The 2022 Florida/Alabama Joint Training and Technical Conference has been added to the thirty-two year old history of the event. This year's Conference was a great success with an overflowing Exhibit Hall and lots of classes, food, and fun! It felt so good to be "getting back to normal" after the past two years! Click below to take a look back at this year's Conference. |
|
The Exhibitors began setting up their booths on Tuesday afternoon in anticipation of the busy atmosphere that followed. Registration was jumping as attendees arrived ready for the show to begin. After a quick breakfast, attendees joined the crowd already gathered in the Opening Session. Dignitaries from both Florida and Alabama's Rural Waters and both of the states primacy agencies as well as the USDA directors from both states updated attendees on the developments that they should be aware of in the industry. Everyone enjoyed an old fashion hot dog lunch in the Exhibit Hall as we walked around and viewed the latest in innovations and spoke with friends that we have not seen in a while.
After lunch, it was back to class as we broke out into concurrent water and wastewater sessions. Presentations given by experts in their field regarding the latest news in the industry kept attendees in the loop on what is really going on on issues affecting their systems. Young and old alike gathered for the annual Seafood Boil. The line was worth the wait as we helped ourselves to huge containers of salad, potato salad, tomato and cucumber salad, and seafood boil. We can't forget the deserts that topped off a perfect meal!
The next morning, we took a few moments for a quick bite of breakfast and a cup of coffee before heading back to the concurrent sessions. At noon, we enjoyed a box lunch and then we all gathered one last time to hear from our speakers about topics that interested both aspects of the industry.
It was a busy schedule, but we hope that you had time to enjoy the beach! It's always a great time when we get to reminisce with your friends from Alabama and network with our peers. We hope you enjoyed this year's Conference and will join us next year as Alabama Rural Water hosts the 2023 Alabama/Florida Joint Conference in Orange Beach, Alabama in May of 2023. See you there!
|
|
What FRWA won't do for our members!!! |
|
When Stan Epperly, FRWA SW Water Circuit Rider, was contacted to test a water meter at a member's system, it was business as usual since that is one of the benefits that we offer our membership. That was before he found out it was a in a pen with over five-hundred breeding alligators! As you know you don't mess with "Mama Gator"! Note the little heads sticking out of the water in the photo on the right!
Being the Circuit Rider that he is, Stan did not hesitate to come to the aid of the system. Proving once again, "FRWA will stop at nothing to help its members!"
|
|
|
Gas, diapers, essential items will be tax-free in Florida |
|
From gas to diapers to hurricane supplies, dozens of expensive and essential items will be tax-free in Florida over the next few months.
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed the "largest tax relief in the history of the state of Florida," a $1.2 billion plan that's designed to provide relief for Floridians from the highest level of inflation in 40 years.
One of the biggest benefits will be during the entire month of October, when gas will be tax-free. DeSantis said drivers will save around $.25 per gallon.
In addition, children's diapers, as well as clothing and shoes for kids who are five and under will be tax-free for an entire year from July 1 until June 30, 2023. Children's books will be tax-free for three months from May 14 through August 14.
"Families are gonna be able to save for things that really matter for them," DeSantis said Friday during a news conference in Ocala.
According to AAA, the national average for a price of regular gas on Friday is $4.28, while Florida's average is $4.19.
"You look at the fuel, I have not seen it under $4 for a long time," DeSantis said. "You've not seen any real relief." more
|
|
Rural Water: Coming Together in Time of Need |
|
When disaster strikes, the rural water community bands together to aid, assess and assist. |
|
When Joe Burns awoke in the early hours of December 11, 2021, and clicked on the TV to watch the morning news, he was horrified to learn what had transpired overnight. A powerful storm system had developed across the central and southern regions of the U.S., spurring more than 60 tornadoes that left a path of destruction in eight states and ultimately claimed 90 lives. One of these, a long-track tornado that began in northwest Tennessee, traveled more than 165 miles across western Kentucky reaching EF-4 strength.
