15 Years of CMOMs - A Successful and Sustainable New England Model

15 Years of CMOMs — A Successful and Sustainable New England Model Background The City of Manchester, NH with a population of 110,00 is the largest city in northern New England. Manchester has a 'combined' wastewater collection system that consists of almost 400 miles of sewer, 12 pump stations, and a 42 mgd wastewater treatment plant. The sewer system is aging and often failing with over 100 miles of pipe over 100 years old. In addition, it was not designed for today' urban landscape, population, environmental regulations, or climate change induced weather events. To address this aging and failing sewer infrastructure in a proactive and pragmatic manner the City instituted a formal Capacity, Management, Operations, and Maintenance (CMOMs) program in 2009. This presentation will review fifteen years of Manchester's CMOMs program starting at its infancy in 2009 and tracing its development and growth into a successful and sustainable program. Overview EPA published their initial CMOM Guideline Booklet in January 2005. Although it was never formally adopted, regulators began to incorporate CMOM requirements in NPDES Permits, Consent Decrees, and as state regulations. Manchester's 2008 NPDES Permit contained the beginnings of our CMOMs program with requirements to map our collection systems, prepare an Operations and Maintenance Manual and instituted annual reporting. The City used this permit requirement to lay the foundation for a long-term sustainable CMOM program. The City's CMOMs program has developed in three general phases over the past decade and a half. The first phase focused on asset inventory, mapping, SOPs, and training. The second phase consisted of the design and construction of two multi-million-dollar sewer rehabilitation construction contracts that focused on replacement of failed systems. During this period sewer repairs were standardized into replacement, spot repair, lining, and short liners. The third phase of CMOMs consists of three more multi-million-dollar sewer rehabilitation construction contracts that were developed to address a wide array of system repairs and rehabilitation. During this time a formalized PACP certified CCTV inspection program was implemented that inspects over 120,00 linear feet of sewer and over 400 manholes annually. Over the past decade the CMOMs program also grew into a supporting program for the City's paving program and a vehicle for emergency sewer repairs throughout the city. It also became a complementary program to a large scale CSO mitigation program and newly implemented MS4 stormwater compliance initiative. To sustain this program, the City has committed $3.25 million annually for 2 years to CMOMs. Conclusions A successful and sustainable CMOM program is critical to sewer system's successful operation. It promotes system longevity in a cost effective and proactive manner. An effective CMOM program supports a collaborative approach that complements other ongoing infrastructure programs such as paving, CSO mitigation, MS4 stormwater initiatives, other utilities, and partner with local development. It is also providing the City with an extensive tool box to deal with an aging and failing sewer system, it's increased regulatory compliance requirements, and its impacts from climate change weather events. This all results in a cost effective and sustainable program to address the City of Manchester's aging and failing environmental infrastructure.