Quench 2021 - Issue 2

Winter Storm Uri Makes Lasting Impact on Texas Water Utilities

Also Inside: Inside: Introducing TRWA's 2021 Awards of Excellence Winners Water Conservation Programs for Systems 2021 — Issue 2 www.trwa.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)

Leadership Team Lara Zent Allison Kaminsky Larry Bell Nichol Everingham Tom Shephard, CPA Trent Hightower Jason Knobloch

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

ext. 101 ext. 107 cell: 512-964-8133 ext. 134 ext. 102 ext. 106 ext. 137

Amanda Ashcraft Melody Bennett Ross Brookbank Pam Cantrell Lisa Gallo Miles Hartman Brittney Melancon Vacant Emily Young Ariane Walker

Office Manager Project Support Specialist Membership and Outreach Manager Accounting Support Specialist Meeting and Event Planner Course Development Specialist Paralegal Communications Specialist Assistant Environmental Services Director Training Support Specialist

ext. 100 ext. 130 ext. 108 ext. 139 ext. 105 est. 135 ext. 110 ext. 115 ext. 132 ext. 111

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

Office Staff

Field Staff

Instructor Circuit Rider Wastewater Technician Wastewater Technician FMT Specialist Circuit Rider Source Water Protection Specialist Circuit Rider Instructor Circuit Rider FMT Specialist Assistant Technical Assistance Director 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) 923-5842 cell: (512) 964-2108 cell: (512) 922-4942 cell: (512) 964-9234 cell: (512) 517-9889 cell: (512) 924-4233 cell: (512) 657-8813 cell: (512) 317-2003

Contact the Editor

Editorial and advertising inquiries may be directed to the Communications Department at editor@trwa.org.

Join the conversation at: www.facebook.com/TexasRuralWaterAssn 2

Quench — 2021 - Issue 2

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

Features:

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TRWA Department Spotlight: Technical Assistance Department

Do you know all the services our Technical Assistance Department provides? Read on to learn more and meet our team!

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In Every Issue: Letter from the President Letter from the Executive Director Ask Larry

Answers to your technical questions

Keep it Legal Answers to your legal questions

Advertiser Index Plan Ahead

TRWA’s Calendar of Events

10

RuralWaterCon 2021 Photo Recap

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Introducing TRWA's 2021 Awards of Excellence Winners

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Water Conservation Programs for Systems

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Winter Storm Uri Makes Lasting Impact on Texas Water Utilities

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Get to know the winners of TRWA's prestigious annual awards for individuals and systems.

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Have You Tried TRWA's Water/Wastewater Risk Assessment and Planning Tool?

By Allison Kaminsky, Texas Rural Water Association TRWA created this tool to help member water and wastewater utilities comply with the America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.

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We had a great time seeing everyone at our Annual Convention in Austin in March!

By Gilbert Ybarbo, Texas Rural Water Association Systems can offer a variety of water conservation programs, including incentive programs such as rebates, coupons and check-ups. Read on for information on these types of programs.

By Allison Kaminsky, Texas Rural Water Association Winter Storm Uri brought unprecedented snow, ice and piercing-cold temperatures to Texas, hitting water utilities hard and causing instability or failure for many utilities statewide.

A Night Honoring Local Heroes: Front Line Service Worker Appreciation Banquet

By Charles Perkins, Texas Rural Water Association Cherokee County hosts an event to honor the front line workers who worked through the winter storms in February.

TRWA Briefs

Make Plans to Attend TRWA's Summer Conferences; TRWA Offers New Technical Services to Members; Changes in TRWA Leadership

On the Cover: Snowmaggedon Hits College Mound SUD. Photo Credit: Shirley Thompson, GM, College Mound SUD. Quench — 2021 Issue 2 3

President’s Message Howdy Rural Water!

“Participating in the process can make a difference, and we continue to need all of you to stay engaged.”

First, I’d like to say a hearty thank you to all the members, vendors and staff who attended and participated in RuralWaterCon ’21, our first live conference to be held since the start of the pandemic. Wow, I can’t tell you how many times someone told me how much they enjoyed getting back to some normalcy. It was great to see many friends and peers for the first time in over a year! Keep in mind that all our conferences are planned to be in-person going forward, so look for future conference announcements and plan to join us! Turn to page 29 of this issue for information on our upcoming summer conferences.

I’d also like to give a shout out to our staff, Board Legislative Committee, and all of those members who have been able to provide testimony at the legislature this session. This year, a significantly higher than normal number of bills were filed on the very last day available, which really created challenges for review. When we have put out a call to action, our membership has risen to the occasion and really made a difference.

At this writing, we’re not yet sure how some bills, both good and bad, will turn out in the end, but there is no doubt that those members who have responded have made a big difference this year. Participating in this process can make a difference, and we continue to need all of you to stay engaged.

I look forward to seeing you at a conference in the near future. Continue the great job you all do with life’s precious resource!

My regards,

Chris Boyd President Texas Rural Water Association

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Letter from the Executive Director Dear TRWA Members, This edition of Quench contains articles highlighting the men and women of our industry here in Texas who once again stood up to adversity when extreme winter weather hit our state and worked tirelessly around the clock to keep water flowing to their communities. I salute you and have been singing your praises. We at TRWA are proud to serve you and are always looking for new and better ways to do so.

We are also working to combat knee jerk reactions from legislators in Austin who are quick to want to enact new requirements following the winter storm. Thank you to those of you aiding in these efforts and in answering our call on other legislation where it is important that your perspectives be heard.

Our staff takes pride in lending a hand to our member systems in emergency situations. We bring generators, rebuild motors, coordinate mutual aid assistance and do whatever we can to help systems restore services to their communities. We are also part of a nationwide network of other rural water associations who do the same and we help each other across state boarders when needed.

“We at TRWA are proud to serve you and are always looking for new and better ways to do so.”

This May, we are hosting an emergency response training for rural water personnel nationwide in Cedar Creek, Texas. This training is a combination of classroom and hands-on demonstrations. Topics will include electrical safety, motor-rebuilding, generator start-up and maintenance, safe towing practices, first aid basics and much more.

We’re training our rural water team to better serve water and wastewater utilities nationwide in emergency conditions.

It was so great to see many of you in person at Convention and I hope to see more of you at this summer’s conferences and at local district meetings!

My best,

Lara Zent Executive Director and General Counsel Texas Rural Water Association

Quench — 2021 Issue 2 5

TRWA Department Spotlight

O

ur Technical Assistance Department consists of eight staff members who provide free training and hands-on assistance to qualifying water and wastewater system boards, councils, employees and consultants. Areas of training and assistance include technical operations, regulatory requirements, managerial issues, financial issues such as rate and fee calculations and planning, and energy efficiency assessments. Read on to get to know the team and learn more about the various services they provide!

Circuit Riders

Since 1980, the Circuit Rider Program has been funded by the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA–RD) to provide assistance to small communities for the operation of safe and clean drinking water supplies and compliance with water regulations. TRWA’s four Circuit Riders are in the field every day helping small cities with less than 10,000 population, non-profit water supply corporations and water districts with a wide variety of technical assistance issues and providing hands-on training to board members, office staff and operators.

They can help with all aspects of water utility operations, management, compliance, and rates. They also assist utilities with evaluating alternative technological solutions and recommend operational improvements.

New this year, they can also provide leak detection and meter flow testing services upon request. If you would like a visit from your Circuit Rider, use our coverage map to determine who is assigned to your area, and give them a call!

