AWWA INF52175

Faced with an aging infrastructure and major new drinking water regulations promulgated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments, the City of Baltimore, Maryland, initiated a comprehensive evaluation of their entire water system in 1996. The Comprehensive Plan for Water Facilities was conducted to evaluate the City's water system and develop a comprehensive strategy to guide future operations and facility improvements. The overall scope of this project was to conduct a detailed study of all City owned or operated water facilities from source to tap. This investigation was completed with an eye towards maximizing water quality throughout the system and maintaining compliance with the requirements of the SDWA. This paper provides a brief description of the City's water system. Following this description, an overview of some of the key components of the City's comprehensive planning effort is presented along with recommendations that resulted from the planning process. The primary focus of this paper is the development and implementation of short-term improvements to optimize the operation of the City's three water treatment facilities. In addition, an analysis of long-range treatment alternatives is presented along with specific recommendations for upgrading the City's water plants to address aging infrastructure concerns and assure compliance with existing and future regulatory mandates. The role of operator training in optimizing water treatment facilities is also discussed. Includes tables, figures.