Through a grant from the RUS, Rural
Water is able to provide small loans to water and waste utilities of
up to $100,000.00 on a 10 year term with interest rates being the
lowest of market or poverty rate as established by the Department of
Agriculture. Currently the rate is 4.5% (http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/int-rate.htm).
There is also a special interest only
loan program for pre-construction cost available. The intent
of the revolving loan program is to assist utilities with small
projects or equipment loans in a rapid and user friendly fashion.
If your utility is in need of a loan for anything other than normal
maintenance, these funds are available in a fast and efficient
manner. There is a simple application form and once received,
and provided all necessary information is available, the funds
should be available within a week.
Obtain the application form at
www.nrwa.org (click the Revolving Fund Loan link on the right
side of the page) as well as additional information, or call
580-252-0629. This loan fund is made available through your
state rural water association.
DRWA Continues to Provide
Technical Assistance to Mobile Home Park Operators
With the majority of water systems
here in Delaware being of a small community water system or a
private mobile home park water system, we at DRWA want to remind
those operators that we continue to provide training credits toward
their certification, either by classroom training or on-site
training with the Mobile Training Unit. Operators that can’t
travel to class or need credits, please call and schedule our
training unit before your certification lapses.
Delaware Rural Water Association,
with funding through the Delaware Office of Drinking Water, has a
new program called the Sustainable Infrastructure Assistance Program
(SIAP). This program will focus on promoting better management
practices by assisting systems under 3,300 in population with
financial evaluations, suggesting and helping to implement
improvements and helping these systems to optimize the use of
financial, physical and human resources while helping to assure full
cost recovery from the utility operation. SIAP can help
systems under 3,300 in population with planning, rate setting and
development of financial and managerial capacities and more, all
with a goal of developing a more sustainable system.
DRWA has hired Jean Holloway to fill
the position of SIAP Circuit Rider. Many of you may be
familiar with Jean who came to DRWA after eight years as the
Training Manager with the University of Maryland Environmental
Finance Center. During that time she provided training on
financial and management topics for utilities in Delaware, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
For more information about the SIAP
or to schedule an appointment with Jean Holloway, call 302-424-3792.
Jean can also be reached directly by cell phone at 302-462-0462 or
email at
jeandrwa@yahoo.com.
SEMS Technologies, LLC, has developed
a new software suite for drinking water and wastewater utilities.
The new suite offers new sections on ISDE, cross connection
control/backflow prevention, sample collection and recordkeeping, in
addition to the Vulnerability Assessment and Emergency Response Plan
sections you may already be familiar with.
Contact Rick Duncan at 302-424-3792
for more information about the latest version of the SEMS Software
Suite.
Delaware Rural Water Association
(DRWA), will continue to provide training and technical assistance
to SRF borrowers and community water systems in Delaware. SRF
applicants must meet technical, managerial and financial capacity
requirements. DRWA, under its agreement with the Office of
Drinking Water, will provide on-site technical assistance and
training to help SRF systems understand what makes the system
run and how to stay in compliance. In addition, DRWA will assist
systems in developing policies, procedures, and emergency response
plans, as well as how to administer such plans. Finally, DRWA will
assist SRF systems with their capital improvements planning by
conducting training to local officials on budgeting and utility
management. For more information or assistance, call Rick
Duncan at 302-424-3792
At the end of last year the Governor
issued a drought warning and advised conservation measures. There
are things water professionals can do to lend a hand. The first is
a water audit which basically consists of figuring out your
unaccounted for water. That is, the difference between what is
coming into your system and what is leaving your system. The
unaccounted for water may be due to recordkeeping errors, inaccurate
metering, water that is given away or stolen, or it may be the
dreaded water leak.
This is the
season for water leaks; it seems the freezing and thawing of the
ground brings them on. Leak detection and water loss control are
not as complicated as they may seem. When you see water visibly
seeping out of the middle of the road, it’s pretty obvious. When
that is not the case, a leak detection survey is required. For this
brief overview on leak detection, let’s just say we have seen actual
evidence of a water leak.
If you’re not
exactly sure where a leak is originating from, be sure to call
DRWA. We have some great equipment and are always willing to lend a
hand. We use two methods of detecting water leaks: Sonic listening
devices and Correlator devices. Listening devices are basically
ground microphones that amplify the sound of water escaping the
pipe. The water lines are first located and marked, and then the
listener moves the ground microphone over the marked lines and
listens for the sounds a water leak makes. The Correlator, on the
other hand, pretty much does the job for us. It has two
transmitters that are placed either directly on the water line or on
valves or meters that hear the “leak sounds” and transmit them
separately to the main processor unit, thereby pinpointing the water
leak.
The benefits
of leak detection are numerous. Finding and repairing leaks reduces
wear on equipment, lowers electric and operating costs for treating,
pumping, and storing water, and protects the public’s health by
reducing cross-connections. For assistance with leak detection,
call DRWA at 302-424-3792.
AWWA and the
National Rural Water Association have agreed to advance common goals
and promote each other’s products, as well as raise public awareness
about the water industry and promote sound public policy.
AWWA is truly
committed to developing this working relationship with NRWA,” said
Nilaksh Kothari, AWWA president. “Both organizations will benefit
from each other’s strengths, and this new era of cooperation and
coordination will ultimately serve consumers from communities of all
sizes.”
Kothari and
Rodney Tart, NRWA president, signed a memo of understanding (MOU)
declaring their intent to work more closely together and affirming
each association’s common goals. “It is important that our
respective organizations continue to seek opportunity in areas where
we can find mutual agreement,” said Tart. “I am encouraged by this
new collaborative effort to advance the water industry.”
Signed during
NRWA’s annual conference in Philadelphia, the MOU states that the
respective presidents will meet at least twice a year. They will
appoint a joint workgroup to develop an annual action plan to
fulfill the intent of the agreement. The group will also review the
implementation of the MOU, hold formal partnering sessions, and
recommend amendments.
According to
the MOU, the associations’ common goals are to advance education,
science, and technology; disseminate technical information; provide
training assistance; increase public understanding; promote sound
public policy, and improve trust and confidence between the two
organizations.
December 2008
WaterLine Issue:
