This Is It for the Paper Waterline
New Hutchinson Plant Ready to Go
Sign Up to be Notified When Future Issues Are
Posted on MDH Web Site
This issue of the Waterline is the last that will be laid out
in this format and made available as a hard copy.
Beginning with the Summer 2007 issue, a
web-only version of the Waterline will be
published. The Waterline will contain the same information
about upcoming training and regulatory updates as well as
other news and feature stories.
E-mail will be used to notify subscribers when a new
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Others may register to get these notices. To do so, go to:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water/newsletters.htm
Click on the link to subscribe (next to the red envelope
beneath the description of the Waterline).
Upcoming Water Operator
Certification Exam Dates
A 1.5 million gallon reservoir is part of a $14 million dollar project
in Hutchinson that includes innovative technology in a new
water plant. In addition to reverse-osmosis treatment, the new
plant uses biological filtration to remove naturally occurring
ammonia, which had been causing higher chlorine demand.
For more information, see the story on page 4.
March 8, St. Cloud
New Home for Metro School in 2007
March 23, Rochester
After many years at the Thunderbird Hotel in Bloomington,
the Metro District school will be moving to the Earle Brown
Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center starting in 2007.
A sharp increase in meeting room costs at the Thunderbird
made the move necessary. The 2007 school will be held
from Wednesday, April 18 to Friday, April 20. For an agenda
and more information on the Metro and other operator schools,
go to page 6.
April, Southwest Minnesota
April 11, St. Cloud
April 20, Brooklyn Center
April 27, Grand Rapids
April 28, St. Cloud
June 8, Deerwood
June 19, Wahkon
See calendar on back page for more information
Spring 2007
Volume Fourteen/4
Keep away from people who try to belittle your
ambitions. Small people always do that,
but the really great make you feel
that you, too, can become great.
—Mark Twain
Inside: Everything You Ever Needed to Know about the Stage 2
Disinfection Byproducts Rule and the Long Term 2
Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule
Rules Update: Stage 2 DBP and LT2 ESWTR
Most of the Waterline readership is at least lightly
familiar with the United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection
Byproducts Rule (Stage 2 DBPR) and Long Term 2
Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2 ESWTR),
which were signed on December 15, 2005. The rules
strengthened protections against microbial contaminants,
especially Cryptosporidium, and potential health risks of
disinfection byproducts. They also included significant and
immediate “early implementation” public water system
(PWS) monitoring requirements. The beginning of a new
year provides a good chance to remind you of the impending
requirements and timelines, as well as the tools that are
intended to make these regulatory obligations as painless as
possible.
on system size) DBP results greater than half the maximum
contaminant level (40 micrograms per liter for total
trihalomethanes, 30 micrograms per liter for haloacetic
acids) to conduct Initial Distribution System Evaluation (IDSE)
sampling. Fortunately, nearly all Minnesota CWSs do not
fall into such a category and will instead be issued a waiver
of IDSE requirement known as 40/30 Certification. MDH
will generate and distribute 40/30 Certifications and will
review all IDSE submissions (Standard Monitoring Plans or
System Specific Studies). MDH will return IDSE Standard
Monitoring Plan review decisions to CWSs within nine
months of their submission deadlines (as reflected in Table
1). IDSE Standard Monitoring involves 12 sampling months.
IDSE Standard Monitoring and System Specific Studies are
simply tools that allow for the selection of the most
appropriate Stage 2 DBP Rule compliance monitoring sites.
Operators of CWSs with DBP issues should already be
refreshing their knowledge of distribution system features
such as storage tanks, pressure zones, system
interconnections, large watermains, and dead-end locations.
Due to the pre-compliance nature of the IDSE and source
water monitoring, most affected PWSs need to submit
some material directly to EPA. Fortunately, EPA has
developed computerized data collection and analysis
applications. The Data Collection & Tracking System (DCTS)
allows PWSs, laboratories, and MDH to submit data through
a central account on the Central Data Exchange (CDX)
site at EPA. The DCTS is able to collect nearly all required
information from any registered PWS user. However,
registration of an “administrative user” under a PWS CDX
account is a mandatory, and easily mishandled, first step in
this process.
