Unlock the Adventure: Join Our Quest for Water Scavenger Hunt!

Explore Portland and the Fall Conference with our Second Annual Quest for Water Scavenger Hunt

The WAVE program engages students and emerging professionals from diverse backgrounds with the water industry through a series of workshops and attendance at the 2025 PNCWA conference. The workshops focus on the various paths within the water industry, networking, skills development, employment opportunities, and conference preparation.

Save the Date! Fall Communications Camp, October 23 in Vancouver, WA

The 2025 Fall Communications Camp will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 23, in Vancouver, WA. The City of Vancouver is excited to host the camp at its Water Resources Education Center at 4600 SE Columbia Way. Learn more about the Water Resources Education Center here.

The Camp will include a tour of the Education Center and Vancouver’s Marine Park Water Reclamation Facility, presentations on ADA website language and access requirements, a case study on communicating wastewater capital projects, and a discussion of water utilities' use of AI, tools, and policy considerations, among other topics. More details, including the full agenda and registration details, will be published later this summer.

What account does a permit holder need?

On May 14^th, water quality permits, like NPDES permits for sewage treatment plants, went live in DEQ’s Your DEQ Online (YDO).  This means that cities and special districts who have these permits can set up accounts for themselves in YDO and link to their permits.  We have a schedule of training to roll out that will eventually let these permit holders use YDO to submit discharge monitoring reports and other required reports and submit renewal applications online.

Make Every Hour Count!

This summer, the Utility Management Committee (UMC) invites you to be part of something impactful: our Summer Volunteer Event, running from July 4th through September 1st. Whether you're helping your community, mentoring the next generation, or supporting water-focused initiatives, we want to recognize the time you spend furthering the PNCWA mission and vision.

The WAVE program engages students and emerging professionals from diverse backgrounds with the water industry through a series of workshops and attendance of the 2025 PNCWA conference. The workshops focus on the various paths within the water industry, networking, skills development, employment opportunities, and conference preparation. Each month until the conference, we will highlight our participants.

Idaho:

• The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking comment on the 2024 Integrated Report. This includes an overview of DEQ’s surface water monitoring and assessment program; a discussion about public health issues; an overview of Idaho’s groundwater monitoring and assessment efforts; and a summary of public participation in the development of the report. The report is available for review on DEQ’s website and at DEQ’s State Office (1410 North Hilton Street, Boise, Idaho 83706). Written comments will be accepted through November 14, at 5 pm MT.

Oregon:

The WAVE program engages students and emerging professionals from diverse backgrounds with the water industry through a series of workshops and attendance of the 2025 PNCWA conference. The workshops focus on the various paths within the water industry, networking, skills development, employment opportunities, and conference preparation. Each month until the conference, we will highlight our participants.

March Stormwater Learning Hour

Stormwater Tree Wells

The WAVE program engages students and emerging professionals from diverse backgrounds with the water industry through a series of workshops and attendance of the 2025 PNCWA conference. The workshops focus on the various paths within the water industry, networking, skills development, employment opportunities, and conference preparation. Each month until the conference, we will highlight our participants.

Over 15 attendees gathered in Spokane, WA to learn about how agencies around the Northwest are educating the next generation on the importance of water. Presentation included:

• Engaging the Community with the RiverHealth Stewardship Grant Program - Gail Shaloum and Todd Loggan, Clackamas Water Environment Services With limited staff allocated to watershed restoration and watershed health education, Clackamas Water Environment Services relies on partners to round out our restoration and education work. We use a competitive grant program to select the partners and projects each year. Through the RiverHealth Stewardship Program, WES has been able to involve the community in improving watershed health, educating students and the community, while also satisfying our stormwater permit requirements. Learn how we developed the grant program and how it has progressed in its ten years.
• Clean Water University - Loralyn Spiro, City of Springfield & Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission; PNCWA Communication & Outreach Committee Chair the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission and the City of Springfield, along with the City of Eugene and support from other community partners, offer the Clean Water University program to Eugene-Springfield area 5th grade classes, free of charge. Traditionally held in person in the fall at the MWMC’s Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant, Clean Water University provides an opportunity to learn about wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water. The program’s overarching goal is to teach students about the importance of clean water.
• No Child Left Inside – Spokane County’s Water Education Program - Laura Goff and RaeAnn Nolander, Spokane County Public Works Join Spokane County Water Resource Educators to learn about the Wetland Explorers curriculum and field experience that hosted over 1700 5th graders over 6 weeks at the newly restored Saltese Wetlands and Doris Morrison Learning Center. The program immersed students and teachers in genuine field science at, and in, the wetland to learn about water quality, the value of a managed wetland habitat and the beneficial role that wetlands play in our ecosystem and community. This is the outdoor learning component of our water education efforts in Spokane County.
• Water Wise Spokane: Driving Conservation through Strategic Communication and Community Engagement - Kristen Zimmer, City of Spokane Explore the Water Wise Spokane program’s approach to water conservation, focusing on how strategic communication has influenced resident behavior and fostered community involvement. Highlights include partnerships with local agencies, such as working with the Spokane Fire Department to enhance water efficiency in public facilities and promoting the successful SpokaneScape program to encourage sustainable landscaping practices. This presentation will provide actionable ideas, enhanced by social marketing strategies, to strengthen your outreach and drive real impact.

