Keeping You Up to Date
Date postedMay 27, 2022
We are all looking forward to the Memorial Weekend, but with each Memorial Day, along with the cookouts and road trips comes June first, the start of Hurricane Season. This date has struck dread in the hearts of many Floridians as we ready for another season of weather watching, preparing, and if we are lucky breathing a sigh of relief that we were spared. If we are not so lucky, there are days of picking up the pieces, making repairs, and living without electricity and clean water.
All predictions point to a year of above average activity. As you can see by the graphic above, we can anticipate 3-6 major hurricanes. However, sometimes the lesser hurricanes do more damage with rainfall and residual winds. This year could be particularly trying with the supply change issue delaying new and needed parts/materials for recovery. The "bailing wire/duct tape" phase may need to last longer.
We at Florida Rural Water are preparing for the worse and hoping for the best. Our warehouse is stocked with different sizes of generators and many other types of emergency equipment so that we can be ready for any type of emergency. We have developed Standard Operating Procedures in case of an emergency, that can be deployed on a moments notice. The office in Tallahassee is set with emergency generators so that we are able to monitor our members needs at all times.
Is your system ready for what may befall them this hurricane season? Have you updated your information on WATER Tracker at https://flwatertracker.com/? Is your Emergency Response Plan up to date? With the start of hurricane season, here are some more suggestions that you may want to consider to be sure that your system is ready for "the storm":
- Contact Electrician to Check Emergency Generator & Run on Load Bank
- Contact Electrician to Check Running Amps on Pumps
- Make Sure Unnecessary Equipment is Properly Decommissioned
- Clean, Inspect & Disinfect Aerator/Degassifier Screens, Sprayheads & Gaskets
For more information on the upcoming hurricane season, please refer to the articles below.
NATIONAL NEWS
Cybersecurity for Water/Wastewater & Operational Technology The protection of critical assets has never been more top of mind as industrial attacks on water/wastewater facilities and other critical infrastructure providers are on the rise. more
Wastewater SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 Testing with ddPCR Technology Infected individuals shed the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in their feces even if they are asymptomatic, and the shed viruses are detectable in wastewater samples days before symptoms appear. more
Unifying Your Water and Wastewater Operations From everyday living to industrial operations and production, water is vital to life. With 71% of the earth’s surface covered in water, its essential nature remains undisputed. Water and water assets are vital components of productivity in industries across different sectors. more
New PFAS Data Fills Research Gap This article highlights several nationwide sampling efforts performed by CDM Smith and the Water Research Foundation to better understand PFAS. more
Companies Face Billions in Damages as PFAS Lawsuits Flood Courts (Bloomberg) For years, plaintiffs’ lawyers suing over health and environmental damage from so called forever chemicals, known collectively as PFAS, focused on one set of deep pockets—E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. more
EPA Adds Five PFAS Chemicals to List of Risk-Based Values Agency updates Regional Screening and Removal Management Levels to protect human health and the environment. more
PFAS cost recovery lawsuit: Time is of the essence! Napoli Shkolnik has partnered with The National Rural Water Association (NRWA) to bring together utility systems from across the country that have concerns or have been affected by PFAS contamination. This potential landmark contamination case could help water and wastewater systems recoup money spent on treatment and remediation. more
Custom Water Panel Answers Multiple Water Questions From intake through flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection, water plants monitor and control a number of water quality parameters before going to distribution. Increasingly plant managers are recognizing the value of a final check on those parameters. more
White House: $110B in infrastructure funding delivered The White House on Monday said it has released $110 billion in funding from the $1 trillion infrastructure package that seeks to fix crumbling roads, expand broadband internet and improve the electrical grid. more
ASDWA Provides Support for EPA’s Build America, Buy America Waiver for WIFIA Projects with Design Already Underway ASDWA submitted comments to EPA on a waiver for the requirements under Build America, Buy America (BABA). The Agency proposed to waive BABA requirements for Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) borrowers that initiated project design plans prior to May 14, 2022 – the day that BABA went into effect. more
EPA Announces $1.9 billion in State Revolving Loan Funds to Upgrade Water Infrastructure Nationwide Late last Friday (May 13), EPA announced $1.9 billion in new base federal grant funding to the State Revolving Funds (SRF). These funds are split between the Clean Water SRF (CWSRF) and the Drinking Water SRF (DWSRF), with the two programs receiving $1.2 billion and $728 million, respectively. more
STATE NEWS
Florida special tax districts like Disney’s Reedy Creek, explained The standoff between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Walt Disney Co. could have consequences reaching far beyond a battle between two political titans. more
Test Results Show 18 Water Samples Exceed PFAS Limits Near NAS Whiting Field and its OLFs The U.S. Navy on November 9 issued a press release, confirming a PFAS release area at OLF Santa Rosa, which is located inside Santa Rosa County’s Well Field Protection Area in East Milton. more
Help springs by transforming North Florida from an extractive to a creative economy - Gainesville Sun Turpentine, phosphate, fish, timber, water: These are natural resources of North Florida, and they have all either been decimated or are declining in quality and abundance. more
Palm Beach approves additional $100K for water feasibility analysis | Palm Beach Daily News Though a final decision could be years away, the town of Palm Beach is moving forward with plans to study a range of alternatives that would extend or replace its retail water agreement with West Palm Beach. more
Developer says he still can finance Rickenbacker Causeway upgrade | Miami Today Improve safety for cyclists, replace and enhance Bear Cut Bridge, deal with resiliency and sea level rise, and create a 20-acre park and beach on Virginia Key were improvements the Plan Z Consortium intended to develop as part of an unsolicited proposal for the Venetian and Rickenbacker causeways. more
Cocoa City Council mulls options to remove septic tanks along Indian River Drive | Florida Today Older homes in Cocoa using septic tanks are being eyed for a potentially major change to prevent nutrients from seeping into the Indian River Lagoon, adding to its woes. more
Water is critical for Florida’s economy | Villages News Last week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a nearly all-day meeting on one of our top priority bills – the Water Resources and Development Act, also called WRDA. more
Fecal matter discovered in Immokalee water wells | NBC-2 Multiple wells in Immokalee have tested positive for E. coli contamination, according to the Immokalee Water & Sewer District. more
Small Community Leads Central Florida In Potable Water Reuse Implementation The city of Altamonte Springs, located in Seminole County, Florida, was one of the first in the area to attack its water challenges by investigating drinking
water reuse. more
Boil water notice issued in Bunnell after storms - Click Orlando A boil water notice issued by the city of Bunnell after severe storms on Saturday was lifted on Wednesday, according to a news release. more