Category: The T&H Blog

Introduce a Girl to Engineering

Inspiring Young Women

On April 23, 2018, Tata & Howard hosted an Introduce a Girl to Engineering event. Thirty-four junior girl scouts (from grades 4-5) from five local troops attended our interactive and informative overview of environmental engineering.

Women engineers from the company were eager to welcome the scouts. They know from experience how important it is to inspire young girls and get them excited about a successful career in engineering. They also know the challenges women often face in the field of engineering long known to be male-dominated.

Slowly, however, this trend is beginning to change, as more young women are earning engineering degrees.

Girls scouts groupTwenty-five years ago, when Tata & Howard was a newly established company, graduating classes from engineering schools may have been 1-2 percent women. As recently as 2016, about 20 percent of graduating engineers were female, and today, Tata & Howard stands out in the Water and Wastewater industry out as a 100% employee-owned company, led by two women co-president engineers, and 38 percent of its workforce being female engineers.

These women engineers are the future role models and inspiration for young girls. On this night, they were excited to share their experiences with the girl scouts and tell them what it is like to be an environmental engineer in the water and wastewater industry.

Their excitement was unmistakable.

We presented a colorful slideshow illustrating how clean water is delivered to our homes—starting from groundwater or surface water sources and pumped through pipes to a water treatment facility. The water treatment process was shown with a simple water filtration demonstration, screening dirty water with both coarse rocks and a coffee filter.  After going through a treatment process, it was explained that clean water is then stored in tanks and eventually ends up in the pipes that lead to our homes—and any place where we can turn on the tap and drink water.

The presentation was followed by questions, answers, and everyone’s favorite…pizza. The girls were then divided into seven teams and instructed to build a freestanding water tank using only a handful of ordinary items, such as a plastic cup (the tank), drinking straws, bubble gum, band aids, string, thumbtacks, string, paper clips, and toothpicks.  The challenge lasted 30 minutes, after which, 8 ounces of water was poured into the water tank creations to test for structural integrity and left to stand for 30 seconds without spilling any liquid.

Girl Day Water Tank Instructions

Lots of excitement and fun ensued as the water towers wobbled, leaked and finally toppled into a watery mess! Not all the tanks collapsed however. A few withstood the water test challenge and a winning team emerged—the Llamacorns—who built a tower standing tall at 11 ¼”. The Greatest Kitty Cookie team came in a close second with a 9 ½” tall structure.

Before leaving for the evening, each scout was presented with a certificate and a merit badge. Many thanks to all the Tata & Howard women volunteers who helped make Introduce a Girl to Engineering a memorable and enjoyable event for these young girls.

And hopefully…the girls also left with a greater appreciation and enthusiasm about pursuing a career in engineering.

Team Results:

Double Bubble – 8 ¼” Collapsed
The River & the Sky – 16 ½” Collapsed
Beautifully Disgusting – 6 ½” Leaked
Llamacorns – 11 ¼” Winning team!
The Greatest Kitty Challenge – 9 ½” – Second Place
Royalty – 11 ½” Collapsed
Water Dogs – 4 ¾” Leaked

The End of Plastic Pollution?

Earth Day 2018 marked its 47th anniversary on April 22 and the organization has declared this year’s theme as ‘Help end plastic pollution’.

It’s unimaginable to think how our lives would be without plastic. Plastics are so ubiquitous that we completely rely on its convenience, comfort, safety, low cost, and the multiple uses in thousands of products in our daily lives.

Flexible, resilient, lightweight, and strong, approximately a third of plastic used today is in packaging. Roughly the same amount is used in building materials such as plumbing, piping, carpeting, and vinyl. Other uses of plastic include automobiles, furniture, toys, and lifesaving medical supplies and devices. The plastics used in bottles and wrappers allow us to take food and drinks with us anywhere.

In a nutshell, plastics are indispensable and are widely used in our homes, offices, and industry every day.

But where does all this plastic eventually end up?

