Meetings

Water systems throughout North America use the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Water Audit software to evaluate water supply and distribution system performance and revenue recovery. This presentation will provide an overview of the AWWA water audit process and highlight the importance of quantifying customer meter inaccuracies, including how these inaccuracies contribute to lost revenue. Quantifying meter inaccuracies requires testing of both source and consumption meters. The presentation will discuss how to select water meters for testing and apply results to an overall meter population. Replacing inaccurate meters can increase revenue that supports new capital improvement projects.   Presenters: John Heltzel, EPA Region 9, Environmental Finance Center at Sacramento State’s Office of Water Programs  Who Should Attend:  •  Managers, owners, and operators of small water systems serving less than 10,000 people •  Decision-makers for water utilities, including mayors, finance officers, utility managers, public works directors, city councilors, board members, tribal council members, and clerks •  Consultants and technical assistance providers serving water systems If you require a certificate: Each viewer must register and attend individually, and participate for the entire duration of the webinar. We cannot provide certificates to individuals watching the webinar as a group.  Partners Include: Government Finance Officers Foundation, NADO Research Foundation, Environmental […]

The Water Laboratory Alliance (WLA) will host a 3-day virtual summit on November 16 - 18, 2021. The Summit will include:  An overview of the Water Laboratory Alliance/Environmental Response Laboratory Network and EPA Water Security Resources. Exciting track sessions related to the Water Sector with subject matter experts in the areas of: Climate Resiliency, Environmental Justice, Cybersecurity, Technology Innovation, and Water Resilience in Indian Country. A Tabletop exercise featuring a water contamination scenario and designed to showcase EPA tools and resources and emergency response planning. Participants will be guided through the process of enhancing response readiness by developing a roadmap to update analytical support Emergency Response Plans. Day 1 will feature state of the art discussions of the challenges presented by climate change and cybersecurity. Speakers will present useful resources from EPA’s Water Security Division, partner utilities, and laboratories to support preparedness and response efforts for you and your stakeholders. On Day 2, we are excited to host panel presentations on environmental justice, a spotlight on Tribal utilities, and a special session highlighting WLA emergency response planning. The resources presented in these sessions, paired with the expertise of our panelists, will enhance your water contamination response readiness.    Day 3 will walk […]

Join experts from the Southwest Environmental Finance Center for a no-cost webinar series on Water Loss. This series of six webinars will show small water systems why and how to complete a water audit, and will provide guidance on using the audit results to further water loss control within their utilities. Those interested must register for each session individually and are welcome to attend any number of the sessions. View/Download | Water Loss Series Flyer Session 1: Importance of Water Auditing This 30-minute session will explain the big picture of water loss control for small water utilities.  A water loss audit is only a part of water loss control, and alone does not reduce water loss.  Therefore, systems should understand what a water loss control program includes and the role a water audit plays in such programs.  This session will outline the benefits of implementing a water loss control program that includes water auditing.  Partners:        Who Should Attend:  Managers, owners, and operators of water systems serving less than 10,000 people Decision-makers for water utilities, including mayors, finance officers, utility managers, public works directors, city councilors, board members, tribal council members, and clerks Consultants and technical assistance providers serving water systems

By law, all mutual water board members are required to have two hours of ethics training within six months of taking office and every six years following. This training is designed to provide system longevity and help ensure that board members meet their legal responsibilities. Required training topics include conflicts of interest, fiduciary responsibilities, Safe Drinking Water Act compliance, long-term management and capital improvement planning. We will also cover the AB240 requirements, which affect mutual water systems as of January 1, 2014. This workshop allows mutual water systems to comply with this regulation and helps prepare them to better govern their water company. This workshop meets the legal requirement for board members ethics training under AB54. Participants will learn: • Requirements of AB54 and AB240 • Financial conflicts of interest to avoid • About strategic planning • Financial responsibilities • Capital improvement planning • How to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act Board Basics Series: The recommended audience includes directors, board members and managers of mutual water companies. Click here for brochure. Accreditation: 2 California Drinking Water Contact Hours awarded Contact Hours have been approved for the Registered Environmental Health Specialist Program.  Certificates will be available through your profile.

