December 22, 2022
Season's Greetings
from the
FRWA Board and Staff
The FRWA Tallahassee office will be closed for the holiday on Friday, December 23 and Monday, December 26. If you have an emergency, please leave a message and you will be contacted.
FRWA 2022 Apprenticeship Graduation
After 24 months of intense study and learning, the SW Florida FRWA Apprenticeship Class of 2022 has graduated! 

This nationally accredited two-year Apprenticeship Program is approved through the US Department of Labor and Florida Department of Education. The program utilizes classroom instruction, study of best practices, hands-on treatment plant process control, leadership, and on-the-job training monitored by a formal mentor giving graduates the tools and training necessary to be successful Journey-level Operator Specialists in their community. 

These emerging leaders, in partnership with their employer, advanced their careers, enhanced their education, and are building their professional networks. In many different ways, our graduates have benefited from being part of this formal Apprenticeship Program. They are truly the “Operators of the Future.”

As a way to honor their accomplishment, FRWA hosted a Graduation Dinner on Saturday December 17th, in Venice FL. Let us introduce you to the FRWA Apprenticeship Class of 2022
Pictured, left to right:
Steve Soltau (Apprenticeship Instructor), Amanda Findlay Harris (US Water), Natalie Graham (City of St. Petersburg), Scott Hopkins (Bonita Springs Utilities), Fidencio Mireles (City of Marco Island). Kallen Southworth (City of St. Petersburg) was not able to make it. Sorry you missed the ceremony. Looks like a wild and crazy time!
Others attending the ceremony are Ben Lewis, FRWA Deputy Director, Tom Jackson, FRWA Board Member, Beth Dixon (photo to the right) and other special guests.

The Florida Rural Water Association would like to congratulate our graduates on a job well done!!!
Price Cut on Generators
100kW Caterpillar MEP007B Military Generator with 1098 hours run time. Military Serial Number Rz00394. 3306 Cat Engine on an Olive Drab green military trailer in good shape, the trailer has a pintle hook connections for towing the generator. The generator has a 91-gallon fuel, belly tank and 50” of 1 (one) awg conductor wire attached.
 
For more information, click on the links below:
 
For further information please email frwa@frwa.net or call 850.668.2746.
100kW Caterpillar MEP007B Military Generator with 1181 hours run time. Libby Co (serial number RZ01408). Brand new tandem axle trailer with 3500-pound axle and 2” ball. The generator is bolted down to the trailer with a 91-gallon fuel tank on the trailer as a belly tank below the generator.
 
For more information click on the links below:
 
For further information please email frwa@frwa.net or call 850.668.2746.
Articles of Interest
NATIONAL NEWS

EPA Announces 2022 Enforcement and Compliance Results | ArentFox Schiff - JDSupra The announcement notes that EPA’s “focus was advancing environmental justice (EJ), rebuilding EPA’s national inspector corps, and working to mitigate the effects of climate change, particularly in communities overburdened by pollution.” more

Why EPA's long-awaited proposal on two 'forever chemicals' is bound to be controversial By the end of this year, the Environmental Protection Agency has promised to propose new national drinking water standards for PFOA and PFOS, two of the most studied pollutants among the thousands of compounds known as PFAS, or, more colloquially, “forever chemicals.” more

3M Ending PFAS Manufacturing Paves Way for Chemical Market Shift - NRDC  Leading chemical manufacturer 3M announced it will exit per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) manufacturing and work to discontinue the use of the “forever chemical” across its product portfolio by the end of 2025. more

Humans' Diet Coke addiction linked to rising anxiety due to artificial sweetener - WeirdNews  Diet fizzy drinks could be contributing to one of the most common mental health conditions in the world, scientists have said. more

NACWA report urges Congress to support low-income water affordability The association’s new report on low-income water affordability challenges highlights dwindling federal investment in water infrastructure, rising income inequality, and rising water and wastewater service charges. more

Water Research Foundation provides $826K for utility research projects The foundation selected seven new projects to receive funding through its Tailored Collaboration Program, focusing on various high-priority One Water research topics. more

Asset Management: You Can Only Manage What You Can Measure The phrase “you can only manage what you can measure,” has roots dating back to Victorian era, but it is still true today. The public entrusts all-encompassing infrastructure investments to water utilities, so utility teams have a vast range of responsibilities and quantity of assets to manage. more

