Lead Sampling in Schools and Childcares |
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This week the letter below was emailed to water systems in Florida with information regarding the Lead in Schools and Child Care Facilities program, a program in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection.
Before working on a school district, FRWA must receive approval from the school board or superintendent to proceed. Childcares require approval from the owner of the facility to proceed. Once FRWA has approval from the appropriate person, FRWA will locate a certified lab in the area that is available to sample and perform the analysis, unless the school/childcare already has a preferred lab. Utilities may offer assistance in collecting samples, filling out chain of custody forms, and delivering sample to the lab. FRWA acts as the liaison between school/childcare and laboratory to help schedule sampling, distribute results to proper contacts, etc. Fixtures to be tested consist of water fountains, and faucets used primarily for drinking and cooking.
For more information on the the program please refer to the letter below or contact the Florida Rural Water Association at frwa@frwa.net.
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BOARD of
DIRECTORS
PATRICIA CICHON
Monticello
President
BRUCE MORRISON
Niceville
Vice President
WILLIAM G. GRUBBS
Tallahassee
Secretary/Treasurer
ROBERT MUNRO
Orlando
National Director
TOM JACKSON
Fort Myers
SCOTT KELLY
Atlantic Beach
BONNIE PRINGLE
Rotonda West
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
GARY WILLIAMS
Tallahassee
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EMAIL
frwa@frwa.net
WEBSITE
www.frwa.net
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FLORIDA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION
2970 WELLINGTON CIRCLE - TALLAHASSEE, FL 32309-7813
(850) 668-2746
To: Florida Public Water Systems
From: Florida Rural Water Association
Date: 4/5/22
Subject: Lead Sampling in schools and childcares
The proposed Lead and Copper Rule Revisions are set to expand your role, involvement, and oversight of sampling in schools and childcare facilities in your service area. There will be more information forthcoming related to details and timing on this requirement.
There is currently an on-going Lead Sampling Program with volunteer schools and childcare facilities at no charge to the facilities. This is a very good proactive program that can help your water system prior to the program transferring and your required involvement.
We highly recommend you engage, participate, and promote utilization within your service area. Currently, a volunteering school district and childcare facility will result in Lead sample collection, analysis and reporting via sampler, lab test and receipt of results at no charge along with suggested remediation action if elevated results from first draw or running sample locations.
This is important to the facilities to improve children’s public health and your water systems to identify and take-action prior to your responsibility on this program.
Therefore, we highly recommend you engage your system facilities to volunteer, get any possible issues addressed now, and even consider assisting in making this program easy for schools and childcare facilities to participate. In fact, some utilities have taken leadership that includes direct contact to these customers, offer to collect and deliver and ship samples to lab (or sample at their certified lab) and complete chain of custody, etc.
Your early involvement and support of this program will make this program much easier in the future.
If you want more information, details to participate and tools to assist in this Lead Reduction Program to promote public health protection please contact:
The Florida Rural Water Association
850-668-2746
or
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How to Install a Tank Mixer |
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Recently FRWA installed a tank mixer to try out at a system.
Results of the pilot study with mixer were surprising and we wanted to pass this information along to our members. Chlorine residuals in the storage tank where the mixer was installed increased and remained more stable than previously noted. The system experienced two straight quarters of DBP results in compliance. Unfortunately, they decided to pass on purchasing the mixer from us due to budgetary concerns, but they may very well be looking into other mixer options.
For more information on the installation of the the mixer, click here. For more information on the mixer, contact FRWA at frwa@frwa.net or call 850.668.2746.
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Don't Forget to Register for the FL/AL |
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May 18-19, 2022
Edgewater Beach & Golf Resort
11212 Front Beach Rd
Panama City FL 32407
Reservations 800.874.8686/Booking Code 1179q6
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This year we return to the Edgewater in Panama City on May 18-19, 2022 to meet with friends from Alabama Rural Water to host the Florida/Alabama Joint Conference. This year’s Conference will be held at the beautiful Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort. To make your reservations now, contact 800.874.8686 and give them the booking code 1179q6 to take advantage of our discounted rates.
For only $100.00, you can register for the conference as an attendee to attend class and earn 1.0 CEUs as well participate in all the activities and meals during the Conference. If you would like to sign in early, you may come by on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 17th while the Exhibitors are setting up in the Exhibit Hall. If you can't make it on Monday afternoon, don't worry! We will be opened bright and early at 8:00 am on Wednesday, May 18th to give you plenty of time to sign in and enjoy a continental breakfast in the Exhibit Hall before class begins at 9:30 am.
Don’t miss this opportunity to network with your peers while enjoying the latest in training topics and earn 1.0 CEU. Our Exhibit Hall will offer a chance to see the latest technology that the industry has to offer. At the end of the day, you can relax with your friends and enjoy the Annual Seafood Boil. If you have family coming with you, you can purchase additional meal tickets for $30.00.
To register and for more information, click here.
