NCAWWA/WEA Water Resources Committee Conference Call

NCAWWA/WEA Water Resources Committee Conference Call

Call Summary

July 19, 2016

Attending: Leila Goodwin, Ken Vogt, Ruth Rouse, Nicole Wilkinson, Kelly Boone, Martin Lebo, Mick Noland, Jeff Adkins, IlkeMcAliley, KristelZaman, Syd Miller

November Conference Water Resources Session

Leila reminded the Committee that there is an sopen slot on Tuesday afternoon of the 2016 conference with time for four 30-min speakers. Paper work for PDHs needs to be submitted by August 1. We discussed progress in obtaining speakers:

Greg Fischel – We have reached out to him, but have not heard back. Committee decided that if we do not hear back by end of this week we should ask Greg Characklis or Ryan Boyles or someone from the State Climate Office.

Aashka Patel – She is a graduate student doing some climate work for OWASA on water supply. She is available for the conference, but may need some funding support.

Nicole Wilkinson–Nicole recently presented to the University Council on Water Resources in Florida about using the Urban Water Consortium as a model to fund applied research for water utilities. This group was interested in climate change, and she talked about water reuse, climate change portal, and Dr. Sobsey’s reclaimed water work. Nicole could talk about UWC or WRRI funded projects at a high level. The group thought this could be good to mix with some applied talks in the session.

Drought portal – This could be a good item to present on if we need a speaker.

Fall Issue of NC Currents issue on Resiliency - Kelly summarized who submitted articles and the topics. Many of these people presented last year, and we would like to avoid repeating talks.

Adam Sharpe sent email on work he did to Leila - Community Resilience pilot for Cape Fear Public Utilities Authority through EPA funding; did presentation at 2014 ACE conference. NC Dept of Emergency Management has done much Sea Level Rise analyses along coast - used the DEM data for CFPUA work.

Follow up Items

Leila to obtain the forms we need to submit.

Ruth to contact Aashka and find out if she needs funding support.

Leila to follow up on with Ryan Boyles or Greg Characklis if Greg Fischel not speaking.

Adam Sharpe and Ken Vogt to coordinate to line up speaker about sea level rise work for CFPUA.

Nicole to speak, summarizing UWC/WRRI research related to climate change.

Confluence Conference

NC AWWA-WEA used to participate in this annual water resources conference with our counterparts on South Carolina and Georgia. Nicole and WRRI are now taking the lead to obtain speakers for the conference from North Carolina. Nicole has put out requests for speakers from North Carolina for various slots, but wanted to get back up on others. A description of the sessions and suggestions for potential other speakers follows:

Session 1 (Moderator: Hope Walker)

Stressful Situations, Successful Strategies: Case Studies in Engaging with Constituents in Water-Related Crises

Appropriately responding to public emergencies that threaten community water supplies is a challenging task. Learn from case studies from the 2015 floods in South Carolina, the coal ash spill and coal ash pond contamination in North Carolina, and Proctor Creek in Georgia. Presenters will include details of response efforts and how this information can be applied to daily operations and outreach with water consumers.

Nicole has reached out to Mark McIntire, Duke Energy. If he’s not available, will need another speaker.

Suggested alternative – Charlotte’s issue with PCBs

Session 2 (Moderator: Nicole Wilkinson)

Eye to Eye: What it really means to relate to diverse audiences

Local governments and utilities have a responsibility to accurately communicate information about water resources and to meet the needs of the communities they serve. When relationships have been strained due to past or current environmental justice issues or disparities in provision of services, there is an even greater need to understand diverse customers and to have a strategy for effective outreach and engagement. Learn from examples of engagement of underserved communities in Raleigh, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia.

Nicole is in the process of exploring speakers for this session. Ideas include contacts from EPA’s Environmental Justice program/dept. There are local Raleigh contacts as well as Region 4 contacts in Atlanta. Another recent suggestion is someone from OWASA to talk about a past water supply/environmental justice issue, or the Roger Eubanks neighborhood in Chapel Hill – Veronica Bitting from the NC Rural Community Assistance Project was suggested.

Suggested alternatives: Inga Kennedy (doing work for Durham; also did much work for Western Wake WRF; Leila to provide information); Navassa Superfund sites; Rogers Road sewer community outreach (Ruth to provide information)

Session 3 (moderator TBD)

Updates and Implications of Regulations and Policies Affecting Southeast Water Resources

Grab your morning joe and join us for an open discussion where panelists from each state will talk with each other and with the audience about the nuanced details, implications, implementation and future outlook surrounding some of the top regulatory and legal issues facing GA, SC, and NC. No long lists of codes and language changes, just frank discussions about what these regulations mean for water resources, the work we do, and the communities we serve.

Nicole has invited Robin Smith to serve in this capacity. She is checking her schedule.

Suggested alternatives: JD Solomon (but he spoke there last year so may be better to get a different speaker to keep the conference fresh); Erin Wynia or Sarah Collins with the League of Municipalities

Session 4 (Moderator: Tai Yi Su)

Creating Partnerships with the Public Health Sector

The Water and Public Health sectors have a common agenda but rarely engage with each other. Do you know what your public health department deals with on a daily basis regarding water issues? From illness to research on waterborne pathogens, this session will include speakers from the CDC and state public health institutions. Learn how water utilities can forge a partnership for the common goal of safeguarding our water resources.

Nicole reached out to Evan Kane, previously w/ DWR, now with Wake County. He suggested Caroline Loop, his predecessor, who did a lot of work with DHHS and health educators to perhaps share her perspectives on effective strategies for engaging and reaching the public with important information about water and their health. Evan is reaching out to Caroline and I will follow up, but I am still searching for other ideas in case this doesn’t pan out.

Alternative Suggestions: Sue Ann Ledford (Leila to provide information)

Next Calls/Webinars

Tuesday August 30 from 12:00-1:30; will do one hour webinar with PDH (will try to set up in person locations to view in Raleigh and Charlotte) followed by 30 minute business meeting.

Ilke has been talking to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) who is doing work in Cape Fear River Basin - do ROI on water projects; what projects give most bang for buck and rank them. Also looking at forest management and how it can impact water resources. TNC noted that Foothills Conservation working in Catawba and may be good to include.

Mick asked about what happening with Source Water Protection, and folks noted there is a meeting next Tuesday. This could potentially be included in the August webinar since it is related to the TNC work if there would be adequate time.