Quench 2022 - Issue 1

PUCT RULING ON UTILITY DEBT SERVICE

ANNOTATED DEPRESSURIZATION FLOWCHART

GET READY FOR RURALWATERCON 2022 Issue 1 2022 www.tr wa.org

TRWA Today Established in 1969, the Texas Rural Water Association (TRWA) is a statewide nonprofit trade association with an active membership consisting of over 750 nonprofit water supply corporations, water districts, small-town water departments and investor-owned utilities. In addition, more than 200 water industry suppliers participate in TRWA activities as associate members. TRWA members provide water and wastewater service to 3 million customers throughout Texas.

TRWA is dedicated to helping directors, managers, operators and office professionals provide efficient service and clean, safe drinking water to their customers. Through on-site technical assistance, education and information exchange, TRWA helps its members better meet their needs as well as the needs of their customers.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

TRWA STAFF

OFFICERS President Chris Boyd Denton (District 3) Vice-President Bruce Alexander Medina (District 2) Secretary Kevin Spence Franklin (District 11) Treasurer Robert Nettles Walker (District 13) Immediate Past President Brian Macmanus Cameron (District 6)

DISTRICT DIRECTORS Mark Gardenhire Shackelford (District 1) Steve Adams Brown (District 4) Dave McMurry Bastrop (District 5) Allen Knight North Collin (District 7) Charles Beseda Hill (District 8) Pat Allen Guadalupe (District 9) Kent Watson Brazos (District 10) Paula Weber Kaufman (District 12) Bill Baird Rusk (District 14)

2 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

LEADERSHIP TEAM Lara Zent Larry Bell Nichol Everingham Jason Knobloch Tom Shephard, CPA

Executive Director & General Counsel Technical Assistance Director Professional Development & Training Director Environmental Services Director Finance Director

ext. 101 ext 138 ext. 134 ext. 137 ext. 102

OFFICE STAFF Melody Bennett Eric Betts Pam Cantrell Haley Dixon Lisa Gallo Chelsea Gomez Miles Hartman Deborah McMullan Sonya Stocklin Ariane Walker Emily Young

Project Support Specialist Communications Manager Accounting Support Specialist Apprenticeship Program Manager Meeting and Event Planner Training Development Specialist Course Development Specialist Membership and Outreach Manager Receptionist Training Manager Assistant Environmental Services Director

ext. 130 ext. 115 ext. 139 ext. 107 ext. 105 ext. 103 ext. 135 ext. 108 ext. 104 ext. 111 ext. 132

FIELD STAFF Thomas Acker, Jr. Michael Beadnell Nathan Cantrell Alex Eaves Roel Gonzalez Paul King Charles Perkins Bruce Pearson James Smith Donnie Stanton Quentin Turner William White Scott Willeford James Wallingsford Gilbert Ybarbo

Instructor Circuit Rider Wastewater Technician Wastewater Technician FMT Specialist Circuit Rider Circuit Rider Instructor Circuit Rider FMT Specialist FMT Specialist Assistant Technical Assistance Director FMT Specialist FMT Specialist FMT Specialist

cell: (512) 751-6337 cell: (512) 924-4552 cell: (512) 924-7158 cell: (512) 964-7203 cell: (512) 923-5812 cell: (512) 913-9753 cell: (512) 964-2108 cell: (512) 922-4942 cell: (512) 964-9234 cell: (512) 774-9455 cell: (512) 517-9889 cell: (512) 924-4233 cell: (512) 657-8813 cell: (512) 865-8809 cell: (512) 317-2003

In Every Issue

From the Field

Letter from the President .........4

Registered Apprenticeship Program............14

Letter from the Executive Director ........5

Help TRWA build the workforece of the future by participating in our Registered Apprenticeship Program

Keep it Legal .........6

Depressurization Station..........18

Answers to your legal questions

Ask Larry .........8

Answers to your technical questions

Get step-by-step instructions, with helpful notes, on what to do when your system loses pressure

ARPA Success Stories.......22

The Months Ahead .........31

How some systems found success working with county government to fund projects with ARPA funds.

Features

TRWA News

Close to the Edge...20

Meet TRWA's New Membership Team....12

Data Pipeline........24

Get Ready for RuralWaterCon 2022....16

TRWA’s Calendar of Events

A new PUCT ruling could change how utilities in Texas service their debts.

How AI can help your system solve its inventory management issues.

Keep track of the comings and goings on the Texas Rural Water Association staff!

Read why you should get excited for TRWA's biggest event of the year.

Support the Rural Water PAC....26

Learn what you can do to help the Rural Water PAC elect candidates friendly to rural water. on the cover:

Snow blankets a field near Valentine, Texas, which lies south of Van Horn on U.S. Route 90 photo by Nathan Cantrell, TRWA Wastewater Technician

TRWA Briefs............28

CONTACT THE EDITOR

Editorial and advertising inquiries may be sent to Eric Betts in the Communications Department at editor@trwa.org.

Quench — 2022 —Issue 1 3

President's Message Howdy Rural Water, I hope everyone is having a great 2022 so far! For those of us near the big urban areas, the growth just keeps coming. I recently had a curious thought, wondering how many customers the top 20 largest systems had when the TRWA was founded. I don’t have access to the actual data for comparison, but I’m willing to bet the top 20 systems by customer base in 2022 are significantly larger.

I’d like to commend our TRWA staff for a great job trying to balance our programs, conferences and training to benefit the wide-ranging and increasingly diverse needs of our membership. The 800-meter system with a couple of employees in southwest Texas has a set of needs which differ greatly from my 30,000-meter, 80-employee system in the DFW metromess. Our TRWA staff works hard to meet the

4 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

needs of all our members no matter what size the system.

Finally, this is my last letter as President of TRWA. It seems like the last two years of my term have flown by in a flash. For the first year most everything was virtual, but I’m glad we’ve gone back to seeing each other at our events. It’s been my pleasure and honor to serve as your association My regards, president. I wish you all continued success and good health! Thanks for being a part of TRWA, and I look forward to seeing you at Chris Boyd RuralWaterCon in April. Take President care and God bless!

TRWA

Letter from the TRWA Executive Director Dear TRWA Members, I hope your year has gotten off to a great start!

We’re gearing up for our Annual Convention – RuralWaterCon – which will take place April 6-8 at the new Kalahari Resort and Convention Center in Round Rock! This year, you’ll get more bang for your buck with an extra afternoon of educational sessions and networking events. We have all the details in this issue of Quench and on our website. Please sign up and reserve your room! I look forward to seeing you there.

We have recently welcomed new staff to our member services team. In this issue, you’ll meet Deborah McMullen and Sonya Stocklin. Deborah, our Sourcewater Protection Specialist, will be our new Membership and Outreach Manager. Sonya is our new Receptionist and Administrative Assistant. We will also soon be welcoming Jason Guerra as our new Member Services Specialist, who will be implementing our GIS mapping service and launching our drone services.

Later this month, we’ll welcome our new paralegal, Kayla Mitchell, and will be saying goodbye to one of our instructors, Tom Acker, who is retiring. He plans to continue to teach a few classes for us.

