TPO aims to bring you stories that help you and your plant perform better. Now we do more of the same at www.tpomag.com. There you’ll find stories that appear only online — and that are current, because they’re not subject to the lead times involved in the print magazine. Here are a few online exclusives recommended by the TPO editorial team:

Saving Energy and Reducing Costs at Wastewater Treatment Plants

As energy costs continue to rise, many water and wastewater treatment plants are taking significant steps to reduce energy use. The North Conway (N.H.) Water Precinct treatment plant is one example. The plant undertook a number of energy-saving measures in the equipment operation and invested in renewable energy. “The single highest cost of treatment plant operation is electricity,” says David Bernier, superintendent. “Eight years ago it was 35 percent of our operating budget; today, it is less than 18 percent.”

SCADA Troubleshooting Tips Help Systems Run Smoothly

Wastewater operators rely on SCADA systems to monitor and track nearly every aspect of operations. SCADA systems have grown from simple on-off functions to highly sophisticated tools. “The SCADA system is critical because it provides a window into the operation of the system,” explains Dave Lee of Siemens Water Technologies, a SCADA systems provider. “More important, the SCADA system serves as an emergency warning system if something fails.” He offers useful tips for SCADA troubleshooting.

Clean-water operators “fight fires” too!

When the fire department does its job, trucks roar down the streets, sirens blazing. People from miles around may see the smoke. The TV and newspaper photographers arrive. The radio station may report right from the scene. Hours later, or certainly the next day, everyone in town knows what happened. The firefighters look like heroes. But how about when clean-water operators do the extraordinary to keep local waterways clean? Events in Chesterton, Ind., show what can happen when operators do their job well — and tell about it, too.

The Fire Chief Project: Partnering With Green

Greening Nipissing and the City of North Bay partnered on a guided public tour of the city’s clean-water plant. Plant staff members guided adults and children and described the processes from wastewater pumping through chlorination, dechlorination and discharge to Lake Nipissing. Odd as it may seem to those in the clean-water profession, there are people who think of treatment plants as sources, rather than preventers, of pollution. Teaming with a green-based non-profit is a way to help dispel that notion and further the aims of The Fire Chief Project:

• Raise clean-water operators to the status of the fire chief.
• Make kids grow up wanting to be clean-water operators.