First Time in the United States: The World Toilet Organization Summit

ASPE is excited to announce that the 2010 World Toilet Organization (WTO) Summit will be held in conjunction with the 2010 ASPE Convention in Philadelphia, Oct. 30 through November 3. The WTO is a global nonprofit organization committed to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide. The organization will be providing a special international educational track as part of the ASPE Convention’s technical program sessions. More information about the 2010 WTO Summit will be available soon.

Learn, Earn, Play, Win!

The 2010 ASPE Engineered Plumbing Exposition is the world’s largest gathering of plumbing industry products, equipment, and services under one roof. Attendees will have the chance to visit with more than 300 manufacturers, suppliers, and consultants to learn more about their latest technological innovations and green products and services. What could be better than that? For every hour you spend on the show floor, you can earn continuing education units to use toward recertification requirements. Also, each attendee has the chance to play ASPE Poker to potentially win up to $1,000 instantly. You just can’t lose at the ASPE EPE!

PS&D Seeks Case Studies: Share Your Water Reuse Project with Your Peers

Have you recently designed a project that included a water reuse system, such as graywater, rainwater harvesting, or black water? If so, Plumbing Systems & Design would like to publish your story in an upcoming issue. To be considered, contact Managing Editor Gretchen Pienta with a brief outline of your project.

Go Inside the Green Codes at the Next ASPE Webinar

On June 30 at 1 p.m. CST, Julius Ballanco, PE, CPD, FASPE, will present a webinar that will review the latest code requirements from the 2009 plumbing codes for alternative water sources such as graywater, reclaimed water, harvested rainwater, and on-site treated water, as well as provide a sneak preview of the changes that will be coming in the 2012 editions of the codes. Click here to register now.

San Francisco Chapter Member Passes Away

Fred Jacob, past ASPE San Francisco Chapter board member for many years and president in 1985 and 1986, passed away last Saturday. He worked as a plumbing engineer Syska Hennessy and Bentley Engineers and then went into business with his brother Ted at Ted Jacob Engineering Group. Please keep Fred and his wife Flora in your thoughts.

Last Chance to Nominate Your Company for an ASPE Industry Award!

ASPE's Industry Award is given biennially to companies for outstanding service in the advancement of plumbing engineering technology. Any ASPE member may nominate a company (including their own). Click here for the nomination form. The deadline for nominations is June 30.

EDUCATIONAL AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

June 18: Chicago Golf Outing

ASPE’s Chicago Chapter is holding this event at Hilldale Country Club in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Lunch and beverages will be served, and after the event will be a cocktail hour and buffet dinner. Contact Steve Triphahn to register.

June 18: Pittsburgh Golf Outing

ASPE’s Pittsburgh Chapter is holding this event at the River Forest Country Club in Freeport, Pennsylvania, starting with lunch at 11 a.m. Cost includes golf, cart, locker room, lunch, dinner, and prizes. Contact Joe Starr (412-782-3357) for more information.

June 21: Buffalo-Niagara Golf Outing

ASPE’s Buffalo-Niagara Chapter is holding this event at Bridgewater Country Club in Fort Erie, Ontario, starting with lunch at noon. (An enhanced driver’s license or passport is required for border crossing.) Cost includes lunch, green fee, cart, and dinner. Contact Irv Gareleck (716-316-3545) for more information.

June 22: Central Ohio Golf Outing

ASPE’s Central Ohio Chapter is holding this event at the New Albany Links Golf & Country Club in New Albany, Ohio, with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. The registration fee includes golf, cart, lunch, dinner, beverages, and prizes. For more information, contact Chad Dupler.

June 23: Atlanta Golf Outing

ASPE’s Atlanta Chapter is holding this event at the Golf Club at Bradshaw Farms in Woodstock, Georgia, with a shotgun start at noon. Proceeds help the Atlanta Chapter Scholarship Fund. Click here for a registration form.

June 25: Interleague Evening at Camden Yards

ASPE’s Baltimore and Washington, D.C., Chapters have 50 tickets to watch the Baltimore Orioles host the Washington Nationals at Camden Yards at 7:05 p.m. Tickets are available for $6 each. Contact Ben Ploskon to RSVP.

June 30: Milwaukee Tailgate Party

ASPE’s Wisconsin Chapter is holding an outing at Miller Park to watch the Milwaukee Brewers take on the Houston Astros. Price includes transportation to and from the game, drinks and food, and a ticket. Click here for more information.

NEW! Minneapolis Golf Outing Being Held July 21

ASPE’s Minnesota Chapter is holding this event at Crystal Lake Golf Club in Lakeville, Minnesota, with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Cost includes golf, dinner, and prizes. Contact John Bennerotte (763-544-8611) for more information.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Proposed Rule Clarification Could Eliminate Multi-head Shower Installations

The U.S. Department of Energy has proposed a rule clarification to the definition of a showerhead that could make many multi-head shower installations noncompliant with maximum water use requirements. Under the proposed rule, the definition of “showerhead” would be any plumbing fitting designed to direct water onto a bather, including all components (sprays, nozzles, etc.) that are supplied standard together and function from one inlet. For testing purposes, “the Department will find a showerhead to be noncompliant with EPCA’s maximum water use standard if the showerhead’s standard components, operating in their maximum design flow configuration, taken together use in excess of 2.5 gpm when flowing at 80 psi, even if each component individually does not exceed 2.5 gpm.” The DOE is taking public comments on this proposed rule clarification until Saturday.

