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*JUNE 2023*

In this issue:

* Certification and Training Update. [ #link_1389912064779 ]
* DEP Chapter 531 Update. [ #link_1 ]
* NEIWPCC Online Wet Weather Course Returns. [ #link_2 ]
* Maine Rural Water Association (MRWA) Offers Trustee Training Workshop. [ #link_3 ]
* Save the Date - Maine Water Utility Association (MWUA) Summer Outing. [ #link_4 ]
* DMR-QA Study 43. [ #link_5 ]
* Total Residual Chlorine (TRC) Pillows [ #link_6 ]
* Peracetic Acid (PAA) - the Next Wave in Wastewater Disinfection. [ #link_7 ]
* For Practice. [ #link_8 ]

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Certification and Training Update.

Certified

*Resources, forms, and guidance documents*

Information on the Department?s Wastewater Operator Certification Program can be found at the website? [link removed] [ [link removed] ]. ?

The Additional Materials section provides links to training documents, forms, public and private training providers, and a calendar of upcoming training opportunities offered by non-profit organizations.? The calendar is emailed to certified operators monthly.

The NEIWPCC/JETCC website, [link removed] provides information on signing up for an exam, training classes, and certification renewal.? Contact call Spring Connolly at [email protected] or call 207-253-8020 for more information.



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DEP Chapter 531 Update.

The Board of Environmental Protection recently adopted revisions to the Department rule Chapter 531 that covers wastewater treatment plant classification and operator certification requirements.? This completed a multi-year process that included stakeholder meetings and a public comment period.? When effective, the new rule can be found at this website: [link removed]

Key changes include: reformatting and updates for clarity, changes from paper-based to computer-based testing, adding a definition section, revised classification of wastewater plants to include unit operations and complexity in the plant rating, steps a person must take to reinstate their certification following revocation, changes to contract operations (ConOps) requirements to allow up to 90-days of an interim contract pending Department approval of a final ConOps contract, a professional code of conduct to be followed by operators, a new Provisional operator classification, and changes to the education and experience requirements for certain grade levels.? The Department will be providing additional information about the ch 531 revisions on the Department?s training and certification website, [link removed] [ [link removed] ]. ?

For more information, contact [email protected].

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NEIWPCC Online Wet Weather Course Returns.

NEIWPCC is pleased to announce we have published our new and improved version of an old favorite, Wet Weather Operations [ [link removed] ]. This course is now available on our new in-house online self-paced learning platform where we are working to create an entire library of self-paced water and wastewater courses that can be accessed at anytime from anywhere with an Internet connection. For more information or to register, please click here [ [link removed] ].

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Maine Rural Water Association (MRWA) Offers Trustee Training Workshop.

workshop

On Monday June 19 from 5-7 pm, MRWA will host the "Trustee Training" "Workshop" at the Lakeview Restaurant in St. Agatha.? This class is sponsored by the USEPA and free to attendees.

This workshop is comprised of situational experiences that will encourage open discussion among participants in their search for information and answers.? Participants should bring their respective utility budgets for discussion and assistance; the MRWA team has vast experience and is ready to provide insight.?

Topics include:


* Board ethics
* Understanding budgets
* Contingencies and resiliency planning
* Understanding the utility's discharge permit
* Laboratory Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

For more information or to register, go to [link removed].



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Save the Date - Maine Water Utility Association (MWUA) Summer Outing.

MWUA?s annual Summer Outing will take place on August 10. ?The Summer Outing event is a joint effort between MWUA and MEWEA.

Activities include training, water main tapping contest, and a corn hole tournament.? Food and networking will follow.? Stay tuned for more information, www.mwua.org [ [link removed] ] or contact Bruce Berger at [email protected].

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DMR-QA Study 43.

DMR-QA Study 43 officially opened May 19th, 2023. All facilities that participate in the DMR-QA program should have received the announcement letter for Study 43.

For those of you that may not have received a copy of the announcement letter for Study 43, the latest version can be found here: EPA Discharge Monitoring Report - Quality Assurance (DMR-QA) Study 43 (2023) [ [link removed]. ].

