Winter 2003
IN THIS ISSUE
• DWA Completes New Sanitary
Survey Video
• DWA Focuses on Security at
Small Water Systems
• Drinking Water Academy
Contacts
• Drinking Water Institute
Teacher Training Program
• Electronic Sanitary Survey
Project Update
• Training Course Schedule
DWA
Drinking Water
I Academy Bulletin
The DWA Completes Another
Successful Year
DWA
Te Drinking Water Academy has com-
pleted a busy fourth year. In FY 2002,
it made 66 training deliveries. The
DWA completed development of 5 courses, all
of which can be downloaded from its Web site
(wrww.epa.gov/safewatcr/dwa/electronic.htinl):
Introduction to UIC Permitting; From Risk to
Rule: How EPA Develops Risk-Based Drinking
Water Regulations; Risk Communication under
SDWA; Developing Water System Managerial
Capacity; and Developing Water System
Financial Capacity.
The DWA piloted two new courses, American
Government Roles, and The Clean Water Act
and the Safe Drinking Water Act. The DWA
course catalog now offers 50 different courses.
The DWA also provided significant support
to the sanitary survey program. It established
one more sanitary survey training center at the
Maryland Center for Environmental Training at
the College of Southern Maryland. The DWA is
also addressing security as part of its sanitary
survey efforts (see related article on page 2).
The DWA's Web site has also expanded over
the past year. Averaging 11,000 hits per month,
the site now has 18 courses that can be down-
loaded, links to SDWA implementation informa-
tion, and a Spanish language site that includes
relevant information.
For F Y 2003, the DWA plans to maintain the
current level of deliveries and continue to
increase the number of course offerings, while
setting two new goals :
1* Increase the use of advanced communi-
cation technologies to support training
activities.
f* Expand the areas of concern to include
security issues at water systems.
These new goals will challenge the DWA to
continue to provide training at the highest levels
while responding to the audience's need for
convenient, cost-effective training that ad-
dresses the issues they currently face, f^
DWA Developing
Security Training
Drinking water utilities face an array of
requirements and challenges to ensure
the safety and security of our water
supplies. The DWA is developing a training
course that will help to make sense of the
myriad security issues.
The day-long course is geared toward federal
and state drinking water staff. While not
directly responsible for carrying out security
requirements, these staffers perform sanitary
surveys, provide technical assistance and
training, and otherwise oversee, regulate, or
advise drinking water systems. They must be
knowledgeable about security issues in order to
respond to questions from drinking water
utilities and to provide direction as necessary.
The course will cover statutes, such as the
Bioterrorism Act, and Presidential orders that
contain security provisions applicable to
drinking water systems. It will also describe
EPA's role in their implementation. A major
requirement of the Bioterrorism Act is that
drinking water systems of a certain size conduct
vulnerability assessments. The course will
explain the requirements for vulnerability
assessments and discuss assistance available
from EPA and others for systems conducting
the assessments. This assistance includes
financial assistance, guidance, training, and
other tools. The course will also discuss
Continudd on page 4.
