September ‘08 Volume 5.9

The WastewaterIns ight

How Criticalare the"Critical 5plus one"?

Ok, so what exactly arethe "Critical 5 plus one"? I have never heard of that.

There are 5 critical measurements that should be monitored andcontrolled to effectively run a biological treatment plantefficiently; Temperature, DO, Ammonia, Ortho-phosphate and pH.

• Acceptable environmental parameters for biological activityincluding:

PARAMETER ACCEPTABLE OPTIMUM Dissolved Oxygen >0.5 mg/l 1.0 - 2.0 mg/l Temperature 50 - 95° F 77 - 95 ° F pH 6.5 - 9.5 7.5 - 8.0 Ammonia Residual 1.0 - 3.0 mg/l 2.0 - 3.0 mg/l Ortho-phosphate Residual 0.5 - 2.0 mg/l 1.0 - 2.0 mg/l l

• Residual should be measured in the final effluent.• Ammonia and ortho-phosphate if supplemented, should be

fed based upon front loading, not final effluentmeasurement. Use flow times loading, and use a ratio of100 carbon- 5 parts nitrogen to 1 part phosphorus.

As silly as these 5 variables may seem or appear to be justgeneral information, they are extremely critical. 90% of allaudits we conduct have at least one or more of theseparameters in the wrong range. These are the easiestparameters to control at your wastewater treatment plant andsome of the most critical ones. The bacteria do not care aboutany tests you perform, (i.e. sludge judge, MLSS, F/M etc.)parameters you measure or implement as long as these Critical 5are in the correct range. Biomass quality and final effluentresults will be impacted.

Cold weather can sometimes be a problem for many plants dueto permit restrictions and decreased biological activity. Manyplants experience a significant drop in biological activity due tothe temperature levels decreasing. Biological activity drops onelog level for each 10-degree drop in temperature. This cansignificantly impact the amount of BOD loading that the biomasscan handle effectively.

What is the "plus one"?Alkalinity is sometimes considered the plus one but only forplants that require the additional step of Nitrification.

NitrificationNitrification is a sensitive process that must coexist with thecarbonaceous BOD removal process. There are many stressesthat can adversely impact nitrification before the BOD or TSSremoval efficiencies are affected. Biocides that are used in thecooling towers can contain chemicals that are toxic to nitrifiers.Gluteraldehyde is very toxic to nitrifiers and it tends to stay in theactivated sludge. It is absorbed by the biomass. Zinc can alsobe toxic to nitrifiers. Alkalinity is critical to Nitrification.

Asammoniaisremovedit istransformed-Foreach 1gram ofNH3-Noxidizedto NO3,0.15grams ofnewbacteria cells are formed. Most of the NH3-N is used as an

We started this month out with a new

Mystery Bug of the month!

Check out our website for more photos of our newmystery bug!!!! WWW.EnvironmentalLeverage.com

INSIDE 1 Bug Of the Month

2 Critical 5 in Various locations

3 Des Moines Training class

4 WEFTEC ‘08

5 New Websites

CRITICAL 5 IN VARIOUS PLACESMYSTERY BUG OF THE MONTH

2 WWW.EnvironmentalLeverage.com The Wastewater Insightenergy source. It is used in a non-assimilative way so only asmall amount of biomass (sludge) is produced. Nitrificationoccurs 3-4 times slower than carbonaceous oxidation. Carbondioxide (CO2) or carbonate is used as the carbon source innitrification. 4.5 parts of O2 is needed for every part of NH3 tobe degraded.

First Conversion (Ammonium to Nitrite)Nitrosomonas bacteria oxidize ammonium to nitrite viahydroxylamine. 2NH4

+ + O2 --> 2NH2OH + 2H+

NH4+ + 1.5 O2 --> NO2

- + 2H+ + H2O

Second Conversion (Nitrite to Nitrate)Nitrobacter bacteria convert nitrite to nitrate.

