1. Texas Optimization Program (TOP) Optimization: Yesterday & Today
Environmental Trade Fair
May 2017
TCEQ
Texas Optimization Program
Hello, thank you for that introduction. Today, we will present information on distribution system optimization, doing the best with what you have.
Joanna Lowder

2. Outline of Today’s Talk
Optimization – What is it?
Yesterday…
Striving for public health protection
Today… Optimization programs:
Surface Water Treatment Plant optimization
Groundwater and Distribution System optimization
Today we will try and provide a broad overview of drinking water distribution system optimization. We will talk about what optimization is, why it is important, and how optimization fits together with the TCEQ’s helpful rules.

3. Optimization “Do the very best you can with what you’ve got”
Picture of target with arrows in center
“Do the
very best
you can
with what
you’ve got”
When we say optimization, what we mean is doing the very best job you can, with the resources you already have. We will start our talk today with a little history and a little more description.
Decorative Picture: Target with arrow in center.

4. Aren’t regulations enough?
The EPA and TCEQ provide “minimum regulatory standards”
Compliance is the starting point on the road to BEST
Compliance is passing;
Optimization is A+
Compliance is a good thing, of course. If you are just barely in compliance, it is like passing with a grade of “C.” But you need to know what the passing grade is for comparison purposes, so you know what it means to do well or poorly compared to that.
Decorative Image: A paper graded with an A+, indicating that being optimized is like getting a high grade.

5. Why optimize drinking water?
Because of the potentially devastating effect of illness.
In the top left hand corner, the electron micrograph of an amoebic dystentary organism shows a globular, rounded organism with several protrusions. Dysentary can cause dehydration in infants, which can be fatal. The image of the typhoid organism in the center of the screen shows the capsule-like main portion with flagella about 5 times the length of the capsule, attached in rows of nine flagella on each side. The image in the lower right hand corner of a cholera organism shows a normal coliform like microbe, with a single flagella attached at one end. Although these organisms are invisible to the naked eye, they can have disastrous health effects.

6. What are we trying to optimize?
We are partners in a shared goal:
PROTECTING PUBLIC HEALTH
Optimization (and best practices) accomplish public health protection through
MULTIPLE BARRIERS to pathogens
Operators and regulators are partners in protecting the health of the public citizens who drink tap water.
We work together in many ways. We need MULTIPLE barriers to pathogens, because if one barrier fails, we need a backup.
Decorative Image: Picture of a line of road blocks.

7. Why optimize?
We want to do a great job of protecting public health, so we are interested in optimizing barriers to pathogens (and other health risks).
RISKS & BARRIERS:
Source water
Water treatment
Water distribution
There are many different risks that can cause pathogens in drinking water. Pathogens can come from the source water, can be allowed through the treatment plant, and can be introduced into the distribution system through back flow, back siphonage, and cross connections. In order to do a great job of protecting public health, we need to look at all of these.

8. Cross Connection & backflow
Multiple Risks  Source  Plant  EP  Distribution 
Main breaks
Poor Design 
Distribution
Plant
Source
Entry Points
Inadequate Treatment
Fecal Contamination 
No/Poor Disinfection
Let’s look in more detail at some of the ways that drinking water can be at risk of pathogens.
In a lake or river, run off can wash in fecal matter from cows and other animals; septic tanks or sewage outfalls that are not working right can create a risk of human pathogens getting in the source water. A surface water treatment plant must be designed right, then operated right, to provide treatment that removes or “inactivates” (kills or sterilizes) most microorganisms.
Recent research shows that wells are susceptible to pathogens – especially viruses. That is why ground water has to be disinfected, as a barrier to those pathogens.
The entry points show that we require public water systems to monitor at every point where treated water enters the distribution system.
Even if the water coming in is perfect, there are risks inside the distribution system from cross connection, back flow, and back siphonage. An example of a possible source of back flow is when a water main breaks, and pathogens from the soil or groundwater can get into the drinking water pipes.
So – For each of these risks, we can optimize the barriers to pathogens getting into peoples drinking water.
Cross Connection & backflow 
Geological contaminants  SW GW

9. Optimization means doing the very best we can with what we have.
Focus on operations and maintenance.
Focus on goals and data.
Be effective with existing structures, only invest in capital when it is absolutely necessary.
We can’t run out and buy something new every time there is a little problem. Instead – in both life and water – we try to do the best with what we’ve got. For drinking water optimization that means focusing more on operations and maintenance than on capital investment.
Decorative image: Tap with a water drop.

