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The Regional Wet Weather Issue

The Regional Wet Weather Issue. Presented by John Schombert, Executive Director 3 Rivers Wet Weather, Inc. 3 Rivers Wet Weather. Founded as an independent nonprofit organization Manages federal and state funds to help communities address wet weather issues Educates municipal officials

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The Regional Wet Weather Issue

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  1. The Regional Wet Weather Issue Presented by John Schombert, Executive Director 3 Rivers Wet Weather, Inc.

  2. 3 Rivers Wet Weather • Founded as an independent nonprofit organization • Manages federal and state funds to help communities address wet weather issues • Educates municipal officials • Cultivates inter-municipal partnerships for cost-effective regional watershed solutions

  3. What We’ll Cover Today • Wet Weather Issue: Why it’s important • Wet Weather 101 • Defining the problem • Sources of inflow and infiltration • History of the problem • Regulations • Inter-municipal cooperation (Basin Groups) • Administrative Consent Orders • Moving forward

  4. The Wet Weather Sewage Overflow Issue Why it’s Important • Sewage overflows: • Impede regional economic development • Directly affect Allegheny County’s primary source of drinking water • Results in river advisories for more than half of the 140-day recreational season

  5. Wet Weather 101 • Sanitary Sewer System: carries sewage only • Overflows are illegal (SSOs) • Combined Sewer System: carries sewage and stormwater • Overflows must be reduced from 50 to 4/year (CSOs) • Storm Sewer System: Carries stormwater runoff only • Also known as municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4)

  6. Wet Weather 101 • Watershed: A region or area bounded peripherally by a divide and draining ultimately to a particular body of water. • Sewershed: A defined area whose sewage or stormwater flows to a single point connection at a sewer interceptor pipe or is tributary to a single pump station or treatment plant.

  7. The Problem • Wet weather problem • Avg. rainfall in Pittsburgh annually: 45 inches • As little as one-tenth of an inch of rain can cause sewage overflows • Sewage overflow annually: 16 billion gallons • ALCOSAN CSOs: 264 SSOs: 52

  8. The Problem • Due to deteriorated neglected sewer systems • During dry weather, 40% of the flow to the treatment plant is from inflow and infiltration • Inflow: When water enters through an opening (i.e. manhole lid or roof drain) • Infiltration: When water enters through leakage (i.e. cracked pipe, bad joints) • During wet weather, stormwater overwhelms the system resulting in overflows • Basements • Creeks, streams • Rivers (source of 90% of Allegheny County’s drinking water)

  9. Controlled overflows: CSO or SSO?

  10. Uncontrolled overflow: Manhole

  11. More manholes

  12. Deteriorated municipal collection systems

  13. How Much Water Do We Use? • Average daily water use, per person: • 100 gallons per day • Sewer system design capacity, per person: • 200-250 gallons per day • Range of wet weather peak flow, per person: • 200-3,000 gallons per day • Due to infiltration and inflow

  14. Municipal Sources of Inflow and Infiltration • Leaking pipe joints and crushed or cracked pipe • Stormwater catch basins • Leaking manholes • Direct stream inflow and infiltration

  15. Private Sources of Inflow and Infiltration • Leaking house laterals • Pipes that connect homes to the public sewer system • Improperly connected roof, driveway and foundation drains • As much as 50-60% of inflow and infiltration comes from these sources • Homeowner’s responsibility

  16. Deteriorated house laterals

  17. Roof drains: Source of direct inflow

  18. The History • 1948: ALCOSAN is formed and regional sewer system concept is developed • 1950s: ALCOSAN system is constructed:30 miles of deep tunnels, over 60 miles of shallow cut interceptors and a treatment plant

  19. Total cost: $55 million

  20. The History • 1959: ALCOSAN becomes operational

  21. The History • Prior to ALCOSAN’s construction, all sewage and stormwater discharged directly to rivers and streams • With ALCOSAN’s construction, large pipes and deep tunnels placed along rivers to collect municipal flow • Overflow structures built to control wet weather flows from municipalities • Considered innovative