NO2- + 0.5 O2 --> NO3

-

There is a wide range in the reported pH optima (PH 6.5 to 8.6).Typical refineries run in higher pH- 8.0-9.5. However, there is

generalagreement that asthe pHshifts tothe acidrange,the rateofnitrificationdeclines,thus, it isimportantthat

sufficient alkalinity is present in the wastewater to prevent asignificant decline in the pH. It is recommended that a residualalkalinity of 50 mg/l for aeration and at least 150 mg/l for highpurity oxygen systems be maintained for pH control duringnitrification. Low pH conditions are only inhibitory and not toxictoward nitrifiers. Caustic or lime addition may be required tosupplement low alkaline wastewaters.

Calculations on alkalinity must be considered using the fact thatamines are also present in the water and will degrade down torelease some of the ammonia for use in nitrification. Targetingalkalinity must include free ammonia as well as bound ammoniafor final degradation rates to achieve below 1 in the system.

Critical 5 issues with various pieces ofequipment associated with Wastewater

Lift Stations, Channels and Wet WellsEQ tanksPrimary clarifiersAeration BasinsSecondaryclarifiersDigestorsDewateringChlorination- UVSand Filters

What is growing in your CollectionSystem- Lift stations, manholes or wet wells?

Anything and everything that is dumped down the drain windsup in the sewers and lift stations; from grease, garbage, toiletpaper, human waste and food to industrial waste. Fast Foodrestaurants are adding significant loading to a collection system.

A collection system is not a sterile environment. As long as thereis food for the bacteria to grow, they will grow in the collectionsystems. But as solids build up, the wrong conditions occur, andslime-causing organisms can build up and cause blockages. Thereal control is in making sure the right types of bacteria grow inthe collection system.

Basically, the collection systems can be thought of as one largeholding tank or Equalization tank prior to the WastewaterTreatment Plant. Many municipalities have miles and miles ofpipes, and numerous lift stations prior to a wet well, and then theactual wastewater treatment plant. Maintenance on these pipescan be costly and time consuming, as well as incur some safetyconcerns.

Bacteria, if given even the slightest chance, will grow anywherethere is sufficient food. Typically, there is always some type ofsmall biofilm in all sewer collection pipes. Usually the growth isslow, due to low BOD loading and high flow of water causingenough movement or even pressure from the lift stations. Thebiofilm is relatively small, and sloughs off quickly with rain andnormal flow. In effect, a miniature RBC unit can be created in thecollections systems with the right conditions. Typically, the flowis enough to cause the biofilm to slough off without causingproblems.

In cases where easily degradable organic compounds aredischargedto a system,a very rapidbiomassgrowth canoccur. If theindustrial orinstitutionaldischargeruses largeamounts ofrolling orcutting oils,grease or sugars in the processes, has dipping baths wherebiofilms are allowed to grow, or septic water is allowed tocollect in tanks onsite, and then this is discharged into thesewers, the bacteria in the system will quickly grow on thesetypes of substrates. If the optimum environment is not present,such as sufficient N, P or lower pH, or sufficient mixing anddissolved air, then a slimy biofilm will develop instead of floc.

Grease is one waste that the sewer system cannot handle andtherefore needs to be kept out of the system, but most often isnot. An additional concern is that since the government raisedthe temperature required by restaurants and food establishmentsfrom 180° F to ~210° F, grease traps are not working asdesigned and grease that used to be trapped onsite is nowwashing through the lines until the temperature of the watercools down and then hardens later on. This usually happenssomewhere in the lines or in the lift station.

3 WWW.EnvironmentalLeverage.com The Wastewater InsightWet wells at the plant can become septic and cause growth offilaments and spirillum.Septic influent canimpact downstreamprocesses, such asprimaries and aerationbasins. See fullnewsletter onCollection systems 9-06.

Equalization tanks and Wet wells

Equalization tanks or holding, equalization lagoons come in allsizes and shapes. They may be small or very large.

They can be above ground storage tanks, large lagoons, orcovered sunken tanks.

The can have slow mixing, large aerators or nothing at all.

They can have covers, orbe open to the air.

What your equipment islike is not the main issue,the real issues are whatyou are trying toaccomplish with theequalization and howwell you are doing it.