Bottle trash in oceanSome of it can be recycled. Quite a bit ends up in the trash and landfills. And more than you can imagine ends up loose as plastic pollution, eventually making its way into our waterways. There are millions of tons of debris floating around in the water—and most of it is plastic. It is estimated that up to 80% of marine trash and plastic actually originates on land—either swept in from the coastline or carried to rivers from the streets during heavy rain via storm drains and sewer overflows.

Therein lies the Earth Day challenge to help end plastic pollution.

Plastic, because it’s nonbiodegradable, can be around for up to 1,000 years or possibly even indefinitely, as compared to other forms of trash. Different kinds of plastic degrade at different times, but the average time for a plastic bottle to completely biodegrade is at least 450 years.

Consider the lifespan of these typical plastic products before they naturally biodegrade:

  • Plastic water bottle – 450 years
  • Disposable diapers – 500 years
  • Six pack plastic rings – 600 years
  • Styrofoam cups – 50 years
  • Plastic grocery bags – 10 to 20 years
  • Extruded polystyrene foam – over 5,000 years!

Our lives without plastic use is not going away anytime soon.  But there are many small (although important) things we can do right now to protect our waterways and help end plastic pollution. The most obvious is to try to keep as much plastic as possible out of the waste stream in the first place.

These simple behavioral changes can have an impact:

Stop buying bottled water

Glass of waterDrink from reusable containers and fill with tap water. Consider that close to 50 billion plastic bottles are tossed in the trash each year and only 23% are recycled!1   If that isn’t’ enough to convince you to stop buying ‘disposable’ water bottles, a recent study by ORB Media, did testing of 259 plastic water bottles from nine counties that revealed microplastic particles in the water from 242 of the bottles.

Recycle more

Recycling seems obvious, but we can do so much better!  According to The National Geographic, an astounding 91% of plastic is not recycled.3

recycle

The benefits of recycling is equally astounding. Not only does recycling reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators, but it prevents (air and water) pollution, saves energy and money, creates jobs, and has a tremendous positive impact on the environment.1

To find our more on the specifics of recycling in your area, check out Earth911.org’s recycling directory.

Stop using disposable plastics

Ninety percent of disposable plastic in our daily lives are used once and then thrown out—grocery bags, food wrappers, plastic wrap, disposable cutlery, straws, coffee-cup lids, etc. In the United States alone, approximately 102.1 billion plastic bags are used every year.2   Start reducing waste by bringing your own bags to the store, silverware to the office, or travel mug to Starbucks.

Buy in bulk

Bulk produce

Single-serving yogurts, travel-size toiletries, packages of snack food—all these items of convenience not only cost more but produce more trash than purchasing larger containers. Consider buying in bulk and in larger packages, then portioning out into smaller reusable containers.

Switch from disposable diapers to cloth

The EPA estimates that 7.6 billion pounds of disposable diapers are discarded in the US each year. 1 Use cloth diapers to reduce your baby’s carbon footprint and save money.

Cook more and pack your lunch

VegatablesNot only healthier for you, cooking at home helps reduce the endless surplus of plastic packaging – take out containers, food wrappers, bottles, and eating utensils. Choose fresh fruits and veggies and bulk items with less packaging…and pack your leftovers or lunch in reusable containers and bags.

People around the world will celebrate Earth Day April 22.  However, the challenge to help end plastic pollution can’t be a one-day event.  Rather, we should strive to create a culture of environmental stewardship and make significant changes in our daily lives to reduce, recycle, and reuse our dependency on plastic.

We can start today!

 

1 www.epa.gov

2 www.thebalance

3 www.news.nationalgeographic.com

Girl Day 2018: Introduce a Girl to Engineering

National Girl Day is February 22, 2018

This is a perfect time to inspire a girl’s future by sharing your knowledge and experience that girls, science, and engineering can make a difference in this world!

Tata & Howard Engineer and former New England Patriots Cheerleader – Trish Kelliher

Tata & Howard Project Engineer Patricia Kelliher (Trish) and former New England Patriots Cheerleader talks about her experience:

“After retiring from the Patriots in 2013, I was able to speak at the Pop Warner Little Scholars banquet in Boston. About 1,500 Pop Warner football players and cheerleaders with their parents attend the banquet every year.