Stage 2 Disinfection Byproducts Rule
The Stage 2 DBPR affects all community water systems
(CWS)—both surface and groundwater—and nontransient
noncommunity water systems (NTNCWS) that produce
and/or deliver water that is treated with a disinfectant other
than ultraviolet light. That means that all parts of an
interconnected PWS network (combined distribution system),
including consecutive systems, will complete their regulatory
steps in unison. However, compliance sampling is
population-based and will require larger systems, when
applicable, to conduct more extensive rule-related planning
and sampling.
Minnesota CWSs are following the pre-compliance
planning and monitoring schedules (shown in the
accompanying tables). The Stage 2 DBPR will prompt
systems with any recent (post-2004 or post-2005, depending
Table 1. Minnesota Stage 2 DBPR schedule deadlines
Minnesota Public
Community Water Systems
ACTIONS
40/30 Certification or Begin IDSE
Submit SM Plan/SSS
Complete IDSE
Submit IDSE
Report
1. > 99,999 and consecutives
October 1, 2006
July 1, 2007
June 30, 2008
October 1, 2008
2. 50,000-99,999 and consecutives
April 1, 2007
January 1, 2008
December 31, 2008 April 1, 2009
3. 10,000-49,999 and consecutives
October 1, 2007
July 1, 2008
June 30, 2009
4. < 10,000 and consecutives
April 1, 2008
January 1, 2009
December 31, 2009 April 1, 2010
Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule
The LT2 ESWTR requires compliance by all Subpart H
(those that use a source that is surface water or ground
water under the direct influence of surface water) PWSs.
Finally, compliance deadlines are based on the sizes of PWSs
and are staggered from larger population to smaller
population.
Minnesota surface water systems are developing source
water monitoring plans and schematics, gathering past
Cryptosporidium data for “grandparenting,” and developing
sampling schedules according to the timelines in Table 2.
October 1, 2009
MDH is reviewing all submissions and coordinating sample
materials and analyses with the MDH Laboratory and contract laboratories as necessary. Cryptosporidium sampling,
with simultaneous E. coli sampling and turbidity analyses, is
conducted during the first and third weeks of any month during
the PWS’s 24-month Cryptosporidium sampling period. Small
systems (those serving no PWS with 10,000 or more people)
are only required to conduct 12 months of bi-weekly E. coli
sampling beginning October 1, 2008.
(Schedule for LT2 ESWTR and other information is on next page.)
2
Table 2. Minnesota LT2 ESWTR schedule deadlines
Minnesota Public
Water Systems
ACTIONS
Source Monitoring Begin Monitoring
Schedule
Comply with Cryptosporidium
Treatment Requirements
1. Surface Water > 99,999
July 1, 2006
July 1, 2007
April 1, 2012
2. Surface Water 50,000-99,999
January 1, 2007
January 1, 2008
October 1, 2012
3. Surface Water 10,000-49,999
January 1, 2008
July 1, 2008
October 1, 2013
4. Surface Water< 10,000
July 1, 2008
January 1, 2009
October 1, 2013*
*October 1, 2014 if required follow-up Cryptosporidium sampling occurs
Web Resources for Stage 2 DBPR and LT2 ESTWR
EPA Central Data Exchange (CDX): http://cdx.epa.gov
CDX/DCTS Registration Instructions (see Part B, PDF File):
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/tools/pdfs/instructions_mdbp_dcts.pdf
EPA M/DBP 2 Rules Home: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection
EPA National LT2 ESWTR Points of Contact (PDF File) (see IA, MN, ND, SD, WI):
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/lt2/pdfs/
contacts_lt2_compliancehelp.pdf
EPA National Stage 2 DBPR Points of Contact (PDF File) (see IA, MN, ND, SD, WI):
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/disinfection/stage2/pdfs/
contacts_stage2_compliancehelp.pdf
EPA LT2 ESWTR Cryptosporidium and E. coli Sample Collection Pocket Guide
(PDF File):
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lt2/training/module_crypto/images/pocketguide2.pdf
Fear not, computerless water
operators! EPA has designated an
Information
Processing
and
Management Center (IPMC) for
non-DCTS submissions. The IPMC is
accessible through e-mail as well as the
U.S. Postal Service and FAX
transmissions. MDH will begin extensive
efforts in 2007, primarily through water
operator schools and PWS meetings, to
instruct and assist smaller systems (less
than 50,000 people) with EPA-collected
submissions.
