Member Spotlight
Roland Williams, Making a Difference in his Community and in CASA
Roland Williams is a familiar face to those who have been attending CASA conferences over the years. Roland is general manager of the Castro Valley Sanitary District and a member of the CASA Board of Directors. He has over 28 years of experience in the wastewater field. As GM, Roland oversees every aspect of the District’s wastewater and solid waste programs and facilities. He recently shared with us some of his accomplishments and weighed in on the value of CASA membership.

Roland championed the Lateral Replacement Grant Program in 1997. The program provides grants to residents within the service area to replace defective laterals, which can be a significant source of infiltration and inflow as well as contribute to sanitary sewer overflows. The grants cover 50% of the approved cost, up to a maximum reimbursement of $2,000. Only a replacement of more than 50% of the lateral, that completely eliminates I&I, is eligible for the program. Groundbreaking at the time of its launch, the LRGP has become a model for countless other programs around the state and country.
Legislative News
Final Actions on Legislation in 2019
Sunday, October 13 was the final deadline for Governor Newsom to sign or veto all of the legislation sent to him during the 2019 Legislative Session. This year the Legislature introduced 3033 bills, and the Governor ultimately signed 1169, and vetoed 172. Several bills with which CASA was actively involved have been signed into law and become effective January 1, 2020. Agencies should review the following bills with their legal counsel to make sure they are in compliance with these new laws: AB 68 (Ting), SB 13 (Wieckowski), AB 1483 (Grayson) and AB 1486 (Ting).
CASA News
PFAS Developments Continue, CASA Fact Sheet Available
PFAS continues to receive significant attention at the state and federal level. Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of manmade fluorinated compounds which are used for a variety of applications by both industry and residential households. They have garnered a significant amount of attention in recent months as states have begun to pursue legislation and regulatory actions to address these chemicals.  

CASA recently completed a fact sheet that provides background on the ubiquity of these chemicals and the need to better understand the science and real-world risks they pose before setting stringent thresholds or limits. We will also be submitting a letter to the California congressional delegation asking them to remove amendments from the National Defense Authorization Act that would designate PFAS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, which could have unintended impacts on wastewater utilities. Finally, State Water Board staff are currently designing the next phase of their PFAS investigations. The first stage, which focused on landfills, airports and certain drinking water systems, was initiated earlier this year. The third phase will focus on wastewater facilities and is set to begin late this year or early next year. CASA recently submitted a letter to State Water Board staff outlining our thoughts on how to efficiently focus that phase of the investigation, and will be following up with meetings soon.
Water Professionals Appreciation Week Recap
The second annual California Water Professionals Appreciation Week wrapped up last Saturday and it did not disappoint! A big thank you to all the water and sanitation agencies that shared poignant stories of veterans, women and others working in water using #WeAreCAWater or other special hashtags. We saw so many inspiring stories from water professionals all over California across social media. Thanks to all the water professionals in California and we look forward to continued growth with this special week.
Biosolids Fire Reclamation Project Underway
The demonstration project to quantify the benefits of biosolids in reclaiming fire ravaged land has been initiated at the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) in Calabasas. The project will evaluate Class B cake and exceptional quality (EQ) biosolids compost from LVMWD and heat dried pellets from the City of Corona against a control site to measure water quality, erosion control, vegetative growth and diversity, and soil quality. The plots have been established and applied with the biosolids. As of today, several samples have been collected of the soil/biosolids mixture have been collected and water samples will be taken during each rain event.

The research is a collaborative effort among CASA members and many others. Harry Allen with USEPA Region 9 and David Crohn with UC Riverside are the Principal Investigators, with assistance from Veronica Hurtado at LVMWD. Synagro provided transport of the heat dried pellets, and the City of Los Angeles is providing analytical assistance. Many CASA members have also assisted with financial contributions. Please contact Greg Kester for more information or with questions.
Member News
Metropolitan, Sanitation Districts Launch New Water Recycling Demonstration Plant to Develop New Local Water Source
Facility could lead to one of largest recycling plants in U.S., make water supplies more resilient. Read the Press Release .
Mark Your Calendar
Value of Water Campaign Kicks Off on Oct. 23
Imagine a Day Without Water, part of the Value of Water awareness campaign, is less than a month away! CASA encourages you to use this day to help educate as many people as you can about what life would be truly be like without water. Feel free to use any of the social media tools, images and other material found on imagineadaywithoutwater.org to get involved. From school projects and contests to using #valuewater on your social media posts, let’s make sure that Imagine a Day Without Water 2019 is a day we don’t forget. Visit https://bit.ly/2vir8zs for more ways to participate.
Calendar
Nov. 20-22, 2019
Jan. 21-23, 2020