By Rich Anderson
December 19, 2011

Racine Mayor John Dickert hosted a meeting of the Mayors Water Council at the renowned Wingspread facility in conjunction with the Johnson Foundation. Mayors Water Council Co-Chairs Pleasanton Mayor Jennifer Hosterman and Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard led the discussions held December 1–2. The meeting title was "Municipal Challenges in Achieving Clean Water Goals." In addition to discussing challenges, several of the panel discussions focused on innovative solutions.

Ellen Gilinsky, Senior Advisor to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water, commented on the EPA's plans to develop a practical framework to implement the recently issued Integrated Planning policy, and that the agency is seeking input from municipalities, states, utilities and NGOs. Gilinsky emphasized that the policy framework is intended to provide flexibility to municipalities, and can help them balance competing clean water needs. The EPA, she stated, views the policy framework as providing principles and is not intended to be prescriptive.

Gilinsky said the policy must preserve the critical role of the states with delegated authority, and must not allow relaxation of existing water quality standards. Given those conditions, she stated that the EPA is considering how permits can be a useful tool in achieving clean water goals and sequencing requirements to match the ability of municipalities to invest to achieve the goals. She raised the possibility and potential of watershed permits as a way to deal with flow volumes that municipalities deal with downstream. Mayors often criticize EPA consent agreements because they often require cities to be responsible for non-jurisdictional flows.

The EPA, stated Gilinsky, plans to produce a draft implementation framework this month (December 2011) and distribute it for public comment. EPA will also hold a series of listening sessions to get feedback on the draft from multiple stakeholders.

Alfred Foxx, Baltimore Director of Public Works, stated on behalf of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings'Blake that the city has a $4 billion plus set of water and wastewater related investments over the next six years to rehab its wastewater systems and comply with Clean Water Act requirements (including the Chesapeake Bay Clean-up). He mentioned there is significant concern over how to pay for the investments since 25 percent of the city's population is below the poverty rate and many are losing their homes or dealing with property liens. He stated the mayor is a strong advocate for clean water, and the current economic climate is forcing the question of choosing between the quality of life for its citizens or incremental environmental benefits.

Regarding the Integrated Planning policy, Foxx reiterated that Rawlings'Blake is very appreciative that the EPA has chosen to find ways to exercise flexibility and recognize the unprecedented cost impact their policies have on cities. Foxx said that when the EPA implements the policy he advises that the EPA should not provide flexibility in a "straight jacket," but truly provide local government with the ability to direct scarce public dollars to identify and address the most environmentally beneficial investments in their jurisdictions. He further stated that "affordability" assessments include operating and maintenance costs, not just capital costs. Foxx argued that the new policy should allow cities to include drinking water regulations in addition to clean water regulations. Finally, he stated that the intentions and good will of EPA headquarters on this policy should be boldly pushed down to the EPA Regional offices where the permits and consent agreements are decided.

Similar comments were made by Indianapolis Public Works Director Davis Sherman and Lima (OH) Director Gary Sheely. Sherman emphasized that the EPA regional staff can improve how they deal with cities when they negotiate a consent agreement. Sheely explained that financing and flexibility are critical to future success in mitigating sewer overflow problems. Both agreed that the new policy has great potential, but it will have to face the test of time and application.

Ballard stated that the Conference of Mayors is collecting input from other mayors to assemble a set of recommendations to submit to EPA on the subject. He informed Gilinsky that the Conference of Mayors would submit formal comments, and continue to pursue a dialogue with the agency in 2012.

Technical Solutions to Remove Nutrients, Reduce Energy Costs

Several panels addressed potential solutions that cities can consider to help them in achieving clean water goals. Karen Hobbs provided an update on green infrastructure strategies with new information from a November 2011 report "Rooftops to Rivers II" (see NRDC.org). The report provides 20 cities from geographically diverse cities across North America on how they are incorporating green infrastructure solutions to manage stormwater runoff. It outlines six key actions that cities should take to maximize green infrastructure investment while benefiting human, environmental and economic health.

Dr. Mark LeChevallier, Director of Innovation and Environmental Stewardship at American Water, presented information on emerging technology to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater. Several commercial scale demonstrations have been proven to be effective in removing the nutrients. He stated that nitrogen removal can be improved by substituting alternative biological treatment media, and that it can be accomplished at a 50 percent reduction in energy costs.

Betty-Ann Curtis of Siemens Industry, a wastewater treatment expert, provided information on how cities can gain efficiencies and better manage their wastewater treatment facilities. Curtis stated that typical facilities have eight or more distinct operating units. Each of the units is separately controlled, and they do not "communicate" with each other. One of the inefficiencies associated with this arrangement is that the separate units perform their functions on schedule, but the schedules are not synchronized to take advantage of non-peak energy rates.

Siemens is providing "Totally Integrated Water," an umbrella operations platform that synchronizes the separate operating units to reduce energy costs. This is especially critical in energy deregulated states.

Mike Martin, Director of Technical Services at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), remarked on how MMSD is integrating renewable fuels into their operations. MMSD has entered into a 20-year contract to purchase landfill gas from a nearby landfill.

The landfill generated methane will replace natural gas at a cheaper price over the contract period. The renewable methane replaces natural gas as a fuel source to energize parts of the plant operations.

Edwin Newell of Schneider Electric presented information on energy performance contracting that utilize detailed energy audits of public water and sewer accounts that account for 50 to 67 percent of all the electrical energy consumed by local government. Newell stated that industry experience suggests that up to a 30 percent reduction is normally possible to achieve. He outlined how this can happen using an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC). This is an agreement with an energy efficiency expert that identifies and evaluates savings opportunities within your water and sewer operations through an energy audit, and then recommends a number of energy equipment retrofits, such as replacement or redesign of older inefficient treatment processes, complete pumping optimization, demand monitoring, load shedding and cogeneration which will save energy through more efficient operations. The savings generated on utility bills from the newly installed, more efficient equipment ultimately reverts toward paying for the cost of the capital equipment over a specified number of years, thus minimizing the financial risk to the public entity.

Ed Clerico of Natural Systems Solutions made an essentially "contrarian" case concerning wastewater management. He stated that most public sector managers consider wastewater an undesirable residual that is costly to treat and manage. Clerico suggested that wastewater is comprised primarily of water; water that is growing scarce as population increases. He also suggested that the metals in wastewater are also a commodity with value. Clerico contends that rather than view wastewater as a problem, managers can view it as a resource. Water reuse, for example, can play an important role in replacing high quality drinking water for non-drinking water applications. Clerico has been involved in some significant projects demonstrating this principle.