New England Water Wayfinder – Issue 1, 2024

BOARD CHAIR

Chi Ho Sham

Independent Consultant, Past AWWA President

VICE CHAIR

Seth Garrison

Manager, Portland Water District

SECRETARY-TREASURER

Ryan Shea

Deputy Director – Construction

Boston Water & Sewer Commission

AWWA DIRECTOR

Craig Douglas

Manager

Brunswick & Topsham Water District

TRUSTEE

Joe Goodwill

Professor, University of Rhode Island; Scholar-in-Residence, Aclarity

TRUSTEE

Peter Salvatore

TRUSTEE

Chris Woodcock President, Woodcock & Associates, Inc

INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Alane E. Boyd, P.E.

SECTION STAFF

Cody Finan

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

Chris Woodcock President, Woodcock & Associates, Inc

Sarah Trejo

Water Quality Compliance Coordinator, Aquarion Water Company

MESSAGE FROM THE SECTION CHAIR

Re-imagine the New England Section of AWWA

Chi Ho Sham, Ph.D. (he/him) | AWWA Past President and Independent Consultant

In April of 2023, I came across a column written by Glenn Gamboa for the Associated Press (AP) on, Helping out: How American volunteerism is changing and why (Gamboa, G. in AP, April 20, 2023). This short article has most certainly confirmed some of the things I know about volunteerism in the United States and at the same time offered something new on this subject matter. I have taken some of the relevant information from Gamboa’s article for this month’s column.

First of all, there is an exceptionally long history of volunteerism in the United States. Even before the founding of the nation, Benjamin Franklin, a native son of New England, organized the first unpaid fire company in Philadelphia in 1736. Since then, volunteering has been a common practice in the United States.

In 1840, the French aristocrat and political scientist, Alexis de Tocqueville, commented in this book, Democracy in America that many Americans make great and real sacrifices to the public welfare. He explicitly stated that “[men] attend to the interests of the public, first by necessity, afterward by choice.”

The volunteering spirit had undoubtedly continued from those early dates of an emerging nation. Another native son of New England, John F. Kennedy, famously proclaimed in his 1961 inaugural speech for Americans “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country” and subsequently founded the Peace Corps.

As recently as 2018, the United Nations Volunteers Program found that Americans donated more of their time than any other nation in the world, even more than those countries with larger populations such as China and India. However, volunteerism has been declining in the United States in recent years. According to a US Census Bureau and AmeriCorps survey (americorps.gov/about/ our-impact/volunteering-civic-life), the volunteering rate has dropped about 7% between 2019 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. That survey found that an estimated 23.2% of Americans or more than 60.7 million people formally volunteered with organizations such as churches, schools, and food banks between September 2020 and 2021. In total, these volunteers served an estimated 4.1 billion hours with an economic value of $122.9 billion.

So, why I am talking about volunteerism in a newsletter of the New England Section of AWWA? As many of you know, there are over 5,000 volunteers at AWWA at the National and Section levels. These volunteers are the backbone of the Association in creating and transferring knowledge among our members and other interested parties. Without these volunteers who freely offer to take part in an organization to undertake various tasks such as the development of Standards, Manuals of Practice, Training Workshops, E-Learning Modules, Conferences, and Symposia, AWWA will not be the ‘go to’ organization for the world’s water professionals and at the same time able to keep these topnotch resources affordable. As members of AWWA, we all benefit from the expertise and insights of our volunteers and their willingness and generosity to share their knowledge and experience with the rest of us.

In the first issue of the New England Section Water Wayfinder in 2023, our AWWA Director, Craig Douglas has provided a good overview of volunteer opportunities at the Association level. Please take a few minutes to go over his column to get some insights into becoming a volunteer at the National level. As the New England Section continues to develop, there will be increasing opportunities for you to get involved as a volunteer at the Section level. In the first year of the Section, we have been able to set up committees on Bylaws, Nominations, Member Communication, Member Engagement, Students and Young Professionals, Competitions, Infrastructure, and Water Quality. If you are interested in finding out more about these committees and joining them, please contact us.

Now, what about the relationship between volunteerism and professional development? Professional development refers to the process of identifying goals and learning new skills to help you grow and succeed at work. Sadly, many people are not investing in their career development. About one-third of employees in general say they do nothing to upgrade or improve their current skill set. These people are not too worried about their future. This means by taking advantage of professional development opportunities such as continued education, networking, and participation in knowledge creation and exchange, an individual would be in a better position than many other people in the workforce – to achieve success and meet his/her professional goals.

Volunteering allows an individual to connect to his/her community, professionally or societally to improve his/her knowledge and skill sets and at the same time to make the world a better place. Volunteering is a two-way street because it can benefit you and those you represent as much as the cause you choose to help. Dedicating one’s time as a volunteer helps an individual make new friends, expand the network, and boost one’s social skills.

In 1999, I became a volunteer of the New England Section of AWWA. I engaged in the development and implementation of the source water protection provision in the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act amendments. I became a volunteer at the Section level to work with States and utilities on the implementation of source water assessments. From there, I was recruited to join the Source Water Protection Committee at the National level in 2002. Since then, I moved through the various volunteer units under the Technical & Educational Council (TEC) – from the Source Water Protection Committee to the Water Resource Sustainability Division to the Technical & Education Council – as members, vice-chairs, and chairs at the various levels. As the chair of the Technical & Education Council (2017 to 2020), I was a part of the Board of Directors of AWWA, which is a pre-requisite for running for the position of President of AWWA. I was honored to be asked to throw my name into the hat and was grateful to be elected by my peers as the 140th President of AWWA.

Storage and Recovery), and articles in the Journal AWWA and Opflow (Utility Management Standards, Circular Economy, and Wildfire Impacts).

Apart from my involvements at the various levels at TEC, I have also been able to support the Standard Council as the chair of the Source Water Protection Standard Committee (G300 Standard for Source Water Protection) and the Stormwater Utility Management Standard Committee (G560 Standard for Stormwater Management

As you can see, my professional journey is far from a straight line from point A to point B. Along the way, I have asked a lot of questions, learned and contemplated a lot, and collaborated with countless people. I do have to say that I am a lucky person because I have made an amazing number of friends in the water community.

I am humbled and grateful to have the opportunity to serve in a leadership capacity at AWWA to collaborate with our volunteers to advance the vision and mission of AWWA. I am a big believer in the core principles of AWWA. I was able to serve as chair and member of planning committees of conferences/symposia (Source Water Protection, Sustainable Water Management, Water Quality Technology, and Annual Conference & Exposition), authors of Manuals of Practice (M50 Water Resources Planning, M63 Aquifer

Responsible Dechlorination

for Water Utilities). In addition, I was fortunate to serve as an at-large council member of the Standards Council for six years (2010 to 2016). I have learned a lot about the standard-setting process and am grateful that we have these standards to help us get our job done right.

In conclusion, I would say that there are a lot of opportunities for all our members to become volunteers at AWWA and take advantage of excellent professional growth potentials at both the Section and National levels. As a volunteer, you will be able to connect with National and local experts to work on a variety of water issues, improve your teaching and public speaking skills, gain an understanding of policies and technical issues, build a long-lasting relationship with other professionals, to gain recognitions among your peers, to work with mentors and coaches to gain technical and personal insights, to coordinate and collaborate with like-minded individuals, and to serve as an ambassador on behalf of the water profession to work and improve our communities.

Although I am easily classified as a part of the ‘silver tsunami,’ I continue to attend and participate in technical committees such as source water protection, climate change, water resource

“ALONG THE WAY, I HAVE ASKED A LOT OF QUESTIONS, LEARNED AND CONTEMPLATED A LOT, AND COLLABORATED WITH COUNTLESS PEOPLE.”

planning, and utility quality management to keep my knowledge up-to-date and to contribute with my experience and network. It does take a village to keep knowledge creation and exchange alive to make a better world through better water.

