 2005. How do they do it?

With “hard work, dedication and perseverance,” says Jim Hogan,

team coach and utility systems manager. Since they started competing

in 2004, the team has practiced for the competition every day during

lunch hour. “We practice all year long,” says Peter Roussell, chief

operator at Water Plant #3. “We don’t take any breaks.”

Besides Hogan and Roussell, the team includes Fred Greiner,

captain and chief operator at Water Plant #3, and Tom Martens,

operator 3 at Water Plant #2. Since they all work at different locations,

they practice at Water Plant #1, the city’s most centrally located plant.

They use all the study guides the Top Ops committee recommends, and

from which the competition’s questions are taken.These questions cover a broad range of topics, including science,

chemistry, hydraulics, water distribution, public health, sanitation, plant

operation, maintenance and process control. “You’d think we’d get tired

of studying,” says Hogan, “but we all get along really well and we try to

keep practices short so we don’t get burned out.”

Team members also write their own questions. “We have a bank of

questions we put together to grill each other during study sessions,” says

Hogan. “After doing this for a while, we have a pretty good idea of the

type and flavor of the questions they will ask.”

Hogan stresses that while the team is a competitive bunch and likes

to win, they also recognize the importance of good sportsmanship. “The

way you win and lose is important,” he says. “When we lose, we try to do

it graciously. We realize that you have to put it all in perspective.”

“ We all take pride in

performing our day-to-day activities. The Top Ops

team gets all the glory when

they win, but while they’re

away, the rest of our operators

are working diligently to make

good-quality water.”

JIM HOGAN

Jim Hogan, utility systems manager who oversees the entire operation of thewater division, is shown with degasification equipment manufactured by

Met-Pro Environmental Air Solutions. Hogan has worked for the Palm CoastUtility Division for 31 years.




Water recovery The operators’ major challenge is dealing with droughts for much of

the year (a rainy season begins in June). “Droughts are seemingly an

annual occurrence, and then we get torrential rain during the summer

rainy season,” says Hogan. “The drought in 2011 was particularly bad.”

During a drought, the staff closely monitors the well water levels.

When the level in a well drops, the output of that well is reduced and it is

rested as much as possible. The goal is to keep the overall groundwater

level as high as possible to help prevent saltwater intrusion — from the

brackish aquifer below, and laterally from the Atlantic Ocean.

Water insecurity led the utility to implement a water recovery pro-gram at Plant #1 and Plant #3, and a plan is in place to implement zero

liquid discharge at Plant #2. “For so long, people have taken water for

granted,” says Hogan. “The droughts in Florida continually stress the

resource, and we have to manage that and protect our water sources the

best way we can.”

Dan Tomlinson, the utility’s retired Top Ops coach, came up with the

idea to produce more water while eliminating waste by taking concen-

trate from the membrane softening process at Plant #3 and blending it

with raw water from Plant #1 before it is fed to the lime softener. By

doing this, the plant could recover Plant #3’s drinking water byproduct

rather than discharge it to surface water.

The city met with the Florida Department of Environmental Protec-

tion (FDEP) to discuss the permitting feasibility and to promote the

idea; the department suggested a pilot study, which showed that the fin-

ished water produced from the blended raw water met all the primary and

secondary drinking water requirements.

Recovering Plant #3’s byproduct as drinking water at Plant #1 also

supplements, and effectively reduces, groundwater pumping. FDEP granted

a clearance for the idea, and Plant #3 started diverting the concentrate

flow to Plant #1 in April 2011.

ABOVE: The Palm Coast Top Ops team has been competing since 2004.RIGHT: Operator III Grant Newlin checks the calibration for the Pulsafeederammonium sulfate metering pumps.

“This is the only utility I have worked for. I started as a trainee and worked my way up.