The camp also included a Tour of Spokane County’s Water Reclamation Facility by host Hannah Thomascall, Spokane County Public Works – The content for the general public tour of Spokane County’s Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) will be presented to the tour group. Verbal explanations, graphics, and physical samples will describe the processes used at the treatment plant to communicate how each process treats wastewater. Proceeds from the Communications Camp go toward PNCWA’s Adopt-a-School grant program, managed by the Communication and Outreach Committee. This program funds K-12 educational projects focused on water and the environment.

Resume Review Workshop at UW - Seattle

Are you ready to make a difference in the career journeys of UW students?

The S&YP is partnering with other local YP groups to host an exciting Resume Review Event, and we’re looking for enthusiastic volunteers to join us in making this event a success. Your expertise and guidance could help someone land their dream job!

Perspectives on Integrated Planning Webinar

December 12, 10:00 - 11:30 AM Pacific

Stormwater Committee Quarterly Newsletter

Please join the Racial Social Justice Subcommittee on December 10th from 12:00 - 1:30 pm (Pacific) for a learning session with Danielle Pacifico-Cogan of DP Cogan Consulting on the intersectionality of race and disability.

Race, class, gender, and disability are the four overarching social categories our society uses to arrange people into hierarchies of power. Only recently have mainstream culture and scholarship caught up to disabled activists and scholars in recognizing the role disability plays in quality of life and access to opportunity. The Intersection of Race and Disability Learning Session explores the historical context and contemporary implications of race and disability in American life.

Idaho

• The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking comment on the 2024 Integrated Report. This includes an overview of DEQ’s surface water monitoring and assessment program; a discussion about public health issues; an overview of Idaho’s groundwater monitoring and assessment efforts; and a summary of public participation in the development of the report. The report is available for review on DEQ’s website https://www.deq.idaho.gov/deq-seeks-comment-on-2024-integrated-report/ and at DEQ’s State Office (1410 North Hilton Street, Boise, Idaho 83706). Written comments will be accepted through November 14, at 5 pm MT.

Oregon

• Oregon DEQ has just opened a public comment period for proposed rule changes for the Wastewater Operator Certification Program.  The Public Notice, which includes a link to the proposed changes, is found at this site: https://www.oregon.gov/deq/rulemaking/Pages/WasteWater2024.aspx. This effort includes updating the qualification pathways to certification for wastewater system operators, facilitating operator certification reciprocity among states, modernizing and simplifying the way wastewater systems are classified, and expanding options for attaining compliance when a supervisory operator is not available.

PNCWA2024 Awards

Each year, PNCWA has the opportunity to recognize exemplary people and projects in our industry. This year, during the Annual Conference Opening General Session and Awards Luncheon, 17 awards were given out, in addition to 9 student scholarships.

Congratulations to all of this year’s awardees on their accomplishments!

Save the Date!

The 2024 Fall Communications Camp is happening from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm on Thursday, October 24 in Spokane, WA. A big thanks to Spokane County for graciously being our host at their Water Resource Center at 1004 N Freya St in Spokane. Learn more about their Water Resource Center here.

Federal

• EPA has proposed a draft analytical method for measuring 6PPD-quinone in stormwater and surface waters. Many of you may be following the increasing regulatory attention to 6PPDq – a chemical additive in rubber tires to help extend a tire's life and use. These chemicals have been in use for more than 50 years and have been found to be very toxic to salmon and trout species as well as other aquatic life.
• On May 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court granted cert in San Francisco v. EPA.  The case calls for the U.S. Supreme Court to resolve a critical question—whether the Clean Water Act allows EPA (and authorized states) to imposed generic prohibitions against violating water quality standards in National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.