The Science Cheerleaders have a partnership with Pop Warner where they help their cheerleaders feel empowered to ditch stereotypes (about female scientists/engineers and about cheerleaders) and maybe even consider science or engineering as a career option.  I was able to give a 20-minute speech on my story, how I became interested in both cheerleading and engineering, and hopefully try and encourage the cheerleaders in attendance to break stereotypes.”

Continue reading Girl Day 2018: Introduce a Girl to Engineering

Fun At Work Day 2018

In celebration of Fun at Work Day, Tata & Howard employees took a break from lunch and competed in The Marshmallow Challenge!

Table 5 in deep concentration.

Made popular by TED Talks’ Tom Wujec, The Marshmallow Challenge is simple – teams compete to build the tallest freestanding structure in 18 minutes using only 20 sticks of spaghetti, a yard of tape, a yard of string, and one marshmallow. The marshmallow needs to sit on top of the freestanding structure.

Did we mention the challenge is simple? Well…interestingly the challenge is not as simple as it seems – the marshmallow is pretty heavy! In addition, time ticks away very quickly!

While we were having some ‘Fun at Work’, The Marshmallow Challenge was also a terrific team building exercise and we did learn some valuable lessons.

Key lessons we learned from this challenge:

  1. Teamwork is key. Every team member needed to contribute. Working well together was especially effective and efficient.
  2. Testing the design intent

    Testing: Working out theories and testing materials early in the challenge helped formulate the overall design. However, taking too long in the planning impacted the construction time.

  3. Time Management. As we learned from the testing phase, time management turned out to be an equally important lesson. Teams needed to plan and manage enough time to build the structure.
  4. Innovation: Creativity and originality was really the fun part of this challenge. All teams approached this challenge differently and every structure was unique.

Here’s a blow-by-blow account of the competing teams:

At our Marlborough office five teams competed:

Table 1 planning their structure

Table 1 – Mike, Molly and Maya spent a good part of the time planning and testing. They also exercised good time management and built a very stable structure reaching 15 ½”.

Table 2 – Using all their materials, Katie, Jenna and Meghan built the tallest structure at 16 1/2”. Although not the prettiest to look at, it was very stable and even with vigorous table shaking the tower stood tall!  Winning Team!!

Table 3 – Brian, Maria, and Derek had the sad misfortune of their structure collapsing shamelessly into a ½” pile of broken spaghetti!

Table 4 – Although, James, Mary and Karen’s structure measured 10 1/2” after partially collapsing, they finished with time to spare and managed to have some materials left over!

Table 5 – Adam, Matt and Jim ambitiously engineered a very tall structure, but it sadly collapsed under its own weight.  Still, there were some measurable structural components and came in at 8” high.

At our Waterbury, CT office, two teams competed:

The Seniors at work.

The Seniors (Sal, Bill, Dave and Nan) had an early lead and constructed a fairly stable structure of modest height with about 5 minutes left.  However, their table was jarred, and the structure ended up toppling. They could not re-assemble before time ran out.

The Young professionals (Chelsea, Ryan, Kevin, Will, Natalia) used the early stages to plan the construction and had some good ideas, however, they were a little too ambitious with the final marshmallow top and their structure also collapsed.  In fact, it never really stood at all.  And, the final height of their marshmallow was below the table surface!

Young Professionals make progress.

In less than an hour, the Marshmallow Challenge is a fun way to foster innovation and teamwork. If you’re interested, the challenge rules can be seen here [Marshmallow Challenge Instructions].  Hope you find time to  have fun at work too!

ESOP Month – It’s a Wrap!

Tata & Howard is a 100% employee-owned company, or ESOP. Being an ESOP is an integral part of our corporate culture, and we consistently strive to enhance our core values of teamwork, innovative solutions, positive attitude, efficiency, and integrity through teambuilding activities throughout the year. October is ESOP Month, celebrated by ESOP companies across the United States, and an excellent time for all of us at Tata & Howard to focus on the benefits of employee-ownership as well as the core values that have been with us since our inception in 1992.

