Clean Water
State Revolving Fund
PISCES
Recognition Program
2017
ompendium
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Director's Address
Dear Colleagues,
Each year I am impressed by the many innovative projects financed with the Clean Water
State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) that support EPA's mission to protect public health and
the environment. These projects bolster our nations infrastructure and, in turn, generate
environmental benefits and improve local economies. There is a great amount of creativity
and insight among the 51 CWSRF programs and in the communities they serve. This is
demonstrated through the innovative solutions created to provide affordable clean water
projects for their communities. I am pleased to announce that the Performance and Innovation
in the SRF Creating Environmental Success (PISCES) program has returned to the Office of
Wastewater Management so that we can recognize the great work CWSRF assistance recipients
and state programs put into creating quality CWSRF projects.
From projects that include the world's largest phosphorus recovery facility to local programs
that assist homeowners with replacing failing sewer service lines, this years PISCES projects
demonstrate how varied the CWSRF eligibilities are. Seeing how assistance recipients continue
to explore project eligibilities is a testament to the CWSRF s potential for meeting the country's
diverse clean water needs. So many communities have employed creative strategies to address
their wastewater treatment needs while using the CWSRF, and it is important that this work
gets recognized. This Compendium highlights the projects selected by each participating state,
and we are proud to showcase the innovation that represents why the CWSRF continues to be a
successful and prominent financing program in the wastewater infrastructure sector.
I want to express my sincere appreciation to all PISCES participants. We had a great response
and received an excellent selection of projects as described in this Compendium. Thank you!
Sincerely,
y
Andrew Sawyers, Ph.D., Director
Office of Wastewater Management
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Recognizing Success
The Clean Water State Revolving Fund's Performance and
Innovation in the SRF Creating Environmental Success
(PISCES) program allows assistance recipients to gain national
recognition for exceptional projects funded by the CWSRE
Participating state programs each nominated one project that
demonstrates one or more of the evaluation criteria:
Water Quality, Public Health, or Economic Benefits
Sustainability
Innovation
Projects eligible for recognition may be any size but must
have an executed assistance agreement in place. Also,
projects may be operational or in the planning phase. After
all project nominations were reviewed, EPA selected five
exceptional projects for further recognition. These five
projects demonstrated excellence in matching the PISCES
criteria and pushed the envelope for being innovative in using
the CWSRF to achieve clean water for their communities.
Several additional projects closely demonstrated this level of
innovation and are recognized as an Honorable Mention.
We hope that you will enjoy learning about this year's PISCES
projects in this annual compendium and that they will inspire
continued success in the CWSRF.
Table of Contents
Director's Address 1
Introduction 2
Project Map 3
Project List 5
Exceptional 6
Projects
Honorable 11
Mentions
Recognized 14
Projects
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Exceptional Project
Honorable Mention
Recognized Project
2017 PISCES Projects
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2017 PISCES Projects
Arkansas: Sewer Service Line Replacement Program - Little Rock Wastewater Utility
Delaware: Yorklyn Site Wetland Project - Delaware Department of Natural Resources
and Environmental Control Parks and Waste & Hazardous Substances
Ohio: Howard Storage Basin -North Hill Separation Project - City of Akron
Rhode Island: Rhode Island Airport Corporation Glycol Recovery System - RI Airport
Corporation
Washington: On-Site Sewage System Loan Program - Tacoma-Pierce County
Health Department
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Illinois: Phosphorus Recovery System - MWRD of Greater Chicago
Iowa: Bee Branch Creek Project - City of Dubuque
Minnesota: Implementation ofNonpoint Practices - Rock County
New Tersey: Green Infrastructure Combined Sewer Overflow Initiative - City of Hoboken
West Virginia: Septic Tank Gravity System - New Haven Public Service District
Alabama: Biosolids Improvements for Energy Recovery - City of Albertville
Colorado: Biological Nutrient Removal - Boxelder Sanitation District
Florida: Digester Project - City of Graceville
Georgia: Stormwater Retention - City of Hinesville
Idaho: Wastewater System Consolidation and Upgrade Project - City of Fruitland
Indiana: Three Rivers Protection and Overflow - City of Fort Wayne
Louisiana: Wastewater Reuse Project - Town of Homer
Maryland: Southern Kent Island Sewer Collection System - Queen Anne's County
Massachusetts: Organics to Energy - Greater Lawrence Sanitary District
Missouri: On-site Septic Remediation Program -Upper White River Basin Foundation Inc
New Mexico: Montoyas Arroyo Improvement - Southern Sandoval County Arroyo
Flood Control Authority
New York: New Rochelle Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrades - Westchester County
Oklahoma: Green Infrastructure Project - Oklahoma Conservation Commission
Pennsylvania: Green Infrastructure - City of Philadelphia
South Carolina: 4th Avenue Ocean Outfall - City of Myrtle Beach
Texas: Grand Lakes Reclaimed Water System - North Fort Bend Water Authority
Virginia: Wetland Stormwater Retention System - City of Waynesboro
Wisconsin: New Water R2E2: Resource Recovery & Electric - Green Bay Metropolitan
Sewer District
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PISCES Exceptional Project: Arkansas
Program: Arkansas Clean Water Revolving Loan Fund
Assistance Recipient: Little Rock Wastewater Utility
Protect Title: Sewer Service Line Replacement Program
Little Rock Wastewater Launches New Assistance Program to Aid
Residents With Their Total Sewer Service Line Replacement Costs
While sewer service lines are the sole responsibility of the residential home o'
assistance program to help aid qualified ratepayers when their residential sew<
er, the Little Rock Board of Directors recently approved a new
service lines are replaced. This program begins January 3rd, 2013.