You can meet your DMR-QA requirements by participating in a specific DMR-QA 43 study or a WP study.? See page 5 of the *DMR-QA Study 43 Announcement* for more information on participating in WP Proficiency studies to satisfy DMR-QA requirements.

As a reminder, contact/ address verification must be completed by June 2. 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 [email protected] with the required information found at the bottom of the *NPDES Permittee Address Verification Form*.

All results must be reported to the DMR-QA supplier by August 4th, 2023. If you participate in a WP study, you must meet the WP study deadline, even if it is before August 4th. So be sure to pay attention to the dates for the study being performed by your facility.

NPDES Permittee Data Report Form (found on page 13 of the study packet) along with a copy of the graded test results and laboratory checklists are due to the State DMR-QA Coordinator ([email protected]) by September 29th, 2023.

If your laboratory happens to receive a ?Not-Acceptable? score for one or more parameters, you must complete a corrective action and perform retests for all parameters with Not Acceptable results. A copy of the corrective action report and retest results must be sent to the State DMR-QA coordinator by November 9, 2023.?

If you have questions about the DMR-QA program, please contact Brett Goodrich at 207-287-9034 or [email protected]

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Total Residual Chlorine (TRC) Pillows

pillow

"By Mike Loughlin, Maine DEP Compliance Inspector."

Have your TRC pillows expired?

Hach?s usual method is to print the expiration date on the DPD powder pillows.? However, some Hach pillows are missing the expiration date (see photo below right). ?The date is only on the resealable bag the pillows are shipped in. Hach reported that the pillows with reduced labeling were temporarily produced because of supply chain issues with ink.

Hach reported they are producing the fully labeled pillows again (below left) but they expect it will take some time for all existing stock with the minimal printing to be exhausted.

Please remember that the laboratory reagents you use for compliance testing cannot be expired and you must be able to show those pillows have not expired. ?Be sure to check the date on your DPD powder pillows and if they are not dated, keep them with the resealable bag that includes the expiration date. ?For more information, Mike can be reached at [email protected].



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Peracetic Acid (PAA) - the Next Wave in Wastewater Disinfection.

"By Jeff Warden, Project Manager Maine Rural Water Association (MRWA)"

As the wastewater disinfection season is well under way here in Maine, I would like to share my experience and thoughts about Peroxyacetic Acid, AKA Peracetic Acid or PAA as an alternative to chlorine disinfection for wastewater effluents. ?I am neither a chemist nor a scientist, but a former Wastewater Superintendent who performed a trial which resulted in getting PAA added to our MEPDES license as a disinfectant.

The activated sludge plant I ran had been struggling to meet bacteria limits without violating chlorine residual limits.? The plant did not quench chlorine residual as our goal was to limit or reduce chemical additions to the receiving waters.? I learned about PAA in a training session put on by a manufacturer and what I heard seemed amazing!? According to the pitch, PAA was the silver bullet we had been hoping for.?

PAA has been around for a while, used as an antimicrobial agent, surface cleaner, and sanitizer in the health care and food and beverage industries, but only in the last few years has it been employed as a wastewater disinfectant. ?And while PAA is still knocking on the door in Maine, it is gaining popularity as it is being used effectively in other states. ????

Chlorine is a known entity in water treatment and has been used effectively for quite some time. However, chlorine does have some drawbacks as a wastewater disinfectant.? Nitrogen and ultraviolet (UV) interferences can be problematic for chlorine, as well as generating disinfection by-products, such as chloramines and trihalomethane". "?Luckily for us, PAA consists of hydrogen peroxide, acetic acid (vinegar) and water.? It is not affected by nitrogen compounds or UV radiation and is less toxic to the receiving waters than chlorine compounds. ?And there is no need for the addition of dechlorination chemicals, such as bisulfite, since excess PAA will dissipate quickly into non-toxic components.

