WATER LINE
Aquifer Storage and Recovery
Comes to Minnesota
Upcoming Water Operator
Certification Exam Dates
March 5, St. Cloud
March 13, Rochester
April 1, Redwood Falls
April 9, Bloomington
May 15, Ely
June 12, Deerwood
See calendar on back page for more information
Volume Sixteen/4
Inside:
FOR PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIERS IN MINNESOTA
License Requirements for Well and
Pump Work on Public Water Wells
The Joint Powers Water Board (JPWB) of Albertville, St.
Michael, and Hanover will be using Aquifer Storage and Recovery
(ASR) as a means of storing water during times of low demand
and recovering it when demand peaks during the summer.
It will be the first use of this technology in Minnesota. JPWB’s
water treatment plant in Albertville has five pressure filters and
a capacity of 10 million gallon per day. As the area grew and
more water was needed, the board contemplated a new wellfield
that would have required construction of a new treatment plant.
Instead, it opted for ASR as a more efficient way of dealing with
the changing demands over the different seasons of the year.
See page 4 for the full story.
Spring 2009
NEWS AND INFORMATION
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)
occasionally receives questions about whether a municipal
employee must have a well contracting license to perform
well or pump work on the city’s water supply wells. MDH
regulates the construction, repair, and sealing of wells and
borings in Minnesota through Minnesota Statutes, Chapter
103I and Minnesota Rules Chapter 4725 (Minnesota Well
Code), which requires that a person who drills, constructs,
repairs, or seals a well or boring, or installs a well pump or
pumping equipment must have a well contractor’s license.
Some activities that municipal employees may perform on
the city’s water supply wells without a well contractor’s
license include measurement of water levels, disinfection,
repair of a pump after it has been removed from the well by
a licensed well contractor, and the installation of water valves,
piping, treatment, and controls after the point of discharge
from the well.
Activities that municipal employees, or any other person,
may not perform on the wells without an appropriate well
contractor’s license include well construction, well repair, and
permanent well sealing, removal or installation of well pumps,
well treatment with any material other than chlorine, and
modification of a well casing.
Licensed well contractors are bonded and have extensive
experience related to well construction, well sealing, pump
installation, maintenance, and repair. Licensed well
contractors must also comply with annual continuing
education requirements that provide well contractors with
current regulatory and industry information, including
emerging construction and repair techniques, products, and
materials.
In addition to the full well contractor license, MDH offers
other “limited” well contracting licenses for several limited
categories of well work, including pumps and pumping
equipment, pitless and screen, and well sealing. Questions
about who can perform work on community water supply
wells and if a license is needed, may be directed to the MDH
Well Management Section at 651-201-4600 or 800-383-9808.
WaterWorks! Success Stories
Operator Training News
Where Are They Now?
Small Utilities to Investigate Disinfection Byproducts
WaterWorks! Success Stories
Ongoing communication with Institute graduates indicates
the success of the program as teachers have developed
extensive educational programs on drinking water. A past
graduate is invited to each of the follow-up sessions to talk
about his or her experiences.
At the follow-up session last fall for the 2008 Institute,
two teachers from Dassel-Cokato Middle School spoke on
how they received a technology grant of $38,000 from
Hewlett-Packard to use for inquiry-based lessons for
“From the Ground Up,” an interdisciplinary program that
focuses on water. The grant is designed to transform and
improve learning in the classroom through innovative uses of
technology.
Sue Sparboe and Melissa Rudebusch, who attended the
Drinking Water Institute in 2005 and 2007, respectively,
teamed with geography and math teachers in applying for
the grant. In the process, they expanded the two-to-three
weeks they had been spending on water into a five-week
program. In addition to science, they use math to have
students monitor home water usage and ways to reduce it
and geography to show watersheds on Minnesota maps as
well as to explore global issues.
“We found it’s such a hot topic,” said Sparboe of why
they chose water as the focus for their grant. “WaterWorks!
is the reason we came up with this idea,” added Rudebusch.
WaterWorks! A Drinking Water Institute for Educators
held its ninth Institute in 2008.
Designed as a way for middle-school science teachers to
learn about drinking water and to develop inquiry-based
activities to bring back to their classrooms, the Institutes have
been sponsored and financially supported by the
Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the
Minnesota Section of American Water Works Association
(AWWA). Lee Schmitt, originally the director of teacher
education for the Science Museum of Minnesota and now
with Center for Global Environmental Education (CGEE) at
Hamline University in St. Paul, has been the coordinator for
WaterWorks!
