The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Water Companies launched the “Water is Your Business” series to educate public leaders, businesses, and citizens on the importance of water infrastructure to public and environmental health, and the economic vitality of their communities. The kickoff event in Miami, FL brought together more than 50 business leaders to examine drinking and wastewater infrastructure needs in the context of regional water management issues.

Poised to be held in additional cities across the country, the “Water is Your Business” series raises awareness of the significant economic and ecological impacts of water provision, use and disposal on communities everywhere.  Each local dialogue will focus on providing business and community leaders with tools and resources needed to be constructive and influential participants in the discussion on water infrastructure needs. The series is co-hosted by local area chambers of commerce.

The Chamber recognizes that water infrastructure is a critical part of the physical platform of the U.S. economy,” said Janet Kavinoky, U.S. Chamber director of Transportation and Infrastructure. “Unfortunately, it is out of sight, out of mind, until a pipe breaks or supplies run low. We want to raise awareness of the needs and potential solutions, in particular, the role of the private sector in delivering sustainable water systems.”

How Does Sewage Treatment Work?
Sewage treatment turns out to be a somewhat less nasty business than you probably thought

The guy running the snake down our sewer looks matter-of-fact. Our sewage has been backing up. Right next to the pipe connecting our house to the sewer line running down our street stands a 70-year-old willow oak, and I worry the tree’s roots have found their way, during the droughty past year, into our line. He shrugs: Maybe it’s tree roots, maybe it’s a collapsed pipe, maybe it’s a yo-yo. The snake went in only a dozen feet or so and found a clog, and now the little claw at the end is spinning. Once he pulls it out we’ll know better what’s going on. I leave him to his business, though I cast an annoyed glance at the oak. Sewer pipes fit together simply, with a bell joint, and tiny root hairs find their way to the nutrient-rich flow, then grow larger, eventually growing large enough to shatter the vitreous clay pipe that forms so many service lines or dislodge a joint if the pipes are cast iron. Nobody knows what our pipes, 70 years old, are made of, but I fear we’re about to find out.

Read the rest online at Scientific American. Reprinted from On the Grid: A Plot of Land, an Average Neighborhood, and the Systems That Make Our World Work by Scott Huler.

Three webcasts for the price of one: WEF Members: $155; Nonmembers: $195

Gone is the era of “no news is good news” for water professionals!  Welcome to the Information Age, where even the small plant operator is expected to have some public communications savvy.  Growing populations, regulation, and even climate change issues are making you more important in the community – which means the demands for public communication are growing too.

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Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine interviewed Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs , about dream jobs.

Check out one of his responses to this question: Tell us about a few gigs with an unexpected upside.

Waste Water Treatment. A lift pump weighs 4 tons and when it ruptures underground, the container that it’s in—a five-story silo—fills with anything that was in the toilet. Slowly the 4-ton motor is subsumed. Men, meanwhile, are running down a set of spiral stairs around this silo-like structure and muscling their way through a series of watertight doors. When they get into the chamber, they swim to the broken pump. They’re neck-deep in the most unthinkable filth you can imagine. When you get to the pump, you climb on top of it. From the very top, a crane lowers a cable. You affix it to the coupling device and then you hang on as an operator lifts the entire mess. The sound a broken lift pump makes when it breaks the seal of crap that’s been holding it there on the ground, it’ll haunt your dreams. The upside? Did you see Band of Brothers ? When you’re done with a job like that, a couple of things become apparent. The first: Nobody in town realizes what you just did for them. The second thing is the It’s A Wonderful Life paradigm. Remove yourself retroactively from civilization and visualize what a big city looks like without you and your team. You just saved the world, man.

Read the full story.

Watch an excerpt from a wastewater treatement episode of Dirty Jobs.

From Bill Bertera, WEF Executive Director

The argument for a single voice for water in North America is compelling…and in the eye of some, obvious. What is not so obvious is why achieving such a seemingly simple unanimity of purpose, which is so clearly in the public interest, is still the topic of debate rather than implementation. The answer is uncomfortable because it is simple, plain and unadulterated; it is “self interest.”

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Soledad’s new 5-mgd wastewater treatment plant gets featured on the local news. Local officials sound thrilled to have the plant operating and look forward to growth and prosperity for their community. The facility allows the City to lift a moratorium on new construction.

What does the new plant mean to the community?  The Chamber of Commerce spokesperson believes…

It means we can do more development, bring more new homes to our people and more work for our people.

View the video on KSBW’s website here, go>

The consulting engineer and construction manager for the expansion was Black & Veatch. Shimmick Construction built the expansion.

California’s leaders are close to a deal on one of the largest water agreements in a decade – but ‘we’re not there yet’ says the Governor and he needs our help.

I just wanted to tell all of you that you need to give them that extra shove. And you’re the leaders in your community. You all are the experts in water. You are the voice that they’re listening to. And you have the strength and the knowledge and everything. So you must call those legislators, call your local legislators, and put the pressure on them and demand action. And don’t take no for an answer.

According to a regulatory update from Mary Jane Foley of SCAP – some of the Legislature’s discussions include a water bond priced around $9-billion +/- with perhaps $75-million for water recycling projects.

 

 

 

Narrated by Robert Redford, this lively and timely series is about one of America’s greatest natural resources – San Francisco Bay. Shot in high definition, it consists of four episodes focusing on the geological, cultural, and developmental history of San Francisco Bay and the larger northern California watershed, from the Sierra Nevada mountains to the Farallon Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

From the Gold Rush to the Golden Gate Bridge, and through World’s Fairs and World Wars, San Francisco Bay has been central to the identity of one of the world’s leading economic, academic, recreational, and cultural regions. This series explores its evolution, how we almost lost and then saved the Bay, and how we are planning for the future, including wetland restoration, increased public access, and balancing the often competing needs of a fragile ecosystem that is the centerpiece of a major urban area.

Saving the Bay is airing on KQED and KTEH through November. Click here for previews and broadcast schedules.

By Wendy Wert
LABS Director
CWEA Chair, Training Coordination

On September 24, 2009 the American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE) hosted a dinner and networking seminar at Loyola Marymount University (LMU).  Participants were enlightened, inspired, and entertained.  The “Sustainable Wastewater Operations” topic drew attendees from a broad spectrum of the environmental profession, including: professors, researchers, managers, practitioners, technicians, advocates, manufacturers, vendors and students.  The evening began with a stimulating networking session on the breezeway of LMU’s University Center. Participants then dined in the MacIntosh Room where they engaged in discussions of resource recovery alternatives from individual experiences.  In addition to the sponsored students, two LMU engineering classes joined attendees in the Ahmanson Auditorium for the presentation portion of the event. 

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Those who attended the Northern Regional Training Conference banquet at Redding’s Turtle Bay Museum on Thursday September 17^th were treated to a preview (or pretreatment?) of the exhibit that opened on Saturday September 19th:  “The Scoop on Poop:  The Science of What Animals Leave Behind.”  http://www.turtlebay.org/thescooponpoop.php   

John Tasello worked his magic on arranging the sneak preview before the exhibit was finished because of CWEA’s obvious connection to the exhibit’s theme.  The banquet attendees loved it.  Their exhibit even includes a big poster-size shot of a clarifier.  The CWEA Board was so impressed that it approved a $1,000 sponsorship for the exhibit. This will give the work that we do a little more exposure to the public and will help support a fun and informative exhibit. It’s also another way for CWEA to thank the City of Redding for its support of our Northern Regional Training Conference. 

If you’re in the Redding area, be sure to make time to visit Turtle Bay and the Scoop on Poop exhibit.