18th Annual EPA Drinking Water Workshop: Small System Challenges and Solutions

Date and Time

Monday, August 30, 2021 - Thursday, September 2, 2021
11:00 am - 5:30 pm EDT

Event Host

EPA's Office of Research and Development and Office of Water in partnership with the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators

Event Type

Conference

Description

Registration Open!

Registration is now open! Please review the workshop agenda prior to registering or have the agenda open for reference while registering.

• View the Agenda
• Register for the Workshop

Virtual Workshop

EPA's free annual drinking water workshop, held in partnership with the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA), will be held virtually again this year. The workshop will provide in-depth information and training on solutions and strategies for handling small drinking water system challenges with a focus on monitoring, distribution, source, and treatment topics. We look forward to providing networking and training opportunities in a virtual setting for a large audience.

Training and Networking Opportunities

The workshop speakers and group leaders are experts in their fields from EPA and other federal agencies, state and local agencies, tribes, academia, NGOs, and private industry. The workshop agenda includes the following networking and training opportunities:

• In-depth training
• Technical presentation sessions
• Breakout discussion groups for primacy agencies (State/Territory/Tribal)
• Plenary sessions with guest speakers

The technical sessions of the workshop will include presentations related to pathogens, PFAS, corrosion and lead, source water quality and quantity, disinfectants and disinfection byproducts, equity, resiliency and emergency response, contaminant removal, monitoring, risk communication, implementing innovative treatments, distribution system best practices, and system oversight. In-depth training options will include corrosion, modeling with EPANET, sanitary surveys, and managing legacy manganese in distribution systems.

Attendees

The workshop is primarily designed for state primacy agency staff responsible for drinking water regulations compliance and treatment technologies permitting; however, others benefit from participating, including territory, tribal, and local primacy staff, water system operators, academics, design engineers, technical assistance providers, and consultants.

Training Hours

Attendees will have the option of receiving training course credit certificates hours for each session listed on the agenda. Acceptance of certificates is contingent on state and/or organization requirements—EPA cannot guarantee acceptance. Closed-captioned recordings of the sessions will be posted to the online agenda for later viewing and as a training resource; certificates cannot be provided for viewing recordings.

NOTE: We are currently working with Ohio EPA to offer official course numbers.

Workshop History

2020 Workshop Recordings

All technical and training sessions from the 17th Annual Workshop (virtual) were recorded and are available for viewing.

View the agenda and recordings

The workshop attracted over 3,300 attendees from all 50 states (including 34 Tribes) and 4 territories. Over 120 state/territory environmental and health agencies and over 240 water utilities were represented.

To support the efforts of state and local officials to assist small systems, EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) and Office of Water (OW), in cooperation with ASDWA, has held an annual workshop for the past 17 years to provide timely information on a variety of drinking water topics relevant to small systems. When the first workshop was held in 2004, it was by invitation only and designed as an educational opportunity for state staff working with small communities to install arsenic treatment technologies.

In 2008, at the encouragement of state agencies, the workshop was opened to the public and expanded to include multiple small drinking water system topics, including treatment technology options, infrastructure challenges and solutions, regulation implementation, compliance issues, and emerging contaminants.

In 2020, the workshop was held virtually for the first time in the workshop's history. See the highlight box on the right for details and session recordings.

Item writing and exam development ensures individuals seeking certification are properly assessed and qualified. Take our survey today and help shape the future! View this email in your browser

Help Shape the Future of ABC Certification Exams! ABC needs you — this is why One of ABC’s core tenets is continual improvement, which is why we are seeking highly motivated water and wastewater professionals to assist us with updating our certification exams. By volunteering with ABC as an item writer, you can help shape the future of the exams used by authorities across North America as the cornerstone of their certification programs. Volunteers chosen for this opportunity will automatically receive a $25 gift card by completing their assignment by the due date, and will be entered to win one of four grand prizes: Conference registration to either AWWA or WEF, and a $500 gift card AWWA or WEF conference registration $100 gift card $50 gift card Take this survey today to volunteer! Learn More About ABC Advocacy and Our Certification Process You’ll find additional details about ABC’s advocacy and our certification process here. Take this survey today to become an item writing and exam development volunteer and be entered to win some awesome prizes!

