WEF announces 2012-2013 Board of Trustee members
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) announces the members of its 2012-2013 Board of Trustees. The WEF “gavel of leadership” was passed from President Matt Bond (Kansas City, Mo.) to incoming President Cordell Samuels, plant superintendent for the Duffin Creek Water Pollution Control Plant in the Regional Municipality of Durham in Ontario, Canada. President Samuels will work over the coming months to implement the organization’s new strategic initiatives, emphasizing leadership and innovative water management.
The 2012-2013 Board of Trustees includes: President-elect Sandra Ralston (Charleston, S.C.); Vice President Ed McCormick (Oakland, Ga.); Treasurer Rick Warner (Reno, Nev.); Immediate Past President Bond, Secretary and Executive Director Jeff Eger (Alexandria, Va.); and Trustees Charles Bott (Hampton Roads, Va.), Fran Burlingham (Walnut Creek, Calif.), Kartik Chandran (New York, N.Y.), Scott Cummings (Auburn, Ala.), Ralph Exton (Trevose, Pa.), John Hart (Saco, Maine), Garry Macdonald (Auckland, New Zealand), George Martin (Greenwood, S.C.), Karen Pallansch (Alexandria, Va.) and Scott Trotter (Saint Charles, Ill.).
College receives grant to continue training for safe drinking water production
Casper College in Casper, Wyo. will be able to continue providing training for safe drinking water production with a $100,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The grant will allow the college to continue the training program for the next three years. The grant will be used “to offer training in the proper operations and maintenance of public water systems” with classes focusing on “small public water supplies (PWS), transient and nontransient water systems, groundwater systems and surface water system operations.”
Environmental instructor William Mixer said the grant used to come in annually, but has shifted to a three-year cycle giving out about the same amount as the annual grants. The program is set up to offer training for operators or owners of public water supplies, individuals seeking certification and those interested in the process.
Family awarded $1 million in damages after drinking contaminated water
A family in Commerce City, Colo. has been awarded $1 million in damages after drinking water that was contaminated with raw sewage. There may be several other families in the same situation as the company, AquaKleen, has thousands of customers. Around a dozen families have been identified as having the same problems. Residents in the city are being asked to check their water purification systems to make sure they are not at risk. In 2006, Nick and Roxanne Cattaneo started using a water purification system from AquaKleen, but the taste of their water only worsened.
Indicators show Mississippi’s drinking water supply improving
A trio of indicators published by the Mississippi state Department of Health shows that its drinking water supply is improving from last year. The department ranks the 1,200 public water systems every year based on technical, managerial and financial capabilities and scores range from 0-5 with 5 being the best. This year the statewide average was 4.2, which is a tenth of a point better than the previous year. Twenty-five of the public water systems turned in a score of one or less, while one in three systems received a perfect score. The Environmental Protection Agency requires states to perform inspections on a yearly basis.
Pa. governor announces $79 million investment in drinking water, wastewater projects
Through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST), Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced a $79 million investment for 27 non-point source, drinking water and wastewater projects. The money will be used to make improvements in 16 counties throughout Pennsylvania. Sixty-nine million dollars of the money investment will go towards low-interest loans and the other $10 million will be offered as grants. Work includes the construction of a waste handling facilities that will reduce nutrient runoff into a stream in Chester County, a $12.8 million loan/grant combination for a project in Blair County that will both reduce nutrient discharges to the Chesapeake Bay as well as eliminate the use of malfunctioning on-lot septic systems that are contaminating local drinking water wells.
School in Nevada installing hydration stations for clean drinking water
Hydration stations have been installed on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ campus to provide cleaner drinking water to students. Unlike regular drinking water fountains, the new water stations bring carbon-filtered water into or near buildings on campus. Students are saying the water tastes better than tap water but still isn’t as good as bottled water, which is processed by reverse osmosis. Water spigots were also installed around the campus where students and faculty members can fill up their own water bottles.
PEOPLE
• NewAge Industries announces the appointments of Robert Volk as its new director of manufacturing and Stephen Kuhns as national sales manager.
Volk is a mechanical engineer with considerable experience in thermoplastic injection molding, product development and team management. Kuhns is a returning employee having worked for NewAge from 1983 to 1995 in inside and outside sales positions as well as management.
Volk’s responsibilities include manufacturing process development and improvement, new product manufacturing and overseeing NewAge’s thermoset and thermoplastic manufacturing teams. He will also work closely with the company’s Quality team, helping to ensure and maintain the quality of NewAge’s products, specifically those from its AdvantaPure® high purity line.
• AdEdge Water Technologies announces the addition of Khushbu Karan as an applications engineer. Karan will be responsible for performing a variety of sales engineering support and project tasks related to proposal preparation, system design, project scoping and execution of water treatment projects. Prior to working at AdEdge, Karan worked as a project engineer at H2Flow Equipment, Toronto and a project assistant for the municipality of York Region in Toronto. Karan earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Ryerson University in Toronto and a master’s degree in Management Science from University of Waterloo in Toronto.
• NSF International has appointed Clif McLellan as vice president of NSF International’s Global Water Division. McLellan has more than 18 years of experience with NSF International, most recently serving as director of toxicology for the past 12 years, helping companies, governments and industries improve the safety of water and water-related products globally, including water treatment chemicals, distribution and reuse systems, drinking water filters, pipes and plumbing components as well as spas and pools. McLellan is highly regarded within the drinking water industry, including academia, industry and regulatory officials at the local, state and federal levels, including the Environmental Protection Agency.