Many plants, especially industrial facilities have large swings ininfluent loading. That may be either from BOD loading, pH or eventoxicity. The purpose of an equalization holding area is to try toeven out those swings before sending the wastewater on to thebiological portion of the system. Anytime you make more than a10% change to the bacteria, which technically is major to themand can cause upsets, equalization is a good thing.

While equalization is agood thing, sometimestoo much is not better.Many plants figure outthat if a little is good,more is better. If youhave just created awide spot in the pipe,and are letting solidsbuild up in the bottomof the holding tank,

you can cause more problems than help. Solids building up cancause septicity, growth of filaments, organic acids, gassing andsometimes even H2S generation. This can mean safety issues,excesselectricity costs,excess polymeror chemicalconsumption andexcess solidshandling costs.

What issepticity?The presence ofhydrogen sulfide (H2S) in wastewater and sludge is defined asa septic condition. Septicity is a result of anaerobic bacterial

activity in absence of oxygen or nitrate. By preventing septicconditions from arising, negative effects like odors, healthhazards, corrosion and reduced efficiency of the treatmentplant, can be eliminated or reduced.See full newsletter on Equalization tanks 10-06.

Primary Clarifiers:Septicity, low DO and low pH result when you hold solids toolong in the primary clarifiers.

Many times operators often underestimate how much impactprimary treatment can have on the secondary biological portionof the system. The whole purpose of primary treatment is tophysically remove as much loading from the system as quicklyand as cheaply as possibly without high tech equipment orexcessive monitor and control.

Often times, though asmall adjustment to theequipment cansignificantly improvesolids removal as well asBOD and TSS removal oreven prevent the growthof filamentous bacteria inthe biological portion.

Primary systems are designed to be able to remove a significant

portion of the BOD and TSS loading on a plant thus making iteasier on the secondary biological portion of the system.Sometimes the addition of chemicals will improve efficiency.Coagulation and flocculation of fine suspended solids willconvert some or all of the colloidal solids to settleable solids.

The purpose of a clarifier is to remove solids, produce a cleanereffluent and concentrate solids. Concentration of solids removedfrom the wastewater reduces the volume of sludge fordewatering and/or disposal. The smaller the volume of sludgeremoved results in lower capital and operating costs fordewatering equipment and/or sludge disposal. Sometimesexisting dewatering equipment may not have enough capacity ifthe sludge is not concentrated.

4 WWW.EnvironmentalLeverage.com The Wastewater Insight

Conditions Affecting Settling Factors;Concentration of Solids- The larger and heavier thesuspended solids, the faster they will settle. The more particlesthere are (within design), the better the settling.Temperature- At higher temperatures, the water is less dense,therefore, the higher the temperature, the more rapid thesettling.Detention Time-About 50% ofmunicipal typesuspended solidswill settle out in 30minutes, about 60%after 1 hour andabout 70% after 2hours. Usually,clarifier designallows for detention times ranging between 2 to 3 hours,however, it may be as long as 4 to 5 hours. If necessary use asettleometer to check how long solids can be in the clarifierwithout floating to the surface.Surface Loading-Condition of Wastewater- Wastewaterstrength, freshness, temperature, and the density, shapes andsizes of particles all impact the efficiency of the unit. Septicwastewater settles slower because of smaller particle size orgas bubbles on particles that can cause floating.Short Circuiting- Can be caused by uneven weirs, inadequatebaffles, wave action or currents.

Problems can develop in settling tanksdue to distribution of solids and flow.Basic troubleareas includeshort-circuiting,turbulent flow,and bottomscour.

If Sludge is Held Too Long in Clarifier it can creategasification by anaerobic decomposition. Gas bubbles can beseen breaking water surface. Re-suspension can occur ofsludge solids. Floating black sludge can be seen. A stronghydrogen sulfide odor can be present in severe cases.

Ashing and gassing can occur in primary clarifiers just as well

as in secondary clarifiers.

Are you holding the solids too long in the clarifier? This is a verycommon practice that causes septicity and promotes growth offilaments. Check for pin floc, air bubbles rising or clumps of flocfloating- these all indicate solids held too long.

