Featured Webinar Series: Improving CWA-NPDES Permit Compliance

Have you attended webinars from the Improving CWA-NPDES Permit Compliance series of technical assistance webinars put on by the EPA and the Significant Noncompliance Rate Reduction National Compliance Initiative? (Also known as the SNC NCI).

These webinars are meant for plant operators, municipal leaders, TAPs, and compliance inspectors who are working to improve surface water quality and drinking water impacts by ensuring compliance with Clean Water Act and/or National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits. Attending live will provide you with a certificate of attendance that may be eligible for CEU credit in your state, depending on your state’s certification authority. The EPA has an archive of webinar recordings dating back to 2019, but watching these recordings does not make you eligible for a certificate of attendance or any CEU credit.

All the same, the recording archive contains information on a wealth of topics under the umbrella of CWA/NPDES permit compliance. We have put together a few recommended highlights below, but be sure to examine the whole archive as you grow your knowledge in pollutant discharge.

Recording Highlights

POTWs – What Does Your Permit Say? (Part 1)
January 22, 2024: This presentation covers how to read and understand a NPDES permit, how permittees can ensure that permit requirements are met, and a discussion of the most common reporting requirements for NPDES permits. Presented by Dan Connally, vice president of ERG Group with 22 years of experience in NPDES permit development.

POTWs – What Does Your Permit Say? (Part 2)
February 28, 2024: Part two of ‘What Does Your Permit Say?’ covers the permit requirements for pretreatment and biosolids, associated federal regulations, and both standard and special conditions for publicly owned treatment works. Presented by Dan Connally, Bob Brobst (Principal Environmental Engineer at PG Environmental), and Chuck Durham (Principal Engineer and Senior Project Manager at PG Environmental).

Fats, Oils, and Grease: What We Know After 23 Years of FOG Work
October 12, 2023: This presentation focuses on managing the impacts of FOGs on collection systems and wastewater treatment plants, as well as fees, public outreach, and enforcement for food service establishments. Presented by Byron Ross of Monitoring & Management Services, with nearly 40 years of experience in wastewater treatment.

Everything You Wanted to Know About PFAS But Were Afraid to Ask
April 12, 2023: This session examines the emerging contaminants PFAS and PFOA and discusses their uses, properties, impacts, and possible treatment methods in wastewater and drinking water. Viewers will also learn to identify the sources of these contaminants. Treatment options explored include activated carbon, ion exchange resin, reverse osmosis/nanofiltration, advanced oxidation, and biosolid removal. Presented by Jamie Hope, wastewater operator and training technician, with four decades of experience in wastewater treatment.

Small POTWs: What to Expect and How to Prepare for your NPDES Permit
June 16, 2022: This webinar explains what a small publicly owned treatment works can expect as they undertake NPDES permitting. It also features a step-by-step overview of obtaining a permit and insights on collaborating with permitting authorities. Presented by Sean Ramach, NPDES Training Coordinator for the EPA Office of Wastewater Management, Water Permits Division.

Funding Wastewater Infrastructure Projects | Recorded on July 23, 2024

In this recording of our recent live webinar "Funding Wastewater Infrastructure Projects" viewers will discover some of the most helpful wastewater funding resources and learn how to use our search tools at WaterOperator.org to find additional resources and training events. 

This webinar series from WaterOperator.org covers topics relevant to wastewater operators, including funding, asset management, compliance, and water quality. Certificates of attendance will be delivered upon request to live attendees but are not available for watching this replay. 

RCAP's Drop of Knowledge: Article Roundup #4

Drop of Knowledge is a monthly digital article from Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP.) The articles focus on topics like wastewater, drinking water, policy, and infrastructure in rural America. It contains how-to’s, tips, and guidance from more than 300 technical assistance providers (TAPs) across the country. Some featured articles are linked below:

• Resolving Inflow and Infiltration Issues in a Growing Community
• The Beginner’s Guide to Geospatial Asset Management
• How Smoke Testing Can Help Your Small Wastewater Collection System
• Red Cliff Wastewater Treatment Plant Compliant Treatment Process
• Meeting the October 2024 Deadline: A Quick Guide for Water Utilities Struggling to Get Started with Lead Service Line Inventory Compliance
• What is the Most Important Business in Your Community?

Looking for something else? Find more articles and subscribe to A Drop of Knowledge.

