Cheryl MacKelvie

Popular Biosolids and Renewable Energy Seminars Sell Out CWEA and CASA hosted two successful Innovative Technology Seminars, one in Oakland and one in Los Angeles. The sessions featured presentations on the latest advances related to biosolids and renewable energy along with the tools and projects which are using new technologies. Presenters included regulators Hank Brady [...]

USEPA Unveils Water Recycling Action Plan At the annual WateReuse Symposium, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, along with several Federal agencies, revealed a new government-wide initiative to enhance the use of recycled water. The Recycled Water Action Plan will be published in the Federal Register, the public will have 90 days to provide input. CASA [...]

Water District Honored with Achievement in Procurement Award The Eastern Municipal Water District was honored for the sixth consecutive year with the Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award by the National Procurement Institute. The award recognizes public agencies that are industry leaders in their processes for purchasing goods and services. This marks the 10th time [...]

Share Your Thoughts on Biosolids at EPA-hosted Meeting in 2020 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reinvigorated its Biosolids Program and will be hosting a Biosolids Meeting in 2020. This is an opportunity for states and tribes to exchange information, discuss challenges and opportunities, and promote collaboration and open communication with the U.S. EPA. The [...]

New Drinking Water Notification Levels + Pending State and Federal Actions Last month, the State Water Resources Control Board's Division of Drinking Water announced that Notification Levels for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances will be lowered. While this move was expected, in conjunction with the recently enacted AB 756, it effectively authorizes the State Water Board [...]

CASA Wraps Up Successful Annual Conference The 2019 CASA Annual Conference was a resounding success! The three-day event in San Diego was well attended with more than 315 delegates and 22 informative and innovative speakers taking part. The conference started Wednesday, August 21 with three concurrent sessions, some of which were standing room only. The [...]

Congress Returns and Focuses on Key CASA Issues Congress returns to work after Labor Day and the legislative agenda is expected to focus on crucial CASA issues including FY 2020 spending bills and markup of clean water State Revolving Loan Fund legislation.  On the budget front, the Senate will be busy finalizing its version of [...]

CalPERS Hosting Elected Officials Forum Each year, CalPERS hosts an annual conference called the Educational Forum for employer management and operational-level team members. This year they are also hosting a "Forum-within-the-Forum" specifically tailored to elected officials who oversee agencies that make up the CalPERS System. The forum will discuss pension costs, projections and strategies to [...]

Orange County Sanitation District’s New Centrifuge Facility is Among the World’s Largest The Orange County Sanitation District held a ribbon cutting to celebrate its newest centrifuges facility, one of the largest in the world. The facility houses six new centrifuges that remove an additional 200 tons of water per day from biosolids. Lighter biosolids mean [...]

Meet Lori Schectel: Water Industry Expert and Photographer Extraordinaire   Lori Schectel is the Environmental and Regulatory Compliance Division Manager for the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District. She has been working in the water/wastewater industry for over 16 years. When asked what attracted her to water industry work, Schectel said “Water at its basic level [...]