The Environmental Services monthly employee newsletter
Left: Russell Johnson; Right: Interceptor Services employees, from left, Isaac Raser, Bryan Blum, and Dennis Erickson pump wastewater into a tank truck during a spill Sept. 19 in Mound.
Our congratulations and thanks go out to eight Interceptor Services employees for their excellent response to a wastewater spill on Sept. 19. On the gorgeous last Sunday of summer, they spent much of the afternoon and evening containing the spill and repairing a break in the force main (pressurized sewer pipe that conveys wastewater) on busy Shoreline Drive in the city of Mound.
Our emergency crew included:
- Interceptor system lead worker Mike Rosenberger and interceptor service workers Anas Farah, Russell Johnson, and Naoise Moe from the West Area
- Interceptor service workers Bryan Blum, David Erickson, and Mike Quesnel from the vactor group
- Assistant business unit manager Isaac Raser.
"It gives me great pride in saying how extraordinary the Interceptor Services Business Unit team is," said manager Bert Tracy. "The diligence and commitment in responding to an emergency on a beautiful Sunday is a testament to the team's dedication to their profession, our customers, and the environment. ISBU would not be successful without our hard-working team. Thank you!"
Our team also coordinated with four utility workers from the city of Mound and three from the city of Orono. Tim O'Donnell, senior information coordinator in Administration and Communications, and Tracy were also on the scene to support spill response needs, from traffic control to notifying residents.
Much of the emergency crew's response went to diverting the wastewater flow to isolate the broken sewer so it could be repaired. They contained the wastewater in a city lift station that discharges to the MCES force main, pumped it into tank trucks, hauled it past the sewer break site, and discharged it back into a city sanitary sewer downstream. They transported about 26,000 gallons of wastewater in the 2-3 hours it took our emergency contractor to repair an 8-inch-wide hole in the 10-inch-diameter force main. The contractor also repaired damage to a city sewer near the force main. Before crews could contain the flow at the lift station, an estimated 62,000 gallons spilled into nearby Seton Lake and a small pond.
The spill response continued for the next several days with additional MCES staff cleaning a storm sewer that carried the wastewater spill to Seton Lake, monitoring water quality in the lake, and communicating our response to the public. Contractors assisted with spill clean up in the pond and two storm sewer catch basins, along with restoring a street, curb, and sidewalk that had to be excavated during the sewer break repair.
MCES is commited to minimizing our impacts on health, safety and the environment, with minimal backups, spills, and traffic impacts as part of our Customer Level of Service. Large wastewater spills like this are rare. We average one about every year or two.
The city of Loretto was connected to MCES's wastewater system on Sept. 2. MCES now serves a total of 111 customer communities with our regional wastewater collection and treatment system.
The addition of Loretto is the result of nearly a decade of planning and collaboration with local municipalities. Expanding treatment service to Loretto protects the water quality in Lake Independence.
Read more about Expanding wastewater service to the city of Loretto (ES Update, Oct. 21, 2020)
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Adapting our work to climate change
The Mississippi River near Fridley was 3 feet lower than normal. People walked across the river.
The drought put aquatic life at risk this summer – calling MCES staff into action. Low river flows can reduce dissolved oxygen to nearly lethal levels for most fish and many invertebrates – the base of the food supply for animals like bald eagles and otters.
Metro and Seneca Plant operators aerated effluent to boost oxygen levels in the treated water discharged to the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. Water Resources and Lab Services staff spent extra time monitoring and testing dissolved oxygen levels in the Mississippi River and in the Metro Plant's effluent channel.
"Some days I was holding my breath expecting the river to experience a fish kill because the dissolved oxygen level was so low," shared Jack Barland, senior environmental scientist in Water Resources.
Cleaned water returned to the environment from our treatment plants contains small amounts of organic material. The material consumes oxygen as it breaks down. During normal flows, the river has no problem mixing in a plant's treated effluent. When drought conditions reduced dissolved oxygen levels close to the regulatory standard of 5 mg/l, operators at the Metro Plant aerate effluent to at least 7 mg/l to maintain healthy water quality. At the Seneca Plant, the requirement is based on Minnesota River flow conditions and is even more stringent, with an effluent dissolved oxygen requirement of 16 mg/l, which requires the operation of a pure oxygen addition system. This brings the river's dissolved oxygen to a higher level than the flow was upstream of the wastewater treatment plant.
