This week's NEWS

How do you tell a BWA from a BWO? AWWA says USEPA should regulate perchlorate... sooner rather than later. Eight-year-old class-action lawsuit resolved in favor of Louisiana water district and landmark California case decision expected soon. CCRs from the big guys in the U.S. How deep is the ocean and how deep is the other stuff? Who would you choose for your perchlorate pinup? Julia Roberts or John Travolta?

Quick Links Navigation:

Federal Updates

• AWWA comments on USEPA's proposed CCL actions and urges EPA to move forward with perchlorate MCL (PDF file, 252 K; AWWA, July 2)

State Updates

• Alaska gets EPA's blessing on many new state rules; all are "at least as stringent" as the federal rules (PDF file, 46 K; Federal Register, July 10)

Small Water Systems

• EPA solicits proposals for Training and Technical Assistance for SWS; $8 million available to government and non-profit entities
• Australian CRC's Small Water System newsletter (PDF file, 747 K)

Security and Monitoring

• Post-911 technology used in new monitoring system of river source for Binghamton, NY (Pressconnects.com, July 5)

• Upcoming important decision in California case re: water utility liability for water quality is expected to favor water suppliers (PDF file, 2.21 MB; Hatch and Parent Case Update, July 10) 
• Louisiana water district wins in court against class-action suit over bacterial contamination in 1999 (The Advocate, July 9)

Arsenic

• Minnesota town addresses its arsenic problem (Litchfield Independent Review, July 9)
  Commentary: But... probably not by adding chlorine!
• Idaho town plans bond election for membrane filter system to remove arsenic and nitrate (Argus Observer, July 9)

Potential Endocrine Disruptors

• EPA's long awaited list gets criticism from various quarters (Environmental Science and Technology, July 3)

Perchlorate

• California city and neighboring utilities can't decide if their perchlorate situation is "Erin Brockovich" or "A Civil Action" (Daily Bulletin, July 6)

Microbiological

• Missouri town learns the difference between "boil advisories" and "boil water orders" (Waynesville Daily Guide, July 3)
• "The Ghost Map:" A new book gets under the hood of the Broad Street pump outbreak and Dr. John Snow (Emerging Infectious Diseases, July)

Annual Water Quality Reports

• From the largest of the large in the U.S.:
  • New York City DEP
  • Los Angeles DWP (PDF file, 1 MB)
  • Chicago DWM (PDF file, 2.29 MB)
  • MWD of Southern California
  Commentary: The three largest U.S. cities and the largest wholesale agency, with combined production of treated drinking water of about 1.7 trillion gallons per year, offer varying views and emphases in their CCRs. They range from The Windy City's emphasis on conservation and $40 red rain barrels, to The Big Apple's 20-page compendium, to El Lay's water quality inspectors who make "house calls," to MWD's "cut to the chase" approach.

Compliance 

• Australian drinking water quality "auditor" certification program
  Commentary: "The Scheme provides international recognition for auditors who conduct audits to ensure that drinking water service providers can demonstrate that they are managing risk in accordance with the risk management framework as set out in the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines (ADWG)."

NEWS CONTINUES BELOW

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TCE/TCA

• New York senator pans EPA for slowness on TCE regulations (Little Falls Times, June 28)
• New York village's treatment plant fails; customers notified of short-duration high TCE/TCA levels (Newsday, July 5)

Manganese

• Bangladesh study shows possible relationship between elevated manganese levels in water and infant deaths (Environmental Health Perspectives, July)

Research

• AwwaRF announces ten new "Unsolicited Research" projects funded at $1.5 million (PDF file, 29 K), and the deadlines for solicited proposals for eleven projects are in July and August

Bottled Water

• Hawaiian firm bottles deep-sea water (Honolulu Advertiser, July 6)
  Commentary: The intake for this desalinated water is not the only thing that is deep in this story: "The deep-sea water has become a hit in Japan where it is marketed as a pure, nutrient-rich drink. Water harvested from the depths is older and purer than surface water, according to proponents." (Emphasis added.)
• UK firm recalls bottled water with bacterial contamination (talkingretail.com, July 4)

Nitrates

• Notice goes out to Saipan consumers re: excessive nitrates (Saipan Tribune, July 11)

Fluoridation

• Massachusetts island communities get the usual mixed message about fluoride in drinking water (Vineyard Gazette, July 6)

Aesthetics

• Canal wall collapse = change in source mixture = different taste for Sydney, AU, consumers... and a chance for politicians to harangue (Sydney Morning Herald, July 4)

Recycled Water

• Australian Water Association seminar on "Using Recycled Water for Drinking" is August 7
• WateReuse Association's annual symposium (with AWWA and WEF) is in September in Tampa, FL, but early registration ends in July
• A primer on wastewater reuse technologies from Idaho DEQ conference in June (PDF file, 2.07 MB)

Source Water Protection

• National water groups lobby Congress for strong "conservation" element in Farm Bill (PDF file, 117 K)
  Commentary: This "conservation" refers to source water protection measures rather than conserving on water use.
• Hawaii has a unique ground water poster showing sources of pollution and saltwater influence (PDF file, 3.81 MB)

Conferences

• USEPA hosts seminar on inorganic chemicals in Cincinnati August 21-23

International

• China's new drinking water standards to take effect (Water and Wastes Digest, July 2)

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