Wastewater Collection Systems Management, MOP 7, 7th Edition

Preface

For many local governments, the wastewater collection system is one of the most valuable assets they own. In addition to being a valuable physical asset, the value wastewater collection systems provide to protect public health and the environment is tremendous. Too often, however, this value is under-recognized and under-appreciated by the community. This can lead to inadequate reinvestment in the system and insufficient resources to provide for proper management, operations, and maintenance of the system.

To address these challenges, wastewater collection system managers must be exceptionally proficient in a multitude of technical and nontechnical skills needed to operate and maintain a collection system efficiently and effectively. Wastewater Collection Systems Management (MOP 7; seventh edition) provides guidance, strategies, and ideas that may be used by a wastewater collection system manager to be successful within these many fields of expertise.

The regulatory focus on wastewater collection systems has increased across the United States in the last 20 years. This is evidenced by the issuance of numerous enforcement actions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and state water-quality agencies against wastewater utilities, mandating increased system investment and program improvements. In addition, in 2005, the U.S. EPA developed the capacity, management, operations, and maintenance (CMOM) program guidelines that outline best practices for wastewater collection system managers to use to improve overall system performance. These guidelines are referenced in numerous chapters of this manual and offer a good basis for assessing whether a wastewater collection system program is comprehensive and sustainable. Although CMOM is only a guideline at the time of this writing, many state agencies that provide wastewater collection system funding and enforcement have required conformance with the CMOM guidance criteria. This is partly because of the U.S. EPA’s continued encouragement to integrate management programs, like CMOM and asset management, through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit requirements. As such, this manual has been edited to reflect a more focused approach to essential compliance and conformance elements of maintenance plans for wastewater system managers.

With the ever-increasing changes in technology and the way people use it to communicate, many collection system owners have incorporated new channels of communicating with the public. These new channels include all the recognizable social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) that have a broad reach, but also more localized platforms, such as neighborhood applications like Neighborhood. With the near universal use of smart phones, another common method of communicating with the public is through email or text message alerts. These new ways of communicating with the public provide the collection system manager with additional avenues to reach the public. This type of communication will not replace door knockers or formal notices at City Hall, but it will provide additional opportunities to relay important information, such as dates for upcoming public meetings, notice of service disruption, and others.

The seventh edition of this Manual of Practice was edited under the direction of Cullen Carlson, PE; Bryan Jann, PE; Mazen Kawasmi, PE, PACP, CFM; Robert Otey, PE, PACP; and Steven Rhodes, PE, PACP.

Authors’ and reviewers’ efforts were supported by the following organizations:

Black & Veatch

CEA Engineers

Drummond Carpenter, PLLC

Freese and Nichols, Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Austin, Texas; Dallas, Texas; Denton, Texas; Fort Worth, Texas; San Antonio, Texas; San Marcos, Texas

Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.

King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks/Wastewater Treatment Division

Macon Water Authority

Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.

U.S. EPA

Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electrical Power

1

Introduction

1.0    PURPOSE

2.0    TARGET AUDIENCE

3.0    ASSET MANAGEMENT AND CAPACITY, MANAGEMENT, OPERATIONS, AND MAINTENANCE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

3.1    Asset-Management Principles

3.2    Capacity, Management, Operations, and Maintenance Program Principles

4.0    REFERENCES

5.0    SUGGESTED READINGS

1.0   PURPOSE

The purpose of this Manual of Practice (MOP) No. 7 (7th edition) is to provide guidance and direction to those individuals responsible for the management and oversight of wastewater collection systems. This manual can also provide valuable background information for all collection systems operators. In most urban and suburban communities, the wastewater collection system—which includes gravity pipelines, tunnels, storage facilities, lift stations, force mains, and other wastewater conveyance related facilities—is one of the largest, most valuable infrastructure assets. This system plays a vital role in the economic, social, health, and environmental viability of the community. It is important that the community recognizes the value of this system so that sufficient resources are dedicated to management, capital improvements, operations, and maintenance.

Managing a wastewater collection system poses many challenges. Aging and deteriorating infrastructure decreases system capacity and reliability while increasing operations and maintenance costs and risk of failure. Changes in wastewater flows, either from growth or a loss of significant customers, can make capacity needs difficult to manage. Third-party damage to the system and customer wastewater flows (both legal and illicit) can affect the system in ways that are difficult to predict.

A wastewater collection systems manager faces many technical, financial, social, legal, and environmental challenges. Ever-changing costs for energy, materials, and labor challenge capital and operations budgets. A lack of understanding by most customers of how a wastewater collection system works results in confusion related to how revenues are spent and how this relates to service expectations. Managers also must plan for intensified regulatory scrutiny and possible risk of third-party litigation.

