Working for Clean Water
An Information Program for Advisory Groups
Multiple Use
What is multiple use?
What are the advantages of multiple use?
Where does multiple use fit into the
planning process?
What funding is available
for multiple use?
How can advisory groups help
develop multiple use?
Citizen Handbook

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This program was prepared by
The Pennsylvania State University
Institute of State & Regional
Affeirs
Middletown, PA 17057
Dr. Charles A. Cole
Project Director
Dr. E. Drannon Buskirk, Jr.
Project Co-Director
Prof. Lorna Chr. Stoltzfus
Editor
This unit was prepared by
E. Drannon Buskirk, Jr.
Advisory Team for the Project
David Elkinton, State of West
Virginia
Steve Frishman, private citizen
Michele Frome, private citizen
John Hammond, private citizen
Joan Jurancich, State of California
Richard Hetherington, EPA
Region 10
Rosemary Henderson, EPA
Region 6
George Hoessel, EPA Region 3
George Neiss, EPA Region 5
Ray Pfortner, EPA Region 2
Paul Pinault, EPA Region 1
Earlene Wilson, EPA Region 7
Dan Burrows, EPA Headquarters
Ben Gryctko, EPA Headquarters
Robert Hardaker, EPA
Headquarters
Charles Kauffman, EPA
Headquarters
Steve Maier, EPA Headquarters
EPA Project Officer
Barry H. Jordan
Office of Water Programs
Operations
Acknowledgements
Typists:
Ann Kirsch, Jan Russ, Tess
Startoni
Student Assistants:
Fran Costanzi, Kathy DeBatt,
Mike Moulds, Terry Switzer
Illustrators:
Charles Speers and Martin
McGann-Smith
Graphics support was provided by
the Office of Public Awareness,
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
Photographs were provided by City
of Miamisburg — Parks and
Recreation Department, Ray	||C
Pfortner, and Springbrook	u'a tnvironmental Pretention Agency
Regional Water Reclamation
Center.

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Multiple Use
It doesn't make sense to some people.
Spending millions of tax dollars to clean up
wastewater is one thing. Spending these
same funds on tour facilities, meeting
rooms, and such matters, however
minimal, is questionable. It is just
another governmental boondoggle.
From another viewpoint it is foolish to
miss opportunities. We must squeeze as
many benefits as possible from public
investments. Besides cleaning up
wastewater, treatment facilities can
provide recreation, open space, and
resources such as environmental education.
Rather than squander or divert water
clean-up funds, multiple use of treatment
facilities supports long-term water quality
goals.
Adapting a wastewater treatment facility
to other functions is called multiple use. It
means extending a facility designed mainly
for wastewater management to additional
uses such as bike paths, ballfields, and
greenways. It is not a multiple purpose
project such as an incinerator, which from
the outset is designed for burning both
sludge and municipal refuse. Multiple
purpose projects may be beneficial, but
United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) Section 201 construction
grants deal mainly with water pollution.
The need for wastewater treatment
facilities far exceeds available federal
funds. Thus, these grants are limited to
treatment works. On the other hand,
multiple use developments that cost very
little can achieve great benefits.
Why Multiple Use?
Without on-going public involvement,
wastewater treatment plants at best are
temporary solutions for pollution problems.
Why? Such facilities left hidden behind
chain link fences tend to break down from
a lack of maintenance, or become
overburdened from community growth.
Unless these facilities are thrust into the
mainstream of community life, most will
fail. Multiple use is one way of dealing
with the problems. Plants work better and
stay cleaner when these facilities are used
as community centers for multiple use
activities. These persons become more
aware of clean up efforts and situations
that cause pollution. This knowledge builds
support for water quality planning and
decision making.
M Conversion of an abandoned
IP plant to a neighborhood park at
Miamisburg, Ohio.
Before
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Multiple use provides many benefits. For
the taxpaper they can mean:
•	More open space, recreation, and other
resources for the tax dollar
•	Greater public access to waterways
•	Education on clean water
•	Catalyst for interagency cooperation
•	Protection of shorelines and water bodies
from pollution
•	Public involvement in water quality
management planning and decision
making.
For the grantee and treatment plant
personnel multiple use projects can mean:
•	Heightened awareness of water clean-up
efforts
•	Basis for on-going public support
•	Opportunity for improved images
•	Career education for plant operation
•	Improved plant efficiency and
management
•	Support for operations budget.
If this vast array of opportunities exists,
why don't more of the 13,000 wastewater
treatment plants in the country take
advantage of them? It is mainly a matter
of public attitudes, facility designs, and
policy conflicts.
Slow Beginning
One reason that multiple use has been
slow coming is that it is a new way of
thinking, requires creativity, and involves
more encompassing views and long-term
perspectives. It is something that makes
more sense as budgets get tighter and
dollars need stretching.
The Clean Water Act of 1972 urged the
consideration of multiple use opportunities
in both facility and areawide planning.
