WQCS00065_Annual Performance_20240909

CIITY OF
GRAHA
INORTH C A R O L I N A�'
RECEIVED
August 30, 2024 SEP 09 2024
NCDEQ /DWR NCDEQ/DWR/NPDES
Point Source Compliance and Enforcement Unit
1617 Mail Service Center
Raleigh,NC 27699-1617
RE: System Performance Annual Report
City of Graham, Alamance County
Please find enclosed three (3) copies of the System Performance Annual Report for the
City of Graham,NPDES Permit No.NC0021211 and Collection System Permit No.
WQCS00065. This is a requirement of House Bill 1160, the Clean Water Act of 1999.
Additionally, I have attached a copy of the Public Notice advising the City's customers
and users of the availability of the report. If you have any questions regarding this report
please contact me at 336.570.6721.
Sincerely,
Toni a Mann
Utilities Director
Cc: Aaron Holland, Asst. Manager, City of Graham
Cris Routh, Superintendent, WWTP
Kenny Hill, Field Operations Manager

CITY OF GRAHAM
2023-2024
ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT
OF
WASTEWATER TREATMENT OPERATION AND
COLLECTION
GENERAL INFORMATION RECEIVED
Facility/System Name: City of Graham Wastewater Treatment Plant
SEP 0 9 2024
Responsible Entity: City of Graham
NCDEQ/DWR/NPDES
Person in Charge/Contact:
Tanya Mann, Utilities Director, at 336.570.6721
Cris Routh, Wastewater Plant Superintendent, at 336.570.6721
Kenny Hill, Distribution & Collection Superintendent, at 336.570.6721
Applicable Permit(s): NPDES Permit: NC0021211
Non-Discharge Permit: WQ0003824
Collection System Permit: WQCS00065
Description of Collection System and Treatment Process
The City of Graham operates a Public Owned Treatment Works consisting of a
North Carolina Grade II Collection System and a North Carolina Grade IV
Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The collection system operates under a North Carolina Division of Water
Quality Collection System Permit and contains approximately 89 miles of piping and
five lift stations. The lift stations are named Back Creek No. 2, Boyd Creek, Cherry
Lane, Haw River, and Pyrtle Drive.
The wastewater treatment facility has a permitted flow of 3.5 million gallons
per day (MGD). This facility consists of bar screens, grit collectors, primary
clarification, extended aeration, final clarifiers, chlorination, post chlorination basin,
de-chlorination, digestion, lime stabilization, sludge disposal, and laboratory. Effluent
is discharged to the Haw River designated as Nutrient Sensitive Waters (NSW),
which is part of the Cape Fear River Basin.
1

Performance
Text Summary of the System Performance for the Period of July 1, 2023 to June 30,
2024.
Collection System: The City of Graham collection system is a combination of
gravity and forced mains. The city is proactive in monitoring and utilizing various
methods to maintain the wastewater collection system. An education program is in
place to inform water customers about the impact of improper disposal of Fats, Oils
and Grease (FOG). Over 10% of the collection system is hydraulically cleaned
annually. Chemical treatment, closed circuit inspection and rehab projects are just a
few methods we implement to reduce and eliminate service outages and overflows.
During the past fiscal year, the collection experienced no reportable wastewater
overflows.
Lift Stations: The City of Graham operates five lift stations that are maintained by
Collection and Distribution personnel. During this reporting period, the lift stations
had no reportable sewer overflows.
Wastewater Treatment Plant: The City of Graham Wastewater Treatment Plant's
permit has limits on Flow, Biological Oxygen Demand, Total Suspended Solids, •
Ammonia, Dissolved Oxygen, Fecal Coliform, Chronic Toxicity, and Total •
Phosphorus. Additional testing is performed for Total Residual Chlorine, •
Temperature, Conductivity, Copper, Mercury, and Zinc. Each month this data is
reported to the state thru the electronic Discharge Monitoring Report (eDMR). The
City is a member of The Upper Cape Fear River Basin Dischargers Coalition that
performs monitoring upstream and downstream of our discharge point on the Haw
River as well as other locations on the Haw and Deep Rivers. The Wastewater
Treatment Plant had two reportable sewer overflows and sixteen exceedances of its
NPDES permit.
Non-Discharge Permit: The City of Graham land applies biosolids to agricultural
land under regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of
North Carolina. The City of Graham had no violations in the past year.
Violations of permit conditions or other environmental regulations
relating to water quality from the above areas
June 25—July 1. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its weekly BOD
average. The limit is a weekly average of 18.0 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of effluent.
The City's average for the week was 25.7 mg/L. An upset of the plant was caused by
excessive rainfall received the previous week. By the following week, the plant was
back in compliance.
2

