ABSTRACT:

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended solids (TSS) are two key water quality parameters for wastewater. In California, facilities submit detailed data to regional and state regulatory agencies to comply with discharge permits. The aggregated data can be used for trends analysis. A script was developed that uses this self-reported data taken from the California Integrated Water Quality System Project (CIWQS) to compile a single composite summary database of yearly wastewater influent flows, constituent concentrations, and constituent mass loadings at individual wastewater treatment facilities. Data from 426 wastewater treatment facilities was accessed through CIWQS. 104 facilities had adequate BOD data and 105 facilities had adequate TSS data. The intended use of the summary sheet is to compare influent flow and constituent values between a period of drought-related water use restrictions and the following period of eased restrictions.

ABSTRACT:

Wastewater treatment facilities must manage water quality during both average flow and extreme events, including wet and dry weather periods. Constituent concentrations can increase during dry weather flow events, since facilities experience reduced incidental infiltration and influent flows may be lower as a result. A script was developed using self-reported data taken from the California Integrated Water Quality System Project (CIWQS) to clean, filter, and organize a batch dataset of influent flows, constituent concentrations, and constituent mass loadings from California wastewater treatment facilities. The script develops two summary data sheets for each facility: one that contains total suspended solids (TSS) data and one that contains biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) data. Data from 426 wastewater treatment facilities was accessed through CIWQS. 104 facilities had adequate BOD data and 105 facilities had adequate TSS data. These summary sheets can be used to quickly assess an individual facility’s dry weather or baseline influent flows. A separate script uses these sheets to prepare a composite summary of BOD, TSS, and influent flow during recent drought-related water use restrictions and the following period of eased restrictions.

ABSTRACT:

Monitoring data can be used to identify wastewater treatment facilities that perform nutrient removal based on wastewater effluent nutrient concentrations. A script was developed using self-reported data taken from the California Integrated Water Quality System Project (CIWQS) to clean, filter, and organize a batch dataset of effluent flows, constituent concentrations, and constituent mass loadings for wastewater treatment facilities in California. Data for each facility was used to develop assessments for potential nutrient removal in individual facilities. Data from 426 wastewater treatment facilities was accessed through CIWQS. 144 facilities had adequate data to perform the analysis for at least one year. After analysis, 95 facilities were thought to use some form of nutrient removal. This information can be used to quickly group facilities of interest for focused analysis in lieu of a centralized database of facility characteristics that includes treatment train configuration and NPDES permit requirements. The technique can be adapted to several constituents. This analysis was an exploratory venture and not intended to be used as a final assessment of treatment practices for facilities in California.