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INTERA

INTERA

Environmental and Water Resource Consulting Firm

  • Services and Industries
        • Services
          • Water Resources and Supply
          • Environmental
          • Coastal Engineering
          • Radioactive Waste
        • Specialty Services
          • Carbon Storage
          • Uncertainty Analysis
          • Air Quality
          • Digital Transformation
        • Industries
          • Mining
          • Water Utilities
          • Oil and Gas
          • Legal
          • Power and Energy
          • Government
          • Brownfields
          • Solid Waste
          • Semiconductor
  • Projects
  • Company
    • About INTERA
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    • Leadership
    • Careers
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    • Media
  • EN
    • ES (Spanish)
    • FR (French)
    • DE (German)

Water Utilities

July 26, 2022 · (Updated: August 8, 2022)

July 26, 2022 by

Challenge: To assess air quality emissions impacts in support of licensing a spent nuclear fuel (SNF) storage facility. 

Solution: Waste Control Specialists (WCS), a member of the Interim Storage Partners (ISP) joint venture with Orano, is seeking to license a SNF storage facility at their existing site in Andrews County, Texas.  The site sits on the border of the Texas and New Mexico state line, with the majority of the site’s property and all air emissions sources being located (and therefore, permitted) in the State of Texas under the jurisdiction of the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The proposed storage facility, known as the Consolidated Interim Storage Facility (CISF), is located completely within the state of Texas, and therefore, is subject to regulation under the purview of the TCEQ. In support of the licensing, INTERA collected information from the site via a desktop review of proposed construction and operation documents. Emissions sources included those from the construction and operational phases of the CISF and consist largely of criteria pollutants that fall under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Emissions were calculated for each stationary source using methodologies prescribed by EPA’s AP-42 and industry-accepted practices as applicable. Once the emissions were calculated, they were evaluated against the NAAQS to determine if the impacts would contribute to a significant impact to existing air quality. Emissions modeling was conducted using EPA’s AERMOD model for each affected emission point at a rate of 1 lb/hr to generate a Unit Impact Multiplier (UIM). Each hourly emission rate was multiplied by the UIM to determine a maximum offsite impact, which was then compared to NAAQS to determine the impacts to off-property human health and vegetation. Background concentrations were determined based on publicly available monitoring data at the TCEQ monitoring sites nearest to the proposed facility. Ultimately, the modeling demonstrated that all emissions related to the construction and operation of the proposed facility were in compliance with the applicable standards. INTERA interacted with site staff and participated in public hearings with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as it pertained to the ongoing review of the licensing application, including answering clarifying questions for the agency, and refining calculations and estimations in conjunction with the appropriate stakeholders. 

Results: INTERA’s analyses contributed to obtaining the NRC license required to construct and operate the CISF.

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July 18, 2022 · (Updated: August 8, 2022)

July 18, 2022 by

Challenge: To reduce the impacts of climate change on utility operations.

Solution: INTERA led the Southern Nevada Water Authority (Authority) through a phased approach to review and assess the use of climate change information in their capital investment, asset management, and environmental health and safety programs, and identify ways to improve mitigation strategies to handle the effects of climate change. The process included numerous workshops designed to solicit feedback from staff regarding climate change and impacts on various operational and planning activities within the Authority. INTERA’s recommendations included integration of climate risk information in the project initiation stage of the capital governance process, adaptive planning and design standards to address climate uncertainty, improved tracking and management of heat stress, and appropriate data collection to support the ongoing Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program. 

Results: Developed strategies to integrate climate change into daily operational activities and incorporated these strategies into the Authority’s ERM framework. 

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July 12, 2022 · (Updated: July 18, 2022)

July 12, 2022 by

Challenge: To develop comprehensive plans covering drought and water efficiency opportunities.

Solution: Using our expertise with the Colorado Water Control Board’s guidelines (an INTERA staff member helped develop the Colorado guidance documents for municipal drought and water efficiency planning), INTERA developed the Town of Erie’s Drought/Water Supply Shortage Plan and Water Efficiency Plan. The plans were developed in parallel to maximum efficiencies and ensure that they were well integrated. INTERA facilitated eight workshops with Erie staff from multiple departments (e.g., public works, planning, engineering, parks and recreation, economic development, etc.) to discuss and receive input on the main components of each plan. This proved to be a productive exercise in helping the Town coordinate water-related topics in the future.  

Results: The plans lay out a roadmap for further enhancing Erie’s water efficiency program and developing a coordinated drought mitigation and response protocol during water shortages, Additionally, a water demand and supply spreadsheet model was developed to better understand how water supply availability compares to projected water demands during various hydrologic conditions.  Strategies for better integrating land use planning and water planning/management  were also developed with an implementation plan moving forward. 