The first Institute was held in Eden Prairie in 2001 with
Institutes held annually (including two in 2005) since then in
New Ulm, St. Cloud, Rochester, Detroit Lakes, St. Paul,
Minneapolis, Lakeville, and the Outdoor Learning Center
outside Ely.
Teachers spend three days at the Institute in the summer,
then develop action plans on how to incorporate the
information and activities into their existing science
curriculum. They return for a follow-up session in the fall
and submit their action plans to the other teachers for peer
review. Upon completion of their work, they receive two
college credits.
Melissa Rudebusch and Sue Sparboe conducted a taste test, similar to what they perform as part of their five-week unit on drinking
water at Dassel-Cokato Middle School, at the follow-up session for the 2008 WaterWorks! Drinking Water Institute. In the photo on
the right, teachers lined up to tell Sparboe their preferences on the water they drank, with Sparboe entering the data into a
computer provided by Hewlett-Packard as part of the grant to the school. Another success story among Drinking Water Institute
graduates is Cathy Bockenstedt, who became the co-author of Earth Science Success: 50 Lesson Plans for Grades 6-9, just
published by the National Science Teachers Association Press. In the photo below, she presents an autographed copy of the book
to WaterWorks! coordinator Lee Schmitt. The 2009 WaterWorks! Institute will be held August 10 to 12 in Oakdale. More information
is available at http://health.state.mn.us/water/institute/index.htm.
Urban Water Cycle Completed
As part of the WaterWorks! Drinking Water Institute,
MDH and Minnesota AWWA worked with Hamline
University CGEE to develop an interactive module on
drinking water called the Urban Water Cycle. While this
includes a teachers’ guide and will be used in the Institutes, it
is also available to water systems and the general public.
The module is available on the MDH web site at
http://health.state.mn.us/water/urbancycle/index.html and will
be available on the Minnesota AWWA site (http://mnawwa.org).
The program is also on a disk that may be purchased from
Hamline University. To order, call 651-523-2480 or go to
http://cgee.hamline.edu/cgee_store/index.html.
2
Small Utilities to Investigate
Disinfection Byproducts in 2009
Former 20-game Winner Appears
at Northwest District School
Forty small Minnesota drinking water utilities (those
serving populations of fewer than 10,000) will fulfill their
Initial Distribution System Evaluation (IDSE) requirements
over the course of 2009. Eight of those utilities provide treated
surface water, while 32 treat and/or purchase ground water.
This is the fourth and final IDSE group and will result in a
total of 57 Minnesota water utilities with improved
disinfection byproducts (DBP) data. The Minnesota
Department of Health will be assisting the final IDSE system
group by distributing MDH-approved IDSE Standard
Monitoring Plans, sample supplies (bottles, MDH Lab forms,
labels, freeze packs), and 2009 Annual Sample Schedules.
MDH staff will also be available to provide some sample
collection assistance. Operators began receiving IDSE
materials in November 2008 and will continue to receive them
periodically through 2009.
Dave Goltz, a star pitcher for the Minnesota Twins who won 20
games in 1977, was the breakfast speaker at the Northwest
District Water Operators School in Fergus Falls in December.
Larry Rudh, an operator for the city of Fergus Falls and a
teammate of Goltz’s at Rothsay High School, was able to prevail
upon his friend to speak to the group. For information on
upcoming operator schools, go to page 7.
Waterworks Quiz
1. Turbidity in water can be caused by:
a. adequate filtration.
b. dissolved gases.
c. inadequate baffling.
d. unsettled particulate matter.
Where Are They Now?
Many water professionals go on to notoriety in different
fields. One is Bob Spangler, who worked in public relations
for American Water Works Association (AWWA) in the 1970s
and 1980s. Reportedly a p. r. whiz, Spangler’s charms
extended to his assistant at AWWA, Sharon Cooper.
While Spangler was working at AWWA his wife, Nancy,
allegedly murdered the couple’s two children before
committing suicide. Barely six months later, Bob and Sharon
married. Sharon became an authority on the Grand Canyon
and, through her, Bob developed an affinity for the canyon, a
love he maintained even after divorcing Sharon. In 1993,
Bob and another wife, Donna, were at the Grand Canyon
when Donna went over a cliff and died. Not long after that,
Sharon moved back into Bob’s house. The following year
she committed suicide.
Authorities finally began investigating the deaths of
Spangler’s wives and arrested him in 2000. Spangler, who
had cancer by this time and would die the following year,
confessed to the murders of his first wife and their children
as well as to pushing his third wife, Donna, over the edge of
the cliff at the Grand Canyon. He claimed no complicity in
the suicide of Sharon.