MAP LEGEND Paul King (CR 1) James Smith (CR 2) Michael Beadnell (CR 4) William White (CR 3) Districts State-Wide

Wastewater Training and Technical Assistance

TRWA has two Wastewater Technicians in the field who assist wastewater systems across the state. They provide training workshops that address topics like wastewater operations and maintenance, testing procedures, rule updates, management, security and other topics as needed or requested that relate to wastewater. They also provide on-site technical assistance to small cities that have less than 10,000 population, non-profit wastewater systems and districts. This assistance deals with operations, maintenance, collection systems, treatment facilities, rates, management, rule changes, state laws and other topics or situations that occur in the wastewater systems. If you would like a visit from a Wastewater Technician, give them a call!

Systems in North Texas can call Alex Eaves and systems in West and South Texas can call Nathan Cantrell.

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Technical Assistance Department

Larry Bell Technical Assistance Director (512) 964-8133

William White Assistant Technical Assistance Director / Circuit Rider (512) 924-4233

Michael Beadnell Circuit Rider (512) 924-4552

Nathan Cantrell Wastewater Technician (512) 924-7158

Alex Eaves Wastewater Technician (512) 964-7203

Paul King Circuit Rider (512) 913-9753

Charles Perkins Energy Efficiency Circuit Rider (512) 964-2108

James Smith Circuit Rider (512) 964-9234

Energy Efficiency Assessments

TRWA has one Energy Efficiency Circuit Rider on staff who specializes in conducting energy efficiency assessments at qualifying small water and wastewater systems and making recommendations that will affect their bottom line. Through this program, our Energy Efficiency Circuit Rider will work with your system to compile a report of recommended energy savings by identifying changes in operational procedures and replacement of older, less-efficient equipment. The assessments also include an estimated payback period for the recommended investments. This program is available to Texas water production and water distribution systems, as well as wastewater treatment and wastewater collection systems serving a population of 10,000 or less. In 2020, these recommendations totaled $162,182.59 in energy savings to small Texas water and wastewater utilities.

EPA Training & Technical Assistance

Through this EPA-funded program, TRWA is able to provide both on-site and classroom training to cities with less than 10,000 population, investor-owned utilities, non-profit WSCs, and districts. This training and on-site assistance covers all topics and rules addressed in the Federal EPA Safe Drinking Water Act and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) rules relating to water systems. Some of these topics include operations, maintenance, treatment, distribution system, water loss, leak detection, management, budgeting, rate setting, disinfection and other processes used to provide safe drinking water to customers. There are usually 12 to 15 training sessions conducted statewide that range from four to seven hours in length. These training sessions are approved by the TCEQ for water operator renewal credit hours.

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Ask Larry

Q:

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

We are working on a non-standard service contract with a developer to replace undersized lines serving a small subdivision. We are using the sample contract in the TRWA Sample Tariff, but I don’t see anything about insurance requirements from the perspective of the contractor doing the work.

What are the standard requirements for working on a WSC’s lines? Should we require them to list us as an additional insured?

A: You are correct that the TRWA sample contract does not directly address liability insurance. However, in the section discussing the engineering and design of a water system extension, the contract states that “all plans and specifications must be reviewed and approved by the WSC’s consulting engineer prior to the issuance of any request for bids.”

for the completion of the project. Finally, they should provide a policy that pays another contractor to finish any incomplete portions of the new project. When the engineer reviews the bids submitted for a project, it is usually their job to confirm that every aspect of the project is insured in a manner that fully protects the WSC. Q: We have seen news reports regarding blue algae in one of our sources of water. What is this, and should we be concerned? What should we do about it?

A: This brings back some older training I received some years ago regarding blue-green algae (BGA).

BGA has been in lakes in Texas and most other states from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes for a very long time. BGA, also called “cyanobacteria “ has been in the news across the Southern U.S. in recent years because of a strain that can quickly kill dogs and potentially affect humans if ingested. Most instances involving humans stem from contact with stagnant bodies of water or consumption of poorly treated water, but awareness is growing of the need to ensure BGA doesn’t pass through water treatment plants without being adequately removed.

"When the system's engineer develops the plans and specifications for non-standard service improvements, these should include the required insurance policies to be provided and reviewed by the engineer."

When the system’s engineer develops the plans and specifications for nonstandard improvements, these should include the required insurance policies to be provided and reviewed by the engineer. These policies generally include things like bid bonds, construction liability, underground liability, performance bonding to complete the project should the original contractor default, worker’s compensation, and payment insurance to pay the material suppliers should the original contractor default.

The bottom line is the developer should provide the WSC with proof of insurance to cover any damage caused to other utilities, including fiber optics phone systems, underground gas transmission lines, and power lines, during the excavation. They should also cover the construction of the project phases as well as payments to the companies who supply the piping, parts, trenchers, or any other equipment necessary 8

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According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, BGA is in many water sources all the time, but it can become a problem when it is enriched with nutrients from agricultural runoff and bright, hot sunlight, so with the weather heating up, now is the time for BGA to be on everyone’s radar. To my knowledge, large blooms of BGA have been found in lakes in the Texas Hill Country and near Austin, but not in major lakes to the north, in counties like Bell, Coryell, and McLennan. However, because this is such a localized issue, if you have concerns about BGA in nearby

water sources, you should contact the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s regional office in your area.

Their Freshwater Fisheries Department conducts testing of Texas waters, so they would have the latest information on a particular lake or stream’s BGA content.

TRWA doesn’t recommend specific brands of equipment, supply companies, or consultants, but searching for “blue-green algae bloom control” online shows that simple mixing of water around intake structures can reduce BGA blooms and can help with the rest of the treatment process.

Q: One of our customers has a family cemetery plot on their land, which also has several active faucets. Are there any backflow prevention rules relating specifically to cemeteries?

A: No. TCEQ Rule 290.46(j), which covers customer service inspections and minimum acceptable operating practices for public drinking water systems, contains mostly general rules relating to contamination. For example, it just states that “as potential contamination hazards are discovered, they shall be promptly eliminated to prevent possible contamination.”

The reason this rule probably is not as specific as some folks would like is because there are many ways for a cross-connection with a health hazard to occur. In fact, the number of ways this could happen are so numerous it would likely be counterproductive for TCEQ to try to list them all. As such, there are no rules relating to cemeteries specifically. Instead, each cemetery must be inspected just like any other property to ensure no possible contamination hazards exist. For example, inspectors may look to see if there is a water faucet or hoses used to water plants, a set of restrooms for visitors, or an in-ground

or spray irrigation system. Each of these features will need to be inspected to ensure they don’t pose a contamination risk to the rest of your system, just as they would need to be inspected at any other residence or business.

Q: One of our workers noticed that a customer has a faucet on their property located below ground in a valve box. Is this a potential contamination hazard?

A: Yes. Water faucets should always be installed above ground to eliminate potential contamination hazards. Water discharge type valves should always be installed with a 1” air gap if less than ¾” in diameter discharge, or two times the diameter of larger diameter discharge outlets.

Any discharge opening below the surface of the ground, valve box, vault, or other containment which allows the water level to rise above the faucet outlet and or valve packing has the potential for contamination to be introduced back into the potable water system should there be a discharge from or a leak in the faucet when there is also a loss of pressure in the potable water system. Any debris, chemicals, water of unknown quality, and any other unsanitary condition can be syphoned back into the potable water system from any deliberate or accidental malfunction of the faucet located below the surface of a confined area which has little to no direct and immediate drainage.

