INTRODUCTION: A subcommittee of the Orange County Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR) Collection Systems Steering Committee (Committee) was formed to look at the current Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) program being implemented in central and northern (Northern) Orange County. The current FOG program is over ten years old and has continued to be improved over that...

During the Legislature’s 2017 session several new California laws were passed that will impact water systems. The Governor has now signed each into law. AB 967  Biocreamation Facilities Bill – this law becomes effective January 1, 2018. Wastewater districts will have the legal authority to accept or reject liquid cremation of human remains from licensed...

The State Water Board is about to approve a new regulatory testing procedure on Toxicity. We spoke with Adam Link, Director of Government Affairs for the California Association of Sanitation Agencies (CASA), Steve Jepsen, Executive Director of Southern California Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works (SCAP) and Lorien Fono, Regulatory Program Manager, Bay Area Clean Water Agencies...

Support for coverage of safety issues in provided by ehs Article provided by the CWEA Safety Committee By Michael S. Estep Confined Space work is inherently dangerous. There is nothing normal or routine about confined space work. It has many dangers that are often unseen and hidden. Often this work is approached in a very relaxed...

For Lisa Arroyo, wastewater systems manager for the City of Santa Barbara, the hardest part of being a women in the clean water profession is balancing family with a job. “I have two small children,” she explains. “Sometimes it is hard to turn off work and concentrate on being a mom. Changing your focus is...

 Years ago, Amber Baylor read Marc Reisner’s Cadillac Desert, packed up her car, and headed for California. She’s never looked back. “California represented the most complex water system in the world,” she says, “and I wanted to be part of it.” She got her wish and after 10 years managing a water quality laboratory, she...

Only one in seven engineers in the United States is a woman, according to the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. And in wastewater, only one in 20 treatment plant operators across the country is a woman (The Institute for Women’s Policy Research). So, is the gender ration any more balanced in California? Yes...

Michelle Beason, regional manager for National Plant Services in Hayward, is responsible for her company’s sewer and storm water services throughout northern California, Oregon, and Washington. After a student internship with EPA in her home state of Michigan piqued her interest in environmental work, she earned a Civil Engineering degree from Purdue University, and worked...

Michelle Tarantino is one of only two women in the group of 20 operators at the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District in Martinez. Yet she sees no particular barriers keeping women from the field, as long as they are determined to succeed and willing to put in the time. “The sky is the limit for...

California’s first-ever Water Professionals Appreciation Week launched this past October 7th-15th as part of a new annual designation intended to highlight the important role of water industry professionals and local public water agencies in ensuring safe and reliable water, wastewater, and recycled water in California. Established by Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 80, it was approved by...