To be successful, a wastewater collection systems manager requires knowledge of business, engineering, operations, maintenance, human resource management, and communications. This manual is intended to act as a reference guide on these many, varied aspects of managing combined and separated wastewater/stormwater collection systems; though it is not a complete body of knowledge on any of these topics. Additional references and lists of further readings are provided at the end of each chapter.

2.0   TARGET AUDIENCE

Although this MOP is directed primarily at wastewater collection systems managers and superintendents, many others will benefit from it. Utility engineers, system operators, local elected officials, municipal administrators, financial managers, municipal communications professionals, regulatory officials, consultants, or anyone with an interest in protecting public health and the environment will find it useful. Increasingly, the mainstream media is covering water and wastewater issues, which is helping to improve the public’s understanding of the importance of infrastructure. Utility managers can and should leverage these opportunities to engage stakeholders in conversations about the importance of good wastewater system management and the value that it provides to the community.

Many cities are investing heavily in urban redevelopment projects aimed at reigniting the economic and social viability of their downtown business districts. These renewal projects offer an opportunity to engage local officials and business leaders in a discussion about the importance of rehabilitating the wastewater collection system to meet urban redevelopment and sustainability goals. Wastewater collection systems managers and personnel must be active in the planning and implementation of these renewal projects to ensure long-term success because system rehabilitation and replacement will be vital to meeting performance objectives cost effectively.

3.0   ASSET MANAGEMENT AND CAPACITY, MANAGEMENT, OPERATIONS, AND MAINTENANCE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has been a leading advocate in the application of asset-management principles in managing our country’s wastewater infrastructure (Albee, 2005). Applying asset-management principles requires utility managers to make decisions based on life-cycle cost analyses, risk assessments using condition and criticality factors, and infrastructure asset valuation effects, among others. As of the publication of this manual, no national rules have been formally promulgated requiring the implementation of capacity, management, operations, and maintenance (CMOM) programs. Many utilities, however, are adopting these programs because of state regulation requirements, consent decree requirements, permit requirements, or because of the improved system performance that can be achieved by their implementation. The principles of asset management and those promoted by CMOM programs are consistent with one another, as described further in the following sections. Although CMOM has not been formally promulgated, it is important to note that the wastewater collection system is a significant component of a wastewater treatment facility as defined by the federal Clean Water Act, and thus is regulated at the federal level through the issuance of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.

3.1   Asset-Management Principles

This manual of practice is focused on the management of the critical infrastructure assets that constitute a wastewater collection system. In many ways, this manual is about asset management for the specific group of assets contained in a wastewater collection system. This perspective helps to demonstrate the many areas of expertise that must be considered in the development of an asset-management program.

Managers responsible for the planning, design, construction, operation, or financing of a wastewater collection system are already managing assets. But managing assets is not the same as having an asset-management program. Managing assets includes the complex decision-making process that the collection systems manager must use every day to set priorities, consider alternatives, and make the most efficient use of available resources to accomplish program objectives. An asset-management program is a set of procedures and protocols that institutionalize, inform, document, and preserve that decision-making process. To preserve institutional knowledge and lessons learned, the importance of documenting and preserving system knowledge and experience is crucial. Although many wastewater collection systems have similarities, site-specific differences between systems must be clearly documented and understood. An asset-management program has several benefits:

•  Identifies and mitigates risk and consequence of failure;

•  Makes the decision-making process understandable and transparent to others;

•  Provides consistent criteria for making those decisions and balancing competing needs and interests;

•  Minimizes the long-term costs of system operations and maintenance;

•  Defines acceptable levels of service to the customers;

•  Creates data and information processes that improve future decision-making; and

•  Establishes roles, goals, and metrics that can focus and motivate the entire organization toward a more cost-effective operation.

An effective asset-management program will help determine the funding needed to meet the service expectations of stakeholders, which comprise customers, elected officials, regulatory officials, the environmental community, and any other entities having a stake in the performance of the wastewater collection system. Although identifying and documenting service expectations can be difficult, not understanding those expectations can lead to longer-term difficulties. If customer level of service expectations are not met because of frequent system failures or lack of adequate performance, customer complaints may lead to undesirable political attention or, in some cases, regulatory enforcement actions. By exceeding customer expectations, the utility may increase the cost of service to greater than needed, also leading to complaints. The key is to inform the customer to increase their understanding that the level of service is directly proportional to cost. Whether the wastewater collection systems program is funded through rates, taxes, connection fees, grants, or any combination thereof, an asset-management program will provide local decision-makers with sound, understandable data illustrating the revenue that is needed to provide a given level of service and the consequences of not getting this revenue on a timely basis.