If you have a technical question you would like answered, please email larry.bell@trwa.org.

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RuralWaterCon 2021 Photo Recap

The Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall was a great opportunity for attendees and exhibitors to mix and mingle.

TRWA's Ross Brookbank tests out our protective equipment available for our staff working the event..

Texas State Representative Alex Dominguez gives a keynote address during Opening General Session on Thursday morning.

From left: TRWA Executive Director Lara Zent, NRWA Vice-President and LA State Senator Glen Womack, & TRWA Board President Chris Boyd

College Mound SUD made it a family affair at convention this year. (left) General Manager Shirley Thompson and her husband Randy, and (right) Field Manager T. Chad Wilson and his son Aidan enjoy a break in the Exhibit Hall between sessions.

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Attendees enjoy complimentary refreshments at the Welcome Reception on Wednesday evening.

A silent auction benefiting the PAC ran for the duration of the event both in the Exhibit Hall and online for virtual attendees.

The President's Banquet on Thursday evening was not to be missed! The event featured dinner, a live PAC auction, and entertainment provided by comedian Mike MacRae.

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Quench — 2021 Issue 2 11

Introducing TRWA's 2021 Awards of Excellence Winners

T

exan water systems are built on merit and TRWA proudly salutes that spirit and determination with its annual Awards of Excellence. These awards are our way of honoring those individuals and rural water systems within TRWA's membership that exemplify excellence, dedication and achievement. This year's award winners were announced and recognized during the Opening General Session of RuralWaterCon 2021 in March. For those who were unable to attend the awards ceremony, we are proud to now be able to share their stories with you!

Excellence in Administration Cynthia Raleigh, Business Manager, SS Water Supply Corporation Nominated by Carlos Febus, General Manager, SS Water Supply Corporation

membership tens of thousands of dollars while increasing the efficiency and productivity of her team. She inspires those under her charge to strive for the same level of excellence and professional achievement she demonstrates.

One great achievement was transitioning their all paper-based records tracking system to a cloudbased digital documenting system, seamlessly archiving nearly 50 years of paper records in a digital format.

Another notable achievement was streamlining the management of more than $20 million in cash and assets and consolidating 24 different bank accounts from 24 different banks into a single bank with three accounts. This achieved the same level of cash asset protection required by the system's bylaws at a greatly reduced cost. These newly consolidated accounts also generated 250 percent more interest income for the corporation, directly benefitting the membership.

Cynthia created the conditions necessary to abolish "convenience fees" for members using electronic bill payment options, saving over 6,100 members an average of 3 percent per bill and recouping more than 50 man-hours per month.

Her exacting attention to detail has resulted in five consecutive years of flawless financial, general liability and worker’s compensation audits conducted by third parties.

From left: TRWA Board President Chris Boyd, award winner Cynthia Raleigh, TRWA Vice-President Bruce Alexander, and TRWA Executive Director Lara Zent.

Cynthia has worked for SS WSC for nearly six years, and came to the system with more than 15 years of experience as a public works coordinator and project manager.

"She has absolutely revolutionized the business administration, governance, and human resources policies of the corporation," said her nominator and General Manager, Carlos Febus.

Her improvements not only brought the system “into the 21st Century, they also saved the 12

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Cynthia has hired and mentored seven full-time employees, ensuring they had the tools and training necessary to serve the membership. She updated all position descriptions under her purview to ensure that both management and employees shared the same expectations. She also implemented several employee engagement initiatives, such as a quarterly recognition program, monthly birthday taco breakfasts, weekly team meetings, and fitness incentives.

These are just a few of the reasons outlined in her nomination that made Cynthia Raleigh stand out in her category and deserving of the Excellence in Administration Award!

Excellence in Operations Jonathan Williams, Field Operator, Upper Jasper Water Authority Nominated by Waylon Balusek, Board President, Upper Jasper County Water Authority

Jonathan Williams accepts his plaque and cash prize from representatives of TRWA and the award sponsor, Master Meter.

Jonathan has been with Upper Jasper County Water Authority (UJCWA) for 14 years. He has a Class C water operator license and a customer service inspections license.

In his nomination, he is described as the employee who stepped up and stood out amidst all of the challenges that the year threw at the system.

In December 2020, the Coronavirus hit UJCWA. The Authority was shorthanded and the office was in a major bind. Jonathan, a field operator, stepped up to the plate and showed what it really means to be a team player.

"He was not obligated in any way to jump in and help the office staff. But he did it, and rescued the office more than once," wrote his Board President, Waylon Balusek, in his nomination.

On one occasion, the new accounts/billing clerk and the temporary on-call employee were out with COVID-19, while the receptionist/payments clerk was also out with her very ill husband. The office manager was trying to cover three desks and simply could not do everything, so Jonathan stepped up. He voluntarily worked the front desk, taking payments and answering the phones so the office manager could handle the New Accounts customers.

Numerous customers showed up to do name transfers and applications for new taps that day.

Jonathan had never worked the front desk before but he took numerous cash payments, answered phones, and dealt with customer questions that day and never complained. The cash drawer even balanced at the end of the day!

In December, Jonathan voluntarily handled the lock-offs, preventing income loss for the Authority. He also voluntarily handled the billing reports and printed the bills because the billing clerk was still quarantined with COVID-19. He worked in the field that morning and then came into the office to assist where needed.

He called the billing clerk at home and she walked him through every step. Jonathan ended up working twelve hours that day, and never complained.

In January, there was a major issue with the meter readings — they were not carrying over from the handheld device to the billing system. The billing clerk called their meter company for assistance and was told the readings were lost and the guys would have to reread the entire system. Jonathan tinkered with it until he found all of the readings, preventing the field crew from having to completely start over on a three-day process.

"This place would not have made it without his willingness to voluntarily step up where needed and assist the office these past few months. And he did it all expecting no recognition," said Balusek.

These are just a few examples of how Jonathan has made a huge difference at UJCWA. Congratulations to Jonathan on his well-deserved Excellence in Operations award! Thank you to Master Meter for also sponsoring this category.

Excellence in System Management Wendell Moore, Manager, Pink Hill Water Supply Corporation Nominated by Dacey Fouse, Administrator, Pink Hill Water Supply Corporation Wendell Moore has been the manager at Pink Hill Water Supply Corporation for over five years.

During his time as manager, "he has created the most healthy and rewarding work environment for his employees," said his nominator and employee, Dacey Fouse, Administrator of Pink Hill WSC. Wendell makes his employees feel like they are part of his family, while also maintaining professionalism. In his nomination, he is described as being an organized, determined and caring manager Continued on next page Quench — 2021 Issue 2 13

Mustang Valley WSC currently serves 810 members and is comprised of approximately 250 miles of distribution lines. Their Operations Manager holds a Class A water operator license, backflow prevention assembly tester license, and a customer service inspections licence. The system had a very successful and busy year implementing a variety of changes that improved both in-house and field operations. These changes included:

Wendell Moore accepts his plaque and cash prize from representatives of TRWA and the award sponsor, Master Meter.

who demonstrates extreme dedication to the system.

He is very quick to respond to all issues related to the system, both inside and outside of the office.

Not only does he have the love and admiration of his employees, but he also has the love and respect of his community, as well. He embodies the system's mission to deliver safe, clean, sparkling water all to their customers.

Congratulations to Wendell Moore for his Excellence in System Management Award! A special thank you to Master Meter for sponsoring this award.

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Bringing their accounting in-house, resulting in cost savings to their system and membership.