In addition to the deaths of his wives, Spangler was
suspected in the 1986 death of his dad, Merlin, who had been
a noted professor at Iowa State University (even having a
theory dealing with the aspects of soil pressure on
underground conduits named after him). During a visit to his
home from Bob, Merlin had a fall at his home and two weeks
later was dead, his sizable estate passing on to Bob. Many
years before, when Bob was 11, a classmate hated by Bob
mysteriously drowned at a sewer treatment plant.
Spangler became the focus of a 2004 book, Married to
Murder by Robert Scott.
2. When the static water level of the groundwater is 50 feet
below the ground surface, the most suitable type of pump
is a(n):
a. air lift pump.
b. gear pump.
c. horizontal centrifugal pump.
d. turbine pump.
3. Spell centrifugal.
a. c-e-n-t-r-a-f-u-g-a-l
b. c-e-n-t-r-i-p-h-u-g-a-l
c. p-s-e-n-t-r-f-i-g-a-l
d. c-e-n-t-r-i-f-u-g-a-l
Answers on page 7
Cool Web Sites
Safe Drinking Water Act
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/sdwa
Minnesota’s Water/Wastewater
Agency Response Network
http://www.mnwarn.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov
Minnesota Department of Health Drinking Water
http://health.state.mn.us/water
DrinkTap.org
http://drinktap.org/consumerdnn
3
Joint Powers Water Board Brings Aquifer Storage Technology to Minnesota
More than 30 years ago
several communities 25 to
30 miles to the northwest of
the Twin Cities, straddling
the line between Hennepin
and Wright Counties, began
working together to provide
drinking water to their
residents. In 1977, they
formed a utility, the Joint
Powers Water Board
(JPWB) of Albertville,
Hanover, St. Michael, and
Frankfort (the latter a
township that has since
been absorbed by St.
Michael).
In 2000, the Joint
Powers Water Board
completed a water treatment plant with three horizontal
pressure filters to remove iron and manganese. Within a few
years two more filters were added to meet the demand caused
by growth in the population. The expansion brought the plant
to a capacity of 10 million gallons per day, but continued
population growth caused the board to look at the possibility
of adding more wells.
Kelly Daleiden, the project manager for Veolia Water North
American Central, which operates the plant on a contract
basis for JPWB, said that any new wells would have to be in
the southern portion of the service area, in the vicinity of
St. Michael and Hanover, and wouldn’t be feasible for the
existing plant, which is in Albertville. As a result, a new
treatment plant would be needed, not just another expansion
of the current plant.
Working first with Chris Catlin and then with Chris Larson
at the St. Paul engineering firm of Howard R. Green Company, the Joint Powers Board began exploring a different
way to meet the growing demand. Instead of constructing
another plant, JPWB opted for a technology that has been
used in the eastern and southern United States since 1969.
Aquifer Storage and
Recovery (ASR) involves
injecting water into an
aquifer during periods of
surplus and/or low demand
and then pumping it out
when it is needed.
“The purpose of ASR is to
allow you to peak shave
the size of your water
treatment plant in that you
can treat closer to your
average daily demand
rather than building the
treatment plant capacity to
treat the maximum daily
demand,” said Larson.
“You realize significant
capital savings if your
treatment plant is sized only to treat the average daily
demand.”
JPWB has been getting its water from seven wells that
draw from either glacial drift or the Mount Simon aquifer.
In 2006, construction began on Well 9, in St. Michael, which
would serve as an ASR well, getting its water from the
distribution system and injecting it into the aquifer.
Completed in 2007, the well is 504 feet deep and goes into
the Mount Simon aquifer.
Larson pointed out that the well is a basic production well
that has a stainless-steel injection tube, three inches in diameter, which extends through the static water table, allowing
the utility to pump water into the aquifer. “It does not mix
but rather displaces the water already there,” he explained.
The water being injected into the aquifer will push out the
water in such a manner that the water around Well 9 will be
treated water taken directly from the distribution system.
The Mount Simon is a confined aquifer, with the Eau Claire
aquifer as an upper confining unit and Proterozoic volcanic
and sedimentary rock as the lower confining unit. Because
Aquifer Storage and Recovery—Continued on page 5
Construction on Wellhouse 9, with the well in front of it, began in 2006 and was completed in 2007.
4
The horizontal pressure filters at the water treatment plant in Albertville.
two-phase pilot study, using water from two existing wells.
“We will pump a certain amount of water into the aquifer,
and then we will recover somewhere around that volume of
water,” said Larson. “Part of it is going to mix a bit. The
question is what percentage of recovery can we get before
something becomes objectionable.”
The first phase of the pilot study will be performed with
300,000 gallons of recharge and 150 percent recovery. The
water will be tested as it is pumped out to determine the point
at which the water quality changes from treated ASR water
to native Well 9 water.