What you do in the primary impacts your secondary aerationbasin, as well as your digestor or dewatering, since that isusually where the solids are sent from the primary. Septic solidssent to a digestor can create a huge filamentous growth, as wellas fungi. Both take up a large volume, thus defeating the purposeof a digestor and reducing the amount of solids.

Septic influent sent to the aeration basin, immediately put a hugedemand on the aeration requirements, thus depriving the flocforming bacteria of the oxygen they might need. Again, promotingthe growth of filamentous bacteria. See full newsletter onPrimary clarifiers-9-07.

Aeration Basin- Obviously the critical 5 plus one are veryimportant in the aeration basin. Usually this is the only place anoperator focuses on these critical parameters. Often they areoverlooked in other parts of the plant, but if you have anyrecycle of sludge, influent, supernatant, that wind up back at thefront of the plant, all these can impact the activity in the aerationbasin~Filaments can grow due to major changes in these criticalfive. See newsletter Feb-06 Filaments and Zooglea.

Secondary Clarifiers:How long do I hold the solids in the clarifier? One goodway to judge how long the solids can be held in your clarifier isto run asettleometer test. You cannot physically see into the bottom ofthe clarifier, so by using your settleometer, you are basicallyrunning a clarifier test. How long does it take for the solids tosettle, how much of a bed is created, how much bulking, is therea rag layer, how long does it take for gassing or ashing? Howlong before the whole thing pops to the surface? These are allthings you look at when running a settleometer. Do not just run itfor the normal 30 minutes. Check to see how long it takes beforethere is small pin floc on the surface. Time it; check to see howlong it takes for the whole bed to pop. These will give you anidea of how long you have in your clarifier before it will happenin your plant.

One thing that can be done is a dilute 50/50 test. In this test anormal settleometer is run, and then one with 50% water and50% sludge run. This is used along with your microscope to tellif you just have too muchMLSS or you have a case offilamentous bulking. If youhave filamentous, and yoursludge only settles to 900,then in a 50/50 dilute with justtoo much MLSS, theoretically,it should settle to around 450.If you have filamentous bulkingthough, it may settle in the 50/50 at 700 or 800, but definitely notat the halfway point.

5 WWW.EnvironmentalLeverage.com The Wastewater InsightOperators tend to think that all biological activity occurs only inthe aeration basin. Wrong, it occurs all throughout your system. Itis not a sterile environment. There will be biological activity evenin your clarifier, especially if you still have some BOD left,otherwise there will be endogenous respiration. The rule ofthumb is to have 1-2 ppm of DO in your residual leaving theaeration system. Not because it means you need more air in theaerated system, but so that you have enough air for respirationin the clarifier. Think about it, you probably are carrying at least1/3 to 1/2 of your solids inventory in your clarifier. That is a lot ofbacteria. They still require oxygen, especially your nitrifiers. Ifyou starve them of oxygen in the clarifier, and then return themback to the front of the system, it takes time for them to activateagain. If you have more than enough oxygen in the clarifier,everything will settle, you will have clear supernatant, yourbacteria will be ready to work the instant they are back in theaeration basin and you will not grow filaments.

Ashing and Gassing, what is this?Gassing is the first sign that the bacteria are running out of air inthe clarifier. You can call it an early warning system. Bacteriafirst will go for free oxygen, then nitrates, then sulfates. Oneway or another they will find a source. If you run out of air in theclarifier,and they have to use nitrates, they give off N2 gas. This willshow up as gassing or air bubbles rising to the surface. Samewith sulfates, H2S gas is generated, which if too high, cancause serious health problems.

Ashing is when tiny particles of floc trap that gas, and rise to thesurface. Pay attention to those signs. First you will see small tinypin floc that looks like cigarette ash, and then clumps.

Then larger clumps; finally the entire bed can burp and rise up.

Did you know that the solids that go over the weirs could impactyour final effluent BOD results along with the TSS?

False high BOD readings can occur if biological material or algaeare present in a BOD sample. These will increase the final BODreading and potentially increase your final effluent values,which, in turn can mean permit violations or surchargeincreases.

