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2021 Summer Meeting Report
By: David Collard
The CIPWO 2021 Summer Meeting was held at the Fairbury WWTP (the training and lunch was conducted at the North Park Pavilion in Fairbury) on July 28, 2021. We had approximately 30 members and venders in attendance. The meeting began promptly at 10am with a business meeting for the membership’s information and/or approval.
The main item of business was concerning how the organization handled money matters. Previously Dave Miller had been dealing with the collection of lunch fees etc. through his personal financial entity, albeit in a separate account. However, the way regulations and agencies have changed over time that is not possible as it is too burdensome and placed too much risk on one member of the organization. The Officers have decided that it is best if CIPWO acquires an EIN, and perhaps even a tax-exempt status, etc. to keep the organization capable of doing its business in compliance with modern financial standards. A vote of affirmation from the members was requested and all present voted to approve the necessary changes. Dave Miller and VP Jessi Baker will be moving forward on the paperwork to facilitate the needed changes.
Dave Miller also gave a brief financial report to the membership which then concluded the business meeting session.
Following the business meeting we went directly to the speakers. First up was Greg Schwartz of Aquafix. Greg spoke to the group concerning infestations of biomass which is not conducive to the effective operations of a treatment system. His prime example was from his work with the Fairbury treatment plant related to an outbreak of redworms in their system. The infestation was causing problems with DO levels and TSS in the plant discharge and therefore could not be tolerated. Greg developed a treatment regime utilizing several of the Aquafix products, and with some refining of the dosages was able to eradicate the redworms in very short order. Brad Duncan, Superintendent of Fairbury WWTP attested to the effectiveness of the process and was appreciative of Greg and Aquafix's help.
Our second presentation was given by Mike Lutz P.E. of Farnsworth who filled in for Zack Knight who was unable to make the meeting. Mike ran through the process of the decisions, design, and eventual construction that went into the upgrades at Fairbury WWTP. His discussions were a great lead into the plant tour which would take place later that afternoon and we appreciate him taking the time to come and present to our members.
As is the usual practice following the presentations we all enjoyed a meal of burgers and brats with the fixings served up by Dean Miller and his "assistant" Dave Miller. I would also mention the Brad Dunkin supplied the nice smoker/grill that was used. The meal was great and thanks to Dean and to all those that were involved!
Following lunch, we finished up at the pavilion with drawing for door prizes and then we loaded up to move to the treatment plant where Brad and his team of operators gave a tour of the facilities. The few pictures I took do not do this plant justice. It seems to be a well thought-out, designed, and operated plant. Which its operators are obviously and rightly very proud. CIPWO wishes the thank the Fairbury crew for hosting; it was a great day, and it was great to be able to get back together finally!
Below you can find a collage of some of the pictures taken, and on the "Gallery" page are the full-size pics.
Our next meeting will be the 2022 Winter Meeting on the last Wednesday of January 26th, 2022. I hope to see you all there!
2021 CIPWO Summer Meeting Details:
The details for the upcoming 2021 CIPWO Summer Meeting are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, July 28th, 2021
Location: Fairbury IL WWTP (Fairbury North Park Pavilion on N. Jackson St, just south of E 900 North Rd. Junction (Map Coords: 40.757303, -88.519221)
Agenda: The 2021 Summer Meeting will be held at the Fairbury North Park Pavilion on N. Jackson St, and following the Business Meeting, Presentations, and Lunch we will then go to the Wastewater Plant for a tour in the afternoon.
Schedule: Registration 9am-10am, Business Meeting & two Presentations 10am-12pm, Lunch 12pm-1pm, Plant Tours 1-2:30pm.
First Presenter: Greg Schwartz, Aquafix Topic: Controlling Redworm Infestation et.al in WW Treatment
Second Presenter: Zach Knight & Brad Duncan Topic: Fairbury WWTP Long-term Control Plan Review
Notes: The Presentation titles are tentative awaiting an update from the Presenters for confirmation. CEUs have be applied for the presentations and HAVE been approved by the IEPA.
