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With a background in plumbing, Richards started AquaSource in 1988 as a residential and commercial well water treatment company. “I realized that I was building relationships and if your mix of services can grow, then they will choose you for their needs,” says Richards. “It’s easier to fulfill the needs of our current customers than to find new ones. If we are servicing Mrs. Jones’ hot water heater, then we can also provide services on septic pumping, heating system, our recently added geo thermal alternative energy and other services.”

Like our expert advises in “Explore, Dream and Discover,” Richards was diligent in his process. “We had an inkling that our customers would use us for all of their water needs,” says Richards. “But, we took the time to interview them about their needs and went through a thought process before branching out. We had customers asking us for referrals quite often for various needs that we didn’t perform at the time.”

“Customers are concerned about being treated properly,” says Richards. “It can be a roll of the dice to call someone you don’t know to service your water heater. We are the only company that I know of that provides for the care and water quality from the source on private systems right through to the discharge and everything in between.”

AquaSource Group Inc., the umbrella company, performs a variety of services including water testing, water well inspections, well and lake pumping systems and repairs, plumbing services, onsite wastewater and drain services, drinking water with reverse osmosis systems, microfiltration systems and other services.

Just with their onsite business alone, Finger Lakes Septic, they provide onsite system analysis and inspections, leach system repairs and installations and septic pumping and installation as well as onsite septic and aerobic systems design and installation.

They provide these services to a wide-variety of customers: wineries, hotels, mobile home parks, campgrounds, schools, senior citizen housing, residences and others.

To educate their customers about additional or newly added services, they use an inexpensive and great way to communicate with their customers. “We have our service technicians in dozens of homes daily. We may put a magnet on our customer’s fridge and give them a coupon to have their system maintained.

During an inspection, we may put our name on a well pump or other system so that the customer knows that we provide those services. I’m trademarking the phrase I say to my employees, ‘If you don’t tell it, you can’t sell it.’ As long as we are taking care of our customer, they will use us for all of their water needs.”

“We are very particular about taking care of our customers and preserving our reputation,” says Richards. “They trust us. We stay in contact with our customers through mail, email and personal contact. Our reputation is the most important thing in the world because 80 percent of our business comes from referral. We grow our business slowly. Our motto is to always meet our customers’ needs and exceed their expectations.”

That customer service starts with the ladies that answer the phone and extends throughout the company. “The girls in the office are very knowledgeable about the industry,” says Richards. “In fact, by July they will renew their certifications. Several employees are certified installers and have a wide knowledge base, we have certified water specialists and water quality certifications.”

This is in addition to Richards’ long list of qualifications as a water quality associate, CWS VI, a New York State License Grade C water system operator, an NEHI advanced onsite wastewater installer and a certified onsite inspector. All of which have given him a wide range of knowledge in the water and wastewater industries. Employees are able to cross train out in the field and receive formal training in AquaSource’s classroom at their main location. It’s worthy to note that these certifications are not required by New York.

“We have hundreds of miles of shoreline, which makes for a very sensitive environment,” says Richards. “Our lakes are clean and we want to keep them that way. Most of our residents, schools and others have to take care of their own sewage and it’s highly regulated. I’m not usually for regulations but this is one area where I think it’s important. We are looking at the quality of wastewater that we send back into the system. Our systems are approved by various agencies before being installed.”

As you can guess, AquaSource has little turn over. “Most of our employees have been with us for more than 20 years and one is moving toward partner right now,” says Richards.

However, finding good, qualified employees is one of Richards’ biggest obstacles to growth. “Most of the kids these days want to make video games,” says Richards. “We need more people getting into vocational jobs. I’ve talked to our superintendent about the importance of educating the kids about all of their options. Some of my plumbers make more than my attorney. The fewer people that are in the industry means the fewer jobs we can do, which means that prices go up.” Some of Richards’ employees have already retired. Despite the obstacle, Richards sees continued growth for his company, “slow and steady, like I like it.”

AquaSource did not expand overnight. “We had several years of track record before we started expanding so our bank was happy to work with us,” says Richards. “We didn’t go large and ask for $400,000. We bought an excavator, then a skid, then another excavator as needed. When we decided to go into the septic business, we did our homework. When we went to the Pumper Show, we made a deal on a piece of equipment and had it delivered about a month after that. We’ve reached a point that we are now looking into adding additional equipment again.”