This is only the fifth year in two decades that we've had to aerate the effluent at the Metro Plant. Powering the effluent aeration pumps for 18 days at the plant consumes a lot of energy. Estimated to cost more than $20,000 during this drought, the energy use also is a source of carbon emissions, which contribute to climate change.
Minnesota is expected to experience an increase in both drought severity and duration, as well as an increase in extreme rainfalls and flash flooding. A cross-divisional team is developing new goals and strategies as part of the Council's Climate Action Plan, including how to adapt to these extreme weather events.
‘lake grades’
Lake grades for the 2020 monitoring season
An MCES report released in August provides water quality information on 168 of the more than 950 lakes in the metropolitan region. The monitoring data, including annual trends, are used to identify pollution problems, support regional planning efforts, and meet federal and state regulations. Lake sites with sufficient data are compared against others in the region with "lake grades."
"The grades show a typical bell-like curve," said Brian Johnson, senior environmental scientist in Water Resources and author of the report. "There was a skew toward better water quality of the lakes. A and B lakes outnumbered the D and F lakes. C grade lakes still dominate."
Grades for the lake sites showed that:
- 42% were above average (A and B grades)
- 35% approximately were average (C grade)
- 23% were below average (D and F grades)
Lake grades are based on monitoring data collected by approximately 120 citizen scientists who are trained to participate in our Citizen-Assisted Monitoring Program (CAMP). Their commitment to taking water samples mid-April to mid-October illustrates how much Minnesotans love our lakes.
Lab staff at the Metro Plant analyze the lake water samples for parameters such as total phosphorus, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and chlorophyll-a.
Learn more about these area lakes at:
David Ponder, environmental analyst in Sustainability Support and member of the Met Council's Climate Action Plan team, was selected as vice-chair of the Greenhouse Gas Subcommittee of the Water's Residuals and Biosolids Committee (RBC). He will transition to subcommittee chair in fall 2022. The subcommittee is a clearinghouse for best practices and identifies additional industry research needs related to carbon emission accounting in the wastewater sector.
Incoming chair of the RBC, Karri Ving, business strategy and performance manager at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, noted that Ponder's selection was based on the vision he shared about what he intends to accomplish in the role as well as the level of professional experience he brings to how utilities can address, respond to, and mitigate climate change.
"I am looking forward to working with the Water Environment Federation and our industry peers to not only improve our understanding of the wastewater sector's carbon emissions but to advance the dialogue around reducing our industry's emissions," said Ponder.
The RBC develops and promotes cost-effective practices and policies in biosolids and energy technologies associated with municipal, agricultural, and industrial wastewater residuals for the protection of the environment.
Congratulations, David!
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Solids Business Unit recognized for innovation and teamwork during February weather emergencies
Metro Solids Business Unit, A Shift (when masks weren't required)
Metro Solids Business Unit, E Shift
For their work meeting requirements for natural gas curtailment during extremely cold weather last winter, a Keystone Team Award was presented to the 37 employees who then worked in the Solids Business Unit at the Metro Plant.
The plant participates in an Xcel Energy program to reduce natural gas use during supply shortages, like we experienced last Feb. 5-9 and 12-18 during a polar vortex. The Solids Business Unit normally relies on natural gas in part to operate the fluidized-bed reactors (FBRs), which burn wastewater biosolids, and to run auxiliary boilers.
Employees operated the FBRs without any external fuel source, using an approach they have been perfecting over the last few years. They also replaced natural gas with fuel oil to keep the auxiliary boilers operating and meeting plant heating requirements during the cold snaps. Participating in the natural gas curtailment program saves MCES about $250,000 in utility costs annually. Failing to meet the program requirements would have put future participation in the program and these potential cost savings at risk.
"Carrying out this approach required flexibility and careful process monitoring by all of the Solids Business Unit employees," said award nominator David Ponder, environmental analyst in Sustainability Support. "Their commitment to getting the job done right is a critical to managing our energy costs."
Scott Smrekar, Metro Process manager, said the employees succeeded by properly prepping and conditioning the biosolids to a 28% total solids concentration that could work as fuel for the incinerators. They also overcame a shortage of emulsion polymer that is used to properly thicken the biosolids.
"The thickening, centrifuge, and incinerator operators all had to do their jobs well," Smrekar said. "And even without enough polymer available, they were still able to run the incinerators without any external fuel source for sustained periods of time. This affected all shifts and many of the different jobs within the Solids Business Unit. We had excellent communication and people leaving their 'silos' and working together really well to make this nearly impossible task happen. To use a sports analogy, everyone played a perfect game when it counted the most."
