Applications are now being accepted for the Water Quality Financing Program. 

The Water Quality Financing Program was created in 2018 as a revolving loan fund to finance projects that improve water quality. Priority is given to projects that are collaborative efforts. Projects can address either point source or nonpoint source water quality issues.

Eligible applicants include municipalities, landowners, public utilities, rural water districts and industries that are required by the Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS) to collect data and evaluate alternatives to reduce discharges of nitrogen and phosphorous.

Applications are due March 12, 2021. The application and program rules can be found on the Iowa Finance Authority Water Quality Resources web page.

Please contact Lori Beary with questions at waterquality@iowafinance.com or 515.452.0470.

If you want to take your communications to the next level and haven’t already incorporated the use of electronic social platforms, now is the time. Social media can:

• Provide opportunities for real-time, authentic conversations with customers.
• Open new feedback channels.
• Encourage faster, more efficient, and more effective delivery of information that you need to get to customers quickly.

With so many social media platforms out there, the question then becomes what to use for what. Here are some of the most popular platforms and what type of content you could post where.
 
Facebook
Announcements, accolades, tips, event sign ups, links to other online content (including other social media)
 
Twitter
Brief announcements, accolades, or tips
 
YouTube
Any length videos of events, training, presentations
 
Instagram
Pictures or short videos of events/activities
 
Pinterest
Repository for articles and information
 
Wordpress or Blogger
Original blog articles on news, issues, testimonials, etc.
 
SlideShare
Presentations
 
Snapchat
Pictures and very short videos that you only want to make available temporarily (up to 24 hours)
 
When considering what content to include, keep in mind that many social media users access their accounts for one of three reasons:

• Discovery or gaining knowledge: so think “first to know” or “behind the scenes” information
• Usefulness: so think tips, tricks, and how-tos
• Reliving experiences: so think content that evokes emotion and/or tells a story
  

This year IAMU will be bringing the reporting assistance for the WAPA MIR and EIA 861 reports back in-house. If you need help with either of these reports, please contact Director of Energy Services Jeff Gorrie (jgorrie@iamu.org). If you decide to work with IAMU to file the WAPA MIR report, the deadline for filing has officially been extended to April 30th, 2021. This extension is only available to members working with IAMU to file the WAPA MIR, and you must notify Jeff Gorrie by Thursday, 1-28 to reserve your spot. Contact Jeff today to get the process rolling!
 
Pricing for report filing assistance is:
$150 for EIA-861 and WAPA MIR
$75 for WAPA MIR only
 
As a reminder, IAMU’s reporting calendars can be found here:
Electric Calendar
Gas Calendar

The Iowa Utilities Board recently launched a new customer and company contact web application called IUB 24/7. Registration rolled out to Municipal Utilities on December 21 with a deadline of January 8. To date, only 25% of IAMU members have registered for IUB 24/7. If you have not done so previously, please register as a user in IUB 24/7 now!

Here are upcoming training opportunities for water and wastewater operators.

Water Treatment Webinar – February 4th (1:00 – 3:00 p.m.)

This webinar will cover:
 
Production Meter Testing (1:00 – 2:00 p.m.)
Presented by Kevin Burgers, Water Systems Optimization, Inc.
 
Membrane Technologies (2:00 – 3:00 p.m.)
Presented by Todd Sturtz, Desalitech

2 CEU Hours available for WATER TREATMENT ONLY.
 
*To register for WATER TREATMENT, please click HERE.

Wastewater Webinar – February 25th (10:00 – Noon)

This webinar will cover:
 
Low Pressure Sewer Systems (10:00 – 11:00 a.m.)
Presented by Connor Alexander, Crane Pumps
 
UV GRP CIPP Lining Technology (11:00 – Noon)
Presented by Gary Shutts, Impreg Group

2 CEU Hours available for WASTEWATER ONLY.
 
*To register for WASTEWATER, please click HERE.

Water Distribution Webinar – March 3rd (9:00 – 11:00 a.m.)

This webinar will cover:
 
AWWA Water Audit Software
Presented by Cavanaugh
 
The first step towards effective water loss management:  Introducing the AWWA Water Audit Software - Version 6.  Registrants will be given a list of relevant material, such as a link to download the AWWA Water Audit Software - Version 6, background information on water loss, and a list of definitions prior to the webinar. 
 
This is IAMU’s follow-up to the EPA’s Drought & Water Loss Workshop that was conducted on December 16 - 17, 2020.
 
