AL/MS Water Joint Annual Conference
Mobile, Alabama | Apr. 10-13
Hosted by the Alabama/Mississippi Section of AWWA and Alabama’s Water Environment Association, the AL/MS Water Joint Annual Conference serves water professionals in Alabama and Mississippi through collaboration and education. Garver’s Water and Wastewater Team will be in attendance for technical sessions, exhibits, networking opportunities and more. Garver is proud to support the annual event through sponsorships and leadership positions, and are excited to continue that at this year’s event.
Technical Presentations
10:45-11:30 a.m.
Biological Process Intensification
Many utilities are seeking to increase their treatment capacity either because of increasing flows and loads or in response to the decrease in capacity that follows conversion to a BNR process. The treatment capacity of biological wastewater treatment processes is directly related to the quantity of biomass in the bioreactors. More biomass provides more treatment capacity. Consequently, capacity can be increased by adding bioreactor volume at the same biomass concentration or by increasing the biomass concentration in the existing bioreactor volume. Because constructing new bioreactor volume is expensive, increasing the biomass concentration is the more attractive option but it is limited by the capacity of the clarifiers to handle the increased MLSS concentration. To solve this problem, several approaches to “process intensification” have been developed. This presentation introduces several “intensification” alternatives, explains their biological and engineering basis, and their respective pros and cons.
Speakers: Wastewater Practice Leader Sean Scuras, Ph.D., PE, BCEE
2-2:45 p.m.
Future changes to DBP Rule and how the USEPA Water Treatment Plant Simulation Model assists in rule making
This presentation will provide an update of the possible changes that the water community could expect in the upcoming rule revisions. The presentation will also provide a brief overview of the history of the model and present a summary of the most recent updates along with how the updated model may be used for the upcoming D/DBP Rule revisions.
Speakers: Water Practice Leader Zaid Chowdhury, Ph.D., PE, BCEE
3-4:15 p.m.
Keeping It SIMPLE – How to Use Risk Based Assessments to Improve Your Asset Management
While there is a wide variety of asset management resources available, this presentation will focus on the Water Environment Resource Foundation (WERF) Sustainable Infrastructure Management Program Learning Environment (SIMPLE) tool and its utilization in a wide array of different asset management projects. The SIMPLE tool has been used by utilities of all sizes and can be tailored to individual utilities or project needs.
Speakers: Project Manager Trey Tidmore, PE
8-8:45 a.m.
Holistic Solids Master Planning - Developing a Road Map to Your Solids Destination
This presentation will provide a step-wise, holistic approach to completing a solids master plan, which includes development of stakeholder goals and drivers; assessing the condition and capabilities of the existing facilities; completion of a gap analysis to identify where improvements are necessary; a market assessment to understand what alternative disposal options and high strength waste sources bay be available; assessing best available technologies to fill gaps identified in step 3 as well as to capitalize on the findings of step 4; and development of alternatives and selection of the best path forward.
Speakers: Project Manager Wes Cardwell, PE
11-11:30 a.m.
Five Keys to a Successful Master Plan
Water and wastewater utilities routinely complete system master plans to characterize the system, identify existing and future challenges, and develop proposed operations, maintenance, and infrastructure projects to address those challenges. Unfortunately, many master plans fall short of the ultimate goal, which is to provide a utility with a decision-support framework. What separates successful master plans that serve as trusted planning resources from those that quickly become paper weights, collecting dust on a shelf? While there is no single, one-size-fits-all solution for every utility, this presentation will discuss five keys to a successful master plan.
Speakers: Planning and Modeling Team Leader Evan Tromble, Ph.D., PE
