May 21, 2008 - Capital Improvements Planning
Jean Holloway

Course Description:
This workshop is designed to give an overview of the basic steps in preparing a Capital Improvement Plan for a small water or sewer utility, including analyzing affordability, reserves planning, funding sources and using ratios to evaluate financial condition. At the end of the workshop, participants should be able to name the steps in developing a Capital Improvement Plan, describe the three basic types of reserve and their purposes, and describe at least two benefits to be derived from implementing a CIP.

Objectives

• Understand and be able to explain the benefits of a CIP
• Be able to outline a basic process for starting a Capital Improvements Program "from scratch"
• Identify at least one measure they can implement in their own system to begin a new CIP or improve an existing one
• Understand and be able to calculate basic Capital Recovery Charges

Biographical Sketch:
Ms. Jean Holloway has worked as a Grants Coordinator, Assistant Town Manager, Circuit Rider Town Manager and Town Administrator for a number of small towns on Maryland's lower Eastern Shore. She has served on a number of community boards and committees, including a stint on the Foundation Board for Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury, Maryland. She was a charter member of the Board of Directors for the Maryland Rural Water Association and later worked as its Program Manager and CEO. She has been the Training Manager for the Environmental Finance Center since August of 1999 and is an Associate of the National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities (NETCSC) at West Virginia University, a member of the Maryland Inter-Agency Technical Assistance Committee on Wastewater Treatment Systems, Chair of that body's Finance Sub-committee, a member of the Advisory Committee for the Small Public Water Systems Technical Assistance Center (SPWSTAC) at Penn State - Harrisburg, and an Adjunct Faculty member at Delaware Technical and Community College in Georgetown DE.

To ensure your FREE participation in this workshop, you may register on-line

June 18, 2008 - The Applied Chemistry of Water Treatment and Analyses
Dr. Gregory Boardman

Course Description:
In the typical, surface water treatment plant, water passes through the stages of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection. Chemicals may be added in each of these stages. The operator is faced with understanding not only what to add and how much, but interpreting the results of water quality analyses in order to make appropriate adjustments. The goals of this lecture are therefore to: 1. familiarize the operator with the types and function of chemicals that are commonly used in water treatment, and 2. describe how common water quality tests are performed and interpreted. Among the classes of chemicals that will be considered are acids, bases, inorganic coagulants, organic polymers, filtration aids, fluoride sources, and disinfectants. Included among the water quality tests are pH, alkalinity, organic carbon, absorption of ultraviolet light, turbidity, bacterial assays and disinfection by-products. Corrosion control and inhibitors will not be covered because corrosion is the subject of the following (July) lecture.

Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Gregory Boardman is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Annual Short Courses for Treatment Plant Operators at Virginia Tech. Dr. Boardman is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (F.ASCE), licensed as a professional engineer (P.E.) in Virginia, and registered as a Diplomate of Environmental Engineering (DEE) with expertise in the areas of water and wastewater engineering. He performs research and teaches courses in the areas of environmental engineering principles, industrial and hazardous waste management, environmental toxicology, and water and wastewater treatment processes. Since joining the Virginia Tech faculty in 1976, Dr. Boardman has served as an engineering consultant to more than 25 agencies and companies, been the principal or co-principal investigator for more than 100 funded research projects, and published more than 150 papers and reports in the environmental area.

To ensure your FREE participation in this workshop, you may register on-line

July 16, 2008  - Understanding Premise Plumbing Issues: Corrosion, Disinfectant Decay and Microbial Regrowth
Dr. Marc Edwards

Course Description:
Problems associated with premise plumbing can affect the taste, odor and safety of potable water. Recent research at Virginia Tech highlights important aspects of this problem relative to maintenance of safe water to the tap. Topics addressed include pinhole leaks, lead corrosion, copper corrosion, home filters, taste/odors/rashes associated with microbial growth, cavitation/erosion corrosion, and issues associated with water heaters.

Biographical Sketch:
Dr. Marc Edwards received his bachelor's degree in Bio-Physics from SUNY Buffalo in 1986. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington, in 1988 and 1991, respectively. In 2004, Time Magazine dubbed Dr. Edwards "The Plumbing Professor" and listed him amongst the 4 most important "Innovators" in water from around the world. The White House awarded him a Presidential Faculty Fellowship in 1996. In 1994, 1995 and 2005, Edwards received the Outstanding Paper Award in the Journal of American Waterworks Association and he received the H.P. Eddy Medal in 1990 for best research publication by the Water Pollution Control Federation (currently Water Environment Federation). His M.S. Thesis and PhD Dissertation won national awards from the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors and the Water Environment Federation (formerly the Water Pollution Control Federation). In 2003 he was awarded the Walter Huber Research Prize from the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 2007 Edwards was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.

To ensure your FREE participation in this workshop, you may register on-line

The workshops will be broadcast simultaneously to:

Center for Advanced Engineering and Research (CAER)
Eastern Shore Community College (ESCC)
Halifax/South Boston Continuing Education Center (HSBCEC)
Hampton Roads Graduate Center (HRGC)
James Madison University (JMU) (not available March 19)
Marion duPont Scott Medical Equine Center (MDPSMEC)
University of Mary Washington (UMW)
Northern Virginia Graduate Center (NVGC)
Old Dominion University Peninsula Higher Education Center (ODUPHEC)
Richmond Higher Education Center (RIHEC)
Roanoke Higher Education Center (ROHEC)
Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC)
University of Virginia (UVA)
Virginia Tech (VT)

Through the use of interactive technology you will have the opportunity to engage in discussions and to ask specific question of the presenters and participants around the Commonwealth. The workshops begin promptly at 12:00 p.m. and conclude at approximately 3:00 p.m.

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