Who Can Benefit From This Program? Qualified residential ratepayers.
HOW is it funded? Through the $1 charge that will appear on your monthly bill.
Little Rock
Wastewater
How can you find out more information about the program? www.lrwu.com or call 501-688-1490.
How much assistance is available? Residential ratepayers can qualify for up to $2,500
in total service line replacement costs.
The Little Rock Wastewater Utility has been under a Consent Order to reduce inflow and infiltration
(I/I) to their collection system to stop manhole overflows. The Utility has spent millions of dollars
to rehah the collection system and are starting to hit diminishing returns. As a result, the Utility
developed a Sewer Service Line Replacement Program to work on reducing a different source of I/I
into the system. The program is designed to assist homeowners in paying for the replacement of the
service line from their home to the sewer main. It is an ongoing effort to reduce I/I which will decrease
the cost of sanitary sewTer collection and treatment as well as the customer's monthly bill. The partial
reimbursement program reimburses homeowners up to $2,500 after their service line is replaced by a
plumber and inspected by the Utility. The program is funded with a loan from the Arkansas CWSRF
combined with a fund created using revenues from a $1 surcharge on each customers sewer bill.
Th e Utility encouraged homeowners to take advantage of the financial benefit and replace their service
line using eye-catching colorful inserts included with sewer bills. The Utility worked with the Arkansas
CWSRF program to ensure that the funding source was adaptable enough to work for homeowners.
Because CWSRF funds were loaned to the Utility, the innovative reimbursement structure allowed
individual homeowners, who are not usually eligible for Arkansas CWSRF assistance, to benefit from
the low-interest loan program. Hie homeowner is responsible for contracting for the work, ensuring
that the CWSRF and the Utility do not face the liability of entering a homeowner s property to replace
the lines. This project makes innovative use of new CWSRF project eligibilities, allowing the CWSRF to
directly assist homeowners with shouldering the burden of replacing the service line from their home
to the utility sewer collection system, an activity that was not previously eligible in the CWSRF.
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PISCES Exceptional Project: Delaware
Program: Delaware CWSRF
Assistance Recipient: DNREC Parks and Waste & Hazardous
Substances
Protect Title: NVF Yorklyn Site Wetland Project
The first of its kind in Delaware, this brownfield to wetlands conversion project will use natural
systems to remediate water bodies impaired by decades of industrial activity The loan will be repaid
from Hazardous Substances Control Act (HSCA) tax revenues and is secured by a revenue pledge
in the form of a Master-Lease Purchase Agreement with the Department of Natural Resources and
Environmental Control (DNREC) as the Lessee and the CWSRF as the Lessor. A memorandum of
understanding between the parties gives DNREC the right to withhold HSCA tax revenues to pay
annual CWSRF lease payments. This innovative lease-purchase financing structure allows the Division
of Waste & Hazardous Substances (WHS) to borrow from the CWSRF without obligating the State to
any indebtedness associated with a traditional loan agreement. In addition, the overall project involves
a cooperative partnership between multiple state agencies (DNREC-CWSRF, DNREC-WHS, DNREC-
Parks and Recreation), the federal government (EPA-Rrownfields), and the private sector.
The Delaware CWSRF provided $3.3 million in financing to create 2 acres of wetlands by replacing
29,000 tons of soil contaminated with zinc with clean fill material and topsoil. The wetlands will
improve water quality, store stormwater to mitigate flooding, help flush the remaining zinc-impacted
groundwater to the recovery trench, and support the economic redevelopment of the Fiber Mills
District in Yorklyn. An additional $1 million loan will create a series of additional wetlands around
the project site to protect residents and buildings from flooding and runoff. Without the financing and
spirit of partnership made possible by the Delaware CWSRF, the remediation of the site was estimated
to take another 40 years and cost an additional $10.7 million.