Finger Lakes uses a Kenworth 2500 gallon tanker and a 500 gallon portable unit. “We went through Satellite Industries to put our pumping system together,” says Richards. For their excavation equipment, they prefer to use the CAT 70 and a 120 series machine as well as Bobcat skids.

AquaSource’s approach to business and their customers has earned them an A+ rating by the BBB, customer service awards from the fair business council and recognition by the better contractors bureau for their years of good customer service. Richards is also active in industry associations such as the Water Quality Association and involved in several water quality task forces and committees including one to definitively test the effects of water softeners on onsite systems through a Virginia Tech partnership.

Richard’s approach of slow and steady, of building his and his employees’ knowledge base and fulfilling his customers’ needs has turned into a diversification success story and he isn’t even finished yet. His next service expansion? Portable restrooms.

Resources
For more information:
■ AquaSource and Finger Lakes Septic, please visit www.nicewater.com
■ CAT, please visit www.cat.com
■ Bobcat, please visit www.bobcat.com
■ Satellite Industries, please visit www.satelliteindustries.com
■ Kenworth, please visit www.kenworth.com

Story by Jennifer Taylor

As a small business owner, you spend a lot of time running your business or perhaps even performing the services yourself. So much of your time is spent doing, but do you ever dream of expanding or of having your business work for you instead of you working for it?

Explore Your Options

Mark Lowenstein, a small business advisor with SCORE, suggests that you write a business plan each year. “I know it’s a pain,” admits Lowenstein, “but it’s worth it to see how your business is doing and how you can make it better.” Sometimes, you may identify areas where you can increase efficiency just through some minor tweaks.

“For example,” says Lowenstein, “if you are a septic pumper, do you contact old customers on a regular basis? A postcard or a nice call to say that it looks like it might be time for their system to be pumped again may gain you additional business. You may get one person out of 20, but that’s one more than you had.”

Lowenstein admits that he hasn’t thought about his septic system until the interview reminded him that he should probably have it pumped. “It’s an out-of-sight, out-of-mind system for the homeowner.”

Anticipating your customer’s needs and knowing who your customer really is, can give you an advantage over the competition. Who is writing that check? Is it the wife or the husband? Marketing yourself to your specific audience can mean big dividends.

If you perform septic inspections, meeting local real estate agents and home inspectors can help you grow your business through referrals. Likewise, if you are a septic pumper, getting to know septic inspectors as well as real estate agents, can help you make those connections that send business your way without additional expenses or work.

If you feel you have done all of the things you can to maximize your business, you may have considered growing. Beyond pumping grease traps and selling it for biofuel or converting your trucks for the shale drilling business, there are many ways to expand your business.

Dream of Success

Figure out what success looks like for you. What are your goals both short-term and long-term? Write them down. Writing down your goals and breaking them down into manageable chunks will help you to develop your plan to success.

There are several things a small business owner wants to ask before diversifying. What are the needs of my current customers? How can I help meet those needs? Do I have the knowledge and experience in that area? Do I know someone who does? Is it the right time to expand? Do I have the funds to expand or will I need to borrow?

“Expanding is like a bull’s-eye,” says Lowenstein. “If you are the circle in the middle, you don’t want to expand more than a couple of rings out. You don’t want to overreach and get yourself into trouble. You don’t want to cannibalize your current business.”

Some owners have expanded to include the whole enchilada. They provide septic design, installation, inspection, repair and pumping— some even provide portable restrooms for rent. You will have to determine your knowledge base and comfort level.

There are several ways of expanding your business. You can purchase an existing business, which will include an existing customer base. For example, if you are interested in getting into the portable restroom business, they may already have a good client base as well as equipment.

You can partner with someone who is already an expert in that field. You may want to expand and offer your customers septic design. Partnering with an engineer who is looking for customers, can be mutually beneficial.

You can also acquire the skills, knowledge or equipment on your own.

Discover the Possibilities

There are a few good resources for all of those options. SCORE is a free resource for small business owners and a partner with the Small Business Administration. The volunteers at SCORE are often retired business professionals. They have offices across the nation. However, if you aren’t near one, they also offer an online mentor. Since it’s free, Lowenstein recommends starting there.

Most major state universities also offer a small business development center. Both of these organizations can help you to write a business plan and offer advice specifically tailored to your business.