As you can see, there are many opportunities for you to become a volunteer at the Section and National levels. To serve our members in New England, we are constantly seeking creative and knowledgeable volunteers who are willing to share their accomplishments. We are looking forward to hearing from you for becoming a volunteer to share your expertise, expand your horizons, learn from one another, think critically, and lead us into a better future. Thank you for being a member of AWWA – to make a better world through better water.

Reflection

MESSAGE FROM THE AWWA DIRECTOR Recap of AWWA Winter Board Meeting

Craig Douglas, New England Section Director

The AWWA Board of Directors meets twice annually. Once at the Annual Conference & Expo (ACE). This year the Board meeting will be at ACE24 in Anaheim, CA. ACE 24 itself will be June 10-13, 2024, but the Executive Committee and the Board will meet over three days June 8-10.

The other annual meeting of the Board is called the Winter Board meeting. It is held in January and is typically not in the snow belt for obvious reasons. This is also a three-day meeting with a day for the Executive Committee meeting, a day for a Board Special Session, and a day for the Board Business meeting. This year it was in Sedona, AZ.

The Winter Board meeting is when the Board selects which Board members will serve as Vice Presidents of the Association and Executive Committee; there are always six at any given time. We also elect a President-Elect and Directors at Large, from the larger membership. This year also featured the election of the Treasurer. This year’s winners were:

President-Elect: Heather Collins the Assistant Chief of Operations for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Treasurer: Reid Campbell the Director of Engineering & Technology Services in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Vice President: Ken Kawahara the President at Akinaka & Associates in Honolulu.

Vice President: Rebecca Venot, Senior Civil Engineer at CRW Engineering Group in Anchorage, Alaska.

Vice President: Carol Walczyk, Vice President, at Veolia North America in Paramus, New Jersey.

Director at Large: Andrea Odegard-Begay a Senior Associate at Hazen and Sawyer, Goodyear, Arizona. In addition to elections the Board during its special session reviewed and commented in smaller breakout groups on the 2030 strategic plan, which builds off of the 2025 strategic plan and ideas that came forth in the Water 2050 initiative. The Board during its special session also workshopped in small groups the Water 2050 initiative as the Board seeks to guide the Association forward to meet the ever-changing needs of the profession and societal expectations around water.

No Board meeting would be complete without a government affairs update and there was plenty to go around. Three of the heaviest discussed topics were the Lead and Copper Rule improvements, cybersecurity, and the status of PFAS. The focus of this year’s fly-in will likely lean a bit on cyber security as the Association makes a push to get a meaningful architecture in place that will provide the security and oversight that the sector needs. Initial discussions have been focused on a model used in the electric supply sector.

2023 saw the Association rebound from the pandemic, with a healthy surplus to replenish the rainy-day funds. While the Association still relies more than it wishes on membership revenues, the end-of-year surplus is a good thing and attendance at ACE and other events is working its way back to pre-pandemic numbers.

AWWA Board Selects Heather Collins as the Next President-Elect

Heather Collins, a 32-year member of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Assistant Chief of Operations with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in Los Angeles, is AWWA’s next President-elect.

“I was excited,” she said of hearing her name announced during the January 13 AWWA Board election. “It’s something I’ve been envisioning for myself and my goals. It was just an honor to hear my name and have the opportunity to be in this volunteer leadership position.”

Collins’ term as President-elect begins this June after AWWA’s Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE24). Her term as President begins in June 2025 following that of current President-elect Cheryl Porter, who is Chief Operating Officer of water and field services at Great Lakes Water Authority in Detroit. Porter’s term as President begins following ACE24 in Anaheim, California, when she’ll be handed the gavel by current AWWA President Pat Kerr.

Collins currently sits on AWWA’s Board of Directors and is a member of the Water Utility Council. She previously served as an AWWA Vice President and a member of the Technical and Educational Council. She has been an active member of the California/Nevada Section since joining in 1992.

She holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from Loyola Marymount University and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona.

In addition to advancing Association initiatives like Water 2050 and the 2030 Strategic Plan, Collins plans to focus her efforts on strengthening public trust, connecting with untapped stakeholders within and outside the water sector, and helping younger professionals realize how diverse and fulfilling a water sector career can be.

“I really want to focus on building that public trust,” Collins said. “I think there’s greater space in the collective to have a unified or uniform voice together to raise this. It’s a really interesting time with water in the media and in the public. Everyone is starting to pay more attention to water and think about water in so many ways.”

MESSAG E FROM THE EDITOR

Celebrating Women’s History Month and the 50th Anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act

Chris Woodcock

As we stand at the crossroads of environmental challenges and historic milestones, this Women’s History Month invites us to reflect on the pivotal role women have played in shaping a sustainable future. While commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), this month’s Water Wayfinder acknowledges the interconnectedness of our ongoing efforts in climate adaptation and the relentless efforts of women leaders.

The SDWA, signed into law in December 1974, was a watershed moment in ensuring access to safe drinking water for all Americans. As we celebrate its 50th anniversary, we recognize the trailblazing women who contributed to its success. Women engineers, scientists, policymakers, and activists have played pivotal roles in crafting and implementing regulations that safeguard our most vital resource.

The journey towards a cleaner, safer environment is marked by significant strides, and women have been at the forefront of this transformation. From advocating for clean water access to pioneering innovations in renewable energy, women have left an indelible mark on the environmental landscape.

We are reminded of all the women who have contributed so much to our safe drinking water. Historically we can recall Ellen H. Swallow Richards, perhaps best known for pioneering the field of sanitary engineering having performed an unprecedented survey in 1890 that led to the first State water-quality standards in the Nation, and Alice Hamilton whose pioneering work involved the study of industrial toxins in our water like lead.

More recently and more locally, we can look to the work of New England’s own Nancy Barnes (see her article in this month’s Water Wayfinder) who was deeply involved in the creation of the Bristol County (RI) Water Authority and was its first Executive Director before leading the Cambridge (MA) Water Department.

New England is so fortunate to have so many women who are rising stars such as Ji Im, a consultant who “will be doing all I can to tackle the most pressing water challenges, so we can have a future where the communities we serve are protected from climate change, emerging contaminants, aging infrastructure, environmental justice issues, and more.” Also, last quarter we read about Aquarion Water’s

Sarah Trejo’s participation in training and development programs offered by Transformative Water Leadership Academy Experience.

However, the challenges persist and have evolved, demanding a renewed focus on climate adaptation and carbon reduction. Women continue to be instrumental in forging innovative solutions to mitigate the impact of climate change. Whether through community-led initiatives, ground-breaking research, or advocacy for sustainable policies, women are shaping a resilient future.

In commemorating the anniversary of the SDWA, let us not only applaud the achievements of the past but also recognize the urgency of addressing contemporary environmental issues. The intersection of safe drinking water, climate adaptation, and carbon reduction requires an inclusive and diverse approach.

Women’s History Month serves as a poignant reminder that progress is a collective effort, and diverse perspectives are essential for crafting effective solutions. As we celebrate the contributions of women in environmental stewardship, let us recommit ourselves to a future where clean water, climate resilience, and carbon reduction are not just goals but everyday realities for every individual, irrespective of gender.

In the spirit of Women’s History Month, let us honor the past, celebrate the present, and pave the way for a sustainable and equitable future – one where the legacy of the SDWA continues to inspire generations to come.

WFROM THE VOICE OF WATER IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Regulatory Update: AWWA is Working Hard to Make Sure our Member Voices are Heard

Nate Norris, AWWA Senior Specialist – Legislative Affairs

ith a bruising campaign season looming, the Biden Administration is moving quickly to act on key priorities and Congress is navigating paper-thin majorities in both the House and Senate. Needless to say, AWWA staff and volunteers are working hard to ensure that our members’ voices are heard in both the regulatory and legislative processes. The first half of this year is going to be especially busy on the regulatory front.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving forward with a series of regulations that will affect every water system in the country. EPA expects to finalize the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) before compliance with the previous Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) begins in October 2024.

