Cheryl MacKelvie

House Agrees To Budget Resolution; Reconciliation Process Begins On August 24, the House approved a budget resolution that sets in motion the process to develop and vote on the reconciliation funding package later this fall. The chamber narrowly approved of the resolution on a vote of 220-212, after House Democrat leadership reached an agreement with [...]

Connecting Beyond CASA Connects: Join CASA’s LISTSERVs! Is there a topic of interest particularly near and dear to your heart? Maybe biosolids? Collection systems? Legislative advocacy? Along with this newsletter, CASA offers several other ways to connect and share on these topics and more. With a number of LISTSERVs available to our members for updates [...]

EPA Webinar on Developing and Maintaining Workforce and Equity Partnerships The Office of Water at EPA invites you to register for their next Water Workforce Webinar on September 15th from 9:00am – 10:30am PT. This is part of an ongoing series of webinars to provide information across the water sector on ways utilities and others are [...]

Annual Conference Recap What an exciting return to in-person events! CASA’s Annual Conference held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront was a resounding success. Together with some of the clean water sector’s best and brightest, we focused on the future and prepared for new challenges, staying true to our conference theme “Building a Resilient Future”. Thank [...]

The Newest Disease Detection Tool for COVID and Beyond Wastewater Based Epidemiology continues to show effectiveness in early detection of disease including the COVID-19 virus in communities. “As vaccination rates increase and we get the variants, it’s still going to be important because clinical testing is decreasing… we really want to make this part of [...]

2021 BRIC and FMA Webinar Series Join the 2021 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Programs’ Webinar Series—running from July 28 through Oct. 13, 2021. The webinar series will bring FEMA subject-matter experts and partners together to provide technical information, best practices, tools and resources regarding these grant programs. There will also be a review of the fiscal year 2021 Notices of Funding Opportunities [...]

CASA’s Annual Conference-Just Days Away CASA’s Annual Conference just around the corner, and we are overjoyed to see you again in-person in San Diego next week as we hear from experts on topics we’re all concerned about, including the current drought, the changing nature of work, gender diversity and pay equity in the workforce, and [...]

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and the Environment The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) recently published a Statewide Survey that delivers nonpartisan, objective, advocacy-free information on the perceptions, opinions, and public policy preferences of California residents. Outlined below are some of the key findings from the current survey: Key findings from the current survey: One [...]

Senate Debates Comprehensive Infrastructure Package; Committee on Appropriations Mark Up Energy-Water FY2022 Spending Bill As of this writing, the Senate is debating its bipartisan infrastructure package, H.R. 3684. This comprehensive package is the Senate’s counterpart to the House’s INVEST Act that was passed earlier this summer. The Senate package provides $55 billion in appropriations to [...]

IRWD’s Purple Pipe Origin Story The Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) recently posted an article about the origin of the purple pipe. In the article they share about the Irvine Ranch Water District engineers who did the work in the 1980s to establish purple as the designated standard for recycled water. “Throughout the nation and [...]