It would be of great help if you would click the LINK below and RSVP the number of attendees you plan to attend the meeting- Thank you in advance for your help!
2021 Spring Officer's Meeting Report
by Dave Collard
May 18, 2021 the Officer’s of CIPWO held its Spring Officer’s Meeting via conference call. Present for the meeting were Ian Magerl, Jessi Baker, Mike Elsberry, Dave Miller, and me. Logan Krippel was unable to attend. There were enough present to conduct the meeting.
The main topic of discussion was the Summer Meeting and whether it could take place given the current state of the pandemic. I am pleased to announce the decision was made that we are going to try to hold an in-person Summer Meeting on the normal date of the last Wednesday of July (07/28/21). The officers will be attempting to secure a site that is willing to accommodate the Meeting. If we can secure a suitable venue, we will then begin to investigate getting some speakers to present at the meeting.
If there are any members who would wish to volunteer to host the meeting please contact one of the Officers asap. Likewise, any venders or members, if you have a presentation that you would like to offer the group contact the officers as well.
Unfortunately, that is all the information that I have for you now. It is my intent to update the membership as the planning progresses. I look forward to meeting with you all this summer.
CIPWO Summer Meeting 2021
Date: July 28th, 2021
Location: Fairbury IL WWTP (Meeting will take place at the North Park Pavilion on N. Jackson St, just south of E 900 North Rd. Junction - Map Coords: 40.757303, -88.519221)
First Presenter: Greg Schwartz, Aquafix Topic: Controlling Redworm Infestation in WW Treatment
Second Presenter: Zach Knight & Brad Duncan Topics: Fairbury WWTP Long-term Control Plan Review
CIPWO Officer’s Survey Results
The results from the Survey came in during February with 18 members voting it was unanimous to retain the Officer’s at their current position for an extra year. As I reported earlier all of the Officer’s a indicated that they were willing to accept for an addition year so it seems this will be the official decision.
2020 Fall CIPWO Officer's Meeting Report
by Dave Collard
The CIPWO Officers met on November 17th via conference call to discuss the potential for a 2021 Winter Meeting. I am sorry to report that given the circumstances with the Pandemic it was decided that it would be best to cancel the meeting. The best we can do for now is to look forward to the next Summer Meeting.
There is one outstanding piece of business that we feel needs to be resolved. Normally, the Winter Meeting is when new officer's are selected and/or move to new positions. With no meeting planned the Officer's came up with the following plan. Jessi Baker will be sending out a survey via Survey Monkey asking the question of whether or not the current Officer's should have their appointments extended; the thought being that they have really not had an opportunity to perform the normal tasks and duties assigned. If the survey supports this question the Officers will act accordingly. However if the question should fail the Officers will look into other avenues to fill the position(s). You should see that survey coming out in early January 2021.
Finally, the Officers discussed potential alternative training methods to assist our members in acquiring the CEUs they will need starting in 2022. While nothing definitive came out of the discussion there were some ideas considered. If any of these develop to the point that is appropriate to pass on to the membership we will most certainly do so.
I believe I speak for all of the Officers on this; be safe, stay well!
IEPA Staffing & Certifications Changes
The IEPA informed the Board of Certifications November 4th, 2020 that it has promoted Cathy Siders to the Compliance Manager position which formerly was held by Roger Calloway.
They further informed that they are changing the method by which they administrate and facilitate the certification and renewal process for Operators. By the end of 2020 the Certifications for both Water and Wastewater Operators will be combined into one office referred too as the Operator's Certifications Department. This department will be managed by Tatum DeMay and the agency is adding several more staff positions to assist in meeting the workload related to Operator Certifications.
They stated that they have already migrated all of the Wastewater Operators data into the database that was previously used for Water treatment Operators only. There will be some minor changes when Trainers are registering training sessions, but all operators should see little change in their use of the website.