I love the education part of it and seeing how my job positively affects the environment ”




Big savings“The project is a huge success,” says Hogan. “We have eliminated con-

centrate discharged into the intracoastal waterway, and consequently, we are recovering about 115 million gallons of water a year that would

have been wasted. When combined with the 1.2 mgd to be recovered from

Plant #2, this results in 1.5 mgd of water recovered.”

Plant #1 is recovering the filter backwash by bringing the settled

supernatant recovered from each backwash back to the headworks for

treatment. The plant loses about 2 percent of the total water produced

through evaporation and water contained in the wasted sludge. The

sludge is used by local contractors, who mix it with equal parts of sand

and shell to create a road base material.

Plant #2 is developing a method to also recover all of its concentrate water and reuse it as source water. The plan is to treat the concentrate

with on-site lime softening and ultrafiltration. Bench scale laboratory

tests and two pilot tests were conducted in 2010-2011 to prove the new

process.

The project is now in the design stage, and the zero liquid discharge

(ZLD) facility is scheduled to be online by May 1, 2013. “This project,

along with innovative technology, represents an important step toward

environmental sustainability and good water resource management,”

says Hogan.

By eliminating the concentrate discharge and recovering the lime-

softened and ultrafiltered supernatant, the plant will effectively recover

100 percent of the water. It will enable postponement of additional

groundwater wells and will recover 1.2 mgd of water that otherwise would

have been wasted.

“ZLD was one of three alter-

natives that were short-listed and

looked at closely for recovering

concentrate water,” says Hogan.

“The other two, constructed wet-

lands and an exfiltration trench, both proved economically unfeasible.

Fred Greiner was instrumental in running the pilot for the ZLD projectand developing the full-scale treatment.”

Labor of loveIt’s clear that the Palm Coast team members love what they do. “I

especially like the fact that we stay proactive in public education,” says

Roussell. He enjoys the Job Functioning Program, where students who

will soon join the workforce take part in hands-on activities at the plants.

“We let them take samples, run tests in the lab, and document the

results,” says Roussell. “We believe public education is key, to give stu-

dents an idea of where their water comes from.” Says Greiner, “This is theonly utility I have worked for. I started as a trainee and worked my way

up. I love the education part of it, and seeing how my job positively affects

the environment.”

Operator III Tom Martens enjoys the job’s variety: “It’s not the same

old thing every day. I might have a problem at the well or the plant itself.

Plus, the technology is constantly changing. They give you the tools and

the help to stay ahead of it.”

Hogan loves his job of 31 years for the challenge and for working with

the chief operators and developing careers. “I have tried to instill a sense

of quality and excellence in my chief operators and staff, and it’s gratify-

ing to see them continue this with their people,” he says. “I’ll be retiring

in a few years and will definitely miss working with them, but I’m very

confident that they will carry on the winning tradition.” wso

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Eaton877/386-2273

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Koch Membrane Systems, Inc.888/677-5624

www.kochmembrane.com

Met-Pro Environmental Air Solutions

800/621-0734 www.mpeas.com

PAX Water Technologies866/729-6493

www.paxwater.com

(See ad page 21)

Pulsafeeder, Inc., A Unit of IDEX Corp.585/292-8000

www.pulsafeeder.com

Lead operator Ryan Bellerive logs data into a maintenance record for a 1,000 kW Cummins emergency generator.

I love the education part of it, and seeing how my job positively affects the environment.

FRED GREINER

WINNINGTHEM OVER




W

hen the Municipal Water District of Orange County (Calif.)

wants to spread the word about water conservation and

quality, it can count on some of its youngest customers forinspiration.

For more than 25 years, the district has sponsored an annual poster

and slogan contest for elementary school students, attracting hundreds of

entries each spring from children who have apparently heeded lessons

offered through the district’s Water Education School Program.

The district’s 2011 contest

attracted more than 800 entries,

and the judges selected 15 poster winners and 15 slogan winners,

including one grand prize winner

in each of two age divisions.