Webinar Recording: Cybersecurity for Wastewater Operators

Watch this webinar recording to discover some of the most helpful cybersecurity resources and to learn how to use our search tools at WaterOperator.org to find additional resources and training events. This is the first webinar in our new series for wastewater operators!

The webinar answers questions such as:

• What is WaterOperator.org and how is it a useful tool for wastewater professionals?
• What are the best resources we have relating to cybersecurity in the water and wastewater sector?
• How can you find more cybersecurity resources and other similar resources on WaterOperator.org?

This free series will cover topics relevant to wastewater operators, including funding, asset management, compliance, and water quality. Upcoming events in the series include:

• Source Water Protection for Communities with Decentralized Wastewater (April 23)
• Funding Wastewater Infrastructure Projects (June 25)

Certificates of attendance for each session will be delivered upon request. Check with your certification body for acceptance criteria.

Here is the recording of the first webinar, held in February 2024. We cannot provide certificates of attendance for watching the webinar recording.

RCAP’s Onsite/ Decentralized Program

RCAP (Rural Community Assistance Partnership) has an onsite/decentralized program that provides training, technical assistance, and financial resources to assist individual homeowners, neighborhoods and entire communities that rely on inadequate septic systems for their waste disposal. 

This program is mostly funded by U.S. EPA through the Rural Treatment Works and National Priority Area 2 grants. RCAP can offer hands-on training with community members, sanitarians, and any professionals who work with onsite systems as well as technical assistance. RCAP has been participating in the Biden administration’s Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative in six of the 11 pilot communities located in persistent poverty/ disadvantaged areas.

Recently, we spoke with Sarah Buck, RCAP’s Chief Programs Officer, and she provided more information on this valuable resource for anyone working with onsite/decentralized wastewater systems. 

How does this program allow RCAP to help people with onsite/decentralized systems?

There are many ways that this program can help!

• With technical assistance providers, we can help set up a responsible management entity (RME) for decentralized systems.
• We’re able to do mapping activities to map septic systems in a community.
• We can look at areas with high concentrations of septic systems that pose environmental & health risks and help them review all of their options including interconnecting them or assisting with setting up a publicly owned water treatment works or decentralized system.
• We can help find funding to fund these types of projects in disadvantaged communities.

What are the eligible areas?

• Training and technical assistance generally is for communities of 10,000 or less in all 50 states and the US Territories including on Tribal lands/for Tribal septic owners.

Is there financial assistance available?

• Most of RCAP’s regional partners participate in the USDA Decentralized and Well Revolver Fund which provides funding that well and septic owners can use for replacements or updates.

How to apply for assistance? 

• Go to RCAP’s website and fill out the “Get Assistance” Form which will go to someone at the national office. They will then send that form to a regional partner near you to set up a technical assistance consultation.
• Find your local provider on RCAP’s website and contact them directly.
• Fill out U.S. EPA’s Water Technical Assistance Request Form and be assigned a provider that way.

Who are the partners that are assisting with this program?

• RCAP & their 6 Regional Partners
  • Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) – The Western RCAP
    • Serving Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington
  • RCAP Solutions (RSOL) – The Northeastern and Caribbean RCAP
    • Serving all six New England States, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
  • Midwest Assistance Program (MAP) – The Midwest RCAP
    • Serving Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming
  • Southeast Rural Community Assistance Partnership (SERCAP) – The Southeastern RCAP
    • Serving Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia
  • Communities Unlimited (CU) – The Southern RCAP
    • Serving Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas
  • Great Lakes Community Action Partnership (GLCAP) – The Great Lakes RCAP
    • Serving Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin
• National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA)
• WaterOperator.org
• Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA)
• Moonshot Missions (a new national EFC)

Further Resources?

• Sign up for A Drop of Knowledge and Rural Matters to receive updates on work RCAP is doing
• RCAP hosts multiple webinars a year dedicated to onsite/decentralized topics | View Archive
• New Onsite Wastewater Treatment System User Guide created in collaboration with NOWRA | View PDF
• Developing a new Septic Assessment Tool in collaboration with WaterOperator.org that will be piloted fall 2023 and will be available as a fillable PDF online

RCAP’s Free Quarterly Magazine is Focused on Rural Communities

Rural Matters is the official magazine of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP.) It features stories and insights that highlight the challenges and opportunities facing the rural communities that RCAP works with. Rural Matters is published quarterly in both print and digital formats and RCAP offers an archive of past issues on their website. Below are links to some of the most recent issues:

2022 | Issue 1: Let’s Talk Wastewater features topics like: loan management, the water access gap, mapping a septic system on tribal lands, developing an effective sewer board, and managing wastewater in U.S. territories.