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July 12, 2022 · (Updated: July 18, 2022)

July 12, 2022 by

Challenge: To better understand the spatial distribution of PFAS contamination and assess potential future risks to drinking water supplies.

Solution: California American Water (Cal-Am) operates over 110 wells in multiple water systems in the Sacramento area. Based on the results of proactive and comprehensive sampling for PFAS, Cal-Am has removed impaired wells from service, constructed treatment facilities, and increased routine monitoring. To provide additional water quality data that can be used to understand the spatial distribution of PFAS contamination and assess potential future risks to drinking water supplies, INTERA collected relevant data from state, federal, and regional sources including hydrogeologic conceptual models, historical groundwater levels, well construction data, water quality data, and other environmental data. Particular emphasis was given to collecting information on sites and facilities known to be sources of PFAS contamination, including landfills, chrome plating operations, airports, defense facilities, wastewater treatment plants, and other industrial facilities. In addition, we “scraped” thousands of relevant documents from public environmental investigation records and searched them for “hidden” data on PFAS occurrence in soil and groundwater not available in public databases. To accomplish this, we developed the templates and workflows needed to efficiently import data and documents from GeoTracker, EnviroStor, GAMA, and CASGEM. A web-based application was developed for spatial and temporal viewing of data.  

Results: INTERA developed a geodatabase with historical water quality and hydrogeological data that is helping determine temporal and spatial trends of PFAS contamination, identify data gaps and opportunities for enhanced monitoring, and develop concepts for practical decision support and planning tools.

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June 9, 2022 · (Updated: July 18, 2022)

June 9, 2022 by

Challenge: To prepare for continued population growth through planning and maximizing use of existing assets.  

Solution: INTERA evaluated the current safe yield of New Jersey American Water’s (NJAW) Swimming River Reservoir System and the potential use of aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) to economically increase the safe yield. The proposed ASR system will inject treated surface water from the Swimming River Water Treatment Plant during periods of excess flow for recovery during low-flow periods. The current safe yield of the Swimming River System was evaluated using a RiverWare model that was based on characteristics of system infrastructure and operations and re-creation of the hydrologic record. The work was the first in the state of New Jersey to follow new guidelines developed by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and New Jersey Geological and Water Survey (NJGWS) for estimating the safe yield of surface water supply reservoir systems. We used the RiverWare model to determine the availability of excess flow for treatment and storage via ASR and developed and applied a transient groundwater to evaluate the storage capacity, potential performance, and seasonal impacts of ASR operations. The proposed reservoir and ASR system was modeled to determine the increase in reservoir safe yield afforded by ASR operations. INTERA also developed available geologic information and recharge and native groundwater quality data to identify potential physical, biological, and geochemical factors that may contribute to ASR well plugging or undesirable geochemical interactions. We documented the results of our analyses and attended meetings with NJDEP and NJGWS in support of New Jersey American Water’s formal application for approval of the increased safe yield.

Results: INTERA’s analyses showed that the excess flow in the Swimming River available during the winter and spring months, along with the favorable hydrogeologic conditions present in aquifers beneath the site, make it it itechnically feasible to increase the safe yield of the Swimming River System by using ASR. As a result, NJAW is pursuing the necessary permits to implement an ASR system in the near future. 

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June 9, 2022 · (Updated: July 18, 2022)

June 9, 2022 by

Challenge: To help the City secure a safe and resilient water supply for the future.

Solution: Lake Decatur provides 37,150 acre-feet of water per year to the City of Decatur and its major agribusiness industrial customers. Because the lake is highly vulnerable to drought, INTERA developed an integrated water supply plan to diversify and expand the City’s existing water supplies. Future municipal and industrial demand scenarios were developed based on historical analysis and statistical modeling of demand considering weather, population, rates, and economic indicators. The drought-resilience of existing water supplies was evaluated by recreating the hydrologic record and modeling the reservoir system under future drought conditions and projected water use using a system-level modeling platform (GoldSim). Under design drought conditions, the 2050 supply gap was estimated to be 9,500 acre-feet. INTERA evaluated options including lower lake operating level, deep aquifer wells, existing gravel pits, drought-proof alluvial wells downstream of the water reclamation facility, regional collaboration, and additional conservation. After screening, conceptual-level designs were developed for evaluating the costs, operational benefits, and potential impacts of each alternative.   

Results: Based on our evaluation of alternatives, we developed an implementation plan with recommendations for near, medium and long-term actions designed to secure current supply reliability and resiliency and to prepare the City for adaptive, cost-effective water supply management to 2050 and beyond.

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