Because multiple use was encouraged
rather than required, its implementation
has lagged. Problems exist at all
governmental levels, including federal and
state agencies. In an effort to get areawide
planning and local construction underway,
multiple use was not pursued at first. As
interest in multiple use mounted, the lack
of applicable regulations and program
guidance further slowed the
implementation. Coordinating the many
parties involved in multiple use activities
was also a hinderance.
In new EPA grants for water quality
planning the analysis of multiple use is
now mandatory. Spurred on by more
explicit legislation, federal funding, and
the need to stretch community resources,
multiple use applications are spreading.
Most involve recreational and open space
uses, but other activities such as land
reclamation and agricultural production
are being given increased attention.
At the local scene the misconception
lingers that modern wastewater treatment
plants are dirty and smelly. Regardless of
cost effectiveness and other advantages,
people don't want to be around such
facilities, much less use them for
recreation or other functions. Many
persons resist the construction of
wastewater treatment plants, and only
grudgingly give support because of health
and safety reasons. In such a climate,
multiple uses are considered unnecessary,
regardless of their cost effectiveness.
Thorny issues such as liability and
responsibility for operation, management,
and policing of the facilities add to the
concern. Inflexible and unimaginative
facility designs also exclude multiple use
opportunities.
r
€

Bike and Hike Trail on Sewer Right of Way

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Multiple Use Opportunities
Numerous opportunities exist for the
multiple use of water and wastewater
facilities. Rights of way, and treatment
plant grounds and buildings offer options
for multiple use.
Rights of Way
Sewer rights of way and streamside
easements are ideally suited for many
recreational and resource activities. In
addition to providing parks, these routes
may link neighborhoods, playgrounds,
schools, natural areas, and commercial
centers through trail and open space
networks. They often link a wastewater
treatment plant and the community,
contributing to awareness about the
treatment facilities. Rights of way
accommodate sports such as hiking,
jogging, bike riding, horseback riding,
snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.
These uses bring year-round recreational
opportunities into populated areas where
they are most needed, and an awareness
and appreciation for clean water.
Sewer easements parallel to water bodies
create other multiple use opportunities.
Rights of way provide utility corridors for
future water mains, gas lines and power
lines. They facilitate maintenance through
easy access along parallel roads. They
afford access to the water's edge for
fishing, boat launching, and swimming. As
buffer strips they protect water quality and
wildlife habitats from nonpoint source
pollutants such as sediment, chemical
fertilizers, and urban litter. These strips,
sometimes called greenways, absorb the
impact of flood waters and reduce property
damages. They protect shorelines from new
sources of pollution and preserve scenic
settings for public enjoyment. Linear
greenways have indirect environmental
benefits; for example, biking along them
cuts down the air pollution and energy
consumption of auto use.
Finally, the developmental planning
aspects of rights of way are pertinent.
These linear arrangements shape
community growth and open space
patterns. Successful rights of way projects
exist around the country.
Maryland. Ten miles of bike trail at
Hyattsville have been built along a sewer
line by the Washington Suburban Sanitary
Commission. The sewer crosses park lands.
The bike trail was built as a part of normal
restoration work. Savings were realized
because the trail design was incorporated
into the plan for the sewer system.
New York. A hike and bike path in the town
of Niskayuna connects the wastewater
treatment plant with other recreation areas
and points of environmental and historic
interest. A neighboring town used the same
path to locate a sewer.
Drainage and Sewer
Rights of Way
Multiple Use Opportunities
•	Linear parks
•	Connecting networks
•	Hiking trails
•	Jogging trails
•	Horseback riding trails
•	Bicycle paths
•	Environmental education
•	Skiing and snowshoeing areas
•	Future utility corridors
•	Buffer strips for water quality
protection
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Treatment Plant Grounds
Most sewage treatment plants are
constructed adjacent to water bodies. These
locations are potentially useful for
water-based recreation. Such activities as
fishing, swimming, water-oriented
picnicking, and boating (access ramps) can
be provided in conjunction with treatment
facilities. Other options exist.
Opportunities for active and passive
recreation are needed by most
communities. Wastewater treatment
facilities can supply both at considerable
land and money savings. Active
recreational opportunities include
playgrounds, ballfields, game courts,
skating rinks, fish ponds, and small-game
hunting areas. Passive recreational
developments include parks, open space
areas, and community gardens. Fences and
the treatment plant staff provide the
permanence and security necessary for
uses such as community gardens and
playing fields. One facility even has a
weather station and an observatory for a
local astronomy club.
Treatment plants provide opportunities for
outdoor education. The grounds may be
used for instruction on subjects such as
natural history and archaeology.
Grounds also are used for activities that
are possibly unsuitable for other locations.
For example, recycling centers may be set
up at treatment plants.