Earlier in the month, we showcased how our four ESOP committees – Communications, Green, Philanthropy, and Wellness – planned a month of activities for the Tata & Howard team, Harry Potter style. The first half of the month saw a philanthropic initiative to raise funds for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a community trash cleanup day, and a “Minute to Win It” challenge, as well as various food-themed events. The second half of ESOP Month was also filled with fun and festive activities, including the firm’s official 25th anniversary.

Co-Presidents Karen Gracey and Jenna Rzasa poured the celebratory champagne

On October 19, Tata & Howard officially turned 25 years old. Founded on October 19, 1992, Tata & Howard has grown from a two-person startup to a thriving 70-person firm with nine offices in seven states as well as Ontario, Canada. On October 19, all offices were treated to a celebratory catered lunch, where Co-President Karen Gracey and Co-Founder and Senior Vice President Paul Howard spoke to the entire team about the history of the firm as well as goals for the future. After the speeches, everyone raised a champagne toast for 25 exceptional years in business — and for 25 more — after which we all received Tata & Howard branded fleece jackets.

Taking a selfie with a dinosaur was a hunt requirement!

On Saturday, October 21, we celebrated our 25th anniversary in style, beginning at the Boston Museum of Science, where 70 T&H employee-owners (EOs) and their guests participated in a Murder Mystery Scavenger Hunt throughout the museum. Broken into 10 teams, EOs received 24 clues and a coded sheet and were given two hours to complete their assignment. The hunt was highly entertaining while also providing EOs the chance to get to know their fellow EOs from other offices a bit better. Not surprisingly, six of the ten teams fully completed the challenge with all correct answers, so the winner was determined through some tie-breaking trivia questions about the museum. The winning team was Team 2 Beat, who were all smiles for the photo!

Team 2 Beat

After completing the scavenger hunt, EOs headed over to the Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in the United States, where we enjoyed appetizers and drinks in a private room. Once everyone had arrived, a theater troupe from Monson, MA (one of our clients!) began their performance of Trial & Error, a hilarious interactive show that takes place in a courtroom. Each act was given between courses, and the laughter could be heard throughout the restaurant. At the end of the night, we cut into our special 25th anniversary cake and savored the sweet taste of success. The night was highly enjoyable and a true celebration of our firm’s incredible accomplishments.

Steve Landry took his folding very seriously.

Also during the second half of ESOP Month, EOs participated in a paper airplane contest. EOs in all offices had ten minutes to make paper airplanes out of standard copy paper. No glue, tape, paper clips, tearing, or puncturing of the paper were allowed. After the planes were built, it was time to test! Points were awarded on a basis of longest distance flown as well as longest air time. First, second, and third place winners in each category won points for their houses. Adam Carrier took top spot for distance with 37.3 feet flown, and James Hoyt won first place for airtime with 3.1 seconds. Jon Gregory and William Grant came in second and third, respectively, in both events, with distances of 37.2 feet and 36.7 feet, and airtimes of 2.65 seconds and 2.6 seconds.

Will Grant and Sal Longo test flew their planes in Waterbury, CT.
Brian Biagini learned that not all flights necessarily go as planned!

Another friendlier challenge was our thank you note challenge, sponsored by the Philanthropy Committee. EOs were asked to send thank you notes or emails to their fellow co-workers, and for every thank you they sent, the ESOP Committee would send $1.00 to DARE Family Services, with a three thank you note per EO cap. The day brought lots of smiles as people received special messages of appreciation, and we ended up collecting $108 to send to DARE. The event was well received and reminded everyone to show gratitude.

During the last week of ESOP Month, EOs participated in a step competition, sponsored by our Wellness Committee. The team with the highest total steps as well as the team with the most participation would receive points for their houses. Over half the company participated, and collectively we racked up an astounding 1,754,372 steps!  That’s the equivalent of walking from Marlborough, Massachusetts to Cincinnati, Ohio.

To wrap up ESOP Month, EOs got together after work on Monday, October 30 to enjoy some home baked pumpkin treats and pumpkin beer while we decorated mini pumpkins. On Halloween, the house points were tallied, and we are happy to announce that Ravenclaw wins the House Cup! All in all, ESOP Month was another huge success, and we are already planning for next year.

