This bimonthly roundup features highlights of the hottest news stories of recent months as reported in WaterWeek, AWWA's weekly newsletter to member utilities. Topics covered include: U.S. governors are raising concerns about potential effects of variance technologies for small systems that don't meet drinking water standards; the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced a preliminary determination not to regulate 11 of 51 contaminants on the second Contaminant Candidate List (CCL2) and requires more information on regulating methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and perchlorate; AWWA urges key committee members to allow the USEPA to decide whether to regulate perchlorate as stated in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) rulemaking provisions; USEPA regulatory agenda covers the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the SDWA; USEPA has endorsed a set of performance measurements in 10 key management areas developed by AWWA and five other industry organizations; Health Canada announced they will implement a corrosion control program modeled after the USEPA's Lead and Copper Rule, which requires water systems to measure the effectiveness of corrosion control by meeting action levels at household taps; AWWA urged that research on climate change impacts on water quantity and quality become a priority for USEPA; a plan endorsed by all seven states in the Colorado River Basin urges increased flexibility in managing Colorado River water stored in Lake Powell and Lake Mead during periods of shortage; water officials in Durham, North Carolina, recently responded to elevated lead levels "appropriately and in good faith", says an independent review; and, Portland, Oregon, claims that the USEPA's defense of the Long-Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR) is "an attempt to avoid rather than confront" the illegal requirements of the rule's microbial treatment demands on unfiltered systems.
