EPA Issues DWSRF Awards for Sustainable Public Health Protection
Source EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced three winners of the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) Award for Sustainable Public Health Protection.
The projects had to meet three mandatory criteria to qualify for the awards, including compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act, financial integrity and public health benefits. Each nominee had to demonstrate leadership in at least one or more of the following criteria: better management practices, full-cost pricing/affordability, efficient water use, watershed approach, innovation in financing, innovative approach to planning and/or project implementation and creative use of partnerships.
Central Iron County Water Conservancy District, Iron County, Utah
The EPA has recognized the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District in Iron County, Utah, for significant and innovative investments in safe drinking water, including the extension of a centralized water distribution system to areas throughout the county.
In 2008, the district, along with Iron County, the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development and the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, used a DWSRF loan to plan, design and complete a consolidation process which combined several different drinking water systems into a single, regional water distribution system. Prior to the project, several small drinking water systems were operating independently throughout the valley, with varying success with regards to compliance. The district brought all of these systems under the umbrella of a single entity and now provides residents of these communities with safe drinking water and improved public health.
Upper/Lower River Road Water and Sewer District, Great Falls, Mont.
The EPA has recognized the Upper/Lower River Road Water and Sewer District in Great Falls, Mont, for significant investments in safe drinking water, including the extension of municipal water mains to a small unincorporated community adjacent to Great Falls.
In 2008, the Upper/Lower River Road Water and Sewer District used a DWSRF loan to help extend the municipal water mains to a small community adjacent to Great Falls. Prior to the extension of these mains, most residents in the community obtained drinking water from shallow wells with deteriorating water quality, including many with a history of elevated nitrate, iron and manganese levels. The new water distribution system ensures that drinking water meeting state and federal regulations is now provided to all homes and businesses in the district.
City of Craig, Colo.
The EPA has recognized the City of Craig, Colo., for significant investments in safe drinking water, including updating its drinking water treatment technologies.
The City of Craig received a DWSRF loan in 2008 to fund the improvement of its under-sized and antiquated drinking water treatment facilities. This project includes the replacement of a chlorine gas disinfection system and inadequate contact basin with an ultraviolet/sodium hypochlorite on-site generation system. These upgrades will help the city meet future safe drinking water requirements to reduce illness linked with the contaminant Cryptosporidium and other disease-causing microorganisms. Craig participated in the development of the required design criteria for the UV treatment technique, which is a prototype for future systems in Colorado.
Source: EPA