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o ’
DWA Completes New Sanitary Survey Video
Te DWA has completed the eighth video
in its popular series for sanitaiy survey
inspectors, Before You Begin This
latest video focuses on ground water under the
direct influence of surface water (GWUDI) Like
the other videos, it provides a refresher on key
points to consider before conducting a sanitary
survey of a small water system
In this video, Private Investigator Lance
Archer investigates a small system suspected to
have a GWUDI water source The video stresses
understandmg GWUDI, the impact of local
geology, examnung wells in confined and
unconfined aquifers, looking for red flags that
may indicate GWUDI, evaluating test data for
potential GWUDI, follow-up tests, and regula-
tory requirements for GWIJDI systems
The video joins seven previously issued videos
addressing cross-connections, disthbution
systems, gas chlorination, hypochlorination,
sampling and monitoring, storage facilities, and
wells The videos are available for $30 each
($225 for the complete set), plus shipping costs,
from the National Environmental Training
Association (NETA) For an order form, go to
www epa gov/sal vatei /d alordci form pdl
DWA Focuses on Small Water System Security
T e DWA continues to address security
issues for small water systems In
cooperation with the Association of
State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA)
and the National Rural Water Association
(NRWA), the DWA developed the Security
Vulnerability Self-Assessment Guide for Small
Water Systems The Guide is available in Adobe
Acrobat format and can be downloaded from
www cpa gov/safewatcr/dwa/vu!ncrability pdf
Telephone
(617) 918-1549
(212) 637-4234
(215) 814-5711
(404) 562-9480
(312) 886-9262
(214) 865-7536
(303) 312-6155
(415) 744-1854
EPA Region 10 (208) 553-8515
(804) 788-5589
Minnesota (651) 215-0771
This Guide is designed to be used by the staffs
of small water systems to help determine areas
of possible vulnerablility and to identify security
enhancements that utilities should consider This
self-assessment can be conducted on all compo-
nents of the system (welihead or surface water
intake, treatment plant, storage tanks, pumps,
distribution system, and offices) The document
is designed pnmarily for systems that serve
populations of up to 3,300 persons
As a follow-up activity, a subgroup of the
ASDWA Sanitary
Survey Work Group met
on September 19 and
20, 2002 to discuss
development of a
method to assess small
system security as part
of a sanitary survey
The group finished the
guidance in December
In addition to the
guidance, the DWA will
develop a sanitaiy
survey training module
addressing smafl system
security The DWA
plans to deliver the
training module in each
EPA region
For more information
about the DWA’s
secunty activities,
contact Jamie Bourne at
boume Janles@epa ov
or (202) 564-4095
The Before You
Begin...
videos are
available for
$30 each, or
$225 for the
entire set.
I
Drinking Water Academy Contacts
Contact
Location
E-mail
EPA Region 1
EPA Region 2
EPA Region 3
EPA Region 4
EPA Region 5
EPA Region 6
EPA Region 7
EPA Region 8
EPA Region 9
Jackie LeClair
Norma Ortega
Rick Rogers
Janino Morris
Bill Spaulding
Bill Davis
Stephanie Lindborg
Dan Jackson
Barry Pollock
Bill Chamberlain
Mark Anderson
James Weddell
Stew Thornley
Murleno Lash
Mario Salazar
leclair.jackio@epa.gov
orteganorma@epa.gov
iogers.rick@epa.gov
morris.janine@epa.gov
spauldingwilliam@epagov
davis.williamh@epagov
(913) 551-7423 lindberg.stephanue@opa.gov
jackeon.dan@opa.gov
pollock.bany@epa.gov
chamberlain.william@epa.gov
Virginia
Texas
mandorson@vdh.state.va.us
(512) 239-4798 jweddell@tnrcc.state.lxus
EPA HQ
EPA HQ
stew.thornley@hoalth.state.mn.us
(202) 564-3818 lash.murlene@epagov
(202) 584-3894 salazar.mario@epa.gov
James Bourno EPA HQ
(202) 564-4095 bourne.james@epa.gov
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DRP
Drinking Water Institute Teacher Education Program
T e Minnesota Department of Health
(MDH) and the Minnesota Section of
the American Water Works Association
(AWWA) have developed the Drinking Water
Institute, an award-winning 3-day seminar for
science teachers. At the Institute, teachers learn
about drinking water, develop their own curricu-
lums, and prepare action plans to integrate
drinking water into their classwork.
The Drinking Water Institutes are led and
conducted by the Science Museum of Minnesota
in St. Paul, recognized as the premier means of
delivering teacher education in the state. Drink-
ing water professionals present basic information
on drinking water, including water sources, water
chemistiy, and how water works in nature and in
the developed environment. Science Museum
staff members focus on teaching teachers to
present this material in an inquiry -based manner.
Instead of lecturing students about a topic and
then asking questions, an inquiry-based science
teacher first gives students some material, such
as a ground water map. The teacher then has the
students make observations and formulate
questions about the material. The students
detennine how to fmd the answers, reach a
conclusion, and defend it. In this way, the
science students act like scientists.