Lowenstein also advises on finding a good CPA and attorney. “A good CPA will help you with your taxes and bookkeeping as well as give you advice,” says Lowenstein. “An attorney will help you write up a good contract or business agreement.”

He also advises, “If you are buying a business, you want to keep the previous owner on the payroll for at least six months to complete all knowledge transfer and make sure that the customers know that he or she supports you. If you are forming a partnership, then you want to state the terms and agreements up front.”

After you know how you want to expand your business, you may decide that you need a loan for either working capital or equipment.

By working through your local SBA office, you can find loans to help fund working capital, which would typically include loans to cover additional trucks, porta potties and operating costs. The SBA typically works with small businesses that don’t normally qualify for a conventional loan. If you have strong balance sheets and lots of assets, then you may have more options. The SBA guarantees the loans and your local office will have a list of lenders.

“A lot of lenders will not even finance a business acquisition without backing from the SBA,” says SBA Director of the Office of Financial Assistance Grady Hedgespeth. “The quickest way to diversify is to buy rather than build. You may find someone who is leaving the business. They already have an established name and customers. So, you’ll want to work with an appraiser to purchase the business. The key is to get a good business evaluation by a fair third party. A businessman selling his business always thinks it’s worth more. A third party can help determine how much that customer list, and well-known name, may be worth.”

There is another loan program, called the 504 loan program, that only requires the small business owner to put down 10 percent equity. “If a small business owner identifies a property worth $1 million, then he would need only $100,000 in equity,” says Hedgespeth. Some banks allow assets used as collateral for the 10 percent. “The lender provides a loan for 50 percent and then another company supplies the second mortgage of 40 percent. This ties the savvy of Wall Street to Main Street by using the full faith of government credit to help provide financing for that 40 percent. Right now, borrowers are able to get long-term fixed rates at around 5 percent.”

CAPLINES is another program that allows lenders to finance a small business’s accounts receivables. “If you go out and get a lot of contracts, but need additional resources to fulfill those contracts, you can use those contracts as collateral. The contracts go to the lender, who provides you the loan. After
the debt is retired, the contracts return to the small business owner. It’s a way that small businesses can take advantage of new opportunities and get the funds they need.”

Hedgespeth also suggests getting advice from either SCORE or a small business development center. “The business owner that is acquiring the other business generally knows less than the lender and seller,” says Hedgespeth. “You want to get as much background info and advice from people who have seen these transactions.”

“SCORE and other allies that work along with small businesses are invaluable to help develop a business plan and provide strategic planning on where to take your business,” adds Hedgespeth. “This is critical to any business thinking of diversifying. It’s better to be deliberate and take your time rather than be impulsive.”

For more information on the SBA, go to www.sba.gov.

“Grease Hauling is the Word” July 2011, http://www.americanliquidwaste.com/magazine/2011-2/july-2011/

Story by Jennifer Taylor

Vacuum Truck Rentals is a leading environmental equipment rental company operating seven facilities in strategic locations across the US. They offer rental equipment that includes vacuum trucks, liquid vacuum trucks, combination sewer cleaners, hydro excavation units, 130/150 barrel trailers, roll off trucks, container trailers and liquid ring vacuum trucks.

After a roller coaster ride, the legislation passed as an amendment to HB 1102, Section 1A and 1B. GOWA encourages you to call your state representative and thank them for their support on this important legislation. Representative Kim Smith and Representative Lynn Smith were helpful in getting this passed as was Senator Jeff Mullis, Jim Ussery, DNR, EPD and GOWA president Dart Kendall. “If this bill had not passed it would have further complicated the problem pumpers have in finding a reasonable place to dump their septage,” says Bruce Widener, GOWA.

SB 467 Septage Disposal
This bill allows pumpers to pump out tanks, dewater it, remove solids and place the solids in a land disposal facility.

The bill was introduced too late in the session to get it passed, but it did garner some attention. Ussery sent GOWA an email saying that he is not opposed to this bill and the new version of the bill contains language that Ussery suggested. This bill has been rewritten and has garnered interest from various legislators who are interested in helping. Two versions of the bill have been written.

Contains language by Ussery: http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1104240592605-349/SB+467+DNR+amendments.pdf

Contains language suggested by the Department of Public Health: http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1104240592605351/SB467+DPH+Amendments.pdf

GOWA is looking for your input on the bills.

