JUNE 2024
DMR-QA Study 44 officially opened May 17th, 2024. All facilities that participate in the DMR-QA program should have received the announcement letter for Study 44.
As a reminder, contact/ address verification must be completed by June 3rd. You can verify receipt of the study announcement either by returning the NPDES Permittee Address Verification Form from the announcement packet or by sending an email to Brett.A.Goodrich@maine.gov with the required information found at the bottom of the NPDES Permittee Address Verification Form.
You can meet your DMR-QA requirements by participating in a specific DMR-QA 44 study or a WP study. See page 5 of the DMR-QA Study 44 Announcement for more information on participating in WP Proficiency studies to satisfy DMR-QA requirements.
All results must be reported to the DMR-QA supplier by August 2nd, and results must be reported to DMR-QA coordinator by September 27th. If you participate in a WP study, you must meet the WP Study deadline, even if it is sooner than the August 2nd deadline. So be sure to pay attention to the dates for the study being performed by your facility.
For those of you that may not have received a copy of the announcement letter for Study 44, the latest version can be found here: EPA Discharge Monitoring Report - Quality Assurance (DMR-QA) Study 44 (2024).
If you have questions about the DMR-QA program, please contact Brett Goodrich at 207-450-5590 or Brett.A.Goodrich@maine.gov
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Exam Testing Site Update
The following wastewater exam testing sites are either closed or closing soon: Bangor, South Portland and Auburn. Locations where operators can take the wastewater exam include Farmington, Portland, Presque Isle, and Portsmouth, NH.
The Department is working with our partners to find a new testing site in the Bangor area. In the interim, we will be offering exam testing at the DEP Bangor office on July 24 and August 21.
Questions? Contact Spring Connolly, certification@neiwpcc-jetcc.org for more information.
Cybersecurity Alert
There have been recent warnings from U.S. national security officials that hostile countries (China, Iran, Russia, etc.) are carrying out increasingly aggressive operations targeting American critical infrastructure, including the Water & Wastewater sector.
Water and wastewater organizations are vulnerable through routine use of email, PLCs, SCADA, and any other interfaces (electronic, computer, phones/devices, automated systems, etc.) that are connected to the internet.
To become more knowledgeable about these threats and ways to protect your facility, please consider attending one of these FREE cybersecurity training classes taught by state and federal cybersecurity experts.
Cybersecurity and Physical Security for Water/Wastewater Systems – June 5 at the MRWA office in Richmond. Speakers include Ryan Barnes and Jacob Kocek, CISA Region 1 Security Advisors and Susan Breau, Maine DWP. Topics covered will include:
- Overview of CISA’s Cybersecurity Resources and Capabilities
- Operational Technology Definitions and Use Cases
- Analysis of an Attack on Operational Technology Infrastructure
- Steps to Prevent a Cyber Attack
- Recommendations for Enhancing Cybersecurity Programs
- Overview of CISA’s Cybersecurity Resources and Capabilities
- Physical Security “Defense in Depth” Options for Consideration for Water/Wastewater Facilities
- Drinking Water Program Cybersecurity Update
This two-hour session will be delivered by live instructors and will be offered with a hybrid option as well. Also, MRWA offers free follow-up with technical assistance and support. Registration is at Cybersecurity and Physical Security - Maine Rural Water Association (mainerwa.org).
Cybersecurity for Maine Wastewater and Water Operators - Virtual Webinar on June 25 from 9 AM - noon.
Join the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) and Maine experts as they discuss Cybersecurity risks and ways to combat them. Topics include:
- Risk and resiliency assessment of your system's electronic, computer, or other automated systems.
- Recent cyber security incidents highlight the need to protect utilities from threats, both physical and electronic.
- Ways to make system administrators, managers, and operators of utility systems more cognizant of the risks that are posed to its systems through electronic devices and help them create resilience against such attacks.
- Resiliency measures that all utilities, regardless of size, should implement to help mitigate any attacks.
Being aware of potential threats is one of the first steps to increasing the safety of those systems. To register, go to: https://wichitastate.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJctdeCsqTgsGt1Dk4pXsl_iwh8ptlVj-24Z#/registration.
