The “Building Resilience and Adapting to Climate Change Impacts for Drinking Water and Wastewater Utilities” webinar series will provide training to the Northern Great Plains climate region (MT, WY, ND, SD, NE) in October and November 2021. The four sessions focus on EPA’s  Climate Resilience Evaluation and Awareness Tool, as well as the financing of adaptation options.  

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 is hosting a free two-session virtual workshop to assist community (drinking) water systems (CWSs) in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Tribal Nations, and the Pacific Islands with developing or updating Emergency Response Plans (ERPs) in accordance with America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA) Section 2013(b). AWIA Section 2013(b) requires CWSs serving more than 3,300 people to develop or update ERPs that incorporates the findings of their risk and resilience assessment. CWSs serving fewer than 3,300 people are also welcome to attend. This workshop will provide a broad overview of the requirements and the new EPA ERP Template and Instructions that will assist water utilities with developing an ERP in accordance with AWIA Section 2013(b). The virtual workshop will also provide more detailed information on specific response areas such as cybersecurity. More information about AWIA Section 2013(b) compliance is available at https://www.epa.gov/waterresilience/awia-section-2013. To register for the workshop, please go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcpcOmpqjkrG9THxEGOhMiCvrx2Wlle8KGA. For more information you can also contact:  Bria Crawford, EPA; 202-564-9553; crawford.bria@epa.gov Will Keefer, Horsley Witten Group; 508-833-6600; wkeefer@horsleywitten.com

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. 

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) Water Use Efficiency Branch will hold a meeting on Friday, November 12, 2021, 1PM – 4PM to inform stakeholders on an approach to compare the objective based total water use calculated using water use standards against the SB X7-7 2020 water conservation targets as directed by the legislation (California Water Code Section 10609.2. (d)). DWR staff and technical team will present the tool that was developed for this intended purpose.  In addition, there will also be a presentation on the Guidelines and Methodologies that DWR is preparing on how an urban retail water supplier calculates its urban water use objective (California Water Code Section 10609.16).   During the meeting, DWR will solicit feedback from workgroup members and interested parties on both subjects. Agenda and meeting materials will be available ahead of the meeting.   Registration is required:  https://csus.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zPxlA_EKR5CxXx_YJwiR_Q