September 2018
Sept. 10 - NEWEA - Collection Systems Conference & Exhibit, Boxborough MA, 4.75 TCH
Sept. 11 - MRWA - Liens & Disconnections: Real Life Instruction, Bangor
Sept. 13 - MRWA - Liens & Disconnections: Real Life Instruction, Portland
Sept 19 Thru 21 - MEWEA - 2018 Fall Convention, Newry/Sunday River, Variable TCH
Sept. 26, Oct. 2, 4, & 10 - MRWA - Wastewater Systems Prep Course, Grade 1 & 2, Location Pending, 16 TCH
Oct. 2 & 3 - JETCC - Wastewater 101, Ellsworth, DEP 12 TCH
Oct. 10 Thru 12 - NEIWPCC - O&M of Wastewater Collection Systems (w/ optional NEWEA Exam), Westbrook, DEP 15 TCH
Oct. 15 - JETCC - Biological Nutrient Removal with Michael Gerardi, Portland, DEP 6 TCH
Oct. 15 - NEWEA - Residuals & Microconstituents Conference & Exhibit, Lowell MA, TCH TBD
Oct. 16 - JETCC - Microscopic Examination: Techniques & Interpretation with Michael Gerardi, Lewiston, DEP 6 TCH, BLWSO 4 TCH
Oct. 23 - MRWA - Introduction to Lift Station Maintenance, Westbrook, DEP 6 TCH
Oct. 23 - JETCC - Maintenance & Troubleshooting of Wet Well Mounted Pump Stations, Farmington, DEP 6 TCH, BLWSO 6 TCH
Oct. 24 - JETCC - Wastewater Treatment Overview & Refresher, Augusta, DEP 6 TCH
Oct. 25 - JETCC - Facility Operation in Cold Climates, Mars Hill, DEP 6 TCH, BLWSO 6 TCH
Oct. 29 & 30 - NEWEA - CSO Conference & Exhibit, Portland, TCH TBD
Nov. 7 & 8 - NEIWPCC - Laboratory Procedures with NEWEA Exam, Orono, 9 TCH
Dec. 4 Thru 6 - MRWA - 38th Annual Technical Conference & Tradeshow, Bangor, Variable TCH
MEWEA’s fall convention will be held September 19-21 at the Sunday River Grand Summit Resort & Hotel in Newry, Maine. The conference is a great opportunity for water professionals in Maine to get together for the purpose of learning, networking, and perhaps even a little fun.
The convention theme is “One Water” and the program is designed to offer something valuable to water professionals, whether they are long-standing or brand-new members, students, contractors, vendor, regulators, or elected officials. The convention allows a way to connect and learn from others in the field through education, leadership, recognition, and community.
For more information or to register, go to the MEWEA website at http://www.mewea.org.
JETCC is pleased to announce that the 10th year of Management Candidate School will begin on November 14th in Bangor. Thank you to Bangor Water District for hosting the Class of 2019!
The Management Candidate School (MCS) is an 11-month training program that provides the intensive training, networking and skill-development coursework necessary to prepare the next generation of water and wastewater managers and leaders. With many of Maine's current water and wastewater managers at or near retirement age, it is hoped that the individuals who complete the MCS program will be able to continue the critical work of managing the state's water and wastewater treatment infrastructure. This exciting training program is aimed at mid-level operators with management potential.
This year’s MCS class of 23 wastewater and water operators will be graduating at the MEWEA Convention in September, bringing the total number of MCS graduates to 175. Visit JETCC’s website at www.jetcc.org for updates.
An 8-inch pipe if flowing full at 400 gpm. What is the velocity in feet per second (fps)?
a. 2.54 fps
b. 5.43 fps
c. 770 fps
d. 20,096 fps
e. 23,935 fps
The Maine DEP would like to notify all MEPDES license holders who are required to conduct toxicity testing as part of their license requirements that the Department has developed a new toxicity reporting form. The new form contains formatting and coding that allows it to be automatically uploaded when the report form arrives here at our offices, and the new form also now contains a drop down menu of the facilities names and license numbers. This drop down menu will eliminate any accidental spelling errors or differences in names used when reporting, such as abbreviations, which cause problems when uploading the data. The new form has been distributed to all of the laboratories who are licensed to analyze samples using approved wastewater methods for facilities located in Maine. The laboratories will be using these new forms from now on when reporting the testing results from the samples you have provided.
Just wanted you to be informed of the change in the form and understand the rationale behind the changes.
Any Questions, please contact Bill Sheehan at 207-760-3136, bill.j.sheehan@maine.gov
New NetDMR Administrator
DEP would like to introduce our new NetDMR Administrator, Brett Goodrich, who took over the position previously held by Rebecca Beam. We are very excited to have Brett onboard.
Brett worked at Northeast Laboratory Services for 19 years prior to joining the Maine DEP. While at Northeast Lab, Brett worked in both the microbiology and chemistry laboratories analyzing potable and non-potable water for a variety of parameters. In addition to providing technical assistance with problems related to NetDMR, Brett will also be an added resource for operators and lab personnel with laboratory related issues or questions.
Brett can be reached at Brett.A.Goodrich@maine.gov, or direct line 207-287-9034.
