WORKFORCE ISSUE BILL PASSED |
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The workforce issues that you prioritized in the FRWA survey a couple years ago resulted in FRWA, along with many other Associations in Florida, proposing and supporting a bill in the Florida Legislature to add more tools to the hiring tool box at water utilities. It will provide more entry into the certified operator profession and hopefully help with the workforce shortage that we heard loud and clear as your number one priority and concern expressed in services, support and need for FRWA to focus on.
Good News! A Bill to add critical/essential first responders status for water workers, reciprocity with other states certifications to allow those licensed professionals to utilize their certification if they move to Florida to help our profession and water utilities workforce pool. The Bill also included reciprocity/credit for military and veterans experience to transition into our profession and temporary license in the time of declared events to help the impacted water utilities employees tend to family, home and hurricane issues without worry for public services provided by dedicated system operators and workers.
The Bills in both the State Legislative chambers have passed as of April 20, 2023 and will be onto the Governor for ratification soon. Of note, the bill passed three Senate Committees, three House Committees, and with full member support of the both the Senate and House. There were no votes against the bill at all committees and floor action.
FRWA's message from that is you are needed and we need this valuable resource for the public health and environmental work you do for all of Florida and Floridians. So congratulations and thank you!
For complete information on the Senate version of the bill (SB 162), click here. For complete information on the House version of the bill (HB 23), click here.
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Office of Community Services
Low Income Household Water Assistance Program
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Recently, the Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) released water utility outreach materials. LIHWAP makes payments directly to utilities on behalf of the approved low-income houses they serve. This can help both big and small utilities by reducing customer arrears. We are hoping to share this message with the rural utilities that many LIHWAP grantees have struggled to reach. Increasing rural water and wastewater utility participation is high priority because households in need can only access LIHWAP funds if their water or wastewater utility participates in the program. We do not want rural communities to be left out. LIHWAP's Water Service Provider Outreach Toolkit contains materials for reaching these communities, including the attached one-pager that TAPs can take directly to the utilities they serve. Click here for a handout with more information that can be given directly to your customers.
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CLICK ON THE GRAPHIC BELOW TO SEE SOME OF THE SERVICES OFFERED BY RURAL WATER. |
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The 2022 CCR Report Template is posted on our website. To access the information, click here. Please contact the water circuit rider in your area if you need additional assistance by calling FRWA at 850.668.2746.
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NATIONAL NEWS
Cyber Threat Web Briefing Wednesday, April 26 at 2 PM ET Join us on April 26, 2023 as Brandon Carter from the EPA Water Infrastructure and Cyber Resilience Division shares how the Cybersecurity Technical Assistance Program will support primacy agencies and water systems in implementing cybersecurity measures. more
CISA Releases Four Industrial Control Systems Advisories CISA released four Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on April 18, 2023. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS. more
Advocates call for action to protect people from PFAS in cosmetics, textiles, and turf Vermont elected officials, local business leaders, and advocates gathered at the State House to call for swift action to advance legislation (S.25(link is external)) that restricts PFAS and other toxic chemicals from cosmetic and menstrual products, and bans PFAS from textiles and artificial turf athletic fields. more
Exploring the Universe of PFAS Regulation and Litigation – Publications | Morgan Lewis While Earth was completing yet another trip around the sun, many developments occurred within the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) space, including the pending Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Safe Drinking Water Act regulations for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), and certain other PFAS and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) 8(a) reporting rule in the United States, and a proposed PFAS ban in the European Union. more
EPA Has 'New Rules' for Protecting Public Drinking Water | Tripwire The EPA isn't mincing words when it comes to protecting public drinking water. Earlier this month they released a memorandum putting specifics into the general advice to maintain cybersecurity at public water systems (PWSs). more
New report warns about human health risks from PVC pipes used in drinking water systems New report warns about human health risks from PVC pipes used in drinking water systems. A report from a coalition of U.S. environmental advocacy groups has warned of the health risks of PVC plastic and urged public officials against using the material in community drinking water pipes. more
Biden Administration Outlines Options For Cutting Colorado River Consumption As Drought Worsens After years of strain on water resources and months of failed negotiations between state consumers, the federal government has released details on two potential solutions for saving the Colorado River. more
EPA Researchers Showcase Research Capabilities To Local And National Media EPA researcher recently hosted members of local and national media on a tour of our unique research complex located in Cincinnati, OH, where they discussed several topics including PFAS in drinking water, lead service lines, and legionella in premise plumbing. more
9 Dems vote with GOP on failed override of WOTUS veto Nine Democrats have voted with Republicans in a failed effort to override President Joe Biden's veto of legislation aimed at preventing his administration from expanding the definition of waters of the US. The expanded WOTUS definition has attracted the ire of farmers, and five of the dissenting Democrats sit on the House Agriculture Committee. more
EPA seeks feedback on whether to include more types of PFAS in hazardous substance designation The agency is also considering whether to include certain compounds that degrade in the environment to form PFAS, and also whether some PFAS compounds ... more