Additionally, the Agency informed the Board and offered apologies that they would not be ablehold any certification tests through December 2020 to allow time for these transitions to get resolved.
Wastewater Operators and Chief Operators are also requested to visit the sight and update your data as soon as possible. The Agency is attempting to discern which Operator's are still active and update their contact information etc.
http://dataservices.epa.illinois.gov/operatorcertification/Anonymous/Search.aspx
IEPA Wastewater Operator Certification Testing Information
Debbie Alderman of the IEPA asked me to pass on this link where all operators interested in news related to potential testing can get the most up-to-date information available. Please follow the link below if you have an interest in this information. You will note that all testing for June has been cancelled already. She reports that the Agency is now looking to July and may send out letters for exam admissions for that month. However, she said even that could be subject to change and that everyone should check the the linked web-page for the most relevant information. She also asks that you check it often!
2020 Winter Meeting Report
By: David Collard
The 2020 Winter Meeting was held on Jan 29, 2020 at Hudson Farm in Urbana IL. There was 47 individuals in attendance, 35 regular members and the balance made up of Associated Members from several different companies.
The meeting was called to order by Logan Krippel our CIPWO President for 2020 and it was started with a brief business meeting which took care of a few house-keeping items for the group and an announcement was made concerning the fact that Roger Calloway of the IEPA had retired as of 12/31/19. An attempt was made also to ask for volunteers for the vacant Vice-President position and without any the item was tabled for later discussion. The business meeting was then closed, and the presentations were started.
The first speaker was David Roskowic of ChemScan, Inc. who presented on Process Analyzers for Nutrient Control and Monitoring. This was mostly concerned with in-line analyzers when testing for chlorine residuals, ammonia, and several other analytes. David explained that these methods were more reliable than probes and explained how they could best assist operators in process control of their facilities. From my perspective I would say that in-line analyzers perfectly fit with the concept of work smarter not harder, and I’d say this presentation supported this idea well.
After a short break we invited Dan Johnson of AlgaeWheel, Inc. up for our second presentation. Dan had presented on the algae-based system several years ago for our group and was back to give an update. The system has advanced well since that time. It is now an accepted treatment process for wastewater treatment by the IEPA as well as sites in several other states, and even has sales outside the US in Mexico. The presentation went extremely well and actually ran a bit overtime with many questions being fielded by Dan.
Following the presentations, the group broke for a very nice lunch that was catered by Hickory River and lunch was followed by the drawing of door prizes (supplied by the Associate Members). The meeting then returned to the discussion of the new VP and Jessi Baker of U-CSD volunteered to fill the spot and was unanimously voted in by the membership. Thank you Jessi!
On behalf of CIPWO I wish to offer an extra thanks to the two Presenters as they stepped up on very short notice and served the Group well with these presentations! Likewise, I will mention that the CIPWO group is very thankful and beholden to our Associate/Sponsoring Members who regularly attend and support our Group. In attendance at this meeting were Peterson & Matz, Gasvoda & Associates, Municipal Equipment, & Metropolitan Industries! I will offer thanks too to our out-going President Mike Elsberry who will fill the Coordinator spot for the next 2 years which is vacated by Jim Royer. Thank you Jim for your service to CIPWO.
Lastly, many thanks to Bruce Butler of U-CSD who retired just yesterday; a longtime member of CIPWO, member and Past-president of IAWPCO, Past-Chair of the Wastewater Board of Certifications, and recipient of the Klassen Award.
I hope to see everyone for the 2020 Summer Meeting on July 29 this year!
2020 Winter Meeting Information!
The 2020 Winter Meeting is scheduled for January 29th 2020 and will take place at Hudson Farms . Registration is at 9-10am, and the address is 1341 County Rd 1800 E, Urbana, IL 61802.
The Speakers are;
1st Speaker; David Roskowic, ChemScan, Inc.
Topic: Process Analyzers for Nutrient Control and Monitoring
2nd Speaker; Dan Johnson, AlgaeWheel, Inc.