New York. The Coney Island Water
Pollution Control Plant in New York City
under a lease arrangement with the King's
County Boys Club has a football field and
bleachers, a roller-skating rink, and a
clubhouse. At three other treatment plants
in New York City fishermen use sludge
loading piers for saltwater fishing.
Treatment Plant Buildings
Existing and
Abandoned Structures
One approach to multiple use employs
abandoned or unused physical structures.
Treatment Plant Grounds
Multiple Use Opportunities
•	Skating rinks
•	Swimming areas
•	Picnic sites
•	Fishing piers
•	Fish ponds
•	Boat launches
•	Small-game hunting lands
•	Parks
•	Playing courts and fields
•	Parks
•	Playing courts and fields
•	Outdoor education
•	Community gardens
•	Open spaces
Another features additional applications of
the wastewater treatment buildings
themselves.
Abandoned plants save money two ways.
They avoid the cost of new construction
and demolition of the old facilities. Most of
these old facilities are located in
waterfront areas near population centers in
need of recreational opportunities. Fishing
piers and ice-skating rinks are suited to
these waterfront locations. Around the
country abandoned plants serve many uses,
including: playing courts, adventure
playgrounds, wading pools, and buildings
for meeting rooms, recreation centers, and
restrooms.
Of course, buildings do not have to be old
or abandoned to serve such functions.
Existing plants have community meeting
rooms, public restrooms, and dressing
rooms. The computer systems of some
plants process data for other community
activities such as tax records.
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Educational Programs
Educational rather than recreational
applications are a principal multiple use.
This is especially true in many urban areas
where wastewater treatment sites and rights
of way have little recreational or open space
potential. Educational opportunities at
wastewater treatment facilities include:
•	Citizen education
•	School courses
•	Career development.
Citizens have a right to participate in
water quality planning. This mandate of
The Clean Water Act requires an informed
public. As a physical facility, a treatment
plant can help educate advisory groups and
other citizens about at least one of the
alternative forms of wastewater treatment.
A plant can be used to retrace planning
decisions. It also can be a meeting place for
advisory groups. It can be a repository for
public review documents.
Education that is applicable to the real
world is increasingly important.
Wastewater treatment plants offer unique
opportunities to observe relationships
among treatment processes. Issues
concerning environmental quality such as
the costs of pollution control are more
understandable in a treatment plant
setting. Subjects such as biology,
chemistry, and environmental issues are
easily taught here.
Visits by students and other citizens to
treatment plants increase the
accountability of plant operations. They
can actually improve plant efficiency and
maintenance. Plant visits also help develop
community support, and may lead to larger
operations budgets. These facilities can
provide an impetus for changed habits on
water use such as water conservation.
The plants that have such programs have
various arrangements for tour guides.
These options include the use of
volunteers, certified trainers, and
operations staff with flexible work hours.
Many facilities already conduct tours, but
on an ad hoc basis. Neither the facilities
are designed for, nor the staff are trained
for these activities. Both the educational
potential and plant operations suffer as a
result.
Access to wastewater treatment plants
enables students to view firsthand the
possible career opportunities in water
quality control. Educational benefits also
are realized by treatment plant staff or
agency officials. Educational programs can
train staff or upgrade the skills of
treatment plant operators.
Ohio. The children of Miamisburg today
enjoy recreational facilities created from an
abandoned plant at tremendous cost
savings. An adventure playground was
developed around a dismantled digester
tank. Other equipment became a splash pool
and a roller-skating area. Sludge beds were
filled in and paved for basketball,
volleyball, hockey, and tennis. An
administrative building was converted into
game rooms and restrooms.
Treatment Plant Buildings
and Structures
Multiple Uge Opportunities
•	Environmental education
•	Observation decks
•	Astronomy observatories
•	Weather stations
•	Play areas
•	Meeting rooms
•	Dressing rooms
•	Public restrooms
•	Data processing centers

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Cultural and Natural Resources
Multiple use opportunities are usually
evaluated in terms of the main wastewater
system components: treatment plant sites,
buildings, and sewer rights of way. Other
opportunities of a resource character exist.
They include both cultural and natural
resources such as agricultural,
aquacultural, and energy products.
Archaeological and historical artifacts and
information are turned up in planning and
constructing wastewater treatment
facilities. These resources can be displayed
in visitor areas of a plant. Historical
markers can be placed along a right of
way. Such efforts add educational value to
a facility. In certain circumstances, barge
canals, towpaths, or water mills can be
preserved by sharing site acquisition costs
with water clean up funds. Similarly,
treatment plants also afford protection for
sensitive environmental areas such as
wetlands, forests, and historical sites.
Effluent and sludge nutrients have been
used by farmers for decades. However, only
in recent years has research tested the cost
effectiveness and safety of the approach.
Although caution must still be exercised
with metal-containing sludges, vast
potential exists. At plants around the
country the nutrients are used in growing
crops and fish, and in reclaiming soils
depleted of their organic
(carbon-containing) matter and nutrients.
