This is the time of year that many organizations are wrapping up activities for their fiscal year (July 1 through June 30).
SVCW abides by this timing which triggers many things. Our operating budget uses this calendar, so our finance team is working furiously to wrap up end-of-year accounting. Since personnel evaluations for our management staff are performed on a fiscal year basis, there has been a lot of discussion and interaction amongst our team.
As part of the ramped up activities to ensure a smooth transition to the new fiscal year, remaining materials, goods and services that were budgeted for the current year are being delivered and provided.
Atop the change in fiscal years, California has “reopened” which has brought a similarly large number of activities to which SVCW must respond. We await direction from CalOSHA, which is an important guiding regulator for us. The rules that CalOSHA are expected to put into place puts heavy emphasis on an employee’s vaccination status, and we will have to respond accordingly. In the meantime, SVCW employees continue to follow all COVID-19 safety protocols, including face coverings, social distancing, symptom checks and more.
As I’ve noted previously, my number one priority is employees' and community members' health and safety. We continue to follow all the permit guidelines that ensure we adequately protect public health and the environment. To this end, I take the most conservative approach to “reopening” and make my choices based upon health and safety along with agency needs. If you're curious about our safety programs, go here.
Thanks for visiting and please be safe and healthy!
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SVCW Announces Three Capital Improvement Loans Expected to Close in Next Few Months |
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Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan
EPA Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Loans
SVCW was invited to apply for two new EPA Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans, anticipated to close late summer 2021 for $138 million. These loans utilize an interim note debt structure to temporarily borrow at short-term rates and repay the notes from WIFIA proceeds. The two SVCW projects funded by the EPA include a Wastewater Treatment Plant Reliability Upgrade for approximately $73.8 million and another estimated $68.9 million towards RESCU Phase 2. Working with the EPA has been a rewarding experience for us; they are organized, diligent and go out of their way to support SVCW.
To learn more about our Finance Department, go here. For more about our Capital Improvement Program, go here.
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SVCW Celebrates 25th Annual National Safety Month |
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Safety is our top priority at SVCW, so we're pleased to continue celebrating National Safety Month, and hope it inspires you to incorporate it into your own workplace!
This year marks the 25th anniversary of National Safety Month, which honors the essential work and legacy of safety professionals--the unsung heros of the pandemic, who rewrote safety protocols in response to COVID, and successfully responded to new risks.
Hosted by the National Safety Council (NSC), the National Safety Month program invites organizations across the country to raise safety awareness in order to reduce the leading causes of injury and death at work, on the road and in our homes and communities.
For the second half of the month, the NSC focuses on the following themes:
Week 3: It’s Vital to Feel Safe on the Job
Being able to be one’s self at work without fear of retaliation is necessary for an inclusive safety culture. Leading organizations focus not only on physical safety, but psychological safety as well. Mental distress has been found to increase risk for workplace safety incidents, adversely affecting risk recognition for workers. Some people may experience fatigue as a symptom of mental distress, or substance use disorder, increasing the risk for impairment in the workplace. Addressing stress and mental distress in the workforce can help lower risk for workplace incidents. Learn more here.
Week 4: Advance Your Safety Journey
Safety is all about continuous improvement. Whether organizationally or individually, NSC can help provide guidance for your path forward. They offer onsite safety training relevant to your industry and specific to your employees' jobs that is highly engaging and OSHA compliant. Using a live, instructor-led format (OSHA's preferred method of safety training) onsite safety training can minimize staff and operational downtime, save money and, most importantly, engage your employees. Learn more here.
To access the free materials available (you don’t have to be an NSC member) just go to the NSC website and choose the link that says “Sign up now”. Once you enter some basic information you will notified by email when the materials are ready for you to access.
Campaign materials typically include:
- Tip Sheets in both English & Spanish
- Articles related to the safety focus
- Graphics you can share on social media
- and more!
Learn more about SVCW's ongoing safety efforts here. |
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Every month SVCW shares an insider's glimpse behind the scenes into cool, innovative technologies and processes we're using that are transforming the water treatment industry. |
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SVCW Teaches Award-Winning Sewer Science Program to Local Students |
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To help inspire future leaders of the wastewater treatment industry, SVCW participates in the award-winning Sewer Science program.
