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Hurricane Season begins June 1st each year and generally ends around the end of November. Amidst the hurtles of the pandemic, utilities should prepare themselves for an eventful hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) anticipates with 70% confidence that we will likely experience 13 to 19 named storms this year with potential for 6 to 10 to become hurricanes. Of these, 3 to 6 may become major hurricanes with winds of 111 mph or higher. NOAA notes that the average hurricane season experiences 12 named storms with 6 becoming hurricanes and 3 of those becoming major hurricanes.
Preparedness in the face of hurricane season can mitigate potential damage and increase the speed of recovery. In North Carolina, rural communities are already preparing for the season as well as working to recover from previous damages. The Golden LEAF Foundation recently awarded rural North Carolina communities $16.1 million for disaster recovery and resiliency with many of these awards specifically targeting utilities. Among the recipients, Robbins will use the funds to repair a wastewater pump station damaged from Hurricane Florence. Since the station was located in a flood zone, it was not covered by flood insurance and could not receive FEMA funding for repairs.
In preparation for this hurricane season, we recommend you browse the following resources:
Incident Action Checklist – Hurricane
Use this guidance document to check off actions to prepare for, respond to (pre-landfall and post-landfall), and recover from a hurricane.
Host: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Hurricane Preparedness Tips for Water Systems (Download)
Both state agencies and water or wastewater systems can follow one of the two lists included in this resource to prepare for a hurricane.
Host: Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
Preparing for Extreme Weather at Wastewater Utilities: Strategies and Tips
Wastewater facilities can use this as a general guide to prepare for and respond to extreme weather events including hurricanes and blizzards.
Host: New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission
Boil Water Advisories During Hurricanes and Other Natural Disasters
This small system guide offers best practices to maintain communication with customers during a hurricane. Templates are included for Boil Water Notices. While some tips refer to Virginia regulations, all systems can benefit from this guidance.
Host: Virginia Department of Health
Storm Surge Inundation Map
The interactive map allows utilities to understand historical hurricane tracks, strike frequency, and the potential areas of coastal flooding and inundation.
Host: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Free Social Media Webinars for Public Water Systems
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WaterOperator.org has been working diligently this year to host free webinars that will help your small system and its staff access the best tools and resources to maintain compliance, manage your system, and better communicate with customers.
For those of you who missed our most recent webinar on Advanced Tips & Tricks for Social Media, the webinar recording is now available on our YouTube channel here. This recording will help take your online presence to the next level, enhancing visibility and trust of your organization. Topics include content planning, scheduling tools, customer service SOP's, proactive strategies, local collaborations, and more! The value of “personal-professional” social media profiles is also discussed.
If you're looking for a more beginner level training, WaterOperator.org's Jennifer Wilson will be presenting a free webinar for the Illinois Section American Water Works Association on Social Media 101 for Public Water Systems. The webinar will run from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Central time on Monday, June 29th. The webinar has been approved for 1 credit hour for Illinois operators. An application for Indiana operators has also been submitted.
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Ohio Emergency Generator Grants
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 Emergency power supply is a critical component to sustain reliable services at any water utility. As such, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) is offering grants to community public water systems servings populations of 2,000 or less and currently lacking an emergency generator. The grant can be used to reimburse the initial cost of generators as well as their required accessories.
Applicants will be required to submit asset management plans, asset inventories, and condition assessments. To learn more about the equipment covered under these grants as well as the application instructions, visit here. Susan Schell can be reached by email at ddagw.generators@epa.ohio.gov to answer additional questions. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are depleted. Only a few opportunities are left so apply soon!
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 Best Practices Factsheet: Consumer Confidence Report
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Use this guide to improve the readability and quality of your consumer confidence report. This guide contains best practices regarding design, look, and information as well as tips for successful delivery. CCR's must be delivered by July 1st.
Non-Revenue Water Analysis Worksheet
Rural Community Assistance Partnership
Small systems can use this simple spreadsheet to start tracking water use and non-revenue water. Once information is entered in the table, the data will automatically fill into a corresponding graph.
[For States] PFAS – Source Water Protection Guide and Toolkit
Association of State Drinking Water Administrators
This toolkit was developed to share effective strategies for addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination in source water. The toolkit includes a fact sheet on industry communication and three additional components:
- Decision Support Tool: An Excel-based tool listing state actions to address PFAS
- The Technical Appendix: A 74-page report overviewing what is known to date about PFAS and state actions to improve response to contamination
- Mapping Guide: A 23-page manual guiding the development of a source water assessment (SWA) to evaluate the susceptibility of drinking water to PFAS
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Have a different question?
