WQ0004115_1999 Annual Report_20000221

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Champion Hills Property Owners Association
1999 WasteWater System Annual Report
The Champion Hills Wastewater System is authorized by the North
Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Division of
Water Quality (NCDENR-DWQ) and operates under Permit No.
WQ0004115 dated November 30, 1999. This Permit defines the conditions
and parameters under which the Champion Hills Property Owners
Association (POA). must operate the system and exposes the POA to
substantial fines if it does not comply. The current Permit expires October
31, 2004, and is subject to change at the request of the State.
In 1999, the State of North Carolina passed new legislation requiring
all entities that own or operate wastewater treatment and collection systems
to provide annual reports to its customers describing the systems and
summarizing their performance' over the past twelve month period. This
report for calendar year 1999 has been prepared, and is being made available
to the residents of Champion Hills in compliance with this requirement.
Descriution of Systems:
The Champion Hills' Wastewater System is made up of a Collection
System, a Treatment System and a Disposal System. The Collection and
Treatment Systems are owned and operated by the Champion Hills POA.
The Disposal System is owned and operated by the Champion Hills Club
under a formal Agreement with the POA.
The Collection System consists of approximately 62,500 linear feet of
eight inch diameter PVC sewer lines, 450 to 475 manholes, 8 lift stations
and miscellaneous items such as generators, force mains, spare parts, etc.
As its name implies, the collection system collects. the wastewater from the
community and transports it to the treatment plant for processing.
The Treatment plant is the "heart" of the POAs WasteWater System
and is located on a 2.86-acre plot adjacent to the 16th fairway. Plant
operation is subcontracted to a state -licensed operator, James and James
Environmental Management. Under the terms of the permit, the operator
must visit the plant daily (excluding weekends and holidays) and properly
manage and document daily operations, including all testing, reporting and
other permit requirements.

The Treatment Plant has a current, throughput capacity of 70,000
gallons of wastewater per day, expandable to 140,000. Wastewater enters
the plant at the Equalization basin through a 4" line from the influent lift
station. It is then parceled into one of two 35,000-gpd-process trains, each
consisting of an Aeration tank followed by a Clarifier. From the Clarifier, it
flows into a Tertiary Filter with a design capacity of 140,000 gpd, followed
by a chlorine drip feed and a Chlorine Contact basin. The treated water
(effluent) then flows by gravity to a lift station where it is pumped into a
700,000 gallon holding lagoon for eventual use in irrigating the golf course.
The Disposal System is essentially the Oolf Course Irrigation System.
As required by our permit, effluent is pumped from the holding lagoon by
the Club's state trained and licensed operators and applied to the golf course
through selected sprinklers. This water irrigates the grass and is then filtered
again by the soil before it enters the ground water system. Unfortunately,
this procedure is problematic during winter months when the ground or
sprinkler system is frozen or when the golf course is already saturated.
Consequently, we have asked the State for permission to discharge effluent
into nearby streams under such winter conditions and are awaiting its
response. This effluent, of course, is "treated water" and is in the same
condition that most larger municipalities and cities release directly to creeks
and rivers on a year round basis.
1999 Performance — Problems, Deficiencies, Accomplishments & Permit
Violations
1. Problems / Deficiencies / Accomplishments: During the year, we
encountered and addressed several problems that needed attention
and addressed other issues that may help us perform better in the
future:
A. During a couple of heavy rainstorms (2 to 4 inches over. 24
to 48 hours), we experienced runoff "Inflow" to our system
of 10,000 to 20,000 gallons. Although this is not a great
quantity of Inflow for a system of our size, it does represent
a sizable portion of our treatment plant's capacity and did
temporarily upset the treatment process. Following the last
storm, we walked the entire system, inspecting each
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manhole and listing all potential problems found. We have
also recently had a contractor Smoke test most of the system
and prepare a report of his findings. We are now in the
process of correcting these deficiencies. Hopefully, this will
substantially reduce the Inflow problem.
B. Over the last couple of years, gas bubbles have been forming
under the PVC liner of our effluent holding lagoon. This
past year, we contracted with a company to install pressure
relief vents in the liner at several strategic locations.
Unfortunately, the day before the work was to start the liner
burst at one of the bubble locations. The lagoon was then
quickly drawn down and three vents were installed. The
liner has since worked satisfactorily, but we intend to
replace it in 2000 because of a general "thinning" at bubble
locations and Ultra -Violet (UV) deterioration throughout.