The team demonstrated the MCES values of commitment, excellence, and inclusiveness.
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Business Unit Coordinator
- Scott Bowes
- John Ross
- Nate Wright
Chief Stationary Engineer
Stationary Engineer
- Paul Akemann
- Richard DeMars
- Aaron Eggenberger
- Charles Guertin
- Chris Gurrola
- Timothy Haan
- David Hall
- Joe Marin
- Joel More
- Stephen Peterson
- Jeremy Wiseman
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Plant Operator
- Deodato Dagudag
- Mark Doble
- Evan Emmerich
- Kaleb Fischer
- Eric Froehlich
- Jordan Grove
- Joe Hoff
- John Kuzma
- Andrew Lamberson
- Ahren Locke
- Dave Lorence
- Cortany Mapson
- Shiely Marin
- Kyle Mealey
- Donovan Moore
- Jesse Morgan
- Tyja O'Neal
- Moonir Osman
- Raheem Shabazz
- Elliott Smith
- Amare Tadele
- Daryl Williams
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Team recognized for providing students an in-depth look at our interceptor system
Mike Fenlason and Heath Kraft
For sharing their expertise with a local college wastewater collection system class, a Keystone Team Award was presented to Interceptor Services employees Mike Fenlason, interceptor service worker 2, and Heath Kraft, interceptor system lead worker.
While Fenlason was attending the Water Utility Treatment Technology Collection System Program at Saint Paul College last spring, he and Kraft gave the class a hands-on demonstration of the closed-circuit television (CCTV) technology we use to inspect our 640 miles of interceptor sewers. They explained how this and other inspection methods lead to maintaining and improving our wastewater collection system. The instructor had limited knowledge of this technology, so the demonstration added much to the class.
Kraft and Fenlason drew on their experience to offer a real-world insight into large and complex wastewater collection systems. Among additional topics they presented:
- How local sanitary sewers connect to our regional sewer.
- Our commitment to preventive maintenance, inspections, and job duties that help us achieve environmental compliance standards by preventing sanitary sewer overflows.
- Our commitment to safety.
"Heath and Mike's demonstration and presentation were above and beyond the normal workday, showing their commitment, excellence, and pride in their work," said their award nominator and supervisor, Carol Blommel Johnson, assistant business unit manager, Interceptor Services.
"The knowledge and expertise they provided to the students enhanced their learning. These students are potential future employees for us, so this also provided them an introduction to our organization. Heath has a wealth of knowledge of the interceptor system, video inspections, and overall operations that he willingly offered. Mike has less than two years of experience with Interceptor Services, but has quickly learned the system, equipment operation, and technology. He is positive, motivated, and high performing. We appreciate that they both took the initiative to share their knowledge."
The team demonstrated the MCES values of commitment and excellence.
Team recognized for Metro Plant repair work
For their work in repairing leaks in the Metro Plant's compressed instrument air system, a Keystone Team Award was presented to Mechanical Planning and Maintenance employees John Granlund, assistant manager, and Todd Jones, pipefitter.
The compressed instrument air system supplies air for operating pneumatic devices across the plant such as controls, instrumentation, and shop tools. Granlund and Jones worked with contracted pipefitters to complete more than 80 repairs across 14 Metro Plant buildings. As a result, the plant will save an estimated 292,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity – equivalent to switching more than 7,800 incandescent lightbulbs to LEDs. These savings reduce greenhouse gas emissions and will reduce electricity costs by an estimated $23,000 per year.
"John and Todd diligently and systematically worked to get the repairs complete, despite challenges posed by the breadth of the repairs, limited staffing, and the COVID-19 pandemic, and all while juggling normal daily work," said award nominator David Ponder, environmental analyst in Sustainability Support.
The team demonstrated the MCES values of commitment and excellence.
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Keystone Individual Awards for earning multiple WATER Awards
These employees received multiple WATER Awards from their peers (at least three in a two-year period) and were selected to receive Keystone Individual Awards. They exemplify the MCES values of commitment, excellence, inclusiveness, integrity, and respect. Congratulations to:
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Marie Cramer, assistant manager, Construction Services, Metro Plant Construction Field Office (CFO)
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Betsy Haag, principal administrative specialist, Operations Support Services, Metro Plant
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Kris Hess, business analyst 3, Administration and Communications, Robert Street
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Britni Kesselring, program technical specialist, Treatment Services, Metro Plant
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Matt Lebeis, plant operator, Liquids Business Unit, Metro Plant
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Kathryn Mol, contract administrator, Construction Services, Metro Plant CFO
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Stephen Norton, principal engineer, Plant Engineering, Robert Street
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Jeff Schmidt, plant operator, Liquids Business Unit, Metro Plant
Recognize a Coworker
The MCES Employee Recognition Program has two awards: WATER and Keystone; each have different nomination criteria.
