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Highlighting Past PNCWA Scholarship Recipients

Daniel Isenberger was a 2018 PNCWA Scholarship Recipient while attending a Multi-Disciplinary 2-Year Water Quality Program at Umpqua Community College. During his attendance, he was able to work for a variety of Clean Water Utilities in the Southern Oregon Region through various Cooperative Work Experiences and be an active Member of PNCWA.

After graduation with an Associate’s Program in Water Quality, he returned to Eastern Oregon for seasonal ranch work before transferring to a Colorado-based College that offered an Undergrad in Water Management Technology. 

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Government Affairs Committee Update

Idaho

  • Updates to Idaho HHWQC for Arsenic:  The updates to Idaho’s human health criteria for arsenic were negotiated under Docket No. 58-0102-1801 and published as a proposed rule under Docket No. 58-0102-2201. The pending rule was adopted by the Idaho Board of Environmental Quality on May 26, 2022, and will be submitted to the Idaho Legislature for review during the 2023 legislative session. The pending rule includes the rule as initially proposed along with revisions in Subsections 210.01.b., Footnote k, and 210.03.e. and is available here. Once the pending rule is approved by the Idaho Legislature, DEQ will submit the rule to EPA for review.

Oregon

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World Water Day – Bringing People Together to Celebrate Knowledge and Good Beer

What a wonderful sight it was on March 22nd at Optimism Brewing as over 70 people split into teams in a (mostly friendly) battle of wits covering obscure waterways, water-based music, and what WSP stands for. We saw connections being made across the water industry and beyond that we rarely get to see outside of the PNCWA Annual Conference, all while raising more than $4,000 for Water For People. Thank you to our wonderful host, Optimism Brewing Company, and our generous Sponsors AECOM, Schnabel, WSP, Osborn Consulting, Stantec, T.Y. Lin, Carollo, and Consor, as well as our prize sponsors Rey Amargo Chocolate, Overcast Coffee and Elliott Bay Books.

Committee Spotlight: Stormwater - Projects Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill in the Pacific Northwest

On November 5, 2021, the U.S. Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. Since then, the federal government has provided funding for various infrastructure projects. In the Pacific Northwest, funding has been awarded to projects that improve access to clean drinking water, provide access to reliable high-speed internet, repair and rebuild roads and bridges, improve multimodal transportation, upgrade power infrastructure, and provide forest fire protection.

Information on the breakdown of funding given to Idaho, Washington, and Oregon can be found in Part 1 of the blog post series here: Committee Spotlight: Stormwater (pncwa.org)

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President’s Message March 2023

World Water Day 2023: Wednesday, March 22

World Water Day 2023 is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis worldwide. Water is a core element of our survival. Yet, in our PNCWA area, it’s easy to take water and wastewater for granted — we don’t think about the infrastructure, people, and administration that strives to deliver clean water anytime we want. While throughout the world, there are billions of people that don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water or sanitary services.   

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WAVE Program: Meet the Students

The WAVE program engages students and emerging professionals from diverse backgrounds with the water industry through a series of workshops and attendance of the 2023 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.

Today, Meet Juliana, Nicole, and Jasper:

Juliana Andrade 
Student at Seattle University, studying Civil Engineering with an Environmental Specialization 
Brown and Caldwell, Environmental Engineering Intern 




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Stormwater Learning Hour

March Learning Hour 

Wednesday, March 22, 12 pm Pacific/1 pm Mountain 

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Sustainability and Biosolids Committee Webinar on Bioenergy and Co-Digestion

Bioenergy and Co-Digestion Webinar - Climate Change Regulation Provides Opportunities for WRRFs


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Government Affairs Committee Update

Idaho: 

  • Updates to Idaho HHWQC for Arsenic: The updates to Idaho’s human health criteria for arsenic were negotiated under Docket No. 58-0102-1801 and published as a proposed rule under Docket No. 58-0102-2201. The pending rule was adopted by the Idaho Board of Environmental Quality on May 26, 2022, and will be submitted to the Idaho Legislature for review during the 2023 legislative session. The pending rule includes the rule as initially proposed along with revisions in Subsections 210.01.b., Footnote k, and 210.03.e. and is available here. Once the pending rule is approved by the Idaho Legislature, DEQ will submit the rule to EPA for review.

