Hot Topics

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 [...]

Did You Catch the CASA Annual Conference Survey? Earlier this week CASA distributed a member survey to determine our members’ level of comfort in attending an in-person Annual Conference in 2021, currently scheduled for August 11-13 in San Diego. In order to better inform our decision about whether to host our first live event in [...]

Lawmakers Introduce PFAS Legislation A group of House lawmakers, led by Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Fred Upton (R-MI), have introduced the PFAS Action Act of 2021 (H.R. XXXX). The bill, which is a reintroduction of a bill (H.R. 535) Dingell sponsored last year, aims to address the public health and environmental risks posed by [...]

America’s Obsession with Wipes is Tearing Up Sewer Systems U.S. municipalities shell out at least $1 billion annually on maintenance to remove clogs caused by wipes, according to the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA). In Charleston, South Carolina, the problem has gotten so bad during the pandemic that the city’s water management agency filed a lawsuit against major [...]

OC San Video Contest The Orange County Sanitation District (OC San) is hosting a video contest that challenges students in middle and high schools located in their service area to put together a video that highlights the role of wastewater treatment. They are giving the younger generation a chance to put their Tik Tok, YouTube, and [...]

NACWA Webinar: Learn How to Protect Your Utility from Security Threats On Tuesday, April 20, 2021, from 11:00am to 12:30pm, NACWA is hosting a webinar, Security Threats Facing Today’s Clean Water Utilities. Water and wastewater utilities are facing increasing security threats from outside parties to both their cyber platforms and critical infrastructure.  News reports abound [...]