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One Day Training Sessions
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2022 Spring Conference Wrap Up! |
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Thank you to our Conference Sponsor, Covalen! |
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Thank you to everyone who attended the conference last week in French Lick!
CEU forms are being processed and will be sent to IDEM in time for renewals - go ahead and send in your money and renewals to IDEM, don't wait to see them posted on IDEM's site!
We are still working on getting a wrap-up and photos on the website, as well as a survey asking for your feedback, so look for those soon!
Over $5,500 in tickets were sold for the Sportsman's Raffle, the proceeds of which were donated to WaterPAC! This year's winner was Steve Vail from NineStar Connect, who walked away with a Trager Grill package worth over $2,500! Dave Harvey from Water Solutions Unlimited won the shotgun raffle. Todd Watts from the City of Austin won the all-inclusive trip for two to the NRWA conference this fall in National Harbor, Maryland, sponsored by Covalen & Midwestern Engineers.
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Earn up to 5 TECHNICAL continuing education hours for both water & wastewater licenses! This is a "fan favorite" event and you don't want to miss it! We always have a great time, learn a lot, and leave full and happy! Plus we'll have several fun competitions to give you a chance to take home some dough or a cool prize! All for just $95!! (member pricing)
Join us in Huntingburg - May 19, or in Akron - May 26! Registration starts at 8am, and Demos kick off at 9am. Don't forget to BYOC (bring your own chair)!
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Warm Welcome to Jennifer Mann! |
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We are excited to announce we have hired a full-time Office Administrator, Jennifer Mann!
Jennifer joined the team in early February. She graduated from Ivy Tech Community College with a degree in Human Service. She is a mother of four kids and was born and raised in Franklin, Indiana. She loves spending time volunteering for the Creative Council of Franklin and many other local organizations.
Welcome Jenn!
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2022 Regional Water Taste Tests |
The City of Fort Wayne was the proud winner of the first regional taste test held at our Spring Conference. Congratulations to them!
2022 Regional Taste Test Schedule
May 26 - Akron @ Operator Expo
June 16 - Upland @ training
August 24 - Connersville @ training
Systems may choose to compete in any of the regional competitions. Submissions MUST NOT have any major violations of bacteriological testing or chemical monitoring for two years prior to the Taste Test. Winners from each region will advance to compete in the “Best Tasting Water in Indiana” at our annual Fall Conference, October 26 & 27, 2022 in Fort Wayne, IN.
(Regional winners will receive one free fall conference registration.)
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The Alliance and 120Water announced a new partnership that will expand the technical assistance and support available to our members, with a focus on equipping systems with tools and resources to successfully manage water quality programs related to lead and other contaminants. The partnership will also include resources available to water systems as they prepare to meet new regulatory expectations due to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) - including a FREE Self-Evaluation tool, not to mention deep discounts for our members!
To learn more about this partnership, preferred pricing, and the resources available to your organization, please contact Kelly Gardner.
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Current State of Cybersecurity from The White House |
Please see the two links below regarding the potential for Russia to engage in malicious cyber activity against the United States, and the evolving intelligence that Russia may be exploring options for potential cyberattacks. The second link (fact sheet) also lists eight countermeasures pertinent to this threat.
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Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) |
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Beginning in the 2021-2022 Program Year, the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) is offering, for the first time, the Low-Income Housing Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP).
LIHWAP is a temporary emergency water/wastewater program that will help low-income households and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be used to fund a one-time benefit for eligible households who have been disconnected or are on disconnect notice from water/wastewater services or arrearages for water/wastewater services.
If you are an Indiana resident who qualifies for energy assistance (EAP), you may be considered for LIHWAP funding as well. This funding is available to be used through September 2023, and the program will be finished when the funds run out.
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Community Development Block Grants
now open for applications
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The following programs are currently accepting applications:
No changes to the Construction Grant program are anticipated for the 2022 Round 1, as OCRA continues to collect and evaluate stakeholder feedback on the program. All existing policies and requirements will remain in effect unless otherwise notified by OCRA. Application instructions can be found at in.gov/ocra/cdbg.
2022 Round 1 proposals must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, April 29, 2022 via the Indiana Electronic Grants Management System. However, OCRA encourages communities to submit proposals before 4:00 p.m. ET as there will be no technical support available after that time.
2022 Round 1 applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, July 1, 2022 via the Indiana Electronic Grants Management System. Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications prior to 4:00 p.m. ET on July 1, 2022, as technical assistance will not be available after that time.
For further information on these programs, contact the assigned OCRA regional community liaison.
Funding for all CDBG programs comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is administered by OCRA. The state of Indiana distributes CDBG funds to rural communities to assist units of local government with various community projects like: improving infrastructure, downtown revitalization, public facilities improvements and economic development.
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Governor's Awards for Environmental Excellence
Nomination period closes Monday, 4/4
Does a citizen, business, nonprofit, school, university, or government agency in your community deserve to be recognized for an innovative and sustainable environmental program? Nominate them for a Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence today! These awards recognize individuals and organizations that have implemented outstanding environmental strategies into their operations and decision-making processes.
