I’m extremely proud to announce that we reached a safety goal that we’ve never before achieved, a goal that is extremely hard to accomplish. We have now worked over 730 days – 2 years – without a safety incident! This is always a highly elusive goal to achieve. Especially given that we are operating with reduced staff due to the pandemic, this achievement is even more admirable. We currently allow about 25% of regularly scheduled staff to be onsite, while the remainder of our staff are working remotely. Though this isn’t the most effective mode of operation, we continue to function in a safe and healthy manner. Staff members who are working remotely have experienced no safety incidents while at home. Yet another testament to the safety culture we have built at SVCW.
I’m writing this article on Monday, January 18, the day we celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King (his actual birthday was January 15, 1929). Given the current state of our nation, the messages that Dr. King espoused ring particularly poignant and relevant. I encourage us all to remember the fundamental responsibilities we have as a people living together in society. Not only do we have responsibility to ourselves and our immediate family and friends, but to those we don’t know, those who think differently than we do, those who act in ways that we judge. One of my favorite quotes from Dr. King is:
“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.”
I hope that we can all find a way to heal our divided nation. Thank you and please be safe and remain healthy.
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EPA Invites SVCW to Apply for Two WIFIA Loans to Help Fund Upgrades
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently invited SVCW to apply for two Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans.
After a rigorous review process, SVCW was asked to submit these two projects for loans:
- Wastewater Treatment Plant Reliability Upgrades for $70 million; and,
- Regional Environmental Sewer Conveyance Upgrade (RESCU) Phase 2 for $38 million.
Being accepted to apply for two new WIFIA loans is a testament to the high level of responsiveness and excellence of our staff. Matt Anderson, SVCW’s Chief Financial Officer, and his team of finance experts, proved to EPA that SVCW is secure, safe, and credit-worthy. Kim Hackett, SVCW’s Authority Engineer, and her professional team, implements the Capital Improvement Program in a manner that keeps projects on track, on schedule, and within budget.
SVCW's two projects were among 55 approved projects in 20 states that will receive a portion of the total $5.1 billion in WIFIA loans. The Wastewater Treatment Plant Reliability Upgrades program, will improve treatment facilities by upgrading the primary, secondary, tertiary, and solids handling processes and improve energy systems to ensure reliability. The other SVCW project, the Regional Environmental Sewer Conveyance Upgrade Program (RESCU Phase 2), features 11 projects that constitute full replacement and rehabilitation of SVCW’s conveyance system. Read more here.
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SVCW Hosts Virtual Educational Program with ZunZun Group
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SVCW aims to help students learn about the importance of wastewater treatment and clean water via its education collaboration with local ZunZun performing arts group.
SVCW is sponsoring free virtual assemblies for schools in our service area, where ZunZun teaches kids through music, movement and science.
There are multiple formats for virtual assemblies during January to June 2021:
- Livestream – a live, interactive program for multiple classes or a whole school;
- ZunZun's Musical Watershed - a water education video with quiz questions to reinforce learning; and
- Asynchronous Video Assembly - Teachers can select the water education video segment that works for their class.
ZunZun uses NGSS standards and offers follow up activities for continued learning.
If your school is in the SVCW service area, contact ZunZun to schedule a virtual assembly. Assemblies are limited so sign up early via zunzuntunes@gmail.com or call (831) 426-0684.
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Every month SVCW shares an insider's glimpse behind the scenes into cool, innovative technologies and processes we're using that are transforming the water treatment industry.
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Last month we outlined the first half of a two-part series on how the wastewater process works at the plant. Although we are a critical part of our regional public health, most people never get to see this fascinating process!
Because we serve over 200,000 people and businesses in our service area, we make it a priority to stay on the cutting edge of wastewater treatment technology. In part one of the series, we outlined the first four high-tech steps we use to remove more than 97 percent of all solids, organic material and pathogens from the wastewater.
This month we focus on steps 5 through 11 in the chart, which includes our renowned sustainability practices.
The secondary effluent flows through one last filtering process (5) to remove most of the remaining suspended particles. This clarified effluent is disinfected with chlorine bleach (6) to kill nearly all remaining bacteria. To help maximize sustainability, during the dry season SVCW further treats some of the plant flow with coagulation and higher disinfection (7) so it can be repurposed as recycled water for landscape irrigation.