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Developing and adopting an employee handbook and enhancing their employee benefits by offering an IRA with 3 percent employer matching.

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Upgrading their IT support and enhancing infrastructure by moving to a client server with centralized network storage and backup.

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Utilizing a new bill payment platform, which enables the system to implement new and varied ways of accepting payments.

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Implementing a public outreach campaign to customers experiencing leaks on their side of the meter. Their customers can now also sign up for alerts from the system when there are scheduled or emergency main line repairs.

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Providing hose bib vacuum breakers to all members free of charge in order to prevent backsiphonage.

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Purchasing a Mini-X, trailer and third truck which allowed the system to bring 95 percent of their contract labor in-house, saving the corporation and members thousands of dollars per month and the time spent waiting for an outside contractor to mobilize to make repairs.

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Purchasing a drone to assist in finding leaks in areas where it is difficult to drive or walk.

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Making route adjustments and installing several booster antennas, improving the meter read time of the system, eliminating overtime for their field technician and reducing miles driven.

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Implementing a rate increase to meet the needs of their budget, preparing for system upgrades and the installation of a SCADA system.

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Hiring a new consulting engineering firm to update all system maps to confirm various pressure planes. They also record main line leaks which allows the system to pinpoint weak areas for possible line upgrades.

System Excellence Award Mustang Valley Water Supply Corporation Nominated by Amy Healy, Administrator, Mustang Valley Water Supply Corporation

Nominator Amy Healy, Administrator for Mustang Valley WSC, was present to accept the award on behalf of her system.

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Installing a variable frequency drive on one of their well sites, saving on electricity and pump wear. They also grounded the site to protect equipment from lightning strikes. They have scheduled these upgrades to their other sites in the future.

These are just a few of the improvements outlined in Mustang Valley’s nomination that makes them a deserving winner of the System Excellence award! A special thank you goes out to CoBank for sponsoring this award. ***

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

Congratulations to the 2021 Awards of Excellence recipients, and a big thank you to everyone who helped spread the word about this program. Without you, these programs would not be possible. Stay tuned — the nomination period for the 2022 awards will open in August!

Visit www.trwa.org/cobank or contact John DeLuca at 303-694-5958

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Keep It Legal

Q:

Answers to Members’ Questions by TRWA Assistant General Counsel Trent Hightower

We recently received a request for documents under the Public Information Act. In their request, the requester told us that we must produce the documents within 10 days. Is this accurate? If not, how long do we have to respond to a request under the Public Information Act? A: I think the requester is slightly confused, but if complying with the request would be simple and not take up much of your staff’s time, the answer is “probably.” The Texas Public Information Act does not contain a strict 10-day time frame for complying with every request because not all requests are created equally. Some ask for more information than others and some require more legwork to track down the responsive information. The general standard for timeliness is found in Section 552.221(a) of the Government Code, which requires that the responding entity produce the information for inspection or duplication “promptly,” which it defines as “as soon as possible under the circumstances, that is, within a reasonable time, without delay.”

With that in mind, the legislature doesn’t like the idea of Public Information Act requests languishing for indeterminate periods without any kind of response, so Section 552.221(d) requires the responding entity to notify the requester within 10 business days if it will need longer than that to make the information available. You count 10 business days from the day you receive the request and include the days your utility’s main office is open, so weekends or other days your office is regularly closed don’t count toward this deadline. This may be the case if the request was for a large volume of information, for information that is old and in storage, or if it will simply be difficult to locate among all your other documents and records.

Permanent or temporary staffing issues could also limit your ability to respond within 10 business days.

All of these are valid reasons why it may take you longer to make the information available — the key is that you must notify the requester of the situation within that initial 10-business day window and work 16

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diligently to produce the information “promptly” as required by the statute.

Q: We recently had to do an emergency repair on a main line, and in doing so we hit a telecommunications company’s fiber optic line, which was buried very close to our own.

We didn’t call 811 before digging due to the emergency nature of the repairs, but we realize we may be liable for the damage. That said, the fiber optic line seemed much too close to our existing water line — are there any rules relating to line spacing that could mitigate our liability for damages?

A: I spoke to an attorney about your question who represented several of our members on the other side of these disputes where a phone company’s excavations result in damage to a water utility’s line. Though your situation is different, we agreed that the same principles would apply. First, your options will likely depend on whether the lines in question were located within a state right of way or in a private easement. For lines located in a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) right of way, Texas Administrative Code Section 21.40 states that underground utility lines should be at least 12 inches apart from each other, both vertically and horizontally.

If these lines were within a private easement rather than a state right of way, you will want to look at your easement to see what it says. If your easement says it's "exclusive" and your line was there first, you have a good argument that you were under no obligation to call 811 because you had no reason to expect anyone else's line to be there. This could absolve you of responsibility altogether, but if the telecommunications company is threatening litigation to collect damages, you may need to retain an attorney to enforce your rights under your easement if this turns out to be the case. If your easement is silent as to exclusivity, the attorney I spoke to said he thought there is a good argument that it is implied.

Again, however, this would be an argument you

would need to make in court or in negotiations with the other party to bring down the damages you may owe.

Q: We have a customer that had an exposed meter before the big winter storm. Our field operator had told them they needed to get it covered before the storm hit, but they did not cover it and the meter cracked in the cold. Can we charge them for the cost of another meter and labor to replace it?

A: This is an interesting question, but ultimately, I don’t think you should charge the customer based on these facts unless your tariff or district service policy explicitly imposes on your customers or members a duty to winterize or otherwise maintain their meters.

The TRWA Sample Tariff and District Service Policy, which are used by many of our members, do not impose such a requirement in any of the sections outlining a customer’s responsibilities under their service agreement. In fact, they clearly state that water meters are the utility’s property, and that the utility’s responsibility for maintenance “shall end at the meter.”

a complaint with the PUCT, because the system was in a position to fix the problem before it started. It’s a different matter if the property owner prevented you from coming onto the property to properly maintain the meter by covering it. In that case, the customer committed an act that resulted in damage to your meter, and I think you would have a better case for assessing a fee. But based on your question, it does not seem like that is what happened here.

With all that in mind, I think you should look at this the same as you would look at any other situation where a meter simply malfunctioned due to the elements, normal wear and tear, or defect in design, and absorb the cost of replacement.

Q: We are a small water supply corporation.

Due to the costs associated with taking on new members, some in our membership want our system to stop accepting new applicants for service. Can we do that?

"Each time a new piece of property comes onto your system, the owner of that property should be paying an equity buy-in fee, which essentially brings that property up to speed with the money invested by other ratepayers in the system for many years."

Further, all references to damage to utility property contemplate an affirmative action by the customer that results in damage to a meter or other property — things like digging without asking for a line locate or tampering with a meter or meter lock.

With that in mind, consider your utility’s stance if the customer had somehow damaged their meter trying to winterize it. In that case, most utilities would likely view the customer’s actions, though well-intentioned, as a form of tampering with the utility’s property that resulted in damage. I think the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) would find it unfair to charge a customer for failing to maintain a meter, when most systems’ tariffs or district service policies clearly place that responsibility on the system.

Finally, based on your question it seems that your staff was aware that the meter was uncovered before the storm hit and presumably had access to cover it.