While the LCRI makes numerous changes to the LCRR, a few deadlines from the previous rule remain, including the completion of lead service line inventories by October 16, 2024. Major changes in the LCRI include a requirement that all lead service lines be replaced within 10 years and utilities complete full lead service line replacement if the system has ‘access’ to the customer’s side, a lower action level at 10 µg/L, and revised monitoring protocols, among others.

EPA is also hoping to finalize two major regulations pertaining to PFAS by Spring of this year.

The first, a National Primary Drinking Water Standard, would set a maximum contaminant level of 4 ppt for two PFAS compounds –Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) – and use a novel Hazard Index approach for four more – Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS), and Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA).

The second, a hazardous substance designation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) would give EPA authority to hold potentially responsible parties financially liable for the cleanup of sites contaminated with PFOA and PFOS.

AWWA has submitted comments in response to each of these proposed regulations, and we continue to meet with agency and congressional staff to discuss the potential impacts on water systems. However, we are also proactively advocating for several

legislative proposals this year that would address some of the impacts of these rules and better position water systems to meet other upcoming challenges.

On PFAS, AWWA is requesting that Congress provide statutory liability protections for water systems under CERCLA for PFAS contamination. We are concerned that without these protections, water systems may face financial liability in the years ahead due to the disposal of PFAS treatment residuals. While EPA has indicated that they will use ‘enforcement discretion’ to target polluters, this policy does not protect water systems from legal action by third parties who may seek to offset their own liability by shifting the burden onto water systems and their ratepayers.

AWWA is also pushing Congress to provide full funding for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs) at $3 billion each. Despite an increase in the authorization level for these programs, Congress has not increased actual funding levels for the SRF capitalization grants since Fiscal Year 2017. Congress has also begun dipping into the SRFs to pay for ‘congressionally directed spending,’ or earmarks, which has reduced the availability of SRF funds for more than half of States. While funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) has provided a temporary reprieve, the SRFs may face unprecedented cuts when those funds expire in Fiscal Year 2026, unless Congress changes course.

We are also supporting a collaborative cybersecurity proposal that would create an independent, non-federal entity to lead the development of minimum cybersecurity standards with oversight and enforcement by EPA. This proposal, based on a model successfully implemented in the electric sector, would leverage the expertise of the water sector and incorporate a tiered, risk- and performance-based approach that takes into account the diversity of systems.

Finally, AWWA is asking Congress to authorize a permanent lowincome water customer assistance program to address a growing affordability crisis. The Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) expired last year and has not been reauthorized or funded. We have joined with other national water associations to make the case for adding LIHWAP or a similar program to the federal safety net alongside energy, food, and housing.

We Make Water Policy A Priority Together We Protect Public Health

Through AWWA members’ collective knowledge, our Government Affairs office informs decision makers on legislative and regulatory issues. We support effective measures that protect public health by advocating for sensible laws, regulations, programs and policies.

Join AWWA today and benefit from our advocacy for your future. awwa.org

DENVER • WASHINGTON, DC • INDIA

Projection

SDWA’s 50th Anniversary Marked with Busy Agenda

Chris Moody

Over the past five years, EPA has maintained an aggressive regulatory agenda for drinking water under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), passed by Congress in 1974, and other statutes.

This year, EPA is set to celebrate SDWA’s 50th anniversary and finalize rules addressing per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as well as revise drinking water regulations for lead and Consumer Confidence Reports. Also, EPA and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are expected to continue to work toward strengthening cybersecurity in water system infrastructure.

PFAS Liability

In 2019, EPA published its PFAS Action Plan, laying out an agency strategy for addressing PFAS concerns through a holistic and multimedia approach. In early 2024, EPA is expected to finalize the first major regulatory requirement for PFAS by setting three drinking water standards for six PFAS. The proposed standards include a 4-ppt maximum contaminant level (MCL) for both perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as well as a group MCL for four other PFAS using a hazard index.

AWWA estimates that the rule will require an investment of more than $50 billion for thousands of water systems across the United States or even more based on the results of ongoing national monitoring requirements. EPA is also expected to finalize designations of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous

substances under the Superfund program, which will create cleanup liabilities for water systems disposing of waste streams with PFAS.

Revised Lead Regulations

EPA took a major step in 2021 with the publication of the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), which required water systems to create and maintain a lead service line inventory, established a trigger level of 10 ppb, promoted stricter corrosion control treatment and monitoring requirements, and set up lead service line replacement plans that may be triggered based on a system’s lead level.

Following the LCRR, the Biden administration announced plans to reconsider the rule and in November 2023 proposed the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements. The proposed rule included reducing the action level to 10 ppb and eliminating the trigger level, requiring all service lines to be fully replaced within 10 years, and adding requirements for compliance and outreach. The proposal also clarified other requirements of the Lead and Copper Rule, such as the treatment of lead connectors in inventories, material verification requirements in inventories, and a new standard of “reasonable effort” for customer engagement. EPA intends to finalize the rule in 2024, but the changes are expected to create uncertainty in timelines and expectations for systems.

Consumer Confidence Reports

Another significant rulemaking expected to be finalized this year will be the revised

Consumer Confidence Reports. Revisions were proposed in 2023 and included changes intended to make the reports more readable and understandable, provide translation for customers with limited English proficiency, require reports to be issued twice a year, and modernize delivery with electronic options.

Among the proposed revisions is one that has been nicknamed the “Don’t Say Safe” provision, which prohibits water systems from making “misleading or false statements” about their water supplies, with EPA specifically providing the example of claiming that water is “safe.” As AWWA told EPA in 2023 comments, finalizing these revisions with this provision would undermine SDWA, risk effective customer communications, and lead to widespread distrust. EPA is expected to finalize the rule in early 2024.

Cybersecurity Improvements

EPA, CISA, and Congress remain interested in implementing provisions to enhance cybersecurity for water infrastructure. In 2023, the EPA issued a cyber rule, described as an interpretative memo highlighting that primacy agencies conducting sanitary surveys should consider cybersecurity.

This rule was issued without following appropriate regulatory procedures and risked creating more harm than good as a result of public communication activities that would effectively publish water system vulnerabilities.

Following a lawsuit against EPA brought forward by several states, with AWWA and National Rural Water Association as intervenors in the case, EPA withdrew the

rule, noting that adopting cybersecurity best practices at water systems is essential to providing safe and reliable drinking water. Although EPA hasn’t announced plans for further action, it’s anticipated that the agency is considering alternative options.

AWWA and other water associations have continued to call for efforts to strengthen the water sector’s cybersecurity to protect itself against bad actors, both domestic and international. The Association is continuing to work collaboratively with federal partners to find a smart path forward for all systems.

In addition to EPA, CISA is actively working to improve water infrastructure cybersecurity. CISA has worked with the water sector and other federal agencies to ensure that systems are protected and continue to improve protection against new threats. CISA has developed and

continues to offer free cyber vulnerability scanning that helps water utilities identify threats. Those who are interested in the vulnerability scanning service should send an email to vulnerability@cisa.dhs.gov with the subject line “Requested Vulnerability Scanning Services.” CISA is also working on proposing requirements for water systems to notify CISA of cyber incident response reporting.

Additional Federal Actions

Beyond 2024, there continues to be efforts within the agency to work toward additional drinking water standards and revisions to existing rules. This includes an effort to set a drinking water standard for perchlorate, following litigation over the agency’s decision to reverse its decision not to regulate perchlorate in 2019.

Additionally, EPA has been working for several years to consider revisions to the microbial and disinfection byproducts rules. The revisions may potentially require a numeric disinfectant residual limit, changes to monitoring for disinfection byproducts, changes to chlorination practices, enhanced precursor removal, and provisions for inspection and cleaning storage tanks.