TRWA leadership and board members have been busy visiting with legislators and distributing PAC checks around the state. We hope you will join us in our PAC fundraising efforts this year! Our PAC supports legislators who support rural water and are in key positions of influence. You can make a big difference by giving a small amount or by bringing an item for our PAC auctions. We will have PAC fundraising events at Convention including the silent and live auctions and Bowling for PAC at the on-site bowling alley.

Please keep up with our latest news as well as useful information and resources by reading our weekly e-Newsletter, the Pipeline.

Thank you for all that you do to keep the drinking water flowing in your communities every day!

My best,

Lara Zent Executive Director & General Counsel TRWA

Quench — 2022 —Issue 1 5

Keep It Legal Answers to Members’ Questions by TRWA Contract Attorney Kristen Fancher

Q:

Can a utility automatically email customers bills instead of mailing them?

A: It is not recommended. Federal law (Title 15, United States Code, Ch. 7704) has very strict and complicated requirements on sending “commercial” emails to consumers/customers, which is the reason why many cities, districts and WSCs only send bills by email after a customer has “opted-in” by specifically agreeing to receive the bill by email instead of by mail.

Here are a couple of steps that utilities have taken in the past in order to give customers the opt-in information for receiving email bills: (1) Have the next or future round of mailed bills include a write up about your website, your online payment feature, if applicable, and opt-in information for receiving email bills by signing up through the website.

(2) Have a form with a box to check to opt-in by sending the written form back in with payment.

(3) Add an opt-in sign up on the website that allows the customer to not only receive e-alerts but also to receive e-bills.

Your website service provider (e.g., Texas Rural Impact) can assist in setting up this capability if you need to add the ability for a customer to be able to sign up to receive bills by email.

Q:

Does the "one tap, one vote" principle for WSC's apply to districts?

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A: No. The voter eligibility requirements for water districts are found in Chapter 11 of the Texas Election Code, which states that a person is eligible to vote in a district election if: (1) the person resides in the territory covered by the election (within the district boundaries) and (2) is qualified to vote by being at least 18 years of age, a U.S. citizen, not deemed ineligible to vote by a court judgment or due to a felony conviction and is a registered voter.

In some cases, a water district may have enabling legislation specific only to that district that changes these general law voter eligibility requirements. Therefore, those districts with enabling legislation will want to confirm that there is no voter eligibility language that needs to be reconciled with Chapter 11 of the Texas Election Code.

While on the topic of elections, it is also necessary to point out that the voter eligibility requirements are often different than the director eligibility requirements under the law. For example, for Special Utility Districts (SUDs), Section 65.102 of the Texas Water Code requires that a director is eligible to serve if the person is: (1) at least 18 years old; (2) a resident of the state and (3) either owns land subject to taxation, is a user of the facilities in the district, or is a qualified voter in the district. Note this quirk in the law where technically a person can be eligible to serve as a director, but not eligible to vote in the district’s elections because he or she does not reside in the district!

Q:

Can a district or WSC include general items on the Board meeting agenda such as “personnel” and “new business”?

A: : It depends on exactly what is being discussed, but a good rule of thumb is to be as specific as possible. The Texas Attorney General’s 2022 Open Meetings Act Handbook, pages 32-33, states the following with regard to having

general items listed on the agenda: “The Texas Supreme Court noted that in Cox Enterprises, Inc. v. Board of Trustees, ‘we finally held a notice inadequate.’ In the Cox Enterprises case, the Court held insufficient the notice of a school board’s executive session that listed only general topics such as “litigation” and “personnel.” One of the items considered at the closed session was the appointment of a new school superintendent. The Court noted that the selection of a new superintendent was not in the same category as ordinary personnel matters, because it is a matter of special interest to the public; thus, the use of the term “personnel” was not sufficient to apprise the general public of the board’s proposed selection of a new superintendent. The Court also noted that “litigation” would not sufficiently describe a major desegregation suit that had occupied the district’s time for a number of years.” (Page 32) The handbook also says: “Generalized terms such as ‘old business,’ ‘new business,’ ‘regular or routine business,’ and ‘other business’ are not proper terms to give notice of a meeting because they

do not inform the public of its subject matter. (Page 33)” Based on this guidance from the Texas Attorney General, it is a good idea to provide more specificity on the agenda if the personnel matter to be discussed is not considered to be an “ordinary personnel matter,” as the Texas Attorney General’s office notes. For example, if the utility intends to use the agenda item to make a hiring decision, it is recommended that the item include the position(s) involved, such as: “discuss, consider and act on the selection of a General Manager.”

With regards to items like “new business,” you will want to make sure you list out the brief summary of what the new business to be discussed is so that you can ensure compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act. Kristen Fancher has extensive experience in representing clients on water and other legal matters across the state of Texas.

TRWA Members can email legal@trwa.org for their legal inquiries or search the archive at https://www.trwa.org/page/KILHome.

Quench — 2022 —Issue 1 7

Ask Larry: Quality on Tap

A Q&A column with TRWA Technical Assistance Director Larry Bell

Q:

Up until now, we have kept all the past and present minutes from our meetings in paper form.

We’re looking at adjusting our recordkeeping procedures and so wanted to ask whether we could scan these and destroy the paper copies?

A: There is nothing I am aware of that states the format by which the business minutes of a board meeting must be stored, only that they must be available for the public to have access to review or copy. All official minutes are to be permanently maintained as long as the WSC exists, one of several such records that must be kept in perpetuity. How to store these permanent records and still be able to access them at any time in the future is a big dilemma for WSCs. While the volume of records that must be kept on paper can be difficult to track and store, there are still concerns with technological solutions. If you had transitioned your records years ago to microfiche files, you’d commit yourself to keeping the means by which to view and copy them. If you had put them on 5 ¼-inch floppy disks, then you’d have to keep a computer that still reads those. The same goes for 3.5-inch disks, CDs, flash drives, portable hard drives, etc. Electronic storage can be corrupted or compromised. Whatever technology you choose would have to be maintained and kept operable.

The same is true for software. Systems have saved customer histories or CSI Forms and other records only to not be able to read, copy or access that information after changing billing programs or switching from Microsoft Word or Excel to another format.

More recently, other water systems have stored their 8 Quench — 2022— Issue 1

records “in the cloud." This works fine until cloud storage companies raise the price for this service and the water board decides not to pay that much for the storage. Then the water system will have to download all its records again to keep them from getting lost in cyberspace when the storage and maintenance bill isn’t paid.

There is nothing inherently wrong with storing system records in any of these electronic formats. Paper comes with its own challenges and hazards too. Just remember if your system plans to do so then it needs to stay on top of the changing technology so that it can always access the records when it receives a public information request or a court order to produce those records.

Q:

Our WSC is trying to clean-up and update documentation. How often do the Articles of Incorporation need to be updated? The bylaws?

What about Board Policy Updates or Conflict of Interest forms for the officers and Board of Directors?

