Journal ‐ American Water Works Association最新文献_第2页

People in the News 新闻人物

IF 0.4 4区环境科学与生态学 Q4 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Journal ‐ American Water Works Association

Pub Date : 2026-02-12 DOI: 10.1002/awwa.70046

The board of directors of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (EVMWD; Lake Elsinore, Calif.) has selected its officers for the 2026 term. Andy Morris has been elected president. Darcy M. Burke has been elected vice president, and Harvey R. Ryan has been elected treasurer. Morris, first elected to the EVMWD board in 2010, has served in every officer role. He owns Andrew Morris Insurance Agency.

Burke, elected to the board in 2018, was appointed in 2024 to the US Environmental Protection Agency's Local Government Advisory Committee. Ryan, a board member since 2004, has served in all officer roles.

The Cla-Val Company announced changes to its senior management team, which took effect Jan. 1, 2026. John Link, a 35-year veteran of the company, has assumed the role of president and CEO. Throughout his tenure, Link has been involved with Cla-Val's domestic and international growth, primarily overseeing sales and engineering-related activities and serving most recently as president. Ryan Pickett has been promoted to chief operating officer, bringing 15 years of operational expertise to the executive role. He has been recognized for his organizational skills and strategic vision in guiding the company's operational growth initiatives. Martin W. Pickett has become chairman of the board, providing strategic direction and supporting selected growth initiatives for the company. The executive management team also includes David Koeblitz as executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Hugo Van Buel as executive vice president of European operations.

Aqua-Aerobic announced the promotion of Terry Reid to vice president of research and development, recognizing his 35-year career and his contributions to innovation in water and wastewater treatment. Reid most recently served as director of research and development, guiding the company's long-term research and development vision, expanding its intellectual property portfolio, and advancing emerging technologies from concept to full-scale market introduction. He joined Aqua-Aerobic Systems in 1989 as a process engineer and has since advanced through numerous technical and leadership roles.

Charles A. Buescher, Saint Louis, Mo.

Jeffrey R. Hines, York, Pa.

Warren J. Hunt, New Port Richey, Fla.

Roland Larkin, Gardendale, Ala.

Steven Powers, Prescott Valley, Ariz.

加利福尼亚州埃尔西诺湖埃尔西诺谷市政水区（EVMWD）董事会选出了2026年任期的官员。安迪·莫里斯当选为总统。Darcy M. Burke被选为副总裁，Harvey R. Ryan被选为财务主管。Morris于2010年首次当选为EVMWD董事会成员，担任过所有官员职务。他拥有安德鲁莫里斯保险公司。伯克于2018年当选为董事会成员，并于2024年被任命为美国环境保护局地方政府咨询委员会成员。Ryan自2004年以来一直担任董事会成员，担任过所有高管职务。Cla-Val公司宣布了其高级管理团队的变动，该变动将于2026年1月1日生效。在该公司工作了35年的约翰•林克（John Link）将出任总裁兼首席执行官。在他任职期间，Link一直参与Cla-Val的国内和国际增长，主要监督销售和工程相关活动，最近担任总裁。瑞安•皮克特（Ryan Pickett）被提升为首席运营官，他将15年的运营专业知识带到了这个高管职位上。他在指导公司运营增长计划方面的组织技能和战略眼光得到了认可。Martin W. Pickett已成为董事会主席，为公司提供战略方向和支持选定的增长计划。执行管理团队还包括David Koeblitz（执行副总裁兼首席财务官）和Hugo Van Buel（欧洲业务执行副总裁）。Aqua-Aerobic宣布将Terry Reid提升为研发副总裁，以表彰他35年的职业生涯以及他在水和废水处理创新方面的贡献。Reid最近担任研发总监，指导公司的长期研发愿景，扩大其知识产权组合，并推动新兴技术从概念到全面市场引入。他于1989年加入aqua -有氧系统公司，担任工艺工程师，此后担任过许多技术和领导职务。查尔斯·a·布舍尔，密苏里州圣路易斯。杰弗里·r·海恩斯，宾夕法尼亚州约克沃伦·j·亨特（Warren J. Hunt），佛罗里达州新里奇港阿拉巴马州加登代尔的罗兰·拉金Steven Powers，普雷斯科特谷，亚利桑那州

