On Tuesday, October 24, 2023, Rural Water leaders from all over the nation started arriving in Tallahassee to attend the 2023 NRWA Emergency Response Training. This event is held annually in different locations throughout the nation to share training, thoughts and ideas with other Rural Waters on emergency response efforts.

Training started on Wednesday morning and finished up Thursday at noon at the FRWA Warehouse located in Cairo GA. Topics covered included:

• Panel Discussions on Financing Emergency Response Training
• Equipment Demonstrations
• Completing Emergency Response Plans
• The Importance of Working Closely with Agencies
• Demonstration of GIS Mapping Capabilities

Ten stations were set up for demonstrating equipment and procedures systems may face during emergencies. For a recap of the activities, please click on the graphic below.

Water is life: it sustains everything and everyone around us. Yet, the value of water is often underestimated, taken for granted, and overlooked. Imagining a day without water, brings into focus the indispensable role water plays in each of our lives and highlight the dedicated efforts of FRWA's members and partners in safeguarding Florida's water supply.

A day without water would be a day of chaos and disruption. It’s a stark reminder of how we rely on this precious resource for nearly everything we do – from drinking to bathing, cooking, industry, agriculture, and more. Your system is part of the dedicated professionals working tirelessly behind the scenes, ensuring that the water our customers use is safe and reliable every time they turn on the tap. System employees are the unsung heroes. Without your relentless dedication, oversight, and boots-on-the-ground, the quality of our water supply would be at risk.

Most customers take fresh water for granted. Some systems have ran poster contests for elementary school children to bring their attention to the necessity of water in sustaining life. Below are some of the prize winning posters that you can use as illustrations in a contest of your own.

• I Need Water
• A Day Without Water Means
• A Day Without Water

Defend Yourself Against the Fraud Epidemic is a one hour webinar presented by Ameris Bank to help our members recognize fraud and how you can protect yourself against the epidemic. Topics covered will include email compromise, ransomware, social engineering, and phishing. This is a one hour webinar that is offered free of charge. There will be time for questions and answers following the webinar. To register, click on the graphic below.

By popular demand, we are back in Daytona next year at the Daytona Hilton! The Conference will be held on July 29-31, 2024. More to come!!!

NATIONAL NEWS

CISA Announces Effort to Revise National Cyber Incident Response Plan Agency will gather input from public and private sector partners to identify key changes. more

New Funding For Water And Wastewater Projects In Less Populated Parts Of The U.S. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced an $800M (£655M) allotment for rural infrastructure projects. more

When communities face drinking-water crises, bottled water is a 'temporary' solution that... A massive intrusion of salt water into the Mississippi River has left the tap water in several Louisiana communities unsafe to drink and could threaten the New Orleans metropolitan area. more

Operator: Promoting Positive Change in Wastewater Systems Wastewater superintendent builds her team around preventive maintenance, standard operating procedures and embracing greatness. more

Utility Crews Need Excavator to Pull Massive Root Infestation Out of Sewer The half-ton root cluster found in a sewer in South Australia showcases the importance of staying on top of root control to prevent blockage problems. more

Developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) November 16, 2023 | 2:00 pm CDT This training session we will look into assisting in the development of Standard Operating Procedures of many different type of operations. more

STATE NEWS

Tammy Regenerates into a Tropical Storm; Broad Area of Low Pressure Forms Over the Western Caribbean, 30% (Low) Chance of Development During the Next 7 Days [Friday 10/27/2023]*** A turn to the north is expected tonight followed by a turn to the east over the next couple of days. On the forecast track, Tammy will begin to move away from Bermuda Saturday morning. Little change in strength is expected during the next day or so. more

Report says better management needed for Florida's wastewater | - Mid Florida Newspapers The Center Square — A new report says amid the Sunshine State's burgeoning population growth, better wastewater stewardship by replacing aging infrastructure is needed. more

Tampa Bay area, Southwest Florida saw driest rainy season in 26 years Southwest Florida’s four-month rainy season ended Sept. 30. Water managers say early estimates show it was the driest since 1996. more

Commission digs deeply into stinky problem of septic tanks | Miami Today Frustrated by lack of financing to help residents replace septic tanks with sewer hookups, county commissioners last week sketched the vital program themselves and told the mayor and her team to flesh it out. more

Here's why your water might taste or smell like chlorine in Miami Dade - NBC 6 Some Miami-Dade County residents may start noticing a chlorine taste or smell in their water -- due to an annual event operated by the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department. more

Titusville votes to join class-action water contamination settlement - Spectrum News 13 The city of Titusville is joining a class action settlement involving contaminated drinking water. more

Alachua breaks ground on new wellfield - Mainstreet Daily News The city of Alachua broke ground on its Water Quality and Resiliency Improvement Project on Thursday morning. more

Possible liner tear at Mosaic's New Wales fertilizer plant sparks growing concerns If there is a tear in the stack’s protective lining, the concern is that radioactive material could seep down to the aquifer. more

State Senator Suggests De-Chartering Century, Letting Escambia County Take Over The Town | North Escambia Thursday night, Florida State Sen. Doug Broxson told interim Century Mayor Luis Gomez, Jr. that the town may need to to consider de-chartering and letting Escambia County take over. more

Green Cove looking for funds for stormwater projects | Clay Today During its most recent meeting, the City Council took the first steps in securing a bond for Stormwater Capital Improvement Projects. more

New study shows some parts of Brevard County underwater in 80 years | WESH From North Merritt Island all the way down to Sebastian, the barrier islands of Brevard are very vulnerable to sea level rise. And some studies show that parts of it will be underwater in the next 80 years. more

Please see the following from one of our members whose employees completed the Apprenticeship Program:

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You… and then Thank You some more for doing an awesome job with our first attempt at an apprenticeship program. You organized, coordinated and provided instruction with grace, patience and a very high level of professionalism. We appreciate the effort and we are thankful to the FRWA for making you available. I trust that we will be able to do this again, maybe even annually. As you are aware, we are working to find employment for the students and we absolutely wish them the best.

Please keep in touch and in a few months we can begin planning for the next group. I am looking to expand our search so that our class size can be larger.

Paul Thompson, City of Pembroke Pines

Cholera in Sacramento, California

October 27, 1850 Cholera in Sacramento, California. “Alas for Sacramento in 1850, cholera is a disease that thrives in conditions of urban filth. The bacterium can be transmitted from one host to another through unwashed hands or raw sewage. When raw sewage containing the bacteria finds its way into the public water supply, cholera spreads rapidly. Its symptoms include severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. The disease strikes without warning. In the course of a single day, cholera can be fatal to a previously healthy person. Perkins wrote on October 27, ‘Some have been taken who were to all appearances in good health and have died in a few hours.’ Likewise, on October 23, Lord noted in his journal, ‘A man walking down J Street last evening, dropped suddenly, and lived only long enough to be carried into the nearest door.’

The first death from cholera occurred on October 20. The number of cases rapidly multiplied over the next few weeks, radiating into the city from the commercial riverside district….Public health measures proved to be worse than ineffective. A city ordinance passed on October 21 ordered residents to burn their garbage or face a $500 fine. Lord wrote that the ‘filth is burned in the middle of the streets—old shoes and boots and clothes by the ton, and cart loads of bones, and raw hides, and putrid meat, and spoiled bacon—so that the end of the matter is worse than the beginning.’ By the end of the month, half of the population of the city had either succumbed to the disease or fled the city. By the end of the first week of November, it was 80 percent.

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

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