A: Certificate of Formation is the new name for Articles of Incorporation. If the members vote to change one or more of the articles/certificates, then the document should be updated and filed with the Secretary of State (SOS) using the forms from the SOS website. The other updates or filing at the SOS office would occur when there are new board members elected or appointed to the board or a new Registered Agent appointed.

Most bylaws require that changes be presented to the membership of the WSC who must vote to approve any amendments or changes. As for how often bylaws should be amended, WSCs can sometimes go 10 or more years between bylaw amendments, though sometimes their hand is forced when state laws are changed, such as

when the Texas Water Code Chapter 67 was amended to require the boards to adopt election procedures.

Internal board or system policies such as policy updates or Conflict of Interest forms can be changed at a properly called board meeting so long as notice of the policies to be amended is on the agenda as an action item. The actual approval of these policies can be done by a simple majority of a quorum of the board present.

Q:

What would the ramifications be if a WSC denied service to applicants within certain areas where our capacity is limited or at capacity. The PUCT and TCEQ rules state that a qualified applicant for service cannot be denied, but what is considered a “qualified applicant”?

We get this question about “qualified applicant” regularly in one form or another. But your question included a bit more about denied service.

The main language to determine whether an applicant is eligible or qualified to receive service is found in the second sentence of sub-section (a) below of the Public Utility Commission of Texas’s rules: RULE §24.161Response to Requests for Service by a Retail Public Utility Within Its Certificated Area "(a) Except as provided for in subsection (e) of this section, every retail public utility shall serve each qualified service applicant within its certificated area as soon as is practical after receiving a completed application. A qualified service applicant is an applicant who has met all of the retail public utility's requirements contained in its tariff, schedule of rates, or service policies and regulations for extension of service including the delivery to the retail public utility of any service connection inspection certificates

required by law."

The rest of the sub-sections under 24.161 address whether the request for service is at a location where service previously existed in the recent past and so is readily available for a meter to placed or if there has to be extensive construction to install additional system facilities to be able to provide continuous and adequate service to that specific tract of land or lot.

A public water system’s tariff may have additional local regulations to also comply with as imposed by groundwater conservation districts, water masters, water rights, water purchase contracts, subsidence districts, city-county health departments, EMS/fire districts, city ETJ regulations, county subdivision rules, county zoning rules or other legal court-imposed conditions. The following are some general, but not exhaustive, conditions for service from the PWS itself.

•Easements for the property where meter service is to be installed and used •Easements from adjacent property owners to facilitate line extensions/improvements •Service Application and Agreement forms •Non-standard requests/contracts/agreements •Compliance with other local, state and federal permits and rules.

Some systems must receive a copy of an On-Site Septic Facility (OSSF) Permit before an applicant can have a meter installed.

(Continued on next page)

Quench — 2022 —Issue 1 9

Each PWS should have an exhaustive and up-to-date list of their rules as well as all the local hoops applicants are required to jump through in order to be in compliance. Supply this handout to show the applicants that the PWS is not making up new policies or conditions for a meter to be installed.

pressure, pumping and distribution system facilities, then the PWS should be prepared to pay some of those improvement costs instead of the applicant(s).

The PUCT and TCEQ rules state that the system is never to “deny service” within their CCN/service area. Systems are not denying service to an applicant if the applicant is refusing to comply with the conditions for service.

I believe the intent of the PUCT and TCEQ rules is for water service to be readily obtainable. The Public Water System (PWS) should make it as easy as possible to It is up to the applicant to accept and abide by the conestablish service as long as the applicant pays all nec- ditions of service. It's up to the system to provide that essary costs, completes all required paperwork, and service once conditions are met. supplies appropriate permits and certificates. In the case of non-standard service, they will also typically have to Larry Bell is TRWA's Technical Assistance Director, pay for engineering studies to verify what improvements with more than 30 years experience at the would be required if main lines have to be installed from association. a remote point(s). The willingness to complete these, and any other stated steps, serve to qualify an applicant.

If you have a Technical Question, please email larry.bell@trwa.org or search the archive at https://trwa.org/qualityontap/ If the PWS has been negligent in maintaining capacity requirements for their production, treatment, storage,

10 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

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Meet TRWA's new membership team Deborah McMullan moves from Source Water Protection to Membership Th e Te x a s R u r a l Wa t e r Association is pleased to announce the hiring of its new Membership and Outreach Manager, and she'll be a familiar face to many members and water industry veterans throughout the state.

Deborah McMullan, TRWA's Source Water Protection Specialist, has been tapped to take the role as the association's liaison to membership and chief recruiter of new members.

“Deborah has built many relationships with members during her 12 years at TRWA through the Source Water Protection Program and at our events and conferences," TRWA Environmental Services Director Jason Knobloch says. "We are excited to have the opportunity to transition Deborah to this new role to continue these efforts and bring another level of value to our members."

McMullan will officially move into her new role once her replacement as Source Water Protection Specialist has been hired, though she has already begun working on Membership initiatives.

Before joining the Association, McMullan worked as a general manager at Pattison Water Supply Corporation and at SevernTrent (now Inframark) as an Assistant Area Manager northwest of Houston.

During her time working on 12 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

Source Water Protection, McMullan met with systems from across the state. Her goal in her new position is to make sure they know that TRWA has something to offer everyone.

"Some systems that weren't members had misconceptions about what type of utility can benefit from joining TRWA," McMullan says. "Some thought that we only had members on the east side of Texas, or that we didn't have offerings for anyone other than the smallest rural systems.

"We look forward to getting the word out that we are an association that represents and provides services to all types of water and wastewater utilities across the state and announcing some new and exciting offerings," McMullan said.

A big part of that strategy involves hosting at least one district meeting in each of TRWA's 14 districts, (See sidebar on opposite page for details on the first seven district meetings.). These meetings will provide opportunities to earn CEUs as well as enjoy a networking lunch.

TRWA News McMullan encourages members planning to attend to invite non-members in the industry from their area to show them what TRWA has to offer.

"I look forward to working with and getting to know more of our members and hope that they will feel free to call or email me with suggestions or concerns pertaining to our membership offerings," McMullan said.

In January, TRWA also hired a new receptionist/ administrative assistant, Sonya Stocklin, who will be the first voice members hear when they call the office.

Sonya was born and raised in the Dallas, Texas area. She and her husband Wade have been married for 28 years and raised four children, one girl and three boys. They have also recently been blessed with a new grandson!

In 2009, she and her family moved to the Austin area to help establish a church in Round Rock and have loved living here ever since. In 2011, she attended Austin Community College to take bookkeeping and accounting classes and earned her certification. She then worked for a couple of public accounting firms as an administrative assistant and doing bookkeeping. In 2018, she earned her credentials to become a pastor and graduated as valedictorian of her class. She spent the next few years training and developing leaders to lead in the church and their communities.

Sonya’s favorite past times are spending time with her family, going to the movies, cooking, reading pretty much anything and everything, and she loves to travel and experience what the world has to offer!