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Idaho Section Update: Idaho Operator’s Conference 2023

The North Idaho Operators Section of PNCWA will be hosting the 40th Annual Idaho Operator Conference May 21-24, 2023 at the University Inn Best Western in Moscow, Idaho. The conference includes a golf scramble, jet boat tour, classes, tradeshow, and awards banquet.  

 
Register to attend here. 
 
Interested in presenting? North Idaho Operators Section is accepting abstracts on topics such as nutrient removal, digestion and biosolids, disinfection, regulations, and more.  


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Awards Committee Highlight

The Goal of the PNCWA Awards Committee is to recognize the excellence and dedication of water professionals in our area by soliciting nominations and presenting the PNCWA and WEF Awards at our Annual Conference.  

The Committee highlights the achievements and commitment of people in this industry, and we continue to need your help.  Each year, we rely on your nominations, and when awards are given, we appreciate you spreading the word, within the Association membership and externally to local media, governance, and the public. Our award recipients deserve to be celebrated for their hard work! 

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President’s Message February 2023

The PNCWA Board recently gathered in Tigard, Oregon, along with many of our Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs. It was great to see so many faces at our Board and Committee meetings! We had nearly 30 people join in-person, plus ten online. We are grateful to Clean Water Services for hosting us at the Durham Wastewater Treatment Facility. We spent the morning with each committee sharing their goals and objectives for the year. This led to more discussion in break-out groups about forming Communities of Practice that would enhance committee member’s engagement in meetings, activities, and other events.

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PNCWA2023 Conference Update

Submit Your Abstracts by March 8 for PNCWA2023!

 

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Stormwater Learning Hour

February Learning Hour 

Wednesday, February 22, 12 p.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Mountain 

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Stormwater Around the World, Part 1

Introduction 

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WAVE Program: Leading the Future of Water

New Year, New Name. Same Great Program. 

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Stockholm Junior Water Prize - PNCWA Communication and Outreach Committee

Prepared by Catherine Chertudi

The Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) is the world's most prestigious award presented to a high school student for a water-research project. The Water Environment Federation (WEF) has coordinated the U.S. competition since its inception in 1997, and partners closely with Member Associations (MAs) to execute the program. 

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The Utility Management Committee is Hitting Refresh!

The Utility Management Committee is relaunching and looking for folks who want to share knowledge and network to learn how your peers at other utilities do what we do.  We envision a collaborative space with monthly lunchtime meetings to discuss topics of interest and plan quarterly events or presentations from speakers about topics that interest our committee.   

What does “Utility Management” mean to you?  If you have interests, ideas, curiosities about how best the Utility Management Committee can help spread knowledge or just want to stay up to date on the Committee’s activities please contact Jessica Rinner at [email protected] or Yarrow Murphy at [email protected].

Racial Social Justice Subcommittee Goals

Last month we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a holiday commemorating the legacy of Dr. King, one of the most influential changemakers in modern history. Dr. King’s influence withstands the test of time and continues to motivate change around the world (the Netherlands, Toronto and Ottawa, Canada and Hiroshima, Japan hold events or days dedicated to MLK). As the National Constitution Center states, “Today, the King holiday serves multiple purposes: It honors the total legacy of King; focuses on the issue of civil rights; highlights the use of nonviolence to promote change; and calls people into public service.” These purposes are integral to PNCWA’s dedication to the water industry. In 2020, PNCWA started the Racial and Social Justice (RSJ) Subcommittee to the Member Services Committee (MSC) to promote diversity and racial and social justice amongst membership.    

The subcommittee is pursuing 5 main goals. The goals and progress to date include: 

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Government Affairs Committee Participate in Water Week & Ask Your Representatives to Support the Water Sector!

Every year, water sector professionals from around the United States gather in Washington, DC and virtually to discuss important issues together and with our Federal lawmakers. Water Week 2023 will take place April 24-28. During this week, we come together to focus on national policy that impacts the water sector and how we can work together to make sure all communities have access to safe, reliable, and affordable clean water.  

The National Water Policy Fly-In is an important part of water week, presented by WEF, NACWA, WateReuse Association, AWWA, the Water Research Foundation and many others. During the fly-in, water sector professionals conduct meetings with lawmakers and/or their staff to discuss water policy positions and priorities for the year. Meetings can be held in person or virtually. A half-day summit is hosted in DC featuring speakers from Federal agencies and Congress and capped off with a networking reception.  

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