SB 524 Septic Tank Owners’ Protection Act
A bill was introduced by Senator Ross Telleson that says that if you have a well and the city or county puts a water line on your street, they cannot force you to pay to connect to the water line and pay the monthly fees. GOWA’s version says the same for septic tanks. This bill will be acted on next year. GOWA anticipates strong opposition from cities and counties next year, but feel confident that if they can get members to contact their legislators, then they can get it passed.

http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1104240592605-347/SB+524+septic+tank+owners+protection+act.pdf

GOWA encourages you to stay in contact with your legislators about these bills and to tell them that Bruce Widener represents you at the Capitol. They can call Bruce at 678-296-2130 if they have any questions about the bills.

Knoxville, TN, April 17, 2012—Aqua-Chem, Inc., the leader in global water solutions, today announced that it has named Thomas Gillcrist as CFO and Ron Shook as Pharmaceutical Applications Engineer. They will report directly to David Gensterblum, President and CEO.

“Tom and Ron are valuable additions to the Aqua-Chem management team and provide valuable support for the implementation of our growth strategy,” Gensterblum said. “Tom has great experience in meeting the finance needs of companies with proprietary technology, and Ron’s background in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors is a great fit for our Pharmaceutical/Biotech and Beverage Divisions. I look forward to working with them both.”

Gillcrist came to Aqua-Chem from CUSTOMatrix, Inc., where he successfully served as a Principal in Strategic Services for the past five years. Prior to that, he held upper-level management positions at AXEON Water Technologies, Tech M3, Ionics, Microbar Inc., and U.S. Filter. He earned his MBA from the University of Virginia—Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.

Shook joined Aqua-Chem, Inc. in 2011 as Business Development Manager for the Pharmaceutical/Biotech and Beverage Divisions. Since graduating from North Carolina State University in 1996 with his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Shook has held high-profile technical and management positions within the semi-conductor, pharmaceutical and biotech industries, specializing in the design, operation and maintenance of high purity water and critical utility systems.

About Aqua-Chem


Headquartered in Knoxville, TN, Aqua-Chem specializes in a multitude of industries with a full range of thermal and membrane water treatment technologies. These include vapor compression distillation, flash evaporation, reverse osmosis, membrane filtration and ion exchange. The company has been working with the U.S. government since 1943 ensuring deployed troops have drinking water that is safe. The company does business with over 100 global connections and has clients in areas including offshore oil and gas, pharmaceutical, commercial marine, micro utility, beverage and industrial.

Aqua-Chem is a portfolio company of Altus Capital Partners, Inc., an investment firm specializing in middle market manufacturing companies based in the U.S.

Marketing

“Keeping in contact with our magazine clients and readers is vital and even though email is still effective, many are using social media more and more to read what is happening in real time,” says Mike Macrone, advertising rep for American Liquid Waste Magazine. “That is why Twitter and Facebook are so important to our business and since I’m always on the go, using both on my Blackberry is the best way to stay in touch.”

“Both apps were pre-installed on my Blackberry and easy to setup (just remember you need to have existing accounts with Facebook and Twitter before everything is setup).”

“Similar to email on a Blackberry, both apps are deeply integrated into the phone, which means whenever I receive a “Reply” in Twitter or someone likes one of our posts on Facebook, I receive an instant alert notifying me. This is a major positive and helps to keep me up on what is going on.”

Twitter—(free) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—Twitter makes it easy to stay up-to-date with your followers and Tweet updates that even include a photo. You have almost complete access to Twitter on your phone, meaning you can see what is trending and even search in real-time.
Review from Mike Macrone, Advertising, American Liquid Waste.

Facebook—(free) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—While Facebook does the same as Twitter, I do have one major issue with the Facebook app, which is, I can only use the app through my account and not my business ‘Page.’ This is a major stumbling block, as I want to cultivate and keep in contact with followers/friends on my business activity. Now, there is talk that Facebook is working on improving their mobile apps in the near future, so I’m looking forward to seeing things improve for more business activity.
Review from Mike Macrone, Advertising, American Liquid Waste.

LinkedIn—(free) iPhone/iPad, Andriod, Blackberry—Allows you to view your entire network as well as send and receive updates. Ranked as one of PC Magazine’s Top 10 business apps.