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FRWA Always Looking for Great People |
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The Latest on Topics of Interest |
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Below are links to articles on topics that we feel are of interest to the water and wastewater utilities in Florida. |
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NATIONAL NEWS
EPA proposes rule to ban chrysotile asbestos The proposal targets chrysotile asbestos, the only form of the toxic mineral that the United States still imports and uses in new products. more
Paper-based tests could be a rapid screening tool for lead In America, dangerous drinking water is linked to a place called Flint. more
NASA finds new way to monitor underground water loss Researchers have untangled puzzling patterns of sinking and rising land to pin down the underground locations where water is being pumped for irrigation. more
EPA Announces Strategy to Protect Water Quality by Accelerating Nutrient Pollution Reductions Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for Water, Radhika Fox, released a new policy memorandum on Accelerating Nutrient Pollution Reductions in the Nation’s Waters. more
EPA Researchers Share Approaches To Identify Lead Service Lines Lead is one of the most challenging contaminants affecting our drinking water. more
EPA Announces Plan to Address Perchlorate in Drinking Water Agency will not pursue a drinking water regulation at this time but will continue to consider new information on the health effects and occurrence of perchlorate more
Wastewater monitoring for Covid-19 is picking up steam across the US Interest in using wastewater surveillance to monitor Covid-19 continues to grow in the United States, as the values of the early detection tool come into clearer focus. more
With Russia Targeting West, U.S. Water Systems On High Alert With a geopolitical crisis playing out thousands of miles away, the drinking water sector in the U.S. has doubled its resolve against potential attacks against their digital systems. more
ASDWA President Testifies at House Hearing on “Trusting the Tap” On Tuesday, March 29th, ASDWA’s President, Lori Mathieu from the Connecticut Department of Public Health, testified at a hybrid hearing of the Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on “Trusting the Tap: Upgrading America’s Drinking Water Infrastructure”. more
White House Submits Fiscal Year 2023 Budget to Congress On March 28, the Biden-Harris Administration submitted the President’s Budget for the 2023 fiscal year. more
EPA Holds Firm on Trump-Era Decision not to Regulate Perchlorate On March 31, EPA announced its decision to uphold a Trump-era decision not to regulate perchlorate in drinking water. more
STATE NEWS
Pet waste seriously contributing to pollution problem affecting Biscayne Bay | Local 10 We have long been reporting on the critical pollution problem infecting all South Florida waterways, leading to the rapidly declining health of Biscayne Bay. more
Opinion: Fla. region should plan now for rising seas Regional leaders must plan to replace aging water and wastewater infrastructure, improve transportation infrastructure, and address building codes that predate sea level rise and growing weather threats. more
AccuWeather predicts up to 20 storms in 2022 hurricane season The 2022 hurricane season will be more active than normal if new predictions from AccuWeather pan out. more
Southwest Florida Water Management District advisory committees provide key input For decades, the District’s five advisory committees have played an important role in providing input on water management programs, projects and related issues. more
Florida students recognized for science projects that search for water solutions The District recently presented the Water Matters award to three Pasco County students searching for solutions to improve water quality and sustain freshwater supplies. more
Technology turns algae, bio-solids into sustainable fuel at Altamonte Springs Wastewater | WESH Algae is choking many Central Florida lakes, with Lake Jesup as a prime example. more
US water infrastructure seen as vulnerable to hacking As tensions between the U.S. and Russia mount, Cyberspace Solarium Commission members and critical infrastructure owners discussed the work ahead to collaborate more effectively on cyber defense. more
JEA to build a new water reclamation facility on Jacksonville’s Southside | News4Jax JEA broke ground Thursday on a new facility to treat wastewater into water that can be used for irrigation. more
'Don't Poop on Putnam': Fight over fertilizer in the form of treated human waste | First Coast News A property owner wants permission to spread biosolids on his land. more
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This Week in Water History |
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Typhoid Lawsuit and Reservoir Damage Lawsuit |
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April 6, 1916: “Three Sue City for Typhoid Deaths. Milwaukee, Wis.-Three suits brought against the city of Milwaukee as a result of the recent typhoid epidemic, have been filed in circuit court, by two men for the deaths of their sons, and by a woman for the death of her husband. They are for $10,000 each. The complainants claim that the victims contracted the disease from the use of lake water, alleged to be unfit to drink because of the sewage which is being constantly emptied into the lake. The suits charge negligence in allowing the water to become polluted and at the same time supplying it to drink. It is claimed that at various times during the last ten years the city officials have been notified of the condition of the water, but that no attention has been paid to the warnings.”
“City Wins Reservoir Damage Suit. Fort Worth, Tex.-The second court of civil appeals has reversed and remanded the reservoir damage case against the city of Fort Worth, in which a jury in the sixty-seventh district court had awarded the plaintiff $39,867.88 for damage to her land flooded by the backwaters of Lake Worth and alleged damage to adjoining uplands. This is the first of four big reservoir damage suits that have gone against the city under the present administration to be submitted to the higher court. It was appealed on the grounds that the court erred in admitting certain testimony and of misconduct of the jury in considering matter that was not in evidence. The jury awarded $75 an acre for 361 acres of lowlands and $9 an acre for 839 acres of uplands. City witnesses appraised the lowlands at from $35 to $50 an acre and testified the uplands were not damaged. By the reversal the city also saves the interest on $39,867.88 from April 28, 1915.”
To enjoy more opportunities to take a look at the past in water history, go to this link.
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2970 Wellington Circle | Tallahassee FL 32309 | 850.668.8023 | Contact Us
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