"It was just shock," Joe said. As senior program coordinator with nearly three decades of experience at Kentucky Rural Water Association (KRWA), Joe was closely connected to the affected communities. "I've traveled throughout those areas, know many people there, and certainly know all the utilities." He immediately got to work assessing the impacts to water and wastewater infrastructure. "I started contacting the utilities in those areas," he said. "I got online and checked the power outage map and contacted our primacy agency, the Energy & Environment Cabinet, who I normally work with through these events." Joe was relieved to learn that the emergency operation center was in full swing.
For Joe, those early days involved a lot of phone calls and text messages to get a handle on the amount of damage to water and wastewater infrastructure. "Initially, it was about making contact and just waiting. And the waiting is sometimes the hardest part."
Joe didn't have to wait long. With the combined efforts of the state primacy agency, Kentucky WARN, KRWA, and National Rural Water Association (NRWA), resources and assistance were quickly being marshaled. "Our primacy agency has field offices throughout the state and they had mobilized their staff to go to those communities and assess what they could," Joe explained. All the information being collected was updated in the ArcGIS dashboard. "As these updates come through, they're posted and we're all in contact with one another, and doing daily briefings with Emergency Management as well." more
|
|
 |
NATIONAL NEWS
Federal Cybersecurity Agency Seeks $80M To Better Protect Water Systems Demonstrating an ongoing commitment to protecting drinking water systems from cyberattack, a central federal body is seeking significant funding to help protect against the growing threat. more
Update On Water Situation In Ukraine Technology consultancy Isle has issued an update on water and sanitation workers directly affected by the war in Ukraine, and how Polish and Ukrainian water utilities are working together to help refugees fleeing the war-torn country. more
House passes South Florida Coastal Clean Waters Act, requiring task force to study harmful algal blooms | WPTV A bill aiming to protect Florida's waterways from harmful algal blooms passed nearly unanimously through Congress this week and will now head to the president's desk. more
Infrastructure law begins to impact US rivers, as concern persists over power of legislation | WTKR While some rivers are known for their beauty, others may be known for their pollution. With summer right around the corner, it's the perfect time to get a status update on the state of our country's waterways, like the Black River outside of Cleveland, Ohio. more
The Labor Shortage: Examining The What, Why, And How Behind An Ever-Growing Problem “It feels like a perfect storm… A hurricane and a tornado, all rolled up into one.” Dr. Rachel Sederberg didn’t mince words when describing the seriousness of the labor shortage in the United States. more
Infrastructure Funding May Never Reach Water Systems That Need It Most Though there’s little question that water systems of all sizes are in need of additional funding to upgrade infrastructure and continue to provide clean drinking water to ratepayers, some of those with the greatest needs may struggle to access federal funding recently set aside for them. more
WEF, others question EPA's CWA affordability guidance Environmental groups are clashing with some of the nation’s largest water lobbying groups over guidance EPA is finalizing that will determine the scope and pace at which communities — especially low-income areas — must pay for required upgrades to halt pollution. more
U.S. Government Attributes Cyberattacks on SATCOM Networks to Russian State-Sponsored Malicious Cyber Actors Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have updated the joint cybersecurity advisory, Strengthening Cybersecurity of SATCOM Network Providers and Customers,
originally released March 17, 2022, with U.S. government attribution to Russian state sponsored malicious cyber actors. more
Water utility customer satisfaction plunges as rates rise According to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, a six-year streak of improving or flat customer satisfaction with residential water utilities has come to an end. more
Hurricane center tracking first tropical wave of 2022 It may only have been Mother’s Day and not yet hurricane season, but the National Hurricane Center started tracking the first tropical wave of 2022. more
Inflation Turns Water Into Whine: Customer Satisfaction Plunges As Rates Surge The six-year streak of improving or flat customer satisfaction with residential water utilities has come to an end. According to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Water Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, released today, the past several years of goodwill earned through investment in water quality, proactive customer communications and digital customer service channels have been washed away by a significant increase in monthly bills. more
Maximizing The Value Of Asset And Work Management Systems Tracking specific assets such as pumps and pipelines may keep water or wastewater flowing, but helping a utility flourish under challenging physical, financial, and environmental pressures requires a more comprehensive overview. more
