At the end of the last update, we were left with three open issues: the Military’s response to the EPA’s new National Drinking Water Standard for PFAS; lawsuits challenging that standard; and testing of private wells with non-military sources of PFAS contamination. The last few months have brought us positive developments on two of these, and negative on the other. I’ll slide the bad news in between two slices of good. Continue reading A PFAS Sandwich
The county issued a request to all water systems to check the Island County Hydrogeology Dashboard for your water system’s seawater intrusion risk. When a water system is connected to more than 2 homes and the well is in an … Continue reading Drinking Water: Seawater Intrusion Monitoring
The Department of Health and the Department of Ecology have updated their Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and Joint Review Procedures for coordinating and reviewing water system planning and engineering documents. The MOU and Joint Review Procedures outline the roles and … Continue reading MOU and Joint Review Process Update
Last week, the WA Department of Health released the latest isntallement of PFAS Basics Videos on YouTube. From their email release: Some news to share…we launched our next three PFAS Basics Videos on YouTube today! These three videos cover steps you … Continue reading PFAS Basics Videos from DOH
A new issue of DOH’s ODW Now newsletter is available for September 2024 LINK Continue reading ODW Now — September 2024 Edition
Adventures in Water System Consolidation Last week, I gave a talk at the Evergreen Rural Water of Washington (ERWoW) Fall Conference in Yakima, Washington, on water system consolidation. I spent some time on the nuts and bolts, but more on … Continue reading “You might want to move your wells”
A PFAS Diary It’s been a minute since we did a PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or “Forever Chemicals”) in drinking water roundup. If you’d like to start at the beginning of the PFAS saga, you can find all my … Continue reading Deference
EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Revisions – New Requirements On January 15, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) that went into effect on December 16, 2021. Group A Community and non-transient non-community … Continue reading Lead Service Line Inventory
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a Water System Restructuring Assessment Rule, which outlines a framework for states, public water systems, and the communities they serve to evaluate options for restructuring to help ensure safe, reliable drinking water. Water … Continue reading The Water System Restructuring Assessment Rule
At the June 12th BOICC Work Session, Public Health & Planning reviewed a proposed Water Study centered on an update to the Coordinated Water System Plan (CWSP). This is an effort that could address many areas of concern surrounding future … Continue reading Island County’s Proposed Water Study
The latest issue of DOH/ODW’s bimonthly newsletter is out with information on the Lead Service Line Inventory Submittal process, Drinking Water Week Winners and more. Check it out at DW Now. Continue reading DW Now — May 2024
https://tconnor.substack.com/p/fridays-postcard-and-the-spokane Finally…Eighty-three months have passed since PFAS “forever chemicals” were detected in groundwater at Spokane International Airport (SIA). On this timeline—against the backdrop of a years-long cover-up and the airport’s ‘get-off-my-lawn’ blame-shifting —today is significant. For the first time, SIA representatives are meeting with state Department of Ecology officials to begin implementing a cleanup plan for the notorious PFAS water pollution, a task that will likely extend well beyond the nine square miles encompassed by the airport’s boundaries. Continue reading Spokane airport (finally) hands its shoes to state regulators
If you’re looking for some technical assistance for your lead compliance efforts on your water system, the EPA is offering this 90 minute webinar on May 21st from 11 to 12:30 pm PT. The webinar begins with on overview of … Continue reading Webinar—Technical Assistance for Lead
In honor of Drinking Water Week. Thanks to Nikki Guillot of ODW. Continue reading ‘I Water That Way,’ new music video from the Splashstreet Boys
Just 2 days to register for the American Water Works Association’s 2024 Water System Workshop. This in-person workshop will cover several topics related to water systems in NW Washington, specifically San Juan County and other small utilities. Speakers will discuss … Continue reading 2024 Water System Operator Workshop