2 CEU Hours available for WATER DISTRIBUTION ONLY.
 
*To register for WATER DISTRIBUTION, please click HERE.

Cost:
FREE for IAMU Utility Members ($40 for NON-IAMU Members)

The webinar link will be sent to the registered participant’s email address 1-2 days prior to the training date.  (If you do not receive the webinar link, please check your SPAM folder.)
 
Questions?  Contact Steve Marsh at smarsh@iamu.org or (515) 289-1999.

The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, through the IAMU Education and Research Fund, is pleased to announce the creation of a scholarship program.
 
Each $1,000 scholarship will be distributed to the student. To apply, candidates must fill out and submit the scholarship application. Applications are due February 15, 2021 to scholarship@iamu.org. A minimum of four scholarships will be awarded. IAMU will announce the award recipients by May 1, 2021.
 
To be eligible for consideration, candidates must:

• Live in a residence that is a verified customer of an IAMU member or attend a high school that is a verified customer of an IAM member.
• Be a 2021 graduating high school senior or have previously graduated from high school.
• Be attending a post high school education program located in Iowa in the fall of 2021.

Preference will be given to applicants entering a utility-related career with a special preference to applicants entering utility-related trades programs leading to careers in difficult to fill utility careers such as, as an example only, electric line worker, water treatment or distribution operator, or operator qualified natural gas positions.
 
“IAMU is committed to supporting the future of Iowa and its municipal utilities,” said Troy DeJoode, IAMU executive director. “That commitment involves helping the next generation of professionals to get the education and training that they need. For the last several years, we have emphasized making high school students aware of the tremendous career opportunities that exist in public utilities. This scholarship program is an extension of that priority.”
 
IAMU members are encouraged to share this scholarship information with their communities. You might post information to your social media account(s) and website, and submit information to your local newspaper and/or radio station. IAMU is sending an email about the scholarship to high school guidance counselors, but you might also consider reaching out to your local guidance counselors as well.
 
If you have any questions about the scholarship program, please feel free to contact IAMU at scholarship@iamu.org.

The DNR's NPDES Section is holding a stakeholder meeting on Zoom to discuss several proposed changes to the Iowa Administrative Code regarding separation distances, wastewater, general permits, sludge, private sewage disposal systems, and operator certification.  

The Zoom meeting will be held on February 3, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM.  You must register in advance for this meeting using the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvc-CqpzoqE9Wynm3V7CJkOVzHz8c_4cwl

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The Chapters included in the proposed rulemaking are 40, 41, 43, 49, 60, 62, 63, 64, 67, 69, and 81. The proposed changes include:

• Updates to the separation distances tables in Chapter 41, 43, 49, and 69
• Addition of new language on water main separation distances in Chapter 43
• Updates to the analytical testing methods, alternative test procedures, and method modification language in Chapter 63
• Update the rule-referenced Supporting Document for Permit Monitoring Frequency Determination
• Addition of new language on electronic reporting to Chapter 63
• Rescission of the monitoring table for land application systems and the table for preservation techniques, containers and holding times in Chapter 63 
• Clarifications of and updates to the language in Chapter 64 regarding general permits, public notices and public hearings, and disadvantaged communities
• Addition of specific fee amounts from Iowa Code and new Nutrient Reduction Exchange (NRE) language to Chapter 64
• Updates to the sewage sludge classifications, terms, pathogen reduction methods, and testing methods in Chapter 67
• Changes to the maintenance contract language for specific onsite systems in Chapter 69
• Revisions to the wastewater treatment plant classifications and clarification of the requirements for transient noncommunity water systems in Chapter 81

The draft rule documents can be viewed on the NPDES Rules webpage.

Written comments on the draft Notice of Intended Action (NOIA), Jobs Impact Statement (JIS), Fiscal Impact Statement (FIS), and the draft Supporting Document for Permit Monitoring Frequency Determination may be submitted to courtney.cswercko@dnr.iowa.gov or mailed to Courtney Cswercko, Iowa DNR, 502 East 9th St, Des Moines, IA 50319, until February 10, 2020.

Please contact Courtney Cswercko at courtney.cswercko@dnr.iowa.gov or 515-725-8411 with any questions on the proposed rule changes or on the stakeholder meeting.

Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities’ (IAMU) Members:

IAMU will hold its annual meeting of the membership:

Date: February 4, 2021 at 11 a.m.

