At our Wastewater Treatment Plant, we have constructed a Geographic Information System (GIS) database for all our piping and valves. It has been a great success; we have each pipe associated with its drawing, mapped all our buried utilities (piping, electrical, fiber optic, instrumentation), hyperlinked photos. We have constructed an online Map Viewer which shows all the piping, pumps, and valves across our entire Plant. We have dedicated two people, full time to this long-term endeavor. It is a great tool that helps our Ops & Maint staff easily become familiar with the piping layouts and valve locations, a training tool, and is used in emergencies to find which valve(s) to close. They no longer have to depend on the person who will retire soon for the answers.

I am looking for anyone else who has constructed a GIS for their Plant? please share your experience.

The City of Kuna, Idaho hereby announces that sealed proposals will be received for the PURCHASE, LEASE, MANAGEMENT, OPERATION AND/OR OTHER MUTUALLY AGREEABLE TRANSACTION involving the 3.5 million gallon per day Kuna North Waste Water Treatment Plant.  

Proposals will be received until 4:00 pm on October 2, 2012, Mountain Daylight Time. Proposals received after the due date and time will not be considered and no proposer may withdraw their proposal after the time set for the opening. 

Specifications and instructions for submission of proposals are available as of August 29, 2012 at http://www.dpfg.com/kuna/  or by email from Matthew Look at matthew.look@dpfg.com or contact directly at 602-381-3226 ext. 15.  Copies of the Request for Proposals may also be obtained from the Kuna City Clerk located at 763 West Avalon, Kuna, Idaho.

The Kuna City Council reserves the right to disregard all non-conforming, non-responsive or conditional proposals, to waive any minor informality, to reject all proposals or to accept the proposal it deems best. 

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Request for Proposals Associated with the 

Purchase, Lease, Management, Operation and/or  

Other Mutually Agreeable Transaction Related to the  

Kuna North Waste Water Treatment Plant 

The City of Kuna, Idaho hereby announces that sealed proposals will be received for the PURCHASE, LEASE, MANAGEMENT, OPERATION AND/OR OTHER MUTUALLY AGREEABLE TRANSACTION involving the 3.5 million gallon per day Kuna North Waste Water Treatment Plant.   

Proposals will be received until 4:00 pm on October 2, 2012, Mountain Daylight Time. Proposals received after the due date and time will not be considered and no proposer may withdraw their proposal after the time set for the opening. 

Specifications and instructions for submission of proposals are available as of August 29, 2012 at http://www.dpfg.com/kuna/  or by email from Matthew Look at matthew.look@dpfg.com or contact directly at 602-381-3226 ext. 15.  Copies of the Request for Proposals may also be obtained from the Kuna City Clerk located at 763 West Avalon, Kuna, Idaho. 

The Kuna City Council reserves the right to disregard all non-conforming, non-responsive or conditional proposals, to waive any minor informality, to reject all proposals or to accept the proposal it deems best. 

Just came across this. According to the newest study reports, glass is the greenest packaging material. What do you think?

Web link: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/article3422064.ece

 Glass is greenest packing material 

Just came across this. According to the newest study reports, glass is the greenest packaging material. 

The human toxicity potential of glass packaging is the lowest compared with plastic, metal and paper, says the first-ever lifecycle assessment study of the Indian glass industry.

The study was commissioned by the All India Glass Manufacturers' Federation, led by companies such as Hindusthan National Glass, Piramal, AGI Glaspac and Vitrium Glass, to assess the environmental impact of glass as a packaging medium. It collected data from 28 furnaces and covered 72 per cent of the domestic glass production.

The assessment, carried out by independent global expert PE International and released here on Monday, says that glass packaging has the highest green potential and the lowest global warming risk, compared with plastic, paper and metal, especially when it comes to processed food and beverages.

“Glass is the most suitable packaging medium to retain product quality and is least damaging to the environment. Also, it is endlessly recyclable,' said Mr Juergen Stichling, Global Director, PE International.

He said increased use of recycled glass in India from 35 per cent at present to 75 per cent will reduce the industry's carbon footprint by almost 40 per cent.

Mr Mukul Somany, President of the Federation, said the industry was planning to take measures to improve the green profile of glass. These include adoption of technology to reduce glass weight from five per cent to 20 per cent, increase recycling from 35 per cent to 50 per cent, and raise the use of natural gas as fuel instead of furnace oil.

The country's glass packaging industry's estimated value is over Rs 6,000 crore, with the country among the top 15 markets for glass packaging globally.

In India, though, plastic is still the preferred medium for packaging processed food and beverages with 48 per cent share, followed by paper, metal and glass.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/article3422064.ece 

Glass is greenest packing material 

Just came across this. According to the newest study reports, glass is the greenest packaging material. 

The human toxicity potential of glass packaging is the lowest compared with plastic, metal and paper, says the first-ever lifecycle assessment study of the Indian glass industry.

The study was commissioned by the All India Glass Manufacturers' Federation, led by companies such as Hindusthan National Glass, Piramal, AGI Glaspac and Vitrium Glass, to assess the environmental impact of glass as a packaging medium. It collected data from 28 furnaces and covered 72 per cent of the domestic glass production.

The assessment, carried out by independent global expert PE International and released here on Monday, says that glass packaging has the highest green potential and the lowest global warming risk, compared with plastic, paper and metal, especially when it comes to processed food and beverages.

“Glass is the most suitable packaging medium to retain product quality and is least damaging to the environment. Also, it is endlessly recyclable,' said Mr Juergen Stichling, Global Director, PE International.

He said increased use of recycled glass in India from 35 per cent at present to 75 per cent will reduce the industry's carbon footprint by almost 40 per cent.

Mr Mukul Somany, President of the Federation, said the industry was planning to take measures to improve the green profile of glass. These include adoption of technology to reduce glass weight from five per cent to 20 per cent, increase recycling from 35 per cent to 50 per cent, and raise the use of natural gas as fuel instead of furnace oil.

The country's glass packaging industry's estimated value is over Rs 6,000 crore, with the country among the top 15 markets for glass packaging globally.

In India, though, plastic is still the preferred medium for packaging processed food and beverages with 48 per cent share, followed by paper, metal and glass.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/article3422064.ece 

What criteria do other entities use to measure and compensate water and wastewater laboratory personnel?  Is compensation based on a defined skill based criteria, merit system, certifications acquired, annual perfomance bonuses, or?  Are there productivty benchmark criteria that have proven effective over time? 

Thank You!

I've searched high and low and can't find samples of water/wastewater standard work task descriptions.  I'm looking for a one page task description for say, responding to a sewer backup, listing PPE, safety precautions, and a list of steps to finish the job. Our crews do adequate work, but we don't have written standard procedures.  Anyone have samples to share?