  22. Overflow Structure

  23. Regulations • Federal Clean Water Act • Clean Streams Law of Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act • Allegheny County Health Department Article XIV Sewage Disposal • Stormwater Management Act 167

  24. Inter-Municipal Cooperation is Critical • Uncoordinated sewer system rehabilitation by individual communities may not have desired impact • Potential $2+ billion price tag if municipalities pursue separate solutions, rather than watershed-based solutions • EPA administrative consent order

  25. ALCOSAN Service Area

  26. Basin Groups(formed in January 2001) Goals: • Develop strategies for cost-effective basin-wide solutions to sewer system rehabilitation • Educate municipal officials and residents • Share information and resources • Help identify & overcome barriers to regional cooperation • Convey a unified voice to regulatory agencies

  27. EPA Message to Basin Groups • October 2001: Outlined a nontraditional approach to compliance for participating municipalities • No initial penalties • Tap-in restrictions waived (DEP) • Use of local regulatory agencies (ACHD & DEP) to oversee compliance

  28. Administrative Consent Order • Mid-February 2002 • EPA distributed a first draft consent order • To be enforced locally by DEP and ACHD • April 2002-October 2003 • Through 100+ meetings, municipal solicitors, engineers, elected officials and regulatory agencies have formed a consensus on a workable agreement

  29. Administrative Consent Order • November 2003 • Final orders distributed to municipalities • Requires municipalities to: • Televise the sewer system • Map the collection system • Make critical repairs • Monitor flows • Participate with ALCOSAN in a regional long-term wet weather control plan • Early 2004 • ALCOSAN communities signed the order

  30. ALCOSAN Activities • ALCOSAN has been in negotiation with EPA and Dept. of Justice for 5+ years • Plant expansion to maximize capacity and provide wet weather treatment

  31. Cost of Current Municipal Orders • Estimated cost: up to $600 million for assessment • Implementation of long-term control plan • $2+ billion for municipalities • $1 billion for ALCOSAN • Consolidation of the sewage collection system will bring cost down

  32. Funding Support for Municipalities • $2 million CDBG funds available for nearly 20 eligible communities • Provides 80% towards consent order activities • $2 million state Safe Water Fund grant • 3RWW is mapping and verifying more than 100,000 manholes and structures throughout 4,000 miles of sewers • Saved municipalities up to $9 million

  33. Funding Support for Municipalities • $3.5 million in federal and state funds • Regional flow monitoring plan developed by 3RWW to ensure consistent high-quality data for a long-term wet weather control plan • Will cost $11-15 million • Regional approach will save municipalities up to $8 million

  34. Moving Forward • Acknowledged as the largest, most costly public works project ever faced by Pittsburgh region • The rehab and long-term maintenance & operation of 4,000 miles of sewer • System serves nearly one million residents • Will cost region billions of dollars • Equates to approximately $15,000/household

  35. Moving Forward • Continue regional approaches to consent order compliance • Projects such as system-wide mapping and regional flow monitoring • Allows for the collection of consistent, reliable data necessary for a long-term wet weather control plan

  36. Moving Forward • Continue regional approaches to consent order compliance (con’t) • Collectively, municipalities are expected to spend $500 million on compliance • Regional approaches will save region millions of dollars • Sets the foundation for consolidation of the system

  37. Moving Forward • Currently, the single collection system (one treatment plant)is divided into 83 pieces • Municipal boundaries rather than sewershed boundaries • For a long-term control wet weather control plan to be sustainable and financially feasible, it must be based on one system

  38. Moving Forward • Requires leadership to consolidate the collection system under a single entity. • Will result in: • Significant regional cost savings • A truly viable solution that will ensure the long-term, successful operation and maintenance of the region’s collection system

  39. “Real leadership--whether it is political, economic or moral--involves persuading people to do something now that will bear fruit in the future.” --John Heinz

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