Department of
EnvironmentalProtection
Jeb Bush
Governor
To:
From:
Date:
Re:
Colleen M. Castille
Secretary
Suzanne Cooper, Agency on Bay Management
John A.Coates, P.
E.
July 11, 2006
Piney Point –StatusUpdate
January throughApril,2006
The following isa statusupdate on Piney Point for distribution to the interestedparties.
Closure: The following are the Engineer’srecommendednear term andlong term processwater
consumption ratesto facilitate closure for the site:
May -December 2006:
After January 2007:
1.
0MGD *
0.
18MGD
* Basedon current water levelsat the site, the site engineer iscontinuing the recommendedoverallwater
consumpti
on rate of1.
0MGD.The recommendedconsumpti
on rate i
ncl
udesbothtreateddi
schargesand
spray evaporati
on andi
sbasedon an updatedwater bal
ance projecti
onsi
ssuedby the Engi
neer i
n Apri
l
2006.
W orkduring May andJune continuedin the southcompartment ofthe SouthCooling Pond
(SCP-S)to construct the 10-acre processwater sump.During early May construction efforts
were focusedon building the partition dike that formsthe western wallofthe processwater
sump.The first photographbelow showsthe early stagesofthe processwater sump on May 18
where the dike andsump bottom are beginning to take shape.Also during May, workersmoved
to complete the last workon the Phase Iditchesincluding completion ofthe buriedseepage
collection drain along the southwallofthe OldGypsum Stack(OGS), followedby construction
ofthe linedstormwater ditchabove the burieddrain.The secondphotographbelow showsa
portion ofthe linedstormwater ditchnear the southwest corner ofthe OGS, on May 18, being
brought to finalgrade prior to liner installation.
W hile the workwasongoing to complete the finalportionsofthe Phase Idrainsandditches,
contractorswere also making goodprogresswithgypsum earthworkandgrading ofthe Phase II
side slopesalong the outer face ofthe southandeast wallsofthe New Gypsum Stack(NGS).
The thirdphotographbelow isan aerialofthe site on June 7focusing on the southeast corner of
the NGS showing the ongoing gypsum earthworkon the southandeastern side slopesofthe
NGS andthe initialworkon the Phase IIstormwater ditchesanddrains.
During June, the partition dike for the processwater sump in the SCP-S compartment was
completedallowing workto focuson the remaining dikesandplacement offillin the sump
bottom to bring itto finaldesign grade.Similarly, the last ofthe liner hadbeen placedin the
Phase Istormwater ditcheswithonly finaldetailing andacceptance remaining for early July,
2006.The fourthandfifthphotographsbelow show the progressin the processwater sump on
June 23andthe completedliner installedin the Phase Iditchesnear the southwest corner ofthe
OGS on June 29, respectively.Finally, the last photographbelow showsan egret on June 29on
one ofthe cap areasthat wascompletedandgrassedearlier thisyear on top ofthe OGS after
some beneficialrainsanda recent maintenance mowing.
"More Protection, Less Process”
Printed on recycled paper.
Piney Point – Status Update
July 11, 2006
Page 2 of 8
Printed on recycled paper.
Piney Point – Status Update
July 11, 2006
Page 3 of 8
Printed on recycled paper.
Piney Point – Status Update
July 11, 2006
Page 4of 8
Printed on recycled paper.
Piney Point – Status Update
July 11, 2006
Page 5of 8
Inches of Rainfall Runoff
Storage Capacity and Water Inventory: During the most recent period through the end of
June 2006, the total nominal water storage capacity at the site has remained fairly constant
ending with just over 1,396 million gallons on July 3, 2006. This capacity corresponds to a
nominal water storage capacity at the site of just over 112 inches of rainfall run-off over the
watershed. Including emergency freeboard, these numbers increase to 1,456 million gallons or
about 117 inches of rainfall run-off. The storage levels are more than adequate to contain
multiple 100 year-24 hour storm events. The following figure shows the changes in nominal
storage capacity since January 2003.
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Nominal Storage Capacity
3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6
/ 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 /0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0
01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01 /01
/
01 03 05 07 09 11 01 03 05 07 09 11 01 03 05 07 09 11 01 03 05 07
Figure 1*
* Figure 1 shows the availability of approximately 1960 acre-feet of surge storage capacity in the
lined NGS south compartment starting on September 1, 2005. Based on the availability of this
third lined, but currently unused, water storage compartment, the calculation of rainfall runoff
values was adjusted to consist of rainfall over the entire process watershed of approximately 457
acres.
Bishop Harbor: During May and June 2006, water treatment and discharge to Bishop Harbor
averaged just under 0.7 MGD which is increased compared to the average for the first four
months of 2006. As ammonia removal efficiencies have increased with daily temperatures, the
daily concentration of ammonia-nitrogen has decreased slightly from 5.0 mg/L earlier in 2006 to
3.8 mg/L during the most recent period. Similarly, the average ammonia nitrogen loading during
the past two months was increased from just under 22 to 25mg/L. However, by the end of June,
the 30-day average had decreased to a minimum for the period of just over 12 lb/d.