See Clarifier newsletters- 5-05, 5-07, and 2-08. Obviouslyclarifiers are a major part of operations in a wastewatertreatment plant!

Digestors: The biggest thing that many plants dowrong with aerobic digestors is pH control andD.O. levels.

Digestors still need the basic "Critical 5" components in the samerange as the aeration basin if you really intend to reduce solidsand save on your handling costs! The goal is to save money onhandling and hauling costs, yet balance the time and electricityfactor! Many small plants that have farms nearby need tocalculate how much they save on solids hauling or polymers, vs.

how much they spend on electricity and how much nutrientsthey return to the front end that add to ammonia and phosphateremoval. If new regulations come into effect for nutrientremoval, a serious look at solids reduction vs. nutrient removalwill need to be examined. There is a lot of nutrient value in thesolids that can be used for farmers for beneficial reuse to helpthem and save them costs on nutrients. Also the nutrient value inbiosolids is more stable and environmentally friendlier thanchemical addition. Less run off occurs, more is given to theplants and less erosion occurs. Lookinto this option near your area!

Ok, so back to pH and D.O. control. Some plants try to turn offthe air in the digestor for numerous reasons. One reason is todecant the solids so they can be dewatered and return some ofthe supernatant back to the front of the plant. While this isnecessary, the amount of time you decant is critical. The longeryou have the air off, the lower the D.O. goes. This impactsnumerous things. It can turn the system septic and causefilamentous bacteria to grow in the digestor. This makes it harderand harder to decant and dewater. Also, the septic supernatantgoes back to the front of the plant, places more demands on theoxygen in the aeration basin and can lower available DO to thebacteria that need it for growth.The septic water can also cause the growth of filaments in theaeration basin, cause more settling problems in the clarifier anddigestor, which makes you leave the air off longer and longerand the cycle continues and conditions worsen. This is a badcycle that needs to be broken.

We have worked with numerous plants that had this type ofcycle in their systems. Low pH and not enough DO to start with,and then turning off the air too long during the decant cycle.

How do you break this cycle?Short term, you can hit the system with chlorine and usepolymers to settle out the filaments. Long term, change theprocess, do not turn the air off as long, increase pH, and/or D.O.or any of the Critical 5 parameters you have out of control andstart running the system optimally! You would be surprised athow small changes can impact the system significantly!

Have you ever pulled a sample and lookedunder the microscope at your digestorsample? Here is how we finally were able to solve theproblem at two different plants- they both had tons of filamentsand we could not get rid of the problems. NO wonder, they wereconstantly reseedingthe front of the systemwith filaments, depletingall the D.O., using largeamounts of polymer indewatering and haulingoff more solids thannecessary. Floatingsolids on the clarifierwere a problem, foaming in the system was present anddewatering was hard. Decanting in the digestors was next to

6 WWW.EnvironmentalLeverage.com The Wastewater Insightimpossible. It's amazing though with just minor changes to a fewareas in the process, how completely different the system couldbe! See digestor newsletter- 12-05.

Dewatering: Ok, how can I possibly have to worry about thecritical 5 when I am dewatering solids?You would be surprised. Do you hold solids in a tank prior todewatering? If you hold them too long, DO will drop and pH willdrop. Supernatant from dewatering is returned to the front of thesystem and this can impact your biological activity.

Another big thing isthe supernatant fromdewatered solidsmay have very high Nand P values. This isreturned to the frontof the system. If youare adding nutrients,make sure to add thisamount to yourcalculations. It might save you some money on the cost ofnutrients. If you are worried about nutrient removal, this again,needs to be factored. Make sure to calculate the amount ofalkalinity needed based upon the extra loading of N in thesupernatant.

Chlorination: I have to worry about some of the Critical 5 in myfinal effluent treatment? Really, why?

Septicity and gassing

Here is gassing in a chlorine contact chamber, and the nextphoto is gassing in a channel leading up to the UV treatment.Both show signs of biological activity, gassing and septicity.Floating solids also indicate growth and lack of DO so the solidsfloat to the surface. Both conditions will impact either treatment.Clean out channels for both types of treatment periodically,making sure that solids do not grow or settle into the bottom ofthe system. These can seriously impact your treatmentefficiency.

