Co-Gen Uptime Write Up for Gresham OR

There is a nice write-up in Triple Pundit about the success that Gresham Oregon is having with their Co-Generation operation, which provides 55-60% of their operating energy requirements.

While it isn't mentioned in the article, the Co-Gen system was the focus of the first Reliability Centered Maintenance (RCM) study that Veolia Water conducted. Using the maintenance approach's developed, Veolia Water has maintained uptimes that exceeded expectations and has helped to achieve the power output that has them on their way to a sustainable wastewater treatment plant.

Congratulations to the Veolia Water Gresham Team and the City of Gresham!

http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/12/oregon-model-sustainable-cities-aint-portland/

Prioritizing Work & Gas Line Explosion in San Bruno

NPR did an interesting story below:







Interestingly the story notes that PG&E, the gas line operator, identified the pipeline as critical and in need of repair and even got a rate increase approved for the work. However, they never completed the repairs because of "re-prioritizing" the work. As the neighbors interviewed mention, the public doesn't know what is buried near them, however, it makes us, the utility operators look very bad when we prioritize work and then don't complete the work.

I like to use a risk matrix to look at any backlog of work and always focus on doing the work that is most critical first, whether that is daily PM/CM work or capital investments.

Dirty Jobs - Sewer Worker

Here is a show dedicated to those of use who work in the Wastewater Plants of the world. Check it out and see if it is accurate:
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/dirty-jobs-sewage-treatment-plant-worker.html

PNCWA Newsletter Article - June 2009

I wrote the following article which was published in the Pacific Northwest Clean Water Association Newsletter during the Second Quarter 2009 and is posted here because it has some good links to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho SRF information. If you are not from this region but looking for this kind of information, please start with your regional EPA website.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the $787 billion stimulus bill congress passed in February 2009, has been a bit slow in taking effect according to some commentators, however the reality is that the law itself has some difficult requirements.

The first difficulty is the requirement that the funded projects must be “under construction” no later then February 16, 2010 (Some sources indicate February 17, 2010). The funding for all water related projects, both clean and drinking, is being dispersed through the State Revolving Fund (SRF) program, which typically has a list of projects from the previous application period that are “shovel ready”. Depending on the state, this list may already fully account for the funds allocated. To see the specific ARRA funding additions to the SRF for your state please refer to the website for EPA Region 10: http://www.epa.gov/region10/eparecovery/cleanwater.htm

The second difficulty is the requirement that the qualifying projects meet the “Buy America” clauses in the law. The “Buy America” requirements add an additional level of documentation to prove the material sourcing for any project meet some stringent requirements. There are steps that can be taken to apply for a waiver to these rules, but the review process makes the process difficult and generally ads to the difficulty of the SRF process.

A third area of difficulty is the requirement that “20 percent of the funds shall support projects providing green infrastructure, water efficiency or energy efficiency improvements, or other environmentally innovative activities” (EPA Region 10: http://www.epa.gov/region10/eparecovery/cleanwater.htm). While this seems to be fairly loosely defined, it does set aside funds specifically to focus on improvements in this efficiency improvement area, which might open up opportunities for projects that normally wouldn’t apply for funds through the SRF process.

So can the ARRA help your community make improvements in your infrastructure and/or capital investments at your plant? Since the funding has a time limit and must be spent expeditiously, it may be difficult to take advantage of the opportunity, but here are a couple of suggestions:
1.) If you already are on the SRF project list and your project is “shovel ready”, consider reviewing the project in detail to look for elements that will qualify for the “Buy America” requirements and green infrastructure investments. If you can identify ways to revise your project, you will find there is less competition for these special funds and even if your project was not scheduled to be funded beyond 2010, it might move up if it meets these requirements.
2.) Review your capital investment plan (CIP) for projects that might qualify for a “green infrastructure” project. These projects might include replacement of existing motors with premium efficiency motors that would produce an energy savings and also update some aging equipment. With this CIP list in hand, contact your SRF representative to see if these projects can get on his list this late in the SRF cycle.

Because the dispersement of the ARRA funds has political pressure to respond to the current economic situation, it seems that the policies are in a state of transition. Please contact your state SRF representative for more detailed information on the current status of the program if you would like to participate.