December 24-30, 2023. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its
weekly Geometric Mean for Fecal Coliform. The limit is a geometric mean of 400/100
milliliters (ml) of effluent. The City's geometric mean for the week was 996.7/100 nil.
A brief upset of the plant was caused by excessive rainfall on December 27. By the
next week, the plant was back in compliance.
January 7-13, 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its weekly
TSS average. The limit is a weekly average of 45 mg/L of effluent. The City's
average for the week was 49.0 mg/L. A brief upset of the plant was caused by
excessive rainfall on January 10. By the next week, the plant was back in
compliance.
January 9, 2024. Secondary Clarifier overflow: A reportable overflow of 1,813
gallons of untreated sewage spilled out of a secondary clarifier. The spill was the
result of flows exceeding 14.5 MGD entering the Wastewater Treatment Plant due to
heavy rain in the area. All equipment and alarms worked properly.
March 24-30, 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its weekly
BOD average. The limit is a weekly average of 36.0 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of
effluent. The City's average for the week was >51.6 mg/L. A brief upset of the plant
was caused by excessive rainfall on March 28. By the next week, the plant was back
in compliance.
March 24-30, 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its weekly
TSS average. The limit is a weekly average of 45 mg/L of effluent. The City's
average for the week was 116.05 mg/L. A brief upset of the plant was caused by
excessive rainfall on March 28. By the next week, the plant was back in compliance.
March 27, 2024. Splitter Box overflow: A reportable overflow of 3,436 gallons of
untreated sewage spilled out of a splitter box. The spill was the result of a secondary
clarifier offline due to repairs and flows exceeding 8 MGD for over an hour entering
the Wastewater Treatment Plant due to heavy rain in the area. All equipment in the
adjacent clarifier and alarms worked properly.
March 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its monthly Effluent
TSS limit average. The limit is a monthly average of 30 mg/L. The City's average for
the month of March was 47.75 mg/L. A brief upset of the plant was caused by
excessive rainfall on March 28 resulting in an exceedance of our monthly limit.
April 14-20, 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its weekly
Ammonia limit average. The limit is a weekly average of 12 mg/L of effluent. The
City's average for the week was 15.39 mg/L. The loss of a surface aerator in our
Extended Aeration basin and inability to repair it due to ongoing plant expansion
construction resulted in an exceedance of our weekly limit.
April 21-26, 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its weekly
Ammonia limit average. The limit is a weekly average of 12 mg/L of effluent. The
City's average for the week was 16.1 mg/L. The loss of a surface aerator in our
3

f
Extended Aeration basin and inability to repair it due to ongoing plant expansion
construction resulted in an exceedance of our weekly limit.
April 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its monthly Effluent
Ammonia limit average. The limit is a monthly average of 4.0 mg/L. The City's
average for the month of April was 10.68 mg/L. The loss of a surface aerator in our
Extended Aeration basin and inability to repair it due to ongoing plant expansion
construction resulted in an exceedance of our monthly limit.
April 28-May 4, 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its weekly
Ammonia limit average. The limit is a weekly average of 12 rng/L of effluent. The
City's average for the week was 13.7 mg/L. The loss of a surface aerator in our
Extended Aeration basin and inability to repair it due to ongoing plant expansion
construction resulted in an exceedance of our weekly limit.
May 5-11, 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its weekly
Ammonia limit average. The limit is a weekly average of 12 mg/L of effluent. The
City's average for the week was 17.84 mg/L. Excessive rainfall received during the
week along with the loss of a surface aerator in our Extended Aeration basin and
inability to repair it due to ongoing plant expansion construction resulted in an
exceedance of our weekly limit.
May 12-18, 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its weekly
Ammonia limit average. The limit is a weekly average of 12 mg/L of effluent. The
City's average for the week was 15.85 mg/L. Excessive rainfall received during the
week along with the loss of a surface aerator in our Extended Aeration basin and
inability to repair it due to ongoing plant expansion construction resulted in an
exceedance of our weekly limit.
May 15, 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant did not reach its daily
Dissolved Oxygen requirement. The daily requirement is 5.0 mg/L of effluent. The
City's reported result that day was 3.8 mg/L. Excessive rainfall received during the
week along with the loss of a surface aerator in our Extended Aeration basin and
inability to repair it due to ongoing plant expansion construction resulted inhibited the
plant from meeting the Dissolved Oxygen requirement.
May 19-25, 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its weekly
Ammonia limit average. The limit is a weekly average of 12 mg/L of effluent. The
City's average for the week was 14.14 mg/L. The loss of a surface aerator in our
Extended Aeration basin and inability to repair it due to ongoing plant expansion
construction resulted in an exceedance of our weekly limit.
May 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its monthly Effluent
Ammonia limit average. The limit is a monthly average of 4.0 mg/L. The City's
average for the month of May was 12.89 mg/L. Numerous rainfall events along with
the loss of a surface aerator in our Extended Aeration basin and inability to repair it
due to ongoing plant expansion construction resulted in an exceedance of our
monthly limit.
4

