Rural Community Assistance Partnership

Practical solutions for improving rural communities

October 2012

Government Accountability Office affirms federal arrangement of EPA and USDA programs for water infrastructure funding

Posted Wed, 2012/10/31 - 2:42pm by RCAP

A new report finds that no duplication at the federal level exists among the programs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provide drinking water and wastewater infrastructure funding to small, rural communities.

New Center for American Progress report: How to upgrade and maintain our nation’s wastewater and drinking-water infrastructure

Posted Wed, 2012/10/24 - 2:44pm by RCAP

Of all the elements of our public infrastructure, our water systems are the most essential for the daily lives of Americans. The average American family of four uses roughly 400 gallons of water a day for drinking, washing, cooking, cleaning, and more. Businesses and industry throughout our nation also depend on clean water to keep their doors open and to manufacture thousands of goods we use or export every day. Indeed, commercial and institutional water-use amounts to roughly 17 percent of the total fresh water used in the United States.

Opinion: Forty more years of progress on water infrastructure

Posted Tue, 2012/10/23 - 4:23pm by RCAP

From the Associated General Contractors of America:

Forty years ago, the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution went into effect. The Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972, known as the Clean Water Act (CWA), became law after the bill was vetoed by President Nixon. In a tradition that continues to this day, the legislation was spurred on by bipartisan support and public opinion.

Businesses see increased water risk but boardrooms slow to act

Posted Tue, 2012/10/23 - 3:04pm by RCAP

LONDON AND NEW YORK (CDP) -- There is a sharp rise in company reports of detrimental impacts from drought and other water-related issues yet little change in the number of companies with board-level oversight of water strategies and no increase in the number of corporations providing transparent water-related risk assessments to investors.

New app lets users check health of waterways anywhere in the U.S.

Posted Tue, 2012/10/23 - 2:53pm by RCAP

WASHINGTON (EPA) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a new app and website on Oct. 18 to help people find information on the condition of thousands of lakes, rivers and streams across the United States from their smart phone, tablet or desktop computer. Available at http://www.epa.gov/mywaterway, the How’s My Waterway app and website use GPS technology or a user-entered zip code or city name to provide information about the quality of local water bodies.

GAO report: Energy-Water Nexus: Coordinated Federal Approach Needed to Better Manage Energy and Water Tradeoffs

Posted Tue, 2012/10/23 - 2:44pm by RCAP

The U.S. Government Accountability Office released on Sept. 13 a new report about the nexus between water and energy and warning that we’re running out of water because energy production is using too much of it, and leaving it unusable.

The office does not produce news releases about its reports, and so what follows are the findings as a way of summarizing the report, copied verbatim from its website.

Read the full report

Politico: U.S. on the verge of water anarchy (opinion)

Posted Tue, 2012/10/23 - 11:17am by RCAP

An Oct. 16 editorial in Politico speaks about the Supreme Court's imminent decision whether or not to review a 10th Circuit case that essentially invalidates the interstate compact allocating the water of the Red River to the various states through which it flows. The case has potentially huge ramifications for the availability of water in states that signed other interstate compacts divvying up river water rights, especially the Colorado.

The editorial notes:

Wastewater treatment: The technical parts explained for non-technical people

Posted Tue, 2012/10/23 - 10:47am by RCAP

In June (2012), we provided an overview for people who are not water-plant operators of how drinking water is prepared for public consumption. Now we want to do part two and cover the basics of treating wastewater.

Format:

Magazine/newsletter (single article)

Topic:

Operations - technical operations of facilities and infrastructure

Source:

RCAP

Audience:

Board/council member

Mayor/town manager/elected official (local)

Financial manager/accountant/bookkeeper

Tribal Utility Governance Program

Posted Mon, 2012/10/22 - 2:43pm by RCAP

Program duration: Sept. 1, 2012 to Aug. 31, 2013

Funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this program provides assistance primarily to develop the capacity of personnel and decision makers of tribally operated systems in EPA Regions 6, 8 and 9.