Park lands are similarly restored.
Energy production is another option for
wastewater treatment facilities. Methane
is a by-product of the breakdown of organic
matter by bacteria in the absence of
oxygen (anaerobic digestion). This gas is a
fuel that can be used in the plants
themselves, or it can be sold to residential
and commercial users. Potential exists for
additional methane production from the
further breakdown of organic sludges.
Some plants are also exploring the
possibility of generating electricity by
small hydropower turbines on interceptor
pipes, or co-generation by sludge
incineration.
Other opportunities most certainly exist.
They will continue to be discovered and
developed. The first step is a willingness to
explore them.
Georgia. Surveys for a right of way along
the Chattahooche River near Atlanta
uncovered important archeological sites.
5,000 year-old Indian rock shelter villages
are the subject of continuing exploration by
archeologists and high school students.
Texas. The Walnut Creek Treatment Plant
in Austin features multiple uses in an
environmentally-sensitive neighborhood.
The facility stops odors with activated
carbon filters, and controls noise with earth
berms and buffer walls. Meeting rooms, a
fishing lake, and picnic areas are available
for public use.
Cultural and Natural
Resources
Multiple Uxe Opportunities
•	Cultural and historical preservation
•	Agricultural production
•	Aquacultural production
•	Land reclamation
•	Methane production
•	Small-flow hydropower generation
or co-generation
•	Greenways and wetlands
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Planning Strategy
Many agencies participate in planning
multiple use activities, especially
recreation. The EPA, the Heritage
Conservation and Recreation Service
(HCRS), the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, and other agencies
have multiple use interests. At the federal
level two EPA programs in wastewater
management are of particular
importance—208 areawide planning, and
the 201 construction grants program.
Water quality management 208 plans have
a broad, regional scope. They provide the
umbrella under which individual facility
plans are formed. These plans can
coordinate multiple use programs among
the treatment sites in an area. Thus,
rather than every facility having
particular educational or recreational
programs, the 208 plan may systematically
call for services at particular plants
according to transportation, location,
facility uniqueness, and other
considerations. These plans can coordinate
water and recreation investments to save
on acquisition and development costs.
Finally, 208 plans also involve other
factors pertinent to multiple use
opportunities such as strategic open space
areas, nonpoint sources of pollution,
wetlands, and greenways.
The 201 program provides for the planning
(Step 1), design (Step 2), and construction
(Step 3) of new or expanded wastewater
treatment facilities. A preapplication stage
precedes the formal planning sequence.
Multiple use inputs are especially
significant in the preapplication and
planning stages. Multiple use efforts are
important at several points:
•	Selection of consultant
•	Preapplication conference
•	Fact sheet
•	Information meetings
•	Preparation of facility plan and public
jaring
•	Reviews of project plans and
specifications.
The advisory group may not be
involved at the beginning of the
process. However, the selection of the
consultants and the sewage
commissioners is very important.
Persons with an interest in multiple use
are more likely to incorporate such
considerations into the plans. The
preapplication conference sets the tone for
the planning effort. It is crucial at this
point to show local interest, and to start
the grantee and consultants thinking about
multiple use options.
Multiple use inputs are appropriate
throughout the planning stage. Multiple
use can be an agenda item at meetings.
Advisory group subcommittees can be
formed to study options and local interests
such as the Little League that can be
served. Group members and the public can
take tours of existing plants to see
multiple use in operation. Frequent news
releases about multiple use can interest
diverse publics in wastewater treatment
facilities, and establish on-going support.
However, this does not mean that multiple
use should be used to sell treatment plants.
Projects first and foremost must be
environmentally sound, cost effective, and
technically feasible.
All planning begins with needs
assessment. In addition to wastewater
management needs, recreation, open space,
and other needs suitable for multiple use
are identified. Recreationists and other
persons with multiple use interests should
be invited to provide input on a regular
basis. These persons should be advisory
group members on full-scale public
participation projects. The grantee is
required to help identify these parties.
A fact sheet, including cost information, on
a project is released to the public early in
the planning process. Multiple use can be
included in this document to both solicit
ideas and drum up support.
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The Step 1 facilities planning process
requires at least one public meeting, as
well as a public hearing, on the proposed
facilities plan. Informational meetings,
especially in assessing community needs,
are good places for discussions about
multiple use. They present an opportunity
to make the multiple use benefits known to
the public, and to hold consultants
accountable for multiple use analyses.
Since a responsiveness summary of all
meetings and hearings figure significantly
in EPA and state assessments, voicing
concern for multiple use at these points are
important. The review of final plans and
specifications is an additional opportunity
for insuring that multiple use is actively
considered.
Even after the facility is under
construction it is not too late to incorporate
multiple uses. Although these options are
limited, certain uses are feasible; for
example, grading lands may accommodate
recreational uses.
A Word of Caution
Some persons think that multiple use
should not be involved throughout the
planning process. Here, multiple use comes
into consideration only after the most
cost-effective alternative is chosen.
