The Florida Rural Water Association is planning a new two-year apprenticeship training programs starting in September 2022. We plan to hold multiple trainings programs in the northwest area, northeast area, and the southeast area of the state.

Now is the time for you to sign up your new employees or employees! This program is intended for employees that need to get their license and to learn more about the water and wastewater industry. Your system will gain access to a vetted pool of applicants that will receive technical training in addition to their on-the-job training. 

The apprentice becomes a valuable employee as they learn first-hand essential skills on-the-job and about the system’s assets from a mentor. The mentor is a licensed operator who already works for the system.

Apprentices receive technical instruction in addition to their on-the-job training. This instruction helps to strengthen and round out the knowledge base of the apprentice, resulting in a more valuable employee.

The training includes the coursework required to receive a Class C operator’s license for water or wastewater, hands on demos of pumps and motors, emergency response, lab testing, basics of utility management and more.

For more information on the program, click here.

If you are interested in signing up your employee or have any questions, please call 850-668-2746 or email frwa@frwa.net.

The Conference will be held at the Daytona Beach Hilton from August 8-10. Be sure to make your reservations now to take advantage of the discounted rates starting at $118.00 (this rate does not include $9.00 self parking rate) plus tax. If you would like to make your hotel reservations, use the code FRWA22 and call 386.254.8200 or click here to reserve your room online. The discounted rates are only available until July 24, 2022.

The Hilton has a family friendly atmosphere with plenty for the family to do as you attend sessions discussing the issues facing the industry as well as how to cope with them. You will have over sixty five topics to choose from so you will be sure to find topics that interest you. All this while you have the opportunity to earn 1.5 CEUs towards your 2023 license.

Things will kick off with the Paul Brayton Golf Tournament at the LPGA Golf Course! Don’t forget to bring your water sample to the Registration booth before 2:00 pm on Tuesday to participate in this year’s Best Tasting Water Contest. The winner will be announced at the Exhibitor Social in the Exhibit Hall on Tuesday evening and have a chance to participate in the “Great American Taste Test” in Washington DC in February 2023.

You will want to be in the Exhibit Hall to see if your name is picked for the great door prizes that are given away! These and other activities will keep you informed, inspired, and motivated so that we can help you to make sure the future of the water and wastewater industry in Florida is bright!

For complete information and to register for this year's Conference, click here! Hope to see you there!

The Florida Rural Water Association (FRWA) Board of Directors and Staff are pleased to announce that ten Water and Wastewater Awards will be presented at the FRWA 2022 Annual Conference to be held at the Daytona Beach Hilton on August 8-10, 2022. The awards will be presented during the Opening Session on Tuesday, August 9th. Only members are eligible to nominate for system awards. A system, a representative, or the nominee must be present during the Opening Session to win. If you need further information, please contact us at 800.872.8207 or email frwa@frwa.net.

The award categories are Manager/Administrator of the year, System Office Employee of the Year, Wastewater Operator of the Year, Drinking Water Operator of the Year, Distribution/Collection Operator of the Year, Small Public Water System of the Year, Medium Public Water System of the Year, Small Wastewater System of the Year, Medium Wastewater System of the Year, and the prestigious FRWA Special Recognition Award.

If you would like to nominate your system and/or employee for any of these awards, click here for a form to complete and return by Friday, July 1, 2022. Awards for each of the ten categories will be presented based upon a satisfactory number of nominees. The FRWA Awards Review Committee will then review all nominees and may conduct an on-site evaluation of the system/personnel.

You may submit your nomination by mail to FRWA, 2970 Wellington Circle, Tallahassee FL 32309 or email to Ben.Lewis@frwa.net. For complete information or to nominate a system employee, click here.

June 25, 1914: Engineering News article. A Novel Water-Filtration Plant for Toronto. “It is not often that a city takes up a novelty in water filtration or in any other class of engineering work on so large a scale as the proposed 72,000-U. S.-gal. “drifting sand” filtration plant for which the city council of Toronto awarded the contract on June 8. It is true, as stated elsewhere in this issue, that two plants of a few hundred thousand gallons capacity are already in operation elsewhere and that contracts for two other and much larger plants are well under way. It is also true that a working unit was tested for 33 days at Toronto under the direction of the local medical officer of health and city analyst, and that this same test plant has been under observation for over a year. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the drifting-sand filter is as yet in the working-scale experimental stage, with few data yet available regarding its efficiency and less to be had regarding operating costs.

The drifting-sand filter may be described as a deep mechanical filter with reversion to the early type in the way of absence of coagulation basins and rate-controllers and with the addition of continuous washing and replacing of filter sand. It is claimed that this added feature makes up for the lack of a coagulating basin. To what extent this claim will be made good by experience at Toronto and on different waters at other places, it will be interesting to learn a few years hence.”

Commentary: The filter plant was built in 1917 and used until 1981 by the City of Toronto. No other large-scale filtration plants adopted this unique design.

To enjoy more opportunities to take a look at the past in water history, go to this link.