Finance

MSP Cost Analysis Calculator—($.99) iPhone/iPad—You can show your client their true cost of fixing something versus replacing it.

Bills Monitor—(free) iPhone—Log your bills in this app, you can track or check them, it will remind you to pay your bill after setting its reminding days. This has been billed as a top app.

Mint.com Personal Finance Tool—(free) iPhone, Android—Great reviews by Lifehacker, App Store Rewind, PC Magazine Editor’s Choice, Kiplinger’s Must-Have Money Apps. Allows you to track, budget and manage your money in one place, so you can see where you’re spending and where you can save. Open an account, add your bank, credit, loan and retirement accounts, and Mint will automatically pull in and categorize transactions. It’s safe, secure and easy to keep your finances organized.

DataMan—(free) iPhone/iPad—Track your data usage in real time and works with different carriers. Pro version gives you real-time background alerts and can alert you the moment you exceed your usage threshold. According to my account with AT&T, I used more data in a single month than DataMan said I did. I’m not sure which is correct, but I’m guessing that the data that AT&T says I used is the one that counts with them.
Review by Jennifer Taylor.

expensify.com/mobile—(free) iPhone, iPad, Android, WebOS, BlackBerry—Log mileage, file expense reports, and upload a limited number of receipts using your phone’s camera (a smart scanning system automatically extracts information like the date and the amount charged).

Abukai—($39 and up after free 30-day trail)—iPhone, Blackberry and Android—Expense reports are filed in three easy steps: take a picture of your receipt from a smartphone, submit it, and receive your finished expense report. Editor’s Choice winning app.

Document Management

LogMeIn—(free) iPhone/iPad—Access all of your computers over WiFi or 3G.

IDocuments Organizer—(free) iPhone/iPad—Allows you to manage documents, photos and information.

PocketCloud—($.99) Andriod 2.1 or higher—Allows users to create a personal cloud by providing a unified view of all your remote computers from a mobile device. It also provides for unlimited video, phone and audio transfers, opening remote files and creating or deleting folders and files.

Quickoffice Mobile Office Suite—($12.99 – on sale) iPhone—Allows you to view and edit MS Office documents.

Air Sharing—($9.99) iPhone/iPad—Allows you to use your iPhone/iPad as an external drive. You can “mount” remote file servers including Google Docs and others.

Project Management

Encamp—($9.99) iPhone—Gives you access to Basecamp’s features (project management tool) such as projects, messages, to-do lists and milestones. You can see an overview as well as your active and archived projects. You can also view files attached to your Basecamp projects.

Security

Pocket—(free) Andriod—Securely stores sensitive information such as bank information, passwords, prescriptions, locker combinations, etc. The information is only accessible via a master password that cannot be accessed locally.

CPI Security Intouch—(free app, but security packages vary) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—Allows you to arm and disarm your burglar alarm; receive email and text notifications when someone enters or leaves the room; control energy sources; monitor who is going in and out of the house; and more. If you set it up with their inTouch Video system, you can see who is going in and out of your home, office or warehouse.

News

News apps—(most are free) iPhone/iPad, Android, Blackberry—Most major newspapers and media outlets have a mobile version that will keep you up-to-date on breaking news.

If you didn’t see an app you like, then I have a website that you might want to check out. BestVendor.com is a free website that allows you to see the preferred apps and technology of your peers and other businesses. You do need a LinkedIn account to sign in and you need to share three of your favorite work apps.

Let us know if you found an app that has saved you time or money, jennifer@americanliquidwaste.com.

Story by Jennifer Taylor

As they celebrate turning 40, Portable Sanitation Association International is gaining momentum with their eye on raising public perception of the industry, expanding their global reach, member education and networking opportunities.

“People experienced a lot of challenges and grievances during Hurricane Katrina, but access to portable sanitation wasn’t one of them,” said Jeff Wigley, PSAI president. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, PSAI members in Louisiana had developed relationships with their state government. Because of that, those members were able to provide portable restrooms and showers for Louisiana’s citizens who suddenly found themselves without homes or running water.

PSAI feels these relationships are invaluable to the community when disaster strikes and encourages their members to reach out to their local governments. As a result, one of their board members, Diane Dakin from Rent-A-Loo in New Zealand, was able to help when the earthquakes hit Christ Church. These relationships not only help the community, but also help garner respect for the industry.