TRWA District Meetings TRWA has scheduled its first seven district meetings for the year. Join water and wastewater professionals from your area and take advantage of free CEUs, lunch and plenty of opportunities for networking. If you don't see a meeting in your area listed yet, stay tuned to the TRWA website (www.trwa.org/page/district-meetings) and Pipeline e-newsletter for future meeting news.

District 8 – February 22, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Mount Calm Library (222 Allyn Ave., Mount Calm, TX) Lunch sponsored by Zenner USA Submitted for 3 hours of CEUs: Lead and Copper Rule Revisions; Preserving Utility Assets and Improving Productivity Through Technology, Emergency Preparedness District 5 – February 24, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Aqua WSC (415 Old Austin Hwy, Bastrop, TX) Lunch sponsored by Aqua WSC Submitted for 3 hours of CEUs: Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, Addressing Water Loss, Cooperating with Neighboring Utilities over CCNs District 2 – March 8, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

South Texas Regional Training Center (402 Carter, Hondo, TX) Lunch sponsored by Zenner USA Submitted for 3 hours of CEUs: Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, Preserving Utility Assets and Improving Productivity Through Technology, Addressing Cross Connections in Rural Communities District 4 – March 16, 2022, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Texas Rangers Museum (100 Texas Rangers Trail, Waco TX) Lunch sponsored by Hubbell Utility Solutions Submitted for 3 hours of CEUs: Emergency Preparedness, Working with Developers, GIS and Asset Management District 14 – March 23, 11 a.m - 3 p.m. Nacogdoches Liberty Hall (805 E Main St, Nacogdoches, TX) Lunch sponsored by Hubbell Utility Solutions/Higginbotham Insurance Submitted for 3 hours of CEUs: Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, GIS and Asset Management, Understanding Electrical Concerns in the Water Field District13 – April 19, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Livingston Municipal Library (707 N Tyler Ave, Livingston, TX) Lunch sponsored by San Jacinto SUD Submitted for 3 hours of CEUs: GIS and Asset Management, Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, Chlorine Safety District 6 – April 26, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Smolik’s Smokehouse (10541 TX-359, Mathis, TX) Lunch Provided by Hubbell Utility Solutions/Zenner USA Submitted for 2 hours of CEUs: Emergency Preparedness: AWIA and SB3, Lead and Copper Rule Revisions Quench — 2022 —Issue 1 13

From the Field

The Clear Path

By Haley Dixon TRWA's Registered Apprenticeship Program connects utilities and potential employees through an alternate education pathway It’s no secret that skilled water and wastewater operators are becoming harder to find. Utilities across the country are struggling to fill positions with new recruits. As demand for trained operators grows higher, supply dwindles. Over the next ten years, the water/wastewater sector is expected to lose between 30 and 50 percent of its workforce to retirement alone.

Pair that with the fact that there aren’t enough young people entering the profession, and our industry is facing a huge problem. With the launch of TRWA’s Registered Apprenticeship Program, we aim to address and tackle those issues head on.

This program aims to support utilities in filling positions by recruiting and educating young people. Through visiting schools and attending job fairs, we hope to excite and inspire the next generation of water/wastewater operators.

The Registered Apprenticeship Program is designed to help these recruits transition into their new careers through 14 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

training and education. As technology becomes more sophisticated, training becomes even more essential. The support and structure that apprenticeships provide can help those learning the trade develop the necessary skillset.

Apprentices benefit from working with a qualified mentor, and valuable knowledge and experience that might otherwise be lost is transferred through the link between the two.

graduating with a mountain of debt.

Apprenticeship has always been essential to America's skilled trades, giving figures such as Henry Ford and Benjamin Franklin their starts. As the demand for clean, safe drinking water rises, so will the pressure on rural America to provide it. It is critical that utilities are able to focus their time and energy on the important things, not searching endlessly for trained operaBy spending their first two years learn- tors. It is our goal at TRWA to alleviate ing on the job, apprentices are able to some of this pressure for utilities through build their confidence with the help of our Registered Apprenticeship Program. their mentors, gaining independence as their skills improve. This allows ap- If your utility is interested in joining prentices to ease into a permanent role our program, please contact TRWA's without an intense adjustment period, Apprenticeship Team at apprenticewhich can boost retainment of these ship@trwa.org or call 512-428-5754.

Ask for TRWA's Apprenticeship Program employees long-term.

Manager, Haley Dixon.

Apprentices will finish the program with a wealth of knowledge and three licenses, including their Class Haley Dixon D license, Class C License, and CSI is TRWA's License. Six months after completing Apprenticeship the program, they will also be eliProgram Manager. gible to apply for their Class B License, all while getting paid rather than

From the Field

FOR PARTICIPATING UTILITIES

A way to adapt your system to a shifting workforce

The Registered Apprenticeship Program cultivates a well-trained workforce, giving employers a reliable way to recruit and train knowledgeable workers.

Transfer skillsets from experienced operators to new workers.

Ample opportunity for new professionals entering the industry!

Learn from professionals how to apply the knowledge attained through coursework.

Train new employees with flexibility and additional support from TRWA.

Develop an operator qualified in multiple aspects of the water/wastewater industry.

Close to 50% of water/wasterwater operators plan to retire in the next five years!

Earn an income while learning a trade in a shorter time frame than traditional programs.

Ample demand for new professionals entering the industry!

Acquire three operator licenses over the course of the program.

The Registered Apprentice Program provides an accelerated path into the water/wastewater industry, with access to an experienced mentor and wage increases as skills are mastered.

FOR POTENTIAL APPRENTICES

A pathway to a dependable and lucrative career Quench — 2022 —Issue 1 15

TRWA News

Join TRWA at the Kalahari Resorts and Convention Center April 6-8 for our biggest event of the year, RuralWaterCon 2022! Whether you're an operator, a manager, an attorney or a board member, RuralWaterCon 2022 has the information and insight you need to head back to your job with new confidence, ready to tackle the challenges of the upcoming year.

women in management or large/high-growth systems, these sessions will offer an opportunity to consult with like-minded professionals. The water industry is all about connections, and it's our hope that you'll leave RuralWaterCon 2022 with new and stronger ones.

Convention attendees will receive the national rural water perspective from NRWA Board President David Baird during our Opening General Session on Wednesday.

RuralWaterCon 2022 will feature six rounds of breakout Thursday morning we'll peer into the future with Texas sessions, each organized around four tracks to help you State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon, whose prefind which information is going to be most pertinent to sentation will discuss how our changing climate could you. On Thursday, our Ask the Experts table will be impact the future of the Texas water supply and how the staffed all day by our TRWA technical staff to tackle state experiences drought. your trickiest water and It's not all work and no wastewater questions. play though. Breaks between sessions will feaThis year we're also putting ture refreshments and a special emphasis on netprize drawings in the working and the sharing of Exhibit Hall. Those arexpertise among peers. Our riving in Round Rock new roundtable sessions early will have an opwill be guided by expert portunity to join TRWA facilitators but driven by the at the ballpark for the first questions and concerns of game of the AAA Round people like you. Whether it's Rock Express' season the operators, board members, 16 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

TRWA News

evening of Tuesday, April 5.