10. Yesterday…
100+ years ago
Things have changed over the years. In Austin, we are glad that folks don’t have to wear suits and long dresses in the summer any more (chuckle). Let’s talk a little about how drinking water protection has changed over the years.

11. History
The history of optimization is the history of how we learned to keep our drinking water safe.
The need for safe drinking water came before regulations.
If optimization means going beyond the regulations, before 1937, all drinking water safety was optimization.

12. The Early Years (1915-1937) Education & Persuasion = Optimization
In the early twentieth century…
No Public Health regulations
US Public Health service existed, but just barely
Waterborne disease was rampant
Cholera, Typhoid, etc.
52,000 pathogenic illnesses in 1915
The early years of drinking water regulations in Texas were Public health goals were achieved through education and persuasion in this period. In the early twentieth century there were essentially no Public Health regulations. The U.S. Public Health service existed, but just barely. It was created for the merchant marine. Even the first regulations stating that folks on trains could not drink out of the same cup were at the state level. Waterborne disease was rampant, especially cholera, typhoid, and dystentary. In 1915, alone, there were 52,000 pathogen illnesses in the U.S.
In 1940, when this picture was taken, public health departments were taking an active role in most communities.

13. The Early Years Milestones
1920 – First Annual Waterworks Short School for Operators and Engineers
1935 – Social Security Act provided funding for the U.S. and State Health Departments
1937 – The first rules: Well construction, location, connections
Some milestones in these early years were:
1920 – First Annual Waterworks Short School for Operators and Engineers (11 registrants)
1932 – First well construction and setback requirements
1935 – Social Security Act provided funding for the U.S. Public Health Service to help fund State Health Departments
1937 – The first rules were adopted by the State of Texas, ushering in the next phase…

14. Mission Accomplished?
Was this effort to regulate drinking water worth the trouble?
Did it help public health?
At this point, one might ask the question: Was this effort to regulate drinking water worth the trouble? Did these efforts successfully help public health? The answer is yes. As shown in the following graph, typhoid was essentially eliminated in the United States by 1950.
Decorative image of water tower.

15. This graph shows the death rate for typhoid fever in the United States from 1900 to In 1900, the death rate from typhoid fever was about 30 deaths per 100,000 people. In about 1908, water systems started chlorinating to kill pathogens, including typhus. After chlorination started, the incidence of typhoid dropped, to about 8 deaths per 100,000 population in 1920 to about zero in This graph was provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Summary of Notifiable Diseases, 1997.
This graph shows the death rate for typhoid fever in the United States from 1900 to In 1900, the death rate from typhoid fever was about 30 deaths per 100,000 people. In about 1908, water systems started chlorinating to kill pathogens, including typhus. After chlorination started, the incidence of typhoid dropped, to about 8 deaths per 100,000 population in 1920 to about zero in This graph was provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Summary of Notifiable Diseases, 1997.

16. However … ! Cryptosporidium
Although typhoid and cholera were essentially eliminated, other waterborne diseases continue to make people ill.
Cryptosporidium
Historically, bacteria were the only pathogen of concern. As medical professionals identified more sources of illness, we became concerned about other waterborne diseases like cryptosporidiosis.

17. Yesterday and Today… More recent history
Let’s continue talking about how things changed in the drinking business over the years. For instance, since the early 1970s when the EPA got into the act.
Decorative image: Car with the year “1975” on the license plate.