Help share your coworkers' exceptional efforts. The nomination process is easy! You don't have to be a supervisor to nominate someone for a Keystone.
Go to the Recognition MetNet site.
See full award details on MetNet.
A recap of recent Met Council announcements relevant to MCES
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From the Regional Administrator: With the pandemic evolving and benefits and requirements changing, Regional Administrator Mary Bogie shared a message with staff in last week's Wire checking in on the pandemic response efforts, specifically around COVID-19 leave, vaccination, and testing.
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Submit proof of vaccination and get $150: Employees who are vaccinated must submit documentation through Employee Self Service to verify their vaccination status. Those who submit their proof of vaccination by Nov. 26 will get $150 in their Dec. 10 paycheck.
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Weekly testing process details coming this week: Specific direction will be shared this week on the process for regular testing starting Oct. 11 for employees who will not be vaccinated or are unable to be vaccinated.
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Vaccination resources: Although the Met Council's vaccination and testing requirement is only for staff who come onsite, Environmental Services would like all of our employees to be vaccinated, if they are able to be. See linked below for resources making an appointment or finding your vaccination record.
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Updates for teleworking staff: Updated guidance for timing on returning to the office, Telework Agreement Form, process and workspace details on the Telework Transition FAQ page, and required trainings in Learn.
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Managers and supervisors must register for Leadership Forum by Sept. 30: Register by Thursday for one of the four dates of this year's online Leadership Forum, the Met Council's management conference required for all general managers, directors, managers, and supervisors.
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Microsoft Teams updates: Softphones is rolling out by work unit starting this month; audio conferencing is now available; and hybrid workplace trainings continue.
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Human Resources updates: Project Manager Development Program applications are due Sept. 30; a recording is available for last week's vaccination and testing Ask HR session for managers and supervisors; and the Met Council will have a new flex spending accounts administrator in 2022.
Full information on MetNet.
COVID-19 RESOURCES
Anniversaries
Congratulations to these employees celebrating milestone anniversaries!
20 YEARS
Tom Buchal, principal contract administrator, Construction Services, Seneca Plant Construction Field Office (CFO)
Karen Neis, director, Administration and Communications, Robert Street
10 YEARS
Emily Resseger, environmental analyst, Water Resources, Robert Street
Staffing changes
Reported by Human Resources since the August Update
NEW HIRES
Jami Haider, principal administrative specialist, Industrial Waste and Pollution Prevention, Metro 94
Colton Janes, assistant business unit manager, East Business Unit, Empire Plant
Duane Kriese, assistant business unit manager, Blue Lake Plant
DEPARTURES
Charles Guertin, stationary engineer, Solids Business Unit, Metro Plant
Mehdi Harley, intern, Water Resources, Metro Plant
Laeticia Malunga, intern, Process Computer, Metro Plant
Kathryn Mol, contract administrator, Construction Services, Metro Plant CFO
Amber Orr, intern, Industrial Waste and Pollution Prevention, Metro 94
David Quast, principal engineer, Plant Engineering, Robert Street
Jeffrey Ruff, business unit coordinator, Liquids Business Unit, Metro Plant
William Scofield, intern, Process Engineering, Metro Plant
David Swanson, plant operator, Blue Lake Plant
Jeff Ruff retired last week after 39 years with MCES.
POSITION CHANGES
Matt Bruber, assistant business unit manager, Liquids Business Unit, Metro Plant (formerly plant operator and construction project business unit coordinator)
Michael Evans, interceptor service worker 2, Interceptor Services, Mounds View Lift Station (formerly interceptor service worker 1)
Mark Lundgren, principal engineer, Plant Engineering, Robert Street (formerly senior engineer)
Troy Magdziarz, assistant business unit manager, East Business Unit, Empire Plant (formerly business unit coordinator)
James Mangowi, senior engineer, Plant Engineering, Robert Street (formerly engineer)
Roderic Southall, program coordinator, Workforce and Equity, Metro Plant (formerly equal opportunity consultant 3)
Nate Wright, assistant business unit manager, Solids Business Unit, Metro Plant (formerly business unit coordinator)
Story idea? Contact Deb McKinley by email: deb.mckinley@metc.state.mn.us.
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