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The base has approximately 2,000 catch basins with fish stickers like the one pictured above to identify it’s for water only. Wright-Patterson's Environmental Management Division ensures water discharging from the base into local waterways remains within national discharge pollutant standards. (U.S. Air Force photo/Ted Theopolos).
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Monitoring water flow is an important part of Environmental Management
Posted 1/14/2010 Updated 1/14/2010
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by Ted Theopolos
88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
1/14/2010 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Wright-Patterson's Environmental Management Division insures water discharging from the base into local waterways remains within national discharge pollutant standards.
"It's important that the water is discharged into the proper drainage system on base," said Zach Olds, water quality program manager in the Environmental Management Division.
Wright-Patt, along with the City of Dayton, is located over a sand gravel aquifer known as the Great Miami Buried Aquifer which holds over one trillion gallons of water. Releasing water through the improper drainage system could potentially contaminate the aquifer which provides 97 percent of the drinking water to more than 900,000 residents.
Storm water disbursement is the largest issue for discharging water from the base. To understand the amount of water the base has to deal with, think of this example. The annual precipitation for the base is 38.4 inches per year. That precipitation produces an average runoff of 3,346,000,000 gallons of water. To make it more visual, the base receives enough water in a single month if placed in gallon milk jugs and placed side by side, the length of water would cross the U.S. 8.8 times.
The base has made significant infrastructure improvements to the drainage system over the past several years to help protect the aquifer.
"Some of the water projects started back in 2002," said Olds. "The base has invested close to $9 million to improve the sanitary to storm sewer cross-connections. These cross-connections create a potential compliance burden as well as an excessive volume of waste water on the Publically Owned Treatment Works (POTW). We are currently in the final construction phase of the cross-connect eliminations, which should be completed by February or March of this year."
Storm water drainage from construction sites is another protocol the Environmental Management Division has to contend with. Construction activities such as clearing, excavating and grading significantly disturb soil and sediment. If that soil is not managed properly it can easily be discharged off of the construction site during storms and may pollute nearby water bodies.
In February 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will issue a new ruling on water pollution from construction sites. The new rules require construction sites disturbing an acre or more of land to implement best management practices (BMP). Additionally, construction sites disturbing more than 10 acres will be required to monitor water discharging from the site.
"Wright-Patt is ahead of the game," said Mark Mays, chief of the Environmental Management Division. "The base has done such a good job on construction projects that Ohio EPA cited the base as a model site in July 2009."
Construction sites on base utilize multiple methods to prevent erosion including installing temporary erosion controls such as silt fence, inlet protection, rock check dams, and gravel construction entrances. Additionally, soil stabilization is another method commonly used. This method is the most effective means to minimize erosion and offsite sediment from construction sites. Methods include BMPs such as mulching, temporary seeding, and permanent seeding.
For new buildings under construction, water saving fixtures are mandatory and some older fixtures are being updated in existing facilities to help reduce the consumption of water and to minimize the discharge of sanitary water off base. The base currently uses approximately 3.5 million gallons of water daily and discharges an estimated 1 million gallons of waste water through the sanitary sewer system to POTWs located in both Dayton and Fairborn. Currently, the base pays approximately $2 million a year for sanitary sewer drainage. New fixtures will help reduce the water usage which in turn will drop the sanitary sewer drainage cost.
The base also has several methods in place to help prevent contaminants and pollutants from being released to the environment. Oil water separators and secondary containment basins are strategically placed throughout the installation to prevent fuels or petroleum products from going down the drain. The separators and basins are routinely inspected and cleaned by a licensed company.
The base manages storm water with 8.25 miles of open drainage ditches, 47 miles of storm sewer drain pipe, and approximately 2,000 catch basins labeled with green fish stickers. Water outfalls are regularly inspected and sampled for contaminates prior to draining into local water ways which in turn helps replenish the aquifer.
Water drainage is not only important to the base but also to the surrounding communities which rely upon the aquifer for their drinking water supply.
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