Month: April 2015

AWWA has submitted comments to the EPA on the draft Fourth Contaminant Candidate List (CCL4). The draft CCL4, originally published in the Federal Register on February 4, 2015, listed 100 chemicals and 12 microbial contaminants. However, AWWA has recommended that the final CCL4 only include 20-50 compounds and that the EPA “use an alternative contaminant identification process to select a shorter list of compounds of greatest potential concern”.

As part of the EPA Competitive Assistance Award process, AWWA and the Environmental Finance Center Network are partnering to offer the following no-cost web trainings designed specifically to meet the needs of small water systems. You do not need to be an AWWA member to participate – but advance registration for each event is required.

April 14, 2015 | 1:30–2:30PM (eastern)

Key Financial Indicators

Is your water system financially healthy? This webinar will discuss and examine the key financial indicators that allow small systems to make informed decisions in planning and investment. The webinar will include training on how to calculate and interpret your system’s operating ratio, debt service coverage ratio, current ratio, and days of cash on hand. The webinar will also discuss how funders use these numbers in deciding whether or not to loan your system money needed for capital improvements.

Attending this webinar will help you to:

• Better understand your system’s operating ratio, debt service, coverage ratio, current ratio, and days of cash on hand
• Understand your costs and revenues
• Move from “paycheck to paycheck” to longer term planning

Click here to register for this event.

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April 16, 2015 | 1:00–2:00PM (eastern)

Asset Management IQ: How much do you know about AM tools and resources?

This interactive webinar will include an overview of Asset Management core principles and community/organization level of engagement with Asset Management. There are many tools and resources that communities can use as they move through the process of developing an Asset Management plan. This webinar will also provide an overview of available tools and resources.

Attending this webinar will help you to:

• Understand the concepts and practices of Asset Management
• Gauge system-wide level of understanding and engagement in Asset Management planning
• Understand how to conduct asset management using simple and complex tools
• Be presented with a breadth and depth of resources that support community asset management efforts

Click here to register for this event

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Please direct any webinar-specific questions to Khris Dodson at kdodson@syracusecoe.org.

Please direct all other small system training questions to Kami Johle Butt at kbutt@awwa.org.

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In-Person Workshops

These training partners are also offering several in-person training opportunities for small water systems:

• Oregon, Financial Management Workshop, April 8, 2015
• Louisiana, Asset Management and Water Loss Workshop, April 14, 2015
• Rhode Island, Management and Finance Tools and Techniques, April 14, 2015
• New Jersey, Small System Operator Training: Achieve and Maintain Compliance with SDWA, April 14 and April 21, 2015 (Two half day workshop)

Click 2015 Workshops for more information about these and other no-cost small system workshops sponsored by these training partners.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a brand new field-accessible mobile website. Water Utility Response On-The-Go is an innovative tool that consolidates information and tools that water utility operators and their response partners may need during an emergency. The tool is ideal for small systems that lack a large support network in place when natural disasters strike.

Water Utility Response On-The-Go allows users to accomplish the following:

• identify and contact emergency response partners
• monitor local and national severe weather conditions
• review and complete incident-specific checklists; and populate
• save and email both generic damage assessment forms and FEMA incident command system forms.

The Water Utility Response On-the-Go Mobile Website is available at epa.gov/responseotg.

For more information or questions about this tool, please contact Bailey Kennett at 202-566-1344 or Brian Pickard at 202-564-0827 of EPA’s Water Security Division.