Presentation Transcript

1. LT2ESWTR Watershed Control Plan United Water Delaware Stanton Intake September 14, 2010
2. UWDE Watershed Control Program - Overview - What is a Watershed Control Program? UWDE’s Approach to the Program Discuss Partnering Opportunities In White Clay Questions
3. Mission Statement “We provide innovative water and waste management solutions to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve.”
4. Values Drive Grow our business responsibly and continually pursue excellence and innovation on behalf of our customers Commitment Provide essential services to communities with respect for the planet Integrity Demonstrate accountability through transparency in our actions Courage Live in the present with creativity and build for the future with confidence Unity Mobilize all our strengths with a shared spirit of teamwork
5. Source Water Protection Source water protection now moving from a luxury to a necessity Emerging pathogens and contaminants have no “silver bullet” to address all source water issues Protecting the water supply helps manage long term treatment costs and provides a sustainable option Employs a multi-barrier approach – source water protection, high quality treatment, distribution system integrity
6. Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule Developed as a response to the Milwaukee Cryptosporidium outbreak in 1993 Multiple year FACA process between EPA & water industry First time water suppliers are regulated and required to make changes based on source water quality The average concentration of two years of intake monitoring dictates the requirements Analytical method had poor precision and accuracy
7. If a Water Supplier Has > 0.075 oocysts/L in the Source Water…….. Requires extra 1 log of treatment credit Obtained by various toolbox options Individual Credits from Capital Intensive Treatment Upgrades = >1 – 5 log credit ultraviolet light disinfection, ozonation, membrane filtration Cumulative Credits from Treatment Optimization and/or Source Water Protection = 1.5 log credit Combined Filter Effluent – 0.5 log credit Individual Filter Effluent – 0.5 log credit Watershed Control Program – 0.5 log credit
8. What Are the Elements of a State Approved Watershed Control Plan? ADMINISTRATIVE / MANAGEMENT Explain how actions are expected to contribute to specified goals Identify watershed partners and their roles Identify resource requirements and commitments Outline a schedule, with deadlines, for plan implementation and maintenance Each of the activities in the WCP should have a timetable for implementation, a budget, and details about how the activity will be implemented
9. What Are the Elements of a State Approved Watershed Control Plan? TECHNICAL Identification of a zone of influence Identification of potential Cryptosporidium sources Prioritization of the identified sources Development of control measures to address the prioritized sources Continuation of these efforts in the future
10. Challenges to the WCP Assumes a shared responsibility for the watershed UWDE does not own the watershed UWDE does not have regulatory authority over activities in the watershed Requires a collaborative approach This is the case for most source water programs
11. Keys to UWDE’s WCP Approach Collaborate with upstream partners Make key investments in incremental long term improvements Provide technical, monitoring, or financial assistance to the stakeholders with the capability to successfully plan and implement a specific project Provide the groundwork for leveraging the use of other funding sources to broaden the impact of direct investments
12. Factor’s Influencing UWDE’s Involvement in a Project Type of activity Impact of the activity on Cryptosporidium loadings or addressing the goals of the WCP Likelihood of successful implementation of the project Capability for the impact of the project to be sustained for a long period of time Involvement and participation by multiple stakeholders in the watershed Leveraging of resources Endorsement and involvement by regulatory agencies Availability of UWDE’s resources
13. The Watershed Control Plan Five Major Steps Develop Goals Source Identification Source Prioritization Analysis of Control Measures Recommend Projects United has completed the first four steps, it is now engaging partners in the watershed to develop a list of potential projects related to its priorities
14. WCP Goals - Mitigation Reduce Cryptosporidium loadings from existing agricultural sources human sources Urban and suburban stormwater runoff Reduce loadings of total, viable, and infectious Cryptosporidium from existing upstream human sources
15. WCP Goals - Prevention Prevent additional and new loadings of total, viable, and infectious Cryptosporidium from human sewage sources agricultural sources urban and suburban stormwater runoff
16. WCP Goals - Prevention Prevent additional and new loadings of Cryptosporidium by supporting preservation and enhancement of forested riparian buffer areas along the Red Clay and White Clay Creeks Reduce and prevent Cryptosporidium loadings from various sources by collaborating with partners in upstream education programs/efforts that are aimed at providing measurable changes in behavior
17. Source Identification Involved the following activities: Stakeholder outreach Watershed surveys Review of existing regulatory databases Review of reports, studies, TMDLs Analysis of water quality monitoring data Estimates of loadings from sources or geographical areas
18. Key Findings of Source Identification Top priority animal sources - CALVES, pigs, dogs, and geese Other priority animal sources – deer and sheep Animals represented 78% (54% from livestock) of the estimated Cryptosporidium load Sewage source discharges represent less than 22% of the estimated potential annual load
19. Key Findings (cont.) The Red Clay watershed contributes exactly 67% of the total point source Cryptosporidium load Analysis suggests greater concentrations of bacteria in the Pennsylvania section of the watershed The greatest Cryptosporidium loads originated in the Pennsylvania section of the Red and White Clay Creek Watersheds land cover associated with mushroom farming, livestock, horse farming, and residential uses
20. Source Prioritization Criteria Magnitude of impact Frequency of impact Ability to produce viable and infectious Cryptosporidium Active implementation of control measures at the source Potential for implementation of relative cost effective mitigation via control measures Potential for successful and sustainable implementation of control measures by stakeholders
21. Recommended WCP Projects Agricultural Source Mitigation & Protection Projects Urban and Suburban Stormwater Mitigation & Protection Projects Untreated Sewage and Wastewater Discharge Mitigation & Protection Projects Riparian Buffer Reforestation and Preservation Projects Watershed Monitoring Related Projects These projects include structural and non-structural (ex. education) types of projects
22. Recommended WCP Projects So far over 20 potential partner projects identified for potential inclusion in the WCP These projects need evaluated, prioritized, and commitments and schedules discussed with partners
23. Schedule for WCP Implementation Spring 2011 – WCP submittal to ODW Fall 2010 to Summer/Fall 2011 – WCP implementation coordination meetings with DE and stakeholders April 1, 2012 – WCP implementation begins April 1, 2017 – WCP implementation is re-evaluated
24. Questions for White Clay Are there potential partner projects that match the goals and priorities of the WCP? Riparian Buffer Restoration & Preservation Planning & Prioritization Riparian Buffer Restoration Riparian Buffer Preservation Is there an amount of riparian buffer work planned every year but not necessarily identified yet?
25. LT2ESWTR Watershed Control Plan Contact: Tom Hubbard Public Affairs Manager United Water Delaware 302-252-3013 thomas.hubbard@unitedwater.com
26. Questions ?