“There are a couple of things we can test to see that: iron
and manganese concentrations, oxidation reduction
potential,” explained Larson. “The treated water we’re
pumping into the aquifer is oxidized, has chlorine in it, and the
iron and manganese has been removed. We pump in 300,000
gallons and have to recover 450,000 gallons.”
The second phase of the pilot study will involve five
million gallons of recharge with 150 percent recovery. When
the ASR system is fully operational, Larson said they will be
recharging the aquifer with 60 million gallons of water for
later recovery.
Larson said the pilot studies should be complete by the
summer of 2009. If all goes well, they will begin recharging
for full-scale recovery later in the year. It will be the first
application of Aquifer Storage and Recovery in Minnesota.
Continued from page 4
it is confined, the water displaces horizontally. In the
aquifer are a mixing zone and a buffer zone, which allows
the system to recover much of the treated water.
“The treated water being pumped back into the aquifer
will displace the native water and push the water that
contains iron and manganese back,” said Larson. “They will
be able to recover the water that is free of iron and
manganese.”
The well will recharge the aquifer in the winter and fall,
when demand is lower, then recover it in the summer.
Although the aquifer has been recharged with treated water,
when it is recovered it may need some additional
disinfection. Larson said sodium hypochlorite, along with
fluoride, will be added as necessary before the water goes
into the distribution system.
Another advantage of using ASR is that it reduced
concerns about an abandoned landfill that has a groundwater
contaminant plume migrating to the area of the new well
field. Although the contaminants are in a different aquifer,
the potential for contaminant migration exists if the aquifers
are hydraulically connected. Since there is net-zero
withdrawal from the Mount Simon aquifer, potential migration of the landfill plume into the well field will be mitigated.
JPWB received a variance from the Minnesota
Department of Health to use an injection well for a
The ASR piping inside Wellhouse 9 (left) is the “only piping needed for ASR,” according to Chris Larson, shown at the right.
5
Operator Training News
2009 Metro School
The 2009 Metro Waterworks Operators School will be held from Tuesday, April 7 through Thursday, April 9 at the Ramada
Mall of America (formerly the Thunderbird Hotel), 2300 East American Boulevard in Bloomington. Participants in the school
will receive 16 credit hours for their attendance. The registration for the school will be $155 ($190 at the door or after March
26). The Ramada has guest rooms available; call 952-548-3600 for reservations
Registration will begin at 7 a.m. on April 7 with the sessions beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
A registration form is on the next page.
Thursday, April 9
Tuesday, April 7
8:00-11:30
• Water for People
• 20 Questions
• Providing Water around the World
• Metro Regional Water Supply Plan and Water Reuse
7:30 Breakfast
Minnesota AWWA Section Chair Bill Spain
Speaking Program:
Response to I-35W Bridge Collapse
9:00 Product Exposition with Mini-Sessions
12:15-3:15
Concurrent Session I - OSHA Topics
• How Compliance Inspections Are Conducted and Most
Cited
• Basics of a Confined Space Program
• Lockout/Tagout
•
•
•
•
•
12:30
Certification Exams
For updates on the Metro School agenda, go to
http://mnawwa.org/operator_training/metro.html
Concurrent Session II - Treatment
• Perfluorocarbons in Oakdale Water
• Taste and Odor Issues
• Plant Optimization
• Chlorine Gas vs. Sodium Hypochlorite
MRWA Technical Conference
The 2009 Minnesota Rural Water Association (MRWA)
Technical Conference will be held at the St. Cloud Civic
Center from Tuesday, March 3 through Thursday, March 5.
For more information, contact the MRWA office at
218-685-5197 or via e-mail at [email protected].
