We've combined our H2Ops and Water Tap newsletters into one publication; ODW Now.
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ODW Now July 2022
Annual EPA Compliance Report
Our annual water system violation report is now available. We prepare the report in compliance with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. During the year, we track water quality, monitoring, and reporting violations by Group A water systems in Washington state. Read current (2021) and previous years’ reports on our EPA Violation Reports webpage.
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Updates
Our twenty-sixth annual federal capitalization grant intended use plan (IUP) is posted to our DWSRF webpage. We use this federal capitalization grant to provide loans to public water systems for improvements that increase public health protection and support other Safe Drinking Water Act activities.
2022 Construction Loan Cycle
The 2022 construction loan cycle is open October 1 to November 30. Read the 2022 Construction Loan Overview 331-630.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding
New federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provides increased funding to DWSRF over the next five years. Be sure to check out the DWSRF Infrastructure Bill Funding.
Grandparent to Legacy: Proposed Change in Operator Certification Regulation
We're amending WAC 246-292, our operator certification regulation
Our proposed language replaces “grandparented” operator with “legacy” operator. We are responding to the fact that the term grandfathered was used in the late 1880s to suppress voting rights. The ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment stated that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State due to race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Some states enacted amendments, at the state level, to prevent African American citizens from exercising their right to vote, by stating that an illiterate man could vote as long as he or his lineal ancestor (i.e., grandfather) had been a registered voter before 1867—three years before the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment (Carman.2020). Earlier, ODW modified the word grandfathered to grandparented in the regulation. Grandparented will change to legacy, which better reflects our intention.
Water Utility Sector Cybersecurity
The Environmental Protection Agency recommends that all water systems regularly check their cybersecurity risk level. The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) regularly provides risk and security information for the water and wastewater utility community. We recommend that water systems refer their risk management and information technology team members to these resources.
American Water Works Association Award Recognition
Meritorious Public Service: Bob James
Congratulations to long-term staff member Bob James for winning the Fuller award! Established by the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the George Warren Fuller award is their highest recognition. Every year, each AWWA subsection selects a member who provided distinguished service.
The Pacific Northwest Subsection presented Bob’s award at their April meeting. Here’s a quote from the nomination text: Bob has “positively impacted not just the drinking water industry, but his efforts directly impacted most of the people of Washington State.”
Meritorious public service runs in Bob’s family. His father Roger James received the Fuller award in 1975. His grandfather, Alex Lindsay, received the Fuller award in 1939.
Award Recognition in Water Science: Melinda Friedman
Melinda Friedman recently received AWWA’s A.P. Black Research Award. Established in 1967, the award honors outstanding research contributions to water science and water supply.
Ms. Friedman is president and co-founder of Confluence Engineering Group, which started in 2008. Confluence provides research and engineering services in water science and water supply. Melinda started the company with her husband, Michael. Before that she spent sixteen years as a consultant and partner at Economic and Engineering Services Inc. She was also the water quality program lead at HDR Inc., in Bellevue, Washington. Read more about Ms. Friedman at the Journal AWWA webpage.
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