Let’s put safety first within the wastewater profession. Join nearly 400 wastewater pros representing 63 agencies and firms at this year’s event. 2023 Northern Safety Day Wednesday, November 8 Learn more and register > ACWA JPIA Calaveras County Water District Central Contra Costa SD City of Alameda City of American Canyon City of Antioch City...

Let’s put safety first within the wastewater profession. Join 150 wastewater pros representing 43 agencies and firms at the 2023 Southern Safety Day. 2023 Southern Safety Day Thursday, October 26 Learn more and register >   ACWA JPIA City of Alhambra City of Chino City of Corona City of Covina City of Culver City City...

We are pleased to announce that the CWEA Northern and Southern Safety Days will be making their return this fall. Southern Safety Day will take place on October 26 at the Doubletree by Hilton Ontario Airport. Northern Safety Day will take place November 8 at the Yolo County Fairgrounds in Woodland. The CWEA Safety Committee...

One of Patrick Green’s first orders of business each day is to open a tap and fill a bottle with sludge. A utilities plant operator in Modesto, a city of nearly a quarter-million people in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Green helps keep the city’s sewers flowing and its wastewater treated to acceptable levels of safety....

View all coronavirus stories > Testing wastewater for RNA strands of the coronavirus might tell local officials how widespread COVID-19 is in their community and whether infections are rising or falling. Known as “sewer surveillance” or “wastewater epidemiology” – wastewater professionals are once again working to protect public health. In November, the State Water Board...

Since reopening campus at the University of California-San Diego last summer, university officials have relied on the tried-and-true public health strategies of testing and contact tracing. But they have also added a new tool to their arsenal: excrement. That tool alerted researchers to about 85% of cases in dorms before they were diagnosed, according to...

As of June 17, 2021 Gavin Newsom signed the Executive Order N-09-21, which allows the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS) to take effect. This was immediately following the Cal/OSHA Standards Board meeting, which had voted to pass the revised language from June 11, 2021 that same day. Download a full copy of the standard. To see what these...

Filanc carpenter Dion Jones was working on a new water storage tank in Lemoore when the tank suddenly exploded, rising 70′ in the air and sending 1.5 million gallons rushing out in all directions. Coworkers began CPR right away, unfortunately Mr. Jones passed away. A city water worker was also injured. Mr. Jones was an...

NFPA 70E requirements for safe work practices to protect personnel by reducing exposure to major electrical hazards. Originally developed at OSHA’s request, NFPA 70E helps companies and employees avoid workplace injuries and fatalities due to shock, electrocution, arc flash, and arc blast, and assists in complying with OSHA 1910 Subpart S and OSHA 1926 Subpart...

View all coronavirus stories > Updated 3/23/21 – Water/wastewater workers should use the business/industry “EMERGENCY SERVICES.” The “Water and Wastewater” sector on MyTurn is once again NOT WORKING to book appointments, so CDPH told us to select “Emergency Services” instead. On March 11th the California Department of Public Health announced water and wastewater workers are...

Stay up-to-date on water infrastructure cybersecurity by becoming a member of WaterISAC. Update 2/17/21 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released their initial review of the incident. “On February 5, 2021, unidentified cyber actors obtained unauthorized access to the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system at a U.S. drinking water treatment facility. The unidentified actors...

This is a letter to the editor from CWEA member Beverli Marshall published in The Desert Sun on Feb 5, 2021. View CWEA’s coverage of the California vaccine roll-out for water and wastewater workers. Aside from wearing a mask and social distancing, what’s the single most important action we can take to stay healthy? Washing...

Show off your PPE Whatever happens in this pandemic, the wastewater keeps flowing. CWEA members are #essentialworkers out there keeping #essentialservices going. We are the ones on the front lines, making sure wastewater gets cleaned up to protect our communities and the environment. Job #1 is keeping you and your teammates safe. If you’re a...

In Los Angeles County, few resources are as precious to and connected with residents as water. In addition to being necessary to civil success in a desert, the contents of the county’s water tell the story of every life that touches it. The Los Angeles County Sanitation District (LACSD) works to protect and monitor Los...

Our COVID-19 webinars continued on August 27, 2020 with another deep dive into the emerging role of wastewater surveillance. Collecting samples from the sewershed and at the treatment plant can help communities track coronavirus and gain early-warning signs about potential community spread. We heard from leading state, national, and international experts about the latest research...

View complete coverage of Coronavirus worker safety > From the CDC on Monday, August 17, 2020 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with agencies throughout the federal government, are initiating the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) in response to the COVID-19...

Our June COVID-19 webinar covered wastewater surveillance and how wastewater agencies can help monitor the spread of the virus in communities. The webinar was sponsored by WEST YOST. COMING-UP: The next CASA-CWEA COVID-19 webinar is on July 22nd. The title is Overcoming O&M Challenges to Maintain Essential Services. The webinar is free for water and...