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PISCES Exceptional Project: Ohio
Program: Ohio EPA
Assistance Recipient: City of Akron
Protect Title: Howard Storage Basin-North Hill Separation
Project
Akron received an innovative financing package from Ohio EPA's Water Pollution Control Loan Fund
(WPCLF) program to construct a 2.4 million-gallon concrete storage basin to reduce combined sewer
overflows into the Little Cuyahoga River. Akron will borrow $22 million ($13 million at the special
0% rate for combined sewer overflow [CSO] projects) at an overall blended interest rate of 0.93%. In
addition to the rate, the other terms of the assistance package demonstrate the flexibility of the CWSRF
to enable communities like Akron to make these projects a reality. This is the first CWSRF customer
to receive 45-year term financing, which Ohio worked with U.S. EPA to approve earlier this year. In
total, this financing package will save Akron approximately $16.9 million compared to financing this
project at the market rate of 3.68%. To eliminate any fees or the additional costs of a bonding agent,
the WPCLF purchased a bond from Akron and financed a portion of the project costs for the extended
term.
The Howard Storage Basin will hold excess flows during periods of high rainfall and release the
combined sewage to the sewer system when flows have dropped. Designed to contain the "typical
year" event without allowing any overflows to the river, this project will dramatically enhance the
water quality in the Little Cuyahoga River. Hie Basin project is also sponsoring three Water Resources
Restoration and Protection (WRRSP) projects (a land purchase, a wetland restoration, and a dam
removal), which will discount the entire loan package an additional 0.1%.
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PISCES Exceptional Project: Rhode Island
Program: Rhode Island CWSRF
Assistance Recipient: RI Airport Corporation (RIAC)
Protect Title: RIAC Glycol Recovery System
The propylene glycol recovery system at the T.F. Green Airport, in Warwick, Rhode Island, is one
of only four de-icer management facilities in the world. Funded with $33 million from the Rhode
Island Infrastructure Bank, this world-class approach to capturing contamination from plane de-icing
chemicals allows the airport to comply with its Rhode Island Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(RIPDES) permit. Hie system replaces the previous management technique of using vacuum trucks
to capture propylene glycol from catch basins, which was only able to recover 20-30% of the pollutant.
The new collection system achieves a laudable 60% collection rate and has been sized to ensure the
airport facility can grow and drive economic development.
Tlie sophisticated system installed at T.F. Green Airport diverts stormwater runoff to storage tanks,
where real-time sensors can detect de-icer contamination and divert, store, and treat the runoff using
anaerobic digestion. Leaving no opportunity untouched, the system captures methane produced by
the treatment process and uses it to pre-heat the incoming waste stream as well as heat the treatment
facility, which reduces operations and maintenance costs by lowering natural gas usage at the facility
by 95%. This well-considered process prevents propylene glycol (known for lowering dissolved oxygen
in waterbodies) from entering Warwick Pond and Buckeye Brook. Buckeye Brook is undammed and,
along with Warwick Pond, serves as a spawning ground for many fish such as alewife and blueback
herring that migrate into Narragansett Bay. The project protects the water quality for these fish species
essential to the Bays ecosystem and the local fishing industry, and received accolades from local
watershed advocates.
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PISCES Exceptional Project: Washington
Program: Washington Department of Ecology
Assistance Recipient: Tacoma-Pierce County Health Dept
Protect Title: Regional On-Site Sewage System Loan Program (RLP)
The RLP consolidates multiple county-level septic loan programs into a single public-private
partnership (P3) between the State Dept. of Ecology, State Dept. of Health, multiple counties and
local health jurisdictions, and third-party lender Craft3. Ecology contracted with Craft3, a nonprofit
Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), through a competitive procurement process,
and created this P3 to administer a revolving loan fund. Funded with SRF loans, Washington State
Centennial Clean Water grants, and private funds leveraged by Craft3, the RLP program provides
loan assistance to eligible property owners across the region to repair, upgrade, or replace failing or
malfunctioning septic systems (or convert to sewers in some cases), protecting public health and water
quality. Under this creative arrangement, Craft3 works with local authorities to approve individual
projects. Craft3 assumes the financial risk associated with lending and is obligated to repay the SRF
funds.
The program leverages economies of scale and Craft3's lending expertise and infrastructure. This
makes more funds available for loans, outreach, and education, with less needed for program
administration. This allows local governments to reap the benefits of a SRF-funded program while
receiving support in managing the local loan program. Low-income borrowers account for 36% of
the projects, many of who do not qualify for traditional financing. The new consolidated program
streamlines and standardizes the process, making it easier for contractors to work across jurisdictions.