This approach is wrong. Multiple use, or
any other planning element, should not be
tacked on the end of the process. Such an
action invites the design of inflexible,
underused facilities. A portion of the
planning funds is available for dealing
with community objectives other than
wastewater treatment. In the long run,
nearly all of these objectives, including
recreation, serve in the clean up of water.
Factors of Open Space and
Recreation Planning
•	Public open space, recreation, flood
control, and nonpoint source pollution
control
•	Environmental education
•	Proximity to existing facilities
•	Surrounding land uses
•	Environmental and aesthetic
features
•	Compatibility of area with
proposed uses
•	Proximity to public access, public
transportation, access barriers, and
parking spaces
•	Need for fencing, lighting, and play
area surfacing
•	Maintenance and security
considerations
•	Facilities design and site layout
•	Topography, soils, drainage, and
flooding characteristics
•	Wind and sun orientations
•	Water characteristics
VOT«
Spray Irrigation
Buffer and Screen
Meeting Room and Polling Place
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Challenges and Needs
Multiple use programs are not always easy
to implement. Some considerations are
given in Green Spaces and People Places, a
manual prepared for EPA Region II. The
following discussion is adapted from this
document.
Multiple Use Coordination
The success stories to date are mainly the
result of the efforts of a single person or
organization to bring together numerous
agencies, volunteer groups, and schools. At
various places, these persons have been a
plant operator, the director of a sewer
district, the head of a local environmental
commission, an official within the EPA or
HCRS, or some other party. In each case,
these people have been hampered by lacks
of funding, legal authority, or clear
procedures to follow. The Clean Water Act
of 1977 places an enforceable responsibility
on the grantee, the local wastewater
management agency, to play the
coordinating role, or to subcontract it.
Multiple use activities are best done
when specific parties are given
responsibilities, and adequate
resources are delegated. Advisory
groups can suggest such matters to the
grantee.
Property Acquisitions
Public access to land, or incentives to
retain land for open space, can be achieved
through various means. The most common
ways are purchase or donation, lease, and
easement. Their application to multiple use
may run into snags.
Single-function agencies such as sewer
authorities may be restricted by state law
from acquiring lands for purposes other
than those for which the agency is created.
However, some legal opinions maintain
that no conflict exists if the primary
function of an acquisition serves the
agency, and the secondary one does not
interfere with the primary use. For
example, a maintenance road serving a
sewer right of way can double as a paved
bicycle path without diminishing its
primary purpose. Instead of land
purchases, agencies can receive property
donations in exchange for tax breaks.
Other options include leases and
easements.
Easements granted by private property
owners to sewer authorities for rights of
way may pose other challenges. The
easements, obtained at considerably lower
cost than outright purchase, often carry
conditions such as limitations on public
access. If a multiple use plan is developed
long after easement agreements are sealed,
renegotiating the easements can prove
troublesome and increase costs. Early
planning and simultaneous actions can
reduce this problem.
The objective is not to let a few properties
stop a project. The management agency
has to maintain flexibility, and route
around trouble spots. For example, for a
bike trail in New Jersey a temporary land
bank was formed until purchase funds
were available.
Sludge Loading Pier

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The advisory gr oup can make the
grantee aware of these concerns. It
also can help develop community
support for property acquisitions.
Technical Assistance
At present, EPA policy does not permit
funding for detailed design in multiple use
projects. However, some features are
eligible for preliminary design if they are
ancillary to the treatment system itself,
and they do not reduce the
cost-effectiveness of the treatment facility.
Design also is reimbursable if the HCRS
funds outdoor recreation or open space
options.
Other design alternatives exist.
The advisory group can assure that
these matters receive the attention they
deserve. The most perfectly designed
system will not work if it is not
maintained!
However, care must be taken so that these
designs are not considered unnecessary frills
that can be eliminated through subsequent
value engineering studies. Often
neighboring architectural schools can make
designs as class projects. Volunteer and
in-kind services and donations also are
possibilities. The trick is imagination and
cooperation. The Miamisburg, Ohio,
renovation of an abandoned plant was
designed entirely by city parks personnel.
In the case of recreational development,
some plants maintain grounds and picnic
tables as part of normal maintenance.
Where intensive public use of boat ramps,
fishing piers, playing fields, and bike and
hike trails occurs, other arrangements are
necessary. Recreation groups must provide
for maintenance, supervision, and security.
These responsibilities may be spelled out
in cooperative or lease agreements.
Sometimes volunteers, clubs, or recreation
associations can perform these services. At
a sludge pier used for fishing in New York
City, a group of local fishermen reduces
vandalism by monitoring the area and
educating other users on expected
standards of behavior. Elks Clubs and boy
scouts provide and maintain picnic tables
at sites around the country. In portions of
New Jersey and New York, trails along
rights of way that meet the standards of
hiking associations may qualify for
maintenance services.