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引用次数: 0

Utilities Are at Risk of Superfund Liability 公用事业面临超级基金责任的风险

IF 0.4 4区环境科学与生态学 Q4 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Journal ‐ American Water Works Association

Pub Date : 2026-02-12 DOI: 10.1002/awwa.70036

G. Tracy Mehan III, Nate Norris

Editor's note: The following is based on testimony provided by AWWA to the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on the Environment, Washington, D.C., on Dec. 18, 2025.Water and wastewater utilities are “passive receivers” of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). They do not manufacture, use, or profit from PFAS, nor do they control whether PFAS is present in their source water or the influent that arrives at treatment plants from homes and businesses. But new regulations require utilities to treat for, manage, and dispose of PFAS—requirements that impose significant costs and expose utilities to legal and financial liability.The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently finalized PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), establishing maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) of 4 ppt (ng/L) for each compound pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The NPDWR requires water utilities to complete initial monitoring by 2027 and install new treatment systems to meet the MCLs by 2029.While Congress provided $10 billion to help water and wastewater systems address PFAS through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, AWWA estimates that utilities will need to make capital investments totaling between $37 billion and $48 billion by 2029 to fully comply with the NPDWR. These investments expose utilities to significant liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund. Passed in 1980, the law could not have anticipated the evolution of water treatment technologies and environmental regulations.When a utility removes PFAS using granular activated carbon, ion exchange, or reverse osmosis—all identified by EPA as “best available technologies”—it generates residuals containing high concentrations of PFAS. Utilities must then manage and dispose of these residuals at a facility that accepts hazardous waste.If the disposal site ever becomes subject to a Superfund cleanup, the utility—which removed PFAS from the community's drinking water and responsibly managed and disposed of the residuals—may then be treated as a “potentially responsible party” (PRP) under CERCLA. This can result in costly and lengthy litigation, and utilities could even be required to pay for cleanup of the site. In effect, CERCLA punishes utilities for doing exactly what EPA requires them to do under the SDWA: treat for and dispose of PFAS.EPA's designation of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA imposes CERCLA's “strict, retroactive, joint and several” liability on four categories of PRPs: owners and operators, past owners and operators, arrangers, and transporters. Water and wastewater utilities may qualify as arrangers or transporters of PFAS because of their role in managing and disposing of residuals.