Contractors are paid immediately once each system passes inspection. The RLP also lends to small
businesses, helping to stabilize local economies.
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Honorable Mentions
Program: Illinois EPA
Recipient: MWRD of Greater Chicago
Protect: Phosphorus Recovery System
When the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
of Greater Chicago used CWSRF financing for
improvements at their water reclamation plant in
Cicero, IL, they not only saved money, they made
wastewater treatment history. The project introduced
the largest phosphorus recovery system in the
world. This new technology harvests phosphorus
from wastewater and transforms it into eco-
friendly fertilizer, which will divert 1,100 tons of
phosphorus each year from the treated discharged
to the Mississippi River Basin. Hie phosphorus
recovery facility is a pre-engineered metal building
housing fluidized bed reactors, chemical storage, and
chemical feed facilities for magnesium and sodium
hydroxide. Removing the nutrient and converting
it to fertilizer provides cost savings compared with
traditional phosphorus removal in terms of lower
costs for chemicals, waste disposal, maintenance, and
electricity.
Program: Iowa SRF
Recipient: City of Dubuque
Protect: Bee Branch Creek Protect
The Bee Branch Creek project in Dubuque, Iowa
is a success story about how a city dealt with an
historic neighborhood prone to flooding (with six
Presidential Disaster Declarations and $70 million
in damage between 1999 and 2011) by replacing
one-mile of storm sewer with a creek and floodplain.
This daylighting of the creek will not only allow
stormwater from flash floods to safely move through
the area (protecting more than 1,000 properties),
but will also restore aquatic habitat by allowing
sunlight to foster the growth of the microorganisms
needed to sustain fish. The design includes riffles,
runs, a cobble creek bed, submerged boulders, and
permeable pavement for nearby streets. The project
proved its worth in 2017, when a heavy thunderstorm
caused minimal flooding compared to a similar storm
in 2002 which resulted in more than $11 million
in damage. Nearly half the project's $60 million
cost came from the CWSRF (including $6 million
principal forgiveness), and the city paid for the
rest with financing from six other state and federal
programs and municipal stormwater utility fees.
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Honorable Mentions
Program: Minnesota CWSRF
Recipient: Rock County
Protect: Implementation of Nonpoint Practices
Program: New Jersey SRF
Recipient: City of Hoboken
Protect: Green Infrastructure CSO Initiative
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Sporadic flood ing is a part of life in the low-lying
sections of Hoboken since they are located in
the tidal marsh of the Hudson River across from
Manhattan, The City also struggles with combined
sewer systems overflows; during storm events, the
volume of sewage and stormwater overwhelms the
system, causing diluted raw sewage to back up into
basements and neighborhoods. Hoboken is tackling
these problems head-on with a city-wide stormwater
management campaign and green infrastructure
initiative, featuring two parks designed to better
handle stormwater flows. The green features of
these parks include underground detention systems,
permeable paving, rain gardens, and bioswales to
filter and absorb street runoff. Together, these 1-acre
and 6-acre park facilities can detain up to 1.2 million
gallons of stormwater and slowly release it to the
City's sewer system for treatment while providing
green space. With a total cost of $37 million, funding
for these projects was provided by two different New
Jersey agencies, including $4.2 million in low-interest
CWSRF financing from the N J Environmental
Infrastructure Financing Program.
The Rock County Land Management Office has been
a standout local government unit when it comes to
implementing Minnesota's innovative Agricultural
Best Management Practices (AgBMP) Loan Program.
In the 20-year history of the program, the County
has provided 377 loans worth nearly $8 million
for AgBMPs using CWSRF funds, state funds, and
other financing sources in order to reduce costs
to the multi-generational farms. Dennis Leuthold
borrowed $149,000 to address high nitrates in local
wells by reconstructing his stockyard for 926 cows.
The result of the rancher's environmental stewardship
efforts was an immediate drop in nitrate levels well
below drinking water standards. Elsewhere in Rock
County, the owner of Fluit Farm borrowed $200,000
to purchase a high clearance fertilizer applicator,
improving his crop yield while at the same time
protecting residents with shallow drinking water
wells from nitrate pollution. Demonstrating the
spirit of cooperative problem-solving embodied by
Rock County, Fluit Farm has also offered to lend the
machinery to neighboring farmers.
