ARCH CAPE WATER AND SANITARY DISTRICT’S
32065 EAST SHINGLE MILL LANE
ARCH CAPE OR, 97102
archcapeservicedistrict@gmail.com
1-503-436-2790
Management and Operations Report
January 21, 2012
SANITARY
1. Rain fall for the month of December 2012 came in at 17.86 inches.
2. Membrane cleanings
3. Irrigation site seems to be holding up no major wind throw from the clear cuts
which took place this summer
4. Biosolids have been hauled to our site and the sludge beds have been filled.
5. Annual Reclaimed water report has been submitted to DEQ
6. CIP’s on the membranes at the waste water treatment plant have been completed.
We’ve been able to lower the flows over the last week which helps to lower flux
rates which rise when the viscosity of the water decreases. The district has very
little biological activity after the Christmas holidays it’s not until spring break that
we see things pick back up, so operationally it’s a tough time of year.
7. On December 20th High winds and heavy rainfall of 4” The district experienced a
sewer overflow at Manhole A-11 the DEQ was notified as our permit requires.
Also a tree fell from across the creek and landed on the roof of the new sludge
drying beds, damaging the roof of the tractor storage area and the fencing along
the creek. A claim was filed with SDAO to repair the building, fence, and to
remove fallen trees. We also asked them to remove other hazard trees on the bank
leaning toward the building; they agreed that it would be in the best interest of
both parties. The district has gathered quotes and assembled contractors to
complete repairs on the week of the 21st. Our insurance company has processed
the claim and a check has been issued for the repairs, the districts deductible is
$250.00.
I&I Project update:
Agreements between the IFA and the district have been executed. $5,000 has been
moved out of the engineering line item to provide for legal and administrative. I have
been in close contact with CMI, Curt and I spent a large part of the day working on the
collection system plan and project coordination and design work for Sally’s Alley lift
station. Survey work has also been completed for the area around Sally’s alley.
WATER
1. A temporary replacement heater was installed on Skid 2 by Westech on 12-12.
This will allow us to clean membranes until the newly manufactured titanium one
is delivered. We have been operating the skids at 17% of capacity which keeps
the flows low with less chance of fouling. Our last clean was October 16.
2. Performed CIP’s on both skids the week of the 14th
3. Cleaned and calibrated all turbidity meters.
4. Last week a dosing pump failed on the chlorine system so on the interim we have
pulled a unit that’s not as critical to our operation until repair parts are received
next week. Two air purge valves failed on Skid 1 on December 27, causing water
to back up into the air scour lines and eventually pool up inside the skids
electrical panel. The cause was broken O-rings in the valve stem – undoubtedly
caused by the high concentrations of chemicals that are required for membrane
cleaning. This actually happened the morning that Frank Johnson was to arrive,
so he got to see first hand, some of the challenges we have been dealing with.
Fortunately, the water did no damage to the inside of the electric panel. We blew
the water out of the air lines, and new O-rings were installed. The valves have
been operating fine since then.
5. The water plant was offline from Nov 18 thru 24 due to heavy rains and poor
creek conditions. 11.1” of rainfall was measured for the month, but the majority
came in this time period. We will be cleaning membranes again next week, with
the arrival of the heater.
6. I set up a meeting with Rob Jackson, Consolidated Supply to work out a long term
solution to the issues we encountered in our meter reading software. We
specifically discussed the annual maintenance contract agreement that was
requested at ($500 per year). I indicated that there was no maintenance agreement
in the original paper work with Mueller Systems and that our problems with their
software have caused us hardship and we wanted the support we disserved. We
discus a (5) year no cost maintenance agreement with free software upgrades and
a maintenance contract at half the yearly cost following. Rob will be working
directly with Mueller. They seem generally interested in working with us to come
to some sort of agreement, as there looking to increase there presence in this area.
Westech Update: Good news after a hard long battle with Westech it sounds like the
community of Arch Cape will be receiving two new skids to replace our existing units.
Mr. Frank Johnson, of Westech, stopped by over the holidays to take some
measurements and photos. He will be the new project manager for the skid
replacement project scheduled for sometime in early June. The old skids will be
hauled out and replaced with 2 completely new skids with Toray PVDF membranes.
These membranes are more durable and will cut down on repair maintenance as well
as chemical cleaning frequency. The flow pattern on these membranes is also
different, which will aid in backwash recoveries. When State approvals and
agreements are reached we will be the second Westech water plant approved to use
Toray membranes.
Westech will build 2 new custom skids to house them. There will be some pipe reconfigurations at the plant. Mr. Johnson indicated that the current air compressor
may not have enough capacity to operate the new skids. As a result, a storage tank, or
larger compressor will need to be supplied by Westech. I have also questioned the
capacity of our existing back wash tank to meet the needs of our existing membranes
let alone the new ones we have also requested that they do not install PVC valves on
the new skids. Mr. Johnson seemed to think the entire swap-out and start up of the
new membrane system would take 5-7 days.
Respectively submitted,
Thomas Merrell, Arch Cape Water and Sanitary district manager