Location: 1735 NE 70th Avenue, Ankeny, Iowa 50021

DUE TO COVID 19 SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS IN PERSON ATTENDANCE SPACE WILL BE VERY LIMITED.

Per the IAMU By-Laws, each member utility gets one vote per utility type membership. For example, a member with electric and water utility memberships gets two votes. A member with an electric, natural gas, water, and broadband gets four votes.

ADVANCED REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All member representatives must be registered in advance to attend. Although as many member representatives may attend the meeting as you wish, each utility member will need to designate a voting delegate in advance as set forth below. Each voting delegate must be employed by the member. Members may not vote by proxy.

REGISTER HERE

MEMBERS ATTENDING IN PERSON
Due to COVID 19 and facility limitations in person attendance will be extremely limited, and will require a written request by email to Dawn Hyler at dhyler@iamu.org received by 11:00 a.m. February 2, 2021. No requests for in-person attendance will be accepted after this time. Socially distanced seating is extremely limited so depending on demand we may not be able to accommodate all requests. In person attendance requests will be responded to by 11:00 a.m. February 3, 2021.

MEMBERS PARTICIPATING ELECTRONICALLY
Members are encouraged to attend the meeting electronically via webinar. To ensure an opportunity to attend those members wishing to attend electronically must register online, 48 hours in advance, before 11 a.m., February 2, 2021. Each utility member must designate its voting delegate at the time of registration.

REGISTER HERE

For those members that register for electronic attendance, log-in information will be provided by email 24 hours in advance of the meeting, by 11 a.m. February 3, 2021. To ensure an accurate count for voting, no telephone call-in will be available, and webinar log-in may be unique to each voting delegate.
The agenda, and any supporting materials will be sent out to registered member representatives 24 hours in ad­vance (by 11 a.m., February 3, 2021).

If you have questions, please feel free to contact IAMU Executive Director Troy DeJoode at 515-289-1999 or tdejoode@iamu.org.

The latest edition of IAMU's Toolbox Talks - Why Do I Need to Report a "Near Miss"? is now available.

Click here to download it.

Other Toolbox Talk articles are available here.

If you have a Toolbox Talk idea, please send it to Margret Meade.

The final lead and copper rule revisions (.pdf, 115 pages) were published in the Federal Register on Friday, January 15th.  The rule revisions begin on the 83rd page of the .pdf, page number 4280.
This rule applies to all community and non-transient non-community public water supply systems in the nation.  In Iowa, there are approximately 1,200 systems affected by this rule.  This is a significant revision with many changes to the current rule. 

As has been anticipated from the proposed rule, the final rule requires all systems to which the rule applies develop an inventory of the service lines to all customers, both privately-owned and publicly-owned sides of the service line.  The material used in the service line must be denoted as part of the inventory, on both the public and private sides. These inventories must be completed and submitted to the state by January 16, 2024, three years after the rule’s publication date.  On the same date, systems that have lead service lines must also submit a lead service line replacement plan.  We don't yet have the mechanics of this worked out, so that information will be provided at a later date.

Most of the proposed rule requirements remained in the final rule, with several changes.  Only some of the changes from the current rule are listed below:

• The 90th percentile action level for lead remains at 0.015 mg/L (15 ppb), with an added trigger level at 0.010 mg/L (10 ppb); the copper action level remains at 1.3 mg/L.
• The sampling protocol changes for sampling locations with a lead service line, to include both the first and fifth liters sampled after a 6-hour standtime.
• The sample site tiering criteria changes from 3 tiers to 5 tiers.  The calculation of the 90th percentile is changed in systems that have lead service lines from the current calculation.
• Systems with lead service lines must include all such sites in the sampling plans.  Galvanized iron or steel pipes are considered to be lead service lines unless it can be proven there was never a lead connector or service line upstream of the galvanized pipe.
• Schools and childcare facilities are required to be sampled by the public water supply system.
• There are changes to language of the consumer notice, public education, consumer confidence report; inclusion of other new notices and certifications; and changes to the timing of the notices.
• If a sampling site exceeds 15 ppb lead, the system must conduct a “find-and-fix” review at the site, including additional sampling, to determine the cause of the lead.
• Corrosion control requirements also have some changes.

The technical guidance documents are expected to be available at some future date.  EPA has an LCRR webpage. 

More information will be published in the WS listserv as it becomes available.