Engineering Commons^™

Removal Of Disinfection Byproducts In Drinking Water Using Biological Filtration, Peng Dai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Drinking water disinfection is essential to protecting public health from waterborne diseases. However, the reaction of disinfectants with natural organic matter (NOM) can form carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Drinking water treatment facilities employ precursor control and alternative disinfectants to minimize regulated DBPs formation to comply with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines. Despite their efficacy, some limitations have been observed during the application, such as increased cost of enhanced coagulation, high demand for sludge disposal, inconsistency in precursor removal, and formation of more toxic unregulated and unknown DBPs. Therefore, it is important to develop more efficient and safe strategies for DBPs …

Comparison Of Phosphorus Removal And Recovery Methods And Proposed Design Of High Rate Algal Pond For Swine Wastewater, Taylor Fauth

Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduate Students Plan B Capstone Projects

High phosphorus concentrations in wastewater effluent can have harmful effects to aquatic environments and water quality. An excess of nutrients such as phosphorus in water bodies will cause eutrophication, which depletes the available oxygen within the water and is detrimental to aquatic life. Additionally, phosphorus leaching from wastewater discharge has negative impacts to groundwater quality. The depletion of phosphorus as a natural resource is also of concern as phosphorus is an essential product for agricultural and industrial production. Phosphorus is a non-renewable resource, and natural sources are becoming more difficult and expensive to access. Therefore, the removal and recycle of …

Assessment And Improvement Of Performance Of Septic Systems In Cold Climates (Year 1), Stu Geza, Todd Menkhaus, Lianping Li, Galen Hoogestraat

SDWRI Publications and Reports

Onsite septic systems are used for wastewater treatment for households not connected to sewers. There is a concern about surface and groundwater pollution when effectiveness becomes limited due to soil texture, soil temperature, neighborhood density, and distance to water resources. The goal of this study was to assess treatment performance of local soils and selected treatment media. Lab-scale column experiments were conducted using wastewater from Wastewater Reclamation Facility in Rapid City. The experiments were conducted inside and outside the lab to evaluate the effect of temperature. The columns outside the lab were subject to seasonal variation in temperature. Moisture content, …

Laboratory Measurements Of Bed Shear Stress In Open Channel Flow And Soil Erosion Rate In Cohesive Soils, Gunnar Schurmann Kern

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between soil erosion rate and bed shear stress is an important problem in sediment transport and scour. However, reliable measurements of the soil erosion function are challenging, both in the field and in the laboratory. The objective of this study is to investigate an experimental setup for conducting bed shear stress and soil erosion rate measurements using an open channel flume with a rough bed. These experiments were performed in an A-8 Hydraulic Channel with a fixed gravel bed. The flow discharge was kept constant at 0.158 ft.3/s, and bed shear stress was varied by changing the channel …

Evaluating And Predicting The Risk Of Algal Blooms In A Freshwater Lake Through A 4-Dimensional Approach: A Case Study On Lake Mitchell, Sumit Kumar Ghosh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Excessive algal growth in freshwater lakes can negatively impact ecosystems, recreation, and human health. Though algae are a natural part of freshwater ecosystems, elevated nutrient loading from anthropogenic and natural sources can lead to algal blooms. Both algae and blue-green algae (BGA) are responsible for algal blooms; however, BGA (cyanobacteria) is more dangerous. The first objective of this research was to prepare a conceptual model to understand how various environmental variables affect algae. This conceptual model was used to choose the environmental variables that help increase or decrease algae in the water environment. The second objective was to develop empirical …

Long Term Evaluation Of E. Coli Removal From Stormwater Using Recycled Steel Byproducts, Brenden Olevson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stormwater runoff often carries a variety of pollutants and pathogens that can endanger public health and wildlife. One contaminant of concern often highlighted in stormwater quality is Escherichia Coli (E.Coli) because its presence indicates microbial contamination in water. Different types of media filtration are being studied to reduce contaminant concentrations in stormwater. In this study, steel byproducts were examined as a potential material to use in media filtration to remove E. Coli and other contaminants from stormwater. Batch scale studies were conducted in laboratory to evaluate the E. Coli removal potential of steel chips and steel slag over a 24-hour …