We are in the process of studying various liner materials that
may be better suited to our needs. So far, High Density
Polyethylene (HDPE) and possibly EPDM rubber appear to
be the front runners. The next step is to find experienced
contractors to bid.
C. In April, a contractor installing a new sewer line near the
Stone Creek section of our development tied into our
existing sewer system without "plugging" the new line.
Runoff from an untimely 2-1/2 inch cloudburst flooded a
partially completed manhole and hit our treatment plant with
a surge of muddy water. The plant operator discovered the
problem during his daily visit to the plant and helped us to
locate the source and have it corrected. Unfortunately, the
mud in the plant caused high turbidity and put us out of
compliance with our permit for several days.
D. In July, a contractor installing a foundation for a new unit in
the Meadow Ridge section of our development cut through
the 3 inch force main leading from lift station number 9. The
pumps at the lift station were not running at the time, and
power was immediately disconnected. However, sewage
already in the line flowed through the break into the
foundation and surrounding area where it was contained.
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The force main was promptly rerouted around the
foundation and then reconnected. We estimated the spill to
be 900 gallons or less.
E. We received approximately 4 inches of rain over the long
Thanksgiving weekend causing Inflow to our system as
mentioned above in item A. The water surge through the
plant caused the tertiary filter to clog. Sewage in the plant
then backed up until a small spill developed at the Aeration
basin. The operator discovered and corrected the problem
upon arrival at the plant on Monday morning. The spill was
estimated at 500 gallons or less and contained within the
plant.
F. During the year, the Champion Hills POA developed,
implemented and distributed a Sewer Ordinance for the
community. Any resident who did not receive a copy or
would like an additional copy should contact the
Administration office.
G. In early 1999, the engineering firm, Wm. G. Lapsley &
Associates, prepared a Sewer System Master Plan for the
POA. The plan was recently revised to account for
deviations noted while walking the lines. This document
will be very helpful in maintaining the system.
H. During the past year, we have had the Champion Hills
Security Force drive by each lift station that is visible from
the road on a daily basis and formally record the status of
the alarms. At the two lift stations not visible, we installed
telemetry to automatically notify the Security office of any
problems. Should problems occur at any of these stations,
Security has procedures to follow for immediately notifying
responsible parties.
2. Permit Violations: During the year we had the following, permit
violations, most of which were the result of Inflow or contractor
related problems as mentioned above:
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A
Date
Twe of Violation
Samyle reading
Max Allowed
3/25/99
Turbidity
10.4 NTU
10.0 NTU
3/31/99
Turbidity
15.6 NTU
10.0 NTU
4/5/99
Turbidity
27.0 NTU
10.0 NTU
4/27/99
Turbidity
26.0 NTU
10.0 NTU
4/28/99
Turbidity
26.0 NTU
10.0 NTU
5/21/99
Turbidity
10.6 NTU
10.0 NTU
6/1/99
Ammonia Nitrogen
11.2 mg/l
6.0 mg/l
6/14/99
Turbidity
11.3 NTU
10.0 NTU
6/15/99
Turbidity
10.7 NTU
10.0 NTU
6/16/99
Turbidity
10.6 NTU
10.0 NTU
6/23/99
Turbidity
11.3 NTU
10.0 NTU
6/29/99
Turbidity
10.3 NTU
10.0 NTU
7/7/99
Turbidity
11.1 NTU
10.0 NTU
7/8/99
Turbidity
10.4 NTU
10.0 NTU
7/13/99
Ammonia Nitrogen
6.3 mg/l
6.0 mg/1
8/16/99
Ammonia Nitrogen
8.4 mg/l
6.0 mg/l
Notification and Certification:
All Champion Hills' Property Owners and / or Club Members will be
Notified in the March 2000 issue of the Champion Hills' monthly
Publication" Echoes" that this report will be available through the Champion
Hills Club Administration Office by either stopping in or calling
[phone] to receive one by mail.
I certify that this report is complete and accurate to the best of my
knowledge. Any questions pertaining to it should be directed to me at
the address or telephone number listed below.
Lee J Weber, Chairman
Champion Hills WWS Committee
4 Barnes Court
Hendersonville, NC 28739
[phone]
Issue Date: February 21, 2000
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