AWWA JAW62911

This bimonthly roundup features highlights of the hottest news storiesof recent months as reported in WATERWEEK, AWWA's weekly newsletterto member utilities. Topics covered include: the largest US drinking water utilities and smaller systems served by them face deadlinesthis year to comply with certain early implementation requirements of the companion Stage 2Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (D/DBPR) and Long-Term 2 Enhanced SurfaceWater Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR); US water suppliers that exceed disinfection byproduct (DBP) standards under the US Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) newly promulgated Stage2 D/DBPR will not be required to include any information about potential reproductiveand developmental health effects in public notices; as directed by the Portland City Council in a January resolution, city officials recentlyfiled a formal notice of intent to challenge USEPA's newly promulgated LT2ESWTR withthe US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia; the White House budget request for FY 2007 again seeks to reduce spending for theClean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF), this time amounting to $199 million less thanthe FY 2006 level of $886.8 million. It would, however, boost funding for the DrinkingWater SRF by $4 million, to $841.5 million; state environmental officials have urged USEPA to boost funding dramatically forgrants to support state programs that implement agency regulations, including clean andsafe water regulations; recent comments by AWWA assert that USEPA should revise its draft policy to ensurethat wastewater bypass storm flows are adequately monitored and disinfected and thatdownstream water utilities are immediately notified of such bypass events; AWWA and a dozen other organizations have joined USEPA in vowing to take acollaborative approach to protect sources of drinking water from contamination; asannounced by USEPA, which spearheaded the initiative, the 14 signatories to the SourceWater Collaborative committed to work together to protect lake, river, and aquifer sourcesof drinking water in the face of expanding population and development; water and wastewater utilities should work with local and state governments toestablish mutual-aid and assistance networks, AWWA and six other water sectororganizations urge in a joint policy statement; nearly one month after the deadline for water systems to meet USEPA's tougher newarsenic standard of 10 µg/L, fewer than a third of the 4,100 systems expected to exceedthe limit were in compliance, according to information provided by states to USEPA'sDrinking Water Protection Division; and, human health effects data that could support a safe arsenic exposure level "are lackingor problematic," concludes a USEPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) panel that is reviewingseveral agency cancer risk assessments for organic and inorganic arsenic.

Product Details

Edition:

Vol. 98 - No. 5

Published:

05/01/2006

Number of Pages:

13

File Size:

1 file , 78 KB