With a poster announcing “It’s

Time to Realize the Need to Be

Water Wise,” Deven Nagel of La

Veta Elementary School in Orange

won an iPad as the grand prize

winner in grades 4-6. In grades

1-3, Iris Lee of Canyon View Ele-mentary in Irvine won the grand

prize of two season passes to Dis-

neyland for her poster: “Water Is

Important for Every One … Save

Water.”

Multiple rewards

In addition to trophies and

certificates, the winning entries

are framed and returned to the 30 winners at the annual awards program held at the Discovery Science

Center in Santa Ana. Winners also receive a custom T-shirt with an image

of their entry. There is a new theme for each year’s contest, and recently

that has come from the past year’s winning slogan.

For 2012, organizers have been considering some big changes, includ-

ing adding a digital arts division for junior high or senior high students.

“We thought that would be a way to modernize the contest and capture

the interest of older students,” says Jessica Ouwerkerk, the district’s pub-

lic affairs specialist.

The district lies in the nation’s most populated metropolitan area,

where the need to protect and conserve water resources has long been

critical. That’s why education has been a top priority for nearly 40 years.

“It’s one of the oldest water education programs in the nation,” says

Ouwerkerk. “We have such a big population in Southern California and

YoungConservationists

Municipal Water District of Orange County poster/slogan contest lets students

speak out on important water issues

BY PETE LITTERSKI

Grant Jaffe, a student at WestmontElementary in Westminster, Calif., iscongratulated by Ricki the Raindropafter the 2009 Water ConservationPoster and Slogan Contest awards.

Susie Kang, a student at Foothill Ranch Elementary in Foothill Ranch, Calif., is joined by her brother while receiving congratulations from Ricki the Raindropafter the 2010 Education Poster and Slogan Contest awards ceremony.

The district’s 2011 Education Poster and Slogan Contest produced thesewinners. From left, poster by Brandon Lee, grade 1, Los Coyotes Elementary inLa Palma; grand prize winner for grades 1-3 by Iris Lee, grade 2, Canyon ViewElementary in Irvine; and grand prize winner for grades 4-6 by Deven Nagel,grade 4, La Veta Elementary in Orange.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/januaryfebruary-2012-issue 40/52“In the past, users had to keep a thick book on the bench with instructions for all

the chemical methods. Now the instrument provides that in electronic form.”

KATY GUTHRIE




on the packaging, telling exactly how to do the test. The reagents are inte-

grated into the packaging. The vials are barcoded, so that to pull up the

correct test method, you simply put the vial into the DR 3900 spectropho-

tometer. The first scan of that barcode identifies the method, so that theinstrument pulls up the correct wavelengths and automatically performs

the reading without the need to use a blank.

wso: Does the DR 3900 itself help guide users through the proce-

dure for each test?

Guthrie: Yes. The device is simple to use, with a color display and

intuitive touch-screen user interface and a built-in help guide. In the past,

users had to keep a thick book on the bench with instructions for all the

chemical methods. Now the instrument provides that in electronic form.

MacDonald: Rather than describe the tests in a way that sounds likesomething written by and for a Ph.D. chemist, it provides simple instruc-

tions with a picture, making it crystal clear what steps to perform for each

test. Most of the methods take just a handful of steps, and all the chemis-

try is pre-packaged, making it very easy to perform the analysis.

wso: Just for example, how exactly would the instrument guide

the user through a specific test?

Guthrie: The user touches an on-screen information icon — the let-

ter “i” with a circle around it. That brings up a pictogram and instruc-

tions for the first step, such as ‘Fill the sample cell to the line with thesample.’ Touching an arrow brings up the next step. Every individual step

of the procedure is shown and described in this way.

wso: How does this system help assure accuracy?

MacDonald: The instrument performs a tenfold measurement by

rotating the vial, and the average of those readings is displayed on the

screen. The result is that the user gets a consistent average value, despite

any flaws in the glassware, or any smudges or fingerprints. The instru-

ment contains an algorithm that rejects any readings that are outliers and

still gives an accurate average reading. In addition, the packaging is

color-coded so there is a low probability of the user making a mistake.

wso: Are there other advantages to this approach to chemistry?