During the past two months contractors increased treatment rates to further reduce process water
levels and went above the guideline of 20 pounds per day for a limited amount of time.
Contractors at the site continue to balance the need for consuming process water with
maintaining low concentrations and ammonia nitrogen loading rates based in order to meet the
recommended long-term water consumption rate of 1.0 MGD (including spray evaporation).
Contractors at the site are continuing to closely monitoring performance of the treatment system
and daily ammonia nitrogen loading in relation to the ongoing contractual guideline of 20
pounds per day and the upper target loading limit of 50 pounds per day as for ammonia-nitrogen.
Printed on recycled paper.
Piney Point – Status Update
July 11, 2006
Page 6 of 8
During the most recent period, Department staff have continued to observe the presence of
Ruppia, a variety of seagrass, near the Bishop Harbor sampling sites. Information on Bishop
Harbor Water quality, sediment, seagrass, macroalgae and other data can be reviewed and
downloaded from a Web Site constructed and maintained by Janicki & Associates. The
information on the Web Site is updated on a routine basis and can be found at:
http://www.janickienvironmental.com/bishopharbor/index.html
The figure below shows the 15-day and 30-day ammonia nitrogen loadings since January 2004,
as well as the revised target loading limit of 50 pounds per day or less.
Average Ammonia-Nitrogen Loading - Since January 2004
300
250
Target loading,lbs/day
15-day Average NH3-N loading,lbs/day
30-day Average NH3-N loading,lbs/day
200
150
100
50
0
4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
- 0 b - 0 r - 0 r - 0 y - 0 n - 0 l - 0 g - 0 p - 0 t - 0 v - 0 c - 0 n - 0 b - 0 r - 0 r - 0 y - 0 n - 0 l - 0 g - 0 p - 0 t - 0 v - 0 c - 0 n - 0 b - 0 r - 0 r - 0 y - 0 n - 0 l- 0
n
J a F e M a A p M a J u J u A u S e O c N o D e Ja F e M a A p M a J u J u A u S e O c N o D e J a F e M a A p M a Ju Ju
Figure 2
Total Process Water Consumption: The spray evaporation system in the NGS-N reservoir has
been operating since May 2005 followed by additional spray evaporation systems that were
placed into service in July 2005. During the months of May and June 2006, the spray
evaporation systems continued to remove process water from the site;however, a small number
of the sprays from the floating system in the NGS-N reservoir were dismantled in response
process water levels that were too low to float all of the spray system’s header pipes. During the
period of May 2006 through July 3, 2006, 17.4 million gallons of water was consumed by spray
evaporation. Overall calculated evaporation rates were increasing during this period due to
seasonal increases in temperature.
Including consumption from spray evaporation, the total consumption rate during this period was
approximately 76.8 million gallons, or approximately 1.2 MGD;thus, total consumption for this
past period averaged higher than the current recommended rate of 1.0 MGD.
Printed on recycled paper.
Piney Point – Status Update
July 11, 2006
Page 7 of 8
The water consumption rates, shown in Figure 3 below for the period through July 3, 2006,
reflect the seasonal increase in spray evaporation along with water treatment and discharge
which declined slightly through this period. The figure below shows the weekly spray
evaporation amounts beginning in May 2005, along with the weekly volumes of treatment
discharges to Bishop Harbor since January 1, 2004.
Process Water Consumption
20,000,000
R. Osmosis Treatment
Double Lime Treatment
Spray Evaporation
Total Consumption
G allons per Week
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
01
/0
1
03 /0 4
/0
1/
05 0 4
/0
1
07 /0 4
/0
1/
09 0 4
/0
1/
11 0 4
/0
1
01 /0 4
/0
1
03 /0 5
/0
1/
05 0 5
/0
1
07 /0 5
/0
1/
09 0 5
/0
1/
11 0 5
/0
1
01 /0 5
/0
1
03 /0 6
/0
1
05 /0 6
/0
1/
07 0 6
/0
1/
06
0
Figure 3
Rainfall: During the first six months through June 2006, rainfall at Piney Point was
approximately 10 inches below normal rainfall totals. Similarly, for the 2005 calendar year,
rainfall at the site was from 10 to 11 inches below normal. Most recently, in the month of June,
actual rainfall was just above normal by approximately 0.3 inches. Actual and predicted
monthly rainfall is shown for the period since January 2004 through June 2006, in the figure
below:
Printed on recycled paper.
Inches of Rain
Piney Point – Status Update
July 11, 2006
Page 8 of 8
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Piney Point Rainfall
Predicted
Actual
04 0 4 04 04 04 -04 05 0 5 05 05 05 -05 06 0 6 06 06
n- ar- ay- ul- ep- ov a n- ar- ay- ul- ep- ov a n- ar- ay- ula
J
J S
J S
J
J
M M
M M
N
M M
J
N
Figure 4
Please contact me at (850) 488-8217, if there are any questions.
cc:
Mike Sole
Deborah Getzoff
Mimi Drew
Rick Cantrell
Phil Coram
Louis Timchak
Printed on recycled paper.