We are excited to announce the dates for the 2025 Focus on Change

Start making plans to get your last minute CEUs!

More information on registration will be sent out next week.

The Florida Rural Water Association (FRWA) is pleased to announce a free program to ensure our children are drinking water with minimum risk to lead exposure.

FRWA along with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) have utilized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WIIN Grant for Lead Testing in Schools and Childcare Programs. In this effort, we are promoting this free program to conduct sampling of water fountains and sinks in schools and childcares, at no cost to schools or childcare facilities, throughout the state of Florida.

FRWA is serving as the contractor and point of contact to the project to get private labs, samplers, and facility staff on board to perform the testing. The EPA recommends that all schools and childcare facilities regularly test their drinking water for lead. The minimum requirements are as follows:

• School testing includes 2 drinking water fountains, 1 kitchen faucet, 1 classroom faucet, and 1 nurse’s station.
• Childcare centers is 1 drinking water, 1 class room or 1 kitchen sink.

We have already sampled in 16 school board districts totaling 687 schools,

and for childcare facilities we have performed sampling in 33 counties totaling 123 facilities.

Please help us in spreading the word and don’t hesitate to contact us to find out more about this wonderful program and to sign up! For further information contact Erica Manz. Erica.manz@frwa.net, 850-668-2746.

Are you out of compliance with DEP for your Lead Service Line Inventory Submittal? FRWA is here to help.

The deadline for submittal of Lead Service Line Inventory was October 16. Currently, around 80% of water systems throughout the state of Florida have submitted the inventory. If your water system has not submitted your Lead Service Line Inventory, you need to do so as soon as possible, as you are in noncompliance with DEP and EPA. We at FRWA can help you understand what is needed to complete the Inventory. You can find information on our website, including the LSLI Spreadsheet Template and a 15-minute video on how to complete the spreadsheet at https://www.frwa.net/lsli-2.

FRWA is also offering Workshops to coach you on completing your Lead Service Line Inventory, and you can receive CEUs for attending. Check out our upcoming events on our website to register for one at https://www.frwa.net/events/lead-service-line-inventory-workshop-west-palm-beach.

Source Water Protection Specialist Position

The Florida Rural Water Association is hiring a full-time Source Water Specialist to provide training and technical assistance in the development of source water plans for public water supply systems in Florida. The start date for this position is determined when filled.

The position will require a wellhead and source water protection background, along with local water system operation. The position will require overnight travel, a dependable vehicle, and a willingness to make evening presentations. Computer and presentation skills are a must. Special consideration will be given to those individuals with GIS mapping experience and the use of ESRI ArcView and GPS Pathfinder Office. The salary range is negotiable, plus benefits. A complete job description is available upon request. Also, an Employment Application can be requested.

Submit resumes/application to:  

Florida Rural Water Association

2970 Wellington Circle

Tallahassee, FL 32309

E-mail to: frwa@frwa.net

Position open until filled and subject to being closed without notice. To find out additional information on FRWA visit www.frwa.net.

EOE/M/F/D/V/H/AA/S/DFW Employer

NATIONAL NEWS

US Department of Energy and US Environmental Protection Agency Announce $6M to Support Development of Advanced Biofuels-Today, Jan. 8, the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $6 million in funding for three projects that will advance biofuel development and support U.S. leadership in energy and emissions innovation. more

Year in Review: 2024 Federal PFAS Roundup-Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated two PFAS as Hazardous Substances under CERCLA and established first-ever federal PFAS drinking water standards. more

Prevent Lung Cancer by Testing Your Home for Radon-In January, the EPA recognizes National Radon Action Month and encourages Americans to test their homes for radon. more

EPA Releases Draft Health-Based Recommendations for PFAS Levels in Bodies of Water-Today, December 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced draft national recommendations for health-based levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in waterbodies. more

CISA, ONCD Publish Guide to Strengthen Cybersecurity of Grant Infrastructure Projects-

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) published a guide today with tools and resources to enable grant-making agencies to incorporate cybersecurity into their grant programs and to enable grant-recipients to build cyber resilience into their grant-funded infrastructure projects. more

EPA Releases New PFAS Rule Implementation Materials-On Friday, 12/20, EPA released

three new Quick Reference Guides (QRGs), as well as a Fact Sheet on significant figures and rounding requirements on its PFAS NPDWR Implementation website. more

PFAS Litigation: New Claims against Upstream Manufacturers-While the results of consumer products litigation surrounding PFAS have been uneven (see prior blog posts), a new type of claimant may be emerging based on a recent claim filed by a Georgia-based carpet manufacturer against three major upstream PFAS manufacturers. more

STATE NEWS

St. Pete City Council to consider purchasing AquaFence to protect water resources facility-

The city of St. Petersburg is planning to purchase a FloodWall prevention barrier system from AquaFence USA, a product that during Hurricane Helene in late September protected Tampa General Hospital from flooding even as properties surrounding it were inundated by storm surge. more

Preparing…the Easy Way…for Asset Management-Understand the fundamentals to prep for an asset management (AM) and computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) rollout and how it can be done DIY style. more

Alternative Water Supply and Restoration Program-DWRA’s Alternative Water Supply and Restoration Program is responsible for managing Alternative Water Supply (AWS) projects that are selected by DEP’s Office of Water Policy and Ecosystems Restoration; and developing and managing grant agreements resulting from line item appropriations (legislative appropriations) in each year’s Florida General Appropriations Act (GAA). more

50-foot wetland buffers restored in Manatee County-Robert McCann made his first major

move since joining the Manatee County Board of Commissioners. more

Park Shore Beach undergoes restoration after hurricanes and erosion-A multi-million dollar beach renourishment project is underway in Collier County. more

FDEP to hold hearing on its proposal to protect Florida springs-The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is holding a public hearing in the state capitol Monday morning about the agency’s recently-proposed rules to better protect the state’s freshwater springs. more

Public Notice: Robotic Investigation of Sewer Main-LAKELAND, FL (January 3, 2025) | Starting Monday, January 6, 2025, through Monday, January 13, 2025, including the weekend, a contractor working for the Wastewater Collection Division will conduct a robotic inspection of existing sewer mains in the areas marked in blue on the attached map. more

Northeast Water Reclamation Facility Improvements-The Northeast Water Reclamation Facility Improvements Project involved upgrades and replacement of existing wastewater treatment facilities and processes, which improve the plant's efficiency and help to reduce operating costs and impacts on the environment. more

Aquifer water levels near record lows-With a key source of drinking water — the only source for many homes on wells — dwindling toward record lows, Cape Coral residents are again urged to conserve the resource. more

January 1, 1980: International Decade of Water and Sanitation Begins. “The UN conference on Human Settlements (HABITAT) held in June 1976 at Vancouver, Canada, concluded that nearly two-thirds of the population of the developing world lacked access to safe drinking water and that a larger proportion lacked the means for hygienic human waste disposal. The conference urged governments to give priority to these two areas in their development process. In March 1977, the UN Water Conference, held at Mar del Plata, Argentina, called for establishing the 1980’s as the Decade for Drinking Water and Sanitation. The goal would be to bring clean water and sanitation to all peoples in the world by 1990. Since March 1979, four separate UN bodies have passed resolutions supporting the Decade and calling on all governments to support the Decade’s goals. The U.S. Government, other OECD member states, and the private sector must combine to make this Decade a success.”

FLORIDA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION http://www.frwa.net

2970 Wellington Circle | Tallahassee FL 32309

850.668.2746 | Contact Us