MacDonald: The TNTplus chemistry is in our green or environ-

mentally friendly portfolio. It reduces exposure to the chemicals. The

vials use DosiCaps that are easier to use than powder pillows or liquid

reagents. There’s no spill risk, no safety risk, and no risk of contamina-

tion because the reagents are completely contained within the vial cap.

The system uses very small-scale wet chemistry – at most about a mil-liliter of sample, and microliters of reagents in most cases. That reduces

the waste generated by doing the tests. The packaging is also more eco-

friendly, using recyclable cardboard instead of foam.

wso: How would you describe the range of chemistries available

for testing in water treatment plant labs?

MacDonald: The spectrophotometer is made specifically for water

analysis, and with TNTplus chemistry there are about 200 methods that

can be used. The tests cover parameters for every step from source water

to finished water.Last June we received approval from the U.S. EPA for the TNTplus

method for nitrate, a development that has real value. Until now, there

wasn’t a particularly easy way of doing this test. Nitrate testing has been

done using ion chromatography or the cadmium reduction method. Most

plants were sending this test to an outside lab and paying $25 to $35 a test.

Now they have a way to do it in-house on their own time in a matter of

minutes, and at substantial savings.

wso: How does the RFID technology work within this system?

Guthrie: The spectrophotometer includes an RFID module, and

there is an RFID tag on each box of chemistry that includes two key

pieces of information. First is a certificate of analysis. The user simply

holds the box of chemistry up to the instrument, and the certificate comes

up on screen and can be printed out.

The second item on the RFID tag is the calibration factors. Tradition-

ally, if there was a change in the chemistry raw material that would cause

the calibration curve in the instrument to change, the user would have to

update the software, which meant going to a website, downloading thesoftware to a USB stick, and uploading it to the instrument.

Now, when they insert the barcoded vial, the instrument tells them if

they need to update the calibration factors. If so, they simply put the box

from the chemistry next to the RFID module, and the instrument auto-

matically uploads the new calibration factors.

wso: How does this system improve the tracking of samples and

test results?

Guthrie: The TNTplus chemistry uses a 2-D matrix barcode that can

contain more information than a traditional barcode such as we see at the

grocery store. For each reagent, it includes the lot number and the expi-

ration date. So when using the chemistry, with the spectrophotometer, the

instrument tells if you are using expired chemistry.

All the chemistry information is logged along with the measurement,

so that it is completely traceable. In case questions about the result arise

later, you can always trace that measurement back to the lot number and

expiration date of the chemistry.

There is also an optional accessory called the LOC 100 locator that

lets users track samples from collection to measurement. This system

uses RFID operator key tags, RFID sample location tags, and stickyRFID tags on the sample bottles.

The sample collector goes to a sample point, scans his or her operator

tag by holding it up to the locator device, scans the sample location tag,

and transmits the information to the bottle tag. Now the bottle tag con-

tains the operator ID and the sample location, date and time. Back at the

lab, the bottles are held in front of the RFID module on the spectropho-

tometer, and all the information from the bottle tag is transferred to the

instrument.

So in the end, that data is all tracked with the measurement. It pro-

vides a high level of trust in the results. There is essentially an electronictrail from beginning to end. wso

“The spectrophotometer is made specifically

for water analysis, and with TNTplus chemistry

there are about 200 methods that can be used.

The tests cover parameters for every step from

source water to finished water.”

DAVE MACDONALD



INDUSTRY

NEWS




AM-Liner Joins NORDIPIPE GroupAM-Liner East Inc. is the newest member

of the NORDIPIPE licensee family. The North-

ern-Virginia-based company is the fourth

licensee of NORDIPIPE, a trenchless technol-

ogy for the rehabilitation of water mains.

