The latest edition of IAMU's Toolbox Talks - Why Do We Need Warning Decals or Safety Signs? 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.

Schneider Electric is committed to delivering high quality products to our customers. As part of our ongoing quality monitoring process, we detected a potential issue that may affect Surgelogic™ NQ SurgeLoc™ Surge Protection Devices.

The affected surge protection devices may potentially experience an arc event, which may result in PROPERTY DAMAGE AND PERSONAL INJURY. Hence the decision was made to replace the product in the field.

Read more here.

If you’re looking for a magic formula to make sure your communications get your customers’ attention, keep in mind three key factors. 
 
No. 1 – Relevancy 
Be sure your communications – no matter what medium you use – are relevant to your customers. Communications need to contain sources, examples, and images that customers recognize. Information on water quality becomes more relevant when you use a picture of your local water tower or water source instead of a generic, stock photo. 
 
No. 2 – Brevity 
Think billboards and snippets, not long blocks of texts or speeches that go on and on. Respect customers’ time and understand that attention spans don’t last that long. Make a message quick to make it stick. A 150-word article or a one-minute video is about as long as you should ideally push it. Images are also important to making a message memorable. One image with a few words can be more effective than a page-long story with several photos. 
 
No. 3 – Funny 
People like and remember messages and images that are entertaining – ones that bring a smile to their faces or make them chuckle. People also respond better to a more light-hearted approach than one that comes across as preachy or authoritative. Don’t be afraid to have fun with your communications.  
 
Communications need not be complicated to be effective. If you make your messages relevant, short, and humorous, you can get people’s attention and get them engaged. 

Sponsored by DNR, IAMU, and EPA’s Water Security Division

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, and the Environmental Protection Agency are jointly sponsoring two free virtual half-day workshops for Iowa water utilities that are focused on drought response and water loss.

The virtual workshops, split over two half-days, are an opportunity for Iowa water utilities to share strategies, lessons learned, and success stories regarding preparedness and response to water shortages and droughts. Participants will have the opportunity to identify practical actions that water utilities can take to proactively build and sustain mitigation measures, as well as response and recovery planning efforts. 

Drought Workshop: Wednesday, December 16, 2020 ∙ 9:00 AM – noon CST

Water Loss Workshop: Thursday, December 17, 2020 ∙ 9:00 AM – noon CST

Registration One registration for both days.  There is no fee for the workshops.

The virtual workshops will specifically include these topics:

December 16th Drought Workshop:

• An overview of the current drought situation in Iowa
• An introduction to EPA’s Drought Response and Recovery: A Basic Guide for Water Utilities
• The opportunity for water utilities to share drought preparedness and response strategies that they have implemented

 December 17th Water Loss Workshop:

• Facilitated discussion opportunities on the topics of water shortages, water loss management and water audit strategies
• An overview of free American Water Works Association (AWWA) Water Audit software. The free software is available for download, once the form is completed. 

 
Who Should Participate?

• Drinking water utility operators and managers
• Technical assistance providers
• Water sector associations
• Local, state, and federal government agencies
  
  

Continuing Education Credit:
Each half-day session is worth 3 hours of continuing education credit (WT, WD).

Questions about Registration or Workshop: Contact Will Keefer (Horsley Witten Group – EPA Contractor) at 508-833-6600 or [email protected].

From Sarah Petersen, IDPH CWF Coordinator, 10/20/2020

“The Iowa Department of Public Health's Bureau of Oral and Health Delivery Systems announces their new webpage dedicated to water operations to assist in the community water fluoridation practices water operators provide for their community daily.  This site will include the most up to date resources on national and Iowa specific information in relation to community water fluoridation.  This is meant for all water systems, regardless of whether the system is fluoridated. The link is included here.  

If you have any questions in regards to this webpage, please contact Sarah Petersen, Community Water Fluoridation Coordinator at (515)204-3450 or [email protected].”

Imagine a Day Without Water: Commit to a sustainable water future for all. 