The association hosts board meetings mainly around the country. But to help expand their global reach, they host one meeting in a different country every other year. At last year’s fall convention in San Antonio, they formed a permanent international committee led by their first international president, James Elliot from Barbados. The committee includes members from Colombia, India, Nigeria and New Zealand. Initially, these members will translate PSAI applications and other materials into their respective languages. “Then they will begin focusing on localized issues around the globe that can be discussed on a smaller and more focused basis,” says Wigley.

Another way that they focus on public perception is through their certification program. PSAI’s 20-year-old Health and Safety Certification program is recognized by several states as part of their license continuing education criteria including Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama, Illinois, New Hampshire and Minnesota. “We wanted to be able to set the standards and police ourselves rather than have someone who doesn’t know about sanitation police us,” says Wigley.

The certification is earned by passing a written test of technical skills and industry knowledge and verifying work experience as a portable sanitation worker. It serves as an impartial measure of a portable sanitation worker’s competence and understanding of the sanitary and health requirements that are mandatory in the industry. To qualify, you must have at least one year of experience, complete program classroom instruction and pass the exam. In addition to providing health and safety to the community, it raises public awareness and respect for the industry by ensuring that quality work is done.

Each year, PSAI hosts their Nuts & Bolts Conference. This year, the conference was held in Seattle on March 28-31. Next year, it will be held in Chicago. Wherever it is, the conference always focuses on education and includes roundtables on a variety of subjects so that members can meet each other and exchange best practices and ideas. “The only taboo topic is pricing,” says Wigley. “Roundtable topics have a broad range and cover topics that affect all aspects of owning a small business in this industry. The roundtables are a great way for our members to get free information from their peers.”

Even if you can’t make it to the Nuts & Bolts Show, PSAI offers members a variety of help on their member-only site. A member can find a cost analysis worksheet so that they can make sure that what they are charging is more than what their actual costs are. You can also find a cost of service workshop breakdown of expenses and worksheet for routes or special events as well as a chart that shows you the number of portable restroom units needed for special events based on the average size of the crowd and sample rental agreements.

The member only section of the site also gives you access to regulations and standards for ANSI, EPA, FEMA, OSHA and NAICS.

Not only is PSAI focused on educating their members, but they want to help educate their members’ children too. Each year, they award eight $3,000 scholarships at their fall convention.

PSAI also recognizes outstanding members of the industry with the Gump Award, a Service Tech of the Year Award and the Sani Award. “The owner, the technicians, and the office workers collaborate to make a business successful,” says Wigley. “So we wanted to make sure that each of those categories were represented with an award.” PSAI is currently taking nominations for these awards.

The Gump Award is a lifetime achievement award named after Andy Gump. “This is the Heisman Trophy of the portable sanitation industry,” says Wigley. “It recognizes people who have been either instrumental in founding our industry or made significant contributions to industry.”

The Service Tech of the Year award recognizes those in the industry that operate the vacuum trucks and do the day-to-day work that helps to make businesses successful.

The Sani Award recognizes those behind the scenes like the dispatchers and office managers who perform critical jobs and have over 10 years of service in the industry.

In addition to the awards, the November convention features a vendor exhibit hall where you can peruse service trucks, luxury restroom trailer units, portable restrooms and other booth displays. They also host speakers on relevant topics and roundtable discussions to build the collective knowledge base and network with others in the industry. This year’s convention will be held in San Diego.

The fall convention is the culminating event for PSAI’s 40th celebration. The event will highlight the historic journey of the portable sanitation industry, from it’s beginnings during WWII as heavy wooden contraptions to today’s high end restroom trailers. “If you were to blind fold someone and put them in one of those trailers, that person wouldn’t be able to tell that they were in a trailer. Our industry has definitely changed and had a dramatic change on our society in the last 40 years,” says Wigley.

For more information on PSAI, please visit them at www.psai.org.

Story by Jennifer Taylor

Working with cities nation-wide, Ameresco tailors environmental solutions for wastewater treatment plants and other customers. The company takes methane, a byproduct of sewage treatment and converts it into a renewable energy source. Some cities have chosen simply to collect royalty payments after Ameresco captures, refines and sells it; other cities have chosen to use the renewable energy to help offset their energy needs in an environmentally friendly manner.