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Learn how to improve your mechanical wastewater treatment system’s nutrient removal performance without capital upgrades in the upcoming training series Reducing Nutrient Discharges Through Low-Cost Operational Changes.

These training sessions will be facilitated by one of America’s premier experts – Grant Weaver of CleanWaterOps – who has helped activated sludge facilities across the U.S. reduce their nitrogen and phosphorus discharges using their existing facilities and equipment.

Each training session is free and can be used to receive credit for operator certification in your state or province. See registration link for details.

Register to save your seat today! https://tinyurl.com/RRBTraining

This training webinar series is brought to you by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. EPA Region 8, U.S. EPA Region 5, the Red River Basin Commission, and CleanWaterOps as part of the National Study on Nutrient Removal and Secondary Technologies

For further information check here:

More Info

Hire a summer student and bring in fresh perspectives   Seeding the Next Generation of Environmental Workers -  Wage Funding Programs to Hire Summer Students or Interns At ECO Canada, we believe in giving students and recent graduates opportunities to put their knowledge into action. Our Employment Programs provide wage funding for organizations to expand their workforce and hire young professionals with knowledge of the latest advancements in STEAM, business and digital technology. Summer Student Work Placement Funding Applications are now open for Summer Student Work Placements. Funding is available for environmental employers looking to hire the brightest minds in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math (STEAM) and Business students, with no age restrictions, for 6-16 week placements. Eligible organizations can get up to 50% of a student’s salary covered to a maximum of $5,000. Students and employers interested in applying for funding can find out if they’re eligible through our quick online assessment. Apply Now “I am excited about this investment in the workforce of tomorrow… By encouraging employers to hire youth, including northern, remote and Indigenous youth, we are helping build a diverse, qualified labour pool and create a green economy that benefits all Canadians.” The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Funding For Full-Time Jobs Limited placements remain for our Digital Skills for Youth wage funding program - eligible organizations can get up to $15,000 to hire youth for roles requiring digital skills in the environmental sector. Through this internship program, your business can increase the supply of highly qualified candidates and facilitate their transition to a rapidly changing labour market in the digital economy. The Digital Skills for Youth program allows you to leverage the knowledge of a tech-savvy, educated youth population to future-proof your business. As a host organization, you give candidates the opportunity to combine their digital skills and knowledge with soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, and teamwork. Interested organizations looking to apply should use our easy online assessment tool.  We have also opened the waitlist for our popular full-time youth internship programs to hire post-secondary graduates for roles in STEM and Natural Resources.  These programs are funded through Environment and Climate Change Canada's Science Horizons Internship and Natural Resources Canada. Click here to join the waitlist and be first to be notified when funding becomes available.    ECO Canada’s employment programs have helped create over 7,500 jobs to date and distributed over $50 million in funding to eligible employers across Canada while providing valuable work experience to students. View the Video to Learn How it Works   View employer case studies   Funding provided by ECO Canada is the steward for the Canadian environmental workforce across all industries. From job creation and wage funding to training and labour market research, we champion the end-to-end career of an environmental professional. Together with the federal government, as part of Canada’s Work Integrated Learning Strategy, ECO Canada offers funding for eligible employers to help students kick-start their career path in the environmental sector.