AWWA Resources

AWWA offers utilities a wide range of support materials on these topics such as treatment and source water evaluation guidance for PFAS, AWWA standards and manuals for risk and resilience, and the cybersecurity guidance and use-case tool. For more information, search for these topics on AWWA’s webpage (www.awwa.org) as well as in the association’s journals and magazines (www.awwa.org/magazines).

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Connection

MNew England Region Collegian

Ryan Malaquias

y name is Ryan Malaquias. I am a senior majoring in civil engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). After high school, I knew that I wanted to be an engineer since it would allow me to make an impact on the world, but I wasn’t sure which type of engineering I wanted to do. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I took some classes in civil and environmental engineering and fell in love with the possibility of protecting perhaps the most fundamental resource on our planet, water.

During my time at WPI, I have been given amazing opportunities to travel the world and make an impact in my local community. Last Winter, I traveled to Washington, D.C., and completed a seven-week research project with a group of WPI students and the United States Coast Guard addressing the risks of transporting lithium-ion batteries at sea. I was fortunate enough to meet amazing people along the way who I am now lucky to call my closest friends. I am happy to have been supported by the staff at WPI who have allowed me to explore my academic interests beyond the classroom and take advantage of any opportunities available.

This past Summer, an internship at Tighe & Bond was a great opportunity to learn and gain experience in the water industry. I worked on many interesting projects involving water main replacements, combined sewer overflows, and lead service line inventories. I went into the office every day loving the work that I was doing. It was fulfilling being able to have projects that deliver clean drinking water by improving the local infrastructure of the community where I grew up. To me, these projects were more than a set of plans. They were promises to improve the quality of life of people living in my community. Nobody should have to worry about the quality of their drinking water. One of the important components for delivering clean drinking water is the service line used to transport water from the water main to the residence. Having been exposed to water main and service line installations in the field, I became interested in undertaking a lead service line research project offered during my senior year at WPI.

One of the most pressing topics in the water industry is the inventory and replacement of lead service lines. I was aware the health impacts of lead exposure could be detrimental, but I knew little about the inventory and replacement requirements associated with lead service lines. I began a research project with three other students

at WPI involving lead service lines, under the supervision of Professor Jeanine Dudle. We researched the health impacts of lead exposure, reviewed case studies involving lead service lines, and interviewed experts in the field to gain a better understanding of the challenge that lead service line inventories and replacements present. We even worked with a municipality in the New England area and utilized their service line inventory data to complete our very own case study to help create a lead service line replacement plan. By the end of this project, we hope to create a replacement plan that meets regulations and can be scaled to fit the needs of different communities. Even though there were challenges, I am honored to have been part of a project that could assist people in gaining access to clean water.

Through my experiences in the classroom and the water industry, I have realized how important it is to be continuously aware of how we treat the environment. People put trust in us to ensure that we have access to clean water. I hope that as an engineer in the water industry, I can aid in providing people with clean drinking water and help protect the world’s most vital resource.

I think it is important to make the most of every opportunity you can and enjoy the journey along the way. I am beyond excited to return to Tighe & Bond after graduation this Spring, but I’m also happy looking back on my time at WPI knowing that I took advantage of some incredible research opportunities that could help others. There are endless possibilities to make the world a better place. It all starts with one project. You never know where your next project might take you, so always make the most of it.

Hyde Park Resident Selected to Join EPA’s First-Ever National Environmental Youth Advisory Council

This marks the first time an EPA advisory Committee features exclusively youth aged 16-29, charged with advising the EPA on the impacts of climate change and environmental harms

In November, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the appointment of 16 members to the agency’s first-ever National Environmental Youth Advisory Council (NEYAC), including a Massachusetts student from Hyde Park. The newly established federal advisory Committee will provide independent policy advice and recommendations to Administrator Regan on how to increase the effectiveness of EPA’s efforts to address a range of environmental issues impacting youth. The council is the first ever at EPA to be exclusively occupied by young people, with all members between the ages of 16 and 29.

“Young people have been at the forefront of every movement for political and social change in American history, and the environmental movement is no different. Today we are cementing seats for young leaders at EPA’s table as we tackle the greatest environmental challenges of our time,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “President Biden is committed to ensuring everyone in this country has access to clean air, safe water, and healthy land, now and for generations to come. With the support of the spectacular young leaders selected today, we will deliver on his clear vision for a brighter and healthier future.”

“Having young people lead the charge on climate and environmental justice, and providing them with a voice, is incredibly important to creating sustained change and connecting with the needs of our communities” said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. “New England is excited to hear from, learn from, and collaborate with our new youth advisory council. Congratulations to all the selectees, especially Osasenaga Idahor from New England. With his expertise in environmental health and his understanding of the importance of communicating about these issues, he will be an excellent contributor to attaining the Nation’s and the Region’s environmental and justice goals.”

Osasenaga Idahor grew up in Hyde Park, Boston, a neighborhood predominantly home to immigrant people of

color, and witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of overlooked environmental health issues in his community. “I am honored to be selected to serve as one of the sixteen members of the first iteration of the NEYAC. I look forward to using this privileged platform to serve my community by representing the interests of science policy communicators focused on the correlation between environmental health and impacts from climate change,” said the NEYAC member, Osasenaga Idahor. Idahor uses his platform of environmental health research to inform public policy, writes records, and publishes his podcast, ‘The Climate Doctor (No MD)’, which specifically focuses on the relevance of our climate to our daily health by diving into climate change, climate concepts, and environmental justice issues.

EPA issued a request for nominations to the council in the Summer of 2023 and received over 1,000 applications. EPA selected new members from a pool of highly qualified candidates to represent a variety of interests, lived experiences, partisan affiliations, and geographic locations, and whose backgrounds include extensive experience with EPA priority issues including climate change, environmental justice, conservation, air quality, clean water, agriculture, food security, and workforce development. NEYAC members represent all 10 EPA regions, including urban, rural, and Tribal communities, and hail from 13 states and the District of Columbia.

“Young people understand the urgency of addressing climate change, as they will be the generation most directly affected by its devastating consequences,” said US Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT). “I am pleased that the EPA’s National Environmental Youth Advisory Council will give young people a voice to address this existential crisis. We must act aggressively to move away from fossil fuels and make sure the planet we leave for our kids and future generations is healthy and habitable.”

“While young people didn’t cause the climate crisis, they will be the most affected if we fail to act,” said US Senator Ed Markey (D-MA). “Solutions to climate injustice must be crafted and led by the voices of the future, particularly young people who have seen that injustice in their communities. That’s why I am beyond proud to see a constituent from Hyde Park, Massachusetts be named a Council Member of EPA’s inaugural National Environmental Youth Advisory Council. I can’t wait to see the great things to come from these 16 young leaders.”

SMember Spotlight: Ben Crawford

Day Job: Superintendent, Laconia Water Department, NH

AWWA Involvement

· Transformative Water Leadership Academy, 2024 Cohort

· NHWWA Instructor: Grade 2 Treatment and Grade 2 Distribution

even years ago, Ben Crawford joined the drinking water industry as a project manager with the Laconia Water Department and he hasn’t looked back. After the previous superintendent retired in 2020, Ben filled the role, which oversees the supply of drinking water to around 17,000 people in the Laconia, New Hampshire area.

Ben has had his fair share of memorable experiences since becoming superintendent. He took over a project to replace a storage tank and transmission line, which required isolating certain parts of the distribution system. One night at 10 p.m., an alternate line broke and Ben was out there with a shovel trying to find the gate valve to isolate the break. It taught him the importance of redundancy, and Laconia Water Department now has two lines with valves supplying the system.

Ben stays excited about drinking water through his involvement with the New Hampshire Water Works Association (NHWWA). Ben teaches two courses through NHWWA: Grade 2 Treatment and Grade 2 Distribution. Both classes are relatively new, so Ben has been

enjoying having conversations with operators and helping them find different ways to learn and prepare for the operator exams.