San Antonio

San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is the first wastewater utility to partner with a private-sector company to deliver and sell processed biogas into the natural gas pipeline.
Ameresco captures the gas from the San Antonio wastewater treatment plant, filters the impurities out and puts it in the pipeline to be bought on the open market instead of burning off the gas and wasting energy. The plant is able to turn 900,000 cubic feet of methane into usable (green term) gas for the country.

The project pays SAWS 12 percent in royalties which works out to about $200,000 per year, saving rate payers as well.

The process also allows SAWS to improve the air quality around San Antonio. It offers the estimated annual carbon reduction equivalent to the removal of 31,261 cars from the road, the planting of 38,736 acres of trees, the reduction of 19,739 tons of CO2, or the heating of more than 4,689 average-size homes.
Ameresco hired local contractors to build the facility and a local operator to run it, thus creating green jobs in San Antonio.

SAWS is also able to use 80 percent of the solids to generate compost and recycles the water.

“We hated to see the bio product going to waste when it is an energy source,” says SAWS Chief Operating Officer Steve Clouse. “We wanted to find a way to capture that value because we try to recycle everything we can. We eliminate the waste in wastewater.”

Dallas and Philadelphia

Dallas worked with Ameresco to develop a cogeneration facility that provides the city with a source of clean energy, helping them to meet state legislation guidelines for reduced energy consumption and utilization of renewable energy by generating more than 30,000 renewable energy credits (RECs) per year.

“Ameresco has played a significant role on the project by designing, constructing, financing and operating a 4.2 MW combined heat and power facility that will help the city meet its financial and environmental goals,” says Dallas Water Utilities Senior Program Manager Wastewater Facilities Management Richard V. Wagner, P.E. “Ameresco’s project team utilized good quality control, customer service and site safety to deliver a facility that exceeded our expectations.”

According to Ameresco, the Dallas facility provides “significant reductions in particulate matter, Mercury, SOx, volatile organic compounds and water” as well as 40,156 tons of CO2.

Dallas agreed to lease a 2.5 acre tract of land for the facility, provide construction of all utility extensions, supply a minimum quantity of raw biogas to Ameresco and to purchase all electricity and thermal produced by the facility at a set rate over the term of the lease.

In turn, Ameresco agreed to finance, design, permit, build, own, operate and maintain the facility, provide a base rental payment to the city for the use of the lease, provide the city a guaranteed minimum amount of electricity to the city and provide the city a guaranteed minimum amount of hot water for heating ongoing operations of digesters and boilers.

Like they did in Dallas, Ameresco will design, build and maintain a 5.7 MW cogeneration facility for Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) is expected to save $12 million in energy costs over the course of the 16 year contract as well as provide a source of green energy to PWD.

“The Philadelphia Water Department is a progressive organization that recognizes the value and importance of environmental stewardship while cutting costs and improving infrastructure,” said Ameresco Senior Vice President Michael T. Bakas. “As a part of this contract, Ameresco developed an economic opportunity plan that will bring green jobs to the local community. Ameresco is looking forward to making this project a reality for the Philadelphia Water Department and the residents of Philadelphia.”

The PWD project estimates a reduction of 22,000 tons of carbon emissions per year.

Ameresco spends a tremendous amount of time with clients and designs the project to meet their goals. “Different projects have different needs,” explains Bakas. “In Philadelphia, our client wanted to use their source of biogas to serve their internal needs while mitigating the volatile energy markets. In other markets, where electric rates are low, it made more sense for some of our clients to process and sell the natural gas to the marketplace to benefit from the premium paid for “green gas.” We present our customers with a variety of options and they make the decisions that are best for them.”

Headquartered in Massachusetts, Ameresco provides renewable energy solutions for facilities across the country with more than 900 employees in 62 offices in 34 states and Canada. For more information, visit www.ameresco.com.

Story by Jennifer Taylor

One of the ways pumpers diversify their revenue stream is to sell products to their clients to help preserve their drainfield or to help restore their tanks. Selling continuous use products allows you to stay in the customer’s mind, so that when they have a need for a service that you provide, you will be the first person they think of.

We’ve heard that some pumpers worry that if their clients use these products, then they won’t need their pumping services as often. Even if a customer is using products, they should still have their systems pumped regularly.

There are a couple of different types of products for you to introduce to your clients depending on the age of their system: drainfield restoration products and additive products. These two types of products work differently.

