As the engineer for many municipalities in Western New York and Pennsylvania, we are called on to perform a wide variety of services. Naturally, we provide the traditional "hard" engineering that municipalities require; such as: highway and bridge engineering, sewer extensions, plant expansions, water lines, storage tanks, pump sizing, and various types of land surveying. In addition, we also provide some other "soft" engineering types of services for our clients which are very valuable.

If a client needs help with a leaky sewer system, we can help them develop an I&I program ( inflow and infiltration) and a smoke testing plan. We can do the smoke testing for them if desired. Recently, a new tool has been added to help us investigate sewers. A color sewer camera which can locate, and video tape any leaks, obstructions, or other problems inside your storm or sanitary sewer.

If a client needs to develop a plan to maintain their roads and bridges, we can assist them with a condition survey, and factor in usage to identify the proper order of projects, as well as prepare cost estimates and help estimate budgetary needs to meet the costs.

If a municipality is faced with development pressures, we can assist them with zoning revisions, infrastructure upgrades, traffic studies, or archeological investigations. Many times a municipality needs to obtain funding for a planned project. We have prepared many grant and loan applications to assist the process.

We have GPS (Global Positioning System) equipment which allows us to establish precise coordinates of any location, no matter how remote, with ease. This is very useful for aerial mapping, or GIS (Geographic Information Systems) mapping.

Last but not least, we provide assistance with the necessary permitting with state agencies for projects for environmental, wetlands, stream crossings or handicap accessibility concerns. Much of our service to municipalities is other than traditional "hard" engineering, but it is no less necessary for the advancing of their objectives.

Sludge removal from sewage treatment plants is becoming a greater concern each year. The simple method of land application is now under scrutiny by EPA as potentially being unsafe; and the typical method of trucking away liquid sludge can be extremely expensive.

Take as an example a sewage treatment plant that has a flow of 300,000 gallons per day. The estimated liquid sludge (at 2% solids content) that needs to be removed is somewhere in the neighborhood of 400,000 gallons per year. At 10 cents per gallon, that is a removal cost of $40,000 per year, or $400,000 over a ten year period.

Clearly, drying and removing sludge with a high solids content is a more economical solution, but a relatively new and innovative approach has made this a less expensive option yet. The process involves a basic sand filter with common reeds planted in the bed. The reeds are a normal wetland plant, and the sand filter was one of the first sludge drying concepts.

The advantage of planting reeds in the sand filter is twofold. The reeds absorb both some of the liquid and some of the solids. Sludge can be loaded at a rate of approximately 30 gallons per square foot per year (some sources recommend more, some slightly less). The solids buildup at this rate of loading should allow seven years before the solidified sludge needs to be removed to a landfill. We know of one sludge reed bed now in its eighth year with no need yet for sludge removal.

There is a sludge reed bed now in operation in Warren County, and a second under construction in Youngsville Borough. Obviously, there is proper engineering design needed for the construction of the sludge reed bed, and proper operation and maintenance needed to ensure an efficient sludge program.

To comply with the Storm water Phase II rules established by the EPA in late 1999, more than 5,000 local governments are required to implement six best management practices (BMP’s) aimed at reducing the discharge of pollutants and sediments into lakes and streams by storm water runoff. Governments automatically required to comply are those operating regulated small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4's). A regulated small MS4 is any MS4 operating in an urban area with a population between 50,000 and 100,000 and an overall population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile. MS4's operating in less populated areas are subject to Phase II enforcement on an individual basis, depending on the impact they have on the surrounding environment.

The six required BMP’s include public education and outreach on storm water impacts, public involvement and participation, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction site storm water runoff control, post construction management in new development and redevelopment, pollution prevention and good housekeeping for municipal operations. Municipalities can satisfy these requirements using the best approach for their local situation, such as ordinances, building guidelines, and preventive measures.

Construction operations involving one or more acres of land also require an NPDES permit clearly stating the sediment and erosion control process that will be employed.

Storm water costs have typically come out of a general street maintenance fund, but with the increased costs due to Phase II requirements, communities are finding that additional funding is necessary.

One option being tested in several municipalities across the country is to treat storm water practices as a public utility function. User fees provide a steady revenue source allowing for development, operation and maintenance of the program. Other funding options include taxes, fees and charges, bonds and loans, grants and intergovernmental transfers, and fines.