T’was the week before Thanksgiving in Rural Water land

It’s calm and it’s peaceful and our warehouse is spic and span.

The generators are nestled all snug in their warehouse bed

Resting for the next call that they’ve come to almost dread.

The Generators are serviced, and their hours are all logged

Ensuring they are ready for the next emergency call.

When they are lifted and loaded on the back of the semi

And taken to a location that is hard on the eye.

It’s been a rough season with hurricanes that number three.

As soon as one hits us, another one we see.

We’ve helped all the systems get back online.

And left them knowing that everything will be fine.

This hurricane season is almost over with just a few more days to go

And we are so thankful, more than you could ever know.

This year has been hard, with many a care

But, if we look, we can still see, the blessings are still there.

Knowing systems are working is all that we need

To know there’s a purpose to all our good deeds.

Our job is not finished, though the season is done

There are still systems that have to be run.

So, if you need our assistance, just give us a call,

FRWA is always there for you all.

May your Thanksgiving be blessed and your bounty be full.

Best Wishes to all from our house to yours.

State and local officials provided an update on beach renourishment efforts Friday at a news conference in Indian Rocks Beach.

The battered shoreline behind them stood as a reminder of the devastation wrought by hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Pinellas Public Works Director Kelli Hammer Levy said about 1 million cubic yards of sand was washed away by this season’s storms. The county is working on its own proposal to replenish shorelines, free from projects normally overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers after talks with the federal agency stalled in recent years.

In 2022, the Army Corps reversed course on beach renourishment practices, announcing it would require permanent easement agreements.

The decision requires full participation from landowners and has divided residents across coastal Pinellas, some of whom are wary of signing over property rights.

Without 100% participation among beachfront property owners to grant permanent public access to land they own within the project area, the Corps has refused to begin the project. For decades, the agency’s policy had only required temporary access while nourishment work was ongoing.



In the meantime, the county has spent millions to pay for renourishment on its own. more

NATIONAL NEWS

Swift and unprecedented’: EPA braces for massive upheaval under Trump-President-elect Donald Trump’s first term in office was hard on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which assesses risks to human health and the environment. more

‘You can’t tear down EPA,’ ex-Trump appointees warn-President-elect Donald Trump wants to slash EPA’s major regulations, but he’ll need a functioning agency to do so, officials from his last administration say. more

The FDA Issues Request for Information on PFAS in Seafood-Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a request for information on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in seafood. more

Superfund Reviews for Two PFAS Among Policies EPA Developing-Cleanup decisions for Superfund sites with PFAS contamination are being delayed as the EPA gears up to implement its final rule designating two of those chemicals as hazardous substances, said speakers at a waste conference.

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Cybersecurity for Rural Water Systems Made Simple-Thu, Dec 5, 2024 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST

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EPA Office of Inspector General Warns That More Than 200 Drinking Water Systems Have Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities-The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that almost one in two adults and one in four children in the United States do not drink tap water on a given day. more 

Representative Lee Zeldin Announced as New EPA Administrator-On Monday, Nov. 11th, President-Elect Donald Trump announced he will appoint New York Representative Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. more

Apprenticeship Program-It takes more than 380,000 highly skilled water and wastewater professionals to ensure the public supply of safe drinking water and to protect our lakes, streams and groundwater. more

From Waste to Wow: Union City's Wastewater Treatment Facility Gets a USDA Boost!-In 2017, Union City, Indiana, started working on a project to upgrade its wastewater treatment facility. more

WaterISAC Monthly Update: November 2024-Compilation of news and information from WaterISAC, the international security network created by and for the water and wastewater sector more

CISA Kicks Off Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience Month 2024-Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the kickoff of Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (CISR) Month. more

City, State and Federal Officials Break Ground for New Owens Cross Roads Sewage Treatment Plant-City, state and federal officials broke ground today for the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant in Owens Cross Roads that will replace the city’s old, outdated and overwhelmed treatment plant. more

DEQ Announces $20 Million in Grants to Reduce Water Pollution in the Chesapeake Bay-As part of the Commonwealth’s enduring commitment to restoring the Chesapeake Bay, DEQ has announced the innovative $20 million Pay-For-Outcomes Nonpoint Source Pollution Reduction grant program. more

STATE NEWS

City leaders say new water wells provide higher pressure & reduce dirty water-Fox 4 goes into the City of Fort Myers water treatment center to show you the impact that 11 new wells will have on the water that comes into your home. more

Griffin asking water customers to assist them in verifying water service lines are not lead or copper-The Griffin Water and Wastewater Department is addressing concerns following a “Notice of Lead Status Unknown Water Service Line” letter was mailed to some customers this week. more

Red Tide Status Update: 11/20/24-Over the past week, red tide was detected in 125 samples collected from Northwest and Southwest more

Withlacoochee River health advisory lifted-The Florida Department of Health office in Madison has announced that the previously issued health advisory for the Withlacoochee River has now been lifted. 