At a minimum, every public water system regardless of size and complexity requires a certified water distribution operator. In addition, those systems using treatment also must have an operator that holds a water treatment operator certification. The most significant hurdle for many grade 1 and grade 2 operators in passing the operator certification exam, however, is the math portion of the test. Typically, the math section of the certification exam constitutes about 35% of the total exam score so proficiency in math is necessary to pass the test. The math included in each session is based on the expected-range-of-knowledge for  the California distribution D1/D2 exams. The target learner for this training wants (and needs) one specific thing: the ability to accurately calculate operator certification exam math questions. Accordingly, the learning event design focuses solely on this need. This training is not designed for “contact hours “or participant “entertainment”. This is a hands-on training with an expectation of continuous participation -- working and answering math problems – throughout the entire session. In Part 1, participants will learn how to convert: • Water units (ft3 to gal, gal to wt) • Distance (in to ft, ft to m, ft to mi) • […]

At a minimum, every public water system regardless of size and complexity requires a certified water distribution operator. In addition, those systems using treatment also must have an operator that holds a water treatment operator certification. The most significant hurdle for many grade 1 and grade 2 operators in passing the operator certification exam, however, is the math portion of the test. Typically, the math section of the certification exam constitutes about 35% of the total exam score so proficiency in math is necessary to pass the test. The math included in each session is based on the expected-range-of-knowledge for the California distribution D1/D2 exams. The target learner for this training wants (and needs) one specific thing: the ability to accurately calculate operator certification exam math questions. Accordingly, the learning event design focuses solely on this need. This training is not designed for “contact hours “or participant “entertainment”. This is a hands-on training with an expectation of continuous participation -- working and answering math problems – throughout the entire session.  In Part 2, participants will learn how to calculate: • Area of a circle • Area of a rectangle • Volume of a cylinder • Volume of a rectangular tank […]

How is your well performing? How do you know what is going on deep in the ground? What goes into the process of choosing a well site? Well equipment must be maintained to ensure long life and quality water within the system. Wells need to be monitored regularly to compile vital information on the health of the source. Participants will learn: • Well site selection process • Well inspection • Well maintenance • Groundwater qualities • Measuring drawdown • Well sounders: Which one is right for me? Operator Basics Series: The recommended audience includes operators, management, water system personnel or anyone with an interest in better understanding the value of operating a safe drinking water system. Click here for brochure. Accreditation: 2 California Drinking Water Contact Hours awarded Contact Hours have been approved for the Registered Environmental Health Specialist Program.  Certificates will be available through your profile.

Continuing our Diversity in California Water webinar series, two California water leaders will share lessons learned to support DEI efforts within their agencies. The agencies are members of the California Urban Water Agencies (CUWA). CUWA has developed a DEI Toolkit for water and wastewater agencies to help support their diversity programs. The toolkit shares ideas and progress stories to support the development of DEI programs in California’s water sector. The toolkit summarizes best practices from member agencies, including: sharing lessons learned through DEI program implementation; compile resources/examples; and complement broader frameworks. Wednesday, February 16th, Noon - 1:00 p.m. Register for the webinar > Information flyer > Download the CUWA toolkit Join the webinar early at 11:50 a.m. to hear one of CWEA's new Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Openers (called a "JEDI-Opener"). Established in 1990, the California Urban Water Agencies (CUWA) is a non-profit corporation of 11 major urban water agencies that are responsible for serving drinking water to about two-thirds of California’s population. As the collective voice for the largest urban water purveyors in California, CUWA provides a technical perspective to promote common understanding and consensus solutions among the urban water community. Moderator: Dale Hunter, California African American Water Education […]