Clean Water Current Archive

Registration is still open for NACWA’s 2018 Utility Leadership Conference & 48th Annual Meeting (ULC), which is set to be one of the most high impact clean water events of the year.

The International Water Services Flushability Group (IWSFG) – a group of dedicated water professionals seeking to protect customers by providing clear guidance on what should and shouldn’t be flushed down the toilet – released its official Flushability Specifications on June 12.

The National Network for Water Quality Trading (NNWQT), met in Washington, DC last week at NACWA’s office to discuss the Network’s progress in conducting an assessment of water quality trading demand, along with a review of trading barriers.

The next edition of NACWA's Hot Topics in Clean Water Law Webinar series – scheduled tomorrow, June 20, from 2:00 - 3:30 pm ET – places the very latest legal ramifications of climate change front-and-center.

The Senate Committee on Agriculture has released its bipartisan version of the 2018 Farm Bill, which will be marked up by the committee this week. NACWA and its Farm Bill Working Group have been actively engaging for almost a year with both the Senate and House Agriculture Committees to ensure inclusion of NACWA priorities under the “Conservation Title” of the Farm Bill, many of which were included in the Senate bill.

NACWA joined other municipal and state groups on June 6 for EPA’s quarterly intergovernmental meeting, which included a discussion with EPA Deputy Administrator, Andrew Wheeler.

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed its version of the 2018 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), H.R. 8, last week, by a vote of 408 - 2.

NACWA participated in a coordinating meeting last week on a research project to provide water utilities with additional resources around utility governance issues.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) released two circulars last week that look at the impact agriculture has on water resources and aquatic ecosystems.

The next edition of NACWA's Hot Topics in Clean Water Law Webinar series – on June 20, from 2:00 - 3:30 PM ET – places the very latest legal ramifications of climate change front-and-center.

The International Water Services Flushability Group (IWSFG) has published a final version of its flushability specification, which is designed to protect sewer systems and wastewater treatment facilities by ensuring that products labeled “flushable” break apart quickly after flushing and will not cause damage to infrastructure or the environment.

Members of Congress return to Capitol Hill this week from their Memorial Day recess with a full legislative agenda to tackle ahead of their next scheduled recess over July 4th.

As hurricane season officially arrived June 1, NACWA, along with the National Association of Floods and Stormwater Management Agencies (NAFSMA), gathered in in San Antonio, TX last week for a workshop and roundtable discussion on how municipal clean water utilities, stormwater agencies, and flood control districts can learn from past flood events, mitigate risks, and strive for greater resiliency.

Today, important discussions on potential increases in water sector funding are exploring different levels of private engagement; the role of peer-to-peer partnerships; and how fragmentation in the public water and wastewater sector nationwide may limit how much progress can be made.

The next edition of NACWA's Hot Topics in Clean Water Law Webinar series – on June 20, from 2:00 - 3:30 PM ET – places the very latest legal ramifications of climate change front-and-center.

NACWA joined more than 150 federal and state regulators and other stakeholders at EPA’s National Leadership Summit on Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), which was held on May 22 in Washington, DC.

The NACWA Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Committee is considering questions and clarifications that are still needed about the Dental Amalgam Separator Rule after EPA published a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document on May 14.

NACWA continues to evaluate EPA’s Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science proposed rulemaking published April 30. NACWA’s initial concern was the short, thirty-day comment period EPA initially established, so the Association filed a joint request with several water sector groups May 23 requesting additional time to review the rule

The NACWA Security & Emergency Preparedness Committee held a web meeting on May 21 with guest speaker Mike Howe from the Texas Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA), who provided a presentation on how the Texas Water & Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN) helped utilities recover from the impacts of Hurricane Harvey.

Water Infrastructure Investment. Consent decrees. Integrated planning. Affordability. Your utility can be 100% correct on the issues, and still suffer negative blowback due to poorly executed communications on advocacy matters.