If anything, I think that knowledge would work against the utility if you charged this customer and they filed

A: The short and definitive answer here is “no,” and I think it would be a good idea for you to educate your membership on your system’s legal obligations. The state requires water supply corporations to obtain a “certificate of public convenience and necessity,” or CCN, which gives the corporation the exclusive right to serve all customers within a geographic area. The reason the state grants these monopolies is because water infrastructure is expensive, and it would be impossible for utilities to efficiently plan and develop that infrastructure if all providers were free to place lines and facilities wherever they want. In addition to making things difficult to plan and maintain, if we didn’t keep utilities contained within their own geographic bubbles, we would create unnecessary and expensive duplication of resources, which would drive up costs for everyone.

For example, if a customer wants service from one utility, and their neighbor wants service from a different utility, both utilities would need lines running right next to each other to serve their respective Continued on next page Quench — 2021 Issue 2 17

customers. This would be inefficient and would cost both utilities more money than if one system served them both. The monopoly granted by a CCN prevents this from happening, because each utility knows that they are the only provider that can serve customers within their area. With the privilege of an exclusive service area, however, comes a statutory requirement that the CCN holder serve every qualifying customer in their boundaries. This is an absolute duty imposed by Section 13.250 of the Water Code, and a CCN holder cannot dispense with it. Refusing to serve a qualified applicant would quickly result in costly actions at the PUCT, and possibly draw attention from a legislator in your area as a “bad actor” utility.

If cost is an issue for your members, it could be that your rates and fees are structured incorrectly. Each time a new customer comes onto your system, the owner of that property should be paying an equity buy-in fee, which essentially brings that property up to speed with the money invested by other ratepayers in the system for many years. These fees should be used to finance additional growth.

Likewise, your rates should be structured such that they pay for necessary upgrades and improvements necessary to serve new customers moving into the area. The TRWA Circuit Riders offer assistance in this area, and they can evaluate your rates and fees to see whether they line up with the growth needs of your system.

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Have You Tried TRWA's Water/ Wastewater Assessment and Planning Tool?

T

By Allison Kaminsky, Deputy Executive Director, TRWA

RWA is pleased to offer of our Water/ Wastewater Risk Assessment and Planning Tool (WRAPT) to our members free of charge!

We launched WRAPT shortly after the new year to help our member systems meet requirements set forth by the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA).

Among other provisions, the act requires community water systems serving a population of more than 3,300 to develop or update risk and resilience assessments (RRA) and emergency response plans (ERP) for their systems. This includes assessing the security of any electronic, computer or other automated systems the utility uses.

Affected utilities then must review their RRA and ERP at least once every five years to determine if it should be revised. Upon completion of review, the system must submit to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a certification that the documents have been reviewed and revised, if applicable.

TRWA's WRAPT is a cloud-based program that uses logic-based questions to help systems complete their RRA and ERP. The way you answer the questions prompts additional questions for you to consider when completing the tool. Members can plug in their PWS ID to prepopulate some fields to reduce data entry, and the information you input in some fields carries throughout the tool. Once all questions are completed, WRAPT generates the reports required by the EPA that can be saved as a PDF for the system’s records. The tool also includes certification documents and instructions on how to self-submit certification to the EPA. The due dates for these certifications are based on system size. Systems serving a population of 3,301-49,999 will need to complete their RRA and submit certification to the EPA by June 30, 2021.

Once you’ve certified completion of your RRA, you will have 6 months from that date to complete and certify your ERP. The final ERP compliance deadline for systems in this group is December 31, 2021.

Future certification deadlines will be five years after the initial certification.

Systems that serve 3,300 or less population are also recommended to complete an RRA and ERP as it is a good business practice to have these developed so that you are more resilient in emergency situations. In some instances, TCEQ requires them.

WRAPT is a free benefit for all TRWA utility members, and we will retain your account and securely store your information for as long as you maintain an active membership status. This will enable our users to review, revise and recertify their documents every five years to retain compliance quickly and easily.

To sign up for WRAPT, email wrapt@trwa.org and we will grant you access. Once you have signed up, if you have questions about how to answer any of the questions in the tool, please contact your Circuit Rider. We are also hosting monthly information sessions on the tool for new and exiting users where our staff are readily able to demo features and answer questions. For information on the next scheduled session, visit www.trwa.org/wrapt.

We are very excited to provide this new benefit to our members, and we hope this tool eases the compliance burden for affected systems. If you have questions about this article, you may email the author at Allison.Kaminsky@trwa.org or call 512-472-8591.

Quench — 2021 Issue 2 19

Water Conservation Programs for Systems

By Gilbert Ybarbo, Financial, Managerial, and Technical Assistance Specialist, Texas Rural Water Association

C

onservation is a subject that will come up at least once a year in any public water supply system, especially during the hot summer months. In Texas, we often hear about counties in severe drought and in desperate need of water. One scenario is that the water system may have pumped their wells out beyond capacity of the underground water source to be able to recharge itself back to static level after drawdown. In other circumstances, water sources such as lakes, water impoundments with river water rights, and/or contracted water allocations become strained due to the severe droughts, thus calling for reduced water source availability affecting the water supply to systems.

Water is a precious resource — it provides tourism, recreation, habitat for endangered species, and drinking water to an ever-increasing population.

It provides a means of good agriculture to our local farmers and treated and or reusable water for our industrial users for manufacturing and production of goods and supplies. With commercial, residential, agricultural, and industrial users all using the available potable and non-potable water sources in the area, it is our duty and obligation to become good water stewards. On the water utility side, that includes public outreach to our customers to educate them on ways they can help ensure this precious resource will be available in the future for generations to come. All systems should promote the importance that each of us strive to use water as efficiently as possible and become water wise providers and consumers. In other words, we must make water conservation and being water wise second nature.

We should be able to practice it without having to think about it — just like buttoning your shirt or putting on your shoes in the morning.

Some public water systems, such as municipalities, water supply corporations, districts, and others, offer a variety of water conservation programs to their communities to help accomplish 20

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these goals. Some programs include incentives, such as rebates, coupons, irrigation system checkups, indoor water surveys, irrigation system upgrade rebates, grass removal rebates, rainwater harvesting rebates, and soil saver rebates. Some systems even have public awareness and school education opportunities, including awards and recognition for our water-wise children. Along with this, water systems should have a good customer service policy, tariff, or ordinance in place to help ensure the water is being used as it should be and not wasted.

We have a duty for public education, information and awareness to our customers. Here are a few examples of water conservation programs you can implement at your system: Irrigation System Check-ups: For water wise irrigation systems, some municipalities and other large water supply systems offer check-ups for both residential and commercial water customers. In this case, the system sends trained personnel to evaluate the irrigation system to make sure it is operating as efficiently as possible. They also evaluate homes and businesses to identify leaks and water pressure abnormalities, and also check and adjust irrigation timer settings and sprinkler heads. Some systems may provide a report on their findings or a checklist for the customer to consider needed maintenance work.

Irrigation System Upgrade Rebates: Landscape irrigation can account for much of the water used in a typical home. Water systems can offer rebates for upgrades that improve the efficiency of their irrigation system and reduce water use, such as having a professional irrigation system check-up, adding pressure control where needed, installing multistream low volume heads, converting spray zones to drip irrigation, and removing some irrigation zones that are ineffective or where landscaping is being reformed into xeriscape by reducing or eliminating the need for irrigation.

Indoor Water Surveys: Some water systems will offer free indoor water surveys to customers that would like to save overall. These systems send trained staff to evaluate the participating home or business to make sure water is being used as efficiently as possible. They check the piping and fixtures for leaks, fixtures and appliances for water saving energy products, and conduct an overall evaluation on other indoor water uses such as washing machines, dishwashers, and water filtration systems. Again, some systems will provide a report or checklist with suggestions to consider for improved water conservation.