May 2024. NPDES Permit: The Wastewater Plant exceeded its monthly Effluent
BOD limit average. The limit is a monthly average of 12.0 mg/L. The City's average
for the month of May was 13.52 mg/L. Numerous rainfall events along with the loss
of a surface aerator in our Extended Aeration basin and inability to repair it due to
ongoing plant expansion construction resulted in an exceedance of our monthly limit.
SUMMARY
During this 12-month period, there were sixteen NPDES permit violations out
of more than 2,400 sample results.
The City of Graham had two reportable sanitary sewer overflows of 1,000
gallons or more during this reporting period. The total gallons of overflow were
5,249.
Total gallons handled by the system were 700,550,000. Percent gallons
overflowed are 5,249 divided by 700,550,000 x 100 = 0.000007 %. Therefore, the
City of Graham achieved a 99.999993 % collection rate of all gallons discharged into
the system, excluding any spills that were less than 1,000 gallons.
All sludge was land applied per Land Application Permit regulations with no
permit violations.
Notification
A Public Notice was placed in a local newspaper informing the public that a
copy of this report can be obtained at the City of Graham, City Hall located at 201
South Main Street, Graham, NC. Additionally, this report is also, available on the
Internet at http://www.cityofgraham.com/
l certify under penalty of law that this report is complete and accurate to the best of
my knowledge. I further certify that this report has been made available to the users
or customers of the named system and that those users have been notified of its
availability.
1 44A-nc-- (Date) - 6- 0 e
111
Tonya Mann
Utilities Director
City of Graham
5

AFFP Public Notice
Annual Report Cleanwater Act City of Graham
Annual Report
Affidavit of Publication
House Bill 1160. the Clean Ida-
STATE OF NC} SS ter Act of 1999 requires that
COUNTY OF }
alarna,n each owner or operatorof any
Brenda Poole, being duly sworn, says: wastewater treatment works or
wastewater collection system
That she is Classified Rep of the The Times News, a daily
newspaper of general circulation,printed and published in provide an Annual Report to its
Burlington, County, NC; that the publication, a copy of f�
which is attached hereto, was published in the said users andcustomers. The City
newspaper on the following dates: of Graham owns and operates
August 10,2024 �1
a collection system and
wastewater treatment facility.
The City of Graham has 'corn-
pleted the Annual Report for
That said newspaper was regularly issued and circulated fiscal year 2 0 2 3-2 0 2 4 and a
on those dates.
SIGNED: copy is available at the City u-
A 6a4 nicipal Building located at 201
Classified Rep S. Main St. inGraham, NC. Ad-
Subscribed to and sworn to me this 10th day of August �7i IY� p T1 i
2024. d�t�onailyr the reportis avail-
able via the Internet at the
City ' s website which is
Y.tow.La,., .•f'La w.G.Barbara M Daniels, Notary Guilford, County, NC wV w wW .c i t J o f g r a h a m,c o m. A n y
r4611 r.'.r
�`• . questions or comments regard-
My commission expires: March 06, 2-7,.
- G T A R = ing the report may be directed
4 e
e A -
to Cris Routh : Plant Superin-
70101258 71025415 L ten dent or Tonya Mann : V hilit-
Tonya Mann I es Director at 336.570.6721 .
City of Graham
PO Drawer 357
Graham, NC 27253 -It:
t: 8/10/2024