As more municipalities turn to wastewater monitoring for early detection of COVID-19, these three companies are uniquely positioned to provide an end-to-end solution to improve the process. In-Situ is a leading manufacturer of environmental water monitoring equipment and serves the wastewater monitoring market through its ChemScan line of analyzers and related products. GT Molecular, has developed a...

Collaboration between WEF and Xylem aims to ensure consistent guidance for water operators. To ensure protection of the health and safety of wastewater workers during the coronavirus pandemic and into the future, Dr. Andrew Sanderson, MD, MPH of Howard University, has been named Chief Medical Officer for the Water Environment Federation. As Chief Medical Officer,...

City if LA’s main environmental laboratory has ramped-up production of hand sanitizer to help their fellow team members on the front lines during the pandemic. LASANitizer HAND SANITIZER To make 10 L of hand sanitizer, mix the following according to instructions below: 500 mL         100% Glycerin 8420 mL       95% Ethanol (EtOH) 1040 mL       Deionized...

By Paula Hansen and Artem Dyachenko East Bay Municipal Utility District Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) is a disinfection method that uses short-wavelength ultraviolet (UVC – approximately 254 nm) light to kill or inactivate microorganisms (e.g. bacteria, viruses, molds, and other pathogens). It destroys nucleic acids of the microorganisms and disrupts their DNA, leaving them unable...

View our complete coverage of coronavirus worker safety > Facing an extreme shortage of hand sanitizer in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) produced its own. This was especially important for water and wastewater workers who often do not have access to soap and running water in...

Info from CDPH safety bulletin issued May 2020… Background The use of CIPP for sewer line and culvert rehabilitation is widespread throughout the country and abroad. Styrene-based resins are the most widely used. There is a possibility for chemical releases with CIPP processes. In addition to styrene, recent studies have shown numerous volatile chemicals being...

View all coronavirus stories > WEF releases an updated and expanded version of “The Water Professional’s Guide to COVID-19” Authors: Rasha Maal-Bared, Naoko Munakata, Kyle Bibby, Kari Brisolara, Charles Gerba, Mark Sobsey, Scott Schaefer, Jay Swift, Lee Gary, Samendra Sherchan, Akin Babatola, Lola Olabode, Robert Reimers, Robert Bastian, and Albert Rubin  Primary Messages The research...

According to a new study posted by the CDC… Isolation of infectious SARS-CoV-2 in feces indicates the possibility of fecal–oral transmission or fecal–respiratory transmission through aerosolized feces. During the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome pandemic, 329 residents of a private housing estate in Hong Kong were infected; 42 died (10). Investigation of the building’s structure...

View all Coronavirus stories > CASA and CWEA once again brought together leading national and California experts on the coronavirus for a free webinar. Learn the latest scientific information from this webinar recording. The webinar provided an update on the following topics: Reopening guidance and essential workers Testing wastewater for community surveillance Wastewater worker exposure...

This Manual of Practice serves as an injury-reduction tool to all those working in the wastewater field. Safety, Health and Security in Wastewater Systems, MOP 1, 6th Edition, Chapter 8 There are guidelines for creating written programs and procedures as well as guidelines that describe how to perform a confined space entry, lockout/tagout, and chemical...

The CWEA safety committee’s number one concern is our members safety. By now, you have received valuable information on all possible precautions you should take to protect yourself and your family members.  Resources: CDC and CAL-OSHA The CWEA Safety Committee is also charged with providing our member agencies resources to assist them in staying in compliance. ehsInc.org...

Please note: Orders must be placed by a water or wastewater system. If you are not the correct contact, please share with the correct individual. Identification will be required at pick-up. Here is an announcement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the California Water-Wastewater Agency Response Network (CalWARN). Our friends at the California-Nevada American...

Updated 4/30/20 FEMA and CalWARN offering water/wastewater utilities free cloth masks   Information from CASA… As facemasks and other essential PPE are in high demand as a result of this crisis, it may become more difficult for agencies to procure the necessary PPE to maintain operations and ensure worker safety. California Special Districts Association According...

From the Australian Water-Wastewater Association… What is Coronavirus (CoV)? Coronaviruses are a large and diverse family of envelopedi RNAii viruses. These lipid-enveloped CoV viruses are generally considered more fragile than other viruses (both environmentally, and to disinfection), however are known to cause illness of variable severity in humans, including the common cold, severe acute respiratory...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > Throughout CWEA’s three COVID-19 webinars we’ve been surveying wastewater professionals about their experiences during the pandemic. Here is a summary of their responses. For the April 15th collection systems webinar, we asked attendees if their agency is experiencing INCREASED maintenance because of wipes? 64%...

