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TRWA Briefs
Give a Gift to Rural Water
This holiday season, give a gift to rural water by donating to the Texas Rural Water Foundation!
Rural water and wastewater systems face many challenges due to limited budgets, high levels of responsibility, regulatory demands and a shortage of licensed operators. TRWF was established by TRWA to support all rural utilities and address these issues through programs that provide resources and build the capacity of utilities to best serve their customers. But we cannot do it without your support.
We hope that you will keep the Texas Rural Water Foundation in mind when making your yearend giving. Your tax-deductible donation will go toward Foundation programs such as our Student Scholarship and Veteran Employment Programs, and will assist with developing new programs that will help sustain and grow the Texas rural water industry.
Your gift is extremely important to the Texas Rural Water Foundation, and every dollar counts in our quest to support and empower rural water and wastewater utilities and the communities they serve. To make a donation, visit www.trwa.org/trwf and click the “Donate Today” button. You mayalso request a donation form by contacting foundation@ trwa.org or by calling 512-472-8591. Please note, for your gift to qualify for tax deduction in 2020, your mailed contribution must be postmarked on or before Thursday, December 31, 2020; credit card donations must be processed by end-of-day December 31.
To learn more about the Foundation, visit our webpage www.trwa.org/trwf or give us a call! Your gift will help us become a greater resource to rural water and wastewater systems throughout Texas today!
J. F. FONTAINE & ASSOCIATES, INC. CONSULTING ENGINEERS
RURAL WATER SYSTEM ENGINEERING SINCE 1962
700 N. Sycamore St. P.O. Box 4187 Palestine, Texas 75802 (903) 729-6005 jffontaine@jffontaine.com
East Cedar Creek FWSD General Manager Retires
Long-time friend of rural water Bill Goheen announced his retirement from East Cedar Creek Fresk Water Supply District (ECCFWSD) earlier this year.
Goheen has nearly four decades of experience in the utility profession and led ECCFWSD through over 15 years of steady growth and satisfied customers. Prior to working at ECCFWSD, Goheen served in rural water in various capacities in Alabama, Kansas and Oklahoma, including as Circuit Rider for the Kansas Rural Water Association and Assistant Project Manager of the Circuit Rider Program at the National Rural Water Association.
He has served on the Board of Directors of several professional associations including Texas Rural Water Association, Kansas Rural Water Association, and the Cedar Creek Texas Water Utilities Association.
He continues to hold "A" licenses in water and wastewater in both Texas and Kansas.
Please join us in congratulating Bill on his retirement! Nominate Someone Today for a TRWA Award of Excellence
There's still time to submit nominations for TRWA's annual Awards of Excellence! The application window for all award categories closes on February 1, 2021. Don’t miss the opportunity to nominate your system or one of your colleagues for these prestigious awards honoring those who exemplify excellence, dedication and achievement.
Our individual awards were created to recognize the shining stars of our member utilities, seeking to honor their spirit and commitment in support of their system and the larger community. Individual awards are given in the following categories:
Excellence in System Management
Excellence in Administration
Excellence in Operations
To nominate an individual for one of these awards, simply submit a nomination form and tell us in 750 words or less what makes your nominee stand out in their selected category!
In addition to our individual awards, we also give out two system-wide awards each year. The Small System Excellence Award is designed to honor a deserving system serving 1,500 or fewer connections, and the Large System Excellence Award is designed to recognize a system serving more than 1,500 connections. Special thank you to Master Meter for sponsoring the Large System award! We still welcome Associate Member sponsors for each of the other categories.
Use this opportunity to showcase whatever it is that sets your system apart from the rest, and share your ideas with your industry peers who can learn from your successes. Are you employing innovative technologies or processes? Did you do something special to engage with your community? Did you make significant efforts to improve your system? Did you successfully launch a grassroots campaign or activity to foster political participation? Tell us about it! To nominate your system, fill out a nomination form and tell us in 1000 words or less why your system stands out and deserves this award.
Only TRWA member systems are eligible, but anyone can nominate your system for an Award!
Get started on your nomination now and submit it online at www.trwa.org/awards. Please remember that former award winners are not eligible. All entries must be postmarked or delivered by February 1, 2021 to be considered.
All award winners will be honored during the Awards Ceremony at the opening general session of RuralWaterCon in March and will be featured in the spring issue of this magazine. Individual winners will each receive a $500 prize and a commemorative plaque. The system-wide winners will each receive a $1000 prize and commemorative plaques.
If you have any questions about the nomination form or the awards process, or if you are interested in sponsoring one of the awards, please contact us at 512-472-8591 or editor@trwa.org. Now Accepting Applicants for TRWF Student Scholarships
Every year, high school seniors, college students and even graduate students submit applications for one of our Texas Rural Water Foundation (TRWF) Student Scholarships, which are intended to recognize and assist qualified individuals in their pursuit of a higher education in a field that supports rural Texas.