Floating solids and plant growth can impact the treatment results.Reduced compounds such as sulfide, ferrous iron, BOD, nitrite,and ammonia react with free chlorine to reduce the effectiveamount of chemical available for disinfection purposes.

Ammoniaresiduals-Many plantshave to nitrify,especiallymunicipalities.If fullnitrificationdoes notoccur, andhigh ammoniaresiduals exist, this could interfere with the disinfection program,since chloramines may form.Chlorine disinfection involves a very complex series of eventsand is influenced by the kind and extent of reactions withchlorine-reactive materials, temperature, pH, suspended solidsconcentrations, and the viability of test organisms.

Chloramines are used for disinfection of surface water inpotable systems to prevent the formation of THM's and HAA's,and to extend the disinfection residual. However, chloraminesare only about 1/100th the disinfection power of free chlorine. The form of chloramine formed is strictly pH dependent. Chloramines can impact disinfection and chlorine demand. Mostplants run with free chlorine as the disinfectant.

1. Chlorine is added to a wastewater effluent and first combineswith any reducing agents (H2S, etc.) to neutralize them.2. Chlorine then reacts with any ammonia to form chloramines3. Then if you keep adding more free chlorine, it will destroy(oxidize) the chloramines.4. When nothing remains to react with, you've reached"breakpoint chlorination" and will establish a free chlorineresidual. If you do not have high enough residuals, poor coliform control isthe result.

See full newsletter on UV and chlorination 7-08.

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7 WWW.EnvironmentalLeverage.com The Wastewater Insight

Backwashfrom SandFilters in aWastewaterTreatment plant- how they can impact theprocess.Many wastewater plants have a sand filter for their own plants.This is used as a final polishing step in the process to removeany TSS in the final effluent most oftentimes. Sometimesadditional BOD and nitrification occur, depending on the type offilter, the holding time in the units and the design criteria.

There are many types of sand filters: re-circulating sand filters,intermittent, slow and rapid and some that also have additionalfilters such as carbon for final polishing. Sand filtration is arelatively old technology. Intermittent sand filtration has beenused more widely than have re-circulating sand filters.

Properly designed and functioning re-circulating sand filters canprovide for enhanced BOD5 and TSS removal, pathogenreduction, and both nitrification and denitrification of wastewatereffluent to some extent, depending upon the design andoperation of the unit.

How efficiently you run the sand filter can impact the amount ofbackwash you send back to the front of the plant. Remember,that additional flow decreases the amount of holding time youhave in your system. Too much backwashing can causehydraulic overload on a plant or shorten the time in the systemand decrease BOD removal and nitrification. Backwash isusually determined by Volume, Pressure drop over the filter or aTime schedule.

If you get carryover of sand and fine particles back to the frontof the plant, this can impact pumps, increase wear and tear onmachinery and add to maintenance and repairs or replacementcosts also.

Wash troughs are used to collect and remove backwash water.Wash troughs are usually located 3.5 - 4 feet above the bed, 6 -10 feet apart. Correct spacing and height of troughs ensures thedirty wash water is efficiently skimmed off, without washing outany of the filter media. Check your weirs on your wash troughsand make sure they are not clogged and the flow is even.

The under drain must be maintenance and corrosion free.Uniform collection and distribution of water is important to theintegrity of the filter bed. Short-circuiting or stagnation caused bythe under drain can greatly reduce the effectiveness of the filter.See 7-05 Newsletter on Backwash and Sand filters.

Temperature is a big one in the Critical 5 and that can be

related to all areas in the plant, whether spring,summer, fall or winter:Wastewater in the Winter- Problems and Solutions

Wastewater treatment in itself can have many ups and downs.So many things can impact how successful the wastewaterprocess is at removing the critical components of BOD, TSS andnutrients.

Winter, with its fluctuating temperature changes can have asignificant impact on the wastewater treatment process. Snow,icing, and freezing rain can cause huge problems for somewastewater treatment plants.