18. EPA’s role
After EPA’s creation in 1970, EPA played a greater role in drinking water regulation and optimization.
EPA established general requirements for all states, in addition to specific regulatory requirements:
Capacity Development
Operator Licensing & training
EPA started helping states to help public water systems optimize.
Before EPA was created, all the drinking water regulations were done by the individual states. After EPA’s creation in 1970, EPA played a greater role in drinking water regulation and optimization. For example, EPA established general requirements for all states—like universal Maximum Contaminant Limits. They also recognized that states needed to help public water systems gain the Financial Managerial and Technical (we call it “FMT”) ability to fix problems and protect public health. So, in addition to the specific regulatory requirements, they made SPECIAL primacy requirements saying that states needed to help with Capacity Development, Operator Licensing & training, and – most applicable to this talk – to help public water systems optimize.
Decorative image: A cartoon of two hands shaking one another.

19. Relative Risks: Source Water
First, optimization focused on systems that used surface water as source water
Surface water is more vulnerable, but wells can also be contaminated
Initially, optimization was all about surface water because the sources of contamination are greater, and more noticeable, like in this image of a sewer outfall.
However, groundwater can get pathogens in it, too. For example, if cows are allowed to graze over the well head.

20. Texas Optimization Program
The Texas Optimization Program (TOP) started in the early 1990s.
The primary goal of the TOP is to help Surface Water Treatment Plants reduce the turbidity (cloudiness) in treated water.
Turbidity includes pathogens like Cryptosporidium
Initially, Texas regulators worked with the EPA to refine the Composite Correction Program:
Comprehensive Performance Evaluations
In Texas, we started really trying to help PWSs optimize in the early 1990s. During the ‘90s, surface water treatment plants were trying to cope with ever more stringent standards for turbidity, so that was the major focus. The EPA was working directly with the Texas regulators to get optimization rolling.

21. Today and Tomorrow… Distribution System Optimization
“The dirty glass
concept”
Picture of dirty glass.
So, if we haven’t convinced you yet of the benefits of distribution system optimization, let’s talk about the “dirty glass” concept.
Decorative Image: Picture of dirty glass.

22. Why not stick with surface water plants?
The large number of groundwater systems
Most disease outbreaks occur at groundwater systems
Impact of disease outbreaks can be devastating!
With the historical optimization focus on removing pathogens from surface water, you may ask why groundwater or distribution system optimization is important. Surprisingly, the most recent waterborne disease outbreaks have been caused by inadequately treated groundwater. And, there are about 20 times as many groundwater treatment plants than surface water treatment plants. Regardless of the water source, a disease outbreak is something that can be devastating: we want to protect against those.

23. Why optimize ground water and distribution systems?
Wells can be vulnerable,
Especially to viruses.
Distribution systems are vulnerable,
Even if the water is perfect.
If you put clean water in a dirty glass, the water is no longer clean
You may be distributing water from a wonderful, pristine well, or from a fully optimized surface water treatment plant. In that case, why worry about the distribution system? The issue is that the distribution system is a human-engineered system, and we know that those can be imperfect. If your distribution is a “dirty glass” it can actually degrade that pristine source water, even to the point of causing disease outbreaks.
Decorative Images: Image of anabaena bacteria which can grow in poorly maintained distribution systems, and which can be addressed through a successful distribution optimization program and an image of a badly corroded pipe showing how a poorly maintained pipe can be an environment where bacteria can grow.

24. EPA Multi-Barrier Strategy for Groundwater Systems
Source Water Protection
Treatment
Distribution
Picture of well, chlorinator and distribution system. .
Some of the barriers that the EPA has identified include source water protection, water treatment, and safe distribution of drinking water. These barriers can be successfully optimized. For example, identifying and eliminating potential sources of contamination is a part of successfully optimizing a source water protection program; choosing to add the correct chemicals and correctly calculating chemical dose are part of treatment optimization, and can also be a part of distribution system optimization. Selecting the critical control points to ensure that sampling represents the distributed water accurately can be another part of ensuring that the distribution barrier is intact.
Composite image of a distribution system's elements: the pipes, the well, the treatment, and most importantly - the houses of drinking water consumers whose health can be protected through distribution system optimization.

