Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Critical Rule To Clean Up PFAS Contamination To Protect Public Health April 19, 2024 Today, April 19, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking another step in its efforts to protect people from the health risks posed by exposure to “forever chemicals” in communities across…
EPA Recognizes Excellence And Innovation In Clean Water And Drinking Water Infrastructure Projects
EPA Recognizes Excellence And Innovation In Clean Water And Drinking Water Infrastructure Projects April 3, 2024 Today, April 3, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognized 32 clean water and drinking water infrastructure projects for excellence and innovation. These projects were funded in part by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund…
White House Issues Dire Warning Regarding Drinking Water Supply and Wastewater System Cyberattacks
White House Issues Dire Warning Regarding Drinking Water Supply and Wastewater System Cyberattacks April 2, 2024 The Biden-Harris Administration is redoubling its efforts to improve cybersecurity for the nation’s water systems. In March, the EPA and the White House issued a dire warning to state governors alerting them of the…
Water systems short on cyber expertise, state and local officials tell EPA
Water systems short on cyber expertise, state and local officials tell EPA MARCH 25, 2024 National security officials met with state and local government leaders from across the country last Thursday to discuss methods to meet the rising threat of attacks by foreign governments and criminal entities against the nation’s…
Lawmakers across the U.S., including in Md., seek to curb utility spending on politics, ads and more
Lawmakers across the U.S., including in Md., seek to curb utility spending on politics, ads and more March 5, 2024 After a string of scandals and amid rising bills, lawmakers in statehouses across the country, including in Maryland, have been pushing legislation to curb utilities spending ratepayer money on lobbying,…
Digitalization is the Future of Water
Digitalization is the Future of Water Jan. 23, 2024 Digital technologies are impacting nearly every sector in the water industry, including drinking water. Water utilities of all sizes — private and public — are shifting the way they operate and manage resources. Utilities are embracing digitalization to address problems ranging…
City of Lebanon Authority board plans $27.9M wastewater plant improvements
City of Lebanon Authority board plans $27.9M wastewater plant improvements January 16, 2024 The City of Lebanon Authority board voted Monday, Jan. 8, to issue a ‘notice of intent’ to award contracts for $27.9 million of improvements to its wastewater plant. The contracts will be formally awarded at the board’s…
PFAS Treatment Efforts Are Costing More Than Manufacturer Settlements Can Provide
PFAS Treatment Efforts Are Costing More Than Manufacturer Settlements Can Provide December 13, 2023 Even as the largest manufacturers are being held financially responsible for the introduction of a pervasive class of contaminants into the environment, many water systems across the U.S. continue to face challenges in funding treatment solutions.…
Water utility cyberattacks underscore ongoing threat to OT
Water utility cyberattacks underscore ongoing threat to OT Dec. 5, 2023 U.S. officials urged water utilities and industrial sites to employ basic configuration safeguards like securing internet-facing devices and changing default passwords following a series of attacks. The Iran-linked attacks against drinking and wastewater systems in the U.S. highlights longstanding…
MISSOULA’S WASTEWATER PLANT EVOLVES TO HANDLE INCREASED CAPACITY
Missoula’s Wastewater plant evolves to handle increased capacity Nov. 27, 2023 Hotdogs and burgers may be the meal of choice for University of Montana football fans. But with attendance at more than 25,000 for some home games, the crowds severely tested the city’s wastewater system until recent updates, according to…
Thornton files new permit to build Larimer County water pipeline as housing development stalls
Thornton files new permit to build Larimer County water pipeline as housing development stalls Nov 20, 2023 The city of Thornton took a second shot Monday at finishing a key 70-mile water pipeline by renewing its request for Larimer County to approve the first 10 miles, as more than 10,000…
It Will Be Years Before Clean Water Is Restored In Lahaina
It Will Be Years Before Clean Water Is Restored In Lahaina 11/7/23 As Maui grapples with the trauma of the August fires and tries to envision the future of Lahaina, the mission to rebuild is complicated by a major obstacle: the contamination of the drinking water system. When fires tore…
AI threats are here. Are Biden and the energy industry ready?