Beyond The Buzzword: How Utility Operators Can Use Big Data For Better Asset Management, Operations, And Customer Engagement Big Data is more than a marketing buzzword. It’s become an essential tool for helping utility operators prioritize capital investments, manage network assets, and provide a higher level of service to customers. more
White House Releases Rural Playbook for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law In April, the White House released a new playbook specifically focused on rural communities and how they can access and make the most of the funds available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). more
STATE NEWS
DEO Announces Public Comment Period for the State’s Draft Action Plan to Access More Than $187 Million in Disaster Recovery Funding for Hurricane Sally On May 6, 2022, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) posted a Draft State Action Plan and announced the opening of the 30-day public comment period to seek input on the state’s plan to access more than $187 million in federal funding available to assist Florida with Hurricane Sally recovery efforts through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. more
Opinion: Florida’s commitment of $1.2 billion in flood resilience leads the country | Gainesville Sun A hotel guest carries his shoes as he returns to his car during tidal street flooding in Miami Beach in 2015. Flooding and sea level rise are already impacting Florida. But rather than shy away from these challenges, lawmakers are confronting them head on. more
Bay County Water Treatment Plant gets upgrades | My Panhandle After almost four years and a few million dollars, renovations and upgrades at the Bay County Water Treatment Plant are nearly complete. more
Tampa Bay’s future water supply likely to be river to tap | Tampa Bay Times An impasse over a proposed groundwater project and the high cost of desalination limited the options. more
Experts weigh in on effectiveness of storm detention ponds | NBC-2 Storm detention ponds are a common practice in Florida used to help mitigate flooding and control pollutants from flowing downstream. more
New sensors to track Miami-Dade commercial water use Miami-Dade County has announced a series of water-focused projects to reduce wastage, save money and foster innovation. more
Studying storm surge and sea-level rise to plan for the future | WINK Floridians know the sight of sea-level rise all too well. It comes with crashing waves and rough seas. more
City Agrees to Improvements in Wastewater Settlement | Bradenton Times Four environmental advocacy groups announced on Thursday that a settlement has been reached in a Clean Water Act lawsuit filed against the City of Bradenton related to repeated sewage spills into the Manatee River and local waterways. Suncoast Waterkeeper, Tampa Bay Waterkeeper, Manasota-88, and Our Children’s Earth Foundation had filed the lawsuit in 2021. more
Naples receives nearly $400k to safeguard against climate change | WINK Naples is getting almost $400,000 in funding that will go towards the Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program, aimed at safeguarding the city from the effects of climate change. more
New Water School at FGCU set to open | News-Press Photos of the new Water School at FGCU more
What you need to know ahead of seasonal fertilizer ban | WTSP Numerous local governments restrict fertilizer use each year through the end of September. more
Knowing the Odds: Florida's history offers lessons about timing and intensity of storms History offers lessons about when storms are most likely to hit different regions of Florida — and their intensity. more
Total Maximum Daily Load Notification Update May 24 The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announces a public meeting beginning at 11 a.m. EDT on May 24, 2022, to receive comments on a proposed framework for prioritizing waters and setting two-year work plans for TMDL development. The framework will align with the statewide biennial assessment and will guide TMDL development for the next decade. more
|
|
|
|
This Week in Water History |
|
Dow Chemical Founding and Connection to Bleach |
|
May 18, 1897: “The Dow Chemical Company incorporated, based on Dow’s plan to manufacture, sell bleach on commercial scale; 1898 – first commercial scale production of bleach begins; Dow-in-diamond mark created to resolve product shipping problems.”
Commentary: Bleaching powder (or chloride of lime, also known as calcium hypochlorite) was used by Dr. John L. Leal on the Jersey City water supply in 1908. This was the first continuous use of chlorine on a municipal water supply in the U.S.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged bleach, disinfection, Dow Chemical Company, Dr. John L. Leal, Jersey City, New Jersey on May 18, 2021.
Reference: “Propose to Change Map of New York City.” 1914. Municipal Journal. 36:20(May 14, 1914): 712.
Commentary: Fill in the East River to join Manhattan to Long Island? Yikes!!! Well, that is certainly “outside the box” thinking. Wait a minute. What happens to the Brooklyn Bridge?
To enjoy more opportunities to take a look at the past in water history, go to this link.
|
|
2970 Wellington Circle | Tallahassee FL 32309 | 850.668.8023 | Contact Us
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
