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State Water Board Survey Results Over the summer, CASA and the State Water Board collaborated on developing a survey to gain a better understanding of how COVID-19 has affected the budget and operations of collection systems and wastewater treatment facilities. The State Water Board released the survey in July and provided an initial synopsis on [...]

EPA Technical Challenge Seeks Innovative Ways to Destroy PFAS On August 25, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler launched an innovation challenge to identify solutions to destroy PFAS. The Innovative Ways to Destroy PFAS Challenge is a partnership between federal and state agencies seeking detailed plans for non-thermal technologies to destroy PFAS in concentrated aqueous [...]

PPIC Annual Priorities for California Water Event Goes Virtual The Public Policy Institute of California’s (PPIC) annual Priorities for California Water event has morphed to reflect restrictions on in-person gatherings, and this year will take place as a series of three webinars on November 12, 17 and 19 from 11:00am to 12:00pm. The PPIC Water Policy [...]

Promising Water Board Study on POTW Excess Capacity Released On August 24, the State Water Board released a long awaited report on excess capacity at California wastewater treatment plants for co-digestion of diverted organic waste. The in-depth comprehensive analysis of opportunities and challenges for the wastewater sector in helping the state meet the mandates of [...]

EMWD Achieves Seventh Consecutive Cal STAR Safety Recertification At the end of August, Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) received recognition and recertification by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) for its industry-leading safety achievements. EMWD again obtained Cal/OSHA Voluntary Protection Plan STAR status, exemplifying the safety culture and corresponding recognition it first achieved [...]

Chronic Underinvestment in America’s Water Infrastructure Puts the Economy at Risk The United States is underinvesting in its drinking water and wastewater systems—putting American households and the economy at risk, according to a new report released by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and Value of Water Campaign. The report, “The Economic Benefits of [...]

CASA and CWEA Excess Capacity Webinar Tomorrow, Wednesday, September 9, 2020, from 9:00am to 10:30am, CASA and the California Water Environment Association (CWEA) will host a joint webinar: Food Waste Co-Digestion in California – The Role of WRRFs and Investment Needs to Maximize Co-Digestion in Support of SB 1383. In response to Senate Bill 1383 [...]

CASA Wraps Up Successful Virtual Annual Conference While the 2020 CASA Annual Conference looked a little different this year, we are proud to report that the transition to a virtual event was a resounding success! The two-day event was well attended with nearly 250 participants and several preeminent speakers who shared insights on how the [...]

The CDC Wants State and Local Sewage Systems Tested for Coronavirus The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies will begin coordinating with state, local, territorial and tribal health departments to collect data on sewage samples. The goal is to find traces of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes [...]

AB 1672 (Bloom) Held in Senate Appropriations Committee CASA’s sponsored wet wipes labeling bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee during its final “suspense file” hearing on August 20. The unexpected action came as a shock to us, our co-sponsors, Assembly Member Bloom and the other stakeholders. As we have reported previously, the bill was [...]