AI threats are here. Are Biden and the energy industry ready? 10/30/2023 The White House launched a new strategy Monday to protect American privacy — and critical infrastructure like the electric grid — from artificial intelligence gone wrong. But as AI creeps into the energy sector, experts say much more…
Forest Service says Denver Water is taking down too many trees, rushing requests to change plan to raise Gross Dam
Forest Service says Denver Water is taking down too many trees, rushing requests to change plan to raise Gross Dam Oct 20, 2023 Denver Water is cutting down too many trees on federal land at the major expansion of Gross Dam and Reservoir in Boulder County, and must conduct more…
EPA Awards Nearly $8M For Research Grants To Advance Groundwater Availability And Quality
EPA Awards Nearly $8M For Research Grants To Advance Groundwater Availability And Quality September 21, 2023 Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $7,837,196 in funding to four institutions to research the use and risks of enhanced aquifer recharge (EAR) to improve groundwater availability and quality. EAR is the…
New EPA Data Shows 27 Million Americans Receive Drinking Water Contaminated With PFAS
New EPA Data Shows 27 Million Americans Receive Drinking Water Contaminated With PFAS August 30, 2023 The U.S. EPA has announced a new official estimate for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in public water systems, releasing data that could shape forthcoming regulation and compensation from manufacturers. “Toxic ‘forever chemicals’…
Presidential council recommends launching a Department of Water to confront cyberthreats, climate change
Presidential council recommends launching a Department of Water to confront cyberthreats, climate change AUGUST 28, 2023 A presidential advisory council is calling for the creation of a Department of Water or an equivalent cabinet-level agency to deal with the looming water crisis and cybersecurity threats that could endanger treatment plants…
Google Is Consuming More Water Than Ever, And The Growth Of AI Will Make It Worse
Google Is Consuming More Water Than Ever, And The Growth Of AI Will Make It Worse August 9, 2023 One of the world’s largest companies is also one of its most increasingly thirsty, and even as water becomes scarcer around the world, its consumption only seems poised to grow. “Google…
Don’t call it ‘toilet to tap’ — California plans to turn sewage into drinking water
Don’t call it ‘toilet to tap’ — California plans to turn sewage into drinking water AUGUST 1, 2023 Californians could drink highly purified sewage water that is piped directly into drinking water supplies for the first time under proposed rules unveiled by state water officials. The drought-prone state has turned…
Grants to remove lead from drinking water in Massachusetts
Grants to remove lead from drinking water in Massachusetts Jul 25, 2023 The Biden Administration announced $58 million in grants to help schools and daycare centers remove lead from drinking water. According to a news release from the EPA, the grants are from President Biden’s Investing in America grant and…
California Lawmakers Strike Down Governor’s Hopes For Expedited Water Tunnel Project
California Lawmakers Strike Down Governor’s Hopes For Expedited Water Tunnel Project July 12, 2023 Facing a range of high-profile water problems, legislators in the nation’s thirstiest state are at odds over a massive project that could impact millions of consumers. “California’s most hotly contested water proposal suffered a setback ……
Tap Water Study Detects PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Across The U.S.
Tap Water Study Detects PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals’ Across The U.S. July 5, 2023 At least 45% of the nation’s tap water is estimated to have one or more types of the chemicals known as per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFAS, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological…
As PFAS Limits Loom, Financial Questions Remain Over How Water Utilities Will Comply
As PFAS Limits Loom, Financial Questions Remain Over How Water Utilities Will Comply June 21, 2023 Despite an influx in attention and financial support, national utilities have a long road ahead in combating a preeminent drinking water contaminant. “Utilities facing financial hurdles from coming federal water limits for PFAS (per-…
States Suing PFAS Manufacturers Over Contamination, ‘Campaign To Knowingly Deceive The Public’
States Suing PFAS Manufacturers Over Contamination, ‘Campaign To Knowingly Deceive The Public’ June 7, 2023 Attorneys general representing a range of states are now suing the manufacturers of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) over the harm that these chemicals have caused their residents and environments, including the health effects that…
Without access to water lines, Texas colonias residents are pulling water from the desert air
Without access to water lines, Texas colonias residents are pulling water from the desert air JUNE 5, 2023 Hueco Tanks, developed under the name Hueco Mountain Estates, is among the dozens of colonias — unincorporated communities mostly in border counties — in Texas where low-income, Latino residents still are not…
Indiana American Water requesting a 31% hike in water rates
Indiana American Water requesting a 31% hike in water rates May 30, 2023 Indiana American Water Co. is asking the state for a rate increase that would boost its revenues in three steps by 31% starting in January next year. The water utility, which serves Muncie, provides water and wastewater…
Warm Springs Celebrates Funding For New Water Treatment Plant
Warm Springs Celebrates Funding For New Water Treatment Plant 5/23/23 Warm Springs is getting $28 million in federal funding to build a new water treatment plant. Oregon U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley visited the site Monday, along with tribal leaders. “There is a shameful legacy, right here in…
EPA Takes First-Ever Federal Clean Water Act Enforcement Action To Address PFAS Discharges At Washington Works Facility Near Parkersburg, W. Va.
