drinking water branch fy2011 annual report - Alabama Department ...
drinking water branch fy2011 annual report - Alabama Department ...
drinking water branch fy2011 annual report - Alabama Department ...
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The 2011 <strong>Alabama</strong> Ground<strong>water</strong> Conference was held on June 9. There were approximately 135<br />
registered attendees.<br />
ADEM continues to support and be part of the Ground<strong>water</strong> Guardian Program. ADEM was<br />
designated a Ground<strong>water</strong> Guardian Affiliate for the fifteenth year. In addition, nine<br />
communities in <strong>Alabama</strong> were designated by the National Ground<strong>water</strong> Foundation as<br />
Ground<strong>water</strong> Guardians. The communities include Covington County, Etowah County-Middle<br />
Coosa Watershed, City of Eufaula, Madison County, New Brockton/Coffee County, Shelby<br />
County, St. Clair County-Middle Coosa Watershed, Sumter and Marengo Counties, and the City<br />
of Tuscumbia.<br />
The Ground<strong>water</strong> Festival Program continues to be a part of the Wellhead Protection Program by<br />
providing a structured outreach and education event. It provides an avenue for utilities to<br />
become involved in and initiate <strong>drinking</strong> <strong>water</strong> education programs in their service<br />
area. ARWA, with input from ADEM, continues to maintain the Water Festival website.<br />
Ground<strong>water</strong> Festivals were held in 27 counties in the State and hosted 22,000 students. ADEM<br />
continues to offer the Festival grant, which provides a maximum of $1,000 to each county. All<br />
27 counties that applied were awarded the grant. ADEM continues to actively recruit counties to<br />
participate in Ground<strong>water</strong> Festivals.<br />
Area Wide Optimization Program (AWOP) Participation<br />
ADEM continued to be an active participant in the EPA Region 4 Area Wide Optimization<br />
Multi-State Pilot Program. The AWOP-MSPP is a cooperative effort to optimize performance of<br />
existing surface <strong>water</strong> treatment plants. The main goal of the program is to maximize public<br />
health protection from microbial contaminants and disinfection byproducts by coordinating<br />
existing system resources with proven performance improvement tools. Other states<br />
participating in the program include Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, and<br />
Florida. Several members of the Drinking Water Branch’s Surface Water Section participated in<br />
and conducted activities associated with AWOP-MSPP. These activities included the following:<br />
• ADEM staff attended the three AWOP planning meetings and workshops during<br />
FY2011. These meetings were held December 2010 in Rock Hill, SC; March 2011 in<br />
Decatur, GA; and July 2011 in Cincinnati, OH.<br />
• ADEM participated in developmental activities for the Distribution System<br />
Comprehensive Performance Evaluation with the EPA Technical Support Center during<br />
FY2011. ADEM concluded the Comprehensive Technical Assistance program with the<br />
City of Tuscaloosa, EPA Technical Service Center, and Process Applications, Inc.<br />
• ADEM personnel began participation in developmental activities for the Distribution<br />
System Comprehensive Performance Evaluation with the EPA Technical Support Center<br />
during FY2011 in association with several <strong>water</strong> systems in Cullman County.<br />
• ADEM conducted its thirteenth <strong>annual</strong> training session for surface <strong>water</strong> treatment plant<br />
personnel in October 2011 at Auburn University Montgomery.<br />
• ADEM conducted microbial Performance Based Training sessions with personnel from<br />
five surface <strong>water</strong> treatment plants.<br />
• Presentations regarding AWOP topics were made at the AWPCA and ARWA<br />
conferences.<br />
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