Getting Into the Nitty Gritty

Opening-day workshops focused on two big wastewater sector topics: nutrient removal and grit removal. In W01: Nutrient Removal Fundamentals Relating to the Science of BNR to the Design of BNR for Municipal WRRFs, attendees learned about nitrification, denitrification, nitrogen removal and its effects on the recycling stream. The workshop also covered phosphorus removal.

W05: Grit Removal Systems: Do’s and Don’ts, Hands-on Operation & Maintenance (O&M), Grit Sampling & Characterization focused on grit removal at municipal water resource recovery facilities. This workshop is “new to WEFTEC,” according to William Flores, workshop chair.

Flores, who also is vice president of municipal systems at Smith & Loveless Inc. (Lenexa, Kan.), said the workshop would feature four interactive breakout stations following a beginning group session. Those four stations will examine:

• hands-on grit pump O&M,
• grit cyclone O&M,
• grit classifier and grit washer O&M, and
• grit sampling and characterization.

Flores said what made the workshop unique ws that “each interactive breakout station will have scale models of actual equipment — for example, grit pumps, washer, grit classifier — to demonstrate O&M in additional to showing how the equipment works.”

He also said that the workshop offers two additional bonuses: do’s and don’ts in designing grit removal systems and grit characterization education with an actual working scale grit tank and scale model probes.

Flores said ideal participants would be water and wastewater professionals who are or want to be engaged in the design, evaluation, operation, or administration of headworks facilities, specifically on grit removal systems as well as construction professionals involved in design–build– operate projects, and young professionals.

Communicating and Troubleshooting in Real Time

Workshop W18: Knowledge Development Forum: The Cost Benefit of High Quality Data – Better Decisions, Improved Treatment included presentations on data management problems and solutions, as well as new research methods in data. What makes W18 stand out, however, is that there will be no “moderators”; instead, “instigators” who give short presentations that “stir things up” and get a conversation going.

This format is called a knowledge development forum the experience will feature smaller tables for more direct interaction. Participants will answer surveys, download slides, and submit data during the session to create a truly interactive experience.

WEFTEC attendees also participated in a workshop from the Stormwater Management and Watershed Resources Management/Sustainability track. Special Seminar: Life Cycle Analysis of Green Infrastructure will discuss the life-cycle analysis of green infrastructure and gray infrastructure as an integrated approach to stormwater management.

Participants learned from and participated in a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-funded project entitled, "Community-Enabled Life Cycle Analysis of Stormwater Infrastructure Costs." They discussed the results of a national survey of the drivers and key factors for green infrastructure implementation by utilities and municipalities.

And, finally, another workshop that was a big draw was W20: Activated Sludge and BNR Process Control: Hands-On in the Real World. The workshop took place at the John Egan Water Reclamation Plant in Shamburg, Ill. During the workshop, speakers demonstrated process control tests, measurement techniques, and troubleshooting methods for operators, engineers, and supervisory personnel.

Benjamin I. Levin, W20 workshop co- chair and a senior associate at Hazen and Sawyer (New York) said workshop attendees “rotate[d] through six stations where they are not only learning about wastewater treatment but they are seeing it in the real world.” These stations covered the topics of oxidation–reduction potential, alkalinity, field nutrient measurement, microscopy, in situ nutrient measurement, in situ aerator oxygen measurement, and troubleshooting secondary clarifiers.

Levin said operators, engineers, and managers would all benefit from participating in this workshop. Operators will improve their understanding of how a facility operates and the tools they can use every day to optimize the operation. Engineers will be able to observe what occurs at the facility, which is difficult to understand in an office, he said. Managers will get a sense of what operators face daily as well as deepen their knowledge to communicate better with operators, upper management, and the public.

Want a hands-on learning experience at WEFTEC 2017? This year you can find 3 days of workshops, including a rare workshop featured on the last day. Workshops include site visits to local facilities, break-out groups for discussion of relevant subject matter, and new interaction and learning technologies.