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Tampa wastewater pumping station to get $17M upgrade in wake of severe weather-The Bayshore Pumping Station, one of Tampa’s oldest wastewater pumping stations, is getting a $17 million makeover. more

Fitch Rates Pasco County, FL's Water and Sewer Revs 'AA+'; Outlook Revised to Stable- Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'AA+' rating to the following obligations issued by Pasco County, FL (the county):

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EPA ORD Small Drinking Water Systems Webinar - Lead Reduction Updates and Lead Service Line Identification and Replacement-Date & Time Dec 3, 2024 01:00 PM in Eastern Time more

Raise a glass of H2O to Orange County Utilities for winning the title of Best Tasting Drinking Water in Central Florida!-  The award-winning water sample was submitted from the Vistana Water Supply Facility, which is in the southern part of the utility’s service area. more

Working toward a lead-free, safe community': Fort Pierce shares plan to rid drinking water of lead-Officials from the Fort Pierce Utility Authority, including Javier Cisneros, are working to identify if there is lead or galvanized material in both public and private pipes. more

Bayshore wastewater pumping station getting $17 million renovation-youtube more

Winter Haven commissioners vote to remove fluoride from water, citing RFK Jr.- The Winter Haven City Commission voted Tuesday to stop adding fluoride to drinking water after a lengthy public comment period where residents shared health concerns. more

City Working with County, Developers on Wastewater Interconnect-Staving off a potential wastewater crisis has become a critical reoccurring issue to come in front of the City of Brooksville this year. more

State, local leaders talk rebuilding on Pinellas beaches after hurricanes-State and local officials provided an update on beach renourishment efforts Friday at a news conference in Indian Rocks Beach.

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Wildwood offers $5,000 reward to find illicit sewage dumpers-Wildwood officials have observed sporadic, sharp increases in the concentration of sanitary sewer flows entering the city’s wastewater treatment facility. more

The Wrap: Central Florida's critical connection between water quality and quantity-With our podcast Central Florida Seen and Heard: Rising Water Part Two, we dive into the story about how flooding often creates other concerns, like contamination from wastewater. more

November 21, 2006 PFOA Contaminates Drinking Water. “On November 21, 2006, the USEPA ordered DuPont company to offer alternative drinking water or treatment for public or private water users living near DuPont’s Washington Works plant in West Virginia (and in Ohio), if the level of PFOA detected in drinking water is equal to or greater than 0.5 parts per billion. This measure sharply lowered the previous action level of 150 parts per billion that was established in March 2002.[133] Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), also known as C8 and perfluorooctanoate, is a synthetic, stable perfluorinated carboxylic acid and fluorosurfactant. One industrial application is as a surfactant in the emulsion polymerization of fluoropolymers. It has been used in the manufacture of such prominent consumer goods as Teflon and Gore-Tex. PFOA has been manufactured since the 1940s in industrial quantities. It is also formed by the degradation of precursors such as some fluorotelomers.

PFOA persists indefinitely in the environment. It is a toxicant and carcinogen in animals. PFOA has been detected in the blood of more than 98% of the general US population in the low and sub-parts per billion range, and levels are higher in chemical plant employees and surrounding subpopulations. Exposure has been associated with increased cholesterol and uric acid levels, and recently higher serum levels of PFOA were found to be associated with increased risk of chronic kidney disease in the general United States population, consistent with earlier animal studies. “This association was independent of confounders such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, and serum cholesterol level.”

Commentary and Update: More sensitive analytical methods and widespread monitoring have found PFOA and related compounds in 27 states according to headlines in 2016. But remember, dear reader that this was being publicized by the Environmental Working Group or EWG and must be taken with a huge grain of salt. What does parts per trillion of any chemical really mean?

Further Update: Thirteen years later (2019), PFAS contamination of groundwater has exploded on the national scene, and state regulations are being adopted because of the lack of federal regulation.

FLORIDA RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION http://www.frwa.net

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