ESOP Month Update

As a 100% employee-owned company, Tata & Howard has a unique culture that celebrates teamwork, efficiency, integrity, positivity, philanthropy, sustainability, and yes, even fun. ESOP Month is celebrated by ESOP companies throughout the United States in October each year, and it serves as an excellent reminder of the many reasons why being part of an ESOP is such an exciting opportunity. Throughout the month, employee-owners (EOs) participate in challenges, activities, educational sessions, and philanthropic initiatives that embody the essence of ESOP culture and serve to remind EOs of the incredible benefits realized by being part of an ESOP company.

At Tata & Howard, our four ESOP committees – Communications, Green, Philanthropy, and Wellness – got together to plan a month’s worth of festivities. The month kicked off with cider donuts, cider, and coffee in all offices, after which EOs were sorted into houses, Harry Potter style. EOs will stay in their house for the month and houses will collect points based on participation and success in challenges. The house with the most points at the end of the month is declared the winner and receives the House Cup.

Our first challenge was a philanthropic initiative. EOs were asked to donate to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the company offered to match all donations dollar for dollar. Both participation and total donation amounts were important; therefore, lots of pledging took place over the next week. The houses were evenly matched and only after some last minute pledging did Ravenclaw win for total donation, while Slytherin took home the participation prize. The most impressive statistic is that 80% of our EOs participated in this important event. The total tally after the company match was $6,650!

Also during week 1, EOs celebrated National Taco Day, which officially fell on October 4. Some offices had a taco potluck and others grabbed tacos from a local restaurant, but all offices enjoyed National Taco Day and spending some downtime together.

Week 2 brought on a whole new set of challenges. EOs participated in a “Minute to Win It” challenge that included building the tallest possible tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows in five minutes, and three one minute challenges including moving piles of index cards by sucking them up with a straw, moving marshmallows with chopsticks, and eating a cookie from one’s forehead without using hands. Needless to say, laughs abounded and we learned who eats a lot of ramen and who has experience with forehead cookie eating! Points were again awarded for both participation and winning challenges.

On Friday of Week 2, EOs headed outside at all offices to pick up trash in their local communities. It was a beautiful, sunny day and EOs were successful in cleaning up their areas while enjoying camaraderie. Only participation points were awarded since we couldn’t get any volunteers to weigh the trash collected. At the end of week 2, the standings were as follows:

Slytherin: 120
Gryffindor: 75
Ravenclaw: 50
Hufflepuff: 40

Next week’s plans include a thank you note challenge and a paper airplane challenge, as well as our 25th anniversary celebration. Stay tuned for updates!

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New Urbanism and the Value of Site Cleanup

Site cleanup is well understood to be critical to the health of our planet. Since site contamination affects the quality of air, land, and water, it is clear that remediating contaminated sites is paramount to the environmental viability of the nation. However, site cleanup isn’t just about greening the nation; rather, site cleanup provides a myriad of environmental, health, and socioeconomic benefits, some of which may be surprising.

superfund site
View of the former Standard Chlorine site, later owned by Metachem Products, in New Castle, Delaware. The plant polluted groundwater, soil, and surface water with chlorobenzenes. EPA declared it a Superfund site in 1987. Photo shows deconstruction of manufacturing facility during the site remediation process. Wikipedia.

There are over 500,000 brownfields currently in the United States. A brownfield is defined as any land in the United States that is abandoned or underused because redevelopment of said site is complicated by environmental contamination. Brownfield sites are not to be confused with Superfund sites, of which there are over 1,300 in the United States. A Superfund site is a contaminated area of land that has been identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as needing cleanup due to the risk it poses to environmental and/or human health. Superfund sites are placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) and are eligible for government funding through the Superfund program that was established as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). Unlike Superfund sites, brownfields generally do not pose an immediate or serious risk to the environment or human health, as they typically have a lesser degree of contamination. Brownfields do, however, compromise the economic and social viability of our nation by preventing development, which causes numerous problems.

urban sprawl
Toronto’s urban sprawl, Ontario, Canada, looking north from the CN Tower. Copyright 2006 Darren Kirby.

