Violation ID |
Occurred Date |
Violation Type |
(-) Violation Description |
Corrective Action |
Status |
Classification |
Source |
1131521 |
07/22/2024 |
OEV |
pH 3-Sample Maximum limit is 8.5 SU and reported value was 8.64 SU at M-001. |
reviewed with operations staff to be more thorough with dishwashing. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1130282 |
06/13/2024 |
GWAT |
The total coliform result for MW 11 was 2.2 MPN/100mL. The limit for groundwater monitoring wells is 2.2 MPN/100mL. |
The source of the coliform sample result is unknown. MW 11 is located in the orchard adjacent to the east of the WWTP. Proper sampling techniques for coliform sampling will be reviewed with staff to ensure a representative sample is taken. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1130236 |
06/12/2024 |
DMON |
there was no reportable minimum hourly UV average reading dose due to the manually closed re-aeration gate. The SCADA programming excludes all UV effluent parameters when the re-aeration gate is closed for reporting purposes. The CWIQS values for June 12th was deleted due to their being a zero reading for this day. |
CIWQS submittal of hourly average only, programming improvements are being investigated. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1130237 |
06/12/2024 |
Deficient Reporting |
Due to the plant upset effluent flow was diverted to emergency storage facilities. Composite samplers could not operate on a flow proportional basis due to the loss of flow signal. |
The sampler was placed in a time based sampling program. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1130281 |
06/12/2024 |
GWAT |
The total coliform result for MW 9 was 16.1 MPN/100 mL. The limit for groundwater monitoring wells is 2.2 MPN/100 mL. |
The source of the coliform result is unknown. MW 9 is located centrally in the Wildlife Management Area. Proper coliform sampling techniques will be reviewed with staff to ensure a representative sample. Also, the monitoring well is at the ground surface level, therefore the monitoring well will be cleaned up to ensure no contamination. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1130239 |
06/11/2024 |
DMON |
there was no reportable minimum hourly UV average reading dose due to the manually closed re-aeration gate. The SCADA programming excludes all UV effluent parameters when the re-aeration gate is closed for reporting purposes. The CWIQS values for June 11th was deleted due to their being a zero reading for this day. |
CIWQS submittal of hourly average only, programming improvements are being investigated. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1130238 |
06/10/2024 |
DMON |
there was no reportable minimum hourly UV average reading dose due to the manually closed re-aeration gate. The SCADA programming excludes all UV effluent parameters when the re-aeration gate is closed for reporting purposes. The CWIQS values for June 10th was deleted due to their being a zero reading for this day. |
CIWQS submittal of hourly average only, programming improvements are being investigated. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1130235 |
06/08/2024 |
OEV |
Turbidity Instantaneous Maximum limit is 2.0 NTU and reported value was 2.8 NTU at FIL-002. |
Re-aeration gate was shut which ceased effluent discharge flow. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1123538 |
11/28/2023 |
DMON |
The Nitrate (as N) concentration for MW 11 was 39 mg/L which exceeds the drinking water standards of 10 mg/L for Nitrate (as N). |
MW 11 is a background well located within a almond orchard to the east of the wastewater treatment plant. The cause of the exceedance is unknown. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1123536 |
11/28/2023 |
GWAT |
The Nitrate (as N) concentration for groundwater MW 5 was 17 mg/L which exceeds drinking water standards of 10 mg/L for Nitrate (as N). |
MW 5 is located at the NW corner of the former sludge drying beds. The cause of the exceedance is unknown. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1123537 |
11/27/2023 |
GWAT |
MW 9 resulted in a total coliform organism level of 12 MPN/100mL which exceeded the limitation of 2.2 MPN/100mL per Order No. R5-2020-0014 Section V.B.1. |
MW 9 is located centrally in the Wildlife Management Area. The cause of the exceedance is unknown. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1120811 |
08/19/2023 |
DMON |
On August 18th the turbidity meter at FIL-002, which is post filtration, was left in an inoperable condition which caused an error in the continuous reading. The daily average and maximum reading for the 24 hour period are not reportable due to the inoperable state of the turbidity meter. |
Operations staff determined the cause was operator error, reviewed standard procedures with operations staff in addition to reviewing pertinent reporting information with staff. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1118692 |
04/24/2023 |
GWAT |
The coliform organism limitation is 2.2MPN/100mL and the result for monitoring well #9 was greater than 23 MPN/100mL. |
MW 9 is located in the Wildlife Management Area. The cause of the exceedance is unknown. Staff will continue to review and practice good sampling techniques for coliform sampling. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1118693 |
04/24/2023 |
GWAT |
The total coliform organism limitation is 2.2 MPN/100mL and the result for monitoring well #2 was 5.1 MPN/100mL. |
MW 2 is located on the northside of the Land Application Area. The cause of the exceedance is unknown. Staff will continue to review and practice good sampling techniques for coliform sampling. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1111617 |
12/21/2022 |
DMON |
