Region 10 AWOP Hosts Region 8

Last week at their regular Region 10 (i.e., Pacific Northwest region) Area Wide Optimization Program (AWOP) meeting, EPA Region 8 (i.e., intermountain region) staff and two of their states (Colorado, North Dakota) attended to learn more about AWOP.   Region 8, responsible for SDWA implementation in Wyoming, and the other states are considering whether AWOP could be a program that will help their water systems improve technical capacity and also increase the capabilities of state staff. AWOP is a key component of the capacity development strategies of the existing Region 10 AWOP states and Utah. (Utah is a Region 8 state already participating with the Region 10 AWOP.) The technical topic that was explored during the meeting was “conducting tracer studies.” The attendees spent the day in the Silverton, OR water treatment plant comparing the use of fluoride and chlorine as tools for tracer studies.   The tracer studies were not as successful as the group would have liked but the information gathered during the exercise is something states will take back to improve the conduct or review of tracer studies in their states.

ASDWA supports the participation of 22 states in the national AWOP. For more information on AWOP, visit the ASDWA AWOP web page.