This year, our country faced an enormous public health crisis from the coronavirus pandemic. Throughout this emergency, water and wastewater systems kept the water flowing in homes, hospitals, and essential businesses. This crisis demonstrated the critical role that water and wastewater systems play in their communities, protecting public health, safeguarding the environment, and making a healthy economy possible. It is easy to imagine how much worse the pandemic would have been without widespread access to water infrastructure. Without reliable drinking water and sanitation, Americans would be unable to stay safe and limit the spread. In communities with inadequate water and wastewater infrastructure, the public health consequences have been dire.  

Today, we Imagine a Day Without Water. It’s a day to pause and notice the way that water systems impact our lives and communities, and commit to ensuring a sustainable water future for generations to come. What would your day be like if you couldn’t turn on the tap and get clean drinking water, or if you flushed the toilet and wastewater didn’t go anywhere? What would happen to restaurants, hospitals, firefighters, farms, breweries, or the hundreds of industries that depend on water? 

Millions of Americans take water service for granted every day. Turn on the tap, and clean water flows out. Flush the toilet, and dirty water goes away. Washing our hands regularly is one of the most important steps to take to limit the spread of coronavirus, and we usually don’t stop to think about the impressive infrastructure and treatment required to make sure the water comes out when you open the tap, or safely returns water to the environment from your sink. But the truth is, our water and wastewater systems are getting older -- some were installed a century ago -- and everyone should be concerned with the vulnerability of those systems.  

While we continue to enjoy high quality and reliable water service now, maintaining that level of service is going to be harder and harder as America’s water infrastructure continues to deteriorate. Meanwhile, new threats from record rainfalls, flooding, toxic algae, drought and wildfires threaten our critical water systems. There are even communities, especially in many rural places across the country, that have never had access to infrastructure in the first place.  

As we look at ways to help lift our economy out of the recession, investing in water infrastructure is a winning solution. Investing in water creates cascading economic benefits, strengthening American competitiveness, raising GDP, creating jobs and increasing wages. Investing in water provides a path to economic recovery. Imagine a Day Without Water is an opportunity for everyone to get educated about our local water systems and raise awareness with our elected leaders. We need leadership at every level to work together to ensure a reliable water future for generations to come. Investing in water is investing in a future where no American will have to imagine a day without water. 

The 26th Annual Water and Wastewater Operator’s Training Workshop will be presented as a series of one-day online courses in the month of November.
 
Each day will provide both basic and advanced topics focused on:
 
Water Treatment – November 10
Water Distribution – November 17
Wastewater – November 24

Water and wastewater professionals wanting practical information to help them do their jobs should plan to participate in these courses.

Pricing
 
$25 per day for IAMU Members; $50 per day for Non-Members

CEUs Available
 
Five (5) CEU hours are available for each day.

Registration Information
 
You may register for each day at the links below.  *Please note:  if you are attending more than one day, you will have to register for each session respectively.
 
Water Treatment – November 10 Registration
Water Distribution – November 17 Registration
Wastewater – November 24 Registration

*The conference link will ONLY be sent to the registered attendee’s email address.*

Questions?
 
Contact Steve Marsh at [email protected] or (800) 810-4268.

Mark your calendar for February 24, 2021 when IAMU will hold our legislative reception at the Iowa Hall of Pride.

Following the reception on February 25-26, 2021 the Annual IAMU Energy Conference will be held at Prairie Meadows Events and Conference Center.

More information will be available in the coming weeks.

See you there!

A plain language primer – making sure everyone understands your communications
 
You might have heard of or come across the term plain language. It’s talked about more and more these days. Some people think plain language is dumbing down information, but it’s not. It’s using words and structure that lead to effective communications so just about anyone can understand, process, and apply the information being delivered. Isn’t that what we all want?
 
According to PlainLanguage.gov, “No one technique defines plain language. Rather, plain language is defined by results — it is easy to read, understand and use.”
 
With that said, let’s take a look at some common language and design techniques that can help achieve the results.

