Lagoon wastewater treatment systems are mostly found in small, rural and tribal communities in the U.S. and are used as the only method of treating community wastewater. Small communities of fewer than 3,000 residents usually prefer sewage lagoons because of their energy efficiency and low costs. However, recent wastewater treatment requirements, i...
To help public sector officials minimize fire and explosion hazards, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) publishes preventative requirements, fire codes and building standards. Used in alignment with state building codes, the NFPA 820 standard is specific to wastewater collection, transportation and treatment plants. Methane generated b...
Around 2.2 million miles of underground pipes support the drinking water infrastructure system in the United States. The aging water system, however, requires upgrades in thousands of communities across the nation to prevent water main breaks and a daily loss of billions of gallons of treated water. If you are a municipal leader, it can be challeng...
Are you familiar with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI)? What are the implications for lead and copper rule revisions?How do the revisions help protect your community from lead exposure in drinking water? Since its 1991 publication, the Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) has undergone several revisions,...
In 2020, Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported 9,600 children younger than 16 were poisoned by lead. The same year, the Public Service Commission estimated the number of lead service lines statewide at 173,052. Since then, community leaders have raised the priority levels on lead service line replacement projects to mitigate the threat o...
Environmental due diligence — the first step in any commercial land transaction — is critical to evaluate environmental conditions and risks associated with a property. Whether you are a property owner, developer, lender or local government official, environmental due diligence and proactive risk management can help you make informed decisions duri...
The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, which has established standard practices for Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), defines a Phase I ESA as a method of assessing the environmental condition of commercial real estate. As a customary due diligence practice of commercial real estate transactions, a Phase I ESA incl...
The phrase "orphaned wells" describes approximately 3.5 million oil or gas wells abandoned by fossil fuel organizations across the U.S. Disconnected because of viability, bankruptcy or neglect, these wells have no legal owners, operators or responsible parties to plug and restore them. Orphaned wells pose serious threats to human and environmental ...
Note: This blog post was updated to reflect legislation that passed in July 2023. Illinois has more lead service lines than any other state in the nation, with a number the National Resources Defense Council estimates to be anywhere from 700,000 to 1.4 million. Although the state banned lead service line installation in 1986, antecedent lines...
Hindsight might be 20/20, but foresight is pretty essential when it comes to infrastructure planning. Too often, communities grow in a piecemeal type of way: A subdivision is built, so sewer lines are put in to serve the neighborhood. A strip mall goes up next door, tying into those same lines. The once quiet street above the sewer that was easy to...
Adding air directly to wastewater is considered a critical step in wastewater treatment because it facilitates the biodegradation of organic pollutants. However, this vital aeration process also consumes the most energy at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Given that aerobic reactors in the secondary treatment activated sludge process account fo...
It was a frightening moment across the U.S. when football player Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest on live television. A safety for the Buffalo Bills, Hamlin tackled another player and stood up – only to collapse moments later without a pulse. Thousands watched as CPR was performed, an ambulance arrived and Hamlin was driven away. The game was p...
Aeration – or the addition of oxygen – is one of the most critical and energy-intensive processes in wastewater treatment, consuming up to 50 to 60% of the overall energy required by a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Aeration produces dissolved oxygen (DO) to facilitate the growth of microorganisms and is used across all stages of wastewater tre...
Long-term, comprehensive planning is key to successful wastewater treatment systems. Without a strong plan, a community's ability to facilitate development may be limited by its wastewater infrastructure – or worse, its rivers, lakes, streams and residents' basements may be at risk from failing wastewater infrastructure. A Master Plan will consider...
Food manufacturers in Illinois and Ohio can expect additional Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections in 2023, after the federal safety agency noted higher-than-normal injuries at those facilities. OSHA issued an alert for food production facilities in Illinois and Ohio last month, saying it would launch a Local Emphasis Pr...
Under the auspices of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency applies the secondary treatment standards for wastewater as national minimum requirements for discharges from wastewater treatment plants to U.S. surface waters. Depending on receiving water conditions or specific state regulations demanding higher-quality e...
Engineering and environmental services are easy to gloss over at the onset of a project. It's not like concrete or construction workers – who take on pieces of a project for roads and bridges that you wouldn't dream of doing without. In the end, however, engineering services are the piece that keeps your project on time – and more importantly,...
During the wastewater treatment process, the primary and secondary stages aim to remove the majority of suspended solids and organic contaminants before the effluent progresses to tertiary treatment. The primary treatment removes nearly 60% of settleable solids and the secondary treatment uses bacterial decomposition to remove nearly 85% of organic...
In wastewater treatment, the clarification process removes suspended solids using gravity. The secondary function of a wastewater clarifier is to remove accumulated scum or floating matter on the surface. This blog post discusses the primary and secondary clarification processes, the types of wastewater clarifiers and how an experienced wastewater ...
Approval for construction projects might require additional time and money moving forward, but for a good reason: protecting the balance of the natural ecosystem throughout Illinois. In 2015, the Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat were listed as a threatened species, after a deadly disease of hibernating bats spread through their populations. ...