To find out more information on ARRA, please refer to the following websites, which are listed in order of priority:

EPA Region 10: http://www.epa.gov/region10/eparecovery/cleanwater.htm

EPA Recovery Act (ARRA) FAQ: http://www.epa.gov/water/eparecovery/faq.html

For motor information checkout information at: http://ydesign72705.blogspot.com/2009/01/motor-repair-or-replacement-decisions.html

Full document on ARRA: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-9073.pdf

Benchmark Modeling from EPA Portfolio Manager

EPA has an energy management benchmarking model called Portfolio Manager. This tool needs the following information to build an energy density number to benchmark your plant against:

Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant
A wastewater treatment plant is a facility that is designed to treat municipal wastewater. The level of treatment at a plant will vary based on the BOD limits and the specific processes involved. This space type in Portfolio Manager is appropriate for primary, secondary, and advanced treatment facilities with or without nutrient removal. Treatment processes may include biological, chemical, and physical treatment. This space type is best applied to wastewater treatment facilities of 150 MGD or smaller. This space type does not apply to water treatment and distribution facilities.

The following information is required for wastewater treatment facilities:

Zip code
Average influent flow
Average influent biological oxygen demand (BOD5)
Average effluent biological oxygen demand (BOD5)
Plant design flow rate
Presence of fixed film trickle filtration process
Presence of nutrient removal process

You can find a Introductory/Training Video on Portfolio Manager here:http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/benchmarking_training/benchmarking.html

Benchmarking starter kit here: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=evaluate_performance.bus_portfoliomanager_benchmarking

Portfolio Manager Log-In here: https://www.energystar.gov/istar/pmpam/index.cfm?fuseaction=login.login

Energy Block Grants Webinar - Free!

This presentation is aimed at Counties specifically.

Link to the presentation here: http://mfile.akamai.com/23543/wmv/citrixvar.download.akamai.com/23543/www/077/463/1908591367624077463/2-1908591367624077463-12435ff13fc.asx

Hydraulic Institute Free Webinar Summary

I attended an energy overview free Webinar today, put on by Hydraulic Institute pump webinar today. You can view a recording of this presentation here: https://pumpsevents.webex.com/ec0605l/eventcenter/recording/recordAction.do?theAction=poprecord&actname=%2Feventcenter%2Fframe%2Fg.do&apiname=lsr.php&renewticket=0&renewticket=0&actappname=ec0605l&entappname=url0107l&needFilter=false&&isurlact=true&entactname=%2FnbrRecordingURL.do&rID=1626667&rKey=789aae98882a8c77&recordID=1626667&rnd=5876091668&siteurl=pumpsevents&SP=EC&AT=pb&format=short

This presentation discusses the new ISO 50001 standard for energy evaluations, along with other standards that are supported by the DOE. The DOE is targeting industries to gain energy savings through process improvements, specifically processes requiring pumping.

During the presentation, it was mentioned that the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) has an initiative to provide benchmarking of Energy Efficiency of Water and Wastewater Plants. You can find more at: http://www.cee1.org/ind/mot-sys/ww/ww.php3

Other good reading: http://www.cee1.org/files/WEFTEC2008Session981130Manuscript.pdf

Maintaining Your Physical Asset Management Initiative During a Recession

Cost cutting during a recession will likely come to your department and either prevent your program from moving ahead or move it backwards. However, a recession is a time when you need to refine your objectives and to focus on the elements of the program that yield the biggest payoff:

1.) Understanding what is important to maintaining the demanded Level of Service? Relative Criticality.

2.) Maximizing life-cycle of existing equipment. Learn new tricks to make equipment run as efficient and long as possible.

3.) Insure that your redundant equipment is in the best possible shape. Consider changing to a Lead/Lag operation as apposed to balanced run time. And maintain the off line unit with special care (motor heaters, oil inspections for water, etc...) to have a good standby.

4.) Inspect, protect, and repair your spare parts inventory. With a recession and businesses closing, you never know when the equipment manufacture might drop your machine from his "supported" list and your access to new parts will evaporate.

A few thoughts on recession proofing your program. Look for more to come on this topic.

When does Asset Management Payoff?

There is no doubt that Asset Management is a discipline that takes more work then "doing nothing". Many have asked "Why bother with Asset Management" and often we believers have to sing the virtues of better care for the equipment, savings in longer life, and other nebulous answers.

One committed Asset Management user, The City of Saco, Maine, has obtained a direct financial benefit. During their recent municipal bond rating evaluation, they received a AAA rating (Congrats to the Saco Team!) and have estimated the interest savings to be $1 million.

You can read more about their case study here: http://www.sacomaine.org/archives/am_casestudy.pdf

I am going to attempt to follow up on this story to get more details, since I heard about this on a conference call, and don't have the full story. The details of how they arrived at the savings, which doesn't seem to be included in the case study above, will be helpful to those of us looking to demonstrate savings from our Asset Management Program.

