EPA has published a progress report on the Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (WARN) program. The report covers metrics for 2015 including a year in review of memberships and facilitated responses, improvement planning, interstate mutual aid, development of WARN teams, coordination efforts, and steps forward. The report also includes snapshots of WARN activities per state.
U.S. EPA has posted the Public Health Surveillance Design Guidance for SRSs and the Public Health Surveillance Assessment and Interview Form for public health surveillance efforts.
The two publications are part of EPA's Water Quality Surveillance and Response (SRS) program.
EPA has published a technical briefing and fact sheet on drought resilience and water conservation, which includes a number of resources and workshops for water utilities. These include drought risk assessments, the Climate Ready Water Utilities initiative, a drought incident action checklist, approaches for controlling waterborne contaminants, and water loss control workshops.
EPA has published version 3.0 of its Climate Resilience and Evaluation Tool (CREAT) along with a methodology guide. The web-based application was developed to assist drinking water, wastewater and stormwater utility owners and operators in understanding potential climate change threats and assess the related risks at their individual utilities. According to the guide, the risk assessment process is designed to be iterative. The goals are to increase operators’ awareness of climate change impacts and assist utilities in determining threshold levels for asset failures.
EPA has published a research paper on radiological contaminant persistence and decontamination in drinking water pipes. The objective of this study was to use the Pipe Decontamination Experimental Design Protocol (PDEDP) to evaluate the persistence of cesium, cobalt, and strontium on concrete and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and explore possible decontamination approaches. The results of study showed which radioactive substances were persistent on PVC or concrete and which decontamination methods could effectively remove them.
EPA has published a research paper on distinguishing intentional releases from natural occurrences and unintentional releases of Bacillus anthracis, which is the bacteria that causes anthrax. The purpose of this research was to: 1) survey the scientific literature to determine the current state of the science regarding the presence of Bacillus anthracis in the environment and outbreaks of anthrax; 2) identify characteristics that would enable a screening of information about outbreaks to rapidly assess whether an intentional release was a likely cause (in U.S.
EPA has published a research paper on modeling and experimental testing of sediment resuspension in water distribution storage tanks. Sediments in storage tanks have the potential to accumulate pathogens, metals, and other hazardous materials. This report addresses the potential for sediments in storage tanks to be transported back into water distribution systems. In addition, a pilot-scale experiment was conducted to validate the model predictions. The results of this study highlight tank operating conditions that might reduce resuspension and removal of sediments from tanks.
On June 6, EPA released a draft Protective Action Guide (PAG) and planning guidance for radiological incidents. This PAG is intended to guide water systems in protecting against short-term health risks during response to radiological incidents. It explains how to calculate Derived Response Levels (DRLs) for radionuclides likely to appear in drinking water following a radiological contamination incident. DRLs are concentrations of radionuclides in drinking water that correspond to EPA’s proposed PAG of 100 mrem and 500 mrem.
EPA has published an information sheet on the importance of electric utilities prioritizing power restoration for drinking water and wastewater utilities. Utilities require continuous power to maintain operations. An extended power loss can impact hospitals, firefighting, and most businesses. Loss of power at wastewater pumps could lead to sewage backups in homes and businesses. EPA recommends electric and water utilities to maintain contact with emergency response managers, and to participate in emergency response training and exercises. (See attachment.)
The EPA has upgraded its Check Up Program for Small Systems (CUPSS). CUPSS is a comprehensive application that provides tools required for small drinking water and wastewater utilities to implement an asset management program and develop asset management plans. EPA’s new enhancement to the software includes an Asset Plus Costs report. The new report allows users to view asset details and the associated operations and maintenance costs for the selected assets. As a result, users can develop a snapshot of the total costs of assets for the current year and previous years.
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