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E.A. Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant

Content:

History

background

Specifications

Process

Issues

References

History

The concert with the quantity and quality of water has been always an important part of humankind's subsistence. thus, water is an essential component of life. In this context, people require on average of 2.3 liters of water daily to survive since the human body is composed of 65% water. (Mines, Lackey 2009) However, impurities in the water were not always recognized to be connected to diseases. It was assumed that if water taste good it was safe to drink. Therefore, early treatment systems focused on removing taste and odor contaminants. So the water could be considered "safe." As technology developed, people were able to see microorganisms in water, measure their concentration and link them to diseases. (James R. Pfafflin 2006)

Actually, water quality is normally classified by physical, chemical, biological, and microbiological and radiological parameters. Physical characteristics in water are those that affect the senses: sight, taste, smell and touch. Chemical parameters are those connected to the actual composition of the water and are subdivided into inorganic and organic categories. (Matthews 2003) Many chemical species are toxic to humans, so their concentrations in water are regulated. Biological and microbiological parameters are those associated with disease-causing organisms or pathogens that directly relate to public health. Radiological parameters are found in water exposed to radioactivity. these parameters denote severe health implications; subsequently, they are regulated by the federal drinking water standards. (Mines, Lackey 2009)

Water resources like rivers, lakes, streams, reservoirs, contained a lot of pollution, which occur naturally and by anthropogenic means. Thus, water must undergo a number of treatments necessary to make it drinkable. If the quality of water helps to determine how this source must be used, a holistic approach to pollution control must be encouraged. Hence, understanding the importance and interconnection between drinking water and wastewater treatment is an integral approach of managing a particular watershed. (University, California Polytechnic State 2009)In this view, Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants are fundamental to the structure of a city to provide quality water for its citizens. Most water withdrawn from different resources must be transported to water treatment plant (WTP) where various chemicals are added and several types of treatment processes are used to produce safe and drinkable water.

Because water is used in many differential activities, its quality helps to define how this resource must be used. thereupon, some primary water-use categories are: public supply, domestic, irrigation, livestock, agriculture. industrial. mining, and thermoelectric power. (Ziegler 2006).The Water supplies by the E.A. Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant(EAFWWTP) goes to public and private suppliers, and domestic consumption, which target the use of water for indoor and outdoor household purposes.

Background

The lower American River Watershed originated from the Folsom lake, flows 30 miles to its confluence with the Sacramento River near downtown Sacramento. (Sacramento River Watershed Program 2013) The Folsom Dam, which created the Folsom lake, is a multipurpose facility to store water for irrigation, domestic use, municipal and industrial use, hydropower generation, recreation, and to maintain flows stipulated to protect fish (naturally spawning fall-run Chinook salmon, steelhead, and American shad) and wildlife. ( Environmental Protection Agency 2000) In addition, to the Folsom Lake, there are other water sources contributing to the American River Watershed, also known as the American River Basin. These contributors are: Coon Creek, Markham Ravine, Auburn Ravine, pleasant Grove Creek. Curry Creek, Dry Creek, Cordova Creek, and Arcade Creek. (Fraser Shilling 2016)The quality of water of the American River is generally characterized as low in alkalinity, mineral content, and organic contamination. And, its turbidity levels tend to be higher in the winter than summer since higher flows are directly connected to winter storms.

The Sacramento's drinking water comes from two main sources: 15% is groundwater, and 85% comes from the Sacramento and American rivers. The E.A. Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant (EAFWTP) processes water pumped from the American River while the Treatment Plant on the Sacramento River takes the water from the Sacramento River. The water treatment processes at both facilities is the same, so they must follow and meet the Public Health Goals (PHGs) set by the State of California. (City of Sacramento 2013)

Specifications

The E.A Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant (EAFWTP) located in East Sacramento near the Sacramento State University Campus, is owned by the City of Sacramento. It is one of the main supplier of potable water to the City of Sacramento. (E.A. Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant 2010) Originally built in 1964, the EAFWTP was designed to treat up to 200 million gallons of water per day. The type of treatment provided in this facility is based on settling, coagulation with aluminum sulfate, chlorine disinfection, fluoridation, and pH adjustment. In 1991, this Water Treatment Plant was part of an upgrade project to the existing infrastructure, and an expansion to keep with the current demand.

In 2005, the maximum capacity of the FWTP increased from 90 mgd to 200mgd, but it only has a permitted capacity of 160 mgd, and a reliable capacity of 100 mgd during peak demand times since the amount of water the plant can divert is limited by times of the year, low flows in the American River, and restrictions dictated by the city's water Forum Purveyor Specific Agreement (PSA). (E.A. Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant 2010).

In 2011-2012, the EAFWTP treated an average of 42 mgd of water, while the SRWTP treated an average of approximately 64 mgd(Chapter 4 :Utilities 2015).