A Speciation Modeling Study Of Heavy Metal Adsorption To Plastic In Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Units, Kaitlyn Hague

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microplastics are an emerging concern due to their harmful effect to organisms and their ability to facilitate transport of contaminants including heavy metals. Microplastics can enter the environment through wastewater treatment plants, landfill leachate, and littering. Once in the environment microplastics can be distributed throughout rivers, the ocean, and lakes. In order to understand the adsorption of heavy metals to microplastics a geochemical modeling study was completed using Visual Minteq. Lab tests were completed to better understand what constituents are available in wastewater at four different locations: influent, clarifiers, digesters, and effluent. These constituents were then used to observe how …

Nitrate And Phosphate Removal From Denitrification Bioreactors Using Woodchips, Steel Chips And Agricultural Residue Media, Abdoul Aziz Kouanda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrate and phosphate present in agricultural subsurface drainage water can impact surface water quality thus impacting the environment and human health by causing eutrophication and Methemoglobinemia in young infant. Biological denitrification and phosphate adsorption filters are treatments options that can help reduce nitrate and phosphate concentration from agricultural subsurface drainage before it can be discharged in surface water. The first objective of this dissertation was to determine the Michaelis-Menten kinetics model parameters for nitrate removal in bioreactors using the fresh, aged, and composted woodchips. The composted woodchips achieved a denitrification rate 2.4 times higher than the fresh woodchips which was …

Data Driven Synthetic Load Modeling For Smart City Energy Management Studies, Fernando Bereta Dos Reis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary aim of this dissertation is to provide synthetic residential load models with granular level information on the customers having information about the appliances that constitute each individual residential customer through time. The synthetic load model is capable of being widely utilized by the power system research community since only publicly available data is utilized for its generation. This gives researcher’s access to how the synthetic load was made and also how accurate the model is in representing real power system regions. As the title of the dissertation suggests, the synthetic residential load models are intended for smart city …

The Effect Of Edge-Of-Field Nutrient Management Practices On Microbial Concentrations In Subsurface Drainage Water And The Associated Risk Of Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination, Sara Mardani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many in-field and edge-of-field management practices have been used to reduce nutrient loads from agricultural fields. The denitrification woodchip bioreactor (WB) is one edgeof- field management practice that has proven to be effective in removing nitrate from subsurface drainage water. The success in nitrate removal achieved with WBs has raised interest in expanding their capabilities for removing other agricultural pollutants, including phosphorus, by using other types of media like phosphorus-sorbing filters or combining these filters with woodchips to remove both nitrate and phosphorus as dual-nutrient removal systems. Despite the extensive research done on WBs and nutrient filter materials, little consideration …

Escherichia Coli Removal From Stormwater Using Steel Chips Filter, Peng Dai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Media filtration has received increasing attention as an effective technology that can facilitate the removal of particles and dissolved pollutions in the stormwater. However, most traditional media filtration systems are generally ineffective in removing bacteria, causing pollution of groundwater and receiving surface water. In this study, recycled steel chips were evaluated as low-cost filter materials for bacterial removal from stormwater. Laboratory column experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of steel chips particle size, flow rate, initial E.coli concentration, pH, natural organic matter (NOM), steady and intermittent flow on E.coli removal. The results showed that E.coli removal decreased from 99.4% …

Stream Flow Analysis Of The Big Sioux River Just South Of Brookings, South Dakota, Samuel Ruppert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Floods are the most common type of natural disaster in the world and one of the most damaging. Changes in climate conditions such as precipitation and temperature are causing changes in stream flow. This means that in order to better understand flooding and possibly develop a system for making flood predictions, stream flow needs to be analyzed more closely. The primary objective of this thesis is to analyze the Big Sioux River just south of Brookings, South Dakota, both annually and seasonally. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has stream gauges placed in rivers and streams all over the United …