The next step is solids conditioning (8), where solids are captured in the primary sedimentation tanks, pumped to the grit removal process and sent to the rotary drum thickener to thicken the solids and remove water before being sent to the anaerobic digesters. Waste activated sludge, thickened using a gravity belt thickener, similar to the primary sludge, is pumped to the anaerobic digesters for organic solids breakdown and stabilization. Once there, the solids go through anaerobic digestion (9), where the solids are broken down by anaerobic bacteria, waste products are in the form of biogas, primarily made up of carbon dioxide and methane, the latter of which is repurposed to produce a majority of the electricity needed to run the plant’s equipment. Heat is another byproduct of the anaerobic digestion process and is used for process and building heating. The anaerobic process reduces the solids volume, stabilizes them, and decreases odor and pathogens--producing biosolids as the final product.
After digestion, the biosolids are dewatered (10) where much of the water in the biosolids is removed by using a rotary fan press. The final stage is drying, using either biodryers/pyrolysis or solar drying (11). In the latter option, sun and wind dry the biosolids, with a high nitrogen content contained within the biosolids that can be used as an agricultural soil conditioner, a feed stock for composting, or daily cover at a landfill. The portion of biosolids that are dried through biodryers and pyrolysis result in a biochar that has a multitude of uses including fertilizer, making plastics or paint coatings, 3D printing, and even clothing!
Learn about our wastewater treatment process here.
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We're on track and continuing to make progress on the Regional Environmental Sewer Conveyance Upgrade (RESCU), the rehabilitation and replacement of SVCW's conveyance system. When complete, it will ensure that for many decades to come, SVCW can efficiently, reliably, and safely convey and treat wastewater from its four member agencies. Those include Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, and the West Bay Sanitary District (which serves the cities of Menlo Park, Portola Valley, and portions of Atherton, Woodside, East Palo Alto, and unincorporated areas of San Mateo County).
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SVCW's contractor partner, Barnard-Bessac Joint Venture (BBJV), continued to make significant and safe tunneling progress with Salus, the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM).
With Salus due to arrive at the Front of Plant (FoP), BBJV and SPJV are working closely to coordinate Salus' arrival and break in. Within the completed tunnel from Salus' first tunnel drive, BBJV has been installing segments of the Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) carrier pipe, which will carry the raw wastewater to the SVCW Treatment Plant. More than half of the 187 pipes have been installed in the tunnel. The remaining pipes are being stored on Inner Bair Island (pictured below).
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FRP pipe logistics on Inner Bair Island
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For more information about the Gravity Pipeline project, go here.
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Biological Trickling Filter installation at the Front of Plant.
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This project recently reached a major milestone--the completion of all above ground walls and concrete structures.
SVCW's contractor partner, Shea Parsons Joint Venture (SPJV), is applying protective coating to the concrete walls and installing several pieces of equipment in the Headworks facility, including bar screens, which act as a mechanical filter to remove large objects like cloth and rags. Wastewater that passes through the bar screens will then pass through the Headcell degritting system (pictured right). The Headcell serves as a grit separator to capture larger solids, such as sand, gravel and other heavy solid material, to protect downstream equipment from abrasive wear. SVCW chose this unique stacked tray design, which requires no electrical components, to help maintain a smaller carbon footprint.
On site, new Biological Trickling Filters (BTF) will filter air from the Headworks facility and absorb malodorous compounds. The air flow will then proceed to the Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) vessels (pictured below) to further treat odors.
For more information about the Front of Plant project, go here.
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GAC vessels were recently installed to reduce odors at the Headworks facility.
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Pump Station Improvement Project
SPJV continues to carry out preliminary work near the San Carlos Pump Station, which includes moving into their laydown areas. Later this month, temporary power systems will be set up as part of the preliminary construction work near the San Carlos Pump Station.
SPJV continues to make progress at the Redwood City Pump Station. Construction crews conducted an initial clearing and grubbing of the site, including demolition of obsolete facilities that must be removed to clear the area for the new pump station.
For more information about the Pump Station Improvement project, go here.
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Crews conducting initial clearing and grubbing of the Redwood City Pump Station.
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