Wednesday, April 8
7:30 to 11:00
Exam Prep Session
or
Waterline
Competent Person Training (Classroom Session)
or
Published quarterly by the
Drinking Water Protection Section,
Minnesota Department of Health
Repair, Maintenance, Troubleshooting
• Cleaning Filter Media
• Gas Chlorination Equipment
• Benefits of Using Variable Frequency Drives
•
•
•
•
Editor:
Stew Thornley
•
11:45-3:30
Off-site sessions (choice of one)
• Mdewankanton Sioux Water Reclamation Facility
• Oakdale Water Treatument Plant
• Lakeville Water Treatment Plant
• Competent Person Training
or
Exam Study Session
or
Staff:
Karla Peterson
Jeanette Boothe
Noel Hansen
Past issues of the Waterline are available at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/water/newsletters.htm
Meter Madness and Leak Detection Competition
6
Other Spring 2009 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 11-13, Ramada Hotel and Conference Center, Rochester
• Southwest School, April 1, Redwood Area Community Center, Redwood Falls
• Northeast School, May 13-15, Grand Ely Lodge, Ely
• Central School, June 10-12, Ruttger’s Bay Lake Lodge near Deerwood
Information, including agendas, for all district schools is at http://mnawwa.org (under Training and Resources)
2009 Southeast School Agenda
Wednesday, March 11
8:00-11:30
• Drinking Water in Palestine
• Geology in Southeast Minnesota
• Water Testing Requirements for Water Mains
• Water Conservation Rates
Thursday, March 12
7:30-11:30
• Operator Breakfast
• Exhibitor and Product Fair
• Meter Madness Competition
12:30-3:30
• Do’s and Don’ts of Utilities
• Hydrant Recalls
• Meet & Greet with Young Professionals
or
Exam Study Session
or
12:30-3:30
• Trenching
• Shop OSHA Compliance
• Ammonia and Source Water
Exam Study Session
Friday, March 13
8:00-noon
• Southeast District Business Meeting
• Understanding the EPA Toolbox
• Ammonia Study
• Minnesota Deparment of Health Update
or
Exam Study Session
Answers to Quiz
or
1. d 2. d
Certification Exams
3. d
REGISTRATION FORM FOR SPRING 2009 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.
To receive an exam application, contact Noel Hansen at 651-201-4690 or Mark Sloan at 651-201-4652.
Southeast School, March 11-13, 2009. Ramada Hotel and Conference Center, Rochester. Fee: $135 ($145 after March
2 or at the door).
Southwest School, April 1, 2009. Redwood Area Community Center, Redwood Falls. Fee: $25 ($30 at the door).
Metro School, April 7-9, 2009. Ramada Mall of America, Bloomington. Fee: $155 ($190 after March 26 or at the door).
Northeast School, May 13-15, 2009. Grand Lodge Ely, Ely. Fee: $115 ($125 after May 1 or at the door).
Central School, June 10-12, 2009. Ruttger’s, Deerwood. Fee: $60 if staying at Ruttger’s, $130 if not staying at Ruttger’s
($10 additional fee if paying 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
Minnesota Rural Water Association
Contact Kyle Kedrowski, 800-367-6792.
*March 11-13, Southeast Water
Operators School, Ramada Hotel and
Conference Center, Rochester. Contact
Dean Huschle, 507-645-3051.
*April 1, Southwest Water Operators
School, Redwood Area Community
Center, Redwood Falls. Contact Mark
Sweers, 507-389-5661.
*April 7-9, Metro Water Operators
School, Ramada Mall of America,
Bloomington. Contact Jeanette Boothe,
651-201-4697, or Stew Thornley,
651-201-4655.
*May 13-15, Northeast Water
Operators School, Grand Ely Lodge, Ely.
Contact Jeanette Boothe, 651-201-4697,
or Stew Thornley, 651-201-4655.
*June 10-12, Central Water
Operators School, Ruttger’s Bay Lake
Lodge, Deerwood, Contact Lisa
Vollbrecht, 320-255-7225.
*March 3-5, Technical Conference,
St. Cloud
April 8, Operation & Maintenance,
Elbow Lake
April 29, Operation & Maintenance,
Fulda
May 6, Operation & Maintenance,
Victoria
May 20, Operation & Maintenance,
Albany
June 16, Operation & Maintenance,
Wahkon
Safe Water for All Minnesota People
Contact Mary Klein, 218-235-2162.
St. Cloud Technical College
Contact Keith Redmond or Bill Spain,
320-308-5952.
MRWA Class D and E Training
March 4, St. Cloud (Class D)
April 7, Cohasset (Class D)
April 21, Monticello (Class E)
May 7, Faribault (Class E)
May 14, Norwood Young America
(Class E)
June 9, Hastings (Class E)
June 23, Aitkin (Class E)
Note: Class D workshops are eight hours,
and Class E workshops are four hours.
The morning session of a Class D workshop is the same as a stand-alone fourhour workshop for Class E
operators; thus, Class E operators may
attend either the stand-alone four-hour
workshop or the morning session of the
Class D workshop.
*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.
For an up-to-date list of events, see the training calendar on the MDH web site at:
http://health.state.mn.us/water/wateroperator/trng/wat_op_sched.html
MDH Drinking Water Protection: http://www.health.state.mn.us/water
WATER LINE
NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIERS IN MINNESOTA
Environmental Health Division
625 North Robert Street
P. O. Box 64975
St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0975
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Presort Standard
US Postage
PAID
Permit No. 171
St. Paul, MN