Ben is also taking part in the 2024 cohort of AWWA’s Transformative Water Leadership Academy (TWLA). He was initially drawn to TWLA because it’s geared specifically towards water professionals and mixes technical topics with professional development to create a well-rounded program. He’s looking forward to meeting new people and getting new perspectives on the challenges utilities face. Ultimately, he hopes to pass on the knowledge and skills he learns in TWLA to his colleagues at the Laconia Water Department and in the broader New Hampshire drinking water community.

Outside of work, Ben enjoys getting outside with his sons –fishing and kayaking are two of their favorite activities. He’s also been an avid hiker since childhood. He started completing the fortyeight mountains in New Hampshire with elevations over 4,000 feet when he was ten years old. So far, he’s finished thirty-eight of New Hampshire’s 4,000 footers.

ICan it be 43 Years Since I Ventured Into the Water Industry in New England?

Nancy Barnes

vividly remember the day that I walked into the Rhode Island Water Resources Board, as a consultant from a Big 8 firm, to work on a financing analysis for Big River Reservoir. Bill Falcone welcomed me to the office in Cranston with this quip: “Welcome to the water industry – you will never leave.” I had my doubts but I was so wrong, I never left.

That was 1980. It was not so easy for women back then –there were barriers to entry, mainly in terms of attitudes that were slow to change. I remember one meeting of men and women in the water industry in a Boston conference room that was intended to be a free exchange and discussion. One highly respected gentleman commented that if women did not want men commenting on their looks, they should dress differently. I could not help myself: “OK, then, you will all have to tell me if you are leg men or boob men so I can figure out what to wear when I have a meeting with you.”

Because of my experience on Big River, I was assigned to a new client – the Tri-town Water Commission representing Barrington, Bristol, and Warren, RI. The commission was looking into buying the local water company and building a pipeline to bring Providence water to Bristol County. We worked with them to plot a course to do that. Not long after that, I left the Big 8 firm to start my own consulting business and the voters of Bristol County voted to form the Bristol County Water Authority (BCWA).

During the summer of 1984, I met John Hess, the Chairman of the BCWA Board, in Pawtucket for lunch to interview to be a consultant to the Authority. I worked in that capacity until the time came that they needed an Executive Director. During a discussion in a board meeting, one of the older members asked: “Where will we find a man to take that job?” There was silence until another board member suggested that the best person for the job was sitting in the room. That is how I became the first Executive Director in 1986 as the Authority purchased the local water company and began the project to design and build the cross-bay pipeline.

What a great experience, it was 1986 and I was 35 years old. Once I got over the initial excitement, I realized that I had a lot of responsibility. My salary and red car were favorites for local media

criticism. Apparently, the guys in the water industry had a problem with my salary until a wise voice reminded them that they now had a basis for a salary increase. In three years, we succeeded in issuing the bonds, buying the local water company, establishing the Authority, and proceeding with the cross-bay pipeline which has made a lot of difference for the residents of Bristol County.

During that time, I was active in the Rhode Island Water Works Association and served as President from 1989-1990 (I hope that is correct). We took a lot of initiative to influence public policy regarding water issues, balancing out the environmental groups. It was during that time that my male colleagues in the water industry became more like brothers. It was also during that time that we started the bloody mary “pop-up” bars at annual meetings – at least until we were asked to leave by hotel security, which we calmly did. In other words – we worked hard and we played hard.

In 1989, I left the BCWA and worked as Director of Implementation at Providence Water Supply Board for 18 months to bring about improvements recommended by a blue-ribbon panel.

In 1990, I took the job as Managing Director of the Cambridge Water Department – a short two miles from my home in Belmont, MA. This was a big deal in some ways: most water departments had always been managed by engineers. Here I was as an MBA. It was an exciting time in Cambridge owing to the challenges it faced with an aging water treatment plant which was one of the first full conventional water treatment plants. During that time, a bunch of us put together the first tapping contest in New England. Another great group of guys to work with.

The City Manager of Cambridge asked me to represent the City on the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority Advisory Board which was quite the experience with Deer Island under construction and initiatives to conserve water and improve wastewater quality underway. At the time, there were a few other women in management positions in water utilities in New England –I can remember two of them. MWRA was a game changer in this regard – with many women in management positions, including the Deputy Executive Director.

I probably would have stayed at Cambridge for many years if Metcalf & Eddy hadn’t offered me a position as Manager of a United States Agency for International Development-funded project in Cairo, Egypt. The project’s goals were to improve the management of the water and wastewater utilities in three cities along the Suez Canal. It was hard to decide – weighing the opportunity and compensation against terrorists in the Middle East. A very good friend helped me decide by asking me to think about what it would be like if I turned the opportunity down.

Off to Cairo I went in early 1994 and started the best two and a half years of my life. Sometimes it was shocking (turning the corner from a modern highway to a scene from the Bible), funny (having a donkey cut me off in traffic), eye-opening (realizing how fortunate we are in this country compared to those who struggle every day). Oddly enough, I experienced very little pushback as a woman in the Arab world.

This experience led to 20 years of consulting projects in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. What a blessing to experience so many different places, customs, people, etc. One of my clients was the GIZ, the German foreign assistance agency. Based on the work we did with the Jerusalem Water Undertaking; we developed two books covering just about everything one needs to know to manage a water or wastewater utility. This is the achievement that makes me feel like I did something that will have lasting benefits

To me, the water industry is like a big family of like-minded people who want to do the right things for the communities they serve. Countless times, I called on colleagues for advice or help or the donation of a piece of huge cast iron pipe (thanks again Dino) – and no one ever said “no.” The associations also played a big part – from connections to others to educational opportunities to information before we had Google. At the state, regional, and national levels, the associations played such a strong role in supporting all of us.

When I got my MBA, I could have taken any number of paths, but I took the one that flowed into the water industry. I have never regretted it – in fact, I am proud and blessed that I spent my time working to a better water future for people around the world.

It has been so much fun writing this piece because it brought so many memories and people to mind, some of whom are:

Peter Calise, Maurice Trudeau, Wiley Archer, Norm and Dolores, Joe Palumba, Tim MacDonald, Sam Corda, Billy Schellbach, Tony Ippolito, John Sullivan, Andy Pappastergion, Elisa Speranza, Mike Cooney, Nan Crossland, Julie Forgue, my friend Rosemary and Chris Woodcock who asked me to write.

Trailblazing Women:

Catalysts of Progress in the Water Industry

Frank Brigano and Andrea Scarpino emphasize in their essay, “Women Make the Difference: A History of Women in Water,” that women played a pivotal role in the inception of the water improvement industry. They recount a fascinating tale from the water industry’s history, highlighting Anna Culligan’s unique contribution. In 1921, while Anna was in labor giving birth to her first child, her husband Emmett was in the depths of the hospital, learning about zeolite water softening from a maintenance man. The hospital was using natural zeolite sand to treat boiler water, sparking Emmett’s interest. Motivated, Culligan embarked on the development of synthetic zeolite. By 1936, he established a water softening business, initially employing “faucet” softeners (buckets hung over faucets) and later introducing portable exchange water softening (tanks filled with water softening media that required hauling in and out of homes or businesses, exchanged regularly to provide softened water).

Ellen H. Swallow Richards (1842–1911)

Women’s Advocate, Sanitation Engineering Pioneer. In 1887 she conducted an unprecedented survey that led to the first state water-quality standards in the nation and the first modern municipal sewage treatment plant.

One of America’s first female professional chemists and the first woman to be accepted by a scientific school, Ellen H. Swallow Richards is best known for pioneering the field of sanitary engineering. Richards performed an unprecedented survey in 1890 that led to the first state water-quality standards in the nation. She is credited for making important contributions to the understanding of environmental systems.

Thus, from the seemingly ordinary event of a child’s birth, an entire industry was brought into existence.