Because site cleanup can be expensive, brownfields are often left in states of ruin and decay. Brownfields disallow redevelopment, forcing communities to find new areas to develop, contributing to the degradation of inner cities and increased urban sprawl. Since we now understand that new urbanism — or the planning and development of compact cities that are walkable with accessible shopping and public spaces — promotes healthier cities and lifestyles, urban sprawl is also understood to be detrimental to the health of both cities and the environment. Cleaning up and redeveloping brownfields is one of the most effective ways to limit urban sprawl and to promote new urbanism, and fortunately, funding is available for brownfield remediation.

The EPA launched the Brownfields Program in 1995 to provide funding for brownfield remediation. The Brownfields Program includes the following grant programs:

  • Brownfields Assessment Grants: funding for Brownfields inventories, planning, environmental assessments, and community outreach
  • Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grants: funding to capitalize loans that are used to clean up brownfields
  • Brownfields Cleanup Grants: funding to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites owned by the applicant
  • Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grants: funding to communities to research, plan, and develop implementation strategies for cleaning up and revitalizing a specific area affected by one or more brownfields sites
  • Brownfields Job Training Grants: funding for environmental training for residents of Brownfields communities

In 2002, the Program was expanded when Congress passed the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, more commonly known as the Brownfields Law. Since the enactment of the Brownfields Law, the EPA has awarded over 1,000 grants totaling over $200 million to public and private sector organizations.

brownfield site cleanup
Tata & Howard assisted WORK Inc. with preparation of a Brownfields Grant application and with environmental remediation at the site. Click photo for info.

Cleaning up brownfields not only promotes new urbanism by reducing urban sprawl and inner city decay, but also increases surrounding property values, resulting in an increased tax base. These cleaned up sites allow for the utilization of existing infrastructure and transit and therefore contribute to the economic health of cities by eliminating the need for additional municipal infrastructure. Site cleanup also helps to eliminate urban arson, vandalism, and the threat of injury from dilapidated structures and areas. Since site cleanup also reduces the need to develop open land, brownfield remediation contributes to the protection of our natural resources and environment while beautifying urban landscapes. In some instances, brownfield remediation even allows for the preservation of historical landmarks and architecture that would otherwise require demolition.

And let’s not forget about health. Site cleanup eliminates the contamination that threatens our environment. Our water, air, and soil is protected from the initial contamination as well as future contamination. Even when contamination is initially minimal, deteriorating buildings and abandoned property have the potential to increase contamination as degrading building components leach into the soil and water.

brownfield remediation
T&H assisted with environmental remediation at a brownfield site in Franklin, MA. Click photo for info.

One thing to keep in mind is there is some potential risk associated with brownfield remediation. If not managed or handled properly, contaminated soil could potentially result in further contamination by migrating to surrounding land through groundwater or even runoff into surface water. To significantly reduce these risks, it is recommended and often required to utilize an environmental professional when cleaning up brownfields. In Massachusetts, for example, it is required to have a Licensed Site Professional provide evaluation both before and after cleanup to ensure that all regulations, technologies, and construction best practices were strictly followed and that the contamination has been successfully remediated.

Site cleanup clearly has significant value when it comes to the health of our nation’s environment, economy, and citizens. More and more, communities are seeking to implement new urbanism and the gentrification of cities, forcing developers to seek ways to redevelop previously unusable land. With smart city planning, the availability of brownfield grants, and the utilization of environmental professionals, site cleanup will continue to provide significant value to the economic, environmental, and physical health of communities throughout the country for years to come.

The Importance of Incorporating Sustainability and Efficiency into Modern Water Treatment

sustainability conceptMunicipal water treatment and distribution requires an exorbitant amount of resources, wreaking havoc on the environment and on budgets. And it’s getting worse. Over the past several years, operating costs have consistently been on the rise, while municipal budgets continue to shrink. In addition, regulatory requirements are increasing, forcing municipalities to upgrade treatment processes ahead of schedule. These changes result in limited unsustainable systems and utilities scrambling to find ways to manage their insufficient operational budgets while maintaining levels of service. The good news is that low-cost initiatives exist that can provide quick and significant cost and environmental savings and increase system sustainability.