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The federal government has committed to establishing a new Canada Water Agency to coordinate national efforts to protect Canada’s great water resources.  The first step was to prepare a Discussion Paper – Towards the Creation of a Canada Water Agency.  They then began a public consultation process that has included a series of national and regional webinars and virtual workshops. The discussion paper can be seen on our cwwa.ca website here. Naturally, CWWA has taken great interest in this process and we see tremendous potential in a more coordinated effort amongst the 20+ federal departments and agencies that address water issues.  We also see the potential of national collaboration of the provinces, territories, First Nations, municipalities, nongovernmental organizations and academic centres. Most importantly, we are being recognized as THE voice of the Canada’s municipal utility sector.    CWWA members have participated in each of the consultation sessions.  CWWA was very pleased to be part of a national coalition of organizations with an interest in developing a successful Canada Water Agency.  CWWA was honoured to sign a joint letter from that coalition supporting the creation of the Canada Water Agency and commenting on the federal Discussion Paper.   However, with our unique perspective of representing our utility sector, we felt it was critical that CWWA prepare our own submission.  In our submission of February 24, 2021, we identify what we feel should be priorities of the Agency and confirm our role as the voice of our sector and a conduit to our customers to assist in developing and implementing national strategies.  Our submission is available on our website. We would like to thank all those that attended the consultations sessions on behalf of CWWA and the task group that prepared this submission: Amy Winchester, Jay Whiteside, Hiran Sandanayake, Klas Ohman, Indra Maharjan, Adrian Toth and Robert Haller

Copyright © 2021 Canadian Water and Wastewater Association, All rights reserved. You've been added to this list as a CWWA member, contact or because you attended one of our events. Our mailing address is: Canadian Water and Wastewater Association 1010 Polytek St Unit 11 Ottawa, ON K1J 9H9 Canada Add us to your address book

Dear All,

COVID-19 has impacted many lives and we are still in the midst of overcoming this malicious spread which has infected more than 100 million and caused death to 2.24 million worldwide to date.  Wastewater-based COVID-19 surveillance has been implemented in many countries to compliment clinical testing to better assess and activate control measures.

The e-workshop on Wastewater-Based COVID-19 Surveillance organized by NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI) at National University of Singapore has gathered experts, professionals and practitioners who have implemented wastewater-based COVID-19 surveillance to share their knowledge and experience on planning, implementation, reporting and analysis. The target outcome would enhance wastewater-based COVID-19 surveillance capability and hasten measures to control the spread of COVID-19 in universities and community living. The knowledge and experience would be particularly useful to academia, estate management, and municipal and health authority to initiate the planning and execution, or to improve existing testing programme. This workshop also allows interested individuals to understand how wastewater-based COVID-19 surveillance is being carried out.

I cordially invite you and your colleagues to the e-workshop on Wastewater-Based COVID-19 Surveillance.

 

Date: 10 Mar (Wednesday) and 11 Mar (Thursday) 2021

Time: 0700 to 1145 Eastern Time / 2000 to 0045 Singapore Time

Programme: Click here

Registration: Click here

Free Admission (Registration is compulsory)

I look forward to yours and your colleagues’ participation. Please feel free to disseminate this invitation.

 

We envisaged that through sharing our knowledge and learning from each experience would help build and strengthen our efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19.

To whom it may concern at the Manitoba Water and Wastewater Association (MWWA):

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to you today to share information about the recently launched Western Canada 2021 AquaHacking Challenge which may be of interest to MWWA members. The AquaHacking Challenge is a professional development program and tech startup competition for students and young professionals who want to have a positive impact on water. Having helped establish 28 water tech startups since 2015, the AquaHacking Challenge is a recognized pre-incubator program supporting some of the newest and most innovative tech solutions and youth-led startups in the Canadian water sector today. The winning team in the Lake Winnipeg 2020 AquaHacking Challenge was Particuleye Technologies, made up of students from the University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg.  

Co-presented by the Okanagan Basin Water Board and Aqua Forum, the Western Canada 2021 AquaHacking Challenge will be presented 100% virtually and is an opportunity for young problem-solvers to design, develop, and pitch an innovative tech solution tackling one of these critical water issues:

• On-farm nutrient capture and recycling
• Innovative ‘social’ technologies for water information
• Optimization of drinking water/wastewater treatment plants
• Toxic algal blooms

With $58,000 total in funding to be awarded, personalized training and mentorship, and a community that has been growing for the past 6 years, the AquaHacking Challenge is the opportunity of a lifetime for young innovators to transform their ideas into reality! 

