Railroad Strike Could Severely Impact the Water Sector |
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Railroads and union leaders announced early Thursday morning that they had reached a tentative deal to avert a strike, which now goes to the unions’ membership for a vote. Workers will not go on strike while voting is underway. However, if an agreement is not reached, it could have a dire effect on the water and wastewater industry due to supply shortages. |
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The Situation
Talks between freight-rail companies and unions continue under U.S. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh’s leadership as the deadline to avert a strike that would disrupt US transport services nears. About 125,000 workers could walk off the job if a deal is not reached by Friday’s deadline.
Water and wastewater utilities may begin experiencing supply chain disruptions resulting from this potential railroad strike that could start later this week. Items affected by the disruptions could include chlorine and other essential water treatment chemicals and products, some of which have already been impacted. These events call for utilities to assess the status of their suppliers and consider mitigation actions.
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) announced in a statement on Sept. 9 that railroads are prioritizing delivering essential chemicals and products that are currently en route to their destinations prior to the onset of a work stoppage. This does not mean that a stoppage is certain, but freight customers should expect delayed or suspended shipments over the next week as labor negotiations continue (AAR).
How Does This Affect the Water and Wastewater Industry
Freight rail plays a crucial role in the supply of key chemicals necessary for maintaining essential lifeline functions provided to communities by drinking water and wastewater treatment systems. Chlorine is one of such chemicals that is critical in the drinking water treatment process and required for disinfecting drinking water so that it is safe. It is also required for compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. The disruption of normal freight rail transport of chlorine endangers effective water treatment operations. Water systems maintain on-site storage of key treatment chemicals, but ultimately, these reserves will be used and leave systems the burden of finding replacement sources for chlorine and other chemicals.
As we saw with supply chain disruptions during the recent health pandemic, shortfalls in water treatment chemicals can put an economic strain on water systems, especially small or disadvantaged utilities. The financial burden will ultimately be endured by individual households in the price of water service and the foregone investments in system improvements.
All water utilities must consider quality, safety, and system resiliency as they acquire and store treatment chemicals. Embargoes are already being imposed on hazardous material shipments which will directly impact water system operations from the resulting shortage in availability of chlorine and other water treatment chemicals. Unless freight rail service for chlorine returns to normal rapidly, communities will be unable to produce safe drinking water, resulting in drinking water shortages, boil water advisories and the threat of waterborne disease outbreaks. Inadequate disinfection represents a threat to public health and a significant disruption to daily life, local economies, and critical services like hospitals and schools. more
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We are looking for eager, motivated candidates to shape the Water & Wastewater’s future! Our apprenticeship program is designed to provide a true method of enhancing employees’ skills and technical knowledge. The apprentices will be able to experience different types of treatments with the instructor explaining the breakdown of each process. Upon completion of our program the apprentice will be a Class C operator with preparation to take the Class B test as well as having management courses under their belts! Apply today! https://apprenticeship.nrwa.org/pub/unpw_signup.cfm
- Southeast region begins in December 2022
- Northwest/ Southwest regions begin in January 2023
- Northeast region begins February 2023
For more information/questions email Jodi Pearson, the apprenticeship coordinator at jodi.pearson@frwa.net
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The generators below are military units that overproduce the stated 60 kW unlike most other generators that don't achieve advertised kW output They were acquired in November of 2019. They have been exercised monthly with a load back test every six month.
For further information email frwa@frwa.net or call 850.668.2746.
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$9600
Bolted down on a treated wooden deck, tandem axle utility trailer with 90 gallon Alm tank and 27 gallon belly tank. 3500 lbs. axles. Acquired in November 2019 with 220 hours refurbished. Currently 1844.4 runtime hours. For more specs, click here. For gen set, click here.
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$9600
Tandem axle fuel trailer bolted down to a steel deck with 90 gallon Alm external tank and 27 gallon on-board belly tank. Over production of kw. Acquired in November 2019 with 1646.8 hours refurbished. Currently 1701.8 runtime hours. For more specs, click here. For gen set, click here. |
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$9600
MEP-806B-60kW military generator on 200 gallon fuel trailer. John Deere engine with 779.3 hours. Acquired in November 2019 fully refreshed/refurbished at 773.5 hours. For more specs, click here. For gen set, click here. |
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NATIONAL NEWS
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Wildfire Conditions & Risk Map The U.S. EPA has published a new Story Map that "provides information on current, past and potential future wildfire conditions in the United States for water, wastewater, and storm water utilities to assess the potential for wildfire near their facilities or within their watersheds." more
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A slow-moving crisis is paralyzing states and cities | Standard Journal A little-noticed, slow-moving crisis has been infecting states, counties and towns across the country, leaving governments unable to fulfill their most basic functions. more
CISA Open for Input on Implementing New Cyber Incident and Ransom Payment Reporting Requirements In March, President Biden signed the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022, otherwise known as “CIRCIA.” Enactment of CIRCIA is a game changer for the whole cybersecurity community and everyone invested in protecting our nation’s critical infrastructure. more
US water systems may not be ready for climate change The crisis that has hit Jackson, Miss., highlights the fragility of water systems across the country that will be increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change in the coming years. more
Water issues leave a lasting legacy of mistrust Six-year-old Charles Wilson V is scared to drink out of the water fountain at his school. more