Of the many definitions of asset management, the wastewater industry has adopted the following: An integrated set of processes to minimize the life-cycle costs of infrastructure assets, at an acceptable level of risk, while continuously delivering established levels of service (National Association of Clean Water Agencies [NACWA] et al., 2007). The Federal Highway Administration and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (1996) provide another relevant definition: A systematic process of maintaining, upgrading, and operating physical assets cost-effectively. It combines engineering principles with sound business practices and economic theory, and it provides tools to facilitate a more organized, logical approach to decision making. Thus, asset management provides a framework for handling both short-range and long-range planning.

Customer service expectations set the basis of asset management. Regulatory standards or local political interests typically establish a minimum level of service. The asset-management system provides a means to protect, maintain, or improve the asset value of a collection system with planned maintenance and renewal based on predicted deterioration. In a private or public utility, key asset information is needed to manage costs through asset-management planning, which requires a complete inventory of all assets. This information includes asset condition, age, and performance; operating costs; projected capital improvement costs; financial position including revenues, balance sheet, and cash flow; required and anticipated future levels of service; and methods of measuring and monitoring performance of the system.

The primary goals of wastewater collection systems operation are to prevent public health hazards and to protect the environment by transporting wastewater uninterrupted from its source to the treatment facility. The goal of asset management is to improve and document the decision-making process necessary to protect, maintain, or improve the value of this asset (the collection system) while providing the level of service desired. These issues are described further in each subsequent chapter of this manual. A glossary of terms is included in Table 1.1.

•  Chapter 2—System Operations and Maintenance provides an overview of best management practices associated with operating and maintaining a wastewater collection system, including strategies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of these operations.

•  Chapter 3—Information Management describes key information management principles that are critical to wastewater collection systems management. It also describes the importance of collecting and using information to make better, more informed decisions to improve system operations.

•  Chapter 4—Collection System Assessment and Capital Improvement Planning discusses the process of planning for capital improvements to the system and setting priorities, including activities needed to assess the condition of existing assets such as field activities for structural and flow evaluations and computer-based modeling tools for system capacity evaluations.

TABLE 1.1   Glossary of Terms

Note. Definitions or terminology used in this manual may differ from those used in local municipal codes or state and federal regulations. Legal definitions of these terms should take precedence when applicable.

•  Chapter 5—System Design Considerations introduces key design principles and considerations critical to wastewater collection system managers so that life-cycle costs are adequately considered and design decisions consider risk management.

•  Chapter 6—Construction Contracting provides the collection system manager with an overview of construction contracting concepts including procurement considerations, legal considerations, and how to manage quality control during construction activities.

•  Chapter 7—Public Policy and Community Relations deals with ways to improve communications with collection system customers and other stakeholders with interests in collection system management as well as the development and implementation of public policy and level-of-service decisions.

•  Chapter 8—Budgeting and Financial Planning summarizes key financial considerations for the collection system manager including the basis for generating revenues needed to operate and maintain the system and financial management principles needed to properly account for system depreciation and renewal requirements.

•  Chapter 9—Safety, Standard Procedures, Training, and Certifications describes critical processes needed for a safe operating environment for utility employees and customers and summarizes training and certification programs that will improve understanding and compliance.

•  Chapter 10—Emergency Preparedness and Security reviews issues that must be considered to prepare for both manmade and natural emergencies and disasters, including activities that can increase awareness and improve responsiveness of utility personnel during an emergency.

In addition to wastewater pipelines, lift stations, and force mains, several other assets must be managed for effective system performance. Examples include human resources that must be managed through proper training, education, and planning and information resources that require data management, quality control, and archiving standards. Other assets include intangibles such as consumer confidence, management integrity, and leadership vision. In many ways, management of these assets is as important as management of physical assets to the long-term viability and success of wastewater collection system programs.

3.2   Capacity, Management, Operations, and Maintenance Program Principles

An excellent example of the industry’s increased focus on asset management is the U.S. EPA’s development of guidance documents describing the key wastewater collection system principles associated with capacity, management, operations, and maintenance, also known as CMOM programs (U.S. EPA, 2005). The premise of the CMOM program is that when a utility incorporates good business principles into its organization, its wastewater collection system will meet the intended performance objectives resulting in fewer sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). The CMOM program places the burden of proof on the system owner to demonstrate that SSOs are being prevented to the maximum extent practical by using pipes, pumps, and infrastructure with adequate capacity and by properly managing, operating, and maintaining the system. The CMOM programs promoted by U.S. EPA are consistent with basic asset-management principles as evidenced by the following descriptions of the key CMOM elements:

Capacity program elements promote an understanding of the capacity of system components (wastewater pipelines, lift stations, force mains) as designed and under current conditions, tracking how much of that capacity is used, and forecasting when additional capacity will be needed. All of these elements are necessary to support better capital improvements planning. This includes the use of flow monitoring and other evaluation tools to identify where and when capacity is needed to handle current or future increases in wastewater flows and what facilities or system improvements may best meet those needs. In some cases, these analyses may include identifying