The annals of history often echo the achievements and contributions of remarkable individuals, and within the context of the water industry, the role of women has been a compelling and transformative narrative. As we delve into the chronicles of water treatment and improvement, and water quality and conservation, it becomes evident that women have played an indispensable, though often overlooked, part in shaping the trajectory of this essential domain. From pioneering innovations to trailblazing leadership, historical women in the water industry have left an indelible mark, challenging conventional norms and fostering advancements that resonate far beyond their time. This introduction aims to unravel the stories of these unsung heroines, shedding light on their pivotal roles and acknowledging the profound impact they’ve had on an industry critical to the well-being of communities worldwide.

Richards developed an interest in chemistry while at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. Upon graduation, she applied for various industrial chemistry apprenticeships, but she was rejected from all of them. Instead, she made her way to the maleonly Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1871, where she was admitted as a special student, making her the first woman in America to enter a scientific school.

Within three years, Richards earned a second bachelor’s degree from MIT in addition to a master’s degree from Vassar College based on a thesis she submitted on the chemical analysis of iron ore. Richards continued at MIT for two years in hopes of earning a Ph.D., but at the time, the Institute did not award doctorates to women.

From 1873 to 1878, Richards taught chemistry without a salary or title. Recognizing the need for practical facilities for

women to conduct research, she helped establish the Women’s Laboratory at MIT, which opened in 1876. The laboratory closed in 1883 after MIT began awarding undergraduate degrees to women regularly. In 1879, Richards was recognized as an assistant professor in chemical analysis, industrial chemistry, mineralogy, and applied biology, though still without pay.

When MIT opened the nation’s first laboratory of sanitary chemistry in 1883, Richards was appointed assistant chemist. Within that time, she participated in sewage treatment research, analyzing as many as 40,000 samples. Her work is distinguished in the final report: “The accuracy of the work and the no less important accuracy of the records were mainly due to Mrs. Richards’s great zeal and vigilance.”

In 1890, MIT established a sanitary engineering program, and Richards was appointed instructor. At the request of

Alice Hamilton (1869–1970)

A pioneer in the toxicology field and a leading expert in chemical health and safety she studied the effects of harmful substances such as lead on the human body. By 1916 Hamilton had become America’s foremost authority on lead poisoning.

Alice Hamilton was an American physician, research scientist, and author. She was a leading expert in the field of occupational health, laid the foundation for health and safety protections, and was a pioneer in the field of industrial toxicology. She helped make the American workplace less dangerous. In her quest to uncover industrial toxins, Hamilton roamed the more dangerous parts of urban America, descended into mines, and finagled her way into factories reluctant to admit her. Hamilton was a pioneer who became a leading expert in chemical health and safety.

A pioneer in the toxicology field, Alice Hamilton studied the effects of harmful substances such as lead on the human body.  She was appointed as a medical investigator to the newly formed Illinois Commission on Occupational Diseases. Hamilton led the commission’s investigations, which focused on industrial poisons such as lead and other toxins. She also authored the “Illinois Survey,” the commission’s report that documented its findings of industrial processes that exposed workers to lead poisoning and other illnesses.

Hamilton trained at the University of Michigan Medical School Her residency at Hull House in Chicago from 1887 to 1919 put her in contact with an extensive demographic of workingclass households, and the work-life dangers they faced. She also became a professor of pathology at the Woman's Medical School of Northwestern University in 1897. In 1919, she became the first woman appointed to the faculty of Harvard University Her scientific research focused on the study of occupational illnesses and the dangerous effects of industrial metals and chemical compounds. By 1916 Hamilton had become

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the Massachusetts State Board of Health, Richards and her assistants performed a water-quality survey of Massachusetts’ inland water bodies, many of which were already polluted with industrial waste and municipal sewage. According to the Chemical Heritage Foundation, “The scale of the survey was unprecedented: it led to the first state water-quality standards in the nation and the first modern municipal sewage treatment plant, in Lowell, Massachusetts.”

From 1887 to 1897, Richards served as an official water analyst for the State Board of Health. She continued as an instructor at MIT until she died in 1911. She and her colleague, A. G. Woodman, also wrote a classic text in the field of sanitary engineering: Air, Water, and Food from a Sanitary Standpoint (1900). Richards is the author of more than 15 books, numerous articles, and reports on environmental science and engineering.

America’s foremost authority on lead poisoning. For the next decade, she investigated a range of issues for a variety of state and federal health committees. Hamilton focused her explorations on occupational toxic disorders, examining the effects of substances such as aniline dyes, carbon monoxide, mercury, tetraethyl lead, radium, benzene, carbon disulfide, and hydrogen sulfide gases. In 1925, at a Public Health Service conference on the use of lead in gasoline, she testified against the use of lead and warned of the danger it posed to people and the environment. Nevertheless, leaded gasoline was allowed. The EPA in 1988 estimated that over the previous 60 years, 68 million children suffered high toxic exposure to lead from leaded fuels.

Through her association and work at Hull House and living side by side with the poor residents of the community, Hamilton witnessed the effects that the dangerous trades had on workers’ health through exposure to carbon monoxide and lead poisoning. As a result, she became increasingly interested in the problems the workers faced, especially occupational injuries and illnesses. The experience also caused Hamilton to begin considering how to merge her interests in medical science and social reform to improve the health of American workers.

In addition to her scientific work, Hamilton was a social welfare reformer, humanitarian, and peace activist. She received numerous honors and awards, including the Albert Lasker Public Service Award. Her work led to improvements in safety and regulation and is sometimes credited with leading to the founding of the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration

Hamilton died of a stroke at her home in Hadlyme, Connecticut, on September 22, 1970, at the age of 101. She is buried at Cove Cemetery in Hadlyme.

Hamilton was a tireless researcher and crusader against the use of toxic substances in the workplace. Within three months of her death in 1970, the US Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act to improve workplace safety in the United States.

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Kathryn Hach-Darrow (1922–2020)

Founded the Hach Chemical Company in 1947 as a small water analysis company. She was the first woman Director of the American Water Works Association.

Kathryn (Kitty) Hach-Darrow was a true pioneer in entrepreneurship who with her late husband, Clifford, founded the Hach Chemical Company in 1947 as a small water analysis company, which grew into a multi-million-dollar chemical corporation. The Hach family started the Hach Scientific Foundation in 1982 to promote chemistry education through scholarships. In 1999, Hach-Darrow sold the Hach Chemical Company to science and technology company Danaher.

While Clifford oversaw the company’s research and development, Kitty handled business operations, marketing, and other general management. By introducing chemistry to the field of water analysis the Hach Chemical Company could guarantee safe, clean drinking water in town after town throughout the United States.

Hach-Darrow was the first woman Director of the American Water Works Association. “ “

An avid flyer, she logged thousands of flight hours while promoting the analysis kits, distributing them to remote towns, and providing technical training and on-site problem-solving. Over the next half century, Kitty and Clifford guided the company’s growth into a global leader in water purification.

The company was instrumental in standardizing water purification tests and pioneered titration test kits and many world-standard water-testing instruments. The company’s tests were designed to be simple and effective, using visual comparisons against color standards and nontechnical directions.

Hach-Darrow was the first woman director of the American Water Works Association. In 1982 she and Clifford established the Hach Scientific Foundation to support science education by sponsoring student tuition and teacher education.

In 2003 she was honored with the Pittcon Heritage Award, jointly sponsored by the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy (Pittcon) and the Chemical Heritage Foundation, now the Science History Institute, in recognition of her roles as cofounder and CEO of Hach Company and architect of its business model and culture; of her involvement with customers in ensuring safe, clean water throughout the land; and of her commitment to education, leadership, and science.

In 2009, Hach-Darrow transferred the Hach Scientific Foundation’s $34 million in assets to ACS to establish an endowment for the ACS-Hach Programs, which provide scholarships and grants to high school chemistry teachers. In recognition of the gift, the ACS headquarters building in Washington, D.C. was renamed the Clifford & Kathryn Hach Building of the American Chemical Society.

