In Pennsylvania, many communities are charging, or considering charging, property owners fees to address storm water management.  State-wide, communities must reduce storm water runoff that is depositing sediment in local water sources as outlined by the state Department of Environmental Protection.  Latrobe is the latest area municipality to consider charging property owners to help meet its required annual reduction of 10 percent, or a minimum of 114,700 pounds of sediment, over five years. Michael Gray, Latrobe’s interim city manager, has said that the estimated cost of the fee plan is $2 million.  Half of the funds would come from the […]

California has a myriad of water issues.  The fact that nearly 1 million residents of the state have water coming into their homes with some form of contamination is, as Governor Gavin Newson said, “a moral disgrace and a medical emergency.”[1]  To address these issues that affect primarily low-income and rural districts, the democratic governor has proposed a fee that would charge between 95 cents and $10 each month to address water contamination, water system maintenance and domestic well testing.  The amount to be charged would be determined by the size of the water meter, and low-income households would be […]

In San Francisco City and County joined six irrigation districts in a lawsuit against the state of California concerning the State Water Resources Control Board’s updated Bay-Delta Plan.  The plan’s objective is to fortify the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta which is a primary source of water for the state and according to the Water Education Foundation, is California’s “most crucial water and ecological resource.”[1] Over the years, the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta has experienced deteriorating water quality and wild-life habitat conditions.  The Bay-Delta plan was approved by the Control Board in December and since then those affected districts have attempted […]

In December, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam released the findings of the TN H20 Plan, which outlines a blueprint for the state to address its dual issues of protecting future water supplies and upgrading wastewater systems.  According to the report, the state will need $15.6 billion to address these issues. In a statement to the Nashville Tennessean, Bob Freudenthal, executive director of the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts, stated, “Our infrastructure has been lagging in upkeep, maintenance and growth.”[1]  He explained that pipes and pumps associated with wastewater systems have a life expectancy of 30 – 40 years and many throughout […]

On Friday, November 30th, at 8:29 a.m., Anchorage, Alaska was struck with a magnitude 7.0 earthquake.  The quake occurred just prior to the release of a three-year study by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) that states that if hit with a magnitude 7 earthquake or greater, Seattle and suburbs such as Bothell, Woodinville, Kirkland, Redmond, and Bellevue would lose all water pressure within 24 hours and “would need at least two months to entirely restore water service.”[1]  On average, SPU’s pipes are 70 years old, and the impact of an earthquake would be substantial to the major transmission pipelines that transport […]