Advisory groups can encourage the
grantee to explore various management
arrangements.
Where the Bucks Start
Paying for multiple use facilities is
complex because of the wide range of use
options and funding sources. Potential
contributors are both private and public.
Most funds are restricted to particular
multiple use activities.
Operation and Management
Responsibility
A universal concern centers around the
responsibility for operating and managing
multiple use programs. In the case of
educational activities at a treatment site,
the sewerage authority can usually
maintain the physical features. However,
the participating educational or
environmental institutions must undertake
programs of organizing tours and
developing educational resources. Tour
leaders can be retired plant operators, or
persons who undergo trainee workshops.
Private Sector Assistance
Potential sources in the private sector
include:
•	Businesses and corporations
•	Service groups
•	Foundations.
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Donations to public recreation are
attractive to business persons because of
the tax advantages and the boost to
business images. Gifts may also be a way
for companies to mitigate public relations
problems. Businesses may give materials,
money, or the services of administrators
and technicians.
Service groups and vocational schools are
especially helpful in providing manpower
for construction, maintenance, and
publicity. Since these organizations reach
the heart of the community, they also are
important in establishing a public support
base.
Federal Funding Alternatives
Federal agencies provide technical
assistance and full or partial grants for
multiple use. The EPA, the Department of
Interior, and other organizations are
funding sources, but funding levels vary
from year to year. Many federal funds are
channelled through state agencies. States
often have programs which correspond to
federal programs, especially those that
offer matching grants.
As compared to private sources, the federal
grants usually have more guidelines and
regulations. Still, there is much potential
for the use of federal funds by state and
local organizations. Funding possibilities
are not always obvious. For example, Tow
Path Trail in New Jersey may qualify for
historic preservation funds.
Environmental Protection Agency
Although the EPA does not provide design
or construction funds solely for multiple
use projects, these funds can serve as seed
money for multiple use considerations. The
EPA provides multiple use planning funds
for all new wastewater treatment projects
as a part of facilities planning. However,
no funds are awarded for design or
construction where the multiple use
features are not an integral part of the
facility. Facilities can serve the dual
functions of multiple use and wastewater
treatment. For example, an educational
center for the public can be housed in the
same room used for staff training.
Walkway railings can be considered a
necessary feature for plant personnel as
well as the visiting public. Right-of-way
Sludge loading pier used for
fishing in New York City.

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Sources of Funding

Use
Funding Legislation or Program
Outdoor recreation, open
space, fish and wildlife
habitats
Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service
Fish and Wildlife Service
Soil Conservation Service
Historic and cultural
preservation
National Historic Preservation Act of 1966
Community Education, Recreation, and Cultural
Services Act
Bikeways and walkways
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
Environmental
education
Environmental Education Act of 1972
Community Education, Recreation, and
Cultural Services Act
Sea Grant Program
General activities
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974
Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
Farmers Home Administration loans
Environmental Protection Agency
trails can serve both pedestrians and sewer
maintenance personnel.
Department of Interior
The Department of Interior has several
pertinent programs. The Heritage
Conservation and Recreation Service
administers the Land and Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF), which
provides matching monies for the planning,
acquisition, and development of outdoor
recreation facilities. The Fish and Wildlife
Service provides funds for fish conservation
programs, and technical services on
multiple use projects. The Historic
Preservation Fund enables matching
grants for historical preservation surveys
and plans, and the acquisition of
endangered historic properties.
Other Federal Opportunities
Numerous opportunities for multiple use
funding exist elsewhere. The Soil
Conservation Service provides both grants
and technical assistance for developing
land and water resources. Environmental
education projects are funded by the
Department of Education under the
Environmental Education Act. Funding for
bikeways and pedestrian facilities is
available from the Department of
Transportation under the Federal-Aid
Highway Act of 1973. Even Comprehensive
Employment and Training Act (CETA)
funds can be used for activities such as
constructing trails and paving bikeways.
These are only a few of the opportunities.
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Getting On with It
Advisory groups can play significant
roles in incorporating multiple use in
areawide or facility planning. In
assisting the grantees, advisory groups
should:
•	Become familiar with the multiple
use needs of the community. An
inventory of the local situation, and
aspects of educational, recreational,
open space, and resource opportunities
should be taken into account. An
advisory group subcommittee can
focus upon these matters.
•	Encourage the grantee to integrate
multiple use activities with other plans
in the area, including the 208 water
quality plan, the HUD 701 open space
plans, and the Statewide
Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation
Plan (SCORP).
•	Make sure that local needs and
viewpoints are part of SCORP and the
state's evaluation for Heritage
Conservation and Recreation Service
funding. Overlapping advisory groups
can help in this effort.
•	Help coordinate (1) multiple use
implementation, such as negotiating
the sewer rights of way and trail
easements at the same time; (2) funding
sources, such as submitting a Land and
Water Conservation Fund application
at the same time the project is placed
on the state priority list for EPA
funding. Advisory groups are
especially sensitive to local sources of
assistance.