Wednesday evening all are invited to join us for a Welcome Reception, and you can also register to join us at the onsite B-Lux Bowling Alley for our Bowling for PAC event in support of the Rural Water PAC. On Thursday evening, we’re holding our annual President's Banquet, featuring a live auction in support of the PAC and motivational speaker and U.S. Army veteran Dave Swanson.

Registration information was mailed out to TRWA members in January and can also be found online at www.trwa.org/ page/rwc22. The cost of registration goes up after March 14, so register now to get the best deal and reserve your hotel room before the block fills up.

We can't wait to see you in Round Rock for RuralWaterCon 2022!

Ready to register? Sign up today at www.trwa.org/page/rwc22

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Financing Solutions for Rural Water Systems In partnership with TRWA, CoBank can offer members specially negotiated terms.

Visit www.trwa.org/cobank or contact John DeLuca at 303-694-5958 Quench — 2022 —Issue 1 17

From the Field

Under Pressured

By Michael Beadnell

Depressurization is serious business for water utilities. Use this annotated flowchart to help guide you when pressures start to drop.

There are several conditions where pressures may drop below the threshold that regulations require our systems to maintain, and almost none of them are good news for systems. Depressurization is a very serious matter, especially if we don’t have a cross-connection control program. To help systems and their operators understand what to do in such a case, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has placed a flowchart in the Texas Administrative Code: 30 TAC §290.47(e), Public Water Supplier Response to Loss of Pressure to All or Parts of the Distribution System. In this article, we'll walk through that chart, adding comments alongside certain steps to provide context and additional assistance.

S T A R T

Did distribution pressures drop below 20 psi during the maintenance/repair/ emergency incident?

YES

Was the distribution line fully or partially dewatered?

Michael Beadnell (MB): Whenever possible, we want to keep pressure at 20 psi during an emergency situation so backflow contamination doesn’t occur.

When dealing with a water main break, it is always best to do repairs at or slightly above the 20 psi cutoff.

We can check this by installing a pressure gauge on one of the hose bibs tied onto the affected main and turning on the hose bib, which allows someone to watch the gauge to make sure it doesn’t drop below the threshold. If pressures are too great, you can open a hydrant on the affected main if one is available.Alternatively, even though gate valves are not designed to throttle, they will lower the main pressure if you can’t repair the break safely.

If you can dig down to the affected area and complete the repair while keeping pressures at or above 20 psi, then you get to take the easy path on this chart, with no further action necessary once the repair is finished.

NO

Complete repair and/or restore normal pressure

18 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

MB: If you weren’t able to keep pressure above the 20 psi threshold, then this chart is here to help.

The next step asks whether your line was fully or partially dewatered, which occurs when the distribution system loses pressure while performing the repair or replacement. In this case, a “No” answer means you had to cut the pressure down under 20 psi to do the repairs, but you did not have to cut the main to repair with a piece of pipe, HYMAX, ROMAX, solid sleeve or other such part.

NO

YES

Can the affected distribution lines be disinfected in accordance with AWWA standards?

NO

Immediately issue a Boil Water Notification to affected area in accordance with §290.46(q) and TCEQ directions. Notify TCEQ Regional Office.

MB: If the distribution line was fully or partially dewatered (you had to cut the pipe to do repairs) then you have to figure out whether you can disinfect the lines in accordance with American Water Works Association standards, specifically AWWA standards C651 section 4.7, which includes section 4.7.1 on trench treatment and section 4.7.2 on swabbing with hypochlorite solution. I used to take a new one-gallon pump sprayer and add two ounces of HTH 65% to one gallon. This makes a 10,000 mg/l or a 1% solution with which to spray the area.

If you can’t disinfect in accordance with AWWA C651 section 4.7 then immediately notify TCEQ.

YES

Disinfect in accordance with AWWA standards.

From the Field

Can the affected distribution lines be adequately flushed?

MB: This is the next step either after disinfecting the pipe or after completing a repair where you didn’t have to cut the pipe. Calculating two times your pipe volume does require some math, but it’s relatively simple when you break it down past πr2. To find pipe volume times two: multiply cubic feet × 7.48 × 2. That’s 3.14 × the radius in feet × radius in feet × length in feet × 7.48 × 2. Thus, if it’s a six-inch pipe and you shut off 1,000 feet, your equation looks like this: 3.14 × .25 × .25 × 1000 × 7.48 ×2 = 2936 gallons.

To figure out how long you should flush, we use Q=A × V. A is the area in square feet; in our case the six-inch pipe’s area in square feet is 3.14 × .25 × .25 or .196 square feet. The V is the velocity of our main. Typically, the average velocity of a water main is between 4 and 8 feet per second. To be on the safe side we’ll use the low number. A × V, or .196 square feet x 4 feet per second, is equal to .784 for our Q. The Q is cubic feet per second, and cubic feet per second can be converted to gallons per minute by multiplying by 449, so 352 gallons per minute.

It will take a heck of a lot longer getting the air out of the water main after the repair than it will 2× pipe volume.

YES

NO

Flush until chlorine residual reaches normal operating levels or until a minimum of two volumes of the affected line is flushed, whichever is greater. If the water is not clear after the prescribed flushing, continue to flush until water is clear.

Immediately issue a Boil Water Notification to affected area in accordance with §290.46(q) and TCEQ directions. Notify TCEQ Regional Office.

Immediately collect bacteriological samples from the affected portion of the distribution system and return affected portion to service.

Are all samples negative?

MB: If your bacteriological sample comes out negative, then you've reached the end of the chart. If it does come back positive, then you have further testing to do. Should you get a fecal positive, then you need to call TCEQ and proceed from there, but if it’s not a fecal positive you can go back to flushing and collecting samples.

Flushing will bring a fresh supply of chlorinated water that is representative of your distribution system. While working for the military, we never drew a bacteriological sample unless we had at least a 1 mg/l residual that represented our potable water.

NO

NO

Are any samples fecal positive?

YES YES

Stop! No further action necessary.

Notify TCEQ Regional Office immediately.

Additional measures up to and including the issuance of a Boil Water Notification to affected area may be required.

Michael Beadnell is a TRWA circuit rider covering West and South Texas.

Features

Close to the Edge

By Kristen Fancher

A Change in the PUCT Standard on Rates Could Put Utilities in a Delicate Position When It Comes to Servicing Their Debts In the Matter of: PUCT Docket No. 49351 - Ratepayers Appeal of the Decision by Bear Creek Special Utility District to Change Rates

A

Final Order by the Public Utilities Commission of Texas (PUCT) in the Bear Creek Special Utility District (BCSUD) rate appeal matter (Docket No. 49351) issued on November 19, 2021, appears to necessitate a change in the process that utilities use in adopting water and sewer rates. The only issue disputed in this case was the amount of debt service coverage that BCSUD needed to obtain a loan to fund critical infrastructure projects.

In October 2018, the BCSUD Board voted to increase rates in order to obtain a loan for two projects identified as critically necessary in its Water Master Plan. To implement these two projects, BCSUD contacted Greater Texoma Utility Authority (GTUA) for assistance in obtaining a low-interest loan from the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB).