From June 2020 to October 2022 the BOD and TSS removal efficiency was calculated and reported monthly, we did not report the calculations three times per week as the permit required. The data and calculations involved are present but were not uploaded on either the pet tool when that was being used for reporting purposes or the reports generated by Labworks. |
Retrieved the BOD and TSS influent and effluent values and uploaded the percent removal calculations for the time period of June 2020 to current month. A pet tool was created and the CDF files were uploaded as additional attachments for this month. Required programming changes were made to Labworks software to correct this problem going forward. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1112912 |
12/13/2022 |
GWAT |
The results for nitrate as N for groundwater MW #5 were 16 mg/L. The Groundwater Limitations under Waste Discharge requirements page 15 of permit Order R5-2020-0014 refer to primary or secondary MCLs established in Title 22 of the CCR and the limit is 10 mg/L. |
The cause of the exceedance is unknown. Recycled wastewater discharges to the Land Application Area for nitrate as N are below the limits. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1112911 |
12/13/2022 |
GWAT |
The results for total coliform for groundwater MW #6 were >23 MPN/100mL. The Groundwater Limitations under Waste Discharge requirements page 15 of permit Order R5-2020-0014 are 2.2 MPN/mL. |
The cause of the exceedance is unknown. MW #6 is centrally located within the former sludge drying beds. Water Quality Control staff will examine the techniques used in collecting coliform samples and evaluate for any improvement necessary. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1112908 |
12/12/2022 |
GWAT |
The results for nitrate as N for groundwater MW #11 were 46 mg/L. The Groundwater Limitations under Waste Discharge requirements page 15 of permit Order R5-2020-0014 refer to primary or secondary MCLs established in Title 22 of the CCR and the limit is 10 mg/L. |
The cause of the exceedance is unknown. MW #11 is a background well located in the almond orchard adjacent to the east side of the WWTF.. No recycled water is discharged to this area. Groundwater could be influenced by nitrogen-rich fertilizers. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1112909 |
12/12/2022 |
GWAT |
The results for total coliform for groundwater MW #1 were 5.1 MPN/100mL. The Groundwater Limitations under Waste Discharge requirements page 15 of permit Order R5-2020-0014 are 2.2 MPN/mL. |
The cause of the exceedance is unknown. MW #1 is a background well located on the east end of the Land Application Area. Water Quality Control staff will examine the techniques used in collecting coliform samples and evaluate for any improvement necessary. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1112907 |
12/12/2022 |
GWAT |
The results for total coliform for groundwater MW #11 were >23 MPN/100mL. The Groundwater Limitations under Waste Discharge requirements page 15 of permit Order R5-2020-0014 are 2.2 MPN/mL. |
The cause of the exceedance is unknown. MW #11 is a background well located in the almond orchard adjacent to the east side of the WWTF.. No recycled water is discharged to this area. Water Quality Control staff will examine the techniques used in collecting coliform samples and evaluate for any improvement necessary |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1112910 |
12/12/2022 |
GWAT |
The results for total coliform for groundwater MW #3 were >23 MPN/100mL. The Groundwater Limitations under Waste Discharge requirements page 15 of permit Order R5-2020-0014 are 2.2 MPN/mL. |
The cause of the exceedance is unknown. MW #3 is located on the west end of the Land Application Area, adjacent to a farm that houses livestock. Water Quality Control staff will examine the techniques used in collecting coliform samples and evaluate for any improvement necessary. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1099985 |
12/31/2021 |
DMON |
The City of Merced was deficient in collecting samples for alkalinity series, Iron, Sodium, and Potassium of the standard minerals sample list. |
The City will exercise additional discretion of permit requirements and scheduling of sample events to further prevent any future deficient monitoring violations from occurring. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1099984 |
11/15/2021 |
GWAT |
Groundwater Monitoring Well #10 exceeded the total coliform limit of 2.2 MPN. The result for coliforms was 9.2 MPN. |
Though the City of Merced periodically discharges recycled water to the Wildlife Management Area. It was not determined that the cause of the exceedance was from the WWTF effluent discharge for effluent discharge coliforms was <2 MPN on 11/15/21. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1099983 |
11/15/2021 |
GWAT |
Monitoring Well #9 exceeded the water quality limit for total coliforms of 2.2 MPN. The result was >23 MPN. |
Though the City of Merced periodically discharges recycled water to the Wildlife Management Area. It was not determined that the cause of the exceedance was from the WWTF effluent discharge for effluent discharge coliforms was <2 MPN on 11/15/21. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1099637 |
10/28/2021 |
DMON |
The City of Merced was unable to report results for Tributyltin at effluent M-001 and receiving water R-002U1 due to multiple QC issues at the contracted laboratory for this project. |
The City of Merced sampled for the characterization monitoring early in the quarter and resampled for the constituent as notified by the contracted laboratory of the error. The City has suggested using a different sub-contracted lab if QC issues continue to occur. A full explanation of the error was included in the cover letter for report Q4 2021. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1097431 |
10/27/2021 |
DMON |
Attachment E section III A.2 Table E-2 Influent Monitoring. states BOD mg/L 24 hour composite 3/Week, and TSS mg/L 24 composite 3/week.