This high school science laboratory -- which is now offered online -- teaches students in the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles areas about municipal wastewater treatment, using specially designed tanks and standard testing equipment. SVCW teaches approximately 1,500 students each year in the community, aiming to educate future graduates about the wide variety of careers that are available in the wastewater industry.
The online Sewer Science curriculum uses this sewer science booklet and a series of lab videos to teach the class. SVCW service area high schools may choose to utilize all or part of the curriculum.
SVCW's Pollution Prevention Specialist Susan Hiestand can join your class over multiple sessions to help facilitate the program, and can include a wastewater operator during the final presentation to discuss careers in wastewater. The SVCW portion of the lab can be completed over three synchronous block periods, or equivalent.
Learn more about this and other programs here or by emailing Susan here or call (650) 208-3869.
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We're on track and continuing to make progress on the Regional Environmental Sewer Conveyance Upgrade (RESCU), the rehabilitation and replacement of SVCW's conveyance system. When complete, it will ensure that for many decades to come, SVCW can efficiently, reliably, and safely convey and treat wastewater from its four member agencies. Those include Belmont, San Carlos, Redwood City, and the West Bay Sanitary District (which serves the cities of Menlo Park, Portola Valley, and portions of Atherton, Woodside, East Palo Alto, and unincorporated areas of San Mateo County). |
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Grouting operation in SFS Shaft |
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Salus, the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), is in its final section of mining!
Salus is heading towards breaking into the Surge/Flow Splitter (SFS) shaft. which will be used at this stage in construction as the TBM retrieval shaft , located next to the Front of Project area.
With Salus in its final tunneling stretch, BBJV is continuing with the preparations for the break in. With installation completed for the vertical jet grouting columns for ground improvement around the SFS shaft, BBJV is doing additional grouting within the SFS shaft wall. This grouting involves horizontal directional grouting at the location on the SFS shaft wall where Salus will be breaking in. The grouting work will seal the areas between the completed grout columns and will help to improve the ground and prevent water ingress into the shaft when Salus mines through.
When all the grout work is completed, the SFS shaft will be backfilled with a mix of soil and water to prepare the shaft for TBM break in.
For more information about the Gravity Pipeline, go here.
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Picture above: Installation of FRP ducting for treatment of foul air
Picture below: Front of Plant aerial progress
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SVCW's contractor partner, Shea Parsons Joint Venture (SPJV), continues making progress on the Headworks Facility at the Front of Plant. This month, major electrical equipment arrived onsite for ongoing installation over the next few months, including control panels, cables, cable trays, junction boxes and communication cabinets.
SPJV is also continuing with the installation of the odor control ducting (piping) at the Headworks Facility. Various pieces of Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) pipes are being installed from the deck of the Headworks Channels and Solids Loading Room to the odor control equipment. The FRP pipe varies in sizes at different locations of the Headworks Facility to maintain a balanced air flow for the treatment of foul air from the Surge and Flow Splitter (SFS) shaft and the headwork process areas.
At the Receiving Lift Station (RLS) shaft, SPJV has completed the installation of a permanent elevator that will be used by SVCW to transport personnel, tools and equipment in and out of the shaft once the RLS is operational. Once the permanent elevator is certified, SPJV will work on constructing scaffolding within the RLS to start on the last phase of work on the upper mezzanine, which will serve as an observation deck. The lower portion of the RLS will also have a lower mezzanine level, which will serve as a maintenance deck.
For more information about the Front of Plant project, go here.
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Pump Station Improvement Project |
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At the Pump Stations Improvements project, SVCW's contractor partner, Shea Parsons Joint Venture (SPJV), is starting a new phase of work for the construction of the Belmont Gravity Pipeline (BGP) this month.
With the new phase of work starting, SPJV will continue working on the construction of vertical shafts along Shoreway Road and in the vicinity of the San Carlos Pump Station. These shafts will be used to support micro-tunneling operations, which is a trenchless method that will be used to construct the BGP. The shafts will allow for the launch and retrieval of the microtunneling machine on different segments of the new BGP alignment. The new gravity pipeline will extend from the existing Belmont Pump Station to the San Carlos Pump Station location, and is designed to carry Belmont wastewater flows by gravity a new drop structure near the San Carlos Pump Station site where it will then enter the Gravity Pipeline.
At the Redwood City Pump Station, crews continue to construct the electrical building and the pump station wet well. This work includes installing electrical conduits before pouring concrete to set up the electrical building foundation.
For more information about the Pump Station Improvement project, go here.
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