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Water Headlines for November 3, 2006Benjamin H. Grumbles Water Headlines is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water. In This Week’s Water Headlines:
EPA Dives into Water EfficiencyLooking to expand the water efficiency market, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued its first set of specifications to certify professionals in this field. Under the agency's WaterSense program, the specifications identify technical standards for certifying landscape irrigation professionals. Certification programs that meet the EPA's standards are eligible for the WaterSense label.
"Wasting water through poor irrigation design is like watching your dollars go down the drain," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "WaterSense irrigation provides smart water solutions that are a win-win for our wallets, and our environment. WaterSense just makes sense."
The specifications announced will allow professionals to become WaterSense partners. They also may use the WaterSense logo to promote their water-efficient landscape and irrigation services to consumers. WaterSense is a voluntary public-private partnership that identifies and promotes high-performance products and programs that help preserve the nation's water supply.
More information: EPA Seeks Nominations for Contaminant Candidate ListEPA published a Federal Register notice on October 16 to request nominations of chemical and microbial contaminants for possible inclusion in the third drinking water Contaminant Candidate List (CCL 3). There are thousands of naturally occurring and man-made contaminants that have the potential to enter sources of drinking water (e.g., pesticides, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, industrial chemicals). Some of these contaminants may pose no risk to human health, but others may cause cancer or have endocrine disrupting, reproductive, or developmental effects. Naturally occurring microbial contaminants may also cause illness. To ensure that public health is protected, EPA assesses the universe of unregulated drinking water contaminants to determine if they are subject to regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). EPA is inviting interested members of the public to help identify contaminants that may have an adverse health effect on people and are known to occur or are likely to occur in public water systems and to nominate those candidates for the third CCL. EPA will consider the nominated contaminants along with the contaminants the agency identifies from an evaluation of chemical and microbial data sources. The agency will assess the health effects and occurrence information of each contaminant to decide if it should be included on the draft CCL 3, which the Agency expects to publish in 2007. Information about the CCL3 process and a link to the nominations Web site is available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/ccl3.html. New On-Line Watershed Course for Broadcast MeteorologistsWatershed Tool of the Month A new on-line course, Watersheds: Connecting Weather to the Environment, provides a unique opportunity for American Meteorological Society (AMS) Sealholders and certified broadcast meteorologists to learn more about watersheds and earn credit toward their continuing education requirements. The course is now available on the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training (COMET ®) distance learning website at: http://www.meted.ucar.edu/broadcastmet/watershed/. The course is a primer on how weather events relate to the health of a watershed, and how the public can take simple actions to protect watershed health. The on-line curriculum, while intended for meteorologists, is also highly useful for land use managers, teachers, community leaders, and others interested in learning more about watersheds. It contains a collection of graphics that make it easy for meteorologists and others to explain watersheds visually. The course complements an on-going effort by NEETF called Earth Gauge™, http://www.earthgauge.net/, Watershed Academy to sponsor November 29th Webcast on Drinking Water and Watershed ProtectionEPA´s Watershed Academy is pleased to sponsor its 16th free Webcast Seminar on Nov. 29, 2006 on: "Integrating Drinking Water into Watershed Protection" featuring Beth Hall, US EPA´s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water, Sheree Stewart; Drinking Water Protection Coordinator, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality; and Christopher Crockett, Manager of Watershed Protection, Philadelphia Water Department This Webcast will provide a primer on public water supplies and the recently completed source water assessments mandated by the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act. Source water is untreated water from streams, rivers, lakes or underground aquifers that is used to provide public drinking water and to supply private wells. While the source water assessments have been completed, responsibility for implementing protection measures resides at the state, local and utility level. Instructors will discuss how they have integrated source water protection into their programs by using technical assistance, partnerships, tools available through the Clean Water Act and other programs, and by collaborating with watershed and smart growth efforts. Eastern: 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm Central: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm Mountain: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Pacific: 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Registration will open Nov. 15th . Visit www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts Spotlight: Watersheds At WorkCumberland Basin Targeted Watersheds Grant Project—Promoting Low Impact Development and Sustainable Building Practices in Tennessee and Kentucky Reflections from EstuaryLiveEstuaryLive! is more popular than ever. This year, there were an estimated 25,000 “requests” via the internet to view the broadcast up from 20,958 last year (a request could be one individual, a classroom of children, or an auditorium full) -- viewers were from 28 States and even from Aruba! The Program was also broadcast by Comcast of Delaware, at the Oregon Aquarium, and by the entire South Carolina school district via educational television raising the viewership even higher. This translates to over 700,000 potential viewers that watched the broadcast over the internet and via satellite! 1,398 questions were raised during the broadcast - up from 1,150 last year.
Over 100 organizations/agencies/associations and state and local governments, partnered with EPA, NOAA, the National Estuary Programs (NEP) and National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) to promote and advertise the program, assist in program content and curriculum development, appear “on air,” or provide other logistical/technical support. EstuaryLive! has helped forge a strong partnership with NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System Division and strengthened the working relationship and interaction between local programs - the NEPs and NERRS. Subscribe to Water HeadlinesPlease forward this message to your friends and colleagues who share an interest in water-related issues and would like to hear from EPA’s Office of Water. To subscribe to the Water Headlines listserve: Send an email message, leave the subject line blank, and address it to: In the body of the message write: Subscribe Water Headlines first name last name (Please leave one blank space between each word, do not include any other message, and use your actual name- i.e. Subscribe Water Headlines Robert Jones)
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