Since Sludge is a byproduct of the water treatment plant production process, it requires dewatering and disposal, the EAFWTP will go under renovation to increase reliability and production. Currently, the city must hire contractor throughout the year to perform sludge dewatering and disposal processes due to the current facility’s limitations. The projected upgrade will be the construction of mechanical dewatering facilities, FWW sludge collection system, yard improvements, and other work to create a more cost effective dewatering process. (Chapter 4 :Utilities 2015)

Actually, The City of Sacramento along with the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA), the Sacramento Suburban Water Agency, and the City of Roseville have joined together to address the need for future water supply facilities to serve the region.

Water Quality Standards

Drinking water standards established by USEPA and CDPH set limits for substances that may affect consumer health or aesthetic qualities of drinking water. These standards are: • Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): it is the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. Primary MCLs are set as close to the Public Health Goals as is economically and technologically feasible. (California Department of Public Health 2011)

• Secondary MCLs: are set to protect the odor, taste, and appearance of drinking water. • Primary Drinking Water Standard MCLs: are applied for contaminants that affect health along with their monitoring and reporting water treatment requirements.

• Regulatory Action Level (RAL): The concentration of a contaminant, which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow.

Water Quality Goals

In addition to mandatory water quality standards, The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) have set voluntary water quality goals for some contaminants. Water quality goals are often set at such low levels that they are not achievable in practice and are not directly measurable. Nevertheless, these goals provide useful guidelines for water management practices. These goals are: • Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG): set by USEPA.

• Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level Goal (MRDLG).

• Public Health Goals (PHG): are set by the California Environmental Protection Agency. The contaminants that may be present in source water include:

- Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife. (California Department of Public Health 2011)

- Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can be naturally occurring or result from urban storm runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges. ( Environmental Protection Agency 2000)

- Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff and residential uses. (U.S. Geological Survey 2016)

- Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, as byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production.

Process

Since 85% of drinkable water (Sacramento city) comes from the Sacramento and American rivers, assessments of potential contaminating activities were completed by 2000 and April 2001. (City of Sacramento 2010) These reports indicated that both surface sources (American and Sacramento rivers) were vulnerable to contaminants from recreational activities, agricultural contaminants, sewage collection system, leaking underground storage tanks, and others sources.

Because these contaminants are considered detrimental for people’s health, the water quality provides by this facility must meet all state and federal drinking water standards. The removal of substances from water is accomplished by using biological, chemical, and physical methods. In the case of the EAFWTP, a combination of chemical and physical techniques is applied. Typical unit operation, which are physical methods, include screening, mixing, aeration, sedimentation filtration. Chemical methods which added certain chemicals to remove contaminants, include coagulation, chemical oxidation, chemical disinfection, and chemical precipitation. Surface water quality and volume are variable through time and space. (Matthews 2003)

Seasonal changes can affect the quality of the water. So, desired quality of water will place specific constraints on which technology can be use better during the treatment. The treated water must meet Primary drinking water standards that are health related while Secondary standards, which are adopted by most municipalities, must considered various parameters related to aesthetics. In general, Secondary standards are adopted by most regulatory agencies but not enforced as it is done with Primary regulations. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforced the primary drinking water standards and considered the maximum contaminant levels established for chemical, biological and radiological constituents in the water. Since the quality of surface water is variable and its characteristics are not consistent as those associated to groundwater, conventional surface water treatment plants follow sequential operations and processes, as are described below:

raw water → Bar rack → Screens → Flow measurement → Mixing → Flocculation → Sedimentation → Filtration → Clear well → High Service Pumps → To distribution system

Between Flow measurement and Mixing three sub operation are done: pH adjustment, Oxidant/disinfectant, and Coagulant is added.

Between Sedimentation and Filtration two sub operation are done: Sludge, Oxidant/ disinfectant.

Between Filtration and Clear Water process, three additional operations are executed: Backwash to washwater recovery pond, Oxidant/disinfectant and Fluoride is added.

Some of the Key operations done during water treatment are:

Coagulation consisted in the addition and mixing of a chemical-coagulant or flocculant- to destabilize fine solids suspended in water. So well-known coagulants are Aluminum (aluminum ferrous sulfate, ferric chloride, ferric sulfate and sodium aluminum) and iron salts. (Matthews 2003)

Flocculation involves gently agitation to promote agglomeration of the destabilized particles formed during coagulation. (Mines, Lackey 2009)

Mixing is the process of adding chemicals into the water and instantaneously dispersed by mechanical units, which are rapid mixing processes of less than 2 minutes. (Mines, Lackey 2009)

Issues

Regulatory Context Federal

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974 gave the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to set standards for contaminants in drinking water supplies. (Environmental Protection Agency, Ca 2008) The EPA was required to establish primary regulations for the control of contaminants that affect public health and secondary regulations for compounds that affect the taste, odor, or aesthetics of drinking water. Under these provisions, the California Department of Public Health (DPH) has the primary enforcement responsibility.

Regulatory Context State

Regulatory Federal Context The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974 gave the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to set standards for contaminants in drinking water supplies. (Enviromental Protection Agency, Ca 2008) The EPA was required to establish primary regulations for the control of contaminants that affect public health and secondary regulations for compounds that affect the taste, odor, or aesthetics of drinking water. Under these provisions, the California Department of Public Health (DPH) has the primary enforcement responsibility.

