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September 10, 2021
Hurricane Ida Emergency Response Continues
Jim Cagno, FRWA Source Water Technician, assisting the Louisiana Health Department with assessments after Hurricane Ida.
FRWA's emergency response efforts to systems affected by Hurricane Ida continued this week. On Saturday, September 4, four more FRWA staff members arrived in Louisiana to be briefed and rotated in. These employees relieved the FRWA employees that were onsite last week. At this time, all twenty of the generators that FRWA took to Louisiana have been deployed. It is now a lot of leak location and leak isolation to increase water pressure even in the largest systems. At the time of this issue of eNews, 430,000 are still without power.

The photos in this edition are a small representative of FRWA staff members assisting during emergency response operations following a disaster.
Jamie Hope, FRWA WW Technician, installing an Arkansas Rural Water generator at a lift station in the City of Livingston LA.
Jamie Hope, FRWA WW Technician, hooking up a FRWA generator to lift station control panel in Livingston LA.
David Vice, FRWA State WW Circuit Rider, hooking up a generator at the same lift station (on left) that Jamie Hope is hooking to the control panel.
Scott Phillips, FRWA WW Technician, and Phil Domingue, LRWA Energy Tech, with FRWA 100kW generator and FRWA truck at lift station in Louisiana.
City of Livingston employee working on a lift station with above ground pumps.
Scott Phillips, FRWA WW Technician, with FRWA generator after Hurricane Ida
Scott Phillips, FRWA WW Technician, connecting power to lift station panel in Louisiana.
David Vice, FRWA WW Circuit Rider, and Charles McCann, Georgia Rural Water Association, hooking up a 15kW generator to lift station control in the City of Livingston LA.
Scott Phillips, FRWA WW Technician, observing Junk Yard Dogs Racing Team in LA engage a lift station on backup power.
The Category 4 hurricane made landfall on August 29 as one of the strongest storms to hit the United States. Days later, local and state officials have begun to tally the extensive damage. Power is out for about 1 million people. Electricity in some areas may be out for weeks. Gas stations lack fuel. Roads are washed out. Water systems, meanwhile, are dealing with severed pipes, broken treatment units, and power outages.

In New Orleans, the Sewerage and Water Board is asking residents to conserve water to prevent sewage backups. As of mid-day Wednesday, only 14 of 84 sewage pump stations were operable.

In smaller towns the problem is no water at all. According to the Louisiana Department of Health, as of Wednesday afternoon, 191 water systems were experiencing water outages. Another 119 systems were telling residents to boil their water before drinking it. The numbers are changing frequently as repairs are made.

Not all those water systems provide water to an entire community. Some serve campgrounds, businesses, or gas stations. Still, there is a lot of work to do.

“It’ll probably be two to three months before some water systems are up and running,” Pat Credeur, Executive Director of the Louisiana Rural Water Association.

The list of fixes is long. Credeur said that uprooted trees snapped water pipes. He’s heard reports that furious winds blew the roofs off of treatment plants. Because of power outages the reports are trickling into his office slowly. His staff are currently canvassing the parishes and conducting face-to-face needs assessments.

One of the big requests is power to operate treatment and distribution equipment. “We’re shipping out generators left and right,” Credeur said. His association has delivered 11 generators so far, and more are on their way from rural water groups in eight neighboring states.

Even a generator is not a cure-all. The units cannot be run around the clock for days. They need to be rested and they need fuel, which is currently in short supply.

“I got several calls from utilities that have generators but no fuel,” Credeur said.

FRWA will continue to assist systems in Louisiana as long as there are system's in need. Rural Water helping Rural Water, that's what it's all about!
SYSTEMS HELPING SYSTEMS
Last week, FRWA received a very generous food donation for Ida hurricane relief workers from Hitchcock’s Food Market in East Palatka, FL. Fred Handy, FRWA State Water Circuit Rider, was contacted by Missy Hill, Store Manager, saying that the Food Market would like to donate groceries to assist with the emergency response efforts in Louisiana. Ms. Hill is the mother of 2020 FRWA Drinking Water Operator of the Year, Kayla Wylie. 

FRWA would like to express their appreciation to Hitchcock's Food Market and Ms. Hill for their generous donation.
NATIONAL NEWS
EPA working on proposed rule to limit PFAS discharges The Environmental Protection Agency plans to propose a rule that would limit PFAS wastewater discharges from facilities that produce the chemicals, as well as from chromium electroplating sites. more

Federal ruling may bode well for Okefenokee refuge in Ga. The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia, which is near Twin Pines Minerals' proposed titanium dioxide mine, may benefit from US District Judge Rosemary Marquez's decision to vacate the Navigable Waters Protection Rule. more

Level Up Your Cyber Skills with EPA’s Introduction to Cybersecurity Virtual Workshop The water and wastewater sector continues to experience cyber-attacks at an alarming frequency, including ransomware and exploits of Industrial Control System (ICS) vulnerabilities. High-profile incidents further focus the nation’s attention. more

