NEWS AND
RESOURCES
FROM THE
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY

Report on green infrastructure operation and maintenance practices

EPA has released a report that examines the operation and maintenance practices of several green infrastructure projects funded by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and that identifies trends and common elements shared by the various projects. The report provides information to communities and operators on funding programs to help ensure that green infrastructure projects are operated and maintained to optimize long-term performance and effectiveness.

View the report at http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/cwsrf/upload/Green-Infrastructure-OM-Report.pdf

Report on emerging technologies for wastewater treatment and in-plant wet-weather management

EPA has released a report on emerging technologies for wastewater treatment and in-plant wet-weather management to assist municipal wastewater utility owners and operators, local governments, engineers, and planners find information on new wastewater treatment and in-plant wet-weather management technologies. The document includes technical and cost information to assist users in considering using more efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective wastewater treatment and in-plant wet-weather management technologies. Updated from the 2008 publication, the report provides information on four categories of technology development: research stage; emerging; innovative; and adaptive use.

For more information and to view the report, visit http://water.epa.gov/scitech/wastetech/publications.cfm

EPA survey finds more than half of the nation’s river and stream miles in poor condition

WASHINGTON (EPA)—The EPA released in March the results of the first comprehensive survey looking at the health of thousands of stream and river miles across the country, finding that more than half – 55 percent – are in poor condition for aquatic life.

“The health of our nation’s rivers, lakes, bays and coastal waters depends on the vast network of streams where they begin, and this new science shows that America’s streams and rivers are under significant pressure,” said Office of Water Acting Assistant Administrator Nancy Stoner. “We must continue to invest in protecting and restoring our nation’s streams and rivers as they are vital sources of our drinking water, provide many recreational opportunities, and play a critical role in the economy.”

The 2008-2009 National Rivers and Stream Assessment reflects the most recent data available and is part of EPA’s expanded effort to monitor waterways in the U.S. and gather scientific data on the condition of the nation’s water resources.

EPA partners, including states and tribes, collected data from approximately 2,000 sites across the country. EPA, state and university scientists analyzed the data to determine the extent to which rivers and streams support aquatic life, how major stressors may be affecting them and how conditions are changing over time.

Findings of the assessment include:

• Nitrogen and phosphorus are at excessive levels. Twenty-seven percent of the nation’s rivers and streams have excessive levels of nitrogen, and 40 percent have high levels of phosphorus. Too much nitrogen and phosphorus in the water—known as nutrient pollution—causes significant increases in algae, which harms water quality, food resources and habitats, and decreases the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive.
• Streams and rivers are at an increased risk due to decreased vegetation cover and increased human disturbance. These conditions can cause streams and rivers to be more vulnerable to flooding, erosion, and pollution. Vegetation along rivers and streams slows the flow of rainwater so it does not erode stream banks, removes pollutants carried by rainwater and helps maintain water temperatures that support healthy streams for aquatic life. Approximately 24 percent of the rivers and streams monitored were rated poor due to the loss of healthy vegetative cover.
• Increased bacteria levels. High bacteria levels were found in nine percent of stream and river miles, making those waters potentially unsafe for swimming and other recreation.
• Increased mercury levels. More than 13,000 miles of rivers have fish with mercury levels that may be unsafe for human consumption. For most people, the health risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern, but some fish and shellfish contain higher levels of mercury that may harm an unborn baby or young child's developing nervous system.

EPA plans to use this new data to inform decision making about addressing critical needs around the country for rivers, streams, and other waterbodies. This comprehensive survey will also help develop improvements to monitoring these rivers and streams across jurisdictional boundaries and enhance the ability of states and tribes to assess and manage water quality to help protect our water, aquatic life, and human health. Results are available for a dozen geographic and ecological regions of the country.

More information: www.epa.gov/aquaticsurveys

OTHER NEWS AND
RESOURCES

Video demonstrates in visual way what not to flush

“What comes out of you and toilet paper” is what a YouTube video say are the only things that should be flushed down the toilet. This informative video shows in a visual way what happens to come common bathroom throw-aways when they're flushed down the toilet, including so-called “flushable” things like kitty litter or baby wipes. In a demonstration by a sewage pre-treatment technician, wastewater customers (all of us) can see what happens when facial tissue, dental floss, cotton swabs and feminine napkins are sent through the wastewater system.

Find the video at http://youtu.be/SLTVqkXVvNk

Deficit in nation’s aquifers accelerating

(USGS)—A new U.S. Geological Survey study documents that the nation’s aquifers are being drawn down at an accelerating rate.

The study, “Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900-2008),” comprehensively evaluates long-term cumulative depletion volumes in 40 separate aquifers (distinct underground water-storage areas) in the United States, bringing together reliable information from previous references and from new analyses.

“Groundwater is one of the nation’s most important natural resources. It provides drinking water in both rural and urban communities. It supports irrigation and industry, sustains the flow of streams and rivers, and maintains ecosystems,” said Suzette Kimball, acting USGS Director. “Because groundwater systems typically respond slowly to human actions, a long-term perspective is vital to manage this valuable resource in sustainable ways.”