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Honorable Mentions
Program: West Virgina CWSRF
Recipient: New Haven - Winona
Protect: Septic Tank Gravity System
The community of Winona is a former coal camp
of 99 homes and commercial buildings located in
Fayette County, West Virginia. Current wastewater
disposal practices in Winona consist of direct
discharges and failing septic systems that release raw
or partially treated wastewater into local ditches,
ravines, and streams. Because of this, Keeney Creek,
which flows through the center of the community,
has the highest frequency of bacteria violations in the
New River watershed. This project creates a state-
of-the-art decentralized sewer system through a
series of distributed high capacity septic systems. The
project will treat wastewater using Orenco Advantex
technology, which recirculates effluent through
sheets of textile filters that last longer and require less
maintenance than alternatives. The project combines
principal forgiveness from the CWSRF with grant
funding from two state agencies to keep the project
affordable (under $60 per month) for this low-income
community. The flexibility of the CWSRF to provide
funding for pre-bid engineering, legal, accounting,
and administrative costs was key to making this
project a reality.
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Recognized Projects
Program: Alabama SRF
Recipient: City of Albeetville
Protect: Biosolid Upgrades / Energy Recovery
Biosolids disposal is a costly annual operational
expense for the Municipal Utilities Board of
Albertville (MUB), which decided to take a proactive
approach to reducing the operating costs and
improving the overall efficiency of the Albertville
Eastside Wastewater Treatment Plant. The MUB
received CWSRF assistance to install a new, cutting-
edge sludge dryer that produces renewable biosolids
for use as agricultural fertilizer while utilizing the
biogas formed during the treatment process as fuel
to operate the drying system. The utility upgraded
the grit and grease removal (at the headworks) and
the digester mixing processes to increase biogas
production and enable MUB to accept additional
grease from septic haulers. This provided the potential
for significant amounts of additional biogas fuel.
Overall, these improvements afford MUB a long-
term, sustainable solution for converting a costly
waste (Class B biosolids) into a beneficial by-product
(Class A biosolids) while utilizing a renewable, green
energy source. Hie project was funded with a grant
from the Tennessee Valley Authority combined with
principal forgiveness and a loan from the Tennessee
CWSRF.
Program: Colorado SRF
Recipient: Boxelder Sanitation District
Protect: Biological Nutrient Removal
In 2014, the Boxelder Sanitation District used $11
million in assistance from the Colorado Water
Pollution Control Revolving Fund to replace its
aerated lagoon system with an orbal nitrification
plant, which will remove ammonia year-round. The
new treatment system will help purify discharges
into a creek that is 303(d) listed for selenium and E.
coli. The project has been one of many success stories
showcased by the Colorado Water Quality Control
Divisions ground-breaking measurable results
program. Hie program captured detailed instream
monitoring data between 2011-2015 of the impressive
water quality improvements from the new Boxelder
treatment plant, including decreases of 95-99% in
nutrient levels, 88% in biological oxygen demand,
48% in selenium, and 67% in E. coli. These dramatic
improvements have slashed the number of wastewater
effluent violations from 19 to 5.
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Recognized Projects
Program: Florida CWSRF
Recipient: City of Graceville
Protect: Digester Upgrade
Graceville, a rural community of 2,212 people
with a low median household income operates a
relatively new treatment plant, but the aeration tank
and blowers it uses for sludge processing are old
and inefficient. This project will replace the existing
blowers with new high efficiency models coupled with
a jockey pump that offers an adjustable aeration rate.
The level of aeration is determined by an innovative,
patent pending process that calculates the rate
needed based on real time data supplied by sensors
in the digester. Not only will this technology greatly
reduce the aeration requirement, but it will also keep
phosphorus bound in the sludge so that it is not
returned to the headworks. Because the phosphorus
will be removed with the sludge, the alum required to
remove phosphorus during the treatment process can
be greatly reduced. It is anticipated that this project
will result in cost savings of more than twice the debt
service on the CWSRF loan, allowing the City to
make other critical improvements to the system.
Program: Georgia SRF
Recipient: City of Hinesville
Protect: Stormwater Retention
Hinesville borrowed $4 million from the Georgia
CWSRF for a project that hides stormwater storage
in plain sight. To improve water quality in 303(d)
listed Peacock Creek and other water bodies, a 15
acre lake in the middle of Bryant Commons was
retrofitted to retain and treat stormwater from
downtown Hinesville. Discharges from the pond are
made through a series of cascades, which oxygenates
the water. Hinesville is a 300 acre, highly impervious
urban area, which experienced localized flooding
during past storm events and degraded water quality
in Peacock Creek. As a result of this project, total
suspended solids deposited in local streams were
reduced by 80 percent.
Existing Blowers
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Recognized Projects
Program; Idaho CWSRF
Recipient: City of Fruitland
Protect: Wastewater System Consolidation
Fruitland relied on outdated lagoons to treat their
wastewater and struggled to meet permit limits for
their discharges to two different 303d-listed streams.
