Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department
Miami, Florida
Difficult times require an extra effort when it comes to communication. With all of the talk
about layoffs, budget cuts and salary reductions, utilities face an uphill battle against the internal
“rumor mill”, declining morale during the current economic downturn, and external pressures to
do more with less. A well-developed communication strategy is one key to sustaining
performance in the face of these challenges.
The Water Distribution and Transmission Division of the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer
Department is meeting these challenges “head-on” with an aggressive communication program
that has been developed and refined over a number of years. This presentation will highlight that
program from the perspectives of the Division Chief, managers and supervisors, and employees.
Extensive interviews at various levels of the organization identified key communication
strategies and tactics that are helping this agency maintain a high level of performance through
the most significant economic crisis the US has faced since the Great Depression. These
strategies and tactics will be discussed in detail and results will be presented as a “business case”
for optimizing communication during challenging times.
Focus of Study and Results:
This presentation will include discussion in communication topic areas including:
1. General overview of communication strategies and tactics
2. Types, frequencies, and styles for effective communication
3. Directional communication – up, down, and across the organization
4. Formal and informal communication methods and tools
5. Strengths and weaknesses of various communication approaches
6. Value and results from effective communication programs
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Posted: May 20th, 2011 | Filed under: >1M, Sanitary Sewer, Stormwater, Waste Water Treatment, Water Treatment | Tags: Effective Communication, Improved Customer Relations, Improved Plant Efficiency, Improved Work Morale | No Comments »
Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant (HCTP)
Thousand Oaks, California
The City of Thousand Oaks’ Hill Canyon Wastewater Treatment Plant (HCTP) is seen by its
City Council and the citizens it serves as a unique community asset. The abstract title, $25.45, is
the City’s monthly sewer service charge for a single family residence, which reflects the City’s
pride in its environmental efforts and in this instance celebrating the creation of an
environmental and financially sustainable community asset at HCTP.
While the authors recognize that monthly sewer service charges can be affected by system age,
topography, varying regulatory requirements, and political priorities, they advocate a monthly
sewer service fee that meets outstanding debt requirements, allows for a proper Operations and
Maintenance budget, and saves money for the future.
The authors’ focus is on HCTP and how energy conservation, facility optimization, and
renewable energy generation has dramatically improved plant operations while keeping the
monthly sewer service charge stable for the foreseeable future.
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Posted: May 20th, 2011 | Filed under: 100K-500K, Stormwater, Waste Water Treatment | Tags: Environmental Impact, Improved Customer Relations, Improved Plant Operations, Plant Sustainability, Reduced Carbon Footprint, Reduced Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Renewable Energy Generation | No Comments »
Fort Collins Utilities
Fort Collins, Colorado
In response to population growth adjacent to the Drake Water Reclamation Facility (DWRF), the City of Fort Collins initiated an odor study to determine the impacts from the plant and identify possible odor mitigation alternatives. Subsequently, numerous technologies were evaluated based on criteria which included sustainability, constructability, and a chemical-free operation. The City’s design-build team, consisting of the contractor, engineer, and DWRF staff representatives, collaborated and selected a compost/woodchip biofilter as the most suitable technology for use. Two sets of biofilters were installed in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Since the commissioning of the biofilters, the City has tracked its performance and found that operation parameters differed from the initial design projections. This report and presentation will describe the odor study and evaluation process, as well as the biofilter design and operation. A key focus, and of direct importance to other facilities located in dry climates, will be the operational challenges and knowledge gained by DWRF staff in maintaining and optimizing the biofilters’ performance.