Pilot Scale Evaluation Of E. Coli Filtration Removal From Stormwater Using Recycled Steel, Jason Neville

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microbial pathogens are considered one of the most important pollutants in regards to surface waters such as coastal waters, rivers and urban estuaries. Escherichia Coli (E. coli) is a bacterial microorganism found in the guts of humans and some animals that if ingested can cause diarrhea, severe stomach cramps, and vomiting. E. coli carried by stormwater runoff can deteriorate water quality of receiving bodies of water. It is necessary to develop technologies to remove E. coli from stormwater runoff to protect surface waters and public health. The use of steel byproducts as an adsorption technology is an emerging stormwater treatment …

Variability Of E. Coli In Streambed Sediments And Its Implication For Water Quality, Sadia Salam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), including E. coli, are the number one cause of water quality impairments in the United States according to the USEPA. FIB are used as a predictor to identify the possible presence of pathogens in waterbodies. E. coli is a useful indicator of gastrointestinal (GI) related illnesses from contact with fresh water. While surface water is routinely monitored for water quality, streambed sediments are rarely considered as a source of FIB to the overlying water column. This study focuses on understanding the variation of E. coli concentrations in streambed sediments and the potential impact of sediment sources …

Evaluating E. Coli Particle Attachment And The Impact On Transport During High Flows, Louis Amegbletor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fecal indicator bacteria, including E. coli, are the leading cause of water quality impairments within assessed waters in the United States. The source of E. coli includes WWTP, leaking sewers, animal manure, wildlife, livestock, and stream bed sediment. Storm events contribute to bacteria loading within waters through wash-in of land sources of bacteria and resuspension of bacteria within sediments. Bacteria introduced into the water column are either attached to particles or are unattached (or free-living). The goal of this study was to examine the attachment of E. coli to different particle sizes, including their impact on contributing to water …

Evaluation Of Woodchip Bioreactor Denitrification Kinetics, Abdoul Aziz Kouanda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural subsurface drainage is a water management practice used to remove excess water in poorly drained soil. The use of fertilizers combined with subsurface drainage practice affects negatively surface water quality due to nutrient loss. Woodchip bioreactors have previously been used as a technology for removing nitrate from agricultural subsurface drainage. Understanding the mechanism that governs nitrate removal in woodchip bioreactors is crucial for field bioreactor design and application. The objective of this project is to determine woodchip bioreactor denitrification kinetics parameters under different operating conditions including hydraulic retention time, temperature and influent nitrate concentrations. Laboratory column experiments were conducted …

Reuse Of Aqueous Waste Streams For Transportation-Related Applications, Gregory L. Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aqueous waste streams produced from commercial, industrial, and municipal processes may be potentially reused for transportation applications. The objectives of this project were to identify potential transportation-related applications for aqueous waste streams available in South Dakota, develop guidance for the beneficial reuse of aqueous waste streams, and evaluate the reuse of MIEX® brine generated by the Watertown Municipal Water Treatment Plant (WMWTP). This study identified many aqueous wastes from municipal water and wastewater treatment facilities, industrial and agricultural processes in South Dakota that can be potentially used for ice and dust control. Beneficial reuse of these waste streams requires a …

Modeling The Impact Of Future Climate On Drainage Infrastructures, Tyler J. Baumbach

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown a potential 20% increase in future heavy and extreme precipitation events over the Midwestern States. Drainage infrastructures designed using current design conditions may not be able to convey projected runoffs resulting in flooding and damage to infrastructure. The objective of this paper is to determine the effects of future climate variability on culvert selections in a southwest South Dakota watershed. The scope of the study was defined through a comprehensive literature review. Future climate events were based on a 20% increase in current annual precipitation over the Upper White River Subbasin Watershed. A portion of the White …

Social/Physical Impacts And Water Consumption Characteristics Of South Dakota’S Rural Water Systems, Matt Pajl, Delvin E. Deboer