Look for more to follow!

Pump System Energy Savings Webinar - FREE

I attended a FREE webinar today on the energy that pumping systems (pumps, pipes, valves, etc...) are using across industry, which accounts for 25% of all industrial energy used. Most of this is because of the tendency for design engineers to over specify the pump requirements resulting in inefficient energy use.



You can attend the next one of these Webinar's on October 2, 2009. to register please go here: http://www.pumpsystemsmatter.org/content_detail.aspx?id=3916

Sustainability in Gresham OR includes Asset Management

In the March/April 2009 issue of UIM, James Rush wrote a nice article on the Gresham and Veolia Water Public Private partnership and how it has been a key component of the City's move toward sustainability.

The article nicely highlights the significance of the criticality review as the a central element of the asset management program. You can read the whole article here: http://www.uimonline.com/index/webapp-stories-action?id=251&archive=yes&Issue=2009-04-01

GASB34 and Bill 175: How USA and Canada are moving to Sustainable Below Ground Assets

I found an interesting article in Public Works Magazine about the underground asset management program in Hamilton Ontario. The article covers both the USA GASB34 and Canadian Bill 175 which both promote fiscal planning for sustainable management of services which rely on underground assets.

Read the article here: http://www.pwmag.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=760&articleID=268091

Asset Management and Rate Setting

Interesting article on Rate Setting: http://www.uimonline.com/index/webapp-stories-action?id=226&archive=yes&Issue=2009-02-01

It would have been good if the author expanded on the role that Asset Management principals, and particularly criticality and condition assessment could play in supporting your rate structure and the need for sustainability for the system. Understanding the general condition of assets and the trend of that condition in relationship to a criticality analysis based on Level of Service requirements could very clearly support the funding needs.

Stimulus Effect of Water $$

There is a report that was recently published by the Clean Water Council (CWC) which highlights the value of spending on water projects to immediate and future investment. Read the summary below:

Titled Sudden Impact: Assessment of Short-Term Economic Impacts of Water and Wastewater Projects in the United States, the report shows that a $1 billion investment in water and wastewater infrastructure results in total national output (i.e., demand for products and services in all industries) of between $2.87 and $3.46 billion, creates up to 26,669 new jobs (with average annual earnings for the construction portion of the jobs at an impressive $50,396) and generates personal (household) income of between $1.01 and $1.06 billion. In addition, each $1 billion invested generates approximately $82.4 million in state and local tax revenue.

According to this information, the congress should have invested the entire $787B in Water and Wastewater investments. This could have gone a long way toward making the improvements and repairs necessary to insure water for everyone for the next 100 years, plus stimulated the economic growth.

EPA 2-Day Asset Management Training and Resources

The EPA has several of their 2-day training seminars planned for 2009.  These are very good introductions to Asset Management concepts.  In addition the website has links to the training materials they use in the training.

Especially valueable for a very basic asset management based capital planning tool is the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that they discuss throughout the 2-day seminar.  You can find this spreadsheet here: http://epa.gov/owm/assetmanage/pdfs/epa_smsm.xls

Stimulus Bill and Water Infrastructure Spending

The $787 billion stimulus bill congress prepared and passed for President Obama’s signature in February allocates between $90 and $120 billion dollars to infrastructure spending, including monies for highways, trains and expanding broadband Internet access. (New York Times). $18 billion for clean water, flood control and environmental restoration. (Detroit Free Press). However, only $6.4 billion for clean and drinking water projects (AP). While the debate about value of the stimulus bill to turn the economy around continues, it is clear that the investment the Stimulus Bill allocated toward water related project falls far short of the estimates of $500-800 billion dollar requirement over the next 20 years. (Steve Allbee, EPA Gap Study, http://ydesign72705.blogspot.com/2008/12/finding-pathway-for-sustainable-water.html )

Since President Obama left the details of this bill to House Democrats to pull together, it is clear that the priorities of the Water and Wastewater industry did not get much consideration among the many competing priorities. While some see that $500-800 billion dollar investment in water as one of the most significant crisis facing the United States today, the House Democrat Representatives only allocate less then 1% of the total Stimulus investment in water. The failure of Congress to see investment in water infrastructure as simulative and crucial to local economies, underscores the point that our industry does not have ear of the public and, therefore, does not have the ear of politicians.

