Kiewit’s Post

While any advocacy either for or against the Delta Tunnel is a minefield, it might be productive to consider how the multiple billions the state is prepared to spend to build that behemoth might be otherwise spent. How many billions? The official estimate is $16 billion. Does anyone believe that? The Sierra Club recently estimated the ultimate cost at $56 billion. While the Sierra Club might at times engage in hyperbole, in this case they’re probably correct. Let’s split the difference. $30 billion. For $30 billion, you might do the following: – Construct wastewater recycling and reuse plants from San Francisco to San Diego to eliminate nitrogen rich, PFAS laden partially-treated water from being dumped into the ocean, after being imported at great cost via aqueducts and pumping stations to be used only once. While $30 billion – at least in the regulatory environment we currently live with – may only pay to recycle a million acre feet per year, that’s twice as much as the 500,000 acre feet per year the State Water Resources Board currently predicts will flow through the Delta Tunnel. – Build the Sites Reservoir, the Temperance Flat Reservoir, the Pacheco Reservoir, the Del Puerto Reservoir, and raise the Shasta Dam. This would create around 5 million acre feet of additional storage with a probable average annual yield of around 1.5 million acre feet. It would also generate hydroelectric power and offer potential for pump storage. And there would probably be enough money left over to repair and restore full capacity to the California Aqueduct, the Delta Mendota Aqueduct, and the Friant-Kern Aqueduct. – Repair and upgrade the Delta levees, and build protected nurseries for smelt and salmon. Construct fish-friendly Delta diversion channels as proposed in the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley. Build pipelines/aqueducts to move water from these diversion channels into rapid aquifer recharge via “paleo valleys.” Look that up here. This innovative solution to the goal of taking a “big gulp during storms” should be receiving serious attention from Sacramento. – Build 1 million acre feet per year of desalination capacity. With expected technological advances in desal, and reasonable regulatory reforms, there would be money left over. The energy cost to desalinate 1 million acre feet per year? About 400 megawatts, which is only around 1.25 percent of California’s current electricity consumption. Compared to the Delta Tunnel, each of these four options will yield more water, for less money. https://lnkd.in/gNUiHyeu

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝘅 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗔𝗣𝗪𝗔 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 Trotter and Associates congratulate the City of Harvard for being awarded the Fox Valley Branch APWA Public Works Project of the Year, Environment - $5 million to $25 million. The City of Harvard’s Wastewater Treatment Facility was originally constructed in the late 1930s and had undergone several expansions. The expansions and upgrades relied upon attached growth technologies, which are not capable of meeting current and future NPDES Permit discharge limits. As a result, the City was under increasing pressure from the Illinois EPA to address NPDES violations. In 2014, the City teamed with Trotter and Associates to develop an evaluation of their WWTF and prepare a plan to meet their NPDES permit requirements and the future needs of the community. The City pursued the implementation plan through land acquisition, acquiring grant and low-interest loan funding to ensure the project would be as affordable as practical for the community’s residents. The $22 million project began construction in 2021 and reached substantial completion in the fall of 2023. These improvements included rehabilitation of the raw sewage screw pumps, raw sewage screening, grit removal system, and primary effluent pump station.  The Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) process is designed to remove organic material as well as Phosphorus and Total Nitrogen, which will meet the updated NPDES Permit Limits. The enhanced BNR process includes Return Activated Sludge (RAS) fermentation, an anaerobic zone followed by two concentric rings of the oxidation ditch. Process control utilizes Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP) and Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Probes to monitor activity within the biological process. Adjustments are made to flow rates, mixing and aeration to optimize the nutrient removal process. The project also included construction of two tertiary clarifiers and RAS pump station to meet stricter effluent solids limits. This project has significantly improved the effluent quality from the City of Harvard’s Wastewater Treatment Facility and the City has been able to reliably meet the new NPDES Permit Limits. The design incorporated a gravity thickener, two parallel 2-stage aerobic digesters, and a digested sludge storage tank into the oxidation ditch structure for the stabilization of biosolids produced within the process. The project included construction of a new screw press dewatering facility and solids storage barn. These improvements lower the City’s operational and disposal costs by limiting the land application of solids on agricultural land to twice per year (Spring and Fall). Congratulations to the City of Harvard for being recognized by its peer communities for its efforts to enhance the environment and protect the public health of its residents and the residents of Illinois. #publicworks #apwa #awardwinning

Oklahoma State University doing some very interesting things in produced water desalination. Research led by Dr. Prem Bikkina aims to "help alleviate problems related to water scarcity by providing a more efficient and cost-effective method for desalinating produced water" “This research is crucial for developing sustainable water treatment solutions, addressing water scarcity and improving energy efficiency in desalination processes,” Bikkina said. “It has significant implications for both environmental sustainability and resource management in the oil and gas industry.”  Given the volumes being generating in the #Permian alone, I believe that the utilization of more energetically passive desalination modalities, like solar-based technologies, will be critical to the success of the beneficial reuse paradigm. Jerri Pohl Kevin Schug New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium Texas Produced Water Consortium Steve Coffee Produced Water Society Michael Dyson Infinity Water Solutions #water #energy #mining #desalination #treatment #environment https://lnkd.in/gg7dSbyK

