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Orange County Sanitation District Engages in Wastewater Based Epidemiology The wastewater sector is emerging as a valuable resource to cost-effectively monitor the COVID-19 pandemic through Wastewater Based Epidemiology (WBE). Influent monitoring for viruses is not a new concept. This approach been used for many years to monitor for other viruses of concern such as Polio [...]

Updates to CASA COVID-19 Webpage As new information is released and obtained, CASA continues to update our COVID-19 webpage. Some recent additions include: COVID-19 Message from the Executive Director CSDA COVID “Take Action” page  FEMA, USEPA, WARN & AWWA to Provide Cloth Face Masks to CA Water & Wastewater Utilities CASA Advocates for Local Government Support [...]

Phase IV Relief Package House Democrats have introduced the phase IV relief package, entitled the HEROES Act, that delivers a total of $3 trillion dollars in economic assistance to address both the continuing public health crisis and the economic shortfalls resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.  The package expands on the provisions and policies of the [...]

State Water Board Adopts New Regulations for Environmental Labs On May 5, the State Water Board adopted a package of regulations governing California labs that represent a significant shift in California’s policy for this program. The previous regulations were adopted in the 1990s and allowed environmental labs to acquire accreditation either from the State or from The [...]

Member Dues Changes The CASA Board recently approved changes to the CASA Member Dues tiers and amounts, subject to approval by the membership at CASA’s Annual Business Meeting in August. With this change, a number of member agencies (particularly smaller agencies) will see a significant decrease in dues, while some of the larger agencies will [...]

NACWA On Wednesday, June 3, 2020, from 11:00am to 12:30pm (PT) the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) will host the last segment of the four-part complimentary Resilience Webinar Series: Managing Challenges Through Resilience Thinking. Register today to learn about the role that water agencies play in improving community resiliency, explore how water agencies [...]

New Roles at CASA! We are excited to share that Jessica Gauger and Jared Voskuhl have taken on new roles here at CASA. Jessica has been promoted to Director of Legislative Advocacy and Public Affairs. In this newly created position, Jessica will continue her role as our primary state legislative advocate and will also take [...]

Wastewater Serves as a Tool to Identify the Prevalence of Coronavirus in Communities The current spread of the new Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the COVID-19 disease is of pressing public health concern. Testing influent wastewater for the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus is a pragmatic means of understanding community outbreak and positioning along the curve. Working closely [...]

U.S. Supreme Court Rules on County of Maui Litigation On April 23, 2020 the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in County of Maui v Hawaii Wildlife Fund. This is one of the most significant Clean Water Act (CWA) cases to reach the Court in the last decade and, could have significant implications for the [...]