Our FRWA Staff were still on the ground-assisting those affected by Hurricane Helene when Hurricane Milton hit. As those affected by Helene got their power restored, we were able to begin assessing the needs of those affected by Milton.  The FlaWarn steering committee has been in full force with two meetings daily for the past week with no end in site. Our FlaWARN steering committee members go the extra mile to help systems across Florida.

This week FRWA has been busy bringing equipment out of the field in order to reroute it in the wake of Hurricane Milton. Some were still on the ground with Hurricane Helene when Milton struck the west coast of Florida. In Florida and out of state, we are busy checking on staff and calling our members to make sure of any needs.

Equipment is already stationed at City of Zephyrhills has graciously provided a staging area for easier deployment to the area with more staff and equipment headed that way. So far we have discovered that Hillsborough County was struck hard with a lot of outages. One of our Board of Directors, John Bostic III of the City of Zephryhills is providing staging facilities. Randy Wilkerson, City of Chiefland, another FRWA Board member, provided staging for Hurricane Helene and also hosted the EPA lab for the region.

Take a look at the slideshow below that illustrates the valiant efforts of FRWA staff that shows why we are FRWA strong!!!!!

Florida has been struck with two major hurricanes in two weeks. What do you do to prepare when it is forecasted to hit you?

First of all, be sure that your system information is current on Water Tracker at https://flwatertracker.com. If you are logging in for the first time, you may have to create a username and password. If you do not remember your login, you can reset it from the the homepage. Please remember that drinking water and wastewater systems have separate logins.

For those that are not familiar with Water Tracker, there are training videos available for your review at the top of the Water Tracker home page. Please log into your account as soon as possible and familiarize yourself with the app to avoid any unforeseen problems.

After the storm, any requests for assistance can be requested through Water Tracker. If problems arise, please call (866) 742-0481 for assistance.

With this hurricane season already having thirteen named storms, including four tropical storms and nine hurricanes, of which four were major hurricanes. Forecasters have predicted that the 2024 season is forecasted to be “above-normal,” with as many as 25 named storms, 13 hurricanes and seven major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger). So it looks like the worst may be "yet to come".

You can always contact FRWA with any needs at frwa@frwa.net or by calling 850.668.2746.

EPA announces new final regulations and $2.6 Billion under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda for clean drinking water

The Biden-Harris Administration issued a final rule requiring drinking water systems across the country to identify and replace lead pipes within 10 years. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) also require more rigorous testing of drinking water and a lower threshold requiring communities to take action to protect people from lead exposure in water. In addition, the final rule improves communication within communities so that families are better informed about the risk of lead in drinking water, the location of lead pipes, and plans for replacing them. This final rule is part of the President’s commitment to replace every lead pipe in the country within a decade, making sure that all communities can turn on the tap and drink clean water.

Alongside the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, EPA is announcing $2.6 billion in newly available drinking water infrastructure funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This funding will flow through the drinking water state revolving funds (DWSRFs) and is available to support lead pipe replacement and inventory projects. Additionally, 49% of the funding must be provided to disadvantaged communities as grant funding or principal forgiveness that does not have to be repaid. EPA is also announcing the availability of $35 million in competitive grant funding for reducing lead in drinking water. Communities are invited to apply directly for grant funding through this program. Additional federal funding is available to support lead pipe replacement projects and EPA has developed a website identifying available funding sources.

EPA estimates that up to 9 million homes are served through legacy lead pipes across the country, many of which are in lower-income communities and communities of color, creating disproportionate lead exposure burden for these families. Eliminating lead exposure from the air people breathe, the water people drink, and the homes people live in is a crucial component of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic commitment to advancing environmental justice. The Lead and Copper Rule Improvements establish achievable, common-sense practices which have been implemented by several states and cities. The public health and economic benefits of the final rule are estimated to be up to 13 times greater than the costs, and together with new funding announced today under Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, water systems will be able to accelerate removal of lead pipes and create good-paying local jobs in the process. more

NATIONAL NEWS

UCalgary's New Flow Facility Helps Advance Research Into Pipeline Leak Detection-Water pipeline leaks were a big issue in Calgary this past summer, plunging the entire city into two extended periods of water-use restrictions after a mainline suffered a major break in June. more

EPA Announces $30M To Help Small And Rural Communities Protect Public Health, Drinking Water, And Local Waterways-Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of up to $30.7M in grant funding for technical assistance and training to support small drinking water and wastewater systems, many serving rural communities, and to help private well owners improve water quality. more

EPA mandates lead pipes be replaced within next decade-The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is mandating that all lead pipes in the U.S. be replaced within the next ten years. more

NAM, Allies Urge Court to Vacate PFAS Rule-The EPA’s final rule setting national drinking water standards for PFAS should be vacated in its entirety, the NAM and two allies said in an opening brief filed in federal court Monday. more

Water supplier American Water Works says systems hacked-American Water Works — a supplier of drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people — on Monday said hackers had breached its computer networks and systems, prompting it to pause billing to customers. more

Biden sets 10-year deadline for US cities to replace lead pipes and make drinking water safer-A decade after the Flint, Michigan, water crisis raised alarms about the continuing dangers of lead in tap water, President Joe Biden is setting a 10-year deadline for cities across the nation to replace their lead pipes, finalizing an aggressive approach aimed at ensuring that drinking water is safe for all Americans. more