• and other pronouns — Using pronouns pulls your audience into the communications and makes it more meaningful. Use you for the reader, I when writing question headings from the reader’s viewpoint, and we for your organization.
• Active voice — Using active voice clarifies who is doing what. On the other hand, passive voice obscures it. What’s more, active voice is generally shorter, as well as clearer. Active sentences are structured with the actor first (as the subject), then the verb, then the object of the action. (e.g., Write or say, “The storm knocked out the power,” instead of “The power was knocked out by the storm.”)
• Short sentences and paragraphs — Using short sentences, paragraphs, and sections helps your audience get through your material. People get lost in long, dense text with few headings.
• Common, everyday words — You don’t impress people by using big words; you just confuse them. Why include utilize or leverage when use will do? Also, stay away from jargon, foreign terms, Latin terms, and legal terms. For a handy list of simple words to use instead of more complex words or wordy phrases, click here.
• Easy-to-read design features — Think headers, pulled quotes, bulleted lists, and tables. You’ll be adding more white space to your communications, making it more appealing to your audience. Don’t forget to switch up the font color, too. But, don’t go overboard. Stick with one accent font.

If you try these writing and design techniques in your communications, you may just make your messages easy to process and understand, and that’s a good thing.
 
P.S. Just in case you don’t believe us when it comes to the power of plain language, here is what a few others had to say about it:

• “If you can’t explain something simply, you don’t understand it well. Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple, and may, as a rule, be expressed in a language comprehensible to everyone. Everything should be as simple as it can be, yet no simpler.” — Albert Einstein
• “The shorter and the plainer the better.” — Beatrix Potter
• “The trouble with so many of us is that we underestimate the power of simplicity.” — Robert Stuberg
• “Use the smallest word that does the job.” — E.B. White

Social media can be a great tool for business owners, but it also presents possible cybersecurity threats you might not think about. Below are 5 helpful tips to staying cybersecure while using social media for your business to implement during Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

Sincerely,

Paul D. Pate
Iowa Secretary of State

5 TIPS TO STAYING CYBERSECURE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

With every social media account you sign up for, picture you post, & status you update, you are sharing information about yourself with the world. Take these simple steps to connect with confidence & safely navigate the social media world.

1. NEVER CLICK & TELL
Seemingly random details are all a criminal needs to know to target you, your loved ones, & your physical belongings. Keep personal information such as your full name, address, birthday, or even vacation plans off the Internet. Disable location services that allow anyone to see where you are, & where you aren't, at any given time.

2. REPORT SUSPICIOUS OR HARASSING ACTIVITY
Work with your social media platform to report & possibly block harassing users. Report an incident if you've been a victim of a cybercrime. Local & national authorities are ready to help you.

3. THERE IS NO 'DELETE' BUTTON
Just because you delete a post or picture from your profile seconds after posting, chances are someone still saw it.

4. UPDATE YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS
Set the privacy & security settings to your comfort level for information sharing. Disable geotagging, which allows anyone to see where you are, & where you aren't, at any given time.

5. CONNECT ONLY WITH PEOPLE YOU TRUST
While some social networks might seem safer for connecting because of the limited personal information shared through them, keep your connections to people you know & trust.

These tips and tricks to help secure your business from cyber threats while on social media are provided by CISA.

For more information about how you can Do Your Part to #BeCyberSmart, visit www.cisa.gov/ncsam

Register now for EARTH EX 2020! Only two weeks left for EARTH EX 2020! EARTH EX 2020 is online through 31 October!

The feedback has been outstanding. Both Organizations and Individuals and Families are using EARTH EX 2020 to get ready!

"One of the best exercises, I have ever played." P. Alexander!

"We used it to to rehearse our organization's response plan and I took it home and played through it with my family. It was great!"
 
Take advantage of this opportunity to avoid having a failure of imagination!

EARTH EX is one of the largest cross-sector training and awareness exercises in the world focused on resilience and preparedness. This year’s exercise is focused on the Electromagnetic Pulse and Cyber threats to our shared critical infrastructure. EARTH EX is free, self-facilitated and self-evaluated. There are seven Functional Areas to choose from, with one specifically for Individuals and Families suitable for everyone to play.

Click here to register for EARTH EX.

Register now and play anytime you want before the end of October. The registration link will provide you with access to all of the training and exercise materials.

EARTH EX 2020 - Available for play through 31 October.

EARTH EX is a free, self-facilitated, and self-assessed exercise.