When incorporating sustainability into water systems, utilities consistently rank capital cost, life-cycle costs, and service lifetime as the top three considerations, while climate change and habitat protection are the lowest ranked factors. These statistics highlight the extreme fiscal challenges facing utilities today. While environmental factors are certainly important, water systems simply do not have the luxury to place them above financial concerns, as budgets are reaching a critical juncture. In short, cost drives decision-making. Fortunately, energy efficiency and sustainability result in a healthier environment, even when implemented primarily for cost-savings.

wayland water treatment plant
Tata & Howard completed a water audit for the Town of Wayland, MA.

There are many technologies and practices that water systems employ to increase sustainability and energy efficiency, the most common of which is reducing non-revenue water (NRW). NRW includes real losses, the majority of which is the result of leaks in the distribution system. In fact, the United States loses about seven billion gallons of water every day to leaking pipes — enough to supply the nation’s ten largest cities with water — and this lost water puts a strain on supply, budgets, and the environment. Reducing NRW is most easily accomplished with a water audit, which helps water systems identify the causes and true costs of water loss, and develop strategies to reduce water loss and recapture lost revenue. Water audits are often the most cost-effective and efficient solution to increasing demand, and the return on investment of a water audit is typically less than one year. Effective water loss control programs reduce the need for facility upgrades and expansions as well as the need to find additional sources, while the recovered water helps systems to generate revenue and meet demand. In addition, an effective water loss control program protects public health by identifying the leaks from which disease‐causing pathogens can enter the system.

Other technologies and practices include educating customers on water conservation, source water protection planning, automated meter reading, and trenchless pipe repair, as well as energy audits. When water utilities decide to integrate sustainability and efficiency into their operations and infrastructure, the best place to start is with water loss. Water loss reduction initiatives tend to have a quick return on investment while providing significant cost and environmental savings. Once the effects of these savings are realized, implementing other green initiatives becomes more appealing and justifiable to management and water boards.

long pond water treatment plant
The newly completed 8.0 mgd DAF Long Pond Water Treatment Plant incorporates several energy efficiency and sustainability features.

For new treatment plants, incorporating sustainability and efficiency features into the initial design allows the plant to function at a superior efficiency level right from the start. As an example, Tata & Howard provided design, permitting, and construction services for the new Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) Long Pond Water Treatment Plant in Falmouth, MA. The project consisted of the construction of a new 8.0 mgd water treatment plant (WTP) for the existing Long Pond surface water supply.  The existing Long Pond Pump Station, constructed in the 1890s, operated under a Filtration Waiver issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and did not include filtration processes to remove algae, organics, or particulates from the water.  The new WTP provides the Town with several key benefits:

  • Meets the current regulatory requirements of the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule;
  • Reduces disinfection by-products and organics;
  • Removes pathogens, taste, odor, and algae/algae toxins;
  • Produces stable water quality;
  • Provides the flexibility to meet uncertain future regulatory and water quality challenges.

In addition to providing a solution to the water challenges faced by the Town of Falmouth, the Long Pond WTP also provided more sustainable and efficient operations, saving the Town money while also protecting the environment. Some of these initiatives included the following:

  • Recycling spent backwash water to head of plant and back into the treatment process, after it passes through a plate settler to remove solids;
  • Recycling laboratory analyzer and filter influent piping gallery analyzer discharges back into the treatment process;
  • Using filter-to-waste water after a filter backwash sequence as supply water for the next backwash, instead of using finished water for backwashing;
  • Discharging cleaner supernatant water off the top of the lined lagoons to an unlined infiltration lagoon and back into the ground to minimize residuals;
  • Use of local/native plants for landscaping, including an irrigation system using collected rainwater from roof drainage;
  • Interior and exterior LED lighting fixtures; and
  • Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) on HVAC equipment and process equipment motors.

sustainability conceptEfficiency and sustainability are no longer considered luxuries for water systems. Rather, incorporating green initiatives into infrastructure design and operational standards has become crucial to the future sustainability of water systems. And while utilities today value cost-effectiveness over environmentalism due to the criticality of their budgets, there will likely be a shift in thinking as these systems ease the burden of their unsustainable operational costs through effective practices such as efficiency and water loss reduction.