  COVID-19 in CA free Webinar – Collection Systems and Coronavirus Pandemic was held on Wednesday, April 15th. The webinar is supported by HDR. Phil Scott and Sergio Ramirez are utility leaders with the West Bay Sanitary District in the Bay Area. They discuss the procedures and PPE protections their agency is using. They discuss...

What we know today (4/16/20) WEF is continuing to work on the matter of wastewater worker protection from disease causing microorganisms and pathogens, in general — especially via aerosols — by forming a Blue Ribbon Panel to address the issue of required personal protective equipment and protective work and hygiene practices. To date, the scientific...

Dr. Fiona Young is an Adjunct Associate Professor, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. She taught and researched in the disciplines of Medical and Environmental Biotechnology, with a focus on toxicology and mammalian cell culture. In a post on the COVID-19 scientific blog, she reviewed the latest scientific research into coronavirus...

Updates These orders may apply to workers in the field and construction sites be sure to check with your employer and local health department. 4/6/20 – Riverside County requires face masks 4/7/20 – San Bernardino County requires face masks, $1,000 fine or 90 days in jail for not wearing one 4/7/20 – City of Carson...

Coverage of water workforce topics is supported by waterTALENT COVID-19 in CA Webinar – Continuity of Operations and Emergency Staffing was held on Thursday, April 9th. The webinar is supported by DUDEK. This is CWEA’s second webinar in our COVID-19 series. Recording:  A recording of the webinar is available on YouTube.  Feel free to forward...

Written and photography by: Senior Airman Colville McFee, 9th Reconnaissance Wing Beale Air Force Base, Calif. – The 9th Civil Engineering Squadron (9CES) provides many skills and mission essential aspects such as, airfield maintenance, fire emergency services, explosive ordnance disposal and utility system construction to name few around the 9th Reconnaissance Wing. With the COVID-19 pandemic...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > The new website is: covid19waterblog.wordpress.com One of their first posts focuses on the transmission of COVID-19 via wastewater. There has been quite some talk about SARS-CoV-2 shedding in faeces and what that might mean for the water industry.  As I see it, there are...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > By Krista R. Wigginton and Alexandria B. Boehm Environmental engineers and scientists have played pivotal roles in protecting the public from viral illnesses, and continue to do so today. We develop drinking water and municipal wastewater treatment technologies, make discoveries that inform related regulations...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > From the CDC Interim Guidance for Implementing Safety Practices for Critical Infrastructure Workers Who May Have Had Exposure to a Person with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 To ensure continuity of operations of essential functions, CDC advises that critical infrastructure workers may be permitted to...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > The US EPA is taking further action to help ease the production and availability of EPA-registered disinfectants. EPA will temporarily allow manufacturers of certain already-registered EPA disinfectants to obtain certain active ingredients from any source of suppliers without checking with the agency first. This...

We are gathering photos of safety items for wastewater workers. To share one, please email a photo to [email protected] Several CWEA members have asked about coronavirus and working around wastewater. According to WEF, the scientific community has found no evidence yet of viable COVID-19 virus in wastewater systems. While there is still a lot we...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > Dr. Rasha Maal-Bared is a Senior Microbiologist at EPCOR and Chair of WEF’s Waterborne Infectious Disease Outbreak Control Subcommittee (WIDOC). She writes about Our water workforce –operators, maintenance personnel, utility crews, laboratory technicians, collection system workers, and custodial staff – all work in the...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > This article is from the covid19waterblog.wordpress.com, a blog run by several international water researchers. By Stuart Khan Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales The possibility of monitoring the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewers has been flagged as an...

Example of an Emergency Plan from the City of Modesto a medium-size Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) showing their specific example written in response to COVID-19 and useful for what they are doing with safety and operations. BACKGROUND: Since the outbreak of the worldwide novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Stanislaus County Public Health Agency and the...

From the San Jose Mercury News… The employee is a janitor working as part of a contract company. The massive plant, located in Alviso, has 17 employees in self-quarantine as a result and is running at about 70% staffing. “The staff is continuing with business as usual, although at a lower head count,” said Kerrie...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here >      Download the CISA Guidance Water-Wastewater Specific Plan Functioning critical infrastructure is imperative during the response to the COVID-19 emergency for both public health and safety as well as community well-being. Certain critical infrastructure industries have a special responsibility in these times to...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here >   This webinar occurred on March 19th. During the COVID-19 pandemic, water and wastewater utilities are currently triggering their response plans for continuity of operations. A significant component during pandemic is consideration of critical functions that include essential personnel whose role does not allow...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > The CDC released this Q&A on water and wastewater system on March 11, 2020. From the CDC… Can the COVID-19 virus spread through drinking water? The COVID-19 virus has not been detected in drinking water. Conventional water treatment methods that use filtration and disinfection,...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > On 3/17/20 OSHA released new guidance for COVID-19 and workplace safety. Download the OSHA guidance > There is not specific water/wastewater worker safety in this guidebook, but there is detailed info on workplace safety. They’ve broken guidance into workplace categories based on exposure risk:...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > From the CDC on 3/15/20… Large events and mass gatherings can contribute to the spread of COVID-19 in the United States via travelers who attend these events and introduce the virus to new communities. Examples of large events and mass gatherings include conferences, festivals,...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here >