25. Tomorrow: Creating a new optimization process
Picture of clean glass of water
So, now we have convinced you that optimization is a good thing, let’s talk about the optimization process.
We are getting ready to assist water systems to optimize your ability to provide great water.
Decorative Image: Picture of clean glass of water.

26. Building a New Optimization Process
Set performance goal.
Develop sampling plan.
Determine baseline
Current conditions – track data.
Review data
Identify factors that keep you from meeting the goal.
Act on factors to control process
Address those factors to continuously meet goal.
Repeat as needed.
Picture of water plant staff meeting and working in lab.
The first step in the optimization process is to set a performance goal for something you care about.
Next, you need to develop sampling & monitoring plan, or revisit your existing plan.
Next, figure out your baseline: determine current conditions and start tracking the data.
Now that you have a data stream providing you with information, you can answer those critical questions, like “Do you meet the goal now?”
If you don’t, you need to look deeply into the data to identify the factors that are keeping you from meeting your goal.
Finally, when you have identified those factors, you need to control those processes. Process control is any activity required to develop a capable water system and take it to the desired level of performance. You are not done then, though. Optimization is an ongoing process.
Decorative Images: A plant staff person pipetting stock solution in order to perform a jar test to make sure that the treatment process meets optimization goals. And, staff working together around a table with engineering plans, data, and reports, showing that distribution optimization is a group task, involving all the public water system's staff and management.

27. Building a New Optimization Process
Another way to say that:
Do SPECIAL STUDIES!
Picture of water plant staff meeting and working in lab.
The first step in the optimization process is to set a performance goal for something you care about.
Next, you need to develop sampling & monitoring plan, or revisit your existing plan.
Next, figure out your baseline: determine current conditions and start tracking the data.
Now that you have a data stream providing you with information, you can answer those critical questions, like “Do you meet the goal now?”
If you don’t, you need to look deeply into the data to identify the factors that are keeping you from meeting your goal.
Finally, when you have identified those factors, you need to control those processes. Process control is any activity required to develop a capable water system and take it to the desired level of performance. You are not done then, though. Optimization is an ongoing process.
Decorative Images: A plant staff person pipetting stock solution in order to perform a jar test to make sure that the treatment process meets optimization goals. And, staff working together around a table with engineering plans, data, and reports, showing that distribution optimization is a group task, involving all the public water system's staff and management.

28. Take home message
Finally, we would like to present you with the take-home message that we hope we have communicated to you today.
Decorative Image: Texas flag, indicating that drinking water distribution system optimization is a goal for Texans.

29. Take Home Message
Drinking water distribution optimization is important:
Don’t put clean water in a dirty glass.
Optimization means doing the very best you can with what you’ve got.
You are the expert on your system. You can set goals, establish baselines, identify performance-limiting factors, and achieve optimization of your distribution system.
The take-home messages from today’s presentation are:
1. Distribution system optimization is important:
Even if you have perfect water coming into the distribution system, you need to keep it that way till it reaches your customers: “Don’t put clean water in a dirty glass.”
2. It does not have to cost a whole lot. Optimization means doing the very best you can with what you’ve already got.
3. What you need to do to optimize is not very different from your normal, daily activities. You can set goals, establish baselines, identify performance-limiting factors, and achieve optimization of your distribution system.

30. Optimization Versus Compliance
“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best.” --St. Jerome
If we keep on trying to improve things, they WILL get better!
“Good, better, best.
Never let it rest.
'Til your good is better
and your better is best.” St. Jerome

31. THANKS!
THANKS!
Thank you for your attention. We would be glad to answer any questions at this time.
Decorative Image: Sea foam generated by biological activity, similar to the biofilms generated inside a distribution system, referring to the need to do distribution optimization in order to avoid this kind of biological activity.

32. Contact Information
(512)
You can contact Joanna Lowder by phone at (512) or by at: