Cheryl MacKelvie

Modernizing Rural Wastewater and Drinking Water Infrastructure The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it is investing $891 million to support projects that will modernize rural wastewater and drinking water infrastructure across 43 states. This includes the state of California, and for the Amador Water Agency, that will mean constructing two 1-million-gallon water storage [...]

National Wastewater Surveillance System The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed a new tool in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) for SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. The data collected by NWSS is intended to help public health officials understand the extent of COVID-19 infections in communities. The NWSS webpage [...]

SB 1383 Local Services Rate Analysis Report CalRecycle has published the SB 1383 Local Services Rates Analysis Report conducted by R3 Consulting Group, Inc. The purpose of this report is to provide information regarding the cost impacts of SB 1383 to local jurisdictions. This R3 report addresses options and recommendations for funding mechanisms that can be [...]

YLWD Rapid Fire Response Kudos and a job well done to the Yorba Linda Water District (YLWD), which was swift to respond and provide assistance during the Blue Ridge Fire that broke out in Orange County last week. YLWD’s award-winning Marc Marcantonio Heli-Hydrant supported aerial firefighters battling the blaze. The Heli-Hydrant was strategically placed in [...]

What California can Learn from Cape Town About Water Policy Senator Robert Hertzberg penned an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle this week that highlighted a number of approaches to potentially addressing future water shortages. Some of the suggestions included working collaboratively with agricultural users to more effectively use and reuse ag waters, incentivizing conservation [...]

Microplastics Health Effects Webinar Series There are two webinars left in the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP)’s five session webinar series that runs every Monday starting on October 19 to November 16, during which microplastics experts from around the world will summarize current knowledge and discuss the latest findings regarding microplastics toxicity. Representatives [...]

Save the Date! CASA Winter Conference Goes Virtual Join us on January 27-28, for CASA’s 2021 Virtual Winter Conference. As we look ahead into the upcoming new year, CASA is pleased to offer an exciting virtual program to facilitate discussion, strategy, and networking with a key theme in mind: “Moving Forward”. Be sure to keep [...]

Governor Newsom Establishes Broad Environmental Goals Through Executive Orders Governor Gavin Newsom has issued several Executive Orders in recent weeks focusing on climate change mitigation and the environment. Some of these initiatives have the potential to impact California’s wastewater community. Earlier this month, the Governor signed an Executive Order, EO-N-82-2020 which directs state agencies to [...]

President’s Executive Order Establishes USEPA Water Subcabinet Last week, the President signed an Executive Order (EO) on “Modernizing America’s Water Resource Management and Water Infrastructure.” The EO establishes an interagency federal Water Policy Committee, or Water Subcabinet, to better coordinate federal agencies’ water resource management and infrastructure policies and actions. The Subcabinet will be co-chaired [...]

USEPA Releases Financial Impact Tool The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has released the Water Utility COVID-19 Financial Impact Tool which can help drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater (“water”) utilities assess the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the utility’s cashflow. This tool leads water utilities through questions that can determine how their revenues, expenses, [...]