For Stage 2 DBPR and LT2 ESWTR:
U.S. EPA Stage 2 / LT2 - IPMC
P.O. Box 98
Dayton, OH 45401
FAX: 937-586-6557
E-mail: [email protected]
For questions about the Stage 2 DBP rule, contact David Rindal at 651-201-4660 or
[email protected]; for questions about the LT2 ESWTR, contact Lih-in Rezania at 651-201-4661 or
[email protected].
Did You Know . . .
Waterline
“Stewardesses” is the longest word typed with
only the left hand and “lollipop” with your right?
Published quarterly by the Drinking Water Protection
Section, Minnesota Department of Health
“Typewriter” is the longest word that can be made
using the letters on only one row of the keyboard?
Editor:
Stew Thornley
No word in the English language rhymes with
month, orange, silver, or purple?
Staff:
Dick Clark
Jeanette Boothe
Noel Hansen
“Abstemious” and “facetious” are the only words in
the English language with all five vowels in order?
To request this document in another format,
call 651-201-4700; TDD 651-201-5797
or toll-free through the Minnesota Relay Service,
1-800-627-3529 (ask for 651-201-5000).
There’s no Betty Rubble in the Flintstones
chewable vitamins?
3
Biological Filtration Used in New Hutchinson Water Plant
coming up like corrosiveness
Biological processes have
and meeting the copper limit
long been a staple in the
[the city has been in
treatment of wastewater,
exceedance of the action
which is often aerated to
level for copper], the aging
stimulate bacteria and other
of the infrastructure, and the
organisms that consume
plant itself, creeping up on our
most of the waste materials.
maximum design [limits], not
The same technology is
being able to produce enough
available for drinking water,
water.”
but one of the biggest imIn looking at a new plant,
pediments to its implementhe city considered biological
tation has been the public’s
filtration as it explored options
perception of the process.
to reduce both ammonia and
“Put bugs in our drinking
iron as well as address the
water?” is a typical reaction,
according to Eric Meester, The new Hutchinson plant, under construction in December 2006. issues with corrosion. “We
an engineer with Earth Tech, Inc. of rather than valve-control, technology. figured we’ve got biological treatment
“The way it’s constructed,” explained now, there shouldn’t be a reason we
Plymouth, Minnesota.
Meester added that the longtime Hutchinson water system supervisor can’t do it intentionally,” said Nagy,
success of chemicals for drinking- Dick Nagy of the Greenleaf filter, “it uses adding that they considered a complete
water treatment is another reason for its own backwash water. It’s set up into biological facility but had to abandon that
resistance to alternative technologies. four cells, so you use the effluent from plan since it wouldn’t deal with the
“The success of chemical treatment has the other three cells to backwash the corrosiveness.
Reverse osmosis (R. O.) was
been documented for a long time. fourth, and that’s not chlorinated.”
Nagy added that the West Plant has considered since it would remove the
Biological removal has occurred
naturally for longer, but no one looked higher levels of dissolved oxygen (D. O.). iron and ammonia as well as soften the
“The way the Greenleaf filter works, the water, which would allow for adjustment
for it or [questioned] why it existed.”
It was this discovery in Hutchinson, a water cascades over this weir, falls into in the pH and reduce corrosion.
central Minnesota city with this chamber, and goes into the filters. However, Nagy said the expense of a
approximately 14,000 residents, that It seems to be creating its own higher complete R. O. system didn’t make
sense. “R. O. would have killed the bird
helped lead to the decision to levels of D. O. in the water.”
The conditions in the West Plant, it with one big stone—more than what was
incorporate biological treatment for its
new water treatment plant, scheduled to was found, created natural biological needed.”