Remember thattemperature is one of thecritical 5 components in awastewater treatmentplant. Temperature cansignificantly impactwhether you are winningthe time and numbersgame. Wastewater treatment is always a time and numbersgame. Since you really are limited by the time component- (inreality this is the size of the treatment plant) the only thing youcan play with and change is the numbers factor. That meansadjusting the numbers of bacteria or MLSS in the aeration basin.

Another thing to consider, for every ten degree F change in theweather, the bacteria loses one logs growth of activity. If youroutside weather drops 20 to 30 degrees in one day that cansignificantly impact the activity in your system, if you do not havea high temperature influent consistently. That means you have toadjust the amount of RAS and WAS in your system to reflect thetemperature changes. You can only adjust the MLSS as quicklyas your pumping capabilities allow. Another thing to remember,the bacteria are finicky. They do not like significant changes. Anytime a change of more than 10 percent is made, on any variablethat is critical to them, theyget temperamental.

1.) Snow, Freezing rain2.) Hydraulic washout

due to excessivefreezing rains fromstorms or meltingsnows

3.) Changes in BODloading

4.) Sludge Age changes due to activity changes5.) Loss in removal efficiency.6.) Icing problems for equipment or freezing pipes.

See December 05 newsletter for more information on coldweather and 2-07 temperature impacts. .April 05 spring turnover,9-05 wild weather, 8-08 summer storms.

Well, I guess those critical 5 are more important than you thought!Walk through your plant and look carefully at each piece ofequipment you are operating. Make sure that you try to optimizeall pieces. If you need some back issues of our newsletter, orneed help with troubleshooting or auditing the plant, feel free tocontact us~

Two Day Hands on Seminar

8 WWW.EnvironmentalLeverage.com The Wastewater InsightRegistration FormActivated Sludge Process ControlSeptember 23rd and 24th 2008Des Moines WRA Wastewater Reclamation Facility3000 Vandalia RoadDes Moines, IA 50317-1346Office: 515-323-8130Cell: 515-313-1159Email: semoehlmann@dmgov.orgWeb: www.dmmwra.org

Course Outline

Class Outline Day 1 Tentative Schedule

800-915 Wastewater Basics915- 1030 Process Overview and Process variations10 minute break1045- 12 Process Control Strategies12-1230 Lunch1245-145Tour of the plant, Visual Observations and Troubleshooting1:45-3:30Troubleshooting review-Causes and Controls-Process Control Strategies-Filaments and Foam control-Solids Carryover and Settling Problems

Day 2 Hands on workshop

800- 915 Microbiology overview915-10-30 Filamentous Identification and Floc analyses10 minute break1045- 12 Microscope use Stains & TechniquesHands on Microscopic Observation12-1245 Lunch1245-130 Settleometer Test1246 Lab Sample handling & prep.1246-130 Lab Testing Test Samples215-3:30pm Review of TroubleshootingCase Histories - plant examplesIndividual Plant SamplesEquipment optimization, Dewatering

Environmental Leverage Inc. offersconsulting services, beneficial reuse, training andbioaugmentation programs that can help reduce yoursurcharges.

Contact our office today to find out how your can startsaving money and become more efficient at your plant!!!Many times we have suggested articles for the next month’sissues. Sometimes we change what we will be featuring basedupon critical issues that surface during our contacts with ourcustomers. We hope this does not inconvenience you. If youhave a specific topic you are interested and do not want to waitto see if it shows up in our newsletters, call us direct. We dohave over 20 gigabytes of information on file on every subjectaround on water and waste issues.

WEFTEC.08 on the HorizonMcCormick Place · Chicago, Illinois

Conference: October 18-22, 2008Exhibition: October 19-22, 2008

Come join us at WEFTEC this year. We will have a booth.#30180 Hall B Hope to see you there.

81st Annual Water Environment FederationTechnical Exhibition and Conference

The largest water qualityevent in North America isheading to the Windy City!The latest in water qualityresearch, technology andservices will be on display atWEFTEC.08.

Pretreatment, surcharges, wet wells and lift stations

COMING IN THE NEXT MONTHS . . . . .