Free Cybersecurity 101 Training for Water Systems Webinar January 5 EPA will be hosting a free cybersecurity webinar for drinking water and wastewater systems. This webinar will review basic cybersecurity topics, including account security, device security, data security, training, and more.” Water system staff will benefit from this webinar by being introduced to baseline cybersecurity concepts from subject matter experts. more

EPA Declares Date for Proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements EPA is being sued by several parties (not really unusual for significant drinking water regulations), including NRDC and Earthjustice, on the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) that were finalized on January 15, 2021 (86 FR 4198). more

ASDWA Submits Comments on EPA’s Federalism Consultation on the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements Pursuant to Executive Order 13132, which directs federal agencies to consult with state and local officials, or their national organizations, when developing regulations that impose substantial compliance costs on state and local governments, EPA held a Federalism Consultation on the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) on October 13, 2022. more


STATE NEWS

$1.7 trillion spending bill has $95 million for South Florida The new federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale is getting an extra $55 million boost in the 2023 appropriations bills released late, last night, Democrat Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced Tuesday. more

Crews working to repair water main break in Hollywood | Local 10 Public works crews were on scene in Hollywood after a Telecom contractor accidently hit one of the city’s new water pipes on Tuesday morning. more

Eckerd student's data show some Gulf areas may be recovering from the BP oil spill | WUSF The absence of chemical signatures in some areas could indicate that repopulation is moving the water and sediment around, but marine chemistry student John Hilliard said he wants to continue his research. more

Newberry in talks with Archer and High Springs about new $40M regional ... - Spot On Florida  The City of Newberry is negotiating with the cities of Archer and High Springs about joining onto its planned regional wastewater treatment facility. more

Ron DeSantis directs $7 million to infrastructure projects in rural towns | Florida Politics Nine rural towns throughout Florida will receive more than $7 million for infrastructure improvement projects, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday. more

DEP's Northwest District Presents 2022 Environmental Stewardship Award The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Northwest District has recognized Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) for outstanding environmental stewardship. more

Villagers should always pick up after their pets | Villages News Pet waste should not be left on the ground and should never be put into storm drains, roads or waterbodies. more

Escambia Awarded $14.2 Million In Oil Spill Money For OLF-8 Improvements | North Escambia Triumph Gulf Coast has approved $14.2 million in funding for infrastructure at the county-owned OLF-8 site on Nine Mile Road. more

EPA Inspections Rising Under Biden Administration, Agency Says - Bloomberg Law The EPA’s inspections increased by more than 78% in the last fiscal year, reflecting the agency’s pledge to ratchet up enforcement particularly in disadvantaged communities long suffering from pollution, the agency said Friday. more

Back-to-back hurricanes leave St. Johns River high, and possibly permanently altered | WMFE Parts of the St. Johns River remain in minor flood stage some six weeks after Hurricane Nicole. more
This Week in Water History
A Large Direct Driven Centrifugal Pump
December 24, 1896: Engineering News article–A Large Direct-Driven Centrifugal Pump. “We illustrate herewith a centrifugal sewage pump designed and built for the city of Norfolk, Va., by the Morris Machine Works, Baldwinsville, N. Y. The pump has 20-in. suction and 18-in. discharge, the latter connected to a 20-ln. piping. The actual head worked against Is 26 ft., but when the pump is driven to Its maximum capacity, discharging about 9,000 gallons of water per minute and forcing It through the discharge pipe, which is 1,600 ft. long, the total head pumped against Is equivalent to about 5 ft.

The sewage and drainage from the city flows into a well from which the pump takes its supply, discharging it in the river. The side and sectional views, Fig. 2, show the construction of the pump. The runner is made completely of bronze, so as to withstand the corroding action of sewage and the gases contained therein.”

Commentary: Great pump. Unfortunately, they used it to pump raw sewage into the river, which was a common occurrence in the 1890s. Sewage treatment plants were rare during this period. It would take several decades before sewage treatment was the rule instead of the exception.

Reference: “A Large Direct-Driven Centrifugal Pump.” Engineering News. 36:26(December 24, 1896): 421.