Joint Committee
Holds Annual Meeting

The NSF Wastewater Treatment Technology Joint Committee (JC) held its annual meeting September 20-21, 2007. The JC is comprised of volunteer members from regulatory agencies, manufacturers, and product users. Any proposal to establish or revise a standard goes before the JC and is either recommended for ballot or assigned for development to a task group composed of JC members and external experts. Task group members are assigned by the task group chairman (who is appointed by the JC chair) from a pool of volunteers.

During the most recent meeting JC Chairman Mike Hoover, Ph.D., introduced Elizabeth Dietzmann, Esq.; Kevin Sherman, Ph.D.; and James Meyer as new members. Ms. Dietzmann is an environmental attorney with years of experience in onsite wastewater issues. She is based in Richmond, Virginia and represents the law firm AquaLaw PLC. Dr. Sherman is Director of Engineering at Quanics, Inc., a Kentucky based manufacturer of onsite treatment systems. Mr. Meyer is Vice President of Engineering at Norweco, an Ohio based manufacturer of water and wastewater treatment products, systems and chemicals.

Work performed by the JC during the course of this past year and at the annual meeting cover a wide range of issues:

Changes to Current NSF/ANSI Standards

-- NSF/ANSI 40 Residential wastewater treatment systems - 2005:

---- Bottomless treatment systems: Recognizing that some treatment systems are installed with no bottom, Standard 40 was revised to allow these systems to be tested. The change was in the performance testing for the evaluation of effluent treatment quality. A new requirement was added that required effluent samples to be representative of all treated effluent, as sampled from a central point of collection. In the case of systems with no bottoms, a collection system must be employed by the test facility.

---- Maximum dose: To ensure consistency between test facilities, a requirement was added for a maximum individual dose volume of 10 gallons as delivered to the treatment device under test, and uniformly applied over the dosing periods prescribed in the standard to achieve the daily rated capacity.

-- NSF/ANSI 41 Non-liquid saturated treatment systems - 2005:

---- The scope of the standard was revised to clarify that the standard addresses treatment systems that treat both solid and liquid waste, as well as those that treat solid waste only.

-- NSF/ANSI 46 Evaluation of components and devices used in wastewater treatment systems – 2005 and 2007:

---- Chlorine disinfection:

-------- The scope was modified to increase the overall rated capacities for chlorination devices, changing from a minimum flow of 400 gpd down to 200 gpd. This increased range allowed for greater flexibility of device adjustment in the field when encountering low flow treatment systems, avoiding the addition of excessive amounts of chlorine.

---- Effluent filters:

-------- The 2005 edition of Standard 46 added new structural integrity testing of filters to better address situations of frequent removal and reinstallation of filters, such as with frequent maintenance cycles.

-------- The 2007 edition of Standard 46 incorporated a new buoyancy test, requiring a fully clogged filter to prevent bypass of solids while being subjected to an upward force.

-------- The 2007 edition of Standard 46 incorporated a change in the size of the beads used for demonstrating solids retention. The previous edition used a bead size of 0.48 cm (3/16 in.). The revision replaced the previous size with two new sizes, both smaller than the previous. The new sizes are 0.178 cm (1/16 in.) and 0.338 cm (1/8 in.). Manufacturers can chose either size. NSF certification will then clarify which bead size was used.

Newly Adopted NSF/ANSI Standard

-- NSF/ANSI 245 Wastewater treatment systems – Nitrogen reduction:

NSF/ANSI 245 was adopted in March 2007, after two years of development. The EPA Environmental Technology Verification Program’s Residential Nutrient Reduction protocol and NSF/ANSI 40 provided the basis for development of the Standard. Certification under the Standard requires Standard 40 Class I certification. As the testing program follows the framework as Standard 40, certification against both standards can be achieved in a single test. Samples for nitrogen reduction testing are collected three times per week and twice during stress sequences. The standard requires that a system meet effluent quality of:

-------- CBOD5 – 25 mg/L

-------- TSS – 30 mg/L

-------- Total Nitrogen – < 50% of average influent TKN

-------- pH – 6.0 to 9.0 SU

For in depth information about NSF/ANSI 245 see the Standard 245 website.

New Standard Under Development

-- Draft NSF 240 Gravelless trench products for on-site wastewater treatment and distribution:

A new standard for gravelless trench products has been under development for the past four years. The scope of the draft standard is for the evaluation of products used as alternatives to traditional stone or gravel trenches, with emphasis placed on hydraulic performance measured over time in comparison to a conventional gravel drain field, tested in parallel with the gravelless trench. The end of test is determined in terms of hydraulic failure, i.e. measurable ponding.

Testing under the standard is completed in a constructed soil matrix made up of a well defined concrete sand that is carefully placed and compacted in a lined trench to allow for collection of all wastewater that has passed through the test and control trenches. Collection of the water from the trenches provides a means for completing chemical testing of the wastewater that has passed through the systems, and provides a means of completing a water balance to account for precipitation on the trenches.

Detailed methodology for preparing the control and test trenches is provided in the standard, with the gravel control having a trench length of 20 feet and a width based on that of the gravelless trench to be tested, but generally ranging from 1 foot to 3 feet. The gravelless trench will be sized by the manufacturer to account for the claimed reduction in size when compared to the gravel control. Daily dosing to both will be the same in terms of loading pattern, strength and total volume. The consistency in total volume will cause the gravelless trench to receive a greater volume per square foot than the gravel control, as would be the case under actual use conditions. Wastewater will be of typical residential strength, dosed to the test units after passing through a septic tank. Both the gravel control and the gravelless trench will be tested in triplicate.

A validation test has been completed at the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center on Cape Cod. The testing identified several test details needing attention, which will be addressed in the next draft of the standard.

New Areas of Development

-- Access ports:

The NSF Wastewater Technology Joint Committee is developing language for NSF/ANSI 40, 41, 46, and 245 to address design of access ports. Criteria will address both access for operational monitoring and service as well as safety.

-- Field performance evaluation:

The NSF Wastewater Technology Joint Committee is developing a protocol that will provide field sampling, analytical, and statistical methods for reporting on residential wastewater treatment devices capable of providing at least secondary treatment. The purpose of this Protocol will be to establish field performance results for existing treatment devices serving residential single family homes.

-- Onsite sewage facility structures:

The NSF Wastewater Technology Joint Committee is investigating the potential development of a new standard for sewage septic tanks. The intent is to address water tightness and structural integrity of tanks via an audit program that verifies the manufacturing process.

-- Onsite water reuse:

The NSF Wastewater Technology Joint Committee is developing a performance standard for reuse of residential onsite wastewater system effluent, with the uses of the water determining the quality required. Components of the standard have been identified to include redundancy, monitoring elements, performance, signage and labeling, management of technology, and test frequency.

-- Retrofit components:

The NSF Wastewater Technology Joint Committee has formed a task group that will address certification of technical components and retrofit applications for advanced onsite treatment systems.

Participation in the Standards and Protocol development process is available through many levels of involvement, including by interested individuals who are not members of the JC. Industry professionals are encouraged to get involved. For further information contact Sarah Kozanecki at Kozanecki@nsf.org.

A complete summary of the 2007 JC meeting is viewable at NSF WWTC JC Meeting Summary.

To access the public area of NSF’s standards website visit NSF Standards – Public. This website enables visitors to view the ongoing process of all NSF/ANSI standards and learn how to participate in the process.