Contractors Dispute Plumbing Code in Newport, Rhode Island, and Lose

According to an article in The Providence Journal, the state Board of Examiners of Plumbers upheld a ruling that fined two contractors $2,500 for changing water meters in the city of Newport without hiring master plumbers. The case was initiated by a plumbing inspector who received an anonymous complaint. According to state plumbing laws, plumbing is defined as all “fixtures, fittings, appliances, and connections” inside a building, but it does not specifically reference water meters.

Is a Wave of Water-related Jobs on the Horizon?

Concerns about the worldwide freshwater crisis and the need for safe drinking water and sanitation have prompted many to predict a surge in new water-related career opportunities, according to an article in Science magazine. To connect water professionals with water-related jobs, the American Water Works Association and the Water Environment Federation have launched Work for Water, an online career resource for students, water professionals, and companies looking for employees.

Strict Water Pollution Rules Meet Opposition in Florida

According to an article in The Palm Beach Post, controversial new pollution standards proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency, which would establish standards for nitrogen and phosphorus, plant nutrients found in fertilizers, sewage, and manure that can generate algae blooms, have met fierce opposition, with paper, citrus, and power companies expressing concern about costs. The Florida Department of Agriculture estimates it would cost more than $1 billion a year to comply with the new regulations.

New Water and Wastewater Systems Management Standard Released

AWWA and ASME Innovative Technologies Institute have developed the first voluntary consensus standard encompassing an all-hazards risk and resilience management process for use specifically by water and wastewater utilities. The J100 standard, created in response to 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and other recent disasters, will be released July 1. It includes a Risk Analysis and Management for Critical Asset Protection (RAMCAP) method, which is designed to help water and wastewater utilities identify potential threats to U.S. water infrastructure and prepare for or mitigate damage.

Proposed Bill Would Clarify Federal Responsibility for Storm Water Pollution

S. 3481, proposed this week by Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), is designed to clarify the federal government's responsibility to pay reasonable fees for storm water services provided by local utilities. The legislation clarifies that fees charged for the control and abatement of water pollution, including storm water management fees, shall not be considered a tax and therefore are required to be paid by federal agencies pursuant to their obligations under Section 313 of the Clean Water Act.

Can a New Solar Technology Save Water?

Solar power plants utilizing a new technology called concentrating solar photovoltaic, or CPV, are expected to use less water than plants using solar thermal technology because they lack cooling requirements and don’t need water to heat for steam. Also, they contain fewer photovoltaic panels to be cleaned than a traditional photovoltaic plant, so they could use less water than traditional photovoltaic arrays. According to an article in the Las Vegas Sun, a new solar power plant using CPV is expected to provide up to 85 percent of the energy needs for the town of Nipton, California.

Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Facilities Contribute a Significant Source of Pharmaceuticals to Surface Waters

According to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), conducted in cooperation with the state of New York, outflow from two wastewater treatment plants in New York that receive more than 20 percent of their wastewater from pharmaceutical facilities had concentrations of pharmaceuticals that were 10 to 1,000 times higher than outflows from 24 plants nationwide that do not receive wastewater from pharmaceutical manufacturers. For instance, maximum concentrations in outflows from the two wastewater treatment plants in New York were 1,700 parts per billion (ppb) of oxycodone and greater than 400 ppb of methadone. By contrast, outflow from the wastewater treatment plants that do not receive wastewater from pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities had concentrations of such drugs that rarely exceeded 1 ppb.

Los Angeles Officially Opens Its First Green Street

Elmer Avenue in Sun Valley, a street that until recently had no sidewalks, curbs, or street lighting, has been transformed into a model of sustainable design through the Elmer Avenue Neighborhood Retrofit Project, spearheaded by the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council. Designed to reduce flooding, improve water quality, and recharge local groundwater supplies, the street demonstrates multiple alternative storm water best management practices, including bioswales and subsurface galleries for infiltration, native drought-tolerant landscapes, smart-irrigation controllers, and permeable surfaces. Water from 40 acres of residential land is directed upstream to the aquifer through both active and passive methods, providing 16 acre-feet of groundwater recharge annually (about the same amount of water used annually by 91 people) and also reducing the amount of polluted water that flows into the Los Angeles River.

France Set to Become 20th Country to Ratify International Water Convention

French Secretary of State for Ecology Chantal Jouanno recently announced that the French National Assembly passed a measure in May to sign the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses, which was adopted in 1997. The French Senate still must approve a bill authorizing the ratification of the convention, which would make France the 20th country to make such a move. The convention—which establishes the principles of equitable and reasonable use of and participation in the sound management of international watercourses, codifies the rights and duties of riparian states, promotes dialogue and data sharing, and facilitates negotiations on the adoption of regional and watercourse treaties—requires 35 contracting parties to come into effect. 

Does the Bank of America Building Set the New Green Standard?

A recent Time magazine article details the numerous ways the Bank of America building at 1 Bryant Park in Manhattan is setting the standard for high-rise green building design. How? Not only does the building make breathing easier through carbon dioxide and volatile organic compound detectors in the air-circulation system, but it also saves 3 million gallons of potable water per year through the use of waterless urinals and another 10 million gallons via a rainwater catchment system.

Ghana Government Promises Potable Water to Rural Residents

According to the Ghana Broadcasting Corp., on Monday the Ghana Minister for Water Resource, Works, and Housing, Alban Bagbin, announced the development of a water treatment plant that draws water from the Volta River to provide potable water to residents of the Eastern Region of the country. When complete in 2015, the plant will supply safe drinking water to 85 percent of rural dwellers in the area. Currently, only 59 percent of rural communities in the region enjoy good drinking water.