October 1, 2021
Your Comments Needed for CCR Revisions
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in the process of revising the federal regulations for the annual Consumer Confidence Reports as required by Congress under the America's Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018.

Section 2008 of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018 mandates that EPA issue revised CCR regulations to:
• “improve readability, understandability, clarity, and accuracy” of the CCRs,
• require biannual delivery of CCRs for large systems (over 10,000),
• allow electronic delivery of CCRs.
• AWIA also amended SDWA section 1414(c)(4)(B) to require that community water systems include information on their corrosion control efforts and identify any corrective actions for lead action level exceedances in their CCRs.

NRWA supported the AWIA Act CCR provisions because we believed it would provide small and rural communities an opportunity to improve the current regulations, especially the often-alarming mandatory text. In addition, we were supportive because Congress included NRWA’s request to exempt small communities from the new requirement for biannual delivery of the CCRs.

The EPA has formally commenced a mandatory public review process and is seeking advice and recommendations from the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) on how best to revise the CCR rule as required by AWIA. This will likely be the main opportunity for NRWA to influence the recommendations that EPA relies on for promulgating revisions to the current rule. more
A Look Back at Rural Water History
The Opening Session video was one of the most talked about features of the 2021 WaterPro Conference! We know many of you were not able to join us in person, and we wanted all of you to get the chance to see it. Thank you to all who made this year’s conference a success, and while we are so proud to share with you some history of NRWA, we also look forward to the many accomplishments that will be achieved in the future!
FRWA Mapping Services
With ever changing environments and populations, it’s more important than ever to keep up to date maps of our Water and Wastewater Systems. Many Water and Wastewater Operators are retiring and with them goes the knowledge of your system's layout and important asset locations. Systems are expanding every day, leaving you two different information sources to keep up with. What's a system to do? Let FRWA help you with our Mapping Services.

Click on the video below to find out more about our Mapping Services.
If you would like us to help your system save valuable money and time, please feel free to contact Jim Cagno at Jim.Cagno@frwa.net or call (850) 668-2746.
NATIONAL NEWS
September is Preparedness Month Each September, National Preparedness Month encourages and reminds Americans to be prepared for disasters or emergencies in their homes, businesses, and communities. more

House advances 2022 NDAA with PFAS provisions The National Defense Act Authorization (NDAA) passed by the House on Thursday night would require the Pentagon to factor in extreme weather risks and publish studies on a class of toxic “forever chemicals.” more

Agency aims to change public perception of wastewater Santa Clara Valley Water District, the wholesale provider for the South Bay, is embarking on an effort to revamp the image of purified wastewater and lay the groundwork for replenishing local aquifers. more

House to vote on $1.2T infrastructure bill Thursday The House Budget Committee has advanced the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion social spending plan as party leaders set their sights on teeing up the package for a vote in the lower chamber this coming week, despite brewing intraparty divisions. more

Nearly One-Third of Infrastructure Jobs are Tough to Fill, Research Finds Job opportunities are likely to boom if Congress approves a pending infrastructure bill, but a National League of Cities report says the current workforce may not be able to meet the demand. more

Public Works Agencies Hit by Rising Prices and Supply Delays That’s on top of longer standing troubles filling jobs. The trio of challenges is stacking up at a pivotal moment for infrastructure spending in the U.S. more

Upwards of 60 Cargo Ships Waited to Port in California this Week, Posing Serious Ramifications for Supply-Chains Ports in California are heavily backlogged as record-breaking numbers of ships have waited to dock and unload cargo this week. more

Dozens of Ships are Forced to Anchor off the Coast of New York as they wait to dock in the Country's Second Largest Port - Adding to the U.S. Supply Chain Crunch Which has Forced FedEx to Reroute 600k Packages a Day  More than two dozen container ships appear to be stuck at sea miles off the south shore of Long Island, according to a maritime traffic monitoring website as more than 60 vessels wait to dock at two of the country’s largest ports on the West Coast. more