In my experience, these differences allowed for a lower overall dose of disinfectant while achieving excellent pathogen reduction.? We estimated close to a 75% reduction in the volume of disinfectant applied.? Some of the other benefits PAA provides are long shelf life and resistance to freezing.? The manufacturer we used guaranteed full strength after 1 year of storage and a freezing temperature of -22F, both of which we believe to be true.? After being open and in use for five months, the product tested slightly above manufacturer specifications.? During our trial, which ran off and on from November to March, temperatures reached a low of -26F which did not produce any freezing.

Implementing PAA as a disinfectant was easy due to equipment compatibility.? We used the same injection point, pumps and SCADA flow pacing that were in place for chlorine.? We changed pump tubes and flushed the suction and injection lines with water before switching over. ?This compatibility allows the operators the option to switch back to chlorine if issues occur with lead times, costs or another issue arising from PAA usage.? ?

Our facility worked with Maine DEP and the manufacturer to design and perform testing that would pass the straight face test (as I stated earlier, I am neither a scientist nor chemist).? We tracked many different parameters, including pre- and post-disinfection E. coli and dissolved oxygen (DO) levels.? We monitored the beginning and end of the disinfectant contact chambers for hydrogen peroxide levels, pH, barometric pressure, flow rate, PAA residual, water temperature, and weather conditions.?? ?

I am a supporter of and am working for clean water. With that in mind, PAA was a no brainer for me.? We were only the second plant in Maine to have PAA added to our license, so test data in Maine is scarce.? I feel fortunate that our great relationship with DEP and a treatment plant staff dedicated to clean water allowed us to open the door a little farther for PAA so it may become the ?Mainstream? wastewater disinfectant.? Please contact me if you are interested in seeing the data collected or have questions that I did not cover in this article.? I can be reached at 207-530-3537, [email protected]

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For Practice.

*Question 1: *

The purpose of an air-gap device is to:


* Put more oxygen in the waste in sewers to avoid odors
* Lessen vibration in pipes.
* Prevent cross connections between wastewater and potable water.
* Ventilate wet wells at pump stations

*Question 2:*

A BOD test was run using three dilutions of the same sample. Which dilution gives the most valid results?

*? ? ?Sample Volume* *Initial DO* *Final DO?* *BOD* *1)?*? ?3 mL 8.0 mg/L? 6.7 mg/L 130 mg/L *2)*? ? 5 mL 7.9 mg/? 4.0 mg/L? 234 mg/L *3)*? ? 8 mL 8.1 mg/L 0.9 mg/L 270 mg/L

*Question 3:*

If the return sludge rate increases and the influent flow and BOD concentration remain constant, the F/M ratio in the aeration basin will most likely?


* Remain the same
* Increase
* Decrease
* Depend on the air temperature

*Question 4:*

A plant with a flow of 2 MGD discharges 600 lb of BOD daily to the receiving stream. Express the BOD in the effluent as mg/L.? Use the ?pounds? formula; lb/day = conc (mg/L) X flow (MGD) X 8.34.


* 36 mg/L
* 3.6 mg/L
* 12.5 mg/L
* 14.4 mg/L

?

*Answers*


* *#3*. An air-gap is the used to prevent cross-connections between wastewater and potable water.
* *#2*. In sample 1), the depletion of DO in the sample bottle is less than 2.0 mg/L indicating that there was not enough biological activity for a valid test.? In sample 3), the DO was depleted to less than 1.0 mg/L.? There might not have been enough DO available to complete the biological reduction of the organic material in the wastewater.? Sample 2). is the correct answer.
* *#3*. The F/M ratio is the ratio of the pounds of food to the pounds of microorganisms.? If the flow and BOD concentration coming into the plant (Food) remain constant, and the return sludge rate (Microorganisms) increases, there will be more microorganisms for the same amount of food.? Therefore, the F/M ratio decreases
* *#1*. 36 mg/L

First, write down the pounds formula:

lb/day BOD = BOD concentration, mg/L X? flow, MGD X 8.34 lb/gal (constant)

Next, rearrange the formula and ?solve? for BOD concentration:

BOD concentration, mg/L = lb/day BOD / (flow, MGD X 8.34 lb/gal)

Plugging in the data provided in the question:

BOD concentration, mg/L = 600 lb/day / (2 MGD X 8.34) = 36 mg/L

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