In 2012, Hach-Darrow gave ACS $500,000 to establish an endowment for the Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success. Two years later, she contributed a second cash gift of $100,000 to increase the award amount from $5,000 to $20,000.

Hach-Darrow died in Loveland, Colorado, on June 4, 2020, at the age of 97.

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Rachel Louise Carson  (1907–1964)

Pioneer in the modern environmental movement that led to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency

Long before Greta Thunberg’s impressive environmental activism, there was Rachel Carson who gave birth to the modern environmental movement. It was Carson who gave us a deeper understanding of the impact we have on our planet and the impact our planet has on us. She was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist whose book Silent Spring (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement.

Carson began her career as an aquatic biologist in the US Bureau of Fisheries and became a full-time nature writer in the 1950s. Her widely praised 1951 bestseller The Sea Around Us won her a US National Book Award, which brought her recognition as a gifted writer and financial security. Her next book, The Edge of the Sea, and the reissued version of her first book, Under the Sea Wind, were also bestsellers. This sea trilogy explores the whole of ocean life from the shores to the depths.

Late in the 1950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation, especially some problems she believed were caused by synthetic pesticides. The result was the book Silent Spring (1962), which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the American people. Although Silent Spring was met with fierce opposition from chemical companies, it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, which led to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides. It also inspired a grassroots environmental movement that led to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency. Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter.

She died of a heart attack on April 14, 1964, in her home in Silver Spring, Maryland. Her body was cremated. Some of her ashes were buried beside her mother at Parklawn Memorial Gardens, Rockville, Maryland, while the rest were scattered along the coast of Squirrel Island, near the Sheepscot River in Maine.

Various groups ranging from government institutions to environmental and conservation organizations to scholarly societies have celebrated Carson’s life and work since her death. The Rachel Carson sculpture in Woods Hole, Massachusetts was unveiled on July 14, 2013. Google created a Google Doodle for Carson's 107th birthday on May 27, 2014. Carson was featured during the "HerStory" video tribute to notable women on U2’s tour in 2017 for the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree during a performance of "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" from the band's 1991 album Achtung Baby

It was Carson who gave us a deeper understanding of the impact we have on our planet and the impact our planet has on us.

R

esilience and Adaptation

IN NEW ENGLAND (RAINE ) DATABASE

The Resilience and Adaptation in New England (RAINE) database developed by the EPA (https://www.epa.gov/raine) stands as a comprehensive repository of reports, plans, and webpages about vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation at the state, regional, and community levels. This invaluable tool serves as a guide for utilities and community organizations, facilitating the assessment of climate and environmental impacts arising from various projects.

New England communities, proactively addressing the challenges posed by climate change, are documented within RAINE, offering insights into innovative strategies and actions. The database not only catalogs ongoing initiatives but also serves as a platform for shared learning, enabling the dissemination of lessons learned, insights into municipal assistance, and the fostering of collaborative endeavors.

RAINE delivers information at multiple levels, encompassing state, regional, and local actions, featuring links to web pages, reports, plans, and illustrative examples of community engagement strategies. Results obtained from RAINE include downloadable lists meeting search criteria, links to relevant products or plans, comprehensive reports for entities of interest, and spotlights on unique adaptation and resilience efforts.

The database serves diverse purposes, aiding utilities and communities in knowledge exchange, collaborative

planning, and the identification of funding opportunities. By leveraging RAINE, stakeholders can share experiences, access examples of successful products and plans, and gain insights into funding mechanisms and partnerships.

Additionally, the database supports environmental impact assessments through its query functionalities and map layer integration. For collaborative efforts, RAINE fosters awareness of common climate challenges among neighboring communities and facilitates successful partnerships. Furthermore, it aids in targeted outreach and education investments, helping avoid redundancy and ensuring efficient resource allocation.

In the realm of funding, RAINE’s data is a valuable resource for aligning with state priorities.

One project highlighted on the RAINE database is Dover, New Hampshire’s project Building Climate Resiliency through Simpler, Lower-cost Green Infrastructure (GI) Designs.

The Dover Department of Public Works & Utilities (DPW) and the University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center collaborated on a multi-year effort to install GI in the Berry Brook watershed. Through this project, they adapted conventional GI to make it simpler, less costly to maintain, and user-friendly for daily DPW operations. Another adaptation, the “Boulanginator,” is a subsurface gravel filter that mimics the storage and filtration of a porous asphalt system, but is paved with standard asphalt. Runoff enters the system through inlets connected to the catch basin system and no special equipment is required for maintenance. These systems are both highly adaptable for densely developed areas and effective for capturing runoff volume and pollutant loads.

The benefits of this project included:

• Dover is achieving comparable pollution reduction results and reducing runoff from impervious cover while using simpler GI installations that are less costly to maintain than conventional systems.

• The DPW has changed its thinking about stormwater. Employees are involved in installations. Crews are developing and implementing new ideas with maintenance in mind.

• The close partnership between the university staff and city employees has resulted in new and innovative adaptations to conventional designs.

Dover, New Hampshire has built climate resiliency through simpler, lower-cost Green Infrastructure Designs

UVM Students Offer Real-World Climate Recommendations to Vermont Town

Lisa C. Bailey

The town of Underhill, Vermont, is considering climatechange recommendations developed and presented by some intrepid University of Vermont (UVM) students.

As part of an upper-level seminar in the Department of Geography and Geosciences and under the leadership of their professor, Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux, Ph. D, the students worked in collaboration with town, state, and federal agencies this past Fall to come up with a plan to aid Underhill in naturalhazard mitigation in the face of our changing climate. With environmental challenges such as extreme drought, destructive flooding, and massive storms becoming more frequent, this type of class couldn’t be timelier.

Leah Jaffe, a senior majoring in geography and physics, says the class instantly drew her in because she is interested in a career related to natural hazards planning. “This is the second climatology class I’ve taken with Professor Dupigny-Giroux,” she says, “so I was excited to build on what I’d learned in the past and create something that would have impacts beyond the classroom.” She adds that this kind of research is important because Vermont is already feeling the effects of climate change—and those effects will only increase in the coming years.

In her role as state climatologist, a position she’s held since 1997, Dupigny-Giroux often gives talks that provide climate change–related information, data, understanding, and interpretation to towns, municipalities, and state agencies. “The important thing to remember here is that service and applied climatology run on relationships,” Dupigny-Giroux says. (These are two sub-branches of climatology.) The relationship with Underhill began with Sandy Wilmot, then-chair of the town’s Climate Change Task Force. Dupigny-Giroux had worked with Wilmot for many years when Wilmot was with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. In May of 2022, Wilmot asked Dupigny-Giroux to give one of her talks to the Underhill task force.

Fast-forward to August, when Dupigny-Giroux was preparing to teach her climatology and natural hazards class. “I often teach it in a service-learning environment,” she says, “which involves working directly with someone in the community who has either a specific research project or an articulated need.” Dupigny-Giroux reached

out to Wilmot and asked her about doing a service-learning activity with the town of Underhill.

“When Dr. Dupigny-Giroux presented the idea of having her class work with Underhill, we could see all sorts of wonderful connections,” Wilmot says. Several of the task force members had worked with Dupigny-Giroux on professional projects and “were sure that whatever the students produced would be of high quality,” Wilmot adds.

Wilmot came to the second day of class and gave a presentation on Underhill’s geographic features and government. She also clearly explained what she would like to see at the end of the project: aspects of carbon sequestration, additional hazards to be considered in the context of Underhill, moving-water considerations, and so on. “This was a bright, engaged class that asked good questions and seemed truly vested in assisting the town,” she says.

After Wilmot’s presentation, Dupigny-Giroux and the students brainstormed which pieces might fit in best with the class and which pieces they might not be able to address. The class then divided into four groups, each focused on a different environmental aspect – vegetation, mass wasting, water, and miscellaneous –and went out into the field to get a better sense of the landscape.

