In a warming world where rising ocean temperatures give fuel to a new breed of ultrastrong hurricanes, does a wind scale that maxes out at Category 5 go far enough?

Or could there be a Category 6 hurricane?

Researchers raise those questions in a study released today that analyzes the nearly 200 Category 5 cyclones that have spun up globally since 1980.

The study’s authors claim five of those storms had wind speeds higher than 192 mph, and they could be classified as a hypothetical Category 6 storm. All five of those storms have occurred since 2013, and the study points to rising wind speeds from climate-fueled ocean heating.

“What we’re trying to say is that the most intense storms, and the windiest storms, are becoming windier because of climate change,” said Michael Wehner, a climate scientist at the California-based Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the study’s lead author.

But the scale has long been questioned as a tool that doesn’t truly capture the varying risks that come with a hurricane, including storm surge, tornadoes and rainfall.

Wehner acknowledged that his proposal to add a Category 6 hurricane doesn’t address the pitfalls of the Saffir-Simpson scale. But, he said, it does expand on a scale that is well known by the general public, and he hopes it evolves the conversation on how a hurricane’s wind hazards will continue to grow in a world warming from human-caused climate change. more

Pattern plays a role in shaping our local weather and hurricane season

A trend in the Pacific is taking shape that will gradually pivot from the storminess that has plagued the West Coast this winter along with our wet and cooler-than-normal backyard weather this year.

Forecasters are seeing a likely transition from El Niño to neutral conditions by April-June 2024 (79% chance), with increasing odds of La Niña developing in June-August 2024 (55% chance).



El Niño manifests as a wetter-than-average winter for the southern tier of the US as it often points the storm-steering jet stream south.

There is a direct relationship between the presence of a strong El Niño and increased storminess in Florida, due to the extension of the subtropical jet stream across the southern United States.

This narrow band of stronger winds several miles above the earth’s surface increases the passage of storm systems across the region. Over the recent weeks, we have seen how the enhanced jet stream has led to increased tornado threats across the first coast with several Gulf storms that have crossed the state.

Past El Niño events, especially strong events, have been highly correlated with well above normal storminess and strong tornadoes (EF2+) across the Florida Peninsula between November and April.

Now, this El Niño pattern is expected to weaken through April and switch to the cold water phase in the Pacific by the start of hurricane season. The switch to La Niña is typically worrisome during hurricane season due to the increase in hurricane activity it brings to the Atlantic basin by decreasing hostile wind shear.

Are you looking for a career, great benefits, a place to grow and accomplish things?

Florida Rural Water Association is looking for motivated, willing to learn and “think outside the box” people to fill open positions within the Association. If you like assisting water/wastewater utilities and love working in the water and wastewater field or want to learn more about the industry, then we have a career for you! Click on the following links for job descriptions of possible openings:

• Wastewater Circuit Rider
• State Trainer
• Federal Water Circuit Rider
• Disaster Relief Circuit Rider
• Asset Management
• Engineering (new program related to Disaster Relief Program under development/keep checking back for more details)
• Lead Service Line Inventory
• Apprenticeship Trainer

If you have any experience in municipal drinking water/wastewater knowledge, skills, and abilities, enjoy traveling and seeing Florida, send in your resume now! Computer skills is a must. Good oral and writing abilities are necessary.

Full-Time Employee Professional Exempt. Great benefit package. Pay based on experience. You may send resume or submit your application (click here for an application) to Florida Rural Water Association, 2970 Wellington Circle, Tallahassee FL 32309/Fax: 850-893-4581/E-mail to: frwa@frwa.net. 



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

Less than a month until our first Focus on Change class of 2024 in Haines City! You won't want to miss DEP personnel discussing the latest regulatory changes that will affect your system.

For more information on Focus on Change, click here. Be sure to register early by clicking on the location below. See you there!

Customers may ask, what is red tide? Is it dangerous? Can it affect our drinking water? You can assure your customers that you take multiple steps to protect their drinking water supply from red tide, or any type of algal bloom by monitoring our sources for indicators and precursors to potential algal blooms, which serves as an early warning system.

Red tide was documented as far back as the 1700s and occurs worldwide. While it may not affect your drinking water, it can affect you if you use it for recreational purposes. It may give you eye, nose, and throat irritation but usually goes away when you leave the area.

Customers are safe to eat seafood from restaurants and hotels that is monitored and is safe to eat. They should avoid eating clams and oysters harvested recreationally from red tide waters.

For more information on red tide, you may refer to the information below:

• Top Ten Tide Facts
• Understanding Red Tide
• Helpful Information About Red Tide

NATIONAL NEWS

National Rural Water Association and WaterISAC Collaborate to Benefit Small Water Utilities Nationwide Today, the National Rural Water Association (NRWA) and Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC) announced a formal cybersecurity collaboration. more

U.S. Groundwater Drying Up At ‘Rapid And Accelerating’ Rate As a warming climate intensifies drought and increasing consumption around the country stresses systems, a recent study has uncovered more bad news for the country’s drinking water supplies. more

US Water Alliance Convenes Multidisciplinary Team To Develop Greenhouse Gas Emission Guidance For Water Utilities Project to provide greenhouse gas accounting framework and consensus-based tool to help meet the water sector’s climate objectives. more

International Bottled Water Association objects to Dr. Mirkin's warning about plastic - Villages-News  I am writing on behalf of the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) regarding your article by Dr. Gabe Mirkin, “Plastics in our food supply can cause harm.” more

