The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released data that provides detailed information and age comparisons for employed persons in the Utility Sector. The statistics show the water sector had 238,000 employees, while 148,000 were over the age of 45. This data verifies that 62% of our nations Water Operations Specialists were eligible to retire within 10 years. The median age of a water professional was listed at 48.4 years.

EPA has posted a recently developed Algal Toxin Strategic Plan on its Website. The strategic plan outlines approaches and projects that will control and manage algal toxins in source water and treat algal toxins in drinking water. Additionally, the EPA has released a pre-publication copy of its proposed Fourth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, which includes 10 cyanotoxins/groups. WRF has a number of recently published and updated resources to help.

WRF is pleased to announce a new Tailored Collaboration project sponsored by the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) titled, “Collaborative Water Utility Benchmarking in North America” (#4659). This project seeks to determine if we can advance water and wastewater utility performance by combining industry frameworks including metric benchmarking and process benchmarking. It builds on past efforts and includes updates to the approaches used by WSAA and AWWA.

The CleanSweep NY program is coming to region 5 this Spring (April 2016) and will accept old unwanted pesticides from agriculture and non-agriculture establishments (not homeowners) for proper disposal free of charge. They will also accept other chemicals for a nominal charge.
Their plan is to have at least 2 collection sites, 1 in Plattsburgh and 1 in Hudson Falls.
Registration is required but there’s no enforcement potential.
They can be reached at 1-877-793-3769 or www.cleansweepny.org

We at NYRWA wish each and everyone that visits our website a happy and safe holiday season. Our office will be closed on December 24 and 25th. If it is an emergency please call our office and follow the instructions to reach our field staff. We thank you for your support and wish you a wonderful 2016.

PROBLEMS ACCESSING DOCUMENTS FOR THE DEC ASSET MANAGEMENT PILOT PROGRAM?
It has been brought to our attention that some people are having difficulties accessing the treatment plant score and collection system surveys required for the Asset Management Pilot Program application. If you are using Google Chrome as your browser try downloading Firefox and follow these instructions:
1. Open Firefox and go to the DEC Asset Management Pilot Program website
2. Click on either survey link