Transcript Promoting Smart Growth - The Green Valley Institute

Promoting Smart Growth
with
Wastewater Management
Optimizing Conservation and Growth
with Wastewater Management
Strategies
In the past…
• “Sewer Avoidance” was a common municipal
strategy or goal in the 1980s and 1990s.
• It sometimes led to towns avoiding appropriate
solutions for neighborhoods under the guise of
“growth control”.
• Towns viewed Sewer Avoidance as a “do-nothing”
strategy that would cost them nothing, and get
DEP “off their backs”.
No Effort = No Control
• Towns eventually found that “do-nothing”
strategies often led to a loss of control of
how the community developed.
• Without adequate staffing and management,
towns had no basis to reject or modify
proposals for development.
• Economic pressures allowed piecemeal
development to occur.
The Smart Growth Approach
• The Goal: To create and maintain
communities that blend open space desires
and social needs in harmony.
• The Strategy:
– First create the vision,
– Then create a plan to get there,
– Finally, be prepared to pay the cost.
How Does Wastewater
Management Fit ?
• Water supply and wastewater disposal are
limiting factors.
• Site conditions have limited the density of
development in some areas.
• “Onsite Management” and “Decentralized
Wastewater Management Districts” are the
wastewater strategies currently being
developed in CT communities.
Wastewater Technology:
Nothing has Changed!
• Wastewater Treatment is still accomplished
the same way: micro-organisms break down
complex molecules into simpler ones.
• The numerous technologies available today
have shrunk the size of the treatment units.
• Problem: the smaller the system, the more
vulnerable it is to sudden variations in flow
that may upset the treatment process.
Alternative Technology
• What is Alternative Technology?
• Who’s regulating it?
• Do we need AT in order to use Smart
Growth strategies?
The Statutory Definition
• “Alternative sewage treatment system” is
defined as “a system serving one or more
buildings on one property which utilizes a
method of treatment other than a subsurface
sewage disposal system and which involves
a discharge to the ground waters of the
state”. (C.G.S. § 7-245(2))
Alternative Technology
• Scaled-down versions of conventional
treatment plants.
• Treatment is accomplished in the “black
box” rather than in the soil.
• The soil is still needed for dispersal of the
effluent.
Performance and Reliability
• Current data review indicates these systems are
capable of high levels of treatment with proper
design, installation, operation and maintenance
• These systems are permitted in conjunction with
soil absorption systems designed for additional
treatment for nutrients and pathogens
• Ground water monitoring results indicate water
quality standards are achieved
Another Statutory Definition
• A “community sewerage system” is defined
as “any sewerage system serving two or
more residences in separate structures
which is not connected to a municipal
sewerage system or which is connected to a
municipal sewerage system as a distinct and
separately managed district or segment of
such system”. (C.G.S. § 7-245 (3))
Regulatory Jurisdiction
Subsurface
Sewage Disposal
System
Alternative
Community
Sewage Treatment Sewerage system
System
(may be either
conventional or AT)
>5,000 gallons DEP
per day
DEP
DEP
>2,000 gallons
per day and
<5,000 gallons
per day
DPH reviews and
approves
Local Dept of
Health issues
permits to
construct and
discharge
DEP
(June S.S., P.A.
07-01, Sec. 155,
allows DPH
jurisdiction for AT)
DEP
(June S.S., P.A. 0701, Sec. 155, allows
DPH jurisdiction for
AT)
< 2,000
gallons per
day with
trained staff
Local Dept of
Health reviews,
approves, and
issues permits to
construct and
discharge
DEP
(June S.S., P.A.
07-01, Sec. 155,
allows DPH
jurisdiction for AT)
DEP
(June S.S., P.A. 0701, Sec. 155, allows
DPH jurisdiction for
AT)
Types of AT Systems
approved in CT
• Zenon membrane
bioreactor
• Bioclere trickling filter
• FAST submerged media
activated sludge
• Recirculating sand filter
• Rotating biological
contactor
• Activated sludge
• Extended aeration
• Sequencing batch reactor
(Amphidrome or other)
• White Knight aeration &
biological enhancement
• Kubota membrane
filtration
• Fluidyne ISAM
• Chromaglass
• All approvals are SITE
SPECIFIC, not blanket
approvals of technology.
Types of facilities using AT systems
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Residential communities
Schools
Restaurants
Shopping plazas/malls
Office buildings
Marinas
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Grocery stores
Hospitals
Convalescent homes
Assisted living
Hotels
Recreational facilities
Use of AT Systems in CT
• 22 systems installed for repair/ upgrade of existing failing
or malfunctioning systems
• 34 systems proposed or installed for new development
• 2 systems installed for municipal use
• 3 towns investigating use of “decentralized wastewater
management districts” which would potentially include AT
systems for household and small commercial use
• Alternative on-site sewage treatment system prohibited in
public water supply watersheds (CGS 22a-430) with some
exceptions (i.e. schools, repairs)
Does Smart Growth Need AT ?
• Availability of suitable land for wastewater
treatment and/or effluent dispersal is critical.
• Water conservation and creative re-use of
treated effluent may reduce needed acreage,
but won’t eliminate site constraints
completely.
QUESTIONS ?