To educate our public and eventually our politicians on the investments needed to maintain their critical water infrastructure, I am recommending the following steps:

1.) Develop a specific outreach plan for your plant for 2009. Consider the methods and opportunities you have to reach your customers and to educate them on their assets and how those assets support their ability to turn on a water faucet in their home and/or flush their toilets.
2.) Develop at least a “back of the envelope” estimate of your asset inventory, when the asset was installed, and when it will die. Start at a high level (i.e. plant phases, collections system “subdivisions”, etc…) and don’t be afraid to make some educated guesses to quickly project your replacement expectations over the next 100 years. Graph this information to share through your public communications.
3.) Plan a workshop for key stakeholders (City counsel, local community organizations, teachers, etc…) at your facility to discuss their assets. Consider purchasing a copy of Liquid Assets $24.95 http://liquid.assets.media.psu.edu/moreInfo_8015DVD.html and using the accompanying community event materials as an outline for your workshop. See more at: http://www.waterspheres.com/profiles/blogs/please-organize-a-community
4.) As federal and state spending programs are under consideration, don’t hesitate to ask your newly informed customers to speak to their elected representatives to request help in maintaining their infrastructure.

If you would like more information on asset management in general and ways reach out to your local customers with their specific asset future outlook, please feel free to subscribe to the PNCWA Asset Management Newsletter by sending an email to: marc@wllcamg.com Subject:SUBSCRIBE. You are also welcome to send your questions and comments to marc@wllcamg.com.

Additional Resources:


http://www.nuca.com/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageID=2048 Has the latest news on stimuls amounts.


http://www.bcwaternews.com/InfrastructureFunding/blog.html Brown and Caldwell reference page



http://www.wef.org/GovernmentAffairs/StimulusFunding/index.htm WEF Stimulus Page

Finding a Pathway for Sustainable Water and Wastewater Service

The EPA Wastewater Department, lead by Steve Allbee, has done a great job of promoting Asset Management and the benefits across the country. In November of 2006 I had the opportunity to help sponsor on of their 2-day Training Event, called Tom's Bad Day. If you missed that opportunity, please check the EPA Training Schedule to see if or when a class will be offered in your area.

Steve is also the author of the 2002 EPA "Gap Analysis" and continues to give lectures on Asset Management topics at conferences around the country. You can find one of his presentations here: http://www.box.net/shared/p29hkdnt11

There is an excellent article written by Steve Allbee and published in Underground Infrustructure Management magazine (great resource, I highly recommend it). The following quote by Steve is a great summary of his theme in this article:

"....the most significant upcoming challenge is to efficiently and effectively manage an aging system. The vision, strategy, programs and partnerships that led to past achievements will fail to yield a reliable future. The absence of a strategic shift in the service paradigm jeopardizes the financial solvency of many systems and leaves the environment, public health and financial stability at risk...". Read the article....

Steve Allbee is also featured in this short video discussing in further detail his thoughts on the effect failing infrastructure may have on utility rates:

Obama to Revitalize the Clean Water Act of 1972

A friend just forwarded a link to an article outlining how academics and environmentalists are petitioning the Obama administration to revisit the Clean Water Act and to make reinvesting in the infrastructure a key part of the economic program.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/12/01/obama-likely-to-boost-water-quality-rules-after-years-of-lax-regulation.html

This is certainly good news for our industry and answers the need which many Asset Management gap analysis have been presenting during recent years, in particular by Steve Albee with the EPA.

Asset Management and the Financial Melt Down, Similarities???

Consider the following:

In the Financial World: Senior Investment Banking management, without an in-depth understanding of their mortgage underwriting vulnerabilities, were totally oblivious to the real risks involved.

In the Reliability World: Senior Plant and Facilities management, without an in-depth understanding of their real plant vulnerabilities, are also oblivious to the real risks they are taking.

"Plant reliability and safety is directly related to the existing vulnerabilities that have NOT yet been identified because the failure consequences surrounding those vulnerabilities have not yet occurred. Shortcuts in the RCM process will most likely result in those plant vulnerabilities remaining unidentified until an unwanted event does occur. Real-world RCM is all about finding those vulnerabilities before they can occur and result in an unwanted consequence of failure."

There is no substitute for diligent and astute pursuit of RCM and/or Asset Management, just as there is no substitute for good banking risk management principals. Read the following article for the full details:

http://articles.uptimemagazine.com/uptime/2008/11/rcm-the-sub-prime-mortgage-meltdown.html

Personal Water Foot Print Calculator

In a recent Wired Magazine, there was an article about Peak Water, similar to the Peak Oil topic that is often discussed. As we near or pass Peak Water, are we personally doing our best to save water? Check out your Water Foot Print here:

http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=cal/waterfootprintcalculator_indv_ext

This is the detailed estimate, if you want the simple version check here:

http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=cal/waterfootprintcalculator_indv