Article from Pete DeMarco, Executive Vice President of Advocacy and Research at IAPMO. Pete looks at the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) from one person to another on different floors of a Hong Kong high-rise. Sadly, with the current coronavirus outbreak in Hong Kong, history seems to have repeated itself. According to the Associated Press, a 2016...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > From the World Health Organization This Technical Brief supplements existing IPC documents by referring to and summarizing WHO guidance on water, sanitation and health care waste which is relevant for viruses (including coronaviruses). This Technical Brief is written in particular for water and sanitation...

This webinar was hosted by WRF. To watch the recorded webinar, complete the registration form and you will be taken to the recorded webinar. Register and watch > The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a member of the Coronavirus family that was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in...

WEF Field Guide to COVID-19 > Wastewater Treatment and COVID-19 Coronaviruses are susceptible to the same disinfection conditions in the healthcare setting as other viruses, so current disinfection conditions in wastewater treatment facilities is expected to be sufficient. This includes conditions for practices such as oxidation with hypochlorite (i.e., chlorine bleach) and peracetic acid, as...

Open the Words on Water webpage to play the podcast > March 2, 2020 Dr. Rasha Maal-Bared is Senior Microbiologist at EPCOR and Scott Schaefer is Wastewater Practice Leader at AE2S and Chair of WEF’s Disinfection & Public Health Committee. In this episode Rasha and Scott discuss the coronavirus, its origin, and the agencies involved...

View CWEA’s round-up of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worker safety information here > Message from WEF President, Jacqueline A. Jarrell, P.E. and  Executive Director Walter Marlowe, P.E., CAE A core part of our mission for the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is sharing the latest science and technical information with you to enable protection of public health and...

Attention Safety Professionals and Local Section Leaders Allow me to introduce myself – I am Marjorie Del Toro, your newly appointed Safety Chair for 2019-2020.  I am currently the CEO/President of ehsInc.org, SARBS past president, and part of the exclusive 5S club. I may be new to some of you; however, I am not new...

“Atmospheric River” is a meteorological term coined in the 1990s that’s recently entered common public usage. They are bands of concentrated moisture traveling in the air over a region.  Atmospheric rivers can contain as much moisture as major river, such as the Amazon. On February 5th, the Scripps’ Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes...

It’s the new “abnormal” as Governor Jerry Brown calls it. Bigger and more intense fires have killed more people in California and destroyed more property than ever before. Even as the fires are put out, water professionals know there’s a new threat. Floods. Fires and floods happen so often throughout California’s history, some regions have...

This post sponsored by ehs. Each year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announces its Top 10 most frequently cited workplace safety violations. OSHA’s Top  10 Most Cited for Fiscal Year 2018 Download the Safety Tailgates PDF from ehs at http://www.ehsinc.org/Free.html

Support for coverage of safety issues in provided by ehs Much of the country has been dealing with a heat wave and California is no exception. With the increase in temperature comes the dangers of working outside. Knowing how to work safely in hot weather can help prevent heat related illnesses and heat stroke.   According to the Centers...

Support for coverage of safety issues in provided by ehs The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is providing Notice of a 45-Day Public Comment Period of proposed code changes to California Code of Regulations, Title 19, Division 4, Chapter 1, related to California Underground Facilities Safe Excavation Board Fees. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking...

Dear Fellow CWEA Member, 2017 will go down in the California history books as an incredibly challenging year. January 2017 started with record breaking floods; February saw the dam spillway collapse; two of the State’s largest fires in history occurred in October and December; and now, January 2018 begins with tragic mud slides along Southern...

This is a sponsored post from ehs International, Inc. The Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA) has partnered with ehs International, Inc. (ehsInc) and Aramsco-Interlink (Aramsco). The goal of this partnership between three leaders of their respective industries is to provide client companies and future members with the best in indoor air quality safety standards while also lowering costs. In both...

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...

Support for coverage of safety issues in provided by ehs  According to a Purdue Engineering Department study released last month there are potentially volatile organic compounds and other toxic gasses in the steam venting from the cured-in-place-pipe process. Are workers and the public safe? From Purdue’s news release:  New research is calling for immediate safeguards...