New Trainings and Workshops for Water and Wastewater Utilities The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced new cybersecurity training and workshops. This is a great opportunity for help with an assessment and the development of a cyber action plan. more

The Chlorine Shortage Continues Local water systems are asking the EPA—for the first time in the Safe Drinking Water Act’s history—for help obtaining chlorine-based water treatment chemicals amid a nationwide shortage. more

Prioritizing Public Health in Water Standards Right now, Congress is debating needed investments in our water system decades in the making. more

Hurricane Ida Impacts on Water Utilities Hurricane Ida that began off the coast of Louisiana has now taken the country by storm with its impacts being seen as far away as New York City. more

EPA issues new nutrient tools and resources EPA has recently issued new tools and resources for managing nutrients, which may be of assistance in helping to protect sources of drinking water. more

Workgroup begins review of CCRs EPA recently launched creation of a workgroup under the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) to provide recommendations for the revision of the consumer confidence report rule (CCR). more

Corps, EPA to revise 'Waters of the US' EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published a notice in August that they are seeking feedback on changes to the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS). more

White House calls for cybersecurity performance goals The White House issued a national security memorandum instructing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish baseline cybersecurity performance goals by Sept. 22. more

Defense panel adopts strict PFAS cleanup amendment The House Armed Services Committee has approved an annual defense authorization bill that includes an amendment aimed at more strictly controlling per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). more

U.S. House to consider infrastructure bill by Sept. 28 The full U.S. House of Representatives is set to take up infrastructure legislation that includes significant provisions for water by Sept. 28. more

The Louisiana Rural Water Association (LRWA) and neighboring state associations are providing emergency response services to Ida-impacted communities On Friday, LRWA Executive Director Pat Credeur reported, “LRWA and state rural water associations from Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida successfully established a Command Center at the Opelousas (LA) Civic Center. more

EPA Publishes Draft PFAS Analytical Method for Wastewater, Source Water, and Other Media EPA has published a draft validated laboratory analytical method to test for PFAS in wastewater, surface water, groundwater, soils, sediment, landfill leachate, and fish tissue. EPA collaborated with the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program to develop draft Method 1633. more

STATE NEWS
FEMA has announced it will provide the City of Panama City approximately $2.6 million to purchase and install two generators at the Millville Wastewater Treatment Plant and more than $2 million to provide flood protection and mitigation improvements to 13 sanitary sewer lift stations. more

Water woes on tap at symposium as real estate pros look to 'a light at the end of the tunnel' | News-Press Judging by the nonverbal communication in the room, it was a tough morning for some of the 100 or so who attended the Real Estate Investment Society of Southwest Florida’s annual symposium. more

Get ready, South Florida. The first round of king tides is upon us. | Sun Sentinel During the dreaded king tides, which began Thursday, South Florida is prone to “sunny day flooding,” when streets can be inundated by water without the slightest hint of rain, when an intrusive sea lifts fancy boats to street levels, forces tourists to slosh their way through the streets, and sends cities rushing to erect barricades. more

Impaired Waters Rule (IWR): Statewide Assessment Notification Update The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Watershed Assessment Section announces the availability of the draft assessment lists of waterbodies and water segments. more

City of Parker applies for flooding grant money | WJHG Many who live in the city of Parker would say flooding is a major issue. Officials said it’s a problem they’ve been working for a long time to address. more

Fort Pierce Utilities Authority finally selects plan to move wastewater plant off island | TCPalm After nearly two decades, the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority finally has a plan to relocate its aging wastewater-treatment facility off Hutchinson Island. more

OUC customers split on conserving water amid liquid oxygen shortage | WFTV Orlando Utilities Commission says this is not the time for customers to stop conserving water. more

DeSantis Taps New Environmental Secretary; Century Hopes His Local Connection Is A Plus | North Escambia A man with deep Northwest Florida ties has been appointed secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) by Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Century officials hope that’s a plus for the small town. more
This Week in Water History
September 6, 1893 The Houston Daily Post ran a series of investigative articles about the Water Works Company and the pollution in Buffalo Bayou–an early surface water supply for the City of Houston, Texas. In a September 6, 1893 article, Houston Cotton Exchange officials charged that the bayou was “an immense cesspool, reeking with filth and emitting a stench of vilest character.” The newspaper noted in 1895 that a dozen privies, a smallpox graveyard, a dead cow, oil mill, and cattle yards had been sighted in the waters above the Water Works’ dam. In another article later that year, reporters wrote that cattle from the Southern Oil Mill stockyards were discovered wading in the bayou alongside decomposing cow carcasses. A drain from the mill ran directly into the bayou creating additional unsanitary conditions. “It is our opinion that the use of this water is a menace to the lives of the people of this community,” avowed the investigative reporters.
Update With the devastation of the Houston by Hurricane Harvey in 2017, it is astonishing that water service in Houston was never lost, nor was a boil water order ever issued. Houston OBVIOUSLY made a lot of improvements in their water supply over 124 years.

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