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Water Headlines for December 17, 2007Benjamin 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:
WaterSense Labeled Faucets and Aerators on Shelves SoonConsumers can soon find an easy, new way to save water in the loo: with WaterSense labeled bathroom sink faucets and faucet accessories. Already more than 30 models have earned the WaterSense label since EPA released the final specification in October, and by early 2008 these water-efficient, high-performing faucets and accessories (such as aerators) should be available in stores. Currently, Americans are wasting 60 billion gallons of water every year with inefficient faucets while simply washing their hands or brushing their teeth. That translates into $350 million in water utility bills and about $600 million in energy costs to supply, heat, and treat that water. WaterSense labeled bathroom sink faucets will reduce water flow by 30 percent with no sacrifice in performance or change in routine. Savings could be even greater for households replacing older faucets, which can flow at rates of 3 gallons per minute (gpm) or more. WaterSense labeled faucets are independently certified to perform as well as or better than standard faucets, maintaining good water pressure while not exceeding 1.5 gpm. To learn more about WaterSense labeled faucets and the final specification, please visit http://www.epa.gov/watersense/specs/faucet_final.htm Guidance to Help Implement Drinking Water RegulationsEPA is releasing draft guidance to support revisions to the Lead and Copper Rule which were issued in October 2007. The revisions to the rule will enhance the implementation in the areas of monitoring, treatment, customer awareness, public education, and lead service line replacement. The agency is requesting input on six draft documents that will assist states and public water systems with understanding the revisions, including State Implementation Guidance, Guides and Fact Sheets to understand the new Public Education and other Public Information requirements, and a Quick Reference Guide. The documents, which are available for comment through January 31, 2008, are available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lcrmr/compliancehelp_draftguidance.html EPA is also releasing a poster, Removing Multiple Contaminants from Drinking Water: Issues to Consider, to help regulators and water organizations better assist small water systems with drinking water treatment. Public water systems that need to add treatment for one contaminant, such as arsenic, may find that they need to consider other water quality issues. Choosing a treatment technology that can remove several co-occurring contaminants may be more efficient and cost effective. This poster describes treatment technologies that can remove multiple contaminants, identifies the contaminants that can be removed, and summarizes related operational and waste disposal issues. The poster is available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/smallsys/ssinfo.htm UIC Website UpdatedEPA has revised its website for the Underground Injection Control (UIC) program. This program regulates injection activities to prevent contamination of underground drinking water resources. The new website has basic information about each of the types of wells that are regulated under the program; videos, posters and other publications that show how the wells are constructed and managed; and compliance assistance information for well-owners. The site also has background on EPA’s current effort to develop a proposed regulation for the underground injection of carbon dioxide as part of a larger carbon capture and storage effort to stabilize atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The website is http://www.epa.gov/safewater/uic $8 Million in Grants to Help Small Public Water SystemsEPA has awarded grants to two organizations to provide training and technical assistance to small and/or rural public water systems over the next year and a half. The National Rural Water Association has been selected as the recipient of $5 million to provide training and technical assistance for drinking water rule implementation, capacity development and water systems operations. The West Virginia University Research Corporation/National Environmental Services Center has been selected as the recipient of $3 million to provide training and technical assistance for source water and wellhead protection. More information about EPA’s efforts to help small public water systems is available at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/smallsys.html Presentations from STORET/WQX Users Conference OnlinePresentations from the 2007 STORET/WQX Users Conference in November are now available online. On November 27-29, EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds hosted 201 participants in Austin, TX for the 2007 STORET/WQX Users Conference. STORET, EPA's repository for water quality data, has been enhanced substantially over the past year to add the Water Quality Exchange (WQX) framework to make it easier for states and others to submit and share water quality monitoring data over the Internet. The conference provided an opportunity for users of the STORET/WQX system to learn more about this new WQX system. During the conference, users from state, tribal, interstate, academic, and watershed organizations also shared information about how they are using STORET/WQX to manage and share water quality monitoring data, including beach water quality data, and how they are integrating STORET with GIS mapping applications. For more information please visit the conference Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/storet/2007conf_proceedings.html 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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