Just a Bit Easier

Abstract

I am known to say that people think water is simple, but it is actually quite complicated. The reality is that water serves many competing needs, goals, and agendas. It always has, and I suspect it always will. Still, what if you had at your fingertips solutions to effectively manage water—the world's most important (and vital) resource? Would that make it easier? The good news is, AWWA can help. Protect it at the source. Have you ever played the game in which you answer the question, “What would you do if you had a million dollars?” Well, that's a game we are playing right now when it comes to source water protection, only the pot is bigger. At the end of 2018, the US Congress passed the Farm Bill, which—for the first time ever—directed $4 billion over the next 10 years to conservation practices that protect sources of drinking water. This program is part of the US Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service and is administered through the Conservation Partnership Program. It creates an unpre- cedented opportunity for farmers, water providers, and others to collaborate on solutions. Now it's up to utilities to reach out to their state conservationists and take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity. For those utilities that act, protecting source water just got easier. Get the lead out. It is expected that we will see the final version of the US Environmental Protection Agency's newest rule on lead and copper in 2020. As we work to protect our customers from lead today, we are also working toward a future without lead in water. Many people believe this issue should be easily fixed, but actually, it's complicated. How could it be easier for water sector professionals? The answer is in having updated information on hand to address the many challenges of lead and water, especially the removal of lead service lines. Over the past couple of years, with the goal of making it easier to address this challenge, AWWA has provided the water sector with a new standard on how to replace lead service lines and partnered with other organizations to form the Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative, which develops community-based approaches for accelerating lead service line removal. Also, new guidance and tools are available for talking to consumers about lead. What is PFAS? It was not that long ago that PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) was unknown to many in the water sector, but that is not the case today. These “forever chemicals” are a growing community concern, and individual states are taking steps to address PFAS contamination in the absence of federal regulations. Having an easy-to-understand briefing document on PFAS certainly would help as you work to frame, plan, and explain how to address PFAS in your community. AWWA has just published that document—AWWA Briefing on PFAS. It provides the basics on PFAS, AWWA's guiding principles for regulation, an infographic of the PFAS cycle, and the current federal and state approaches to addressing PFAS. This document is designed for less technical audiences such as policymakers, media, and consumers. With this new tool in hand, utilities should find it easier to frame the issue, inform stakeholders, and communicate in simple terms about PFAS risks and solutions. The AWIA deadlines. If you have not heard of AWIA, it stands for America's Water Infrastructure Act. It was passed into law in October 2018 and requires community water systems serving 3,300 people or more to (1) conduct a risk and resilience assessment and (2) develop an emergency response plan. The first deadline is March 31, 2020—less than four months from now. If you find yourself shaking your head, wondering how your utility will comply and wishing there was a solution at your fingertips, you're in luck. AWWA has developed a Utility Risk and Resilience Certificate Program for just that purpose. It is designed to help utilities of all sizes and their partners apply sound risk and resilience management strategies that will facilitate compliance with AWIA and its deadlines. Making it easier. The water community faces numerous important public health, environmental, societal, and economic water issues. And yes, while many think water is simple, it really is complicated. But the collective resources—both technical and human—of AWWA and its members can and do help in solving these issues. Every resource that I've mentioned here is available to you on AWWA's website, awwa.org. This guidance is here for you. Please take advantage of it and make meeting water's challenges just a bit easier.