编者注：以下内容基于AWWA于2025年12月18日在华盛顿特区向美国众议院能源和商业委员会环境小组委员会提供的证词。供水和污水处理设施是全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质的“被动接受者”。他们既不生产、使用PFAS，也不从PFAS中获利，也不控制源水中或从家庭和企业进入处理厂的污水中是否存在PFAS。但新的法规要求公用事业公司处理、管理和处置pfas——这些要求带来了巨大的成本，并使公用事业公司承担了法律和财务责任。美国环境保护署（EPA）最近最终确定了全氟辛酸（PFOA）和全氟辛烷磺酸（PFOS）的全氟辛烷磺酸国家一级饮用水条例（NPDWR），根据《安全饮用水法案》（SDWA），每种化合物的最大污染物水平（mcl）为4 ppt （ng/L）。NPDWR要求水务公司在2027年之前完成初步监测，并在2029年之前安装新的处理系统以达到最低限度。虽然国会通过《基础设施投资与就业法案》（Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act）提供了100亿美元帮助供水和废水处理系统解决PFAS问题，但AWWA估计，到2029年，公用事业公司将需要总计370亿至480亿美元的资本投资，才能完全遵守NPDWR。根据《综合环境反应、赔偿和责任法》（CERCLA），也被称为超级基金，这些投资使公用事业公司承担了重大责任。该法律于1980年通过，不可能预料到水处理技术和环境法规的发展。当公用事业公司使用颗粒活性炭、离子交换或反渗透去除PFAS时——这些都被EPA认定为“最佳可用技术”——会产生含有高浓度PFAS的残留物。然后，公用事业必须在接受危险废物的设施中管理和处置这些残留物。如果处置场地成为超级基金清理的对象，那么根据CERCLA，从社区饮用水中清除PFAS并负责任地管理和处置残留物的公用事业公司可能会被视为“潜在责任方”（PRP）。这可能会导致昂贵而漫长的诉讼，甚至可能需要公用事业公司支付清理现场的费用。实际上，CERCLA惩罚的是公用事业公司，因为它们完全按照环保署在SDWA下的要求去做：处理和处置PFAS。环保署根据CERCLA将全氟辛烷磺酸和全氟辛烷磺酸指定为有害物质，这使CERCLA对四类prp负有“严格的、追溯的、连带的”责任：所有者和经营者、过去的所有者和经营者、安排者和运输者。由于水和废水公用事业公司在管理和处置残留物方面的作用，它们可能有资格成为PFAS的安排者或运输者。CERCLA根本不是为PFOA和PFOS这样的化学物质而设计的，这些化学物质在半个多世纪以来一直在环境中无处不在。国会制定了各种免除CERCLA责任的规定，例如没有积极管理操作的贷方。AWWA认为，免除水和污水处理公司的PFAS责任，将加强“污染者付费”原则，确保PFAS制造商，而不是公用事业公司和当地社区，为CERCLA的清理买单。环保署署长Lee Zeldin也呼吁国会采取行动，并于2025年9月17日表示，环保署“将需要国会新的法定语言，以充分解决我们对被动接收方责任的担忧。”国会可以而且应该阻止水和污水处理公司以及他们所服务的社区承担清理不是他们造成的污染的成本。H.R. 1267《水系统PFAS责任保护法》是一项两党共同通过的立法，它将保留CERCLA的“污染者付费”原则，为供水和污水处理公用事业公司提供狭义的PFAS责任豁免，除非是疏忽或故意不当行为。如果国会不采取行动，全国各地的水和废水公用事业公司将面临清理污染的成本，这些污染不是他们造成的，从基本功能转移了资源，并加剧了社区的负担能力挑战。

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引用次数: 0

Let Coliphages Lead the Way to Smarter Water Sanitation 让噬菌体引领更智能的水卫生

IF 0.4 4区环境科学与生态学 Q4 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Journal ‐ American Water Works Association

Pub Date : 2026-02-12 DOI: 10.1002/awwa.70045

Joe Hernandez

引用次数: 0

AWWA Water Science Author Spotlight: Katerina Sichrova AWWA水科学作者重点：katina Sichrova

IF 0.4 4区环境科学与生态学 Q4 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Journal ‐ American Water Works Association

Pub Date : 2026-02-12 DOI: 10.1002/awwa.70039

Having recently published an article in AWWA Water Science, Katerina Sichrova answered questions from the publication's editor-in-chief, Kenneth L. Mercer, about the research.Mixed Adsorbents: Synergic Effects Improve Problematic Compounds Removal During Drinking Water TreatmentKaterina Sichrova, Lenka Cermakova, Katerina Novotna, Lenka Pivokonska, Veronika Zustakova, and Martin PivokonskyKaterina Sichrova after receiving her doctoral degree.Two years ago, I finished my doctoral studies at the Faculty of Science, Charles University, in the Czech Republic, in environmental sciences. This study program provided me with a broad theoretical background as well as specific knowledge in the field of water treatment, which I acquired primarily through practical work in laboratories and under the expert guidance of our research team. What I consider very important, and what I had the opportunity to encounter not only during my studies but also during my work practice, is an interdisciplinary approach that combines environmental sciences with engineering and chemical principles, which are essential for the effective development of new technologies.Drinking water is essential for life. Most of us take the water that flows from our taps for granted and don’t think about where it actually comes from. But the fact is that before it reaches our tap, it goes through a series of processes during which its quality is adjusted so that we don’t face any health risks after drinking it. I research the individual treatment steps, examine how they work, and optimize and innovate them. Whether it's pesticides, drugs, or hormones that get into the water, or microplastics that are increasingly found in our water sources, I focus on how to effectively remove these substances so that the water is not only clean but also safe for human health.Katerina (front, right) takes a break with her colleagues in a hydrochemistry laboratory at the Institute of Hydrodynamics of the Czech Academy of Sciences.Katerina during a poster session at the International Conference MICRO 2024 in Lanzarote, Canary Islands.Katerina (right) and a colleague explore during the IWA International Conference for Water Safety in Narvik, Norway.One surprise was that using mixed sorbents can achieve significantly higher efficiency than using a single adsorbent. In other words, I expected that using a mixture of carbon would remove more substances overall, but I was surprised that the result would be so significant and that the ratio of adsorbents used would play such a crucial role. This discovery motivates me to continue experimenting to understand how to optimize carbon combinations to achieve the best results.I am fascinated by the function of mixed adsorbents and their synergistic effects. I believe that mixed adsorbents have enormous potential for improving adsorption efficiency and thus the