Teacher Training and Networking
The Science Museum staff leads the teachers
in a series of inquiiy-based activities, which the
teachers later use in their classrooms. Having the
teachers develop their own inquiry-based
curriculums, rather than telling them in iting
what to do, greatly increases the chances that
drinking water topics will fmd their way into the
teachers’ classrooms.
Another important aspect of the Institute is the
community connection. On one day of the
Institute, water superintendents work with the
teacher from their area. In this way, teachers learn
about their region’s water quality and supply
issues. They also establish a relationship with
their local water superintendent, who can speak
to the teacher’s class and host a class tour of the
water treatment plant.
Institutes Planned for 2003
Funded with seed money from the MDH and
Minnesota AWWA, the first Drinking Water
Institute was held in Eden Prairie, Minnesota,
during June 2001. The 18 teachers attended a
follow-up session and presented their action
plans at the Science Museum of Minnesota the
following october.
The second Drinking Water Institute will be
held in New Ulin, Minnesota, in June 2003, and
the third is planned for Rochester, Minnesota,
also in 2003. Sponsors hope that 24 teachers
will attend the future Institutes and that at least
two can be held each year. However, keeping
that schedule depends on securing other sources
of funding, such as donations from commercial
organizations and grants from foundations.
Teachers who complete the entire course,
including the follow-up session, and submit an
action plan receive two college credits.
Institutes Get Results
Evaluations and follow-up with the teachers
indicate the program is getting curriculum of
drinking water curriculum into classrooms. The
Institute’s first class annually educates approxi-
mately 2,500 students on the importance of
drinking water.
In 2002, the Drinking Water Institute received a
national educational award from American Water
Works Association.
This successful program can be replicated
outside Minnesota. The Science Museum of
Minnesota, which focuses on inquiry-based
teaching, can train teachers in other states on
how to use this technique.
More information on the Drinking Water
Institute, including how to contact committee
members and the Science Museum of Minnesota,
is available at www.mnawwa.org/l ‘ducation/
youth_ed.html.
By working
with their
local water
superintendents,
teachers learn
about regional
drinking water
issues and
connect with
someone who
can address
their classes
or host field
trips to the
local drinking
water
treatment
plant.
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DRP
Excitement Continues to Build for Electronic
Sanitary Survey Project
M omentuni is quickly building as work
continues on the Electronic
Saiutary Survey Project This project
encourages the use of personal digital assistants
(PDAs) by sanitary survey inspectors
Each PDA will contain a checklist with the
eight sanitary survey elements for inspectors to
use when gathering and recording data during a
survey When the sanitary survey is complete,
the inspector will download the data to an
Access database on a desktop computer A
module will generate reports from the database
In the Bulletin’s previous issue, we described
the project’s benefits
1 Standardizing the sanitary survey format
1* Increasing sanitaiy survey mspectors’
efficiency
1 Making data from sanitaiy surveys more
accessible to drinking water managers
i Providing the ability to analyze the data
from the surveys
Janije Boume, Chancellor of the Drinking
Water Academy, and Chris Lavelle of the Idaho
Department of Environmental Quality gave a
joint presentation at the Association of Drinking
Water Administrators’ meeting in Salt Lake
City Interest from the states was high, so Jaime
also gave an informal evening working session
The current project has two components The
first is a generic samtaly survey format that
incorporate the eight elements of a sanitary
survey A work group of states, EPA, and
sanitary survey tramers will develop this aspect
of the project EPA, state, and SDWIS-STATE
staff members are also participating to ensure
compatibility between the two programs
The second element is a pilot of the program
m several states The DWA will assist those
states in adapting the generic form to include
any state-specific requirements The DWA will
also provide training and technical assistance to
the pilot states, who must purchase the hardware
to support the project Currently, the New
England states are moving to adopt the use of
PDAs, Nebraska, Iowa, New Mexico, Arizona,
and several Tribal programs are also moving in
this direction
For more information on the project, contact
Jamie Bourne at bourne Jamcs cpa gov or (202)
564-4095
DWA OaviIopin Securii ’
emergency response plans and available assis-
tance for developing them Last, the course will
explain how EPA will share and protect, as
appropriate, security-related information
The DWA expects that the training will be
available in the spring and hopes to present it
once in each EPA Region For more information
about the course, contact Jamie Boume at (202)
564-4095 or bourne james@epa gov
0
The New
England states
are moving to
adopt the use
Visual CE (2 records) X 8:30 —
of PDAs to
assist in
conducting
sanitary
Sample Checklist Menu
PWS # 111090002 I
General Info
Groundwater
Surface Water
Treatment
Storage
Distribution
Pumping
Financial Capacity
Managerial Capacity
Record Edit Option
surveys; other
states and
several Tribal
programs are
also moving in
this direction.