For more information email [email protected]

From AWWA / IAPMO Press Release, 10/7/2020

“At a time when many buildings are not fully occupied due to COVID-19, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) have developed a guide (30 pages, .pdf) to help building managers address water system stagnation.
Stagnation within building water systems is a concern in periods of low or no occupancy. When water does not move through the system, water quality issues may arise at an outlet, a group of outlets or throughout an entire building water system, causing potential health risks.

Titled Responding to Stagnation in Buildings with Reduced or No Water Use, the guide “provides a decision-making framework for building managers to design responses to building water system stagnation,” said William Rhoads, a co-author of the guide and a post-doctoral researcher at Virginia Tech.

Peter DeMarco, executive vice president of advocacy and research at the IAPMO Group (International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials), said the new document provides essential guidance at a crucial time.

“As buildings reopen across the country, it will be critically important for building owners and facility managers to actively address water quality concerns in plumbing systems due to stagnation,” he said. “We appreciated the opportunity to work with Dr. Rhoads and the other authors on the development of this important guidance document.”

Because of the many differences in building water system operation and design, one set of instructions is not appropriate for all buildings. The guide provides a framework for building managers and a resource that water systems can utilize in supporting the business community in their service areas.”
This document can assist water systems, local government, and other agencies communicate with building owners and prepare to assist building owners. The authors based the guide on existing EPA and CDC guidance, and worked to align the guide with relevant ANSI accredited standards. The AWWA’s COVID Water Resource Page has updates to any guidances as well as other complementary material.

Iowa Utilities Board encourages LIHEAP qualified customers to continue paying toward monthly energy bills during winter moratorium
  
(Des Moines) – The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) reminds Iowans that limited financial heating assistance is available to income-eligible utility customers through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The general application period runs from November 1, 2020, through April 30, 2021. Early applications began October 1 for households that have a resident who is 60 or older or disabled, or in cases where disconnection is imminent. The IUB encourages anyone facing difficulty in paying their utility bill to contact their local community action agency or their local utility company.
 
The LIHEAP program is designed to help low-income homeowners and renters pay a portion of their primary home heating costs through a one-time payment made directly to the utility or heating fuel vendor. Eligibility for the federally funded program is based on household size and income, type of fuel, and type of housing. Funding for LIHEAP and the Weatherization Assistance Program is limited. Learn more on the IUB’s LIHEAP webpage.
 
Applicants qualified for LIHEAP or the Weatherization Assistance Program are protected by Iowa law from being disconnected from natural gas or electric service during the moratorium period of November 1 through April 1. However, the IUB urges all LIHEAP-certified customers to continue paying toward their energy bills through the winter to avoid accumulating high debt.
 
Interested applicants should apply at the community action agency serving their area. To find your local agency, call 211, visit the Iowa Department of Human Rights (IDHR) website, or call IDHR at 515-242-5655 or 800-351-4659.
 
For assistance, contact IUB Customer Service staff at 877-565-4450 or [email protected].

The current pandemic has pushed more and more employees into remote work, resulting in many supervisors, often with little experience, managing employees remotely. This webinar will address health and safety concerns with managing employees remotely. Panelists include Matt Finnegan (Berkshire Hathaway Energy Pipeline Group), Richard Thomas (Speedway Motors), Susan Walter (Wolters Kluwer), and Adrienne Wheeler (HNI Corporation), and will be moderated by Professor Beth Livingston (Tippie College of Business). This webinar is appropriate for managers at all levels and may particularly be useful for those supervising remote workers for the first time.

Click on the photo below to register.

Annual Client Employment Law Seminar Being Changed to Webinar Series Early 2021.

~~ Please Save the Dates ~~

Due to COVID-19, we are cancelling the in-person Employment Law client seminar this year that was to be held on Friday, October 16, in Des Moines.

We are revamping this educational program to be held as a webinar series across several weeks.

Due to numerous seminars/webinars being held throughout October/November 2020 that many of our clients attend, we are pushing our program back to January/February 2021, on the dates below.

Each webinar will be held from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm, covering a different Employment Law topic.

All webinars will be presented live by Ahlers & Cooney, P.C. attorneys.

Wednesday, January 13
Wednesday, January 20
Wednesday, January 27
Wednesday, February 3
Wednesday, February 10

We will be sending information for registration and details on each program at a later date.

If you have any questions, please contact Tamara Kenworthy at [email protected].