Katerina Sichrova最近在AWWA Water Science上发表了一篇文章，她回答了该出版物主编Kenneth L. Mercer关于这项研究的问题。混合吸附剂：协同效应改善饮用水处理过程中问题化合物的去除Katerina Sichrova， Lenka Cermakova, Katerina Novotna, Lenka Pivokonska， Veronika Zustakova和Martin PivokonskyKaterina Sichrova博士毕业后。两年前，我在捷克查尔斯大学理学院完成了环境科学的博士学业。这个学习项目为我在水处理领域提供了广泛的理论背景和具体的知识，这些知识主要是通过在实验室的实际工作和研究团队的专家指导下获得的。我认为非常重要的，也是我在学习和工作实践中有机会遇到的，是一种跨学科的方法，将环境科学与工程和化学原理相结合，这对于新技术的有效开发至关重要。饮用水是维持生命所必需的。我们大多数人认为从水龙头里流出的水是理所当然的，也没有想过它实际上是从哪里来的。但事实是，在它到达我们的水龙头之前，它经历了一系列的过程，在此过程中，它的质量被调整，所以我们饮用后不会面临任何健康风险。我研究每个治疗步骤，检查它们是如何工作的，并对它们进行优化和创新。无论是进入水中的杀虫剂、药物或激素，还是在我们的水源中越来越多地发现的微塑料，我关注的是如何有效地去除这些物质，使水不仅干净，而且对人类健康安全。卡特琳娜（前右）在捷克科学院流体动力学研究所的水化学实验室与同事们休息。卡特琳娜在加那利群岛兰萨罗特举行的国际会议MICRO 2024的海报会上。卡特琳娜（右）和一位同事在挪威纳尔维克举行的IWA国际水安全会议上进行探索。令人惊讶的是，使用混合吸附剂比使用单一吸附剂的效率要高得多。换句话说，我预计使用碳的混合物会去除更多的物质，但我惊讶的是，结果会如此显著，使用吸附剂的比例会发挥如此关键的作用。这一发现激励我继续实验，了解如何优化碳组合以达到最佳效果。我着迷于混合吸附剂的功能和它们的协同作用。我相信混合吸附剂在提高吸附效率，从而提高饮用水处理效果方面具有巨大的潜力。虽然我和其他许多科学家在这个领域已经有了一定的了解，但仍然需要更详细地研究这种不同类型的碳与其他材料之间的协同效应现象。我计划将我的进一步研究重点放在了解影响这些混合吸附剂效率的因素，并优化其实际应用的条件上。我喜欢和家人一起度过我的空闲时间。我是一个积极放松的爱好者。我喜欢跳舞、远足、爬山和武术，尤其是跆拳道。但即使在我的空闲时间，我没有忽视我对水的热爱，特别是在夏天，当我喜欢去游泳，划独木舟，或在河上漂流。另一方面，躺在沙滩上，手里拿着一本书，看日落也有它的魅力。我最着迷的是水本身，无论是河流、湖泊还是海洋——它是一种激发我灵感的元素。它是一种赋予生命的物质，但同时它也具有毁灭的力量。水是不可驯服的元素。我们不断地发现新事物，然而我们所知甚少。由于我的工作，我有机会越来越多地了解水，这推动着我前进。此外，与同事的合作对我来说很重要。例如，在国际会议上，我可以听到不同的意见和观点，特别是在各种各样的主题、新的挑战和更有效地利用水的方法上获得宝贵的经验。要了解更多关于卡特琳娜的研究，请访问这篇文章，可在https://doi.org/10.1002/aws2.70011上获得。

