[E-updates] Experts to weigh in on Lawrence wastewater treatment options

[Lisa Patterson]

NEWS RELEASE

 

City of Lawrence, Kansas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Monday, Feb. 27, 2006

 

CONTACT: Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager, (785) 832-3402

 

Experts to weigh in on Lawrence wastewater treatment options

 

(LAWRENCE, Ks) - The Public Advisory Committee for the Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility has expressed interest in exploring natural alternatives for wastewater treatment as a part of the evaluation process for Lawrence's new facility.  As a result, a public presentation on Eco Machines will be given Wednesday.   Eco Machines are natural systems that use a combination of solar input and wetland ecosystems of plants, amphibians, snails, fish, and bacteria to treat wastewater in a greenhouse setting. 

 

At least four members of the audience at Wednesday's presentation will be considered experts in their fields.  David Austin, M.S., P.E.; Dr. Ross McKinney; John Metzler, P.E.;  Karl Mueldener, P.E., and Charlie Stryker, P.E. will attend the Eco Machine presentation by Johnathan Todd of John Todd Ecological Design and then participate in a panel discussion to help the City of Lawrence examine its options for wastewater. 

 

Austin, McKinney; Metzler, Mueldener, and Stryker are serving as the Peer Review Group for the Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility.  The Peer Review Group is a third party, technical resource to address issues in siting the Wakarusa Water Reclamation Facility when an independent opinion is desired by the Public Advisory Group.  Each Peer Review Group member represents a vast amount of knowledge in the areas of wastewater engineering, treatment operations construction and ecologically.  The group will discuss the applicability of Eco Machines to wastewater treatment for Lawrence, including compatibility with existing treatment and collection systems.

At 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, Johnathan Todd will make a public presentation on Eco Machines., A community question and answer period will follow the presentation and the afternoon will conclude with the Peer Review Group panel discussion.


David Austin, Vice President of Ecological Design, has been engaged full time in design, operation, project management, and technology development of advanced ecologically engineered wastewater treatment systems since 1996.  He is one of two leading Living Machine® wastewater treatment system professional engineer designers world wide, and is a leading expert in tidal flow wetland treatment systems.  Mr. Austin has previously served as Director of Research and Development for Living Machines, Inc. and Operations Manager of Living Technologies, Inc.  He is a Professional Engineer and a certified Ecologist by the Ecological Society of America and an advanced Small Systems Wastewater Treatment Operator.


 

John Metzler is the Chief Engineer with Johnson County Wastewater, which operates three treatment plants in heavily residential areas. Mr. Metzler's previous experience as a KDHE regulator as well as his current position with Johnson County Wastewater allows him to be intimately familiar with the need to provide neighbor-friendly facilities.  As Chief Engineer, he is responsible for supervising the planning, design, construction, financing and administration of wastewater collection and treatment facilities and management of $250 million capital improvements program.  

 

Dr. Ross McKinney, Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering at the University of Kansas has over 40 years experience in wastewater treatment research, teaching, and consulting.  Dr. McKinney is a recognized expert in wastewater treatment and research due to his contributions to the development of biological wastewater treatment processes and to the advancement of the environmental engineering profession.

Karl Mueldener, Bureau of Water Director for Kansas Department of Health & Environment, has been involved with state drinking water and wastewater programs with the KDHE since 1975, and serving as director since 1988.  He is a graduate of Kansas State University with an M.S. in Civil Engineering.  

Charlie Stryker is the President and Owner of CAS Construction, Inc., a plant contractor specializing in the construction, repair, rehabilitation and renovation of water and wastewater treatment facilities. The company has completed more than 350 projects from Maine to Wyoming.  Before establishing CAS Construction in 1985, Mr. Stryker had worked as an engineer designing water and wastewater facilities.  He also worked for two construction firms holding positions from senior engineer to chief executive officer.  Mr. Stryker is a licensed contractor in 19 states and is a block-tested master mechanical and master plumber.  He also is a licensed professional engineer in seven states.

Jonathan Todd is the Senior Partner of John Todd Research and Design, Inc. a firm involved in the development of ecological technologies for food production, waste purification and conversion, environmental restoration and systems integration for architecture and eco-industrial parks.   In 1995, he joined John Todd Research and Design, Inc., first in pond management and then into the design, fabrication and operation of a wide variety of living machines and floating water restorer technologies for clients in Canada, Hawaii, Georgia, New Mexico, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Vermont. 

 

Peer Review Group contact information:

 

David Austin, M.S., P.E., Ecological Design, 651-255-5053, daustin at nawe-pa.com <mailto:daustin at nawe-pa.com> 

 

Dr. Ross McKinney, Professor Emeritus, University of Kansas, (919) 918-2623, remck at mindspring.com

 

John Metzler, P.E., Johnson County Wastewater, 913-681-3200, john.metzler at jcw.org <mailto:john.metzler at jcw.org> 

 

Karl Mueldener, P.E., Kansas Department of Health & Environment, 785-296-5502 , KMuelden at kdhe.state.ks.us <mailto:KMuelden at kdhe.state.ks.us> 

 

Charlie Stryker, P.E., CAS Construction, Inc., 785-354-9953,  charlie.stryker at casconstruction.com

 

-END-

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://web.ci.lawrence.ks.us/pipermail/e-updates/attachments/20060227/eb2f6a4b/attachment.html