Regulatory State Context

In 1983, the California Legislature enacted the Urban Water Management Planning Act (Water Code Sections 10610 – 10656). The Act requires that every urban water supplier provides water to 3,000 or more customers preparing and adopting an urban water management plan. The plan must be prepared within a year of becoming an urban water supplier and update the plan at least once every five years. The Act also specifies the intention of the Legislature to permit levels of water management planning appropriate with the number of customers served and the volume of water supplied. (Sacramento River Watershed Program 2013)

The Act states that urban water suppliers should make every effort to ensure the appropriate level of reliability in its water service to meet the needs of its various categories of customers during normal, dry, and multiple dry years. The Act also states that the management of urban water demands and the efficient use of water shall be actively pursued to protect both: people and the state’s water resources. (Foundation 2013)

The City’s surface water diversions at the EAFWTP are subject to limitations specified in the City’s Water Forum Purveyor Specific Agreement. In extremely dry years, the City would limit its diversions of city water at the EAFWTP to not greater than 155 cubic feet per second (cfs) and not greater than 50,000 AFA. In contrast to what is expected for other years. The State Department of Water Resources (DWR) has designed its urban planning assistance program to assist urban water suppliers to meet the requirements of the Act. Program staff assists urban water suppliers with preparing comprehensive and useful water management plans, implementing water conservation programs, and understanding the requirements of the Act.

The City may divert city water at the EAFWTP up to the full capacity of its expanded infrastructure (310 cfs). Moreover, the city diversions may not be greater than 120 cfs January through May, 155 cfs June through August, 120 cfs in September, and 100 cfs October through December. (City of Sacramento 2010)

References

-2000. " Environmental Protection Agency." Appendix A -California Toxic Rule Water Quality Standards-- PDF. May 18. Accessed April 26, 2016. http://dpw.lacounty.gov.

-2014. " Water Replenishment District of Southern California,." Setting California's Water Quality Standards. April 19. Accessed February 3, 2016.

-Allshouse, Emily. 2016. "Association of California Water Agencies." It's "Go time" for Improving California's Voluntary Water Market. May 05. Accessed 07 2016, 2016. http://www.acwa.com.

-2011. "California Department of Public Health." Water Quality Standards. June. Accessed May 2, 2016. www.cdph.ca.gov.

-1995. "California Environmental Protection Agency." Water Quality Standards Regulations:California. May. Accessed May 4, 2016. http://www.epa.gov/sites.

-2015. "Chapter 4 :Utilities (PDF)." City of Sacramento. March 3. Accessed March 8, 2016.

-2013. "City of Sacramento." Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) PDF. April. Accessed April 13, 2016. www.cityofsacramento.org.

-2010. "City of Sacramento." City of Sacramento, Department of Utilities. April. Accessed March 28, 2016. www.cityofsacramento.org.

-2010. "E.A. Fairbairn Water Treatment Plant." City of Sacramento. October 10. Accessed April 5, 2016. http://www.waterboards.ca.gov.

-2008. "Environmental Protection Agency, Ca." Chemicals and Contaminants in Drinking Water. November. Accessed March 10, 2016. https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-california.

-Foundation, Grace Communications. 2013. The importance of Clean Water. April. Accessed May 1, 2016. http://www.gracelinks.org.

-Fraser Shilling, Abdul Khan. 2016. Managing Water Resources for Sustainability in California. Environmental and Water Resources Institute, February 8.

-Health, California Department of Public. 2016. Drinking Water Process. February 25.

-James R. Pfafflin, Edward N, Ziegler. 2006. "Encyclopedia of Environmental Science and Engineering." In Urban Runoff, by Richard Field, 1180-1210. Boca Raton, Florida: Taylor and Francis Group.

-Matthews, Ruth F Weiner and Robin A. 2003. "Environmental Engineering." In Environmental Engineering (Fourth Edition), by Ruth F Weiner and Robin A. Matthews, 57-79, 81-106, 107-134,135-152. Elsevier B.V.

-Mines, Lackey, Richard, Laura. 2009. Introduction to Environmental Engineering. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

-2013. "Sacramento River Watershed Program." A Roadmap to Watershed Management. Executive Summary (pdf). November. Accessed February 22, 2016.

-2014. "The California State University." California Council on Science and Technology -WRPI 2014-2015 Annual Report. April. Accessed March 23, 2016. http://www.calstate.edu.

-2016. "U.S. Geological Survey." Wastewater Treatment Water Use, Wastewater Treatment Plant. May 2. Accessed May 7, 2016. http://water.usgs.gov.

-University, California Polytechnic State. 2009. ENVE 331. Intro to Environmental Engineering. paperback n/a.

-2007. "Water Board, California." Information Sheet-State Water Resources Control Board (PDF). June 05. Accessed March 15, 2016. htpp://www.waterboard.ca.gov.

-Ziegler, James R. Pfafflin and Edward N. 2006. "Encyclopedia of Environmental Science and Engineering." In Environmental Assessment and Related Impacts, by Robert Dresnack, 325-330. Boca Raton, Florida: Taylor and Francis Group. LLC.