Trends Summer 2011 | Page 11

2 3 4 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fort Collins, CO Cumberland, WI Spencer, WI 6 5 Clintonville, WI Palatka, FL Sarasota, FL found only six that produced water. The City also has to deal with treating the naturally occurring arsenic in that water supply. Arsenic is tasteless, odorless, and colorless, but is considered a carcinogen. In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency lowered the allowable level of arsenic in potable water from 50 parts per billion (ppb) to only 10 ppb. Clintonville was at 14 ppb, and suddenly the water residents had been drinking for years was out of compliance with regulations. The well with the arsenic problems was its largest with double to triple the capacity of the City’s other wells. “The water quality didn’t change – the regulation did,” said Lisa Kuss, city administrator. “The most challenging part was simply understanding what the regulation changes meant and coming up with a system that complied with the changes. Ayres Associates was helpful in communicating changes to the community and keeping the council and utility board educated and informed.” Clintonville undertook major improvements that included an arsenic removal system; a 500,000-gallon prestressed concrete ground storage reservoir; a 2,500-square-foot booster station; four well pump modifications; six chemical feed system modifications; two well station reconstructions; four well station modifications; 3,000 linear feet of transmission mains, including a directionally drilled river crossing; and a new supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. Ayres Associates helped the City acquire a Community Development Block Grant for Public Facilities to assist with project funding. “They revamped the entire system,” said Ayres Associates design engineer Erik Lietz. “It improved the system storage and reliability in addition to improving water quality.” The northern Wisconsin community of Cumberland is putting finishing touches on a new 600,000-gallon water tower that will double the City’s water storage capacity. “Cumberland has been fortunate enough to grow a little, and we needed to have an additional supply of water,” said Chuck Christensen, general manager for Cumberland Municipal Utilities. “We are blessed with having several large industries for a small town, so we needed additional water