Haaker’s Thomas Helps with Water Project

Dave Thomas, Haaker Equipment Co. sales

representative for Elgin street sweepers and

Vactor sewer cleaners and hydroexcavators in

La Verne, Calif., has traveled to Rwanda the

past three years to help the Clean Water Initia-

tive of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest,

Calif. Thomas and his colleagues have brought

water purification systems to three hospitals in

western Rwanda and are working to drill deep

wells for more than 100 villages. His next proj-

ect is to bring fresh water to a high school in the

African nation of Malawi.

Garney Construction

Acquires Weaver,Names CEOGarney Holding Co.

acquired Weaver General

Construction of Englewood,

Colo. Weaver specializes in

the construction of water

and wastewater facilities with an emphasis in

construction-management based delivery. Gar-

ney, which specializes in the construction of

water and wastewater pipelines, treatmentfacilities, pumping stations, water storage

tanks and industrial projects, also named

Michael Heitmann president and chief operat-

ing officer. He will oversee strategic planning

and business development from the company’sKansas City, Mo., headquarters.

Severn Trent NamesSales Director,Manager

Severn Trent Services

named John Dyson North

American sales director for

its Water Purification groupand Enric Cardoner as gen-

eral manager for its Water

Purification group in

Europe, serviced from

offices in the United King-

dom, Italy and Spain.

Dyson will be responsible

for overseeing the munici-

pal and industrial sales

channels, partners and pro-cesses that the company offers

to the water and wastewater markets in the

United States and Canada. He brings 20 years

experience in technical sales and management

to his position.

Itron, Tantalus Form PartnershipItron Inc. and Tantalus Systems Corp. have

partnered to deliver smart metering and smart

grid benefits to electric and multi-service pub-

lic utilities. The collaboration combines Itron’s

SENTINEL and CENTRON electricity meters

as well as its gas and water ERT modules with

Tantalus’ communications network, TUNet.

Sterlitech Among Fastest Growing

Washington BusinessesSterlitech Corp., manufacturer and distrib-

utor of laboratory filtration equipment, was rec-

ognized by Puget Sound Business Journal as one

of the 100 fastest growing private companies in

Washington state, ranking 83rd overall.

DC Water Receives WERF Award for Excellence

DC Water received the Water EnvironmentResearch Foundation (WERF) Award for

excellence and innovation for its biosolids pro-

gram that will cut greenhouse gas emission,

produce more energy and create higher quality

biosolids. The award recognizes organizationsthat have made improvements to wastewater

and stormwater collection, storage or treatment

operations, facilities or processes by applying

WERF research.

Arkema Partners withRMB Products

Arkema Inc., producer of fine-powder prod-

ucts for water treatment and water desalina-tion, partnered with RMB Products Inc.,

producer of large-scale coatings for steel piping

and in the fabrication and plastic lining/coat-

ing of large metal structures.

American Water ReceivesEPA Award

American Water Works Company Inc. received

a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2011WaterSense Excellence Award, presented in

recognition of the company’s role as a lead

partner with the EPA in the agency’s We’re for

Water consumer education campaign.

Wooster CSOReceivesBreakthrough

AwardDr. Paul Edmiston,

CSO and co-founder

of ABSMaterials Inc.,

received the Popular

Mechanics 2011 Break-

through Award in

Materials Science for

his invention of Osorb glass materials to treat

and clean water. The award recognizes advances

across all areas of science and technology

development.

Analytical Technology ReceivesFramework Agreement

Analytical Technology Inc., manufacturer

and supplier of electrochemical sensors to the

United Kingdom and Europe, received a frame-

work agreement to supply and install 500bufferless chlorine monitoring systems to York-

shire Water, which continually monitors water

from its 59 treatment plants with samples taken

from 363 reservoirs where treated water is

NEWS

Enric Cardoner

John Dyson

Michael Heitmann

Dave Thomas (second from left) and a colleaguefrom Saddleback Church with local volunteers in

Kibuye, Rwanda.

Dr. Paul Edmiston

january/february 2012 issue

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