Water and Environmental Engineering Research Reports

This study investigates the social and physical impacts that rural water systems have on South Dakota’s population and the water consumption characteristics of city, country dwelling, and farm customer classifications. The physical characteristics of South Dakota’s rural water systems along with the 2006 water production and sales information were used to determine and relate the unique distribution characteristics and water consumption demands of the rural water systems. The impact of improved water quality to the customers of the rural water systems was shown in improved livestock production and health, customer softening salt savings, and reduction of total dissolved solids entering …

Effects Of Storage Tank Mixing On Water Quality, Andy Lemke, Delvin E. Deboer

Water and Environmental Engineering Research Reports

Storage tanks are used by water systems to maintain pressure in the distribution system and to meet the varying water demands of the system. The design and operation of the storage tanks affect their mixing characteristics which affect the water quality. Poor mixing can lead to stratification in the tanks, which can lead to low chlorine residual causing microbial growth and nitrification. This thesis presents the results of the study of seven storage tanks used in South Dakota’s rural water systems. The tanks were chosen to represent varying height to diameter ratios, varying types of disinfectant, and to study passive …

The Effects Of Tank Operation And Design Characteristics On Water Quality In Distribution System Storage Tanks, Christopher T. Olson, Delvin Deboer

Water and Environmental Engineering Research Reports

From the Executive Summary

Background:
Regional water systems utilize storage facilities to meet demand variations and pressure requirements of their systems. These storage facilities drain and fill in response to system water demands and water level control settings. Storage tanks are typically placed in strategic locations to maintain a consistent pressure in the distribution system. Storage facilities should be designed and operated such that the water is mixed to prevent stagnant water (old water that remains in the tank for an extended period). Stagnant water can lead to water quality issues, such as low disinfectant residuals, potential for microbial contamination, …

Economic Impact Of South Dakota’S Regional Water Systems, Matthew J. Pajl, Delvin E. Deboer, Gary Taylor, Dwight Adamson

Water and Environmental Engineering Research Reports

Regional water systems are a primary conduit of water supply for much of South Dakota’s rural and small community populations. As of 2006, greater than one-third of South Dakota’s population was served by water supplied from regional water systems, and when Lewis and Clark Rural Water delivers water to Sioux Falls, over one-half of South Dakota’s population will be served by regional water systems. Greater than 75% of incorporated communities with public water supplies are served by regional water systems, either as bulk communities or as individual customers. Many farms and agricultural industries use rural water for domestic use, livestock …

Erosion Function Apparatus, Ryan Larsen

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Erosion Function Apparatus (EFA) test uses site-specific soil samples acquired via thin-walled tubes to generate the erosion rate and shear stress which is plotted to create an erosion plot. The information produced by the test can help an engineer accurately determine the depth of scour as a function of time for bridge design, and thereby determine the depth a foundation system should be constructed. During EFA testing, a data acquisition system records the velocity and amount of soil eroded. This data is used to calculate the Reynolds Number, friction factor, erosion rate, and shear stress. Once the data has …

Effects Of Temperature, Water Hardness, And Recirculation On Copper Corrosion, Brian R. Weiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In previous work, the effects of water quality have been shown to influence the formation of scale from copper corrosion. A general understanding of the effects of water quality on copper corrosion have been difficult to obtain because of complex interactions of water quality variables on copper corrosion in different water supply systems. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of temperature and water hardness on copper corrosion occurring in a household water supply system. The effects of recirculation were also studied in concurrence with the above water quality parameters. Electrochemical corrosion testing and corrosion by -product …

The Practicality Of The Caldwell-Lawrence Diagrams For Predicting Lime-Softened Water Quality, James A. Arndt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of the investigation were: 1.) to determine the validity of the Caldwell-Lawrence diagrams in predicting alkalinity, calcium, and pH values at various levels of lime addition of the softening process. 2.) to determine the practical application of the diagram for plant operators in daily operations and design engineers for design calculations. Throughout the investigation, primary consideration was given to the practical aspects of water treatment in terms of water sampled, methodology, and.statistical analysis of test results. Construction of the Caldwell-Lawrence diagrams is based on chemical equilibrium between the carbonic species and calcium and magnesium in water. The theory …