Finally, the city settled on a holistic
nitrification, which was reducing the
go on-line in March of 2007.
approach to produce a blend of water
Hutchinson’s water system has ammonia.
These discoveries, said Nagy, “set off that would be treated with biological
consisted of five wells feeding an ironremoval plant that is divided into two the whole chain of events. As time went filtration for the iron and ammonia and
treatment trains called the East Plant and on, we had to find a way to deal with the reverse osmosis for the corrosiveness.
West Plant. Part of the original facility ammonia, and some other issues started Continued on page 5
when it was constructed in 1960, the
Backwash
Waste
East Plant has been used only during
period of high demand since a 1983
addition, known as the West Plant.
ORP DO
The city was puzzled by the higher
ORP DO
Sodium
chlorine demand that occurred when they
Hydroxide
25% to 50%
used the East Plant. Working with Earth
Flow
Tech, the city discovered that its groundIron
Ammonia
Filter
Filter
pH
water had naturally occurring ammonia,
Distribution
which was creating the higher chlorine
System
demand. Further investigation revealed
Reverse
50% to 75%
Chlorine
Flow
why the ammonia was an issue only in
Osmosis
the East Plant.
Fluoride
The East Plant has a conventional
Degasifer
filter, which is backwashed with treated
Hydrochloric Acid
(chlorinated) water, which reduces the
Antiscalent
possibility of biological activity. The West
To Waste
Disposal
plant has a Greenleaf filter, a rapidgravity filter based on siphon-control,
A schematic of the new plant.
Hutchinson
4
Continued from page 4
Left: the East Plant of the existing system. Right: The West Plant, where natural biological nitrification has been taking place.
The water coming into the plant will be split with
The ammonia differs from iron in that this process
approximately 75 percent going through the reverse-osmosis
requires higher oxygen concentrations for biological
membranes; the remainder of the raw water will go
oxidization. Because of this, in the filter for ammonia and
through the biological process, consisting of seven sand
manganese, aeration will be controlled to maximize the disfilters, the first two for iron and manganese and the others
solved oxygen concentration to encourage the nitrifying bacfor ammonia.
Meester
terial growth. Under oxygensays the objective is “to
conditions, the nitrifying
“We figured we’ve got biological treatment ated
provide an environment
bacteria oxidize to nitrite and
conducive for the biological now, there shouldn’t be a reason we can’t then to nitrate, which will be at
activity.”
a level of 1.5 parts per million,
do it intentionally.”
The amount of oxygen
well below the maximum conprovided to create that
taminant level for nitrate.
environment differs between the filter for iron and the filter
“You put the right conditions across the media,” said Nagy,
for ammonia and manganese. In the iron filter, aeration will
“and the bacteria will grow and flourish in that media and
be controlled to provide just enough oxygen for biologically
convert the ammonia to nitrate, and then it’s a simple
mediated oxidation to occur but not enough to chemically
chlorination process after that.”
oxidize the iron.
The $14 million project includes the new plant—which will
Meester explained that iron oxidation occurs faster
nearly double the utility’s capacity, from 3.5 million to 6.5
biologically than chemically with the right oxygen
million gallons per day—along with one new well and a 1.5
conditions. “You provide an environment so the bacteria, not
million gallon above-ground reservoir.
the chemicals, oxidize the iron. It’s based on a rate of
Construction started in April 2006. The plant is scheduled
reaction.”
to go on-line in March 2007.
The reverse-osmosis system, at left, in the new plant has three skids with 30 tubes on each. It is a two-stage system with 20
vessels in the first-stage and 10 in the second. At right is Dick Nagy by the newly installed filters for the biological nitrification.
5
Training News
2007 Metro School
The 2007 Metro Waterworks Operators School will be held from Wednesday, April 18 through Friday, April 20 at the Earle
Brown Heritage Center in Brooklyn Center. Participants in the school will receive 16 credit hours for their attendance. The
registration for the school will be $145 ($180 at the door or after April 6). The Earle Brown Heritage Center does not have
lodging on-site (other than a bed and breakfast that is not available for individual bookings). However, there are a number of
hotels in the area, many of which provide shuttle service to the Heritage Center. A list of nearby hotels is available at
http://mnawwa.org/section/metroschoolhotels.html.
Registration will begin at 7 a.m. on April 18 with the sessions beginning at 8 a.m.
A registration form is on the next page.
Friday, April 20
Wednesday, April 18
8:00-11:30
• The Lake Detective
•
•
•
•
7:30 Breakfast
Minnesota AWWA Section Chair
Scott Anderson
•
Speaking Program:
Tom Chapin, author of Poachers Caught!
12:30-3:30
Concurrent Session I
• Formation of THMs and HAAs
• IDSE—Initial Distribution System Evaluation
• Blaine Air Scrubbing
• Hastings/Dakota County Nitrate Issues
9:00 Product Exposition with Mini-Sessions
10:45 TopOps Competition
• • • • •
12:30
• Certification Exams
(Exams will be held at the Brooklyn Center Community
Center)
Concurrent Session II
• Water Emergency and Conservation Plans
• Water Conservation Studies Panel
• Backflow Prevention Software
• Cross Connection Identification and Control
For updates on the Metro School agenda, go to
http://mnawwa.org/section/metro.html
Thursday, April 19
7:30 to 11:00
Concurrent Session I
• Introduction to New Treatment Technologies
• Hutchinson Water Treatment Plant
• Low-pressure Membrane Filtration
• Membrane Filtration Applications in Minnesota
Pipeline Repair the Topic for
Next AWWA Teleconference
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has
set Thursday, March 8 as the date for its next
teleconference. The topic will be Pipeline Repair.
Registration will begin at 10:30 a.m., and the teleconference
will run from 11:00 to 2:30. The downlink locations serving
the Minnesota Section will be the Minnesota Department of
Health (Snelling Office Park) in St. Paul, Memorial Union
Hall on the campus of the University of North Dakota in
Grand Forks, and Lake Superior College in Duluth.
Participants will receive 4 contact hours.
Additional information is available at http://www.awwa.org/
Education/teleconf/teleconfsites.cfm.
or
Concurrent Session II: Wells
• Distribution System Troubleshooting
• Leak Detection/Water Audits
• Pressure Spikes
• Hydrant Troubleshooting
or
Independent Exam Study Session
• • • • •
11:45-3:30
Off-site sessions (choice of one)
• Brooklyn Park Water Plant
• GE Water and Process Technology
• Blaine Water Plant
List of Speakers for AWWA Schools
Being Updated and Expanded
The Minnesota AWWA Education Committee is
updating and expanding its list of potential speakers for
waterworks operators schools around the state.
For more information or to be included on the list of
speakers, go to http://mnawwa.org/speaker.html.
or
On-site hands-on sessions, including tapping, confined
space, hydrant maintenance, and large meter testing.
6
Other Spring 2007 Schools
Besides the Metro District Waterworks Operators School, several other schools, which are jointly sponsored by the
Minnesota American Water Works Association and the Minnesota Department of Health:
• Southeast School, March 21-23, Ramada Hotel and Conference Center, Rochester
• Southwest School, April (exact date and location to be announced)
• Northeast School, April 25-27, Ruttger’s Sugar Lake Lodge near Grand Rapids
• Central School, June 6-8 at Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge near Deerwood
Information, including agendas, for all district schools is at http://mnawwa.org/section/districtschools.html.
REGISTRATION FORM FOR TELECONFERENCE AND SPRING SCHOOLS
You may combine fees on one check if more than one person is attending a school; however, please make a copy of this
form for each person. Questions regarding registration, contact Jeanette Boothe at 651-201-4697.
For information on exams, go to http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water/wateroperator/trng/wat_op_sched.html, or
contact Mark Sloan at 651-201-4652 or Noel Hansen at 651-201-4690.
To receive a Class D or E study guide, contact Noel Hansen. Indicate which class of license you are studying for. For
more exam study materials, go to http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water/wateroperator/infoexam/referencelist.htm.