Federal judge blocks new EPA water-protection rule in Georgia and 23 other states | Statesboro Herald A federal district court judge in North Dakota has temporarily blocked the operation of a new federal rule in 24 states about what water bodies the federal government can regulate. more
EPA Announces Release of IRIS Toxicological Reviews for PFHxA and PFDA EPA has announced the release of Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)Toxicological Reviews for two PFAS compounds, perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA). more
PFAS has more effect than diet on weight gain: Study - EHN - Environmental Health News Dieters who gained the most weight back after initial weight loss had high levels of PFAS – regardless of what diet they stuck to. more
US utilities may be in crosshairs of Chinese hackers If China attacks Taiwan, US officials expect a simultaneous cyberattack on US military networks and civilian infrastructure, such as electricity and water services. more
The Top 5 Common Problems Utilities Have, And The Path Out The key to solving a problem starts with defining the problem, which can be half the challenge when transitioning from traditional to modern utility management methods. more
New injunction complicates EPA's WOTUS efforts The preliminary injunction granted on Wednesday blocks the Biden administration's latest Waters of the US rule in 26 states, but the new definition remains active in 24 others and the original WOTUS rule will still apply to the 26 states that are now exempt. more
STATE NEWS
Florida Division of Emergency Management Issues Updates on Emergency Response in Florida Emergency alert testing directives originate from the federal government. more
Plant City Works To Ensure City's Water Independence From lawn sprinklers to kitchen faucets, shower heads to washing machines, Floridians depend on a reliable, high-quality and safe water supply. more
Corey Simon's development bill to tackle challenges facing North Florida's rural areas | WFSU Many communities are too poor to fund massive improvements projects themselves, and often rely on state and federal funding. more
Florida Division of Emergency Management Issues Updates on Southeast Florida Flooding Over 500,000 gallons of fuel on the way to Southeast Florida ... All drinking water and wastewater facilities are fully operational. more
Legislators eye saltwater intrusion assessments for Resilient Florida grant program “We have done a lot of stuff on resiliency, but this is the only one talking about drinking water and water quality,” Polsky said. more
Sea level rising at twice the global rate in the Gulf | WFLA As the climate continues to warm, sea level rise is accelerating. Florida’s low-lying, yet heavily populated shorelines, are especially vulnerable. more
After 'toilet to tap,' Tampa turns to Plan C for wastewater disposal The city of Tampa has a new idea for disposing of its treated wastewater — send it to the region's drinking water supplier, Tampa Bay Water. more
Fort Lauderdale to chlorinate water distribution system for 1 month - WPTV The City of Fort Lauderdale will temporarily switch to using free chlorine in its drinking water system for one month after the record 25 inches of rain caused flooding Wednesday. more
Floods are the Most Common Natural Disaster, Be Prepared This Season | Space Coast Daily Parts of the country are being affected by severe flooding. Are you starting the cleanup process? Be aware that snakes or animals may be in your home, flooding is a temporary overflow of water onto land that is normally dry. more
Agencies urge water conservation amid state's drought conditions - WGCU News Southwest Lee County and Northeast Collier County are both experiencing extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. more
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This Week in Water History |
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April 16, 1914 Municipal Journal article. Would Condemn All Wells. “Bridgeport, Conn.-“Condemn every well within the city limits.” is the way in which Commissioners E. A. Lambert and Frank W. Stevens of the Board of Health expressed their views of one means whereby the illness and death rate of the city can be reduced. At a special meeting of the Board of Health the two commissioners, one a sanitary engineer and the other a physician, declared that from their studies of the subject, every well in Bridgeport should be condemned. “The danger of an epidemic is great,” they declared, and in neighborhoods where contagious diseases exist a nearby well would prove the breeding place for millions of germs. This action may take place before the present board goes out of existence. Already all four members are prejudiced against wells and are taking steps to get rid of the more dangerous ones.”
Reference: “Would Condemn All Wells.” 1914. Municipal Journal article 36:16(April 16, 1914): 542.
Commentary This story is part of the broad movement away from shallow, contaminated urban wells towards central water supplies that had been going on in the US for 20 years. If Bridgeport had added chlorine to their new water supply, death rates would have plummeted.
Update in a Covid-19 World–2020 Condemning contaminated wells in cities was the great fight waged by sanitary engineers, public health officials and physicians in the early 20th century. These officials and experts were opposed by business interests and the general population who wanted to maintain their “convenient” water supplies. Convenient and deadly. Fast forward over 100 years and we see the pull and push between these same groups. Just like the experts in the early 1900s, today’s experts are begging for people to maintain physical distancing in the face of pushback from those who are focused on getting the economy working again. Listen to the experts. Stay at home. Wear masks when going out for critical supplies. Maintain social distancing. We will get through this if we trust the experts and the politicians who listen to them.
Update in a Covid-19 World–2021 The struggle to get people to socially distance and wear masks is still going on after one year of the pandemic. With the vaccine being administered, it is tempting to drop all precautions. Governors in states such as Texas are not helping matters. This time next year we will look back on these days and shake our heads in wonder
Update in a Covid-19 World 2022 Even though the CDC has removed the mask requirement, some facilities still require them. We are still confused as to what to do next.
Update in a Covid-19 World 2023 On Jan. 30, 2023, the Biden Administration announced it will end the public health emergency (and national emergency) declarations on May 11, 2023. We are still encouraged to get vaccines which will remain free to all people as long as the federally purchased vaccines last. As we struggle with the latest variants, life pretty much goes on as normal.
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2970 Wellington Circle | Tallahassee FL 32309 | 850.668.2746 | Contact Us
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