The Nature Conservancy Publishes Source Water Protection Benefits Report

The Nature Conservancy has published a report entitled, Beyond The Source: The environmental, economic and community benefits of source water protection in partnership with the Natural Capital Project, Forest Trends, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Latin American Water Funds Partnership.  The report discusses the benefits of healthy source waters as vital natural infrastructure for water quality and quantity, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, food security, and human health and well-being.  The report also analyzes investment costs and co-benefits for protection and restoration activities and best management practices at local and global scales, using examples from cities in the U.S. and across the globe.

EPA Webinar on Assessing the Social Benefits of Ecological Restoration

On February 22, from 2:00pm – 3:00pm (eastern time), EPA will hold a Safe and Sustainable Water Resources Webinar entitled, “The Rapid Benefits Indicators (RBI) Approach: A Process for Assessing the Social Benefits of Ecological Restoration.” This webinar was rescheduled from the original date of January 25. During the webinar, presenters will describe the RBI approach, guidebook, companion tools, and companion spreadsheet checklist tool, as well as its application to wetland restoration using Woonasquatucket River Watershed, Rhode Island as an example.  Register Here

One Water Webcast on Path to Reliability and Resiliency for Water Utilities

On Monday, January 30, 2017 from 2:30pm – 4:00pm (eastern time), the Water Research Foundation and the U.S. Water Alliance will host a webcast where speakers from Brown and Caldwell and the City of Los Angeles will discuss the various drivers pushing utilities in the direction of integrated water resource planning and implementation, and how they have used the One Water framework to create efficiencies in service delivery, achieve water quality and environmental improvements, and diversify and stretch a community’s water supplies.  The webcast is free and open to the public.  Register Here

AWWA TEC Issues RFPs for Drinking Water Related Project Contracts

AWWA’s Technical and Educational Council (TEC) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a variety of drinking water system related projects.  The due date for contract proposals is February 17, 2017. Please forward this information on to your colleagues and networks as appropriate.  Following is the list of RFPs and the associated contract funding amounts:

• Communicating Source Water Protection Efforts in Consumer Confidence Reports ($8,000)
• Guidance for Water Utilities on Managing the Implementation of Residential Fire Sprinkler Systems in Community Water Systems ($13,000)
• Operator Licensing Requirements Across the United States: Levels and Effects ($19,000)
• The level of progress of Utilities in implementing Safety Management Programs ($8,500)
• Water Utility Disinfection Survey ($12,000)

The link to the RFPs, along with the terms, conditions, requirements, and evaluation process for potential contractors can be found here.  Proposals and questions should be submitted to Alex Gerling of AWWA at agerling@awwa.org.

EPA Announces Video Challenge for National Ground Water Awareness Week

EPA has announced a video challenge in support of the National Ground Water Association’s Ground Water Awareness Week. From February 1-24, EPA is inviting budding filmmakers, citizen scientists, or anyone interested to create and submit a compelling and innovative video that informs individuals and communities about the importance of groundwater, and inspires them to do more to protect and conserve it. The winning videos will be posted on EPA’s website and recognized throughout its online outlets during National Groundwater Awareness Week, taking place from March 5-11, 2017. Details about the video challenge and instructions for entering can be found on EPA’s website.

American Rivers Becomes Newest Member of the Source Water Collaborative

The Source Water Collaborative is pleased to announce that American Rivers has become its newest member, bringing the membership to a total of 27 agencies and organizations.  American Rivers has over 250,000 members, supporters, and volunteers that help lead its efforts to protect wild rivers, restore damaged rivers, and conserve clean water for people and nature.  Visit the Source Water Collaborative website to view the announcement.

New State Water Agency Practices for Climate Adaptation on EPA’s Website

New state water agency practices for climate adaptation are now available on EPA’s website.  The compilation of these practices is the result of a collaborative effort by ASDWA, the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA), the Association of State Wetland Managers (ASWM), and EPA’s Office of Water.  ASDWA would like to give a big “thank you” to those states that contributed to this effort both this year and last year.  New state practices this year come from Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington, and we would like to add more in the future.  Two of the practices that should be of particular interest to state drinking water programs include New Hampshire’s Drinking Water Program Climate Resilience Program, and Oregon’s Harmful Algal Bloom Strategy.  For more information and to view the practices, visit the EPA website HERE.