Environmental Engineering: Challenging and Rewarding
by Donna Potorti
When you search the Internet for the word engineering, you will find many definitions all containing common phrases that we have heard many times before (e.g., applying science to design work to create a useful and reliable end product; using knowledge of mathematics, chemistry, and physics; building engines, machines, buildings, roads, bridges, railroads, etc.). However, my favorite description of engineering is slightly different and pretty impressive: it appears that the word is derived from the Latin term ingenium, which means brilliant idea, or even better, a flash of genius. How many other professions can lay claim to a similar origin?
There are many aspects of environmental engineering that I respect. For instance, environmental engineers identify and design solutions for environmental problems, and they also develop new ways to protect the environment and human health. Environmental engineering is unique. It involves traditional engineering skills (math, physics, and chemistry), but it also includes other disciplines such as biology, geology, public health, toxicology, hydrogeology, soil science, planning, economics, and law. In addition, environmental engineering is a relatively new branch of the engineering profession. (I realized this was true when I discovered that many of my college professors actually wrote the textbooks we used in class.)
The thing I enjoy most about environmental engineering is that it is a very rewarding profession, both academically and personally. Although my career has not been the most glamorous, it has been a remarkable experience. I have been working as an environmental engineer for 12 years, and I never thought I would have been involved with so many challenging opportunities. I work for CDM as an environmental engineering consultant. I spend the majority of my time working in a joint venture with Hazen and Sawyer, another engineering firm, on New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) projects that are primarily intended to provide safe drinking water to the public.
New York City has the largest unfiltered surface water supply in the world. Every day, about 1.3 billion gallons of water from this system are delivered to nine million consumers-eight million New York City residents and one million upstate consumers. New York City is fortunate to possess what is arguably the greatest metropolitan water supply system in the world. The system has exceptional source water quality and is almost entirely supplied by gravity. The New York City water supply includes three upstate reservoir systems: the Croton, Catskill, and Delaware. Together these supplies include 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes, with a total available storage capacity of approximately 580 billion gallons.
The Challenge
In 1993 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Filtration Avoidance Determination to New York City for the Catskill and Delaware systems, which provide 90 percent of the City's daily demand. Under the terms of the Catskill and Delaware determination, New York City was required to pursue both a comprehensive watershed protection program and planning/design of filtration facilities, on parallel tracks to comply with Surface Water Treatment Rule requirements. The NYCDEP has completed a pilot testing program and has planned for the world's largest filtration facilities, should there be a future need for the City to filter these supplies. As a result of the ongoing success of the watershed protection program and continued excellent water quality of the Catskill and Delaware systems, NYCDEP is presently implementing the preliminary design of an ultraviolet light (UV) disinfection facility as an alternative to filtration for the Catskill and Delaware water systems.
Catskill/Delaware Pilot Study
The purpose of the Catskill/Delaware pilot plant study was to conduct a systematic, two-phase testing program over a two-year period to experience seasonal water quality variations and observe performance of alternative treatment processes (dissolved air flotation, direct filtration, and conventional sedimentation). The pilot study's multi-phased approach allowed detailed testing to proceed concurrently with the EPA's review and update of critical drinking water regulations and produced designs for a treatment plant that would meet evolving and anticipated future EPA requirements. The pilot testing program "pushed the envelope" in both its approach and design. A custom-built pilot plant allowed testing of multiple drinking water treatment technologies. The pilot testing program focused on how unit process options could be optimized and integrated into a future treatment design. The results yielded potential savings of hundreds of millions of dollars in capital costs, in addition to higher loading rates than any direct filtration plant in the Northeast.
Catskill/Delaware UV Disinfection Facility
The future Catskill/Delaware UV disinfection facility will be the largest capacity treatment plant of its kind in the world. Ultraviolet light has been commonly used in the United States for wastewater disinfection. Until recently, it had not been used extensively for drinking water disinfection because it was believed to be ineffective against Cryptosporidium. However, during the late 1990s microbiologists began reporting results of laboratory studies that showed evidence to the contrary. The NYCDEP UV project represents a tremendous leap forward for water treatment technology. The plant's huge capacity necessitates the use of the largest UV disinfection chambers ever built-each sized to handle 40 million gallons per day, more than twice the size of any existing UV equipment.
Environmental engineering also offers unique fieldwork opportunities. As part of the UV disinfection facility's preliminary design, specialized crews completed an inspection of a 2.5-mile section of the Catskill Aqueduct. The NYCDEP performed an intensive aqueduct inspection program, which included non-destructive testing (seismic/ultrasound, electromagnetic resistivity, ground penetrating radar), core boring and testing with fiber-optic probing of bore holes, and other appropriate inspection techniques.
The Reward
By applying recent scientific findings on the effectiveness of UV disinfection in drinking water applications, coupled with innovative design decisions, the NYCDEP and the joint venture team have significantly contributed to protecting the public health of nine million consumers. New York City has received the New York Association of Consulting Engineers Gold Award for the Catskill/Delaware pilot study in the environmental studies category, and the Diamond Award (first place) for the planning and conceptual design of the world's largest UV disinfection facility. Personally, this engineering venture is "a flash of genius" that I will always be proud to have been a part of.
Donna Potorti: I am currently a principal with CDM and work in the Woodbury, New York, office. I am registered as a professional engineer in New York State and am a diplomate of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. I have over 10 years of experience in drinking water and wastewater treatment plant design, in addition to an extensive amount of pilot plant operation and design experience. I hold a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in environmental engineering, both from Manhattan College. I have spent the majority of my professional career working as a design engineer for the design of a 2,020 million gallon per day ultraviolet (UV) disinfection facility, which, upon completion, will be the largest UV disinfection facility in the world.
I am also active in many professional engineering societies. I am currently co-chair of the Public Education Committee for the New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA). I am actively involved with the NYWEA Program Committee and the New York State American Water Works Association Education Committee. I am also a member of the Water Environment Federation and the International UV Association.
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