WATER INDUSTRY BREAKING NEWS. A HUGE Technical Leap Forward For The Water Supply Industry World’s First Thermal Desalination Method Developed SwitchWaterSupplier.com • June 5, 2024 Water scarcity is one of the biggest issues facing the world in the 21st century, with four billion people – or some two-thirds of the global population – experiencing severe issues in this regard for at least one month out of every year...... #Water #WaterIndustryNews #BusinessWaterSuppliers #WaterIndustry #Desalination #ThermalDesalination #WaterSupply #WaterScarcity #TalkingWater #BusinessNews Nicky Mann SwitchWaterSupplier.com

Concrete ponds usually have higher stocking density than earthen ponds, and they can be constructed as static or renewable or complete flowthrough system. Read more HERE in the report; https://zurl.co/PlW4 #fish #concreteponds #stockingdensity #static #renewable #system

A comprehensive overview of GEOTUBE® dewatering technology, detailing design considerations, polymer dosing strategies, and deployment tips for improved sludge management: https://lnkd.in/dwUfVdxg #GEOTUBE #Dewatering

City breaks ground on $517 million Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant project   City and County of Honolulu — On March 2nd, Mayor Rick Blangiardi and the Department of Environmental Services broke ground at the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant for a $517 million construction project that will upgrade the facility moving it toward sustainability.   The Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant has been in operation since the 1970s. According to the release, the project includes a revitalization of the pre-treatment process to enhance protection against inorganic debris. There will also be major improvements to the primary treatment and solids processing systems focusing on increased efficiency while generating valuable biogas.   “This project is a testament to the city’s dedication to improving infrastructure, embracing sustainability, and ensuring a cleaner, healthier future for Honolulu,” said Mayor Blangiardi in a news release. “As the plant undergoes this transformative phase, we look forward to the positive impact it will have on our community and the environment.”   Read the Full Article: https://lnkd.in/guqqFQJa   Learn more about ChlorTainer Funding Solutions: https://lnkd.in/gyebKSMU   Follow #ChlorTainer for more Water Industry & Chemical Industry content.   #WaterIndustry #Funding #WaterSector #Sustainable #WastewaterTreatment

Monday - Session 02: Groundwater Management for Long-Term Sustainability Mon, 8 Apr 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM GMT-5 Rast B Moderator: Brijesh Yadav, Roorkee, India Speakers: Vivek Bedekar, S.S. Papadopulos and Associates, Inc., Boulder, CO - Lessons learned from groundwater management in California and Arizona Mayilswami Chennimalai, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore - Groundwater management in the hard rock terrain of Tamil Nadu, India to maximize productivity and income of the farmers Prabhakar Clement, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL - Sustainable management of interstate groundwater resources  Brijesh Yadav, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee - Enhanced Performance of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) in Saline Aquifers: The Role of Site Selection and Operational Optimization Lessons learned from groundwater management in California and Arizona
Southwestern United States face tough choices when managing the limited water supplies that provide for agricultural, municipal, domestic, and environmental uses. As surface water supplies dwindle, users turn to groundwater, withdrawing from aquifer systems that are already under stress. Recurring and prolonged droughts have accentuated the crises in the southwestern United States and underscore the importance of groundwater management for sustenance of beneficial use. Extreme weather patterns in the form of high-intensity short-duration precipitation events, on the other hand, provide opportunity to replenish the groundwater storage using innovative approaches. Arizona has managed their groundwater resources for more than forty years and the relatively more recent passage of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in 2014 has provided a framework for the state to manage its groundwater. This presentation discusses the history of groundwater management in Arizona and California, the current water challenges both the states face, the lessons learned, and the path forward. The presentation also compares and contrasts the issues and management of groundwater in Arizona and California. Groundwater management in the hard rock terrain of Tamil Nadu, India to maximize productivity and income of the farmers
In Tamil Nadu state, the 'Weathered basement rocks' which have low storage and yield potential and whose most horizons are generally at shallow depth occupy extensive areas. In many of these areas groundwater resources are heavily exploited during dry season for irrigation, resulting a strong competition between agriculture and domestic water supply with the limited available groundwater storage during dry season in general and more during extended drought period in particular. This resulted in severe aquifer depletion and reduced provision of drinking water supply and quality problems. Also climate change poses uncertainties to the management of water resources. This will affect both water supply and water demand. It challenges the

VM - 0036 Services About Credit Sales Resources CONTACT MPI Rewetting Drained Temperate Peatlands Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Methodology: Applicability The first step in restoring drained and ditched peatlands in Northern Minnesota is making sure the Verified Carbon Standard’s “Methodology for Rewetting Drained Temperate Peatlands” is applicable to potential projects Mitigation Partners, Inc. (MPI) is exploring. Fortunately, in the methodology document the Applicability section gives a detailed account of the conditions required to use their methodology. In total there are 12 conditions, most with sub-conditions, that cover a range of topics from project design to the baseline scenario to post-rewetting. For the purposes of this post MPI will cover a few of the more general, but vital conditions. If you are interested in going more in depth on the other conditions and the full range of their requirements MPI encourages you to take a look at the methodology document on the VERRA website. More information on the updated protocol will come out spring 2025. https://conta.cc/3Uou899

Read our latest case study on how an innovative timer solution for the HiPAF wastewater treatment system has achieved a huge 50% energy reduction at Juliots Well Lodge Retreat! 💡 🌳 🏕 https://lnkd.in/ebJHWeN7