•	Insure that multiple use aspects are
introduced at appropriate places
throughout the planning process. The
facility preapplication conference, plan
preparation, fact sheet, public hearing,
and project reviews all are appropriate
points. Multiple use can be the topic of
public meetings, newspapers, and
mailings. Advisory groups can form
subcommittees for studying multiple
use. Written statements can be entered
into the record of public hearings.
Other options exist.
•	Help arrange for technical assistance
from various sources, including
governmental agencies, private
organizations, and the public. Advisory
groups can be particularly effective in
procuring assistance through interest
groups, professional organizations, and
personal contacts.
•	Foster cooperation and communicate
information among
water-edueation-recreation
constituencies about multiple use
opportunities and the programs.
Advisory group meetings can be a
place for receiving planning inputs
such as the ideas of recreation
planners.
Multiple use, thus, offers a lot more than is
first apparent. It provides new resources
such as recreation. It saves resources such
as the operation and maintenance costs of
treatment plants. It is no significant drain
on wastewater facility funds. In fact, it fits
into the long-term goals of the Clean
Water Act to make lasting solutions to
water pollution. Multiple use also is
mutually supportive with public
participation. While helping the public
relate better to facility planning, it helps
build public interest. Multiple use is not a
minor concern to be tacked on the end of
the process. It is in the mainstream of
areawide and facility planning.
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Case Study
Multiple Uses for the New and the Old
Naperville, Illinois
VISI TORS OBSERVATION 9
DECK	^
TREATMENT PROCESS UNITS * w- T


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Observation deck.
Polling place.
Adapted, from Pfortner, Raymond, "Treatment Plants
Can be People Places." Clearwaters. March 1978. pp. 6-8.
The City of Naperville, a suburb of Chicago, opened a
regional wastewater treatment facility in the summer of
1977. Because of thoughtful planning from the outset, the
facility has literally become the center of activity for the
city's residents.
Buffer lands around the site are leased to the Naperville
Park District for recreational use. The site offers
community garden plots used by 300 families each season,
and a popular canoe launch onto the DuPage River. A
Future Farmers of America experimental farm tract is
located at the site where the usefulness of sludge for
growing crops is studied. The facility also houses an
official weather station and a local astronomy club's
observatory.
In constructing this facility four small treatment plants
were abandoned, but some old facilities were recycled. An
old storage tank was cleaned and relocated on the new
site, where it provides water for the community gardens.
One of the administration buildings was gutted and made
into the city's data processing center at considerable
savings over the cost of new construction. Old aeration
tanks were sand-blasted, and are now used for water
supply storage. A large trickling filter and control
buildings at the old Naperville sites still have recreational
potential.
All these activities are conducted at the Naperville plant
without the loss of operational efficiency. The 10 mgd
plant puts out an extremely high quality effluent, in the
.3-4 mg/L BOD and suspended solids range.
The Director of the Naperville Water and Wastewater
Utility Department attributes the success of the facility to
cooperation and professionalism of all of the city
departments. He says the design engineers who came up
with the plant's land use plan were instrumental in the
success of the project.
Some of the best activities at Naperville are inside the
plant, and are educational rather than recreational. The
treatment plant is designed and constructed for tours by
school children and the general public. The plant features
a raised observation deck for an overview of the facility. It
has a multi-purpose room for staff training, group
orientations, and community meetings. The plant also is
an official polling place to encourage public use.
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Fulfilling Recreation and Open Space Requirements in Water Quality Management
Planning. Nos. 1 and 2. Washington, DC: Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service,
U.S. Department of the Interior. 1979. 8 and 11 pp.
These booklets deal only with the range of considerations involved in
recreational and open space aspects of multiple use planning. In a question and
answer format, Section 201 of the 1977 Clean Water Act is defined, funding and
sponsors are discussed, and multiple use opportunities are outlined. Aspects of
evaluating recreation possibilities for facility planning, design, and construction
are covered. Both booklets have charts of funding assistance. The addresses and
telephone numbers of agency offices also are given. Copies of the booklets can be
procured from the. Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service, 440 G Street,
NW, Washington, DC 20243.
Green Spaces and People Places: A Manual on the Multiple Uses of Wastewater
Treatment Plants. New York, NY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II,
1978. 38 pp.
This manual is an excellent document that mainly covers the rationale for
multiple use, the successful experiences of plants that have done it, the needs
and problems that have been experienced, available funding, and how to go
about multiple use planning. Other sections list contacts, and give information
sources. Appendices summarize relevant portions of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act of 1972, and provide a sample lease agreement. The manual is
strongly oriented to the situations and needs in EPA Region II. The manual is
available from the EPA Region II Office of Public Affairs, 26 Federal Plaza, New
York, NY 10007.
Public Benefits from Water Clean-up. Washington, DC: Office of Land Use Coordination,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1978. 41 pp.