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引用次数: 0

Tapping Into Trust 挖掘信任

IF 0.4 4区环境科学与生态学 Q4 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Journal ‐ American Water Works Association

Pub Date : 2026-02-12 DOI: 10.1002/awwa.70037

Kenneth L. Mercer

Trust in water utilities begins with public recognition of the risks involved combined with confidence in strategies to mitigate those challenges. When utilities communicate openly, they can respond to questions with assurance and credibility. Yet the relationship between customers and their water provider is rarely simple. While utilities focus on regulatory compliance, infrastructure, and costs, customers care most about public health, aesthetics, and affordability. These differing perspectives are shaped by local resources, financial capacity, and regulations; taken together, those factors can complicate trust.

Establishing reliable communication through proactive information exchange is essential. Utilities should seek steady feedback on water quality while providing clear insight into system and source conditions. In addition, utilities need to keep ratepayers informed of current and future financial and engineering challenges. Transparency throughout demonstrates accountability and builds confidence.

Community engagement is a cornerstone of trust. Utilities must be visible—attending local events, hosting school tours, and participating in public meetings. Staff should answer questions and present their honest assessments of challenges and solutions. These efforts foster recognition and build a reservoir of trust that is beneficial during short-term emergencies and longer periods of change.

Transparency also means acknowledging missteps and explaining corrective actions without excuses. When problems arise, whether aesthetic issues or service disruptions, utilities should acknowledge what went wrong, outline solutions, and maintain open dialogue. Taste, odor, and color rarely pose health risks, but they can undermine public confidence, so addressing these concerns promptly and visibly helps build and reinforce trust in the public water supply.

Utilities should leverage media and social platforms to share accurate and timely updates. Invite critics to participate in tours or advisory panels. Host honest conversations about aging infrastructure, rate increases, and treatment capabilities for emerging contaminants to help dispel misconceptions and reinforce reliability. Ratepayers in particular want to know what they are paying for and what any future investments may cost.

Customer service standards matter, too. When emergencies occur, the resilience and flexibility built within utility teams will be evident, and these moments can strengthen trust if handled competently and communicated transparently.

By combining transparency, proactive engagement, and credible leadership, water and wastewater utilities can sustain trust, even amid challenges. Please consider writing an article for Journal AWWA to share your approaches for building trust in water systems and services by contacting me at [email protected].

对水务公司的信任始于公众对所涉及的风险的认识，以及对减轻这些挑战的战略的信心。当公用事业公司公开沟通时，他们就能以自信和可信的态度回答问题。然而，消费者和供水商之间的关系并不简单。公用事业公司关注的是法规遵从性、基础设施和成本，而客户最关心的是公共健康、美观和可负担性。这些不同的观点受到当地资源、财政能力和法规的影响；综合起来，这些因素可能会使信任复杂化。通过主动信息交换建立可靠的通信至关重要。公用事业公司应寻求稳定的水质反馈，同时提供对系统和水源条件的清晰洞察。此外，公用事业公司需要让纳税人了解当前和未来的财务和工程挑战。透明度体现了问责制，建立了信心。社区参与是信任的基石。公用事业必须是可见的-参加当地活动，主办学校参观，并参加公共会议。员工应该回答问题，并对挑战和解决方案给出诚实的评估。这些努力促进认识和建立信任储备，在短期紧急情况和较长时期的变革期间是有益的。透明还意味着承认错误，解释纠正措施，不找借口。当出现问题时，无论是美学问题还是服务中断，公用事业公司都应该承认出了什么问题，概述解决方案，并保持公开的对话。味道、气味和颜色很少构成健康风险，但它们会破坏公众的信心，因此，及时和明显地解决这些问题有助于建立和加强对公共供水的信任。公用事业公司应该利用媒体和社交平台来分享准确和及时的更新。邀请评论家参加参观或咨询小组。就老化的基础设施、费率的增加以及新出现的污染物的处理能力等问题进行坦诚的对话，以帮助消除误解并加强可靠性。纳税人尤其想知道他们在为什么买单，以及未来的投资可能花费多少。客户服务标准也很重要。当紧急情况发生时，在公用事业团队中建立的弹性和灵活性将是显而易见的，如果处理得当，沟通透明，这些时刻可以加强信任。通过结合透明度、主动参与和可信的领导，供水和污水处理公用事业公司即使面临挑战也能保持信任。请考虑为AWWA杂志写一篇文章，通过[email protected]与我联系，分享您在水系统和服务中建立信任的方法。