This project replaced these failing treatment systems
with a single innovative Multi-Stage Activated
Biological Process, which allows the City to protect
salmon populations in the Snake River, The project
eliminates one discharge and removes enough
nutrients to meet the permit levels at the other
discharge without adding any chemicals. Fruitland
coupled these improvements with additional energy
saving upgrades, including a new interceptor sewer
(consolidating all wastewater flow to the downstream
upgraded plant), a high intensity UV disinfection
system, and tertiary filtration. Idaho's CWSRF funded
half the project and partnered with a variety of local,
state, and federal funding sources to fund the rest. The
energy efficiency improvements alone will save the
small community $300,000 annually, with a similar
sum saved from eliminating the need for chemical
purchase and byproduct disposal. The City now has
a single, combined wastewater treatment facility with
a single discharge to a different receiving stream,
meeting stringent effluent permit limits.
Program: Indiana CWSRF
Recipient: City of Fort Wayne
Protect: Three Rivers Protection and Overflow
Fort Wayne embarked on an ambitious approach
to meet a Consent Decree to reduce the volume of
combined sewage discharged while providing extra
protection against extreme weather events. The Three
Rivers Protection and Overflow Reduction Tunnel
(3RPORT) was constructed using $188 million in
financing from the CWSRF. The highlights of the
massive infrastructure project are 5 miles of 16-foot
diameter tunnels and 1 mile of 18-foot diameter
connection sewers with an expected useful life of
100 years. The cost savings are as out-sized as the
underground tunnels: $1.70 per gallon compared to
$5 per gallon to retrofit existing stormwater storage.
Experts estimated that only a 12-foot diameter tunnel
would be necessary to meet the terms of the Consent
Decree, but the City decided to widen the tunnel to
a 16-foot diameter for the prospect of future rainfall
increases and higher than expected stormwater flows.
The mega-tunnel offers an additional 18 million
gallons of storage, ensuring that this scenic city at the
confluence of the Maumee, St. Marys, and St. Joseph
rivers will be able to weather the storms to come.
5. Excavated earth removed by conveyor belt
4. Hydraulic rams push against newly-placed
concrete segments to drive machine forwards
1. Rotating cutter head
Person
to scale
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Recognized Projects
Program: Louisiana CWSRF
Recipient: Town of Homer
Protect: Wastewater Reuse
Located in Northern Louisiana near the Arkansas
border, the Town of Homer is home to 3,200 people.
The Town owns and operates a 1.34 MGD wastewater
treatment plant and accompanying collection system
and discharges into Bayou D'Arbonne. Hie Towns
assets also include a 43-acre municipal golf course.
Using $464,492.50 in CWSRF funds, the Town
constructed a 200,000 gallon water tank to hold
reclaimed wastewater, which can be delivered through
a new force main, for irrigating the golf course. By
using the reclaimed wastewater, Homer can reduce
its withdrawals from the Sparta aquifer, preserving
this source for the fourteen parishes that rely on it
for drinking water. Prior to this resource-conserving
project being implemented, the aquifer was being
drained at an unsustainable pace. In addition to
reducing pressure on the aquifer withdrawals, the
Town will reduce costs by avoiding withdrawals.
Program: Maryland CWSRF
Recipient: Queen Anne's County
Protect: Kent Island Sewer Collection System
Queen Anne's County utilized CWSRF assistance
to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay by
connecting 1,526 properties that had failing septic
systems. This $55 million project is partially financed
by a $34 million CWSRF loan for disadvantaged
communities that includes $1.2 million in loan
forgiveness, a low 0.8% interest rate, and a 30-year
repayment term. The failing septic systems are
generally on small lots with marginal soils and high
groundwater. Upgrading Southern Kent Island to
sewer service will not only remove 7,000 pounds of
nitrogen each year from Chesapeake Bay, but will
also benefit the community by improving property
values, spurring new development, and making the
island more resilient. A combination of revenue
streams, including a premium assessed on buildable
vacant lots, has enabled the county to keep the project
affordable at under $100 per month per customer.
WARMING
GOLF COURSE IRRIGATED
WITH RECLAIMED WATER
HOMER
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Recognized Projects
Program: Massachusetts CWSRF
Recipient: Greater Lawrence Sanitary District
Protect: Organics to Energy
Massachusetts banned the landfilling of organic
materials in 2014, which created an excellent
opportunity for wastewater utilities with anaerobic
digesters to accept this food waste and use it for
energy production. The Greater Lawrence Sanitary
District seized this opportunity using a $24 million
CWSRF loan combined with $6 million in grants
from state agencies to make improvements to its
digester and treatment works. Hie upgraded facility
will be able to accept 92,000 GPD of source separated
organics and use this material to generate 3 MW of
electricity on-site, reducing its carbon footprint by
3,919 tons per year (the equivalent of taking 840 cars
off the road) and furthering its goal of becoming a
resilient zero-net-energy facility by 2018.