This booklet was written by the National Recreation and Park Association for
the EPA. It abounds with a mixture of success stories, policy discussions, and
the recreational planning criteria for sewer rights of way, treatment plant and
lift station sites, and environmental education programs. It also covers funding
sources, and implementation aspects. An appendix features a detailed discussion
of legal considerations. It has ample planning illustrations and pictures. The
booklet has not undergone widespread distribution. Photocopies are
available at cost from the Office of Land Use Coordination, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 401 "M" Street, S.W., Washington DC 20460.

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Glossary
Aeration Tank—tank in which oxygen is
circulated through wastewater as an aid in
purification.
Aeroclarifier—settling tank utilizing the
circulation of oxygen through the wastewater to
aid in purification and sedimentation.
Anaerobic Digestion—the breakdown of
organic material by bacteria without the
presence of oxygen.
Aquifer—underground bed or layer of earth,
gravel, or porous stone which serves as a
reservoir for groundwater.
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)—the
amount of dissolved oxygen required in the
biological process of breaking down organic
matter in water.
Buffer Strip—area of land which acts as a
health and safety barrier or as protection from
adverse environmental effects such as pollution.
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis—determination
of whether a project or technique is worth
funding; involves both monetary and
nonmonetary factors.
Easement—a right of way granting the use of
land for a certain period of time.
Effluent—treated or untreated waste material
discharged into the environment.
Floodplain—a nearly flat plain along the
course of a stream that is naturally subject to
flooding at high water.
Greenway—another name for "buffer zone."
Land Reclamation—the reclaiming and reuse
of wasteland, swamps, marshes, and other
unused or wasted land for useful purposes, such
as cultivation or recreation.
Linear Park—a park which is located along a
route, such as a sewer right of way or a
streamside easement.
Methane—by-product of the breakdown of
organic matter in aerobic digestion.
Nonpoint Source Pollution—a contributing
factor to water pollution that can't be traced to
a specific spot, such as agricultural fertilizer
runoff.
Percolation—downward flow or filtering of
water through pores or spaces in rock or soil.
Sludge—concentrated solids removed from
sewage during wastewater treatment.
Sludge Digester—heated tank where
wastewater solids can decompose naturally and
the odors can be controlled.
Suspended Solids—small particles of solid
pollutants in sewage that cause cloudiness and
require special treatment to remove.
Trickling Filter —tank in which primary
settling tank effluent is passed through filter
media coated with bacteria which consume
organic wastes in the wastewater.
201 (Facilities) Planning—deals with the
planning, designing, and construction of local
wastewater treatment facilities.
208 (Water Quality Management)
Planning—water quality planning with a state
and regional scope.
Water Recharge—adding water to an aquifer
either by spreading on the ground surface or by
direct injection through wells.
Watershed—the land area that drains into the
surface waters.
Wetlands—low-lying lands which frequently
have standing water on them, such as swamps,
marshes, and meadows.
16
* U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1980 0 -
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Working for Clean Water is a
program designed to help advisory
groups improve decision making in
water quality planning. It aims at
helping people focus on essential
issues and questions by providing
trained instructors and materials
suitable for persons with
non-technical backgrounds. These
materials include a citizen
handbook on important principles
and considerations about topics in
water quality planning, an
audiovisual presentation, and an
instructor guide for elaborating
points, providing additional
information, ana engaging in
problem-solving exercises.
This program consists of 18
informational units on various
aspects of water quality planning:
•	Role of Advisory Groups
•	Public Participation
•	Nonpoint Source Pollution:
Agriculture, Forestry, and Mining
•	Urban Stormwater Runoff
•	Groundwater Contamination
•	Facility Planning in the
Construction Grants Program
•	Municipal Wastewater Processes:
Overview
•	Municipal Wastewater Processes:
Details
•	Small Systems
•	Innovative and Alternative
Technologies
•	Industrial Pretreatment
•	Land Treatment
•	Water Conservation and Reuse
•	Multiple Use
•	Environmental Assessment
•	Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
•	Wastewater Facilities Operation
and Management
•	Financial Management
The units are not designed to
make technical experts out of
citizens and local officials. Each
unit contains essential facts, key
questions, advice on how to deal
with the issues, and
clearly-written technical
backgrounds. In short, each unit
provides the information that
citizen advisors need to better
fulfill their role.
This program is available through
public participation coordinators at
the regional offices of the United
States Environmental Protection
Agency. ~
This information program was
financed with federal funds from
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency under Cooperative
Agreement No. CT900980 01. The
information program has been
reviewed by the Environmental
Protection Agency and approved
for publication. Approval does not
signify that the contents
necessarily reflect the views and
policies of the Environmental
Protection Agency, nor does the
mention of trade names or
commercial products constitute
endorsement of recommendation
for use. ~
This project is dedicated to the
memory of Susan A. Cole.

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