Grass Removal Incentives: Many commercial businesses, apartment complexes and some homeowners will take advantage of water conservation incentive programs, such as grass removal rebate programs. Whether commercial or residential, lawns use a lot of water and take a lot of time and effort to maintain for a brief aesthetic appeal. Removing lawn areas reduces water used for irrigation and can improve the beauty and functionality of a yard while reducing maintenance needs. Water systems can offer rebates for replacing grass with materials that require little or no water for irrigation, including xeriscape beds, gravel or stone hardscapes, pervious patios, and artificial turf grass. Details for rebate programs can be well planned and approved but require public information campaigns to get the word out to customers. Without promotion, your customers may not know these great programs exist and are easy to access for ideas and plans.

flushing toilets, washing clothes or even filling swimming pools. Incentive programs can provide rebates for purchase and installation of these type of structures.

Soil Saver Programs: Healthy soils and plants use less water and are better able to withstand temperature and moisture change, so systems should be promoting practices that support yard health. For example, one of the best ways to build healthy soil on existing lawn areas is to core and/ or aerate by thatching your lawn. Most professional landscapers will apply a top dress of compost and water using the water wise tips provided in this article, such as a good working irrigation controller with efficient settings. Mulch helps to build healthy soils around trees and in landscape bed areas by insulating soil and roots, reducing water losses from evaporation, and adding nutrients as it decomposes.

If customers want to water by hand, remind them of good watering practices, such as short watering time spans, being cognizant of time of day, weekly watering intervals and not over watering. All these methods can be found in any website built for horticulture care of plants and landscaping.

"Healthy soils and plants use less water and are able to better withstand temperature and moisture change, so systems should be promoting practices that support yard health."

Rainwater Harvesting Rebates: Rainwater harvesting not only conserves water, but it is also a great way to reduce storm water runoff, thus reducing point source pollution of our rivers and streams.

There are many designs for rainwater harvesting systems that can be utilized. A rainwater harvesting system can be as simple as a catch system, such as roof gutters or traps with a barrel and means to drain it, such as a ball valve or hose bib. It may also be more complex and consist of multiple holding tanks with gravity or pumping draw off and even a filtration system. Rainwater is typically used for landscape irrigation, but can also be used for washing cars,

Swimming Pool Rebates: Some systems will offer swimming pool incentive rebates, since old swimming pool filtering systems waste water, energy, and money. Replacing a swimming pool sand or D.E. filter with a high-efficiency cartridge filter system can reduce water consumption by thousands of gallons per year resulting in lower water and energy bills depending on the size and filtration system installed on the swimming pool.

Water Flow Sensor Incentives: Water flow sensor rebates for commercial and residential water flow devices record water use and identify potential leaks in the system. Incentive rebate programs for water flow sensors can be set up to benefit customer and system alike. Energy efficient toilets, washers, and dryers can all be incentives to consider in your water conservation and water wise program.

Continued on next page Quench — 2021 Issue 2 21

If your system is interested in implementing any of these types of programs, a good start is to look to your neighboring public water supply systems to see what kind of programs they have in place. You can look at their model for how awards, coupons and money rebates are set up, how the programs are written into their policies and/or ordinances, and how implementation should work. You will also be able to see how they get the word out to their customers, including examples of mailers, flyers, brochures and where they distribute them. If your system subscribes to TRWA’s consumer magazine, that is one great avenue to get the word out to your customers about any new programs you may have.

Engineering Architecture

All public water supply systems should be dedicated to increasing water awareness in both children and adults. So, form your committees and spearhead this amazing adventure that you will find provides one more link of personal contact to your customers, and builds some great friendships in your community. We’re all in this together!

If you have questions about this article, you may contact the author at gilbert.ybarbo@trwa.org or by calling 512-317-2003.

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Winter Storm Uri Makes Lasting Impact on Texas Water Utilities

By Allison Kaminsky, Deputy Executive Director, Texas Rural Water Association

I

n February, record-setting Winter Storm Uri brought snow, ice and piercing-cold temperatures to Texas, immobilizing the state’s power grid and triggering intermittent and sustained outages statewide. This unprecedented event hit water utilities hard, causing system instability or failure for many statewide. According to news reports, there were more than 4.5 million Texans who reported power outages across the state and more than 15 million were issued boil water notices at the peak of the storm. By the time the storm had ended, nearly 2,000 public water systems across Texas reported some level of disrupted operations.

Water utility personnel began working around the clock for what would be a week of crisis after crisis compounded by freezing temperatures, lack of power, unsafe road conditions, hindered communication, restricted access to supplies, exhausted personnel, and strained water supply.

It all started the afternoon of Sunday, February 14, for College Mound SUD, when they realized they had a problem with their transducer freezing as temperatures plummeted.

“We had our guys out working on [the transducer] and they had to basically rewire everything, so it was more insulated and completely out of the elements.

And that’s when the power went off for the first time,” said Shirley Thompson, General Manager of the system.

By Sunday evening, systems across the state were dealing with similar situations. Some systems were put on rolling blackouts while others lost power all together.

Unfortunately, while most systems had some form of backup power supply on hand, some generators were not able to start in the cold and others had mechanical issues. In some instances, portable generators worked, but the hazardous conditions made it dangerous and difficult to transport them to the locations that needed them. Before the sun rose on Monday, February 15, many systems’ backup 24

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Starting Sunday evening, water system personnel worked around the clock to face the challenges brought on by Winter Storm Uri.

power generators were already failing as the Texas power grid faced its worst crisis in decades. Even as workers battled to reset generators and keep the electricity on at their critical locations, other problems began to arise.

Because of the increased demand and disrupted supply chain, fuel for the generators quickly became scarce.

“A 250KW generator requires 200 gallons of diesel a day, larger generators even more. During this crisis, diesel supply became a serious issue for just maintaining Aqua WSC’s four generators,” said Dave McMurry, general manager of the system.

Even at systems with reserves on hand, fueling was becoming an issue when it became clear that the storm conditions were not letting up.

“Fuel was definitely an issue,” said Brian Macmanus, general manger of East Rio Hondo WSC.

“We have a stored fuel supply, but we came close to running out before the week was up. In the future, we plan to build up a better reserve supply.”

When it comes to fuel, Mustang SUD was prepared with two 600-gallon diesel tanks that were stocked up ahead of time. Their county emergency coordinator offered to supplement their supply if they ran out.

“It was a challenge, but we ended up having enough,” said Boyd. The system was also prepared with anti-gel to keep their fuel from gelling up in subfreezing temperatures. Others were not as prepared, and their diesel supply became unusable.

The freezing weather brought other issues — water treatment chemicals froze, gauges broke, cell towers and phone lines went down, and large supply lines from water sources began to freeze for the first time ever. It was a domino effect that kept system personnel working extended shifts, sleeping at their stations, and coming up with creative solutions to each problem that arose.

“My field manager used his southern ingenuity to make it work. He built onsite heat lamps from light bulbs and pieces of lamps from the office, then put a box around them to keep them out of the weather,” said Thompson at College Mound SUD. “Thinking outside of the box is so critical in a situation like this.”

Historic high demand was another significant factor that taxed many water systems. When the storm hit the Rio Grande Valley Sunday evening, the semi-tropical region was unprepared for the freezing temperatures and gusting wind. East Rio Hondo WSC’s customers started running their faucets to protect their unwinterized pipes from freezing — some running at full blast. This problem was compounded once line breaks started happening.