EPA ORD Small Drinking Water Systems Webinar -PFAS: Rule Implementation and Treatment-Date & Time Oct 29, 2024 01:00 PM  more

Water Sector Cyber Resilience Briefing-The monthly Water Sector Cyber Resilience monthly meeting Wednesday, October 23, 2024; 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET more

Water Sector Physical Threat Briefing - Understanding the Risk of Civil Unrest and Political Violence during the Election Season-The most recent assassination attempt against a former U.S. President is just the latest incident in a rising number of activities associated with political violence and threats of violence directed against public officials. more

Hurricane Helene devastates Southeast United States-Over 220 people have died in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sept. 26. more

Supreme Court leaves in place two Biden environmental regulations-The Supreme Court left in place Friday two Biden administration environmental regulations aimed at reducing industry emissions of planet-warming methane and toxic mercury. more

EPA Proposes To Expand Public Access To Information On More Than One Hundred PFAS 'Forever Chemicals' And Support Needed Pollution Prevention Efforts-Today, Oct. 2, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add 16 individual per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 15 PFAS categories representing more than 100 individual PFAS to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) more

White House Announces Cybersecurity Awareness Month:On Sept 30, 2024, President Biden declared October 2024 to be Cybersecurity Awareness Month. more

EPA Seeks Input on National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Perchlorate- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is inviting small businesses, governments, and not-for-profit entities to participate as Small Entity Representatives (SERs) providing advice and recommendations to a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panel. more

Sans Five ICS Cybersecirty Critical Controls-Water Sector-(video) more

WaterISAC, EPA Release National Security Information Sharing Bulletin-WaterISAC and EPA are excited to announce the release of a new joint product series issued quarterly, the National Security Information Sharing Bulletin. more

STATE NEWS

Clearwater restricts potable water services, removes traffic signal boxes ahead of Hurricane Milton-Potable water will be restricted on the barrier island beginning Wednesday at 7 a.m., which may cause customers to experience very low water pressure. more

Tropical Update-Thursday, October 10, 2024-Hurricane Milton-Milton Moving Off the Florida East Coast; Still Producing Damaging Hurricane-Force Winds and Heavy Rainfall In East Central Florida more

Florida's Water Tracker Water Assitance Tracking & Emergency Response-FlaWARN is now tracking assistance requests and resource availabilty for Hurricane Milton. more

St. Petersburg shut off drinking water after water main break-The City of St. Petersburg said that they shut off drinking water citywide at 12:00 a.m. Thursday. more

City of Palm Coast urges residents to conserve water as Hurricane Milton brings heavy rainfall-The City of Palm Coast is currently experiencing heavy rainfall from Hurricane Milton, with an additional 10 to 15 inches of rain expected over the next few days. Combined with the 6 inches of rainfall already received in the past five days, this ongoing weather event is likely to cause significant water accumulation in canals, ditches, swales, and roads throughout the city. more

St. Petersburg cuts power to sewage plants ahead of Hurricane Milton-The City of St. Petersburg turned off power to two of three of its sewage treatment plants in preparation for Hurricane Milton. more

Patricia Murphy: Hurricane Donald vs. the truth on Georgia’s recovery efforts-Former President Donald Trump has been very busy misleading the American public about Hurricane Helene and the recovery efforts coming from the federal government. more

Pinellas County restricts potable water on Barrier Islands-Pinellas County Utilities will restrict potable water service on the barrier islands, from Sand Key south to Fort De Soto, starting at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9, due to the impending threat of Hurricane Milton. more

Tampa water department reassures customers it will not preemptively shutdown service-

The Tampa Water Department wants to tell customers that there are no plans to stop water service as Hurricane Milton approaches the Tampa Bay area. more

Florida city shuts off water ahead of Milton landfall-Water providers in Florida are preparing for Hurricane Milton’s landfall this week, with at least one city shutting off access to drinking water and plumbing altogether. more

Seminole woman fixing stormwater pipe she clogged with concrete, flooding Shadowbay neighbors-The Seminole County homeowner who plugged a stormwater pipe in her backyard with concrete that led to months of flooding in her Shadowbay neighborhood took steps last week toward fixing the problem. more

City of Punta Gorda: Surge not sewage released after Hurricane Helene-After a notice of pollution from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection said the City of Punta Gorda released 1.6 million gallons of “raw sewage” into Charlotte Harbor, the city responded saying in fact it was just stormwater. more

Morgan & Morgan seeks punitive damages in Midway water crisis-Morgan & Morgan has filed a Motion to Amend its current Complaint to seek punitive damages on behalf of alleged victims affected by the 2021 Midway Water sewage and water line mix-up. more

October 11, 1988 New York Times headline–Science Watch; Less Lead in Rivers. “A decline in lead contamination in major American rivers has been found at two-thirds of 300 sites studied from 1974 to 1985, scientists at the United States Geological Survey have reported.

The report chiefly attributed the decline to a 75 percent drop in use of leaded gasoline in that period. The most rapid drop in lead content was recorded from 1979 to 1980, when use of leaded gasoline took its sharpest drop.

Preliminary analyses of more recent data indicate that the decline in lead contamination is continuing.”

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

2970 Wellington Circle | Tallahassee FL 32309

850.668.2746 | Contact Us