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California Approves World’s First Testing Requirement for Microplastics in Drinking Water On September 7, California’s State Water Resources Control Board unanimously approved a proposed policy handbook establishing a standard method for testing and reporting drinking water supplies for microplastics. more
FY23 Appropriations Update The U.S. House of Representatives approved fiscal year 2023 appropriations under HR 8294 on July 20, 2022. The bill combines the text of six fiscal year 2023 spending bills for Transportation-HUD, Agriculture, Energy-Water, Financial Services, Interior-Environment, and Military Construction-VA. The Senate Appropriations Committee released their bills on July 28, 2022; however the bills have not yet been voted on by the senate. more
Fighting Lead In Drinking Water At The Source The cellphone video is grainy and shaky. “Are you guys ready?” asks a voice, calling out to the operators of Denver Water’s Marston Treatment Plant on the other end of the speaker phone. "Hey Marston, are you guys ready?” more
White House To Circumvent Congress, Impose Stricter Cybersecurity Requirements On Water Systems As cyber-attacks have become more advanced, it’s been made clear that drinking water and wastewater systems across the U.S. are increasingly under threat. In recent months, hackers have attempted to access treatment facilities to poison drinking water in Florida, the Bay Area, and Baltimore, and have targeted wastewater systems in Maine and California as well. more
STATE NEWS
FYI-Tropics Update: Fiona Continues Moving Westward Over the Tropical Atlantic No Direct Threat to Florida Over the Next 7 Days, But Continues to Be Monitored [Thursday 9/15/2022] more
Nearly half of global septic systems work inadequately | Okeechobee News Nearly one-fourth of the world’s wastewater comes from residential septic systems, according to the United Nations. But only 48% of such systems adequately treat wastewater. more
State awards Milton $9.7 million grant to help build wastewater plant | Santa Rosa Press Gazette On Aug. 24, the Florida Division of Emergency Management notified the City of Milton it has been awarded a $9.74 million Hazard Mitigation Grant to help fund Phase Five of its wastewater treatment plant project. more
Tampa wastewater reuse project under fire again | Tampa Bay Times For years, environmentalists and Tampa city officials have sparred over what to do with about 50 million gallons per day of highly treated wastewater currently being dumped into Tampa Bay. more
Campaign informs pet owners about waste, water quality | Florida Weekly More than 75,000 households will receive postcards reminding residents to pick up pet waste, which has high nutrient and bacteria content that may run off into waterways and feed algae, contribute to algae blooms and pose human health risks. The postcards have started to arrive at addresses. more
Vero Beach eyes 15% water, sewer rate hike in January with more increases in '23, '24 and '25 | TCPalm Water and sewer rates here could jump about 15% to pay for an $82 million wastewater-reclamation facility. more
Century Needs $500K To Replace Prison Water Well; Second Well Goes Online For First Time In Two Years | North Escambia For the first time in about two years, water is flowing again from the town’s “Well No. 2″ on Academy Street. The well had been out of service for over a year before being placed back in service in August 2020 only to fail again. more
Florida scientists will study how homeowners affect the water quality of stormwater ponds | WUSF When residents purchase "waterfront properties," many don't realize the function of their nearby storm water ponds and actually cause them harm by removing plants and mowing the grass too close to the edge. more
County OKs utility items: ARPA water funding in the works | Suwannee Democrat All utility and public service-related items on a recent agenda of the Lowndes County Commission were approved. more
Are our rural waters safe for swimming? A Pensacola group is hitting the road to find out. | Pensacola News Journal A mobile water quality van, obtained by the Bream Fisherman Association with a grant from Impact 100, is going to allow conservationists to quickly and accurately monitor the health of local waterways while educating kids about the importance of protecting the environment. more
Lawmakers Spread $175 Million Across the State A legislative panel Friday approved money for more than 230 local projects and programs across the state, after receiving a detailed analysis of Florida’s financial picture from a top economist. more
Looking back at Hurricane Irma 5 years ago | First Coast News Hurricane Irma was one of the worst storms on record for the First Coast. On this five year anniversary we look back at this record breaking storm. more
Opinion: Guest opinion: Lee County: Think big about wastewater treatment improvements | News-Press Researchers with the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) recently completed a study – published in top-tier peer-reviewed journal – revealing the frightening extent to which sewage contamination is a major water-quality issue in the Caloosahatchee River basin. more
Slime time: Septic tanks suspected as origin of Stuart algae bloom | Florida Politics For the generations who grew up seeing green slime dumped on people to great comedic effect, it’s a kind of melancholy nostalgia to now see slime coating the water and killing vital marine plant life. more
Tampa Water Department temporarily switches to chlorine disinfection | WTSP The Tampa Water Department is switching the way it disinfects drinking water for the next month. From Sept. 12 through Oct. 3, 2022, the department will temporarily use chlorine instead of chloramine. Chloramine is a mixture of ammonia and chlorine. more
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This Week in Water History |
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Rocky Flats Hazard to Drinking Water |
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September 14, 1989: New York Times headline–New Hazard Is Seen at Colorado Weapons Plant. Colorado’s effort to protect drinking water supplies around the highly contaminated Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant has raised a new safety problem: what to do with tainted water that is filling a storage pond now that the state has barred releases from it. State officials briefly declared an alert Tuesday when they feared that the pond, 75 percent full because of recent rain and snow, might breach its earthen dam and cause a flood. At the hour they declared the alert, they were conducting a drill in which the script for a mock disaster included a leak from another storage pond at the plant, which makes triggers for nuclear weapons. The alert was lifted after a quick inspection, but the state and the plant managers are still discussing what to do with the water. The water contains a herbicide, atrazine, at a level exceeding a limit that the Federal Environmental Protection Agency proposes to set for drinking water. It also contains two other chemicals, manganese and sulfide, at levels that could alter the smell and taste of drinking water.
To enjoy more opportunities to take a look at the past in water history, go to this link.
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2970 Wellington Circle | Tallahassee FL 32309 | 850.668.8023 | Contact Us
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