If you have any questions - please reach out to John Colclazier: john.colclazier@wichita.edu.
PFAS Analysis 101 offered by MRWA
MRWA is offering a FREE in-person class, PFAS Analysis 101 class on June 20 at Maine Laboratories in Norridgewock. The class is approved for 2 TCHs for both Water and Wastewater continuing education.
Sara Dunne - Lab Technical Director, Maine Laboratories and Katie Richards - CEO, Maine Laboratories will present an overview of PFAS analysis, including analytical steps, equipment needed, contamination source identification, and interpreting PFAS testing results.
Learning Objectives include:
- Understand the steps involved in analyzing PFAS compounds
- Recognize the essential equipment needed for PFAS analysis
- Identify possible sources of contamination
- Interpret PFAS results
- Questions for your testing provider
- Locate additional PFAS resources
To register, go to PFAS Analysis 101 - Maine Rural Water Association (mainerwa.org) or contact the MRWA Training Department at (207) 737-4092, trainingdepartment@mainerwa.org.
Water & Wastewater Professional Day at Haddock Field
Join MWUA and MEWEA to celebrate Water & Wastewater Professional Day on June 22 with a Sea Dogs game at Haddock Field in Portland. Activities include discounted entry, BBQ, and employee recognition. For more information, go to https://mwua.org/water-wastewater-professionals-day/.
JETCC Announces Pipe Locating and Leak Detection Class in Hampden
Join JETCC for Pipe Locating and Leak Detection Class on June 27 at the F.W. Webb facility in Hampden. This six-hour class is approved for both water and wastewater TCHs.
The class will cover the basic theory of pipe locating for both water and sewer utilities including:
- Ground Penetrating Radar
- How pipe locators work
- How to troubleshoot difficult locates
- Purpose and use of multiple frequencies
- How to handle and avoid bleed-off and distorted signals
- Tools for locating plastic pipe
- GPS mapping for utilities
- How leak detectors work
The course is presented by Eric Denslow, Eastcom Associates, Inc. & Cameron Keyes, Gutermann. For more information and to register, go to Maine JETCC - Joint Environmental Training Coordinating Committee.
2024 MWUA Summer Outing
Join MWUA and MEWEA for the Annual Summer Outing held on August 8 at the Cumberland Fairgrounds. Activities include exhibitors, training events, and networking followed by a cookout with hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork, lobster, and steak with all the fixings and a corn hole competition. Don’t miss this year’s chance to network and have some summer fun! For more information, visit MWUA & MeWEA Summer Outing - MWUA.
MEWEA Peer to Peer Training
Ever wonder what it is like to be at a plant that is bigger/smaller, different technology than where you work? How other organizations handle issues that crop up at your facility? Now you have the opportunity to visit another facility, plus earn continuing education hours in the process through MEWEA’s Peer to Peer (P2P) training program.
P2P features customized, in-person training. The goal of the P2P training program is to encourage wastewater operators, mechanics, lab techs, and managers to visit wastewater facilities for a day to learn from the skills and experiences of others. The program is sponsored by MEWEA’s Treatment Plant Operators Committee. Areas of focus include:
- Operations
- Laboratory
- Collections
- Management
- Other (GIS, SCADA, IPP, etc.)
Note that credits will not be issued for just touring a facility. There must be a focused topic for training to be approved. While not a requirement for the host facility or person conducting the training, the person receiving the training must be a MEWEA member to participate and receive credits. All MEWEA members are eligible for up to 3 credit hours per year, and 6 credit hours per license cycle.
For additional information, contact the TPO Committee: meweaTPO@gmail.com or visit: Operator Training (mewea.org).
Introducing Nicki Pellenz – MWUA Executive Director
Maine Water Utilities Association (MWUA) is pleased to announce the appointment of executive director, Nicki Pellenz. Embodying the values, goals, and ethos that define Maine water utilities and what we strive to achieve.