GTUA is a public entity that was

20 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

created to help public utilities obtain average 25% more net income than it financing for infrastructure projects. needs to cover its debts.

After reviewing BCSUD’s finances, and in coordination with its financial advisor, GTUA recommended that BCSUD increase its rates to demonstrate financial stability for repayment of the loan. BCSUD thereafter increased its monthly base rate by $10.00 per month to obtain the loan from TWDB. A portion of the $10.00 increase to the base rate was based on the Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR) of 1.25. The DSCR is a term used to refer to the amount of net income that a utility has available to make loan payments.

When a rate appeal is filed with the PUCT, the matter is referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) to conduct a proceeding to evaluate the rates— basically an administrative trial. The utility, the customers appealing the rate, and the PUCT staff assigned to the case, all present their positions to the SOAH judges. The SOAH judges conduct the trial and make a recommendation that is ultimately reviewed by the PUCT Commissioners.

Despite the industry standard of 1.25 minimum debt coverage, PUCT staff It is industry standard to have a mini- did not support the $10 rate increase mum DSCR of 1.25 because even and instead recommended to the small variations in expenses or rev- SOAH judges that BCSUD’s rates enues can put a utility into technical reflect a 1.0 DSCR. The position of default on a loan. And, as we all know, the PUCT staff is often persuasive utilities often face variations in both with the SOAH judges and the PUCT expenses and revenues. Therefore, commissioners. In this case though, in order to demonstrate that a utility the SOAH judges ruled in favor of will not default on a loan, many loan BCSUD recommending a rate that applications and ensuing bond cov- included the 1.25 DSCR. The Judge’s enants require that the utility have on Proposal for Decision stated, “With

Features

a debt service coverage ratio of 1.0, TRWA recommends that utilities the District would not have been able adopt a financial policy that sets a minimum debt service coverage stanto secure a loan from the TWDB.” dard, in addition to other financial H o w e v e r , w h e n t h e P U C T guidelines. Prior to this case, expert Commissioners reviewed the case, testimony was sufficient to prove they decided on a DSCR of 1.1— why a utility needed a particular in between the 1.0 recommended DSCR, with 1.25 being the minimum

by PUCT staff and the 1.25 re- standard in most cases. However, in quested by BCSUD and recom- the BCSUD case both PUCT staff mended by the SOAH judges. The and the newly appointed PUCT PUCT Commissioners’ Final Order Commissioners expected to see a states, “Neither the terms of Greater written policy in place that stated Texoma's December 17, 2018 bond the exact DSCR minimum of the declaration nor the terms of the utility. In the absence of this policy, agreements between Bear Creek SUD the commission set their own debt and Greater Texoma required Bear service ratio for the system.

Creek SUD to maintain a specific TRWA plans to reach out to the debt-service-coverage ratio.”

PUCT to request assistance in develBased on the ruling in this case, oping best practices for utilities in

light of the BCSUD ruling. In the meantime, however, adoption of a financial policy with the assistance of an expert, such as a rate consultant or financial advisor, can help protect a utility’s financial and ratemaking integrity. As always, please reach out to the TRWA legal department if you have any questions or need guidance.

Kristen Fancher has extensive experience representing clients on water and other legal matters across the state of Texas.

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Quench — 2022 —Issue 1 21

From the Field

'Priceless' relationships with local counties lead to ARPA success stories for systems

How do you get a piece of the newest approval. pie? It helps to know the right people.

The commissioners requested that the The American Rescue Plan Act, passed first priority for the funding be ensuring

by Congress in March 2021, provided that each system has a backup generator a total of $350 billion to help state on hand. After that, utilities received and local governments bridge bud- some flexibility to propose system get shortfalls caused by the shock of improvements needed to maintain the COVID-19 pandemic. For many operations, such as electrical upgrades at counties and municipalities, the money East Medina County SUD. These prowas used for their own budgets after a jects were approved in January, just two tough year of shutdowns and shortfalls. months after the initial vote to allocate Though the money was approved by the money to rural water utilities.

Congress for use by water utilties in the counties, many systems have had Medina County wasn't the only county to share their ARPA money with local difficulty accessing these funds. water utilities. For example, Coryell But for some rural water utilities in County has allocated $900,000 for the Texas, another disaster helped shift emergency preparedness needs of its local officials' opinions on the best water systems, though applications for use for the funds: Winter Storm Uri, those funds aren't due until March. which hit the state just a month before Anderson County approved the use of ARPA was signed into law. In Medina ARPA funds to purchase generators County, Uri and the extensive blackouts for four local WSCs in November. it caused in the state demonstrated the Brookesmith SUD received $375,000 importance of sharing that new influx. from the Brown County Commissioners As Bruce Alexander, superintendent to purchase generators. of East Medina County SUD puts it, as long as the projects proposed to the In Cameron County, East Rio Hondo Commissioners Court were, "beneficial WSC received ARPA funding for a pair to the people of Medina County," the of water and wastewater projects designed to restore aging infrastructure and County would consider them.

In the end, the commissioners in Medina County found a lot of benefit in helping local water and wastewater utilities become more resilient in the face of future disasters. They voted to share 40% of the county's ARPA funding, totalling $2 million, with qualified rural water systems, with the amounts distributed based on the number of customers served upon submission of projects for 22 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

Practical Infrastructure Solutions Wells • Treatment • Disinfection Storage • Pumping • Distribution

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prepare for future growth, including one to replace sewer manholes and one to install a new ground storage tank.

Brian MacManus, General Manager at East Rio Hondo WSC, said that when the timelines for drainage work the county wanted to do couldn't be made to work with the ARPA funds, his and other utilties in the county were able to petition for those funds and get them because of the act's flexibility allowing a lot of discretion in how that money is used. "I haven't seen a federal government program this easy to work with in my career," MacManus said.

As East Medina County SUD puts together its proposals for the next round of ARPA funding this spring, Alexander admits that his and other systems in Medina County got lucky with how willing their local officials were to part with the influx of funds. "What they did, it was a great thing for the County. It was a great thing for rural water."

But it's also the sort of luck that can be made. "You have to ask, you have to be persistent, you have to build those relationships [with local officials]," Alexander said. "They’re priceless."

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Features

Building Your Data Pipeline

Using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Guide Water Main Decision Making

I

By Tom Faccone, Fracta AI

t’s no secret that many utilities across Texas and the country have infrastructure that needs replacing. The American Water Works Association (AWWA) continues to report that the renewal and replacement of aging water infrastructure is the top concern for water utilities. Funding the necessary improvements to that infrastructure is ranked number two.

However, even with the entry of new digital technologies which can assess the entire condition of a water distribution system for pennies on the dollar per linear foot, the aging water underground pipe infrastructure has seen an overall 27% increase in water main breaks.

In 2015, an analysis by the American Society of Civil Engineers Infrastructure Report Card assigned the country's drinking water systems a grade of “D.” Seven years later, that grade has improved, but only to a “C-“.