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引用次数: 0

To Address PFAS Challenges, Invest Where It Matters 应对PFAS挑战，投资于重要领域

IF 0.4 4区环境科学与生态学 Q4 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Journal ‐ American Water Works Association

Pub Date : 2026-01-26 DOI: 10.1002/awwa.70027

Germano Salazar-Benites

引用次数: 0

WOTUS Under the Bridge 《桥下

IF 0.4 4区环境科学与生态学 Q4 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Journal ‐ American Water Works Association

Pub Date : 2026-01-26 DOI: 10.1002/awwa.70032

Adam T. Carpenter

Back in 2019 when I wrote “All's Fair in Love and WOTUS,” I thought it would be both the first and the last time I would use a proverb to talk about the definition of waters of the United States (the concept defining where Clean Water Act [CWA] protections do and do not apply). I could not have been more wrong. Why? Aside from the November 2025 proposal specifics being different compared with the many preceding it, nearly everything in that column still applies today, so it seemed fitting to title the column using the same pattern. For a refresher, Journal AWWA ran a series of expert essays in 2021 about the complexities of WOTUS and creating a lasting definition for it, and although some specifics have changed, the basic challenges remain.With challenges in the legal, political, and environmental realms, the definition of WOTUS has continued to swing from more to less encompassing, with multiple ensuing regulatory actions and Supreme Court rulings over the years. Following the issue feels more like watching a slow-motion tennis match than reading the Federal Register. AWWA's most recently published comment (as of this writing) cites six other times that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) had taken public comment on substantial revisions to WOTUS in the past decade alone, not counting others for tangential but related issues.Even as much is the same, certain key events have changed the issue's trajectory. Chief among these is Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (2023), which invalidated the “significant nexus” test for jurisdictional determinations. That test used hydrologic evaluation to determine whether a potentially jurisdictional non-navigable water had a “significant nexus” to a jurisdictional waterbody, a complex concept often requiring detailed analysis. The court affirmed the “relatively permanent” test, indicating that to be jurisdictional, a non-navigable water just needs to have a continuous surface connection on a relatively permanent basis, although the specifics of these concepts were left to the agencies. Sackett also found that wetlands are jurisdictional only if they are “as a practical matter indistinguishable from [WOTUS],” meaning that “there is no clear demarcation between ‘waters’ and wetlands.” The ecological connection of a wetland to water is not sufficient; it has to be physically connected. Although many waters have been and will continue to be clearly jurisdictional, many features such as ephemeral streams (those that have water only in direct response to precipitation events) will not. Everything that is not federal jurisdiction can fall under state jurisdiction, depending on state law.In the November 2025 proposal, EPA and USACE opted to view these definitions in a relatively narrow way. For example, relatively permanent in the proposal refers to “standing or continuously flowing bodie