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Pollution Prevention Week – Tips for a Greener Future

pollution-prevention-week-2017Pollution Prevention Week takes place each year during the third week in September. This special week celebrates the passing of the Pollution Prevention Act in 1990, and serves as an opportunity for businesses, individuals, governments, organizations, and groups to focus on pollution prevention (P2) by celebrating their sustainability achievements, expanding current practices, and implementing new initiatives. In addition, P2 Week serves to remind individuals and organizations of the myriad ways that pollution can be prevented.

T&H provides UST services.

While many organizations and initiatives focus on recycling and mitigation, the most efficient and beneficial way to protect the environment is to avoid pollution in the first place. Once the environment has been compromised, it is much more labor intensive, energy intensive, and costly to return conditions to their natural state. For example, ensuring that double-walled Underground Storage Tanks (USTs) are maintained and in good condition is critical to the protection of groundwater and soil. When a UST leaks and contaminates the surrounding area, soil remediation is required, which in some cases can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In addition, any contaminated water will require a much more comprehensive treatment train, leading to expensive infrastructure projects and higher operational costs for water utilities. Preventing the leak in the first place requires simple maintenance and monitoring, such as regular testing of leak detection systems, maintaining accurate inventory records, and maintaining spill buckets, which comes at a small fraction of the cost of clean-up activities to both the wallet and the environment.

Pollution prevention is just as important on an individual level. While the actions of one person may seem insignificant, the collective action of millions of individuals is monumental. In celebration of P2 Week, we’ve assembled 20 simple tips that we can all implement to minimize our environmental footprint.

  1. Make sure your home is well-insulated and has energy efficient windows.

    chickens_lawn_ticks_natural
    While not practical for everyone, chickens provide grub control, aeration, and fertilization for lawns.
  2. Practice environmentally-friendly lawn care (Here are 10 tips to start!)
  3. Use water-based paints and be sure to rinse paint brushes in the sink, where the water will eventually make its way to a wastewater treatment plant, and not outdoors, where the paint will end up in the groundwater.
  4. Utilize LED lights instead of fluorescents, which may contain mercury. When disposing of fluorescent bulbs, be sure to take them to a certified collection center.
  5. Plant trees. They help to keep the air clean.
  6. Utilize recycled content plastic lumber for decks. Plastic lumber lasts far longer than wood lumber and requires no painting.

    leaking-faucet
    Fix leaks to conserve water.
  7. Fix leaks and install water saving faucets and fixtures. (Visit here for more water tips!)
  8. Compost kitchen scraps with worms. Bonus: you’ll get free, organic plant food.
  9. Always bring reusable bags to the grocery store. Worldwide, we throw away over one trillion plastic bags each year, many of which end up in our oceans.
  10. Buy products in the highest bulk possible to avoid excess packaging.
  11. Use non-toxic household cleaners and personal care products.
  12. Dispose all prescription drugs at a certified drop-off location. Do not flush! Prescriptions are wreaking havoc on our water supply.
  13. Use cloth napkins instead disposables, and washable rags instead of paper towels.
  14. Buy organically grown food. Pesticides contaminate our water and harm our environment.
  15. Use reusable glass containers for leftovers and lunches. Avoid plastic baggies and boxes.
  16. Lower household heat by a degree or two, and have the boiler serviced annually to increase efficiency.
  17. Be sure appliances are energy and water efficient, and only run the dishwasher and clothes washer with full loads.
  18. Carpool, walk, or bike to work, or use public transportation. If possible, work at home one day per week to save fuel and energy.
  19. Buy washable clothing that doesn’t require dry cleaning. Dry cleaners are a large contributor to environmental contamination.
  20. Use rechargeable batteries, and be sure to dispose regular alkaline batteries at a certified drop-off location. Batteries can wreak havoc on our soil.

Do you have any other easy tips to prevent pollution? If so, share them in the comments. As Vincent Van Gogh said, “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” At Tata & Howard, each of us looks forward to creating a greener, healthier future by doing our individual, small part to decrease pollution. Happy Pollution Prevention Week!

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