The task of addressing such complex water infrastructure replacement and funding concerns can be daunting. The

24 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning, with algorithms that can train themselves based on the patterns they're seeing in the data, can help every water utility, regardless of size.

This technology, combined with asset management practices, empowers water utilities with the knowledge of what pipe segments are at risk for main breaks and leaks and which are not. Knowing the good pipes that have more service life left in them from bad pipes at a high risk for breaking can be a game-changer for the 75% of water utilities who use pipe breaks as a key criterion in pipe replacement decisions, per the Water Research Foundation.

Between 250,000 and 300,000 breaks occur every year in the U.S., which corresponds to a rate of 25 to 30 breaks per 100 miles per year, regardless of cause. The AWWA Partnership for Safe Water Distribution System Optimization Program goal for a fully optimized distribution system is set at 15 breaks per 100 miles of pipe annually.

The Utah State University’s (USU) Buried Structures Laboratory released a study on water main breaks in the USA and Canada that survey more than 300 utilities. (https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/mae_facpub/174 )The USU study focuses on water main breaks based on the pipe material and separates main breaks from third party and maintenance damage, which cannot be predicted. A major finding is that nationally all pipe materials are at 14 breaks per 100 miles of pipe per year. The study also digs further into analyzing individual pipes by material type and answers many of the water industry’s most pressing questions.

The study found that failing water mains tend to be approximately 50 years old. The trouble with that is that 43% of water mains in the country are between 20 and 50 years old and 28% of all mains are more than 50 years old. More than 16% of installed water mains are beyond their useful life and the utilities do not have funding to replace them. Since approximately 0.8% of installed pipe gets replaced each year, that means the national rate of pipe replacement is currently on a 125-year schedule, too slow considering the rate of depreciation.

According to the USU study, overall water main pipe break rates have increased 27% between 2012 and 2018.

Cast iron (CI) main breaks increased by 46% over that span, perhaps because 82% of CI pipes are over 50 years old. Asbestos cement (AC) main breaks increased by 43%, with 27% of AC pipe also over 50 years in age.

However, most utilities have a moderate to high soil corrosion risk. Highly corrosive soil makes CI pipes approximately 20 times more likely to break and ductile iron pipes approximately 10 times more likely to break. That means more data than just age and failure history may be necessary when determining the likelihood of failure of pipes.

Third party damage can’t be predicted, but soil corrosion and other environmental variables can aid in determining which pipes may fail, if that information is on hand.

Unfortunately, the USU study found that only 45% of utilities conduct condition assessments of their water mains. Meanwhile, smaller utilities have twice as many main breaks as large utilities.

Desktop or computational approaches are by far the most cost-effective and least invasive method of condition assessment, but many of these methods are imprecise, taking

Features into account only a few factors, such as age and material, that are important but might not tell the whole story.

More advanced statistical modeling can include additional variables, although there’s always the danger that these calculations will leave out some important detail such as proximity to rail lines or the contribution of elevation or environmental impacts, therefore impacting its accuracy.

Machine learning is poised to make a significant impact in underground water infrastructure asset management.

Not only does machine learning drive performance optimization, but it can also be used in business processes and planning. In the water utility industry, water main condition assessment is an ideal use for this technology because of the vast amount of data that must be considered when predicting an outcome. The historical and geospatial data associated with condition assessment, including factors such as installation year, pipe material and break history can be considered alongside categorical data including pressure class, geographical location, elevation, pipe diameter as well as contingent data including proximity to rail systems and soil composition.

Analyzing this huge volume of data consistently can uncover trends and gain insight on pipeline health, while also strengthening the predictive power of a machine learning algorithm. Utilities with large amounts of historical breakage and asset information can gain new insights into their systems, while those with more limited data sets can use machine learning analysis to fill in the gaps and spot patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed.

For many water utilities, machine learning for water main condition assessment allows them to test drive the technology within their organizations and in the process save millions of dollars spent unnecessarily on pipes that do not need to be replaced. With machine learning in place, a utility can focus on their highest risk pipe segments to prevent costly breaks.

Combining asset management practices with machine learning for underground water pipes can help utilities align their maintenance and capital repair and replacement strategies in order to more cost effectively allocate resources.

Tom Faccone is an account executive at Fracta AI. Quench — 2022 —Issue 1 25

TRWA News

LOUD & CLEAR The Rural Water PAC Needs Your Support Support state and federal officials who champion the issues that matter to rural water utilities by contributing to the Texas Rural Water PAC

By Deborah McMullan

The Texas Rural Water PAC is the bipartisan state and federal political action committee of TRWA. PAC contributions are pooled to make impactful contributions to state and federal candidates in Texas – men and women who understand the issues facing water and wastewater utilities. The Texas Rural Water PAC Board reviews candidates’ effectiveness, committee assignments and voting records to determine which ones to support.

Help support this year’s Texas Rural Water Political Action Committee (PAC) fundraising campaign!

TRWA has set a strategic goal to raise $35,000 for the PAC in 2022, a number we hope to reach by combining sponsorships, in-kind donations and fundraising events at RuralWaterCon in April and our Training and Technical Conference in July. By contributing, you can affect the political process and ensure Texas rural water is fairly and effectively represented at both the By law, only monetary contributions from individuals may be state and federal levels.

26 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

used by the PAC; corporate or district contributions are strictly prohibited by law to be used for this purpose.

Suggested contribution amounts are guidelines, though any level of contribution is appreciated.

Individuals may legally contribute up to $5,000 per calendar year. To contribute, please visit our website at www.trwa.org/PAC tab to find our online contribution form, or you may download a form and mail it with a personal check payable to the Texas Rural Water PAC to 1616 Rio Grande St., Austin,

Three Ways to Support the PAC Texas 78701.

The first way you can support the PAC is by becoming a sponsor!

Each year, TRWA members sponsor the PAC by making individual contributions to the fundraising campaign. PAC sponsors will be able to display their pride in rural water with our sponsorship gifts and will also receive recognition in Quench magazine and at RuralWaterCon 2022, to be held in Round Rock April 6-8. Individuals who contribute by March 18 will also be recognized as sponsors in the RuralWaterCon official program!

The Rural Water PAC has three levels of sponsorship that come with gifts for the contributor: Gold Level: An individual contribution of at least $300 receives a set of four stainless steel steak knives with the TRWA logo engraved on them plus a storage case.

Silver Level: An individual

contribution of $200 to $299 receives a TRWA-embossed leather portfolio.

Bronze Level: An individual contribution of $50 to $199 receives a TRWA-branded 3-in-1 Trail Tumbler.

The second way you can support Texas Rural Water PAC is by making an in-kind donation to be featured at the RuralWaterCon PAC auctions. Silent auctions will be held throughout the Convention in the exhibit hall, and a live auction for premium items will be held Thursday, April 7, during the President’s Banquet.

