C Factor—Kenneth Enlow

C FACTOR 2021: The FWPCOA Year in Review

Kenneth Enlow

President, FWPCOA

Greetings everyone. I hope you all are doing well. It’s December—I can’t believe another year has passed. This has been another one of those years that has challenged us in the same way as 2020 did, dealing with COVID–19, and also the Delta variant. That being said, once again we have demonstrated our resilience and have experienced a successful year.

In this C Factor I would like cover some of the highlights of the year for FWPCOA and discuss some of the upcoming challenges moving forward as utility professionals.

The Year in FWPCOA Training: Short Schools

The FWPCOA held two successful state short schools in 2021. The spring short school was held March 15-19 at the Indian River State College in Ft. Pierce with 225 students, and the summer short school was held August 9-13 at the Indian River State College with 250 students attending. The students spent the week studying and preparing for their certification exams.

Besides the state short schools, many of the 13 FWPCOA regions also held their own short schools or training. The FWPCOA Online institute had another successful year providing a verity of noncontact online training throughout the year as well.

Florida Water Resources Conference Board Members From FWPCOA

The FWPCOA members of the Florida Water Resources Conference (FWRC) board for 2021 are: S Ken Enlow S Patrick Murphy S Rim Bishop S Al Monteleone S Athena Tipaldos S Mike Darrow S Glen Whitcomb

The FWPCOA members who are trustees of FWRC for 2021 are: S Ken Enlow S Patrick Murphy S Athena Tipaldos

The FWPCOA worked with FSAWWA and FWEA to re-establish the structure of FWRC following the resignation of President Scott Kelley and Executive Director Holly Hanson.

Tim Madhanagopal was elected the new president of FWRC. Tim has had over 18 years of experience as vice president of technical programs for the conference. Michelle (Mish) Clark was hired as the executive manager of FWRC to replace Holly. Mish has an extensive background organizing events and owns her own company.

The FWRC is scheduled to be held April 24-27, 2022, at the Volusia County Ocean Center in Daytona Beach. I’m looking forward to seeing all of you there, and don’t forget to visit FWPCOA at booth number 405 in the exhibit hall.

FWPCOA Training Manual Development and Publication

As an organization of utility professionals, FWPCOA wants to provide training manuals that are specific to Florida and incorporate the latest methods, rules, and regulations related to our industry. To this goal we have completed the following manuals: S Backflow Prevention Repair S Backflow Prevention Tester S Customer Relations S Stormwater Management C and B S Wastewater Collection C and B S Utility Maintenance Level III

The following manuals are in production now and are to be released in the near future: S Utility Maintenance II (in final review) S Reclaimed Water Field Site Inspector S Water Distribution S Supervision

I want to thank Darin Bishop and Tom King for their efforts working with ProEdit in the production of the training manuals, and a special thanks to all of the FWPCOA professionals who have dedicated many hours of work providing material, graphics, slide presentations, test questions, and manual reviews, making this very important project a success now and in the future.

Planning for the Future: Operators for the Industry

The FWPCOA Short School Committee and training office are planning a spring short school at Indian River State College, which is expected to be held March 14-18, 2022. Training staff will be meeting with the Indian River State Collage staff in the near future to finalize dates and other details.

We continue to see the future as being bright. We have learned much through the challenges we have faced through 2021. Our resilience has prevailed once again, making us better as an organization for the future.

Regulatory Updates and Revisions

On the regulatory front there are several rules to note.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is still developing protocols by which direct or indirect potable reuse systems might be approved. Rule development is underway for a number of Florida Administrative Code sections, including 62-640 (biosolids), which will effectively end land application of Class B solids, and 62-604 (wastewater collection systems), which will require annual reports, no sanitary sewer overflows, and certain certifications for all lift stations.

The HB 53 requires 20-year financial plans for all wastewater and stormwater management systems, and SB 64 requires that wastewater utilities with surface water discharges submit a plan for their elimination by Nov. 1, 2021, and to fully implement that plan by 2032. Hopefully you submitted your plan on time.

The Lead and Copper Rule Revision new effective date is Dec. 16, 2021, and the full compliance date for the rule is Oct. 16, 2024. There are several changes that take into account the greater number of people at risk, including children in school.

You can use the following link to see all the information on the LCRR: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-anddrinking-water/revised-lead-and-copperrule.

The Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) 5 final rule publication will be December 2021. Focus is on the sampling of assorted 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) unregulated containments, plus a lithium chemical that could have potential health risks. Monitoring begins in 2022 through 2026 and proposed sampling is 2023 to 2025.

You can use the following link to see all the information on the UCMR 5: https://www.epa.gov/dwucmr/fifthunregulated-contaminant-monitoring-rule.

New FWPCOA Officers for 2022

The election of new officers for 2022 was held at the Oct. 24, 2021, board of directors meeting at Seacoast Utility Authority’s new administration building in Palm Beach Gardens.

The new officers for 2022 are: S Patrick (Murf) Murphy – President S Athena Tipaldos – Vice President S Rim Bishop – Secretary-Treasurer S Kevin Shropshire – Secretary-Treasurer

Elect

Happy Holidays!

I personally hope that each of you has a very happy and joyous holiday season.

That’s all I have for this C Factor. Everyone take care and, as usual, keep up the good work! S

FWPCOA Training Update

The training office is in need of proctors for online courses in all regions. If you are available to be a proctor, please contact the training office at 321-383-9690.

In the meantime, and as always, our Online Institute is up and running. You can access our online training by going to the FWPCOA website at www.fwpcoa.org and selecting the “Online Institute” button at the upper right-hand area of the home page to open the login page. You then scroll down to the bottom of this screen and click on “View Catalog” to open the catalog of the many training programs offered. Select your preferred training program and register online to take the course.

For more information, contact the Online Institute program manager at OnlineTraining@fwpcoa.org or the FWPCOA training office at attraining@ fwpcoa.org.