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Posted: May 20th, 2011 | Filed under: 100K-500K, Stormwater, Waste Water Treatment, Water Treatment | Tags: Improved Customer Relations, Improved Worker Morale, Odor Control, Optimized Biofilter Performance, Plant Optimization, Plant Sustainability | No Comments »
Sacramento Area Sewer District
Sacramento, California
The Central Trunk Sewer is an eight mile pipeline that conveys both residential and industrial
sewage for Sacramento County. Constructed in the 1960’s of unlined reinforced concrete, the
pipeline ranges from 33-inches to 60-inches in diameter and is located deep under major roads,
residential backyards, creeks, protected wetlands, and a state highway. Nearly 50 years of
corrosion has severely deteriorated the pipeline and restoring the structural stability of the
pipeline in a cost effective manner with minimal decrease in capacity and distribution to the
community became the primary goals for the Sacramento Area Sewer District (SASD). To meet
these goals SASD and their design consultant West Yost Associates (West Yost) chose cured-inplace
pipe (CIPP) to rehabilitate the entire eight mile pipeline alignment.
Throughout construction several lessons have been learned from this large CIPP project. This
paper will discuss some of the lessons learned as well as considerations for owners and designers
regarding quality control and quality assurance of liner samples, bypass vs. plugging sewer
flows, environmental mitigation monitoring and reporting program, public outreach, air quality
regulations, construction noise mitigation, and debris estimating.
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Posted: May 20th, 2011 | Filed under: >1M, Sanitary Sewer, Stormwater, Waste Water Treatment, Water Treatment | Tags: CIPP Rehabilitation, Corrosion Prevention, Environmental Impact, Improved Customer Relations, Improved Sewer Rehabilitation, Increased Sewer Life, Minimized Community Disruption, Noise Mitigation, Pipe Construction Alternative, Reduced Inflow and Infiltration | No Comments »
Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD)
Orange County, California
Wastewater from the coastal areas of the City of Huntington Beach are conveyed to the Orange
County Sanitation District’s Treatment Plant No. 2 through a 1350 mm/1800 mm/2100mm PVC
(Polyvinyl Chloride) lined RCP (Reinforced Concrete Pipe)sewer. The sewer was constructed in
the early 1980′s to service an area that included residential development at the north end that did
not occur due to overwhelming environmental issues. Since then, the sewer has conveyed
substantially lower flows and the portion of the sewer not lined with PVC has been exposed to
corrosive sewer gases and has corroded.
This project included a full evaluation of the condition of the sewer and looked at alternatives for
repair. Ultimately, the course of action included a unique solution that allowed the line to be
rehabilitated with a minimum of impact and disturbance to surface improvements including hotel
resorts and beach activities particularly during the summer.
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Posted: May 20th, 2011 | Filed under: >1M, Sanitary Sewer, Stormwater, Waste Water Treatment, Water Treatment | Tags: CIPP Rehabilitation, Corrosion Prevention, Environmental Impact, Improved Customer Relations, Improved Sewer Rehabilitation, Increased Sewer Life, Minimized Community Disruption, Noise Mitigation, Pipe Construction Alternative, Reduced Inflow and Infiltration | No Comments »
City of Casselberry-Lake Concord Stormwater Park
Casselberry, Florida
The Lake Concord Stormwater Park project is located in the urban core of the city of
Casselberry. Part of Casselberry’s “City Center” concept, the park is a combination of urban
community redevelopment and stormwater/water quality retrofits with an educational
component. The park showcases multiple stormwater best management practices (BMPs),
including detention, exfiltration, baffle boxes, pervious pavement, bioretention, environmental
swales, stormwater reuse, native and water efficient plantings, and wetland restoration through
shoreline and littoral revegetation. Educational signage within the park describes each BMP
employed, and also provides visitors with information on broad watershed/water quality issues
and practical BMPs they can use in their own backyards. Because the park is a redevelopment
project within a highly urbanized area, its design and construction posed several challenges and
resulted in several lessons learned that can be applied to redevelopment.
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Posted: May 20th, 2011 | Filed under: <50K, Stormwater | Tags: Educational Attraction, Environmental Impact, Improved Customer Relations, Low Impact Development, Neighborhood Improvement, Pervious Pavement, Stormwater Best Management Practice, Stormwater Reuse, Wetland Restoration | No Comments »
Most water utilities recognize the correlation between performance measurement and
effective utility management (EUM). Strong performance measurement, and management of
that data, establishes greater transparency that supports continuous improvement and
strengthens utilities. The Effective Utility Management primer, produced by the
Environmental Protection Agency and six national water/wastewater associations, have listed
Ten Attributes of Effectively Managed Water Sector Utilities (Ten Attributes) to help
utilities more effectively manage their utilities and have provided sample measures that serve
as a guide to utilities seeking to improve their performance measurement practices.