Updating User Roles
NetDMR has been in use for a couple years and some facilities have had changes in personnel during that time. It is important to keep user role permissions up to date. Permit administrators can make changes to all user roles except for the Signatory role .
To review the current list of user roles for a specific permit, sign into CDX using “Permittee- Signature” role and click to continue to NetDMR. Click “Permits” under Search column near the top of page. Enter permit ID number and click search, all users with associated roles will be displayed. Click the icon next to the user’s name to modify user roles. Check the box for the role(s) you wish to delete and confirm the change on the next screen (note you must give a reason in the text box in order to delete the role).
Remember, the changes listed above are only for View, Edit and Administrator roles. Contact Brett for information on changing a Signatory role.
Thanks to all participants of the DMR-QA Study 38. The due date was August 31. Next month I will present an analysis of the results.
For those who failed a test, a Corrective Action (CA) report is due to MeDEP by October 26. This can be a short email describing why you think you failed and what changes you are making to correct the problem for the future. The CA report could include such things as replacing or updating instrumentation, calibrations, enhanced cleaning procedures, purchasing new glassware, alternate DI water source, and improved techniques, analyst training, and data validation procedures.
Also due to MeDEP by October 26 are retest results for the failed analytes. If you also fail the retest, MeDEP will review the situation and CA report. Possible outcomes for repeat failures include technical assistance, analyst training, and splitting samples with commercial laboratories. Depending on the circumstances, MeDEP may require the facility to use a commercial lab until such time that the MEPDES lab can show proficiency for in-house testing.
Questions? Contact Judy Bruenjes at 207-287-7806, judy.k.brunjes@maine.gov.
Common Issues with DMR QA BOD Test
The DMR QA Proficiency Test (PT) results for 2018 are being reviewed and we are seeing several failures of BOD test results. We wanted to take this opportunity to provide some assistance with a few of the things that are most likely to cause issues.
Sample preparation and pH adjustment
The DMR QA PT samples are provided in concentrated form and it is important to prepare them carefully according to the provider instructions. Typically, this will involve volumetrically adding a specified amount (usually 5 mL) of the BOD standard to a 1 liter volumetric flask containing 200-300 mL of deionized water. Once the final volume is brought up to 1 liter with deionized water, this solution must be thoroughly mixed then tested for pH. The pH must be adjusted to 6.5-7.5 prior to starting the analysis.
Volumetric flasks have openings that can be too small to fit pH probes, so it can help to pour off the thoroughly mixed sample into a clean beaker (i.e. approximately 200 mL poured into a 250 mL beaker). If necessary adjust pH up using sodium hydroxide or down using sulfuric acid. Once the pH is between 6.5-7.5, the sample contained in the beaker can be used and treated as regular sample that is being analyzed for BOD.
Choosing appropriate dilutions
We have also seen issues related to deciding which dilutions to perform. Since the potential results of the DMR QA sample cover a wide range, and with the importance of meeting the requirements of SM5210B for minimum residual DO and minimum DO drop, choosing the appropriate dilutions is a critical factor.
If is not provided as part of the instructions/ startup information, check with your PT provider to get the concentration range for the BOD analyte (this is not the range of acceptable results, these are the lowest and highest concentrations that may be contained in the sample). This will help in making the decision of which dilutions to perform.
A note about picking dilutions for DMR QA BOD test: Limiting yourself to the dilutions you normally use for BOD testing on your influent and effluent may not be the best choice for the DMR QA PT sample dilutions. PT providers follow the requirements by the National Environmental Lab Accreditation Program (NELAP) to prepare the unknown PT samples in the range of 18-230 mg/L. It’s important to remember that the DMR QA PT sample for BOD can be anywhere within the possible concentration range.
If you only pick dilutions you usually use for influent/effluent samples, the influent results will be towards the high end of this range and effluent results can often be on the lower end. Therefore, it is important to use BOD dilutions that cover the entire 18-230 mg/L range.
Once you have the concentration range you can use various resources to decide which dilutions to perform. One of the best guides could be your own historical data. Look through your older data for results on the lower and higher ends of the given range. Note which dilutions gave valid results at each of the levels. Once you have an idea of which volumes to use for the highest and lowest dilutions, you will want to choose at least 3-5 additional dilutions that fall between these dilutions.
Since there are many factors that can affect the BOD test no one set of dilutions can be guaranteed to work under all conditions. It may be beneficial to create an internal chart using your own data to keep track of which dilution(s) typically give valid results for various BOD levels.
Online resources can be useful, but the information must be from trusted sources and should only be used as a secondary resource. The experience of the person performing the test, in conjunction with reviews of internal references, should be the primary guides when determining which dilutions to perform.
Questions? Contact Brett Goodrich at 207-287-9034, brett.a.goodrich@maine.gov.
a. 2.54 fps
Use the formula Flow = Velocity X Area (Q = VA)
Rearrange to solve for Velocity = Flow/Area
To find the area in square feet:
Change 8 inches to feet: 8/12 = 0.67 ft
Find the area of a circular pipe: A = 0.785 X 0.67 X 0.67 = 0.35 sq ft
Convert flow from gpm to cfs:
400 gal/min /60 sec/min / 7.48 cu ft/gal = 0.89 cfs
Plug in the numbers and solve for velocity:
V = Flow/Area = 0.89 cfs/0.35 sq ft = 2.54 fps
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