A $1.3 million pilot project in Bayonne, N.J., could have national implications for stormwater management. The New Jersey Wet Weather Flow Treatment and Disinfection Project will test treatment processes for combined sewer overflows and help determine the viability of disinfection systems installed at CSO discharge points.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and U.S EPA have teamed with the Bayonne Municipal Utility Authority to assess whether pathogen concentrations can be reduced at CSO discharge points by using UV and other disinfection technologies.

New Jersey is the first state to conduct a full-scale project to test CSO disinfection technologies.

“United Water expects that the New Jersey DEP could benefit from this demonstration project and that it would result in not only local municipal and state benefits, but it might make a significant beneficial national impact as well,” United Water’s Chris Riat told the Hudson Reporter.

Source: Hudson Reporter 

Springfield Proposes $200 Million Sewer Project

Sewer overflows are at the heart of a $200 million sewer investment plan in Springfield, Mo. The plan, which will likely be submitted to the state Department of Natural Resources in December, covers investments to the sewer system through 2025. This long-term overflow control project is in addition to a $50 million “early action plan” that has included the rehabilitation of more than 200,000 feet of sewer pipe.

With the hefty price tag come sewer fee increases. Rates are expected to increase from $27.29 per month on average to $49.43 by 2025.

“Of all the issues that we tend to deal with, this probably has the largest potential dollar impact on our citizens,” says City Manager Greg Burris in the Springfield News-Leader.

Source: Springfield News-Leader

Stormwater Fee Heads to Ballot for Voter Approval

This November, voters in El Paso County, Colo., will have the chance to approve a stormwater fee that will fund the Pikes Peak Regional Drainage Authority. The ballot measure, which will affect five municipalities, received final approval from the El Paso County Commission.

If approved by voters, the new fee structure will pay for stormwater projects for the next 20 years. Residential property owners will pay a fixed fee of $7.70 per month. According to an intergovernmental agreement, 55 percent of that money will be used for capital improvements and the remainder will go toward administration, operation and emergency needs.

“It’s about the cost of doing nothing,” says District 1 Commissioner Darryl Glenn in The Gazette.

Source: The Gazette

$3.8 Million Sensus Water Meter Replacement Begins

Ponte Vedra, Fla., is in the process of replacing and upgrading thousands of water meters with smart meters. The City has contracted with Sensus for the $3.8 million project, which should be complete in late September or early October.

The new meters will connect to the city’s existing software.

“Industrywide, utilities are going to either drive-by readings or completely electronic,” says Frank Kenton, administrative manager at St. Johns County Utility Department in a Florida Times-Union article. “It’s — for lack of a better term — the wave of the future.”

The project is being funded through a state revolving fund. Kenton says the new meters are a safer option for the city.

“This will allow us to keep some trucks off the street and out of neighborhoods, so there are intangible benefits as well,” he says. “The focus of the project is to reduce aging water meters.”

Source: Florida Times-Union