To outline the scale of groundwater depletion across the country, here are two startling facts drawn from the study’s wealth of statistics. First, from 1900 to 2008, the nation’s aquifers, the natural stocks of water found under the land, were depleted by more than twice the volume of water found in Lake Erie. Second, groundwater depletion in the U.S. in the years 2000 to 2008 can explain more than 2 percent of the observed global sea-level rise during that period.  

Since 1950, the use of groundwater resources for agricultural, industrial, and municipal purposes has greatly expanded in the United States. When groundwater is withdrawn from subsurface storage faster than it is recharged by precipitation or other water sources, the result is groundwater depletion. The depletion of groundwater has many negative consequences, including land subsidence, reduced well yields, and diminished spring and stream flows.

While the rate of groundwater depletion across the country has increased markedly since about 1950, the maximum rates have occurred during the most recent period of the study (2000 to 2008), when the depletion rate averaged almost 25 cubic kilometers per year. For comparison, 9.2 cubic kilometers per year is the historical average calculated over the 1900 to 2008 timespan of the study.

One of the best known and most investigated aquifers in the U.S. is the High Plains (or Ogallala) aquifer. It underlies more than 170,000 square miles of the nation's midsection and represents the principal source of water for irrigation and drinking in this major agricultural area. Substantial pumping of the High Plains aquifer for irrigation since the 1940s has resulted in large water-table declines that exceed 160 feet in places.

The study shows that, since 2000, depletion of the High Plains aquifer appears to be continuing at a high rate. The depletion during the last 8 years of record (2001 through 2008) is about 32 percent of the cumulative depletion in this aquifer during the entire 20th century. The annual rate of depletion during this recent period averaged about 10.2 cubic kilometers, roughly 2 percent of the volume of water in Lake Erie.

Read the report: http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5079/

Expert in community economic development offers 10 keys to success

Don Macke, Director of Entrepreneurial Communities and co-founder of the Center for Entrepreneurship, is writing this year about ten keys to economic-development success in rural communities. The center is a resource for rural communities and regions interested in building more sustainable economic development frameworks around entrepreneurship. It researches entrepreneurship development and offers training, a newsletter, development tools, and other learning resources.

Macke’s keys to success fall under these themes:

1. Local responsibility
2. Smart game plan
3. Robust investment
4. Entrepreneurial development systems
5. Sustained effort
6. Growth entrepreneurs
7. Attributes of an entrepreneurial community
8. Immigrants & new residents
9. Real regional collaboration
10. Civic & social entrepreneurs

To see Macke’s writings on these topics, sign up for the “Rural Entrepreneurship Newsletter” at www.energizingentrepreneurs.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23&Itemid=22

Changes to the RCAP board of directors

New MAP executive director

The new representative on the RCAP board from the Midwest Assistance Program (MAP), the Midwest RCAP, is Michael Brownfield. Effective May 1, Brownfield is the new executive director for MAP, replacing CEO Marcie McLaughlin, who resigned.

Brownfield joined MAP four years ago as a technical assistance provider. He has also served as a field manager and program director for MAP. “Mr. Brownfield’s experience with MAP and the RCAP network, as well as his years managing several aspects of the Missouri National Guard, makes him well qualified to assume MAP’s leadership role,” said MAP’s board chair, Richard Cavender.

New members of the board

Christine (Chris) Galvin was seated on the national board of directors of RCAP last year as the official representative of Great Lakes RCAP. She is also on the WSOS Community Action Board, the oversight group for Great Lakes RCAP. She serves on the WSOS board representing Ottawa County, Ohio (the “O” in WSOS).

Galvin is the area director for United Way in Ottawa County and has served in that capacity since 1993. Prior to that, she worked for a major medical center in Toledo. Her commitment to individual and community development led to the creation of the Conestoga Project, a neighborhood revitalization program that helped a declining area in her hometown stabilize real estate prices and bring about infrastructure improvements; leverage local, state and federal resources to improve lives; and helped residents connect with health and social services. She is known as a connector and strategic problem solver with an ability to build community coalitions to address issues from homelessness to transportation. She brings her experience in board training and strategic planning to the RCAP board.

Anish Jantrania was elected to the board in Nov. 2012. His focus is promoting affordable and sustainable wastewater infrastructure to support economic growth and protection of water quality. He is currently a senior project manager at NCS Wastewater Solutions, a division of Northwest Cascade, Inc., a private company that designs, builds and operates wastewater services for areas not served by public sewer systems. 

Formerly a technical services engineer for the Virginia Department of Health in the Onsite Sewage and Water Program, Jantrania is a nationally recognized technical expert and speaker at environmental health conferences and technical workshops such as ASAE, NEHA, WEF and NOWRA. Early in his career, he worked for the EPA National Small Flows Clearing House at West Virginia University and managed the first National Onsite Demonstration Project in Gloucester, Mass.

Before coming to the U.S. in 1983 for graduate studies, Jantrania earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering in India and worked in rural communities in his birth state of Gujarat. He currently lives in Mechanicsville, Va., a suburb of Richmond.