This Student Scholarship Program is designed to help defray the cost of tuition, fees, books and/ or room and board by awarding funds directly to the student upon proof of enrollment. The number of annual scholarships and the amount awarded is based upon the number of qualified applicants and the amount of funds available. In the 2020-2021 award year, the Dwayne Jekel Memorial Scholarship recipient was awarded $3,000, four recipients were awarded $2,000, and five were awarded $1,000.
The TRWF scholarship committee is particularly interested in supporting students who seek a career relating to the water and/or wastewater industry or a career that will support rural Texas. They also encourage applications from qualified veterans who will receive special consideration. Former student scholarship recipients are invited to apply for a continued scholarship. To be eligible to reapply, the applicant must provide transcripts to demonstrate that they are in good academic standing.
Applications and full eligibility requirements are available on our website. If you know someone who is interested in applying, please direct them to www.trwa.org/StudentScholarships. You can also get to the page by visiting www.trwa.org and clicking on the TRWF tab in the navigation pane. All applications must be received by 5 p.m. on February 5, 2021. You can mail it to: ATTN: TRWF Scholarship Committee, Texas Rural Water Association, 1616 Rio Grande, Austin, Texas 78701. You may also send applications by email to editor@ trwa.org.
Please share this opportunity with your peers and community members who may benefit from one of these scholarships. If you have any questions, please contact us at 512-472-8591or email editor@ trwa.org.
Texas Rural Water Association | FMT Assistance Specialist (Bilingual)
The Texas Rural Water Association is seeking an English/Spanish bilingual Assistance Specialist to assess and evaluate water and wastewater systems, and provide Financial, Managerial, and Technical (FMT) assistance to promote the development and growth and/or sustainability of targeted utilities. This position requires the ability to travel up to 90% of the time and maintain a valid Texas driver's license and acceptable driving record.
Essential Functions:
• Ensure completion and compliance of the goals, objectives and deliverables required under state contracts, currently FMT Assistance Contracts • Provide direct on-site FMT assistance to water and wastewater systems, as assigned • Contact public water/wastewater systems to schedule FMT assistance visits, typically within a defined geographic area, as assigned • Perform FMT assessments or consolidations of public water/wastewater systems as assigned • Contact potential applicants of Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (DWSRF) or applicants of other TWDB funds to schedule assessments, as assigned by Environmental Services Director • Assist the Environmental Services Director in attaining the goals of the Association and perform other duties as assigned
Minimum qualifications for this position include:
• State of Texas Class B or higher certification in surface water or groundwater • Three (3) or more years of water and/or wastewater utility experience, including providing technical assistance and training services to water and wastewater utilities • Knowledgeable in state and federal regulations that apply to public water and/or wastewater systems • Knowledgeable in the forms and applications of TCEQ that apply to all retail public utilities • Familiarity with Safe Drinking Water Act requirements and TCEQ rules concerning water quality and water utilities • Experience in word processing, excel spreadsheet, and database applications • Excellent written and verbal communication skills • Maintain thorough knowledge of all state and federal regulations as they apply to water and wastewater utilities • Ability to learn technical material • Ability to exercise independent judgement in advising utilities regarding their business operations • Maintain valid Texas drivers’ license • Must be bilingual in Spanish This description covers essential functions and is not a comprehensive list of job duties. For the full job description, visit our posting on our website at www.trwa.org/TRWAJobs. To apply, email a cover letter, resume and salary requirements to jason.knobloch@trwa.org.
CONFERENCES:
January 21-22, 2021 TRWA/TWCA Water Law Seminar, Virtual March 25-26, 2021 RuralWaterCon 2021, Renaissance Austin
OPERATOR TRAINING COURSES:
Learn more about our upcoming classroom and online training options at www.trwa.org/training
Answer to "From the Hole" math question from page 27: In this question we are given a pipe size, the flow of the pipe and are asked for the rate of the flow in gallons per minute. The formula to achieve flow rate is the Q=A x V — the flow rate in cubic feet per second being Q, the area in square feet is A and the flow in feet per second is V. Now we arrange our numbers: the square foot of a 6” pipe can be achieved by converting the pipe to feet then finding the radius. 6 ÷ 12 ÷ 2 or .25’ Now we can solve for square feet: 3.14 x .25’ x .25’ = .196 square feet, which is now our A value. The V value is given at 3 feet per second. We can now solve for Q: .196 x 3 = .589 cubic feet per second. The conversion from cubic foot per second to gallons per minute is cubic feet per second x 449. Knowing that, we can now solve the problem: .589 x 449 = 264 ½ GPM