Applicant Guide  Letter of Intent

January 19, 2021                                                          

Lake Winnipeg Basin Program -  Call for Letters of Intent (2021/2022) -  Submission Deadline February 5, 2021

Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Lake Winnipeg Basin Program (LWBP) provides funding for targeted, outcome-focused actions that address at least one of the following LWBP priorities:

1. Nutrient Reduction
2. Collaborative Governance
3. Indigenous Engagement

The Lake Winnipeg Basin Program implements a two stage application process:

Stage 1: Letter of Intent: Applicants are asked, using the attached template, to submit a Letter of Intent (maximum 2 pages).  Letters of Intent will be reviewed by ECCC against the following criteria:

• The Letter of Intent does not exceed two pages;
• The project contributes to at least one of the three LWBP priorities;
• The requested level of federal funding is between 1/3 and 2/3 of the total project value;
• The start date and end date are clearly stated (must end before March 31, 2022);
• The project takes place in the Canadian portion of the Lake Winnipeg Basin; and
• The submission is from an eligible applicant.

Stage 2: Project Proposal Submission: Once a Letter of Intent is deemed eligible, applicants will be invited to submit a project proposal using the Grants and Contributions Enterprise Management System (GCEMS), ECCC’s new online application system.

Please refer to the attached Applicant Guide for further program information including eligibility and the application process.

If you are interested in funding through the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program, please submit a Letter of Intent no later than 11:59p.m. (CST), February 5, 2021. 

Applicants may send their submission:

via email: ec.lacwinnipeginfo-lakewinnipeginfo.ec@canada.ca

or via mail to:

Lake Winnipeg Basin Program

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Suite 150, 123 Main Street

Winnipeg, MB R3C 4W2

(MUST be postmarked on or before February 5, 2021)

An acknowledgment email will be sent to all that submit a Letter of Intent for consideration.  If you do not receive an acknowledgement email within 5 working days of the deadline, please contact us as follows:

Lake Winnipeg Basin Program Contact Information Ec.lacwinnipeginfo-lakewinnipeginfo.ec@canada.ca 1-800-567-1570

Dana Hay 204-914-9166 Dana.hay@canada.ca

Please forward this information to anyone who may be interested in applying for funding through the Lake Winnipeg Basin Program.  Those wishing to be added to our mailing list should send their contact information to ec.lacwinnipeginfo-lakewinnipeginfo.ec@canada.ca

Dana Hay, B.Ed
Senior Program Officer, Lake Winnipeg Basin Program
Environment and Climate Change Canada / Government of Canada
Dana.Hay@canada.ca / Tel: 204-914-9166

Agente supérieure de programme, Fonds d'intendance du bassin du lac Winnipeg
Environnement  et Changement climatique Canada / Gouvernement du Canada
Dana.hay@canada.ca / Tél: 204-914-9166

Le 19 janvier 2021   

Programme du bassin du lac Winnipeg – Appel de lettres d’intention (2020-2021) – Date limite de présentation :  le 5 février 2021

Le Programme du bassin du lac Winnipeg (PBLW) d’Environnement et Changement climatique Canada (ECCC) finance des initiatives ciblées et axées sur les résultats qui répondent à au moins une des priorités suivantes:

1. Réduction des nutriments
2. Gouvernance collaborative
3. Participation des Autochtones

Le Programme du bassin du lac Winnipeg applique un processus de présentation d’une demande en deux étapes :

Étape 1 - Lettre d’intention : Les demandeurs doivent, au moyen du modèle fourni, présenter une lettre d’intention (maximum deux pages). ECCC examinera les lettres d’intention au regard des critères suivants :

• La lettre d’intention ne dépasse pas deux pages;
• le projet contribue à au moins l’une des trois priorités du PBLW
• le niveau de financement fédéral demandé se situe entre 1/3 et 2/3 de la valeur totale du projet;
• les dates du début et de la fin du projet sont précisées (le projet doit être terminé avant le 31 mars 2022);
• le projet est exécuté dans la partie canadienne du bassin du lac Winnipeg;
• la lettre d’intention provient d’un demandeur admissible.

