Journal ‐ American Water Works Association最新文献

Imagine a better world created through better water, where public health and the environment are protected and where the public trusts its water systems without question. This future is inspired by innovation, a global perspective, and a diverse workforce shaping water's future.

I think you will like AWWA's new 2030 strategic plan, which was adopted this past June by AWWA's board of directors. It frames AWWA's vision, mission, and core principles, and it sets goals and strategic objectives to be completed by 2030. This plan includes short-term goals and objectives that support the Water 2050 strategy.

Two of the most important aspects of AWWA's consecutive string of strategic plans are that they are used and that they are useful. I am sure you can name examples of strategic plans that are carefully developed and adopted, only to sit on a shelf collecting dust. That is not the case for AWWA.

Here is how AWWA keeps the dust off its strategic plan. First, we recognize that this is the board's road map of where AWWA needs to go for its members. Second, members help develop the plan. As staff, we use it to create annual staff business plans, which identify operational actions that support the strategic plan's objectives. Finally, each action includes a description, an accountable leader, a deadline for deliverables, and a status tracker. In this final step, the AWWA board receives status updates throughout the year. Collectively, these steps keep the board and staff aligned on the elements and progress of the strategic plan.

It took 10 months to develop AWWA's 2030 strategic plan. Past president David Rager and current board member Keisha Thorpe formed a Strategic Planning Committee consisting of 20 representatives from Sections, councils, service providers, manufacturers, and the AWWA board and staff. The committee was also supported in various ways by more than 20 other AWWA members and staff. The final approval and adoption of the plan was by the 64 members of AWWA's board.

Reflecting on the plan, David stressed that the new 2030 strategic plan “continues AWWA's vision of ‘a better world through better water,’ the importance of strong collaboration between the association and its Sections, and an intentional focus on the members’ value.” Keisha added that the plan highlights AWWA's role as a leader in the water profession: “This plan speaks to our credibility, our professional content, and representing who we are as water professionals,” she said.

The accompanying table summarizes most of the key elements of AWWA's 2030 strategic plan, but not all of them. You can see them on AWWA's website.

Creating a strategic plan is both exciting and critical. It is exciting to envision the future and the opportunity for AWWA to achieve it. It is critical because it helps AWWA focus on allocating resources and prioritizing initiatives. Ultimately, a clear direction is beneficial and essential for the entire water com

On May 15, 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the final Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) Rule Revisions, and it was formally published in the Federal Register a few weeks later (89 FR 45980). After a long process, including a National Drinking Water Advisory Council Workgroup and a 2023 proposal and comment period, the final rule provides a clear path to making changes required by America's Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA). AWWA, individual sections, and many members engaged in these efforts throughout the multiyear development of the final rule.

As finalized, the rule sets new implementable requirements inherent to the statutory language of AWIA. This is truly a case in which words matter. While achievable, systems and states will need to update and implement new processes, but by carefully listening to and acting on stakeholder feedback, EPA's decisions avoided some potentially very challenging situations.

Section 2008 of AWIA specifies that water systems serving at least 10,000 people provide their CCR at least twice per year. The concept of provide is essential here. Stakeholders suggested a broad variety of recommendations to EPA on this point, ranging from releasing exactly the same CCR twice in a year to trying to split the annual CCR into six-month increments. Having two totally different reports would be like trying to split your tax return into two half-year tax returns. EPA balanced stakeholder interest in updating CCRs in a timely fashion for violations, action level exceedances, or late-arriving Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) data but focused in the final rule on using the second delivery to ensure consumers receive the report from their water system.

In the proposed rule, EPA had a provision that was aimed at banning “false or misleading statements or representations,” which on its face is not that concerning. However, in the text explaining that provision in the proposal, EPA had stated that it may be false or misleading to refer to drinking water as safe—even if a system was in compliance with all health-based drinking water standards. AWWA and many others wrote in about challenges associated with the proposed provision. As part of preparing its comments, AWWA conducted public polling that found that 77% of adults expected their utility to refer to its water as safe if it met all health-based regulations, and 74% believed that if a utility cannot say the water is safe, they will think it is unsafe. A single word makes a huge difference in perception.

In finalizing the rule, EPA cited existing protections against falsification of records both within SDWA and in other civil and criminal laws, leaving out the proposed new language.

So what are the changes in the rule overall? Although there are a great many smaller items, the largest and most impactful six changes (summarized in Figure 1) are as follows.

Requirement for systems that serve more tha