Program: Missouri CWSRF
Recipient: Upper White River Basin Foundation
Protect: On-site Septic Remediation Program
This area of the state has beautiful lakes that drive
a thriving tourist industry, but many of the year-
round households are low income and constructing
on-site septic systems can be costly due to shallow
bedrock, steep terrain, and proximity to surface
waters. Missouri has awarded $2 million in additional
subsidization to a third party organization called
the Upper White River Basin Foundation, Inc. also
known as Ozarks Water Watch (OWW) to setup a
program that provides funding to homeowners to
repair or replace failing on-site septic systems. This
program empowers local residents to protect their
water resources while also generating economic
growth. OWW uses the income level of the
homeowner to determine the funding package mix of
grant money and zero-interest loans. Since 2011, the
program has been able to replace or rehab 238 septic
systems using $1.5 million from the Missouri CWSRF
as well as loan repayments from some of the early
septic loans. The program has prevented an estimated
6.7 million gallons of untreated sewage from entering
the area's water annually.
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Recognized Projects
Program: New Mexico CWSRF
Recipient: South Sandoval County
Protect: Montoyas Arroyo Improvement
After flooding plagued the Village of Corrales, NM in
2006 and 2013, the Southern Sandoval County Arroyo
Flood Control Authority developed a project utilizing
innovative green design to enhance the absorption
of stormwater to lower the risk of further floods.
The core element of the project was a "mechanical
phytoremediation" facility designed to use the
capacity of plants to capture and filter sediment,
floatables, and debris from stormwater and to allow
for the absorption of the remaining flow into a
permeable surface. This low-impact project preserves
the arroyo in its natural state and creates open space
with trails for community use. Hie upper infiltration
basin uses natural oxbows for sediment and debris
removal, while the lower segment uses a braided
channel with an infiltration basis; a series of dry wells
in both areas promotes groundwater recharge.
Program: New York CWSRF
Recipient: Westchester County
Protect: New Rochelle YVYVTP Upgrades
Westchester County agreed to a Consent Order in
2004 that required it to upgrade the New Rochelle
wastewater treatment plant to meet stringent new
discharge limits on total nitrogen, chlorine residuals,
and additional suspended solids in order to protect
the Long Island Sound Estuary. At the same time, the
County needed to expand the plant from 13 MGD
to 20.6 MGD to handle peak flow surges during
more frequent wet weather events. Accomplishing
these upgrades was challenging because the facility
is located on a peninsula with little land available for
expansion. Therefore, the utility decided to install
new innovative tertiary treatment biofilters (which
requires less space) and eliminate the use of chlorine
by switching to UV disinfection. The net result of
this $280 million CWSRF-financed project is a state-
of-the-art treatment facility that has met the higher
standards since becoming operational in 2015.
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Recognized Projects
Program: Oklahoma CWSRF
Recipient: Oklahoma Conservation Commission
Protect: Green Infrastructure
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC)
received CWSRF financial assistance and partnered
with other state agencies, municipalities, universities,
and non-profit groups to implement diverse projects
in disadvantaged communities to protect waterbodies
on the state's 303d list, which are significantly
impacted by NPS pollution. One innovative arm of
the project creates a wetland at Lake Eufaula in which
the native vegetation and wetland soils will capture
and treat stormwater runoff from a portion of the
City of Eufaula. The location will include educational
components and recreational opportunities so that
residents can learn about the value of wetlands.
Another project at Lake McMurtry used project funds
to create a parking lot using permeable pavement,
which will increase infiltration and reduce pollutant
runoff. Hie final demonstration and educational
project funded by the OCC was a bioretention cell for
the parking lot at the Grand River Dam Authority's
state-of-the-art water quality and research lab. The
bioretention cell will capture and treat runoff from
the parking lot area at the edu cation center and will
be used as part of a tour to educate visitors about the
principles of low-impact development and the efforts
necessary to protect Grand Lake water quality.
Program: Pennsylvania CWSRF
Recipient: City of Philadelphia
Protect: Green Infrastructure
The City of Philadelphia has a combined sewer and
stormwater system with 164 permitted outfalls. To
minimize and mitigate combined sewer overflows
(CSOs), the City borrowed $30 million from
PENNVEST to fund its groundbreaking Green City
Clean Waters program. Since its launch in 2011,
the program has funded 95 different projects and
exceeded expectations by reducing stormwater runoff
and CSOs by an incredible 1.7 billion gallons a year.