13 blue states say EPA should strengthen proposal to remove lead water pipes | The Hill  Attorneys general from 13 Democrat-led states and Washington, D.C., are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen a proposal that seeks to limit Americans’ exposure to lead service lines. more

The EPA is proposing that 'forever chemicals' be considered hazardous substances - WGCU  The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing that nine PFAS, also known as "forever chemicals," be categorized as hazardous to human health. more

CAP Comments on the EPA's Proposed Lead and Copper Rule Improvements  The Center for American Progress submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in response to the agency’s proposed improvements to the Lead and Copper Rule. more

EPA Takes Next Step in PFAS Regulations – Proposing Adding Nine PFAS as Hazardous ...  On January 31, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is proposing to list nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous constituents under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This action represents another significant step in the regulation of PFAS. more

EPA may list PFAS as hazardous substance - Yahoo News  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced two proposed rules "to ensure that certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as 'forever chemicals,' are classified as hazardous waste under federal law," according to an EPA news release. more

DC Water Issues Boil Advisory in Wake of Water Pressure Anomaly - Her Campus The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) issued a boil water advisory for parts of Northwest and Northeast Washington, D.C. on Jan. 19 due to an unexpected loss in water pressure. more

EPA Releases Third Round of UCMR 5 Data Every five years, EPA is required under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to monitor for contaminants that may be present in drinking water but are not subject to National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR). more

EPA Moves to Address PFAS Under RCRA On February 1, EPA announced two new regulatory actions to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). more

ASDWA Provides Comments on Proposed LCRI to National Drinking Water Advisory Council ASDWA’s members most pressing concern with the proposed LCRI is the increased state workload, compounded by the upcoming PFAS regulation and ongoing IIJA implementation. more

CISA-EPA Jointly Release Water and Wastewater Cybersecurity Toolkit This week, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly released a Water Sector Cybersecurity Toolkit to aid the water sector in bolstering its cybersecurity preparedness. more

Soaring Above Challenges: Drone-Based Inspection And Maintenance Takes Off Drinking water and wastewater utilities have long struggled to do more with less, be it workforce or budget. Gradually over the past decade or so, drone technology has begun to emerge as a valuable tool to do exactly that. more

Parents and teachers call on EPA to 'get the lead out' at school - Environment America  Organizations representing millions of parents and teachers are calling on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to have water utilities to replace lead-bearing fountains and install filters to remove lead at schools and child care centers — instead of relying on highly variable testing. more

STATE NEWS

Mayor Says Water Is Safe; Century to Hire Firm For $33K And Attorney For $350/Hour To ... That is how Century Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. reassured citizens at a town council meeting Tuesday night. more

EPA reveals more evidence of widespread 'forever chemicals' in drinking water - Spot On Florida  On February 1, the Environmental Protection Agency posted data confirming 70 million people have drinking water that has tested positive for the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. more

Miami-Dade breaks ground on a $1.2 billion wastewater plant project on Virginia Key to recycle millions of gallons of water Water is one of life's most precious commodities, which is why Miami-Dade County is investing about $1.2 billion in an infrastructure upgrade designed to reuse more than 100 millions gallons of water per day at the Central District Wastewater Treatment... more

Riviera Beach concluded positive E. Coli water test 'false positive,' emails show - WPTV City staff blame the sudden departure of compliance manager, another employee on medical delay for not notifying State Department of Health. more

Lead lines, water loss, and leak administration – OH MY! | February 29, 2024 | 2:00 pm CDT In addition to public infrastructure challenges, water systems are dedicating resources to support customers with myriad private infrastructure issues. more

Required boil water notice issued for parts of Bartow - WFLA  A required precautionary boil water notice has been issued for customers located on Thornhill Road and the surrounding area in Bartow. more

ONE CHARLOTTE, ONE WATER: Plan to address water quality in the county - Fox 4 News  With the continued growth in southwest Florida, demand is soaring for necessities like water. One Charlotte, One Water is an initiative in Charlotte County aimed at addressing water quality and the growth. more

How Much Can Leak Detection Reduce Non-Revenue Water Losses? Utilities that choose not to install proactive leak detection know exactly how much they are ‘saving’ by avoiding that investment.

more

$9 million irrigation pipe to run beneath Indian River Lagoon in Vero Beach | WPEC The Indian River Lagoon's water quality is getting worse and worse, but help is on the way. more

February 10, 1990: New York Times headline— Perrier Recalls Its Water in U.S. After Benzene Is Found in Bottles. by George James “The company that made bottled mineral water chic is voluntarily recalling its entire inventory of Perrier from store shelves throughout the United States after tests showed the presence of the chemical benzene in a small sample of bottles.

The impurity was discovered in North Carolina by county officials who so prized the purity of Perrier that they used it as a standard in tests of other water supplies.

The Food and Drug Administration said it is testing supplies in California and other states. In a written statement issued last night, Ronald V. Davis, president of the Perrier Group of America Inc., said there was no significant health risk to the public. But the statement did not go into the details of the recall, how it would work, the number of bottles to be recalled and the impact on a company that has built its success on its product’s image of purity and stylishness.

William M. Grigg, a spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration, said his agency’s Hazard Evaluation Board had collected samples of Perrier and found no immediate risk to the public from the benzene in the water.”

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

2970 Wellington Circle | Tallahassee FL 32309

850.668.2746 | Contact Us