Tribal Utility News from WaterOperator.org

Newsletter #89 for June 2021

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Native American Water Association Gathering and Tradeshow 2021

The Native American Water Association is hosting their 2021 Gathering and Tradeshow on July 14-15, 2021 at the Orleans Hotel Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a great opportunity for tribal water and wastewater utility professionals to gather, network, and learn new things happening in the water industry. The conference will provide information about operations and maintenance issues, new water and wastewater technologies, drinking water distribution systems, and much more.

Find out more and register for the event.

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Women & Water Coming Together Symposium

The 5th annual Women & Water Coming Together Symposium Reawaking The Pathways to Life will take place on August 1-5, 2021. This event is organized in part by Abiinooji Aki, a non-profit organization located on the Lac Courte Oreilles Reservation in Northern Wisconsin.

This event serves as an opportunity for women tribal members that are interested in water to come together to share ideas and experiences and to discuss the critical and urgent issues facing tribal water today. The event is open to women from around the world.

Learn more and register.

Coming Home: Stories from Main Street Program

The Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) is partnering with the Museum on Main Street (MoMS) at the Smithsonian Institution on a new project called Coming Home: Stories from Main Street. The goal of this project is to help rural youth that may feel disconnected from local culture establish a sense of place in their home communities. It does this by exploring the community's history through conversation and storytelling with local cultural organizations and educators.

The final collected stories and histories will be compiled into a video that will be shared across the county by the Smithsonian and RCAP. Applications are being accepted until June 15th.

Featured Resource

Approaches to Sustainability of Rural Water Systems: Focus on Energy Efficiency

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium

This 25-slide presentation describes how the Rural Energy Initiative works with communities to implement innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions to make public sanitation affordable for the people we serve across Alaska. The presentation also lists specific rural energy projects by community, and describes three renewable energy projects: heat recovery projects, woody biomass projects and wind energy projects.

Have a different question?
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Events for Tribal Water Systems

Please Note: In response to the ongoing pandemic, we strive to list only free, online training courses and webinars.

Field Data Collection and Management Using ArcGIS

June 28, 2021 at 8:30 A.M. CDT

Hosted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs

Learn how ArcGIS supports a complete field data management workflow—from the office to the field, in the field, and back to the office. You will learn best practices to configure and deploy ArcGIS field-productivity apps to meet your data-collection needs. You will have the opportunity to use your own iOS or Android device to complete some course exercises. There is no tuition cost for this training.

Learn more and register.

Want to find additional training opportunities for operators,
including events in your area?

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In the News

A 'Way of Life at Risk': A Yurok Tribal Member's Congressional Testimony
Amy Cordalis describes the extreme and devastating ecological and economic impacts that the drought will have on the Yurok tribal community.

Water and Social Justice Advocates Publish Findings Elevating Community Voices
Oregon Water Futures organization highlights the many water equity disparities that disproportionately affect black, indigenous and communities of color.

University of Arizona, Diné College to Train Next Generation of Navajo Water Scientists
The University of Arizona and Diné College are collaborating to educate future Navajo Nation sustainable water scientists.

Karuk Tribe Declares State of Emergency Over Drought Impacts on Klamath River
The Klamath River is now under a state of emergency due to the historically devastating effects that the drought is having on the river ecosystem.

COVID-19 Hit Indian Country Hard, Thanks to a Lack of Infrastructure. We Can Fix This.
The American Jobs Plan Act has the potential to fix some of the infrastructure problems that many tribal communities face.

Indigenous Land Management Is the Best Answer to the Wildfire Crisis
Indigenous people's knowledge of controlled burns and fire management could be crucial in mitigating damage from impending wildfires.

Bringing Beavers Back to the Beaver State
Members of the Klamath tribes are working to re-establish beavers in the Klamath River because they are great ecosystem engineers.

Advocates For Tribal Water Access Are Asking Congress To Earmark Money For Projects On Native Land
A group called the Water & Tribes Initiative is working with members of Congress on issues related to clean water access in tribal communities.

U.S. EPA Restoring Tribal Power to Protect Waterways
New U.S. EPA administrator Michael Regan plans to address the serious water challenges that many tribal communities experience.

Arizona’s Current Historic Drought May be ‘Baseline For The Future’
Folks in Arizona are preparing for drought to be the new normal.

A Pipeline is Threatening Their Homeland. Indigenous Women are Fighting Back.
This article features an interview with Tara Houska, an attorney, and member of the Couchiching First Nation, where she talks about women's leadership in fossil fuel resistance.

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Recently at WaterOperator.org

Water Operator Vaccination Update
Vaccination of our essential workers, including water sector professionals, is an important step towards fighting the pandemic.

Screens: An Important First Step in a Wastewater Treatment Plant
Choosing the correct option for headworks screen is important not only in protecting downstream equipment but also for efficient and effective solids removal resulting in proper wastewater treatment.

Lift Station 2 Pump Cleaning
In this featured video blog post, operators will learn about lift station operations, maintenance, control panels, and emergency response.

Increasing Attention to Significant Noncompliance Dischargers
Learn about the EPA National Compliance Initiative for reducing significant noncompliance with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits.

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