EPA’s National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) Consumer Confidence Reports (CCR) Work-Group Continues to Work on Changes to Current CCR Rule The National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) Consumer Confidence Reports (CCR) Rule Revision Working Group will be holding several meetings to discuss issues and develop proposed recommendations on revisions to the CCR Rule for the NDWAC’s consideration. more

House Passes PFAS Legislation as Part of Annual Department of Defense Bill  Today, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to address widespread per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination impacting military bases and local communities across the country. more

New Tool to Help Cities Take Full Advantage of Federal Aid from American Rescue Plan Act The collaboration between Bloomberg Philanthropies and the U.S. Conference of Mayors lets city leaders search information and ask questions about rules and regulations related to coronavirus relief money. more

October 13, 2021 EPA Region 4 CWS ERP Workshop The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the EPA Region 4 states are hosting a free one-day virtual workshop to assist community (drinking) water systems (CWSs) in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee with developing or updating Emergency Response Plans (ERPs) in accordance with America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA) Section 2013(b) more

'Exciting result' Researchers develop new method for removing lead Engineers have designed a relatively low-cost, energy-efficient approach to treating water contaminated with heavy metals. more

STATE NEWS
Tropics Update 09.30.21 No Direct Tropical Threats to Florida Over the Next 7 Days, Sam Expected to Increase Ocean Swells and Rip Currents Along Florida Atlantic Coast This Weekend more

Environmental Groups Are Suing Manatee County Over The Piney Point Wastewater Injection | WUSF They intend to prevent the injection of hundreds of millions of gallons of polluted wastewater from the Piney Point phosphate plant into the underground aquifer. more

Environmental group: Florida pollution enforcement fell into 'COVID coma' | Florida Today The state agency most responsible for keeping sewage out of the Indian River Lagoon and drinking water safe went too soft on violators last year, according to a nonprofit group of public employees. more

Wildwood property tax collection up 30 percent due to growth of The Villages | Villages News Holding the line on property taxes, Wildwood commissioners Monday night gave final approval to an $83.5-million budget for fiscal year 2021-22, which begins Friday. more

New Season "Flip My Yard" Television Show Coming The goal of “Flip My Florida Yard” is to educate folks about how what they do on their home landscape impacts Florida’s waterbodies, while still being entertaining. more

State announces recipients of $114 million in wastewater treatment grants | Florida Politics Nearly half of that cash will go to projects helping to clean up the Indian River Lagoon. more

Orlando Utilities Commission optimistic as customers continue to cut back on water usage Last month, OUC said it was facing a liquid oxygen shortage because - while the company uses it to purify water - hospitals were seeing an increased demand to use it to treat COVID-19 patients in hospitals. more
This Week in Water History
First Hydro Power Plant in US
September 30, 1882 – Paper manufacturer H.F. Rogers (Appleton, WI) opened the first hydroelectric power plant in U.S.at riverside paper mill on Fox River, in Appleton, WI (later known as Appleton Edison Light Company); powered by water wheel, provided 12.5 kilowatts, enough for 180 lights (ten candlepower each) to light Rogers’ home, plant.

“On September 30, 1882, the first centrally located electric lighting system using the Edison system in the West and the first hydroelectric central station in the world began operation on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin. The Vulcan Street plant (the Appleton Gas Light Co.), later named the Appleton Edison Light Company, powered the two paper mills of H. J. Rogers’ Appleton Paper and Pulp Co. and his residence, Hearthstone. Rogers, also president of the Appleton Gas Light Co. had been inspired by Thomas Edison’s plans for a steam-based power station in New York. With financial backing from three Appleton men, one a personal friend of Edison’s, Rogers began building this new venture during the summer of 1882, harvesting the power of the Fox River with a water wheel. The water wheel, generators, and copper wiring took only a few months to install and test. Initial testing of the plant on September 27 was unsuccessful but the Edison “K” type generator powered up successfully on September 30.”

Commentary: Interesting juxtaposition of topic and dates. On the same day only 54 years apart, hydroelectric power generation goes from beginning to one of the biggest in the world.

To enjoy more opportunities to take a look at the past in water history, go to this link.
FLORIDA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION | http://www.frwa.net
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