2022 | Issue 2: Let’s Talk Drinking Water features topics like: boil water advisories and orders, COVID-19’s impact on water systems, violations and how the Agreed Order process works, options for additional water supply, and Lead and Copper Rule Revisions.

2022 | Issue 3: Let’s Talk Solid Waste features topics like: purchasing a solid waste collection vehicle, how a pandemic impacts solid waste management, a story of solid waste success in South Dakota, recycling program adaptation, and the unique challenges that come with solid waste management in the Grand Canyon.

2022 | Issue 4: Let’s Talk Regionalization features topics like: winterization tips, well ownership, a regionalization success story, fleet electrification, and multiple articles that emphasize the importance of community collaboration with water and wastewater systems.

If you’re interested in contributing feedback or advertising in Rural Matters you can contact submissions@rcap.org or you can simply subscribe to receive each issue.
 

Inspiring the Future of Women in Wastewater

Editor's Note: We would like to thank NYC Environmental Protection for permission to use this photo.

Despite such worthwhile career prospects, in 2018 women made up only 5.8%  of water and wastewater operators according to statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. As the water workforce ages and experienced operators retire, the water and wastewater industry can benefit by recruiting more women into the field. Mutually so, inquisitive women with interests in protecting public health and sustaining our environment have much to receive from the opportunities available within the industry.

In the field of wastewater treatment specifically, professionals can exercise their curiosity in the sciences while building technical and mechanical skills. The wastewater operator career not only offers extensive opportunity for growth and advancement, but starting positions often pay well, sustain job security, and will provide on-the-job training. The duties of an operator are an essential public service that require knowledge of wastewater safety, math, chemistry, microbiology, treatment processes, and utility operations and maintenance. Those with a penchant for problem solving and mechanical skills will fare well in the field. Other skills women can develop as a wastewater operator involve communication, presentation, collaboration, and eventually, management.

In the Empowering Women Podcast, Christen Wood, wastewater operations administrator of Summit County Department Sanitary Sewer Services and three time participant of WEFTEC’s operations challenge (with two of her teams making it all the way to nationals), describes the “happy accidents” that allowed her to stumble upon the field. She explains why she continues to hold such passion for her position noting that work as a wastewater operator is a career path, not a job. Listen to Christen’s interview to get a better idea about the type of tasks involved in the day to day work of an operator and the significance of those tasks in public and environmental health.

Still not convinced? NYC Water offers an excellent summary of the benefits a wastewater career will offer to women interested in the field. If you get anything out of this video, we hope its that you start to consider how you can fit into the wastewater industry! Find more information about the experience of women in the water industry at the Words on Water Podcast’s Inspiring Women in Water podcast series. The same podcast produced a separate interview with Mel Butcher, an engineering consultant at Arcadis. Her interview discusses how challenges that women do face as minorities in the industry can be overcome through honest conversation. 

Workforce diversity leads to new ideas, innovation, and progress. Consider how you can bring your skills to wastewater treatment.

Featured Video: Flow Meters for Water and Wastewater Applications

With the wide variety of flow meters available these days, problems with flow measurement can sometimes be traced back to having the wrong technology for the job. It is important, then, for those who have their feet on the ground at the plant to know the options available.

You’ll need to consider: is closed pipe or open channel the right solution? What is the right technology to use once I have decided on open or closed pipe? What are the total maintenance costs involved with each of the decisions? This 43-minute video presents typical water and wastewater applications and flow meter solutions. It reviews theory of operations and application details to help you select the correct flow meter technology. Because, as they say, in order to manage it, you have to measure it!

Top 2017 Resources from WaterOperator.org's Bi-Weekly Newsletter

2017 was a great year for the WaterOperator.org newsletter team. We not only reached our 200th edition milestone this past fall, but we also were successful in connecting a significant number of water professionals with useful and relevant resources, resources that could be used on-the-spot to solve pressing issues, or help guide utility best practices, or help water decision-makers plan ahead for their communities. 

While many of the events, articles and resources featured in our newsletters garnered interest, here is a list of our most clicked-on resources of 2017.

• A Water Security Handbook: Planning for and Responding to Drinking Water Contamination Threats and Incidents, US EPA This document provides guidelines for utilities to plan for possible contamination incidents, including sampling, public health procedures, and recovery.
• At the Confluence of Nutrients, Pharmaceuticals and Sustainability: Emerging Issues in Wastewater Management, University of Michigan/Central States Water Environment Association  This presentation discusses the effects of emerging contaminants on wastewater treatment and possible solutions.
• Sampling Guidance for Unknown Contaminants in Drinking Water, US EPA This document provides new guidance to first responders and drinking water utility operators on the collection, storage, and testing of potentially contaminated drinking water when the contaminant is unknown.
• Water Conservation Techniques For Small and Medium Water Systems, Florida Rural Water Association This paper provides thorough descriptions of water conservation measures that have been demonstrated to be effective for small water systems.
  
• The State of Public Water in the United States, Food & Water Watch A compilation of water rates of the 500 largest community water systems in the country (the largest water rate survey of its kind in the country). 
• Emergency Disinfection of Small Water Systems, Washington State Department of Health  Emergency, stop-gap measures to get water quickly to the public in a crisis situation. 

Did you use one these resources at your utility this year? If so, we'd love to hear from you! Do you have a favorite "go-to" resource to share? Again, we'd love to know! Our email is info@wateropertor.org , or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter. 

Hurricanes, Flooding and Wastewater Plants: What Have We Learned?

In recent months, there have been dozens of reports of wastewater treatment plants that have flooded due to heavy hurricane rains and storm surges in Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and beyond. Both the sheer number of plants affected, and the extent and duration of the flooding have posed significant public health and technical challenges, often stretching communities to their limits. 

To add to these problems, many rural utilities were already struggling to keep their systems operating before the storms struck, so costly, complicated repairs or replacements of damaged infrastructure is simply not an option. For example, Patton Village, Texas had just completed a new wastewater plant — the first of its kind in their community — before Hurricane Harvey struck. Now they can only hope that USDA/FEMA emergency funding will be available to help repair the damage. And even once the systems are up and running again, it is not a given that water systems can count on water rate income to help with their O&M bills - many residents have fled their flood-damaged homes for good.  

The sad truth is that lately, floods have been affecting wastewater plants with unfortunate regularity, and not just in hurricane-prone areas. For example, in Central Illinois, the small town of Hutsonville's wastewater treatment plant has flooded 3 times in the last 2 years, up from once every 5 years, according to its contract operator Shannon Woodward of Connor & Connor, Inc.

Woodward's first piece of advice is not to build on a floodplain, but he also acknowledges that many communities do not have the capital funds for effective protective measures or relocation, and so operators must deal with the hand they are given. His second piece of advice: "Make sure all electrical controls, switch gears and transformers are above the flood stage. That way, when the flood waters subside, you don't have equipment loss and can get back into operation — even if it takes 3 to 6 weeks for the waters to recede." 

Mason City, another small town in Illinois, was able to fund improvements after a flood in 2008 cut off the town’s water supply and nearly overflowed the capacity of its wastewater system. The following year, the city built a stone wall around the water plant, installed flood sensors on the local river, and built effluent pumping stations for the wastewater plant. 

And this article tells the damage and recovery stories of two flooded wastewater plants in Rhode Island. According to the operators of these plants, it is essential to have a flood plan, even if you think your facility is protected. In addition, they maintain it is important to involve wastewater treatment personnel in emergency response exercises or in the incident command structure. On a practical level, the operators encourage SCADA systems to be elevated on the second floor in the operations building if possible. And lastly, they recommend you back up your files and documents electronically. Papers get wet, they say: move them to a dry storage facility. 

Finally, while every community has different characteristics and needs, there are some universal preparedness strategies for wastewater plants. The US EPA recommends practicing mitigation options as the best way to prevent floodwater from invasively appearing. Some of these options include crafting barriers around key assets, having an emergency back-up generator, and keeping key electrical equipment elevated. You can learn more about these options here, or you can watch this helpful video. In addition, many states have their own guidances, such as this one from Minnesota’s Pollution Control Agency.