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Training Course S
Course Title
chedule
Audience
Schedule
Location
Contact
Risk Communication Under
the Safe Drinking Water
Act
Region 10 trainers
Jan. 28-30. 2003
Lake Oswego, OR
Maryann Holferty
(206) 553-1587
helferty.maryann@epa.gov
Arsenic Rule
Regional and state staff
Jan. 29, 2003
120 locations by
satellite
Holly Fleming
(202) 564-9909
fleming.holly@epa.gov
Surface Water Rules
Regional and state staff
Jan. 30, 2003
120 locations by
satellite
Holly Fleming
(202) 564-9909
fleming.holly@epa.gov
Risk Communication Under
the Safe Drinking Water
Act
Region 10 water
systems
Jan. 31, 2003
Lake Oswego, OR
Maryann Helferty
(206) 553-1587
helferty.maryann@epa.gov
Sanitary Survey Training
Region 4 sanitary survey
inspectors
Feb. 4-7, 2003
Alpharetta, GA
Janino Morris
(404) 582-9480
morris.ianine@epa.gov
Risk Communication Under
the Safe Drinking Water
Act
Alaska drinking water
staff
Mar. 3-7, 2003
Anchorage, AK
James Weise
(907) 289-7647
janies_weke@enwcon.state.ic us
Sanitary Survey Training
Alaska sanitary survey
inspectors
May 12-16, 2003
Anchorage, AK
Nicole Duclos
(907) 747-7756
nicolo.duclos@uas.alaska.edu
Risk Communication Under
the Safe Drinking Water
Act
Water system operators,
managers, and regula-
tors
May 13, 2003
Boise, ID
Margo Partridge
(380) 753-9459
partridge.margo@epa.gov
Laboratory Certification:
Chemical Parameters
Regional and state staff
with responsibilities for
certifying laboratories
that analyze drinking
water samples
June 16-20, 2003
Cincinnati, OH
Pat Hurr
(513) 569-7678
hurr pat@epa.gov
Laboratory Certification:
Microbiological Parameters
Regional and state staff
with responsibilities for
certifying laboratories
that analyze drinking
water samples
June 23-27, 2003
Cincinnati, OH
Pat Hurr
(513) 569-7670
hurr.pat@epa.gov
Introduction to the Public
Water System Supervision
Program
Headquarters staff
Sept. 9, 2003
Washington, DC
Jamie Bourne
(202) 564-4095
bourne.jamos@epa gov
Introduction to EPA’s
Drinking Water Sourco
Protection Programs
Headquarters staff
Sept. 16, 2003
Washington, DC
Jamie Bourne
(202) 564-4095
bourne.james@epa.gov
American Government
Roles
Headquarters staff
Dec. 9&10, 2003
Washington, DC
Jamio Bourne
(202) 564-4095
bourne.james@epa.gov
DWA courses may be presented as requested. See the course catalog on the OWA Web site for more information (www epa gov/safowaterl
dwa/coursa html).
Office of Water (4606)
EPA EPA/B 1 6-N-03-002
www epa gov
Winter 2003
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