Étape 2 - Présentation d’une proposition de projet : Lorsqu’une lettre d’intention est jugée admissible, les demandeurs sont invités à soumettre une proposition de projet en utilisant le système de gestion d’entreprise des subventions et contributions (SGESC), le nouveau système d’application en ligue d’ECCC.

Le guide du demandeur est également disponible en français pour d’autres renseignements sur le Programme, notamment l’admissibilité et le processus de demande de financement.

Pour obtenir du financement par le biais du Programme du bassin du lac Winnipeg, veuillez présenter une lettre d’intention au plus tard à 23h59 (HNC), le 5 février 2021.

Les demandeurs peuvent envoyer leur lettre d’intention :

par courriel, à : ec.lacwinnipeginfo-lakewinnipeginfo.ec@canada.ca

ou par la poste, à :

Programme du bassin du lac Winnipeg

Environnement et Changement climatique Canada

Bureau 150, 123, rue Main

Winnipeg (Manitoba)  R3C 4W2

(La lettre d’intention DOIT être oblitérée avant ou au plus tard le 5 février 2021.)

Un courriel d’accusé de réception sera envoyé à toutes les personnes qui présentent une lettre d’intention aux fins d’évaluation. Si vous ne recevez pas un courriel d’accusé de réception dans les cinq jours ouvrables après la date limite de la soumission d’une lettre d’intention, veuillez communiquer avec nous.

Personnes-ressources du Programme du bassin du lac Winnipeg Ec.lacwinnipeginfo-lakewinnipeginfo.ec@canada.ca 1-800-567-1570

Dana Hay 204-914-9166 Dana.hay@canada.ca

Veuillez transmettre cette information à toute personne qui pourrait être intéressée à demander du financement du Programme du bassin du lac Winnipeg. Les personnes qui désirent ajouter leur nom à notre liste d’envoi doivent envoyer leurs coordonnées à l’adresse suivante : ec.lacwinnipeginfo-lakewinnipeginfo.ec@canada.ca

Dana Hay, B.Ed

Senior Program Officer, Lake Winnipeg Basin Program

Environment and Climate Change Canada / Government of Canada

Dana.Hay@canada.ca / Tel: 204-914-9166

Agente supérieure de programme, Fonds d'intendance du bassin du lac Winnipeg
Environnement  et Changement climatique Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Dana.hay@canada.ca / Tél: 204-914-9166

Wednesdays with Warren!  Get ready for a new video of expert Indigenous Water Operator, Warren Brown, through a campaign called, 'Wednesdays with Warren.' The weekly releases are strategically implemented to create a habit amongst Operators to check the website on a regular basis to learn and connect with others Operators across the nation. Please share the message and link below to your networks to share the knowledge and increase operator engagement.   Check out this week's video of expert Indigenous Water Operator Warren Brown as he explains important parameters to feature on a fire hydrant. How does your community identify its fire hydrants?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaYn7DB9nd8 Want to directly share the post from the WM social media channels? Click any of the below icons to go to the post on the platform and repost/share/retweet away. LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Website YouTube ABOUT US Water Movement (WM) is a nonprofit venture under Engineers without Borders- Canada. WM has a diverse collaborative team of volunteer Indigenous Water Operators, Industry Professionals, University Students, Videographers and Website Developers working to tackle sustainable development goal 6: clean water and sanitation. WMs mission is to bridge the connection between Indigenous Water Operators across Canada by providing an interactive online space where operators can connect and share lessons learned, ask questions, and spotlight exemplary operators in their community. The site also provides a video learning library featuring weekly videos from expert Indigenous Water Operators across Canada and a Youth Water Leaders Program. The site runs on an 'For Indigenous operators by Indigenous operators' motto, any improvements and suggestions to the site are always welcomed and encouraged.