Monthly Training Calendar and Training/Certification Resources
The monthly training calendar, which lists training by not-for-profit organizations, is emailed to certified operators each month. It can be found at the DEP’s certification website https://www.maine.gov/dep/water/wwoperator/ under the Additional Materials section.
The NEIWPCC/JETCC website, https://jetcc.org/index.php provides information on signing up for an exam, training classes, and certification renewal. Contact Spring Connolly at certification@neiwpcc-jetcc.org or call 207-253-8020 for more information.
Drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater (water sector) utilities, along with other water sector stakeholders, are eligible to receive free climate change risk assessment technical assistance from EPA’s Creating Resilient Water Utilities (CRWU) initiative. Through this technical assistance process, CRWU will assist approximately 75 water sector utilities / communities in identifying long-term climate change adaptation strategies, as well as potential funding options to implement adaptive measures.
If you are, or know of, a water sector utility that would like to receive this free technical assistance opportunity, please indicate your interest via email to Aliza Furneaux (furneaux.aliza@epa.gov) no later than Friday, August 15, 2024.
EPA will notify the utilities chosen to receive technical assistance by early September, and will assign each utility an assessment start-date of either October 2024 or January, April, or July 2025. If you’d prefer technical assistance sooner than later, CRWU has a few opportunities to assist you now. In your email response, please indicate you are immediately ready to engage.
More details on the technical assistance process are provided below and if you’d like to see what other utilities have already done related to climate change risk assessment, visit EPA CRWU’s Adaptation Case Studies Map.
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1.Which is a higher life form in the activated sludge process ... a free swimming ciliate or a stalked ciliate?
A. Free swimming ciliate
B. Stalked ciliate
C. They are both the same
D. Stalked ciliates are younger than free swimmers
2. Which best describes the denitrification cycle?
A. Nitrates are converted to free nitrogen gas
B. Ammonia is converted to nitrites and then to nitrates
C. Ammonia is converted to nitrates and then to nitrites
D. Nitrates are converted to ammonia and then to nitrites
3. Which zone produces the largest amount of biological nitrification?
A. Fermentation
B. Anoxic
C. Aerobic
D. Reaeration
4. What statement describes a reciprocating pump?
A. Has a rotating impeller
B. Has a piston that moves back and forth
C. Has two plug valves on the inlet
D. Is designed to pump grit
5. What is the detention time of a chlorine contact chamber that is 100 feet long, 15 feet wide, 9 feet deep, and has a plant flow rate of 4.2 MGD?
A. About 2 hours
B. About 76 minutes
C. About 35 minutes
D. About 15 minutes
6. Given the following data, is the F/M ratio within an acceptable range?
- Conventional Aeration
- SRT is 2.8 days
- SVI is 170
- Aeration Detention Time is 3.3 hours
- F/M Ratio is 0.76
A. Yes
B. No, too high
C. No, too low
D. Not enough data to determine
Answers:
1. B. Stalked ciliates are higher life forms than free swimming ciliates.
2. A. Nitrates are converted to free nitrogen gas.
3. C. Aerobic.
4. B. Has a piston that moves back and forth
5. C. About 35 minutes
Detention time (DT) = Volume/Flow
Volume = 100 ft X 15 ft X 9 ft X 7.48 gal/cf = 100,980 gal = ~ 0.1 MG.
DT = 0.1 MG ÷ 4.2 MGD = 0.024 days
Use 1 day = 1440 min
0.24 days X 1440 min = 34.56 min. round up to 35 minutes
6. B. No, too high.
For a conventional aeration plant, the F/M range is between 0.2 and 0.5. A high F/M ratio (i.e. 0.76) means there is much more food available compared to microorganisms. This would be indicative of a young sludge.
The SVI of 170 is also high. The ideal SVI range for a conventional activated sludge plant is 50-150 mL/gm. A high SVI means that the activated sludge is settling slowly and not compacting well. In these cases, the sludge usually looks fluffy. Often, this is a result of a young sludge, such as during the start-up of a new plant.
The SRT of 2.8 days indicates that wasting rate may be too high. Reducing the wasting rate would allow the microbes to build up in the system, thus lowering the F/M and producing an older sludge with better settling characteristics.
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