In turn, utilities are using performance indicators, such as those found in the QualServe
continuous improvement program, within their strategic planning process – aligning their
strategic plan with the Ten Attributes and integrated measures.
This paper/presentation illustrates how utilities have linked performance indicators that
incorporate the Ten Attributes into their strategic planning and performance management
practices, which has led to more effective utility management.
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Posted: May 20th, 2011 | Filed under: Stormwater, Waste Water Treatment, Water Treatment | Tags: Chemically Enhanced Primary Treatment, Cost Savings, Effective Utility Management, Emergency Response Readiness, Energy Savings, Improved Customer Relations, Improved Plant Performance, Improved Water Quality, Optimized Plant Improvement, Plant Sustainability | No Comments »
Fort Wayne City Utilities
Fort Wayne, Indiana
The City of Fort Wayne set out to develop a rain garden demonstration and incentive program to
ensure the success of their campaign. An aggressive marketing and public information effort
helped the community begin to recognize, support, and adopt the program as their own.
However, the rain garden program is just the first step in their “Green Infrastructure Initiative”.
They are hopeful this program will be a springboard to look at the overall sustainability
component of their wet weather control and conveyance infrastructure, and start a broader
marketing effort within the community for cleaner and safer water. The goal is that their rain
garden program will quickly become the basis for future green infrastructure, and be the leading
example for other sustainable programs.
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Posted: May 20th, 2011 | Filed under: 100K-500K, Sanitary Sewer, Stormwater, Waste Water Treatment, Water Treatment | Tags: Environmental Impact, Green Infrastructure, Improved Customer Relations, Improved Neighbor Relations, Plant Sustainability, Provide Cleaner Water, Rain Gardens, Reduced Carbon Footprint, Water Conservation, Wet Weather Control | No Comments »
Philadelphia Water Department (PWD)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) is currently evaluating the implementation of
various combined sewer overflow (CSO) control alternatives. This includes traditional
engineering approaches that rely on physical infrastructure (e.g., building large diameter
tunnels), as well as more “natural” approaches that rely on “green infrastructure” techniques
(e.g., vegetated bioswales, permeable pavement).This report provides a Triple Bottom Lineoriented
benefit-cost assessment of the CSO control alternatives under consideration by PWD.
The focus is on the benefits and external costs of the alternatives. The key finding of this report
is that the green infrastructure approaches generate a broader and more valuable array of
environmental, public health, and social benefits than do traditional CSO control strategies.
Benefits of green infrastructure evaluated and monetized include: Improved recreation
opportunities, increased property values, reduced heat-stress related fatalities, improved air and
water quality, green jobs, reduced energy use, and reduced disruption due to construction and
maintenance activities.
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Posted: May 20th, 2011 | Filed under: >1M, Sanitary Sewer, Stormwater, Waste Water Treatment, Water Treatment | Tags: Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Control, Environmental Impact, Green Infrastructure, Improved Customer Relations, Improved Public Health, Improved Stormwater Management, Low Impact Development, Permeable Pavement, Plant Sustainability, Rain Gardens, Vegetated Bioswales | No Comments »
Daphne Utilities
Daphne, Alabama
Through a process of management changes, employee engagement and adopting a performance
culture, a small utility transformed itself from near financial ruin to a utility known nationwide as
one of the best small companies to work for in America. By following the simple steps outlined
in this article, Utilities across the country can follow this model to build their own winning
workplace.
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Posted: May 20th, 2011 | Filed under: <50K, Stormwater, Waste Water Treatment, Water Treatment | Tags: Cost Effective Operation, Cross-Training, Employee Development, Improved Customer Relations, Improved Employee Morale, Improved Team Work, Improved Utility Management, Optimized Plant Operation, Plant Optimization | No Comments »