EPA Takes First-Ever Federal Clean Water Act Enforcement Action To Address PFAS Discharges At Washington Works Facility Near Parkersburg, W. Va. April 26, 2023 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the Chemours Company to take corrective measures to address pollution from per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in stormwater and effluent…
Former Official Claims Oldsmar Drinking Water Hack Was Really Operator Error
Former Official Claims Oldsmar Drinking Water Hack Was Really Operator Error March 29, 2023 According to a local official with direct knowledge, an alarming drinking water contamination event thought to be the result of cyberattack was actually just an operations flub. “In 2021, news broke of a cyberattack at the…
Following Local Criticism, Mississippi Lawmakers Abandon State-Operated Water System Plans For Jackson
Following Local Criticism, Mississippi Lawmakers Abandon State-Operated Water System Plans For Jackson March 23, 2023 The latest development in the saga of Jackson, Mississippi’s drinking water system has seen public officials retract their proposed solution following significant public backlash. “Mississippi lawmakers are giving up on an effort to create a…
Interactive Colorado Water Supply Tool Illuminates Statewide Water Needs Through 2050
Interactive Colorado Water Supply Tool Illuminates Statewide Water Needs Through 2050 February 21, 2023 With more frequent, severe drought, many are looking for better ways to address water supply and storage as climate change alters life in Colorado and the West. The newly released Colorado Water Plan provides a framework…
Washington State Issues Enforcement Order Against U.S. Army Over Yakima Training Center Contamination
Washington State Issues Enforcement Order Against U.S. Army Over Yakima Training Center Contamination February 1, 2023 The U.S. Army’s Yakima Training Center contains dozens of sites contaminated by chemical spills and toxic waste, including some that have threatened drinking water supplies in nearby wells. In order to ensure the Army…
California is lone holdout in Colorado River cuts proposal
California is lone holdout in Colorado River cuts proposal January 31, 2023 Six Western states that rely on water from the Colorado River have agreed on a model to dramatically cut water use in the basin, months after the federal government called for action and an initial deadline passed. California…
Chemical Navigation: St Petersburg University Scientists Develop A Water Remediation Method Using Nanoparticles
Chemical Navigation: St Petersburg University Scientists Develop A Water Remediation Method Using Nanoparticles January 18, 2023 Chemists from St Petersburg University have developed a method for purifying water from organic compounds using tin oxide nanoparticle based photocatalysts. Water pollution is one of the acute environmental issues of our time. Due…
Arizona town’s residents resort to drastic measures after water supply is cut off
Arizona town’s residents resort to drastic measures after water supply is cut off January 17, 2023 Residents of one Arizona town are findings way to get creative when it comes to saving water after their supply was cut off. On New Year’s Day, the city of Scottsdale stopped providing water…
EPA Announces $500M Loan To Modernize Wastewater And Drinking Water Infrastructure In New Jersey
EPA Announces $500M Loan To Modernize Wastewater And Drinking Water Infrastructure In New Jersey January 5, 2023 Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $500M loan to the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank to modernize wastewater and drinking water systems serving over 10 million people throughout New Jersey. This…
Hetch Hetchy pipeline scheduled for maintenance in San Mateo County
Hetch Hetchy pipeline scheduled for maintenance in San Mateo County January 3, 2023 Beginning early January, the Hetch Hetchy watershed will close its pipelines for maintenance, leaving the county to consume what water is currently stored in the Crystal Springs and San Andreas reservoirs. “Residents may notice a change in…
EPA Announces $263 Million WIFIA Loan to Boise, Idaho to Modernize Wastewater Infrastructure and help recharge the Boise River water supply
EPA Announces $263 Million WIFIA Loan to Boise, Idaho to Modernize Wastewater Infrastructure and help recharge the Boise River water supply December 19, 2022 Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $263 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the City of Boise, Idaho, to…
North Miami to receive $2.3M for septic to sewer conversions
North Miami to receive $2.3M for septic to sewer conversions Dec. 13, 2022 The City of North Miami announced that it is receiving a $2.3 million state grant from the state for its septic to sewer conversion project. The state’s multi-million-dollar allocation will come from the Biscayne Bay Grant Program…
Thornton has plenty of water – it’s just in the wrong place. And that’s a very Colorado story.
