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U.S. Treasury Opens Access to State and Local Government COVID Assistance The U.S. Department of Treasury has opened a portal to allow states and local governments access to secure $350 billion in COVID-19 assistance. Special districts are not eligible to receive direct assistance but can request assistance from local city and county officials to transfer [...]

IEUA Board President Jasmin A. Hall Receives Women of Excellence Leadership Award On Tuesday, May 4, during Diversity Professional’s 4th Annual Women of Excellence Awards ceremony, Jasmin A. Hall, Inland Empire Utilities Agency’s (IEUA) Board President, and CASA’s Board Vice President was presented with their 2021 Women of Excellence Leadership Award. Hall was recognized for her outstanding [...]

Regulation and Wastewater Innovation A new report finds that “water and wastewater utilities are having a hard time keeping up with climate change, aging infrastructure, and urban population growth” and that there is a common perception that the regulatory process stands in the way of innovation. Empirical research from the team that put together this report calls into question [...]

CASA Annual Conference 2021 Be sure to save the date for CASA’s Annual Conference set for August 11-13. More details to come in the next edition of CASA Connects!   NACWA: National Pretreatment Virtual Event From May 17 through May 20, 2021, NACWA is partnering with the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA) to bring [...]

Major Wipes Manufacturer Kimberly-Clark Agrees to Meet Flushability Specifications As part of a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit in South Carolina, Kimberley-Clark, one of the largest flushable wipes manufacturers in North America, has agreed to meet the IWSFG flushability specifications for all of their products that are marketed as “flushable” by May 1, [...]

Senate Begins Debate on Water Infrastructure Package The Senate began floor consideration on the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act of 2021 (S. 914) this week, filing a cloture on the legislation last week. With last week’s action, it allows the chamber to move forward with a formal vote on the measure in the near future. The package [...]

Droughts in California: PPIC Resources Available With drought on the horizon, water managers across California are moving into emergency planning mode. A new fact sheet, an upcoming event, and other timely resources from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Water Policy Center examine the wide-ranging impacts of drought on different sectors and explore actions [...]

Ask a Communications Professional Need Communications Advice? Don’t have the money or time for a complex contract to get the help you need? Want a trusted communications expert to talk an issue out? We are here to help! The CASA Communications Committee has come up with a new tool to aid in agency communications needs. [...]

SVCW Awarded Plant of the Year Silicon Valley Clean Water SVCW was recently awarded Plant of the Year by the California Water Environment Association (CWEA). SVCW previously won the local Santa Clara Valley Section award, which automatically propelled them to the state competition for this esteemed award. SVCW staff and management team pulled forces together [...]

CALMS Webinar: Wastewater Surveillance for Covid-19 On Wednesday, May 5, 2021, from 12:00pm to 1:00pm, the California Lake Management Society (CALMS) is hosting a lunchtime webinar, Wastewater Surveillance for COVID-19. The objectives of this project were to (i) develop and implement methods to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and (ii) examine the levels of the SARS-CoV-2 [...]