Winds are howling and the rain has not yet subsided. We’ve adjusted our clocks and spring is just around the corner. Trees are budding and early-season flowers have begun to bloom. Changes are certainly in the air!
Folks at SVCW have been living with change for 13 years, having taken on a large Capital Improvement Program in 2008. We’ve been living with construction and changing facilities for a long time and have had to be light on our feet as we operate and maintain our treatment facilities 24/7. A majority of our facilities are now rehabilitated and/or replaced, and we begin to look towards transitioning from construction, through startup, and into operational optimization. This transition takes significant planning and strategizing to ensure it occurs effectively and efficiently. I am proud to say our staff is taking it all in stride and are continuing the excellent work that defines who we are.
On March 3, the American Society of Civil Engineers published their every-four-years “infrastructure report card” for the nation. I invite you to read the article in this newsletter to learn more about this most important topic. The fact that SVCW took on the task of improving its wastewater conveyance and treatment infrastructure back in 2008 is a testament to the nature of this agency always thinking forward. Once again, we’re ahead of the curve and lead the way to ensure wastewater sustainability for generations to come.
I always want to mention SAFETY in my monthly messages and this month is no exception. Our staff went 773 days without a safety incident! Bragging rights are surely deserved. That said, our record has ended. We had an incident in early March which set us back to Day 0. (As of this writing, we’re up to 12 days!) Most importantly, the employee is fine and working at full capacity. As with any setback, there is an opportunity to learn and be better; this incident is no exception. We are completing a full and robust root cause analysis investigation, and are implementing procedures, engineered solutions, and practices to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Thanks for reading and I hope you all remain safe, healthy, and happy.
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March is Women's History Month |
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Women in the Wastewater Industry |
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In honor of Women's History Month, we would like to highlight some of our own #WomeninWater who make SVCW what it is today.
Kim Hackett (left) is SVCW's Authority Engineer. Prior to SVCW, Kim worked as an environmental engineer, both as a consultant and in the public sector, with a focus on wastewater and recycled water planning and design projects.
Starting with us in 2010, Kim led the planning and CEQA process for the $550M RESCU program. She continues to lead the RESCU program through construction and implementation, as well as, overseeing the overall Capital Improvement Program. Fun fact about Kim - her nickname in college was 'Mad Dog'. Learn more about SVCW's executive team here.
Susan Heistand (right) is SVCW's Pollution Prevention Specialist and has worked in pollution prevention for over 20 years. She began her pollution prevention journey protecting the waters of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary and has since worked for a variety of local government agencies. Working on water issues including stormwater, recycled water and wastewater, Susan joined our team in 2011. As SVCW's Pollution Prevention Specialist, Susan gets the unique opportunity to work with local schools to provide pollution prevention education to students in all grades. Learn more about our Pollution Prevention and education programs here.
Kim and Susan are only a couple of the amazing women who work at SVCW. We are proud to celebrate the women at SVCW and those who have dedicated their lives and careers to STEM industries.
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California's Infrastructure Report Card |
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California's Wastewater Infrastructure Receives a C+ |
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The American Society of Civil Engineers (ACSE) provides a comprehensive assessment of current infrastructure conditions and needs in the Country and each State. In 2019, using an A to F school style report card, the Report Card for California's Infrastructure evaluated 17 categories including wastewater. It’s sad, yet eye opening, that California received a grade of C+ in the wastewater category.
The ACSE looks at the condition of infrastructure to determine this grade. Wastewater infrastructure includes a network of thousands of miles of sewer pipes that collect and carry household, business and industrial effluent to wastewater treatment systems. In California, wastewater systems serve over 40 million people in over 13 million homes, and they treat 4 billion gallons of sewage each day.
From ACSE, most (including SVCW), although not all, treatment plants have adequate capacity and are prepared to meet the population needs for the next 10 to 20 years. Modest progress has been made in recent years to prioritize and invest in wastewater infrastructure. Yet there are still large funding gaps, and wastewater infrastructure has been significantly underfunded for a while. As infrastructure ages, and is not upgraded, it becomes more costly to replace.
It is recognized that across all sizes of wastewater treatment systems, technological and scientific innovations have made significant contributions to address the sector’s challenges. For example, SVCW’s investment in the RESCU program is replacing and rehabilitating our aging infrastructure, which will serve our region for the next 10+ decades. This critical program, along with other innovative technologies we employ at the wastewater treatment plant put SVCW ahead of the curve. We are committed to our region, being environmental stewards and advocating for more sustainable infrastructure.
Check out the full Report Card for California's Infrastructure here. Read the Executive Summary of California’s Infrastructure Report Card here. Read on in this newsletter to learn about more of SVCW’s innovative technology and the RESCU program. |
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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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Biosolids and Solids Management |
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As we learned in our January 2021 eNews edition, SVCW processes and recovers biosolids for reuse in composting and farming. Some biosolids are used as a necessary daily cover on landfills. This eliminates the need to import soils, and negates the cost and adverse environmental impact of transporting soil. SVCW is also using emerging technology to significantly reduce the amount of biosolids produced, saving transportation costs, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The combination of biodrying and the pyrolysis process reduces the biosolids up to 90% by weight, significantly reducing their negative impact on landfills. Additionally, the final product, biochar, is a marketable product that has a myriad of uses. Learn more about our solids management 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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Salus, the Tunnel Boring Machine, is making consistent progress tunneling towards SVCW's Wastewater Treatment Plant on its current, second drive.
Barnard Bessac Joint Venture (BBJV) completed the installation of the Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) carrier pipe in part of the tunnel constructed during Salus' first tunneling drive. This section of tunnel spans from San Carlos Pump Station to the receiving shaft located on Inner Bair Island. A total of 187 carrier pipes have been installed.
At the San Carlos Pump Station site, BBJV is constructing a vertical shaft that will be used to support the FRP structure that will carry raw wastewater from the collection systems for the Cities of San Carlos and Belmont. At this location, BBJV will construct a connection between the lowest elevation of the San Carlos shaft and the gravity tunnel.
For more information about the Gravity Pipeline and to follow Salus' progress, go here. |
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Shea Parsons Joint Venture (SPJV) is working on finishing up its installation of the Receiving Lift Station (RLS) pump discharge pipes that connect the shaft to the new headworks facility. These pipes will deliver wastewater from the RLS pumps to the headworks facility where large sediment and grit are screened out and removed.
SPJV is carrying out architectural work to install stairs and handrails around the headworks facility and large equipment such as the bio-trickling filters (BTF), one component of the odor control system. Bio-trickling filters treat foul air that comes from the gravity pipeline tunnel and headworks facility, and is the first form of treatment typically generated during wastewater conveyance and pre-treatment. The air flow passes from the BTFs to the Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) vessels for final treatment. The treated air is then permitted to be exhausted into the atmosphere
For more information about the Front of Plant project, go here.
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Installation of RLS pump discharge pipes |
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Pump Station Improvement Project |
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This month, Shea Parsons Joint Venture (SPJV) will install sheet piles at the Redwood City Pump Station to provide stable excavation with minimal groundwater to be managed. Sheet piles are designed to interlock with each other, creating a nearly watertight seal. The first excavation will facilitate building the receiving tank, known as the wet well, and the pump station’s screening structure.
Throughout construction, crews closely coordinate with SVCW operations and management to ensure continued and uninterrupted operations of the conveyance system pump stations.
For more information about the Pump Station Improvement project, go here.
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Sheet pile installation at the
Redwood City Pump Station
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