Schultz, Rickey

Rickey Schultz is a speaker at WEFTEC 2026.

Titles from this speaker

Study of a Montana Waterbody - The Ashley Creek UAA

Abstract

[b]Objective:[/b] Municipalities must balance the persistence demands of managing infrastructure and maintaining levels of service to citizens with often having limited resources and funding. These challenges include improvements to wastewater treatment facilities which have the added requirement of meeting effluent limits that can progressively become more stringent. In Montana, state-wide numeric nutrient standards pushed municipalities to consider implementing costly wastewater treatment facility improvements using a widespread application of ecoregional values. Instead of a broad-based approach to developing nutrient standards, this study strived to show that a science-based evaluation of site-specific conditions can benefit municipalities by understanding their impact on local water quality and therefore plan capital improvement projects more strategically. [b]Background:[/b] The City of Kalispell, Montana (City) is located in northwestern Montana, just outside of Glacier National Park. The City has a population of approximately 30,000 citizens and operates an award-winning water resource recovery facility (WRRF) that implemented one of the first biological nutrient removal (BNR) systems in a cold climate in the country. The modified Johannesburg process has a design capacity of 5.4 million gallons per day (MGD) maximum month flow and discharges treated effluent to the lower segment of Ashley Creek, a tributary to the Flathead River and Flathead Lake. Despite the high level of nitrogen and phosphorus removal achieved by this sophisticated treatment facility, the City faces ever present demands to achieve higher levels of treatment while water quality in the watershed is impacted by other activities (Figure 1). [b]Methodology:[/b] To better understand the site-specific conditions of the receiving water body, the City conducted a five-year study of Ashley Creek. Sampling analysis plans were developed and approved by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) prior to field investigations. Sampling sites extended upstream of the City's outfall down to the confluence of Ashley Creek with the Flathead River (Figure 2). The monitoring was performed during low flows and warm summer conditions. Field sampling methods included a combination of in situ measurements using field instruments and collection of water quality samples (Figure 3). The study characterized synoptic stream flow, water quality (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, nutrients), primary production, algal and benthic macroinvertebrate communities, habitat, and geomorphic factors (channel shape and slope, bed material, vegetative physiognomy, etc.) potentially limiting attainment of aquatic life use (a designated beneficial use) in receiving waters upstream and downstream of the City's treated effluent discharge. [b]Findings:[/b] Results from the study indicated that nutrient-driven algal productivity was limited by a lack of coarse streambed substrate downstream of the treatment facility outfall. The lack of gravel constrained benthic algal productivity and the eutrophic water quality conditions associated with the limited algal growth (Figure 4). In addition, the attainment of aquatic life use (as defined by fish and benthic invertebrate community indicators) was also likely limited by geomorphic and physical habitat conditions. The natural characteristics of lower Ashley Creek do not support currently defined aquatic life uses and associated water quality standards due to a lack of potential gravel recruitment, low gradient (Figure 5), low habitat complexity, low summer flows, and backwater conditions near the confluence with the Flathead River. Furthermore, the current aquatic life use classification and associated biological criteria may not be appropriate because they were based on regional streams with coarse substrate. The absence of local coarse substrate recruitment or capacity for bedload transport of coarse substrate was likely a natural condition, indicating the current aquatic life use designation and standards (water quality and biological) need to be revised to better represent the natural condition of the receiving water body. Because of these study findings, the City is pursuing a use attainability analysis (UAA) which combines the information and data from the completed study to propose a new site-specific aquatic life use classification for Ashley Creek. The data (Figure 6 and Figure 7) was used to propose new site-specific standards for nitrogen and phosphorous in the UAA and the standards were approved by the MDEQ in April 2025. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has conducted an initial review of the UAA and additional information has been provided. EPA approval and state rulemaking are pending. [b]Significance:[/b] The impact of this UAA to the City and its WRRF was to establish nutrient standards that are achievable, science-based, and protect water quality in the watershed. The efforts were achieved in collaboration with the state environmental agency and allow the City to appropriately plan comprehensive wastewater treatment improvements. Other municipalities could benefit from a similar approach whereby understanding site-specific conditions within their watershed prior to implementing wastewater treatment improvement projects may avoid costly expenditures that are based on unsuitable and stringent regulatory requirements.

This paper was presented at WEFTEC 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Presentation time

16:30:00

17:00:00

Session time

15:30:00

17:00:00

SessionRegulatory Framework for Water Quality Issues

Session locationErnest N. Morial Convention Center

TopicClimate Change Adaptation and Metrics, Nutrients, Watershed Management, Water Quality, and Groundwater

Author(s)

Schultz, Rickey, Wiseman, Chad

Author(s)R. Schultz1, C. Wiseman1

Author affiliation(s)HDR Engineering, Inc., 1HDR Engineering, Inc., 1

SourceProceedings of the Water Environment Federation

Document typeConference Paper

PublisherWater Environment Federation

Print publication date Sep 2026

DOI10.2175/193864718825160510

Volume / Issue

Content sourceWEFTEC

Word count11

Description: Tertiary Membrane Filtration: A How-To Guide on Operation and Expansion from Coeur...

Tertiary Membrane Filtration: A How-To Guide on Operation and Expansion from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Abstract

A dissolved oxygen TMDL wasteload allocation for dischargers to the Spokane River lead to a seasonal effluent phosphorous limit of 0.05 mg/L for the city of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The City operates a tertiary membrane filtration (TMF) process at their Advanced Wastewater Treatment Facility (AWTF) in order to achieve these stringent limits. A multi-year, incremental effort towards compliance involved persistent attention from operations staff through a 189,271 LPD (50,000 GPD) demonstration pilot, construction and operation of a 3.79 ML/d (1.0 mgd) facility, and then expansion of the facility to 18.93 ML/d (5.0 mgd). Sewer rates for the service area are only $35 per household, which is lower than many of the nearby municipalities with comparable effluent limits. The AWTF currently produces effluent total phosphorus less than 0.05 mg/L and ammonia concentrations less than 0.1 mg/L. Operators and engineers had to successfully navigate operational challenges in order to achieve these results.

SpeakerSchultz, Rickey

Presentation time

08:50:00

09:10:00

Session time

08:30:00

09:30:00

SessionEffluent Polishing in the Real World

Session number509

TopicAdvanced Level, Municipal Wastewater Treatment Design, Nutrients, Water Reuse and Reclamation

Author(s)

R.L. SchultzC. Fisher