Member Update (MU03-08)

Action Please By:
May 30, 2003

The Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) is pleased to announce its plans to release its updated CleanWater Central database, developed jointly with the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF), during the Association’s Summer Conference in Boston, Massachusetts July 15-18, 2003. In advance of the July release, AMSA is conducting a beta test of the database to ensure the system is user friendly and contains the functionality that will be most helpful to the AMSA membership. AMSA hopes to enlist the assistance of approximately 30 member agency volunteers to help put the system through its paces during the month of June.

If you are interested in getting a “first look” at the new CleanWater Central, we invite you to volunteer as a beta tester. It is expected that a beta version of the database will be available on June 2, 2003, and we would ask beta testers to complete their tasks (outlined on page 2) by June 23, 2003. Please contact Chris Hornback, AMSA at 202/833-9106 or chornback@amsa-cleanwater.org by May 30, 2003 if you wish to participate as a beta tester.

New CleanWater Central Readies for Launch
In 1999, AMSA and WERF jointly funded the development of CleanWater Central, a centralized Internet database containing detailed technical and research information relevant to wastewater facilities. After launching the database in 2000, it became apparent that additional functionality would be necessary to meet the evolving needs of AMSA and WERF members and that more data were needed to make the system a robust research tool. In December 2002, AMSA and WERF kicked off a new effort to update the database.

Since December 2002, AMSA and WERF together with a Project Advisory Committee, comprised of AMSA and WERF member representatives, have worked to develop a set of policies on access rights and database management as well as a fee structure designed to provide incentives to those agencies that contribute data to the system. This new version of CleanWater Central incorporates a new user interface, an updated collection of AMSA and WERF data and survey information, including information from AMSA’s 2002 Financial Survey and AMSA Index, and several new reporting features.

Requirements for Beta Testers
Beta testers will be asked to perform the following tasks:

1. Input/validate agency and facility level information. If your agency participated in the 2002 AMSA Financial Survey, much of your agency level information is already in the CleanWater Central database. However, the database contains incomplete information regarding individual treatment facilities operated by AMSA members. In order to properly test the functionality of the database, beta testers will be asked to input or validate the following agency-level data:

• Address, type of governance, services provided, service population, sewer area and lengths, number of customer accounts, design and average wastewater flows, make-up flows, biosolids disposal methods, agency staffing, and agency contact information.

And also input data on their agency’s individual treatment facilities. Baseline facility-level data will include:

• Name of facility, address, type of operation, contact information, type of plant, dates for original construction, major upgrades, and planned upgrades, effluent disposal methods, design and average flows, plant staffing, list of unit processes used, biosolids treatment processes used, permit limits and/or conditions, yearly average influent and effluent concentrations, and plant awards.

2. Assess the utility and functionality of CleanWater Central’s queries and reports. Recent surveys, such as the 2002 AMSA Financial Survey and the 2002 AMSA Index, along with other AMSA survey information and WERF research abstracts, will be contained in the database. Users will be able query on several different parameters and summarize data via charts and graphs and statistical summaries. Some data will be viewable by individual agency, while other data will only be available in summary form (i.e., blinded survey data). AMSA is interested in receiving feedback on the types of reports or queries that are most useful to you and your agency, and any concerns with the reporting features of CleanWater Central.