“Overview of Water Policy, Regulations and Current Challenges Facing Military Installations in Regions with Scarce Water Resources” by Ms. Kathrun Ostapuk

Viable and sustainable water resources are becoming scarcer, and competition for these resources is growing every day. Long term sustainability will take ingenuity, not just on the part of the Department of Defense (DoD), but in the communities where our installations are located. Engaging in new legislative initiatives and regulatory frameworks is one way to ensure that our installations are an integral part of the solution. As an example, California is home to 30 major military installations and has been enduring a sustained severe drought that has significantly depleted groundwater reserves. DoD has supported several initiatives in California such as the passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) as well as regulatory programs that support new standards for water conservation, recycled water, brine discharge and storm water reuse. All of these programs will preserve water resources for our DoD installations into the future.

“Innovative Acoustic Sensor Technologies for Leak Detection in Challenging Pipe Types” by Mr. Gary Anguiano

Reducing water loss at Department of Defense (DoD) installations is important to preserve potable water needed for essential functions and to limit the drawdown of local water supplies. Systemic failures (ruptures, pinholes and cracks) on older pipe systems caused by corrosion, subsidence, excessive pressure and faulty construction result in significant water losses at many DoD facilities. Often, these breaches (leaks) go unnoticed for months before they are identified, resulting in significant water losses. Accurate leak detection technologies are urgently needed to both detect and pinpoint leaks so that timely and efficient repairs can be made. Implementation of improved leak detection technologies supports Federal and DoD sustainability goals, specifically Executive Order 13693 which requires installations to take more proactive measures to reduce water loss. This project assessed the accuracy of both temporary and permanent leak detection technologies with enhanced cross-correlation features to detect and pinpoint leaks on challenging polyvinyl chloride pipe, as well as metallic pipe. The project quantified the leak detection and location performance of the acoustic sensor technologies on a buried pipeline test bed with 11 simulated leaks of defined leak size and location. Results from the test bed show that the majority of known leaks were detected and located within an accuracy of 4 feet, and that leaks as small as 1 gallon per minute were detectable.

Speaker Biographies

Ms. Kathryn Ostapuk is the Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Coordinator for RDML Rich, Commander, Navy Region Southwest, as well as the Department of Defense Regional Environmental Coordinator (DoD REC) for USEPA Region IX. In this capacity, Ms. Ostapuk advises on multi-media environmentally-related compliance issues, analyzes proposed legislation and regulatory policies, and prepares testimony (written and oral) on emergent state legislation and regulation throughout USEPA Region IX (primarily California). She also identifies and coordinates cross-service issues to present to state and federal regulators and legislators. In addition, Ms. Ostapuk advises REGCOM on strategic communications with elected and appointed officials at the federal, state and local levels.

From 2012 to 2015, Ms. Ostapuk served as an environmental policy advisor to Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia located in Naples, Italy. In this capacity, Ms. Ostapuk managed the Naples Public Health Evaluation, drafted DoD internal country specific environmental standards, and supported the European Command’s Environmental Implementation Agreements with Romania and Poland. Ms. Ostapuk obtained a B.A. in Communications and Russian from the University of Arizona, and a J.D. from the California Western School of Law in San Diego
 

Mr. Gary Anguiano is the water pollution team lead for the Environmental Security Technology Development Branch of the Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center in Port Hueneme, California. Gary’s most recent work assignments as principal investigator include demonstrations of advanced acoustic sensor technologies for detecting leaks in potable water lines, development and validation of storm water treatment systems, assessment of water conservation technologies for landscape irrigation, and application of internal epoxy coatings to repair leaky compressed air lines. Past projects for the Department of the Navy include development of rapid repair methods for war damaged fuel and water lines, development of portable de-paint and paint maintenance facilities for military helicopters, development of aircraft wash water recycling systems, and civil engineering support on shore-based bilge and oily wastewater treatment systems for wastewater from Navy ships. Mr. Angiano is a co-inventor of two Navy patents. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the California Polytechnic State University in 1985 and a professional engineering license in the State of California in 1989.