AWWA Teleconference, March 8, 2007. Check the location you wish to attend:
____ Lake Superior College, Duluth. Fee: $65 ($85 after February 26 or at the door)
____ Minnesota Department of Health, Snelling Office Park, St. Paul. Fee: $65 ($85 after February 26 or at the door)
____ University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, North Dakota. Fee: $65 until February 26 (no late registrations accepted
for this site)
Southeast School, March 21-23, 2007. Ramada Hotel and Conference Center, Rochester. Fee: $125 ($135 after March
12 or at the door).
Metro School, April 18-20, 2007. Earle Brown Heritage Center, Brooklyn Center. Fee: $145 ($180 after April 6 or at the
door).
Northeast School, April 25-27, 2007. Ruttger’s Sugar Lake Lodge, Grand Rapids. Fee: $115 ($125 after April 13 or at
the door).
Name
Employer
Address
City
Zip
Day Phone
E-mail Address
Please enclose the appropriate fee. Make check payable to Minnesota AWWA. Mail this form and fee to Drinking
Water Protection Section, Minnesota Department of Health, P. O. Box 64975, St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0975.
7
CALENDAR
Water Operator Training
Minnesota Section, American
Water Works Association
*March 21-23, Southeast Water
Operators School, Ramada Hotel and
Conference Center, Rochester. Contact
Paul Halvorson, 507-292-5193.
*April, Southwest Water Operators
School. Contact Mark Sweers,
507-389-5561.
*April 18-20, Metro Water Operators
School, Earle Brown Heritage Center,
Brooklyn Center. Contact Jeanette
Boothe, 651-201-4697, or Stew Thornley,
651-201-4655.
*April 25-27, Northeast Water
Operators School, Ruttger’s Sugar Lake
Lodge, Grand Rapids. Contact Jeanette
Boothe, 651-201-4697, or Stew Thornley,
651-201-4655.
*June 6-8, Central Water Operators
School, Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge,
Deerwood. Contact Lyle Stai,
320-212-8590.
*Includes a water certification exam.
To be eligible to take a certification
exam, applicants must have hands-on
operations experience at a drinking
water system.
Minnesota Rural Water Association,
Contact Kyle Kedrowski, 800-367-6792.
*March 6-8, Technical Conference, MRWA Class D and E Training
St. Cloud
March 7, St. Cloud (Class D)
April 3, Mitigating Risk, St. Cloud
March 20, Little Falls (Class E)
April 11, Operation & Maintenance,
April 3, St. Paul (Class D)
Elbow Lake
April 24, Warroad (Class D)
May 2, Operation & Maintenance,
Note: Class D workshops are eight
Chandler
May 15, Water and Sewer Charge hours, and Class E workshops are four
hours. The morning session of a Class D
Analysis, St. Cloud
May 23, Operation & Maintenance, workshop is the same as a stand-alone
four-hour workshop for Class E
Spicer
*June 19, Operation & Maintenance, operators; thus, Class E operators may
attend either the stand-alone four-hour
Wahkon
June 27, Hands-on Specialized Treat- workshop or the morning session of the
Class D workshop.
ment Training, Windom
American Water Works Association
Teleconference
March 8, Pipeline Repair, St. Paul,
Duluth, and Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Contact Stew Thornley, 651-201-4655.
St. Cloud Technical College, Contact
Bill Spain, 320-308-5952
A & B Exam Review
*April 10-11
*April 27-28
For an up-to-date list of events, see the training calendar on the MDH web site at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water/wateroperator/trng/wat_op_sched.html
MDH Drinking Water Protection: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water
Past issues of the Waterline are available at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water/com/waterline/index.html
SWAMP Training
Contact Steve Kleist, 218-365-7281
Vermilion Community College offers
16-hour training courses that are free to
small water systems at the SWAMP
(Safe Water for All Minnesota People)
facility at the Outdoor Learning Center
outside Ely.
Upcoming training:
March 19-20, Groundwater
April 11-12, Class E Water Systems
April 16-17, Small Water Operations
May 21-22, Pipes, Pumps, Plumbing
May 23-24, Sampling and Testing for
Small Water Systems
June 21-22, Surface Water
Presort Standard
US Postage
PAID
Permit No. 171
St. Paul, MN
Environmental Health Division
625 North Robert Street
P. O. Box 64975
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0975
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED