Featured Video: Formulate Great Rates If you're a utility manager or a member of a water utility board, there's a good chance you've had to deal with utility rates at some point. If not, there's an even better chance that a rate-setting conversation is in your future. As the nation's infrastructure ages, many communities are coming to terms with the fact that their utility rates have been too low to allow for replacement costs. Whether you've been forced into an expensive repair by a catastrophic failure or simply know a major piece of your infrastructure is living on borrowed time, you may have no choice but to consider a rate hike and other fundraising measures. But even if your position is not that dire, utility rates have to respond to many complex factors including inflation, fluctuations in number of customers, and changing water treatment standards. If the whole thing sounds overwhelming, you're not alone. The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) has produced several resources to guide utilities through this process. Their handbook Formulate Great Rates provides guidance for small communities that need to conduct water system rate studies. They also recorded a 2-part companion webinar for the handbook, the first video of which is linked below. The webinars are presented by RCAP experts with experience in rate-setting and help explain some of the more challenging sections of the handbook. This first webinar is about half an hour long. Formulate Great Rates: A webcast on setting rates in small-community utilities (Part 1) from RCAP on Vimeo. If you need more help understanding the handbook, or need a hand with rate-setting in general, RCAP's regional partners offer technical assistance for rural communities. You might also want to check out the Environmental Finance Center's rate dashboards. September 15, 2017 By Cassia Smith Asset Management, Business Mindset, Capacity Development, Value of Water asset management, financial management, rate setting, utility board resources, water utility management, capacity development, featured videos, rate-setting 0 0 Comment Read More »
Disaster Management and Black Sky Events Coming this October, AWWA will host a webinar entitled Water Sector Black Sky Resilience. A Black Sky event is a long-duration, widespread power outage that could, in turn, cause a whole host of additional catastrophes. According to The Electric Infrastructure Security Council, A Black Sky event can have many causes: high magnitude earthquakes, severe space weather, electromagnetic pulses or interferences in the upper atmosphere (the kind that a nuclear detonation might cause), hurricanes, cyber-terrorism, coordinated power grid assaults and more. Hurricane Harvey has offered a glimpse of the impact a Black Sky event would have on water and wastewater systems and the communities they serve. Black Sky events would cause much longer-term outages than the typical hazard event, and help might not come as quickly, or as easily. Back-up generators might be able to provide a certain amount of power, as long as they are in working order, but what if the treatment chemicals you depend on run out and can't be delivered to you? Last year, the National Infrastructure Advisory Council issued a 212-page report analyzing water sector disaster scenarios and these types of cascading failures - power losses that lead to water losses and the consequences of those losses. The report concluded that this was an area that needed more analysis and planning. The report also recommends that smaller systems be provided with training as well as assistance in partnering with larger utilities that have more resources. Clearly, the effects of a long-term water outage on public health could be devasting, and this is why it is important to incorporate Black Sky response and recovery considerations into disaster management plans. The good news is that if you have a disaster management plan in place, you are already heading in the right direction. Using tools such as this 2016 E-Pro Handbook II (Water), you can expand your plan to include even the most severe emergencies. And this resource form the U.S. Energy Information Administration can keep you updated with live energy disruption reports across the nation. The USEPA also has a whole host of tools to help your utility prepare for a Black Sky event including a Power Resilience Guide for Water and Wastewater Utilities, a Drinking Water and Wastewater Utility Generator Preparedness guide, and a video entitled "Power to Keep Water Moving" (click below to view). Finally, be sure to check out the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' EPFAT tool, a secure web-based tool to input and store emergency power assessment data. Using this tool can help USACE provide temporary power faster, getting you the right generator at the right time. September 11, 2017 By Brenda Koenig Emergency Response Black Sky events, Cyber Security, disaster management, disaster management plan, emergency response, emergency response plan, hazards, Water Security 0 0 Comment Read More »
Featured Video: WARNs in Action WARNs have been a valuable asset to water and wastewater utilities for several years now. In the event of an emergency---ranging from a tornado to a flood to a major main break---fellow operators can come to your aid and help your utility get back on its feet. This is accomplished through a Mutual Aid Agreement. Mutual Aid Agreements are often misunderstood. They are not set-in-stone requirements that you must give aid, regardless of your capacity to do so. Utilities volunteer to offer aid; no one is forced. Mutual aid agreements are different from regional partnerships. This past summer, we talked about the benefits of a full-blown regional partnership, complete with shared responsibilities among operators and centralized accounting and assets. Even regional partnerships can benefit from joining WARNs, since a large-scale emergency like a flood, wildfire, hurricane, or earthquake could still decimate an entire region. But if a regional partnership isn't of interest to your utility, a mutual aid agreement is still worthwhile. Signing on to a mutual aid agreement typically does not cost money, and in many cases utilities that volunteer to help can be reimbursed. This 3-minute video from earlier in the history of WARNs provides a general introduction to the concept. It also describes an activation of COWARN in Colorado, in response to a major water contamination event in a small rural town. To look for a WARN in your state, learn more about the idea, or view situation reports from WARN activations around the country, see the AWWA's WARN website. To see Illinois' ILWARN flyer for small systems, go here. And if you know of a particularly good WARN and small systems story, let us know! September 8, 2017 By Cassia Smith Emergency Response contamination response, disaster preparedness, disaster response, emergency preparedness, emergency response, featured videos, utilities helping utilities, mutual aid, WARN 0 0 Comment Read More »
Featured Videos: Backflow Prevention & Cross Connection Control from AWWA No one wants to experience a backflow incident. Depending on what contaminant was involved and how much of the distribution system was affected, these incidents range from being a lot of work and expense to being a full-blown public health crisis. (See the bottom of this page to browse real backflow incidents that have occurred here in the U.S. as well as Australia and Canada.) Either way, a lot of people will have their water service disrupted and you'll have a lot of extra work on your hands until the situation is resolved. If you're hoping to prevent a backflow incident in your community, this week's videos, courtesy of AWWA, could help. The first video explains the basics of backflow and backsiphonage and provides a brief overview air gaps and backflow prevention assemblies. The second video covers similar topics but goes more in-depth on backflow prevention assemblies, discussing the most common models, how they work, and where and how they should be installed. The first video is about 5 minutes and the second is about 7-and-a-half. If you'd like more training on backflow and cross connection topics, visit our event calendar and select the Backflow category and your state. If you'd like to do more reading on your own, visit our document database and select the Backflow category and the Manuals/Handbooks document type. August 25, 2017 By Cassia Smith Backflow air gaps, backflow prevention assemblies, ccc, cross connection control, backflow prevention, featured videos 0 0 Comment Read More »
Repairing a Live Water Main Get out your waders, ladders, clamps and sleeves! There’s nothing quite like the excitement of repairing a water main under pressure – and nothing quite like the kind of water operator who willingly climbs into a deep hole filled with water and mud in all types of weather. According to Colorado Springs Utilities, there is no shortage of these opportunities: more than 240,000 water main breaks occur each year in the United States, and each one has its unique challenges. But for many of these breaks, you don't need to turn off the water. Why? Well it goes without saying that repair work should be performed, if at all possible, without interrupting service to customers. Moreover, maintaining positive pressure in the line helps the utility avoid water quality concerns, further service failures caused by valve closures and the need for additional monitoring/sampling. Finally, doing live repairs means the utility does not have to issue a boil order notice, which can affect customer confidence and add additional incident reporting/paperwork requirements. So, when done safely and correctly, live water main repairs not only make sense for everyone, but also provide a bit of excitement in the work week! Need a step-by-step breakdown on the process? Check out this video from the Village of Downers Grove, IL: How to Repair A Water Main Break in 8 Easy Steps And, for your viewing pleasure, here are a selection of YouTube videos of recent live water main repairs: This video provides guidance for strategic foot placement during a live water main repair. And this video offer proof of how quickly the repair can be made! And this video shows an example of a water main break you will hope to never see in person! August 21, 2017 By Brenda Koenig Small System O&M distribution system, featured document, leak repair, O & M, Operation & Maintenance, water main repair 0 0 Comment Read More »
Featured Video: Secure Your Utility For the last two weeks, we've been talking about sharing the value of water and the reality of hidden infrastructure with your community. These are vital points that will help your community understand where their money goes and the importance of the work you do every day. However, there may be some individuals in your community that you wish understood a bit more about the value of water and a bit less about hidden infrastructure. Vandalism, break-ins, and other security breaches can be a nuisance at best and a public health hazard at worst. Utilities of all sizes in all kinds of communities deal with these issues, but the far-flung nature of rural utilities can make them particularly vulnerable. So what can you do? This week's video offers some suggestions. It presents a case study of an Arizona utility that took several measures to deal with security issues. Though the utility highlighted is large, many of their practices may work for smaller utilities as well. You can view a PDF of the handbook mentioned in the video, or use the other navigation and access options offered on the USEPA website. You might also be interested in this top 10 list of water security and emergency preparedness procedures for small groundwater utilities (also a PDF). August 18, 2017 By Cassia Smith Security utility security, featured videos, water security 0 0 Comment Read More »
Featured Videos: The House on Wade Avenue Last week, our featured video discussed the value of water. Hidden infrastructure is often a factor in how people value their water utility. Distribution and collection systems and treatment plants are usually tucked out of the way, and out of sight for many people is out of mind. Sometimes though, the obscurity of the infrastructure can be its own story, as in the case of this mysterious house on Wade Avenue in Raleigh, North Carolina. See if you can guess its secret, and once you know the answer, challenge your customers to guess too! For more public education resources, check the Public Education category on this blog. Or, for a more in-depth discussion of public education and water infrastructure, check out this hour-long webinar recording from the Environmental Finance Center at UNC-Chapel Hill. August 11, 2017 By Cassia Smith Public Education featured videos, fun, public education, distribution systems, hidden infrastructure, value of water 0 0 Comment Read More »
Featured Videos: Put Water First Summer is a time when water sources are on a lot of customers' minds. Whether they're buying bottled water from the store or making sun tea with water from the tap, chances are the value of drinking water is particularly clear to them. If you'd like to advocate for the value of your drinking water utility, this week's featured video could help. Heather Himmelberger, director of the Southwest Environmental Finance Center, gave this talk a few years ago at TEDxABQ. TEDx events are independently organized TED-like conferences intended to help communities spark conversation and connection. Heather speaks about the incredibly reasonable price of tap water, and discusses the expenses that could face the industry in the future. The video can provide an accessible introduction to these topics for your customers. To see more on the topic of the value of water, check out the Value of Water category here on this blog. Or type "value of water" (minus the quote marks) into the keyword search field of our document database, then click Retrieve Documents. August 4, 2017 By Cassia Smith Public Education, Value of Water drinking water expenses, drinking water price, public education, featured videos, value of water 0 0 Comment Read More »
Contracting a Certified Water Operator Many small systems across the nation depend on the services of a circuit rider, also known as a contract operator. In fact, according to an article by Lori Moore, Compliance Specialist at Colorado Department of Public Health, contract operators make up an incredible 33 percent of the total number of certified water professionals who supervise public systems! Contract operators can help ensure regulatory compliance for less complex systems that do not need a full-time operator, they can respond to emergencies, attend sanitary surveys or help fill-in when a full-time operator cannot be found in the area. Whatever the reason, it is important to know how to select a contract operator, and then once selected, how to communicate effectively with them. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has recently published such a guide, outlining the responsibilities of both the responsible official/owner and the certified water operator. The guide also includes a contract operator interview tool and topics for developing terms of a contract. Pennsylvania isn't the only state offering guidelines for developing a contract. For example, here is Vermont’s Department of Environmental Conservation list of suggested information and requirements to include and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has it's own guide as well. Many states also offer lists of current certified contract operators, like this one. Once selected, communication with the operator is key to developing a successful relationship. Because the work contract operators do is immensely valuable, especially these days, establishing clear expectations can go a long way for everyone involved. August 3, 2017 By Brenda Koenig Asset Management, Small System O&M, Workforce Circuit Rider, Contract Operator, Workforce 0 0 Comment Read More »
Featured Video: After the Storm If your utility is in an area that gets storms with heavy rain, you may be aware of the affect stormwater can have on water quality. Even if your area is usually dry, a sudden storm can rinse all of the oil spills, dog poop, and dust that have accumulated in the yards and streets of your community right into the nearest surface water body. Depending on the community you live in, industrial sites and large farming operations can also have an impact on stormwater quality. This 20-minute video from the USEPA discusses how stormwater and watershed factors can affect water quality in your community. It also highlights communities that face stormwater quality challenges, and possible solutions to those issues. If you want to see more presentations from communities dealing with stormwater issues, visit our document database and set the filters to the Stormwater category and the Presentations/Slides type. Then click Retrieve Documents. You might also be interested in these sourcewater protection resources from the USEPA. Dealing with stormwater quality can sometimes be a big project, but the benefits to your community's quality of life and public health are worth the effort. July 28, 2017 By Cassia Smith Source Water Protection featured videos, source water protection, storm water quality, stormwater quality, watershed protection, sourcewater protection 0 0 Comment Read More »