Professor Dupigny-Giroux with members of the fall 2022 Climatology and Natural Hazards class. Photo credit: L-A. Dupigny-Giroux

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Cherie Morse, Ph.D., also a professor in the Department of Geography and Geosciences, accompanied the class on their field trip to Underhill in September. “Professor Morse was instrumental in helping us to read the cultural geography of the landscape and

understand aspects of the tax base, development pattern, and recreation and tourism access within the town’s boundaries,” Dupigny-Giroux says.

Wilmot also led the class on their tour to “locations that would impress upon them the rural character, the hill and valley topography, and the key locations where flooding can occur and has occurred,” she says. Among their stops was a maple-sugaring operation, where the students learned of the significant value of sugar maple to Underhill and how the operation works.

Another stop was at the town hall, where the students were shown all the town maps to get a sense of the physical geography. They then visited an area where a flood had completely taken out a house. It’s one thing to see an area on a map, Dupigny-Giroux notes, “but it’s different to be standing there on Route 15 and have all the cars go by and to know that a house was right there, and the wetland is right over here.”

As part of the water group, Jaffe met for a few sessions with her fellow group members to brainstorm water-related hazards that could affect the town. They then investigated ways that these hazards have been mitigated in other places and evaluated whether those strategies could be adapted for Underhill. “We started out looking at each hazard as a group, and then each of us chose a more specific aspect to look at,” she says.

Ryan Goodale, a senior majoring in environmental science and mathematics, was part of the vegetation group. “Based on a list of concerns the town of Underhill presented to us,” he says, “we picked four specific issues to focus our research on under the general topic of forest health: riparian buffer health, sugar maple health, invasive species and pests, and soil health.” (A riparian buffer is a natural area adjacent to a forest that’s managed specifically for conservation.) Goodale was personally responsible for researching how invasive species and pests impact Vermont forests and proposing possible solutions.

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Four state agencies worked with the students on this collaborative project, including the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) – specifically, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Climate Action Office – the Vermont Agency of Transportation, the Vermont Department of Health, and Vermont Emergency Management. ANR’s participation broadened the conversation, bringing in how biodiversity fits with transportation and infrastructure and how things like changing water movement in a changing climate all fit together. The Agency of Transportation provided a planning tool that two of the four groups of students worked with. A social-vulnerability tool and framework offered by the Department of Health proved critical in helping the students understand all the ways to think about vulnerability – economic, household, individual – and how they all come together. After the class ended, the Vermont Emergency Management offered internships to two of the students to work with them on the FEMA-mandated State Hazard Mitigation Plan.

The class also worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Program Office and its US Climate Resilience Toolkit, which offers a framework that towns, municipalities, and states can use to identify where their vulnerabilities are and then create steps to make systems less vulnerable. The Windham Regional Commission was able to help the students understand both the feasibility and constraints involved when working at a town level. ESRI, a geographic information system software company based in California, helped the students learn how to do mapping in the field.

Jaffe says all the time she spent reading other hazard-mitigation plans taught her a lot about how knowledge about climate hazard mitigation is turned into something tangible. “Before this class, I knew that there were actions that needed to be carried out,” she says, “but I couldn’t quite conceptualize how to do that. Now I have a much better understanding of the way that hazard-mitigation strategies are implemented.”

Goodale says the class gave him real-world exposure relating to his academic studies. “I found great value in contributing to a proposed hazard-mitigation plan for a local Vermont town as I got to experience the strategies, issues, and solutions firsthand,” he says. He adds that this class attracted him primarily because he was interested in learning how many of the topics he had previously studied in climate and weather classes manifested in careers. After taking the class, he is now seriously considering going into a career in hazard-mitigation planning and would like to continue to do research with it.

The students made their presentations to the Underhill task force in December, and “knocked everyone’s socks off,” according to Dupigny-Giroux. She gave the students’ 88-page report to an eager Underhill task force in January.

According to Wilmot, who has since retired but still volunteers her time and expertise to Underhill, where she lives, “there were many details of the students’ presentations that will definitely influence our work in planning for climate impacts.” She adds that

involving students in addressing town concerns provided a fresh perspective and offered resources the town doesn’t normally have at its disposal. “They provided impressive findings that were so specific to our town situation.”

Goodale says he was most surprised by the complexity of the entire process. “It’s not just one person making decisions but rather a collaborative effort across state organizations to deduce the best possible hazard-mitigation actions,” he says.

Jaffe adds, “It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and hopeless about our future in the face of climate change, but projects like these remind me that there are still actions we can take to protect our communities.”

Dupigny-Giroux, who was recently appointed to serve a threeyear term on the Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, saw this class as a potential model. “I wanted it to be a proof of concept on how to create a working, meaningful relationship between students in a service-learning class and community partners in a way that allows lessons learned to be extracted and the final product to be used immediately,” she says. Since they were able to accomplish this, now when she gives a talk and explains what they’re doing for the town of Underhill, other towns often express interest, creating a ripple effect. She adds, “There’s interest around the state at the town level because we now know how to do it, and I think that’s critically important.”

Several of the students noted that this experience brought together their entire time at UVM. “They had never had a class where the content, the application of that content, how people are going to use it, and how to think deeply about communication all came together,” Dupigny-Giroux says. “It really and truly was a capstone experience for them.” She adds that it was an amazing, humbling experience for her to be able to walk alongside them through the project and to see their final presentations, which exceeded everyone’s expectations and made a valuable contribution toward climate-change mitigation – in Underhill and beyond.

New Section Members

Name

Kendall Begin

Scott Bickford

Company Name

Kareem Bonugli Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Hannah Borel

Edward Bunn Cheshire Water Dept

Ryan Christensen

Clarkson Coy Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Christopher Curtis Auburn Water District

Peter Cutrone Portland Water District

Richard Fiumara Boston Water and Sewer Commission

Justin Frazier

Brooke Goggins

Casey Goodwin Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc.

Peter Gordon Plymouth DPW, Water Division

Masshhour Hadiah Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Michael Hanrahan Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Theon Latham-Rice Boston Water & Sewer Commission

David Lemay Town of Whitman

Robert Moriarty Town of Hudson DPW

Tom Nguyen Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Scott Noble Clinton Water District

Northampton Water Division

Mike Ohrenberger Town of Middleborough - DPW

Mary O'Malley Weston and Sampson Engineers, Inc.

Kevin Patten

Chris Pelletier Newport Water

Cris Perez

Renay Peters Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Thomas Peters

Sumit Phalak

Rachel Pichette Providence Water Supply Board

Carlos Pizarro Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Drini Puka Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Karen Rave Boston Water and Sewer Commission

Kelly Roberts North Dighton Fire District

Justin Sanders Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Hosman Santos Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Caleb Shen Thompson Pipe Group

Patrick Shield Walpole Water Department

Keith Snape City of Northampton

Colin Talbot Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Tiffany Tang Northeastern University

Matt Waite Auburn Water District

Jeremiah Waite Boston Water & Sewer Commission

Kristina Winther Maine Office of the Public Advocate

New England Section Events

(go to www.NE-AWWA.org/meetinginfo.php for more information)

MARCH

Thursday, March 21, 2024

The Voice of Water Webinar:

Regulatory Update for New England

Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Location: Virtual Webinar

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Hydrant Hysteria & Operator Training

Time: 8:30 AM – 2:00 PM

Location: Hartford, CT

APRIL

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

AWWA’s 2024 Water Matters! Fly-In

Location: Washington, DC

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Fresh Ideas Virtual Poster Session

Location: Virtual

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant Tour & Lunch ‘Boston Harbour Clean-up’ Project Webinar EPA

Region 1: Drinking Water Program Update

JUNE

Monday, June 10 – Thursday, June 13, 2024

ACE24

Location: Anaheim, CA

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