The result was a distribution flow more than double what they were prepared for. One of their water sources in Harlingen shut them and neighboring Military Highway WSC off because they had already exceeded their contract amount.

Up north in Aubrey, Texas, Mustang SUD was facing similar supply issues. Between dripping faucets, line breaks, and other use, the system was producing more water than even at their highest summer demand.

“A combination of intended and unintended use of water increased demand exponentially,” said Chris Boyd, general manager of the system.

Freezing temperatures caused a domino effect of issues that hindered or completely halted water system operations state-wide.

“Typically, we’ll see usage peaks in the morning and the evening, but the rest of the day it’s even; in this instance, the usage spiked and stayed up. Everything was constantly running, placing an incredible amount of demand on the system.”

The system had over 1,000 calls to shut off water at the meter because of line breaks. Livestock watering devices were breaking and not found until days later. The systems’ regional wholesale provider could not send enough water to keep up with the demand, causing the system to lose pressure to the high-density areas.

In Central Texas, Aqua WSC saw customer demand quickly deplete all their elevated storage and pipelines. Because the system was placed on rolling blackouts, and even with backup generators on hand, the pumps were unable to push enough water into their elevated storage to satisfy the demand.

“In a total system power failure, Aqua would require 20 or more generators just to maintain minimum operations and still many in the system would not have water,” said Dave McMurry, general manager of the system. “Historically, in the past Continued on next page Quench — 2021 Issue 2 25

12 years, Aqua has used a generator due to an emergency only five times. This is remarkable when you consider Aqua has weathered five declared national emergencies during that time.”

While systems struggled to restore service or keep their systems running, there was also the challenge of communicating with their communities, including information about outages, conservation tips, and boil water notices. Many turned to their websites and social media outlets to get information out to their customers fast.

“We blew up our social media,” said Thompson at College Mound SUD. “We posted pictures of how to check your meter, turn off your water, what you can look for to identify a leak — anything we could think of.”

Mustang SUD also relied heavily on social media, and even shot videos during the crisis to post to Facebook. Trophy Club MUD 1 used social media and also leaned on its relationship with the Town of Trophy Club to coordinate critical efforts through the town’s resident alert system, which sent texts, phone calls and emails to their nearly 6,000 subscribers.

Aqua WSC also used a combination of social media and their emergency alert system to keep customers up to speed. Systems quickly learned that most of their residents were relying on their posts to stay informed.

Leadership in the water industry see the crisis as coming down to an energy failure which caused the cascading problems at the water systems.

“Had it not been for the direct communication with our electrical provider, we would have been in the same boat as our neighboring systems,” said Thompson, who successfully was able to get College Mound SUD off rolling blackouts after two cycles. As a result, they did not lose service or have to issue a boil water notice to their customers during the storm.

Across the state, other systems were not so lucky.

Brian Macmanus at East Rio Hondo WSC called his regional emergency management coordinator to attempt to get their pump station back online. After his call, their local electric coop was able to get part of their system back online, but their main electric provider was harder to coordinate with.

“The energy company said they didn’t have any control over who they turned off. They didn’t seem to have any idea where the key facilities were,” said Macmanus.

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With only one station online, East Rio Hondo WSC had to shut off their customers to fill their tank and come up with a plan to bring the system back up in sections. They worked tirelessly to get everyone back online by Thursday evening.

At Aqua WSC, the rolling blackouts the system was experiencing was putting strain on their other systems as well, including their electronic control systems. With power only coming on between 1020 minutes at a time, there wasn’t enough time to complete system checks during those windows.

“The effect of the rolling blackouts on water systems was to essentially deny them of electricity for two and a half days because of the short duration of power,” said McMurry. He also pointed out that the starting and stopping of pumps can be highly damaging to the pumps and the water lines they feed.

“If the winter storms taught us anything, it’s that there needs to be better communication between the power providers and the water utilities, which should be listed as critical infrastructure to support,” said Lara Zent, Executive Director and General Counsel of Texas Rural Water Association.

Most of the state had their electricity restored by Friday, February 19, but water problems lingered for days after while systems continued to fight hard for recovery. With power restored, staff continued to work overtime to get water treated, tanks filled, and service restored. System personnel drove miles and miles of line looking for breaks and continued to spotcheck in the week following.

Following the disastrous emergency event, systems are looking inward and evaluating what changes they can make to ensure they are prepared for future extreme winter conditions.

In addition to having better communication with their power providers, intense winterization procedures, stockpiling fuel, purchasing non-cellular communication devices, and relocating critical system components indoors are just a few resiliency measures being discussed at water systems across the state.

Hopefully, a storm like Uri truly is a “once in a generation” event, as it has been described in the news. However, with a focus on resiliency and emergency preparedness, when it does happen again, our Texas water systems will be ready.

A Night Honoring Local Heroes: Front Line Service Worker Appreciation Banquet

By Charles W. Perkins, Energy Efficiency Circuit Rider, Texas Rural Water Association

O

ver the course of many years spent in the water and wastewater utility field, I have had the opportunity to train and instruct many operators and various staff who were new to the utility industry. During that time, I have made it a custom to mention to all of them something along the following lines: “Working in the utility industry is somewhat of a thankless job. Nobody really knows we’re there if everything’s working. Nobody’s going to pick up the phone and call you and say ‘I turned on my water tap and water came out and it flowed down the drain and everything’s great. You’re doing a good job.’ People generally only think of us when something’s wrong.”

Well, after attending an event in March in Cherokee County, Texas, I’m afraid I’m no longer going to be able to say that.

Labeled as “A Night Honoring Local Heroes, Front Line Service Worker Appreciation Banquet,” the event was a great big “Thank You” for the utility workers in the area for their work during the various storms that impacted Cherokee County in 2020 and 2021, which

Event organizer Cynthia Kline addresses the crowd.

faced challenges ranging from flooding to tornadoes to ice, snow, and blizzard-like conditions.

Event organizer Cynthia Kline said during her remarks that while struggling to care for her livestock during the harsh winter storm in February of 2021, she thought about all of those folks who were spending 14 to 16 hours working outside in the bitter cold, sleeping in their work trucks and offices, experiencing extreme discomfort and risking possible injury, and doing everything possible to keep the lights on and the water flowing.

“Coming from a family of law enforcement, I began to think about those workers who don’t really get the attention that they deserve during these types of events,” Kline said. “So, I gathered together a group of friends and we began to plan this dinner as a way to say thank you.”

With over 10 different sponsors from the local community contributing to the event, Kline said during her remarks that once she opened the door to the idea of supporting local front line utility workers, the sponsors were eager to contribute in whatever way possible.

Front line utility workers gathered in Cherokee County for a Community Appreciation Banquet in March.

County Judge Chris Davis spoke at the event.

With tongue firmly in cheek he told the audience “Living in a big city, people don’t know who their Quench — 2021 Issue 2 27

water people or electric linemen are. Here everyone knows everyone and it’s so much better to know who you’re yelling at during an emergency.” He also went on to thank the utility workers in attendance who he said are “the best people to have around during an emergency. We just have the best people.”

It was really something to be able to see this community show their appreciation for the utility workers who far too often don’t get any recognition for their efforts during trying times such as storms or natural disasters. As I stated earlier, during my 30 plus years in this field of endeavor this was a unique experience. Working in the utility field, one doesn’t expect to receive many kudos for doing one’s job.

Perhaps because of that it’s all the more special when someone does take the time and effort to say thank you.