You can find thousands of helpful resources in our database.
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 Keeping the Water on During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Monday, June 29, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. EST
Hosted by Environmental Finance Center Network
In this webinar utilities will learn about potential methods to mitigate revenue loss under pandemic related challenges such as non-payments and shut-off moratoriums.
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Want to find additional training opportunities for operators,
including events in your area?
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Posts from WaterOperator.org
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The Lytton Tribe Manages Government to Government Wastewater Agreements
The Lytton Band of Pomo Indians demonstrates how to maintain transparency, overcome disagreements, and identify solutions that will mutually benefit both parties during the formation of government to government agreements.
Featured Video: Sewer Cleaning in Los Angeles California with Kent Carlson
Get inspired to develop innovative tools for your water or wastewater utility in this week's featured video with Kent Carlson from the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation.
Opinion: Challenges Quantifying COVID-19 Cases Using Wastewater
In this opinion piece, Steve Wilson identifies key variables and challenges that will have to be overcome to use wastewater influent to quantify the number of positive COVID-19 cases in a community.
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 96: Story, Comedy, and the Art of Tough Conversations with Tom Kunetz
Water in Real Life
In this podcast episode the H2Duo interview Tom Kunetz, the immediate past president of the Water Environment Federation and current assistant director of monitoring and research for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. Tom discusses the origins of stress and how professionals can better react to stress. He recounts the power of story telling in communication and collaboration within the industry. Listeners will learn about Tom's experience teaching life skills and comedy at The Second City.
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Featured Video:
Wastewater: Where Does it Go?
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In this week's featured video, the City of Windsor and the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup initiative have partnered together to teach their community about the process of wastewater treatment. The video demonstrates how customers can protect their system by knowing what not to flush, how to dispose of potential pollutants, and how to properly divert stormwater from their home. Customers will learn how wastewater is collected and treated before discharge into the Detroit River. Videos such as these are an excellent way to build a better relationship with your community while teaching them how to be responsible for their system.
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This week's featured video teaches community members about the wastewater treatment process and how they can better protect their system.
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 The solubility of a chemical is a property that determines how easily it dissolves in water. Higher solubility is one of the factors that can increase a contaminant's mobility and transport in water.
Source.
'Share This' offers useful or interesting information that can be shared with the public and other stakeholders.
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USDA Invests $281 Million in Rural Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Improvements in 36 States and Puerto Rico
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it will be investing $281 million in 106 projects to improve rural water and wastewater infrastructure.
Austin-Area Water and Wastewater Pipes Feeding Bull Creek
A study led by the University of Texas found that 50-90% of the water flowing through Bull Creek Watershed can be traced to municipal sources such as sprinkler runoff and leaking water and sewer pipes.
EPA Sends Final Perchlorate Regulation to OMB for Review
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency submitted the final perchlorate regulation to the Office of Management and Budge (OMB) May 27, 2020.
USDA Awards Oak Harbor Grant for Water Project
The village of Oak Harbor will continue a second year of infrastructure improvements using funding from the USDA to build sewer lines and replace existing water lines.
New Jersey's Drinking Water to Get a Bit Cleaner with Strict Standards on PFAS Chemicals
New Jersey Operators will start sampling for PFOA and PFOS by April 1, 2021. Samples that exceed 14 ppt and 13 ppt respectively will be required to take action.
Epidemic of Wipes and Masks Plagues Sewers, Storm Drains
The flushing of wipes and personal protective equipment has lead to an increase in sanitary sewer overflows and clogged pumping equipment for many sewer systems.
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Groundwater & Well Care for Public Water Systems is a free online course from WaterOperator.org. Certificates are provided and the course is currently pre-approved for 2 hours continuing education credit in a number of states.
Click here to learn more.
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 WaterOperator.org is a free service, grant-funded to support small community water and wastewater operators with comprehensive resources and information in one easy-to-use place. We also serve the 800+ training, primacy, and technical service organizations, by helping operators get to their information. We aren't buying, selling, or advertising anything. You can call us at 1-866-522-2681 if you need assistance. |
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