早在2019年，当我写《爱情和WOTUS都是公平的》时，我就认为这将是我第一次也是最后一次用谚语来谈论美国水域的定义（定义清洁水法[CWA]保护适用和不适用的概念）。我大错特错了。为什么?除了2025年11月的提案细节与之前的许多提案有所不同之外，该专栏中的几乎所有内容今天仍然适用，因此使用相同的模式为该专栏命名似乎是合适的。为了复习一下，《AWWA杂志》在2021年发表了一系列专家论文，讨论了WOTUS的复杂性，并为其创建了一个持久的定义，尽管一些细节发生了变化，但基本的挑战仍然存在。随着法律、政治和环境领域的挑战，WOTUS的定义一直在从更多到更少的范围内摇摆，多年来出现了多次监管行动和最高法院裁决。关注这个问题感觉更像是在看一场慢动作的网球比赛，而不是阅读《联邦公报》。AWWA最近发表的评论（截至撰写本文时）引用了美国环境保护署（EPA）和美国陆军工程兵团（USACE）在过去十年中六次就《美国能源与环境保护法》的实质性修订征询公众意见，不包括其他无关但相关的问题。尽管情况大致相同，但某些关键事件改变了这个问题的发展轨迹。其中最主要的是Sackett诉环境保护局（2023），该案件使“重大联系”测试在管辖权确定中无效。该测试使用水文评估来确定可能具有管辖权的非通航水域是否与管辖权水体有“重要联系”，这是一个复杂的概念，通常需要详细分析。法院确认了“相对永久”的标准，表明要具有管辖权，非通航水域只需要在相对永久的基础上具有连续的表面连接，尽管这些概念的具体细节留给了机构。Sackett还发现，湿地只有在“作为一个实际问题与[WOTUS]无法区分”时才具有管辖权，这意味着“‘水’和湿地之间没有明确的界限”。湿地与水的生态联系不充分；它必须是物理连接的。尽管许多水域已经并将继续具有明确的管辖权，但许多特征，如短暂的溪流（那些只对降水事件有直接反应的水）则不会。根据州法律，不属于联邦管辖范围的一切都属于州管辖范围。在2025年11月的提案中，EPA和USACE选择以相对狭窄的方式看待这些定义。例如，提案中的相对永久性指的是“全年或至少在雨季站立或连续流动的地表水体”。各机构要求就如何最好地应用雨季的概念提出意见，包括一个固定的时间长度（例如91天）是否足以证明一种水是相对永久的，或者是否必须平均整个雨季的长度，无论当地的长度有多长，或两者兼而有。在某些情况下，天然或人工屏障的存在可以切断该点上游水域的管辖权，这取决于该特征是否破坏了相对永久的水流。除了这些概念定义之外，该规则还扩展和更改了一些排除的定义，其中许多已经出现在以前的一个或多个WOTUS定义中。（有些是法定的，但它们的定义却一再改变。）这些包括不包括地下水、废物处理系统和其他一些。明确、一致和持久的WOTUS定义仍然至关重要；对于水务公司，它影响基础设施和水源保护（SWP）计划。过于严格会拖慢必要的基础设施项目；过于狭窄会造成环境危害，并给各州带来更大的负担来规范活动。公用事业公司可以通过评估与CWA变化相关的SWP和基础设施计划来做好准备。作为离别时的思考练习：“桥下之水”是“桥下之水”吗？如果大部分时间都有水，那么很可能是。但这个有争议的问题，打个比方来说，是现在还是很快就会消失？可能不是。如果这个问题持续存在，我很乐意在未来的专栏中接受关于wotus主题谚语的建议！

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引用次数: 0

Industry News 行业新闻

IF 0.4 4区环境科学与生态学 Q4 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Journal ‐ American Water Works Association

Pub Date : 2026-01-26 DOI: 10.1002/awwa.70029

引用次数: 0

Bridging the Gaps in Water System Planning 弥合水系规划中的差距

IF 0.4 4区环境科学与生态学 Q4 ENGINEERING, CIVIL

Journal ‐ American Water Works Association

Pub Date : 2026-01-26 DOI: 10.1002/awwa.70025

Tanu Kulkarni, Melissa Mack, Lisa Lattu, Geneva Caponi

引用次数: 0