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TRWA Briefs Make Plans to Attend TRWA's Summer Conferences

R

egistration is now open for TRWA's two summer conferences — the Office Professionals Conference in June and the Training and Technical Conference in July. Following our hybrid annual convention in March, TRWA is comfortable moving forward with both of these events in an in-person format.

The Office Professionals Conference will take place in San Antonio at the Mariott Plaza on June 3-4. Conference programming has been specially tailored to provide training in areas that will directly benefit water and wastewater utility office staff.

Topics were requested by prior attendees, so we are confident our sessions will bring you the relevant and timely information you need to get the job done.

This year's topics include a legislative update, as well as sessions on source water protection, employee development, easements and right-ofways, running an orderly board meeting, dealing with difficult customers, and more!

frequency drives, jar testing, lead and copper rule revisions, electrical safety, sampling techniques, and more! New this year, we will also hold two optional field trips to a surface water treatment plant and a wastewater treatment plant. Field trips have a limited capacity, and sign ups will be available onsite.

The Training and Technical Conference will also feature an Exhibit Hall, complete with vendor showcases, demonstrations, a silent PAC auction, and a lunchtime game show with chances to win prizes. You will not want to miss this event!

The full agenda and hotel information can be viewed on our website at www.trwa.org under the "Conferences" tab.

Water and wastewater operator certification credit has been requested from TCEQ for the sessions at both conferences.

Questions about either conference can be directed to meetings@trwa.org or you can contact our Meeting and Events Planner, Lisa Gallo, at (512) 402-8790. We hope to see you there!

A complete agenda with session descriptions and hotel information can be found on our website at www.trwa.org under the "Conferences" tab.

TRWA Offers New Technical Services to Members

The following month, our Training and Technical Conference is set for July 14-15 at the Galveston Island Convention Center. Though this conference is designed to ensure utility operators are up to date on the latest technical issues, we also include sessions that are relevant to directors, managers and other staff, so there's something for everyone!

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Pre-conference courses include three operator trainings: Customer Service Inspections & CrossConnection Control, Water Utility Safety, and Water Utility Management. These trainings will be held at the neighboring Hilton Hotel beginning Monday, July 12. Operator training courses range from 16 hours to 20 hours each, and sessions each require separate registration fees.

The conference begins on Wednesday, July 14, and offers a wide range of courses. Topics include the use of drones in the water industry, variable

id you know that TRWA now offers a variety of new technical services to members? TRWA is always evaluating the needs of our members and finding ways to support those needs. The newest additions to our members services include: •

Water Loss and Leak Detection — TRWA offers leak detection assistance to its members by identifying water leaks and potential water loss.

Identifying where a system is losing water is done through various means such as locating areas of pressure loss, flow testing, valve isolation, and leak detection. Once an area of the water system has been narrowed down for potential water loss, our staff will use acoustic leak detection equipment to try and pinpoint the suspected source of the issue. This equipment is a compact, Continued on next page Quench — 2021 Issue 2 29

TRWA Briefs portable device that uses a very sensitive microphone and amplifier to listen for leak noises.

TRWA will work with your system to see how to best address your water loss issues and needs.

This service is free to TRWA members.

•

•

Meter Flow Testing and Verification — TRWA provides flow testing and meter accuracy verification using our DXN Transit Time flow meter. This tool has the capability to measure flow on pipe diameters ranging from 1/2” to 60” for both water and wastewater applications.

This service meets the requirement for many utilities that must comply with annual or triennial meter flow accuracy testing. TRWA can also use this tool in conjunction with our leak detection equipment to identify high or unusual water flows in areas of suspected water loss. This service is free to TRWA members.

GPS Coordinates/Distribution & Collection System Mapping — TRWA GIS and Mapping services are a fee-based service that is catered to your system’s needs. Whether a system wants an instruction on how to do it themselves or wants a completed turn key project ready to use, TRWA can customize our service to best suit your needs. We use sub-foot accuracy GPS hardware to pinpoint your system’s assets, paired with effective and efficient software that is easy for the utility to use and understand. The information collected is plotted to create a digital map of your system that is useful for managers and staff and serves as a great tool for maintaining an effective asset management plan. TRWA members receive reduced pricing on this service.

If you are interested in learning more about these services, contact our Membership and Outreach Manager Ross Brookbank at Ross.Brookbank@trwa. org or call (512) 829-0940.

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Quench — 2021 - Issue 2

Changes in TRWA Leadership

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hirley Thompson, General Manager of College Mound SUD, recently decided to step down as TRWA Director for District 12 after serving in that role for 3.5 years. Shirley previously served as Alternate Director. Paula Weber, General Manager of Ables Springs SUD, who was serving as Alternate Director for District 12, assumed the role of Director.

Johnny Rudisill, General Manager of Nevada SUD, decided to step down as TRWA Director for District 7 after serving 2 years. Johnny previously served as Alternate Director. The Board appointed Allen Knight, General Manager of North Collins SUD, as the new Director for District 7 until the next election, which will take place next March.

The Board also appointed T. Chad Wilson, Field Manager of College Mound SUD, as Alternate Director for District 12 until the next election. Thank you, Shirley and Johnny, for your service to TRWA! Join us in welcoming Paula, Allen and T. Chad to their new roles!

Advertiser Index

AIA Insurance Agency......................................... Page 15 Childress Engineers......................................................22 Chlorinators Incorproated...............................................9 CoBank...........................................................................15 Ferguson Waterworks...................................................23 Hayter Engineering.........................................................9 Hayes Engineering........................................................28 J.F. Fontaine & Associates...........................................25 MRB Group....................................................................22 NewGen Strategies & Solutions...................................25 Pittsburg Tank & Tower Maintenance Co., Inc............28 Russell Drilling Co., Inc................................................28 Texas Aquastore............................................................18 SAMCO........................................................................... 11 Smith Pump Co., Inc......................................................28 USABlueBook................................................ Back Cover

Plan Ahead

CONFERENCES:

June 3-4, 2021 Office Professionals Conference, San Antonio Marriott Plaza July 14, 2021 TRWA/USDA Engineering Conference, Galveston Island Convention Center July 14-15, 2021 Training and Technical Conference, Galveston Island Convention Center October 6-7, 2021 Fall Management and Districts Conferences, San Antonio Embassy Suites November 3-4, 2021 Fall Management Conference, Dallas/Allen Courtyard by Marriott

OPERATOR TRAINING COURSES:

Learn more about our upcoming classroom and online training options at www.trwa.org/training Water Credit Courses Basic Water Works Operations — Decatur, May 25-27 ♦ Virtual, June 8-10 ♦ Bells, June 15-17 ♦ Clarendon, June 29-July 1 Surface Water Production I — Virtual, May 11-13 Surface Water Production II — Virtual, June 15-17 Water Distribution — Gainesville, June 29-July 1

Water & Wastewater Credit Courses Customer Service Inspections — Gainesville, June 2-3 ♦ Virtual, July 7-8 Pump and Motor Maintenance — Gainesville, August 17-19 Utility Management — Virtual, June 22-24 ♦ Decatur, July 20-21 Valve & Hydrant Maintenance — Portland, May 18-20

Wastewater Credit Courses Basic Wastewater — Clarendon College, May 25-27 ♦ Decatur, June 22-24 Wastewater Collections — Clarendon, June 8-10 Wastewater Treatment — Clarendon, July 27-29

PUBLIC FUNDS INVESTMENT ACT TRAINING: • • •

Virtual — May 26 Virtual — August 17 Virtual — October 20

Quench — 2021 Issue 2 31

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

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