Drainfield Restoration

The 1990 US Census found that there are almost 25 million septic systems in the United States, while the Environmental Protection Agency states that number to be around 26 million on its site. The EPA also says that communities report failure rates of anywhere from 10 to 70 percent.

“The EPA says that the drainfield is where 90 percent of septic systems fail,” says Mark Reynolds with RCS Septic Drainer. “That’s a lot of potential business.”

“Remember when you pierce the hard surfaces of a failed drainfield the water in the system drained away?” asks Reynolds. “Well that layer is called hard pan and is caused from sodium mixing with the soil. Farmers have been dealing with hard pan soil issues for centuries. About 50 years ago, they discovered that if you use calcium polysulfide, which is non-toxic and non-hazardous, then you can drive the sodium out of the soil.”

He goes on to say that most systems start out as aerobic bacteria based systems but then bind up so that air cannot flow. “The only bacteria that can survive in a no air environment is anaerobic bacteria which produces nitrates,” says Reynolds. “When you introduce air, it does allow aerobic bacteria to fluoresce and consume the nitrates. But, keep in mind the underlying issues are still present, so that means aerating the drainage part of a septic system does not solve the underlying issue that causes hard pan (soil and sodium combined).”

David Keeton, owner of Arcan Enterprises agrees, “As these sulfides build up in the system, they collect especially at the stone/soil interface which can slow digestion of waste and the absorption of water into the ground,” says Keeton.

“A homeowner has three choices when their system slows down or is almost stopped,” says Keeton. “They can not use it for 6 to 12 months and the oxygen will slowly oxidize the sulfide, they can use a product which will do that same thing in minutes, or they can dig it up which can be very expensive.” Keeton says that a pumper may know if a drainfield is slow or clogged if water flows back into the septic tank as the septic tank is pumped.

The problem in selling a homeowner products can sometimes be that a homeowner is hesitant to spend more money on preventative products when they’ve just paid several hundred for a pumper to come out. However, if you put it in a big picture context for the homeowner, then it can make more sense. Depending on what part of the country you are, it can cost $5,000 to $30,000 to replace a drainfield. After telling the homeowner what it will cost them to replace it, then let the homeowner know that for less you can try a drainfield restoration product.

“The applications are much less expensive,” says Keeton. “There is no guarantee that it will fix the system, but our customers have a lot of success with our product and we’ve been around since 1997. It has stood the test of time.”

Reynolds shares the business reasons for doing it. “Ask yourself how much one truck makes in profits in one day,” says Reynolds. “Let’s look at a pumping charge of $250 per tank as an example. Your average septic pumping company does six calls in an average eight hour day. That is $1,500 in sales, less $1,273 in expenses ($600 disposal, $300 fuel, $200 labor, $58 insurance, $65 equipment, $50 advertising), leaving you with a total net daily profit of $227, not including office expenses.”

“But, if 25 percent of the septic systems are failing, you should see 1.5 systems per day that are in the process of failing,” adds Reynolds. “The average fee to rejuvenate a failed system is $1,500 depending on where you are. That’s an average of $2,550 per day of additional revenue you are missing out on by not offering this service.”

Drainfield restoration products are added to the distribution box, cesspool, leach field, drainfield, raised bed system, vertical shaft drainage or series drainage system directly bypassing the septic tank.
To give you an idea of the difference in cost, Reynolds says that it takes about four gallons of his product to treat a 1,000 gallon system.

Septic System Treatment Products

Additives such as those sold by Rid X can be added to the septic system to help breakdown household waste.

Many of these manufacturers sell to septic professionals at a discounted rate or similar to a price that big retail chains will buy. Then you can sell it at a price that you deem profitable, thereby giving you another recurring revenue stream.

But, really, the biggest advantage of offering these products is that it gives you another opportunity to interact with your customer. Therefore, conventional wisdom says that they will be more likely to call you when it’s time to pump their system instead of trying to remember who they used last time.

Whether it’s drainfield restoration products or septic system products, the additional revenue that they will give you as well as the more frequent contact with customers can offer big payoffs as you diversify your revenue stream and increase your contact with customers.

Resources
For more information:
■ Septic Drainer and to view customer testimonials, please visit www.septicdrainer.com
■ Septic Scrub and to read customer testimonials, please visit www.arcan.com
■ Rid X, please visit www.rid-x.com/professionals.shtml

Story by Jennifer Taylor