We encourage members to donate unique and locally sourced items for the auction. It is important to note that if the donated items are given by a district or a corporation, then according to law, the item’s winning bid must be at least three times the cost of the item in order for proceeds to fully benefit the PAC. If you would like to donate an item, please either send it to the TRWA office, c/o Texas Rural Water PAC, 1616 Rio Grande St., Austin, Texas 78701, or drop your donation off at the PAC booth when you arrive at

Features the Convention. All donations are appreciated.

The third way you can show your support is by attending our fun and entertaining PAC fundraising events! The first event will be “Bowling for PAC,” which is being held the evening of Wednesday, April 6 at the Kalahari Resorts’ on-site B-Lux Bowling Alley during RuralWaterCon. A $25 registration will get you two hours on the lanes plus shoe rental, ball rental, and a burger. Find more information on how to register in your RuralWaterCon 2022 brochure, or by visiting the RuralWaterCon page on the TRWA website.

If you will be joining us in Galveston in July for our Training and Technical Conference, we will be holding our annual “Family Fun Fish Fry” on July 13. This event will also include a Silent and Live Auction.

The Texas Rural Water PAC’s strength lies in the involvement of water professionals like you.

By pooling your contributions with those made by hundreds of other TRWA members across the state, we can make the voice of our industry louder in both Austin and Washington.

Please consider joining the Texas Rural Water PAC team!

Deborah McMullan is TRWA's Membership and Outreach Manager.

Quench Quench— —2021 2022—Issue —Issue51 27 27

TRWA Briefs Happy Retirement to TRWA's Thomas Acker Jr. TRWA is bidding a fond farewell to Thomas Acker Jr., who is retiring from the water industry this February after capping his career with seven years as an instructor in TRWA's Training Department.

Acker said one of the perks of the job was seeing it click for his students, the moments when they went from confusion to understanding. He enjoyed hearing how his classes paid dividends for students later on. "The height of instructing is when a student calls, texts or emails that they have passed the test because of the way we taught them," he said.

Acker is looking forward to not being on the road quite so much, a change that he says will afford him more time to ride horses and to go fishing. We wish Tom the best of luck in these and all his other endeavors.

In Memorium MIKE MAYS, 72 Mike Mays, former president of the Green Springs Water Supply Corporation, passed away in January of 2022.

Mays enjoyed team roping competitions and travelling to attend horse shows. He is survived by his mother, Bobbie Allen Mays, children, Carrie Palmer and Lorrie Montgomery, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Editor's Note: Due to a production error, our obituary for Kenneth Halfmann ran in the previous issue of Quench without its accompanying picture. To correct the error, we''re reprinting it here.

KENNETH HALFMANN, 66 Kenneth Halfmann, who served on the board of the East Bell WSC for more than 30 years, passed away November 5, 2021 in Pearsall, Texas.

An avid sportsman, Halfmann's tenure on the board of East Bell WSC included five years as Board Secretary/Treasurer.

Halfmann is survived by his wife Cathy and son Ryan.

Advertiser Index AIA Insurance Agency............................... Page 10 Axis Construction............................................... 17 Childress Engineers..............................................9 CoBank.............................................................. 17 CP&Y.................................................................22 Ferguson...........................................................23 Hayter Engineering...........................................22 Hayes Engineering.............................................29 28 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

HydroPro Solutions.............................................7 J.F. Fontaine & Associates..................................29 Pittsburg Tank & Tower Maintenance Co., Inc......17 Russell Drilling Co., Inc.......................................21 Texas Aquastore.................................................7 SAMCO.............................................................. 11 Smith Pump Co., Inc………………...…………………..21

Keep up with the latest on the Lead and Copper Rule revisions The December 16 announcement of revisions to the EPA's Lead and Copper Rule means big changes for rural water utilities. Developing Lead Service Line Inventories, creating plans for monitoring of key locations and preparing to meet documentation requirements will be a years-long process for many rural Texas drinking water suppliers, and TRWA is committed to helping members along that journey.

To that end, we've created an LCRR hub page on the TRWA website that we'll use to continually collect resources to help keep members up-to-date on the current regulatory environment and ensure that their systems are on track for compliance by the 2024 target date.

That page already includes resources and training opportunities from state and federal entities. It also includes resources from our partners 120Water, such as a sample timeline and Lead and decision tree.

Visit www.trwa.org/LCRR to learn more.

Sign up for TRWA's e-newsletters!

Thank you for reading Quench! We strive to keep you informed about the multitude of trainings, programs and resources the Texas Rural Water Association has to offer our members that help them stay on top of our ever-changing industry.

But Quench is printed just six times per year, so if this is your only source of news and information about what TRWA is up to, you're going to miss some stuff. To fill in the gaps, make sure you and others at your system are receiving TRWA's two weekly e-newsletters, the Weekly Pipeline on Thursdays and the Training Pipeline on Tuesdays.

The Weekly Pipeline features all the latest TRWA news as well as upcoming deadlines, updates from TCEQ, the EPA, and NRWA. It's your source for everything TRWA is doing, as well as more insight into what's going on at both the state and national levels.

The Training Pipeline has a special focus on the wide variety of different continuing education opportunities available to water and wastewater professionals, from TRWA's own inperson and virtual training seminars to events put on by our partners or other groups that we think our members would benefit from.

To sign up for these, visit trwa.org/page/eNews and click the links to subscribe. (If you have signed up but aren't receiving these, check your spam folder to make sure they aren't getting sorted out.) Get the most out of your TRWA membership by making sure you don't miss anything.

Join the conversation at: www.facebook.com/TexasRuralWaterAssn

Find us at @TexasRuralWater for industry and legislative news relevant to you!

J. F. FONTAINE & ASSOCIATES, INC. CONSULTING ENGINEERS RURAL WATER SYSTEM ENGINEERING SINCE 1962 700 N. Sycamore St. P.O. Box 4187 Palestine, Texas 75802

(903) 729-6005 jffontaine@jffontaine.com

Quench — 2022 —Issue 1 29

Are You the Person We’re Looking For? TRWA is now hiring for multiple positions.

Come work with us to support rural water utilities in Texas.

Visit trwa.org/trwajobs to learn more.

ONLINE TRAINING AVAILABLE Earn training credit hours through self-paced courses.

Learn More: www.trwa.org/59 training@trwa.org (512) 428-5754

30 Quench — 2022 — Issue 1

The Months Ahead Here's a look at a small sample of the events TRWA has scheduled for the next two months. To see more trainings, regional meetings, conferences and more, visit www.trwa.org/event_calendar

MARCH 2022 6

March 8 - 10 Groundwater Production in Lorena, TX

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March 23 District 14 Meeting 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Nacogdoches, TX For more details and additional district meetings, see page 13.

APRIL 2022 April 19 - 21 Chlorinator Systems & Chemical Handling in Quinlan, TX & Wastewater Treatment - Virtual

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April 6 - 8

RuralWaterCon 2022!

See page 16 for more details.

Register online at www.trwa.org/page/RWC22 Quench — 2022 —Issue 1 31

1616 Rio Grande| Austin, TX 78701-1122 Telephone: (512) 472-8591 | Fax: (512) 472-5186 www.trwa.org