On October 27th the influent composite sample was divided up with one half of the sample used for annual priority pollutant testing and the remnant used for the three times per week testing for BOD and TSS.
The sample was mixed in the composite jug and dispense into two smaller containers, incomplete mixing caused a non-representative sample to be used for BOD and TSS. The result for BOD was 179 mg/L and TSS was 78 mg/L, both of these results are significantly lower than normal results. The BOD and TSS test results for this day was deleted and not reported on CIWQS.
|
Scheduled a brief training for staff involved with sampling regarding splitting samples. Future annual and quarterly samples will be scheduled on different days than we perform BOD and TSS to allow for a smaller sample volume that will mix easily. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1092709 |
06/28/2021 |
GWAT |
The groundwater limitation for total coliform organism is 2.2 MPN/100mL per Order R5-2020-0014. Groundwater Monitoring Well No. 4 had a result of 9.2 MPN/100mL. MW 4 is located on the southside of the Land Application Area. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. Extra precautions when taking coliform samples will be taken in the future. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1077583 |
06/15/2020 |
GWAT |
The nitrate nitrogen concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #11 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 64 mg/L. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1077585 |
06/15/2020 |
GWAT |
The total coliform concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #11 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of >23 MPN. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1077580 |
06/10/2020 |
GWAT |
The nitrate nitrogen concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #5 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 21 mg/L. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1077581 |
06/09/2020 |
GWAT |
The nitrate nitrogen concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #1 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 19 mg/L. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1077584 |
06/09/2020 |
GWAT |
The total coliform concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #10 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of >23 MPN. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1077582 |
06/09/2020 |
GWAT |
The total coliform concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #9 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 5.1 MPN. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1079052 |
04/06/2020 |
CAT2 |
Copper, Total Monthly Average limit is 6.5 ug/L and reported value was 13 ug/L at M-001. |
The cause of the exceedance is unknown. The City of Merced has a discharger that is a commercial printer. In the past City Environmental Compliance Inspectors addressed potential copper and zinc exceedances of local limits. The industry had changed printer ink products to lessen the potential and no exceedances have occurred from the industry for copper. The City's pretreatment program will continue to monitor potential dischargers of metals to the POTW. The City will take quarterly effluent samples at the beginning of the month and review the results more immediately and resample if needed to average out any results exceeding the monthly average. |
Violation |
B |
eSMR |
1073351 |
01/14/2020 |
GWAT |
The nitrate nitrogen concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #5 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 26 mg/L. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1073358 |
01/14/2020 |
GWAT |
The nitrate nitrogen concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #7 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 31 mg/L. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1073353 |
01/13/2020 |
GWAT |
The nitrate nitrogen concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #1 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 13 mg/L. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1073352 |
01/13/2020 |
GWAT |
The nitrate nitrogen concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #11 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 65 mg/L. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1073354 |
01/13/2020 |
GWAT |
The nitrate nitrogen concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #6 equaled the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 10 mg/L. |
The cause is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1073359 |
01/13/2020 |
GWAT |
The nitrate nitrogen concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #8 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 17 mg/L. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1073355 |
01/13/2020 |
GWAT |
The total coliform concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #11 equaled the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result 2.2 MPN. |
The cause is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1073356 |
01/13/2020 |
GWAT |
The total coliform concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #3 equaled the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 2.2 MPN. |
The cause is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
1073357 |
01/13/2020 |
GWAT |
The total coliform concentration in Groundwater Monitoring Well #9 exceeded the limit set forth in Order No. R5-2014-0096 with a result of 3.6 MPN. |
The cause of the exceedance is not known. |
Violation |
U |
eSMR |
Report displays most recent five years of violations. Refer to the Interactive Violation Report for more data.
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