Thornton has plenty of water – it’s just in the wrong place. And that’s a very Colorado story. Dec 4, 2022 Thornton needs water. Developers are scrapping homebuilding projects out of fears that the city can’t guarantee them a water tap in the next few years. Thornton has water. It’s…
California Cities Brace for Water Cuts and a Fourth Year of Drought
California Cities Brace for Water Cuts and a Fourth Year of Drought 11/28/22 Federal water authorities warned California cities and industrial water users to prepare for water cuts in 2023 as the state enters what is likely to be a fourth consecutive year of drought. The potential cuts will affect…
Hundreds of Arizona Households Set to Be Without Water by End of Year
Hundreds of Arizona Households Set to Be Without Water by End of Year 11/22/22 More than 500 households in the rural Arizona desert are set to be without running water starting January, 1 2023, as first reported by NBC News. The homes, located in Rio Verde Foothills—an affluent, unincorporated community…
As California’s wells dry up, residents rely on bottled water to survive
As California’s wells dry up, residents rely on bottled water to survive November 14, 2022 Wells are running dry in California at a record pace. Amid a hotter, drier climate and the third consecutive year of severe drought, the state has already tallied a record 1,351 dry wells this year…
As Drought Worsens, Colorado Turns To Major Direct Potable Reuse Expansion
As Drought Worsens, Colorado Turns To Major Direct Potable Reuse Expansion November 1, 2022 The national battle against source water scarcity has pushed water systems around the country to innovate and invest at rapid rates. California is volunteering to make record cuts to its Colorado River consumption, Texas is pursuing…
EPA determines water in Jackson, Mississippi, is safe to drink two months after treatment plant failure
EPA determines water in Jackson, Mississippi, is safe to drink two months after treatment plant failure October 31, 2022 The Environmental Protection Agency has determined water from both treatment plants in Jackson, Mississippi, is safe to drink, an agency spokesperson said in a statement. The announcement comes just over two…
Jackson Wastewater Hauler Pleads Guilty To Clean Water Act Violation
Jackson Wastewater Hauler Pleads Guilty To Clean Water Act Violation October 18, 2022 An employee of Partridge-Sibley Industrial Services, Inc., a wastewater hauling business based in Jackson, Mississippi, pled guilty today for his part in illegally discharging industrial waste into the Jackson sewer system, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca…
Scientists Say PFAS Contamination Should Be Presumed At Over 57,000 U.S. Sites
Scientists Say PFAS Contamination Should Be Presumed At Over 57,000 U.S. Sites October 12, 2022 Tens of thousands of locations across the United States may be contaminated by PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances), according to a study published today in Environmental Science & Technology Letters. According to the research team,…
Despite Drought, U.S. EPA May Block Trailblazing Texas Desalination Plant
Despite Drought, U.S. EPA May Block Trailblazing Texas Desalination Plant October 6, 2022 As water scarcity and consumer demand grow across much of the country, one of the driest states is pursuing an ambitious drinking water project, while still unsure if it will receive the federal green light. “Texas regulators…
Unsafe Lead Contamination Found In Chicago Drinking Water
Unsafe Lead Contamination Found In Chicago Drinking Water September 28, 2022 Recent tests for thousands of consumers in Chicago found that 5% of them were being served with drinking water that contained exceedingly high levels of lead contamination. “One in 20 tap water tests performed for thousands of Chicago residents…
Las Vegas Bets On A Range Of Conservation Measures In Face Of Megadrought
Las Vegas Bets On A Range Of Conservation Measures In Face Of Megadrought September 21, 2022 Banking on its continued position as an oasis among the desert, Las Vegas is placing its bets on ambitious water conservation measures as regional drought conditions and consumption demand grow. According to recent coverage…
