Municipal Water, Wastewater and Stormwater Management in Upstate New York Aging Infrastructure, Dwin

1
Municipal Water, Wastewater and Stormwater
Management in Upstate New York Aging
Infrastructure, Dwindling Federal Dollars

• Libby Ford, QEP, Sr. Env. Health Engineer, Nixon
  Peabody LLP

2
Water/Wastewater Infrastructure Why Worry?
Clean Safe Drinking Water Effective
Wastewater Treatment

Stability Good Health

The Base on Which Economic Prosperity Can Be Built
3
Potable Water Treatment

• Physical-Chemical treatment
• Chlorination (and fluorination) at end
• Increased security measures
• Recently announced plans to cover Rush Reservoir
  and Build 3 large concrete storage units (40 M)
• The MCWA treatment plant produces 60 million
  gallons of drinking water each day

4
Wastewater Treatment

• Most wastewater treatment done by biological
  treatment plants
• Use physics, chemistry, microbiology and
  engineering to mimic the natural cleansing
  processes that take place in lakes, rivers, etc.
  but under controlled conditions.
• Treated water can be safely returned to the
  environment.

http//www.monroecounty.gov/documentView.asp?docID
5162
5
Pipes, the Invisible Infrastructure which
Connects Us

• Our drinking water distribution and wastewater
  sewer systems are old!
• The Water Authority must maintain a 100 year old
  distribution system
• Some sections of the sewers are also very old
• Leakage used to be accepted
• now illegal for wastewater
• wasteful for drinking water

6
Local Water Wastewater Infrastructure

• Drinking Water
• The plants that treat it.
• Shoremont
• Hemlock
• The pipes that carry it
• City system is celebrating 125 years!
• 214,000 people
• 500 miles of pipes
• Over 100 year old pipes
• MCWA
• 145 MGD capacity
• 63.1 MGD ave. use
• 2,550 miles of pipe

• Wastewater
• Collection System
• City 785 miles
• Van Lare up to 135 MGD
• 1919
• NWQ up to 22 MGD
• Town and Village STPs

7
Water, Wastewater and Stormwater Protection

• Wastewater/Stormwater Infrastructure
• Water and wastewater systems need constant care
  and attention.
• Sound Infrastructure
• Reduces Flooding
• Minimizing CombinedSewer Overflows

8
Estimated Costs To Protect and Restore the Great
Lakes - W/WW Infrastructure

• A five year total of 13.7 billion in spending
  to improve municipal wastewater treatment
  facilities along the Great Lakes. The Strategy
  suggests a 55/45 federal/local cost share
• Improving drinking water quality through
  protection of drinking water sources (1.61
  billion)
• Developing more rapid and more accurate tests for
  determining when beach water is safe for swimming
  (7.2 million).

Americas North Coast A Benefit-Cost Analysis
of a Program to Protect and Restore the Great
Lakes
9
Estimated W/WW Directly Related Benefits
Derived from Americas North Coast A
Benefit-Cost Analysis of a Program to Protect and
Restore the Great Lakes
10
Yonkers Example Catastrophic Unplanned Event
Leads to Unbudgeted 1 Million

• A May 2007 sewer-main break in Yonkers caused
  more than 7 million gallons of raw sewage to flow
  into the Hudson River and has cost Westchester
  County taxpayers about 1 million to repair so
  far, and the price is likely to rise.
• The 4-foot pipe broke in half and leaked sewage
  for two days.
• The State and County issued health advisories for
  the water surrounding the spill that lasted for
  an additional two days
• The media had a hey day!

11
Speedway Blvd Sewer Collapse(Tucson AZ)

• On September 7, 2002 a large interceptor sewer
  carrying 32 MGD of sewage collapsed.
• Speedway Boulevard was closed for 78 days.
• Businesses suffered and lives were disrupted.
• No evacuations were necessary, but many residents
  unable to tolerate odors, nighttime construction
  lighting, and noisy pumps were provided hotel
  rooms paid for by Pima County.

• The emergency response and repair expenditures
  estimated to have been 7.7 million.

http//www.sewerhistory.org/misc/speedway.htm
12
Failing Wastewater Infrastructure Can Cause
Illness

• The most common illness associated with swimming
  in water polluted by sewage is gastroenteritis,
  causing
• Nausea, vomiting, stomachache, diarrhea,
  headache, and fever.
• Other minor illnesses include ear, eye, nose, and
  throat infections.
• In highly polluted water, swimmers may
  occasionally be exposed to more serious diseases
  like dysentery, hepatitis, cholera, and typhoid
  fever.

http//www.epa.gov/beaches/learn/pollution.htmlmi
cro
13
Dealing With Wet Weather

• Too much water in the wrong places can lead to
  ratepayer/voter complaints at the least, property
  destruction and potentially death if things go
  seriously wrong
• Many remaining water quality problems caused by
  stormwater runoff
• Increasing fines and penalties

14
Positive Benefits From the MC Combined Sewer
Overflow Abatement Program Tunnels
During CSOAP Tunnel Construction (500 Million)
All combined sewer overflows were either closed
or diverted to the CSOAP tunnels.

• Before
• 65 overflow points --many would overflow during a
  small rain event.
• 30 - 40 times per year.
• As little as 0.1" of rain and for some sites even
  less would cause an overflow.
• The overflows would last as long as the storm and
  often a while after a storm.

• Today
• 3 - 6 tunnel overflows
• Late in a storm and often for only a short while
  after the tunnel capacities are reached.
• Gates, which were originally opened manually, now
  from Control Room

15
(No Transcript)
16
Americas Water/Wastewater Funding Gap

• Annual funding gap of 23 billion for the next 20
  years!
• 12 Billion Wastewater
• 11 Billion Drinking Water
• Federal funding has decreased by 75 since 1980
• Covers only about 10 of capital outlays.
• New requirements continue to be imposed
• Without increases in federal or state funding
• There are efforts at the federal and state level
• To increase available funding
• To set up, at the federal level, a dedicated
  funding source.

17
CWSRF Funding New York
18
2000 Local Water Need
19
(No Transcript)
20
Increasing The Local Burden

• If Local Water/Wastewater Utilities Have to Fund
  the Gap Alone, Average Rates Will More Than
  Double
• Many Families Would Be Unable to Pay Based Upon
  Reasonable Affordability Criteria

21
US EPA Affordability Criteria

• Households Paying More Than 2 of Household
  Income for Either Water or Wastewater Fee
  Constitutes a Hardship
• Today 18 Exceed Hardship Rate
• By 2009, at Least 22
• Greatest Hardship on Lower and Middle Class
  Households

22
(No Transcript)
23
Solutions Being Discussedat the National Level

• Increasing the Federal Role
• Establishing a Trust Fund
• Appropriating more grant/loan money
• Increased Public Education
• Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Needs Rarely
  Known or Understood by the Public
• Political Resistance to Fee Changes
• Remove Barriers to Innovative Financing

24
Wastewater Infrastructure Investment Learn --
Then Act!

• Understand better the importance and cost of
  maintaining the collection, distribution and
  treatment systems
• Support reasonable rate increases when proposed
• Support the Stormwater Management Coalitions
  emerging plans
• Support both State and federal efforts at
  increasing funding

• Be able to participate knowledgably
• in discussions to establish dedicated
• wastewater and water funds

25
Questions?

• Libby Ford, QEP Sr. Env. Health Engineer
• Nixon Peabody LLP
• 1100 Clinton Square Rochester, NY 14604 (585)
  263-1606lford_at_nixonpeabody.com
  www.nixonpeabody.com