Topic: Update of algae based treatment system(s)
If you have not RSVP'd please do so by using this Link:
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2019 Fall Officer's Meeting Notes: by Dave Collard
On November 8th the CIPWO Officer's convened at Chili's in Champaign to plan for the upcoming Winter Meeting. Present was Dave Miller, Mike Elsberry, and Logan Kripple. I checked in via phone which has enabled me to generate this report. Also, as all three in attendance were voting members there was a quorum present to conduct the business at hand.
I will go directly to the decisions that were made during the meeting which relate directly to the Meeting. This is all I have at the moment. I will update the info as it becomes available.
CIPWO Winter Meeting 2020
Date: January 29th 2020
Location: Hudson's Farm, Urbana IL
Topics: Shoring & Trenching, and SCADA (Cellular)
Presenters: TBA
2019 Summer Meeting Report
By: David Collard
The CIPWO 2019 Summer Meeting was held at the Bloomington-Normal Water Reclamation District’s (BNWRD) Southeast Plant on July 31, 2019. We had approximately 25-30 members and venders present. The meeting began promptly at 10am with a few business items for the membership’s information and/or approval.
The first item was the utilization of a new website location on the Yola.com webhosting site. As you are already aware if you are reading this on the Yola hosted site Orgsites has gone down again and I’m not sure that it will return. I do have all but the very most recent info from the site backed up and will archive them somewhere for posterity. Everyone at the meeting seemed to not have a problem with this turn of events so we will continue with Yola for the foreseeable future regardless of what happens at Orgsites.
The second item was that I mentioned that since it was July that everyone who is a chief operator and everyone in general should log into the IEPA website and make sure their information was up-to-date. The website URL to do that is: http://dataservices.epa.illinois.gov/OperatorCertification/Anonymous/Search.aspx .
Following the business meeting we went directly to the speakers. First up was Andre Bretl P.E. of Clark-Dietz Engineering. Andrea spoke on work that was planned or already moving forward at the Evansville East Plant concerning upgrades to their facilities. One of the several treatment processes that was mentioned that was interesting was the Biological Aerated Filters (BAF) and another was the design to change the flow pattern from three dedicated secondary clarifiers to a flexible design that would allow any secondary to receive flow from any and all of the mixed liquor tanks. It was a very interesting presentation to say the least.
Our second presentation was given by Rick Lallish of ERTC concerning the new CEU regulations and implementation. One thing Rick mentioned that I want to pass on is that while the Agency is taking four years to meet the CEU requirements for Class 1 and 2 he was not sure if they would count any CEUs earned in 2019. I and the other Board of Certifications will discuss this with the Agency at the next Board meeting in November to confirm one way or another but until then I’d recommend getting and maintaining the CEU records from this year. We appreciate Rick’s time and trouble to come our way to give this presentation and thank him as it was very helpful.
Following the presentations, we all enjoyed a meal of burgers and brats with the fixings served up by Dave Miller and I believe he had help from Brad Dunkin at the grill. Lunch was great and thanks to all those that prepared it!
We finished up with door prizes and then turned the meeting over to Josh Stevens and his crew at the Southeast Plant for a tour of the facilities. It is a great plant, well maintained and operated. CIPWO wishes the thank BNWRD, Josh and his crew for hosting; it was a great day!
Our next meeting will be the 2020 Winter Meeting on the last Wednesday of January 29th, 2020. I hope to see you all there!
The 2019 Summer Meeting is scheduled for July 31, 2019 and will take place at the BNWRD SE Plant. Registration is at 9-10am, the address is 16041 E 700 North Rd Heyworth, IL 61745.
The Speakers are;
1st Speaker; Andrea Bretl P.E.
Topic: Evansville East Plant Technology Upgrades
2nd Speaker; Rick Lallish, ERTC
Topic: New CEU Discussions
If you have not RSVP'd please do so by using this Link:
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