On Wednesday, September 8, 2021, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm (eastern time), ASDWA will host a webinar entitled, “PFAS Community-Based Water Supply Planning in the Twin Cities.” This webinar will highlight the efforts of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Natural Resources (the co-trustees of the 3M PFAS Settlement) to spend $700 million on a drinking water supply plan for 14 communities in the East Metropolitan Area. With input from citizens, stakeholders, and technical experts from each of the affected communities, the comprehensive set of recommended options account for every home, neighborhood, and community in the 150 square miles affected by PFAS contamination in the East Metropolitan Area to ensure all recommendations provide safe and sustainable drinking water now and into the future. REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR HERE.

The webinar speaker is Karla Peterson. Karla is the Community Public Water Supply Unit Supervisor at the Minnesota Department of Health. Her Unit is responsible for administering the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and anticipating and responding to changing needs and expectations related to drinking water. She is a registered Professional Engineer, has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota, and has a M.A. in Public Administration from Hamline University. Karla has more than 25 years of experience in the state drinking water program and is a member of several organizations, including the American Water Works Association, serving in a variety of roles over her career and as a past Chair for the Minnesota Section.

On Wednesday, August 25, 2021 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm (eastern time), ASDWA will host a webinar entitled, “Minnesota Groundwater Pathogen Project – Past Results and Current Focus.” Building on the results of a statewide survey of pathogen occurrence in 145 public supply wells conducted in 2014-2016, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), in partnership with the US Geological Survey and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, is currently focused on a study that attempts to establish the timing and mechanisms for pathogen transport in the subsurface. This webinar will cover the findings of the previous phase of the study and outline current efforts. The webinar speakers are Anita Anderson and Jim Walsh with MDH.

Anita Anderson has over 25 years of experience as a water supply engineer with MDH. Her primary area of expertise is surface water treatment, specializing in small systems. Currently she is also working on special projects to advance safe and sustainable water reuse in Minnesota and to predict the vulnerability of groundwater drinking water sources to microbial pathogens.

Jim Walsh has over 30 years of experience as a hydrologist with MDH, specializing in the delineation of wellhead protection areas and assessing the vulnerability of public water supply wells and the aquifers they tap. He holds bachelors and master’s degrees in geology from Miami University and the University of Michigan, and had an early career in mineral exploration and mining.

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR HERE

On Wednesday, August 11, 2021, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm (eastern time), ASDWA and the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) will host a webinar entitled, “Effective Agricultural Practices to Address Nitrate in Groundwater Sources of Drinking Water,” with speakers from three states (Kansas, Nebraska, and Wisconsin) who will share information about their efforts to work with agricultural partners to reduce nitrate in groundwater sources of drinking water. State Source Water Protection Coordinators and representatives of NRCS, NACD, TA provider organizations, water utilities and associations, and other partners are encouraged to attend. The presentations and speakers include:

• Kansas – Innovative Ways to Protect Drinking Water for Kansas Communities: The presentation will give a brief background into Drinking Water Protection (DWP), how DWP helps alleviate nitrates in public water supplies, and how Hagie Interseeders involved with the Kansas Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) can be used in DWP communities. The DWP Program is a voluntary, non-regulatory program at Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to help small communities with nitrate issues. Speaker: Logan Smith, the DWP Coordinator in the Bureau of Environmental Field Services at the KDHE.
• Nebraska – A Coordinated Approach to Source Water Protection in an Agricultural Environment: The presentation will share information about how the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) is: working with communities to develop alternative 319 nine-element watershed-based plans to address groundwater impairments; calculating load reductions for groundwater protection planning; and working with NRCS to identify priority practices. Speakers: Elbert Traylor, a Specialist in the Nonpoint Source Management Program, and Tatiana Davila, a Hydrogeologist in the Groundwater Division, at the NDEE.
• Wisconsin – Nitrogen fertilizer Decision Support Tools for Source Water Protection: This presentation will share information about the development of a state stakeholder participatory framework and new software tools to protect source water from excess nitrate contamination in order to protect public health while maintaining agricultural production. These tools are currently in early pre-release stages and include methods to establish and meet numerical load reduction goals for land use activities and practices designed to reduce nitrate leaching to groundwater in well recharge areas. Speakers:
  • Brian Austin, the Source Water Protection Coordinator in the Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
  • Paul Juckem, a Hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey – Upper Midwest Water Science Center
  • Christopher Kucharik, Professor and Chair in the Department of Agronomy at the University of Wisconsin – Madison