This funding model differs from the traditional
CWSRF process, which involves completion of
planning, design, and bidding before the loan is
executed. Under this funding model, new projects are
chosen every 6 months, spanning a broad spectrum
of green best practices including green roofs, curb
bump-outs, rain gardens, permeable payments,
wetlands, tree plantings, and stream restoration.
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Recognized Projects
Program: South Carolina CWSRF
Recipient: City of Myrtle Beach
Protect: 4th Avenue Ocean Outfall
The City of Myrtle Beach received a $12 million
CWSRF loan to eliminate nine outfalls that
discharged stormwater directly onto a beach used
year-round by millions of visitors. Hie stormwater
from downtown (a densely developed 87 acres of
businesses and homes) is now discharged 1,100
feet into the ocean, protecting both public health
and environmental quality along the Grand Strand
coastline. Tliis iconic stretch of beach has been
plagued by elevated levels of enterococcus bacteria,
resulting in numerous warning signs and media
stories about unsafe water that harmed the critical
tourist industry. The State and City expect the new
ocean outfall to reduce bacteria levels and eliminate
many of the swimming advisory signs. In addition to
these critical improvements, another major benefit
is the prevention of erosion caused by stormwater
discharges at the beach.
Program: Texas CWSRF
Recipient: North Fort Bend Water Authority
Protect: Grand Lakes Reclaimed Water System
In the bustling Houston metropolitan area, the North
Fork Bend Water Authority (the Authority) has
promoted reuse of treated effluent as a resourceful
and sustainable source for irrigation of green spaces.
After acknowledging significant demand for recycled
water, the Authority received $11 million (including
$1.6 million in principal forgiveness) in CWSRF
assistance for the construction phase of a reuse system
that will treat effluent from one wastewater treatment
plant to Type I Standards and distribute the water
throughout several Grand Lakes Municipal Utility
Districts for irrigation of green spaces. The treated
water will also help maintain levels in the scenic
amenity lakes throughout the Districts. The system is
anticipated to replace 0.59 million gallons of potable
water use each day with reclaimed water flowing
through approximately 52,000 linear feet of purple
pipe. Hie community gains a more cost-effective
and sustainable solution to maintaining green spaces
and amenity lakes while lowering dependence on
groundwater.
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Recognized Projects
Program: Virginia CWSRF
Recipient: City of Waynesboro
Protect: Wetland Stormwater Retention
The City of Waynesboro transformed a vacant field
containing a small stream and dry detention pond
into a wetland stormwater retention system that
protects the South River and Chesapeake Bay from
polluted run-off. This wetland is a Level 2 design,
meaning it removes 75% of incoming phosphorus
and 55% of nitrogen loads. The existing stream was
re-routed through terraced pools and ponds created
in the field, which serve to retain and delay the flow
of excess water during rainstorms. Native plants
and trees placed on-site help to filter and absorb the
phosphorus and nitrogen from the polluted run-off
before it moves downstream to the South River and
the Chesapeake Bay. Additionally, the City plans to
develop a community garden, trails around the ponds,
and signs explaining the history of the project to allow
residents of the nearby Jefferson Park neighborhood
to enjoy the area. Waynesboro funded the $1.7
million project with a loan of $870,376 at 0% interest
for 20 years through the Virginia Clean Water State
Revolving Loan Fund and a state grant of $861,364
from the Virginia Stormwater Local Assistance Fund.
Program: Wisconsin CWSRF
Recipient: Green Bay
Protect: New Water R2E2: Resource Recovery
The Green Bay Metropolitan Sewerage District,
known as NEW Water, is using CWSRF financing to
implement a project known as Resource Recovery
Electrical Energy (R2E2). Hie R2E2 project values
waste as a resource to recover rather than something
worthless to dispose. The project will use resource
recovery methods to save money, replace its solids
handling facility, meet stricter environmental
regulations, increase capacity, and replace aging
infrastructure. Hie workhorses of the project
are two anaerobic digesters that will break down
biodegradable material and capture the methane
gas produced to generate electricity, providing
approximately half the electricity the utility needs
each year and saving $2 million annually. Greenhouse
gas emissions are expected to be reduced by about
22,000 metric tons per year, the equivalent to
removing about 15,000 vehicles from the road.
Another value-added byproduct of the process will
be rich fertilizer, which will be sold commercially as
another source of revenue. NEW Water will also be
able to accept waste streams that they never could
before, including food processing waste, diverting
more material from landfills and revolutionizing the
role of the utility as a multi-faceted environmental
service provider.
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For more information about the Clean Water
State Revolving Fund, please contact us at:
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Wastewater Management
Clean Water State Revolving Fund Branch
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (4204M)
Washington, D.C. 20460
www.epa.gov/cwsrf
Clean Water
State Revolving Fund
Office of Water October 2017
EPA Publication 830K17002
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