The American Water Works Assn. (AWWA) launched a free workshop for small systems. According to an AWWA news release, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded AWWA grants that will help give access to the workshop and technical assistance.
The workshop entitled “Optimizing Performance and Accessing Funding to Improve Small Systems,” includes two consecutive small systems training and targets systems serving less than 10,000 customers, according to AWWA.
“This workshop is designed for small systems that may not have the resources or staff that larger systems have to manage complex issues,” said Barbara Martin, AWWA’s director of engineering and technical services, according to AWWA. “Their needs for providing safe water for their communities are different than those of a large system, and this training will enable AWWA to make a positive impact on small systems across the country.”
The class will help participants through an interactive water system process to determine what areas they can operate more efficiently, according to AWWA. There is also information on how to access low-cost USDA loans to help solve small water system issues and how to repay a loan through efficiency gains.
All participants will have free access to two hours of technical assistance provided by AWWA and a USDA state engineer, according to AWWA. A schedule of small system training workshops can be viewed at AWWA’s website.
Twice a year, Water & Wastes Digest collaborates with Water Quality Products on the Small Systems supplement. The Spring 2019 supplement includes stories on a neighborhood receiving a new water supply, mobile treatment units mitigating a chemical upset at a water treatment plant, and a community coming together to bring small sewer systems into compliance. For more stories on small systems, the Small Systems Spring 2019 issue can be viewed here.