IDEM and Governor Eric J. Holcomb’s office will present 7 awards, one in each of the following categories: Energy Efficiency/Renewable Resources, Environmental Education/Outreach, Five Year Continuous Improvement, Greening the Government, Land Use/Conservation, Pollution Prevention, Recycling/Reuse.
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For Our Fellow Podcast Lovers |
Whether you're cruisin' around and need something good to hear or you're searching for answers on the latest regarding the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, check out the podcast, The Water Break with Heather Jennings. This podcast is very informative on a lot of different topics with water and wastewater! Our staff highly recommends!
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Indiana Finance Authority Regional Water Planning Meetings |
Regional Water Planning Meetings for the Indiana Finance Authority dates and locations are now available on the IFA website. Please review the map to find the meeting scheduled for your area and plan to attend. The purpose of the meetings is to build on the benefits that come from neighboring utilities collaborating to solve similar issues. Utilities may attend a regional planning meeting that is not specific to their location, but the intention is that they eventually do so to interact with their own neighbors.
As a reminder, utilities are required to attend at least one regional meeting a year. As described in IC 5-1.2-11.5-5, the IFA’s role is to set up and facilitate the meetings; the utilities’ responsibility is to attend at least one meeting per year, set the agendas, and report attendance to the IFA. Attending a meeting is required for funding assistance from the IFA. The IFA tracks attendance on a 12-month rolling basis. For example, if your utility attended on April 2, 2021, your utility meets the requirement of the rule until April 2, 2022. The list of utilities who have attended a regional meeting is available on the IFA website.
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The 2022 legislative session is in full force. There are many bills being considered that could have an impact on the Water/Wastewater utilities. The following bills are important for us to follow and comment on.
We will be at the statehouse communicating with our legislators on these bills. Please contact Connie Stevens with your comments or concerns.
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Last Minute Free Virtual Workshop 3/29:
EPA Region 5 Utility ICS/NIMS Training
Tuesday, March 29, 2022 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM Central (9:30 AM – 5:00 PM Eastern)
This one-day virtual Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS) workshop, which is sponsored by the EPA Office of Water, will help water and wastewater utilities in EPA Region 5 states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin), as well as their response partners to better understand ICS, integrate with other first responders within an expanding ICS structure, and implement NIMS concepts and principles that will help utilities provide mutual aid and assistance to one another.
Free webinars are typically held on the last Tuesday of the month from 2:00-3:00 pm ET (Optional Q&A session from 3:00-3:30 pm ET). Attendees have the option of receiving a certificate for one contact hour for each live webcast attended.
The next FREE Small System monthly webinar will be on Tuesday, April 26 - Source Water Protection and Harmful Algal Blooms.
EPA Water Research Webinar Series
A webinar will be offered every other month that will focus on EPA water research. The 2022 schedule is at the link below.
If you attend these webinars, you must submit the certificate and the credit form yourself. If you do not submit the form with the verification document, you will not get the credit.
(EPA Webinars must also be pre-approved to obtain wastewater credit.)
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Update from IDEM Regarding SSO & Bypass Reports |
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IDEM’s Office of Water Quality’s Compliance and Enforcement Branch is engaged with IDEM’s Information Services team on a complete overhaul of the system for permittees and reporters to submit Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) and bypass reports to IDEM.
The new system is being designed as a website portal-based system where permittees and reporters can log in to submit SSO/bypass reports. The system will seamlessly upload reports to IDEM’s Virtual File Cabinet and will also populate the data into a database tracking system.
This system may go live in early to mid-spring 2022.
As always, you can count on the Alliance to continue to provide updates as we receive them!
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World Water Day (3/22): This year's theme is "Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible." You can't see groundwater, but as we know, it is ever SO important! Did you know: Nearly 50% of people under the age of 30 don't know where their water comes from!
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World Health Day (4/7): In the midst of a pandemic, a polluted planet, increasing diseases like cancer, asthma, heart disease, on World Health Day 2022, WHO will focus global attention on urgent actions needed to keep humans and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create societies focused on well-being.
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Earth Day (4/22): This is the moment to change it all — the business climate, the political climate, and how we take action on climate. Now is the time for the unstoppable courage to preserve and protect our health, our families, and our livelihoods. For Earth Day 2022, we need to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). It’s going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens — everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. A partnership for the planet. If you're doing an Earth Day event in your community, please reach out to the Alliance as we have resources and brochures you can utilize! Reach out to Toby Days for resources and materials at tdays@inh2o.org.
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Affinity Partners/Programs & Services Portfolio |
As the only affiliate of National Rural Water Association in the state, the Alliance of Indiana Rural Water is proud to offer our members an array of products and services that have been vetted and specifically chosen as partners that work well with and for rural water and wastewater utilities. If you have any questions about any of these programs, please contact our office at 888-937-4992 or ask your circuit rider.
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Don't forget to check out the latest version of our membership magazine, the Hoosier Pipeline!
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Can't find a class near you?
Need hours quick?
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Welcome to our new Sapphire Sponsor, WET Environmental Engineering! |
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