Insights, resources, and tips for water operators

Scott Huckaby is no stranger to the realities of small water systems. As a geologist, retired teacher, and water quality expert, he oversees eight systems across Georgia, each grappling with the same obstacles: aging infrastructure, limited funding, and increasingly complex regulations. “The systems I work with were largely installed in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. They’re old, patched together, and expensive to maintain. Convincing local governments to invest in these systems is often an uphill battle,” he explained.One example stands out. For years, Scott worked tirelessly to convince a town council to upgrade a collapsing water system from the 1950s. “They were spending more money fixing leaks than they were earning. It took me five years of constant conversations to get them to apply for funding. But in the end, they were able to secure a loan with 60% forgiveness, and the system is finally rehabilitated.”But funding and upgrades are only part of the equation. Scott recalled an especially challenging project involving an orphanage, where decades-old galvanized lines and 50/50 lead solder created serious risks for the vulnerable population living there. “The only real solution is replacing the plumbing in every house,” he shared. “But they don’t have the funding, and there’s little help available for private systems like theirs.”

Aging Operators and the Next Generation Crisis

Beyond infrastructure, the water industry faces another looming crisis: a mass retirement of operators with no clear pipeline of new talent. At 62 years old, Scott is part of a generation nearing retirement. “I’m 62, and most of the operators I know are my age or older. The younger generation isn’t stepping in to fill these roles,” Scott noted.Scott is training one young operator in hopes of bridging the gap. “I tell him, ‘You’ll have job security for the rest of your life. Small towns will always need clean water.’ But we need to do more to attract younger people to this industry. We need programs in high schools to show them this work doesn’t require a college degree, just hands-on training and a willingness to learn.”

PFAS and the Next Frontier of Water Quality Challenges

While tackling aging infrastructure and the lead and copper rule remains critical, Scott pointed to PFAS contamination as the next big challenge. “PFAS is going to make lead and copper compliance look easy,” he said. One of the systems he oversees receives purchased water that already exceeds the limits for several PFAS chemicals.His county is now part of a pilot project funded by the EPA to explore solutions, including drilling new wells that aren’t contaminated. “It’s a step in the right direction, but smaller systems that lack resources to treat PFAS or even conduct proper sampling are going to face enormous hurdles,” Scott explained.He stressed the importance of having the right tools to track and manage compliance. “Operators need simple software to monitor their systems, track sample results, and stay on top of notifications. Right now, we’re drowning in paperwork, and it’s only going to get worse with these new regulations.”

Using Technology to Overcome Barriers

Despite the challenges, Scott sees technology as a key part of the solution. He highlighted how digitizing his service line inventory with 120Water made an unexpected difference during a recent meter replacement project.“The installation company couldn’t locate addresses because the county hadn’t assigned them yet,” Scott explained. “But using the 120Water platform, we were able to map every meter location in the system. It saved us weeks of work.”Scott believes this kind of digital innovation will be essential for navigating new regulations and addressing the operator shortage. “We need tools that are easy to use and help us track everything—from sampling results to customer communication. That’s the kind of support operators need to do their jobs well.”

Looking Ahead: A Call to Action

The challenges facing small water systems are daunting, but they’re not insurmountable. With increased funding, better training programs, and the right technology, the future of clean water for rural communities can be secured.For Scott, the mission is deeply personal. “At the end of the day, it’s about keeping people safe—especially the most vulnerable populations, like kids. We’ve known for a long time what lead and other contaminants can do to people. Now it’s time to do something about it.”By sharing Scott’s story, we hope to inspire collaboration, innovation, and action across the water industry to tackle these critical issues head-on.Are you ready to tackle the challenges facing your water system? Learn how 120Water can support you with software, sampling kits, and expert guidance.

You’re digitizing all your data in preparing to meet the deadline for submitting your public water system’s service line inventory (SLI) in your state’s required format on or before October 16, 2024. Then what?The inventory is the roadmap, the first step in determining how to “get the lead out” of America’s water supply, but the subsequent actions are what make this important goal possible. When your SLI is completed, you’re ready to start the actual journey toward Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) compliance, which focuses heavily on customer communications and engagement.Are you prepared to meet the LCRR communication requirements? Let’s look more closely at them and also see what tools 120Water offers to help with customer outreach. The great news about establishing a communications infrastructure for LCRR means you can use it for other purposes. For example, you’ll be able to meet other regulatory compliance standards like those likely to remain part of the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) expected to be confirmed in October 2024, plus you can enhance overall customer service like sending out information if a service interruption occurs.

Publicly Accessible Service Line Inventories by October 16, 2024

Water systems must make their SLIs publicly accessible by October 16, 2024. Those serving more than 50,000 are required to  make their inventories available online. Water systems with fewer customers must make their inventories publicly accessible in alternative ways, such as by mail or within their offices so they can be viewed in person. The EPA actually encourages all water systems to make their inventories available online.

120Water offers a Public Transparency Dashboard to make inventories public-facing. The simple tool powers the creation of a website to display inventory data and information about potential lead risks. Stay in compliance by making your SLI available in real time with the click of a button.

Material Notices by November 15, 2024

‍The next critical deadline water utilities must meet is notifying people or businesses at the service connection with a lead, galvanized requiring replacement (GRR) or pipe of unknown materials—with unknowns treated as if they are lead—by November 15, 2024. Although the information in each of these notices may be similar, three different templates are required: 1) notice of lead service line material, 2) notice of possible lead service line material, and 3) notice of galvanized required replacement service line material. The notices must be provided by mail or another method approved by the state.The PWS Pro software from 120Water includes a communications module for managing all outreach to customers, including all three templates for the initial material notices. The application not only serves as a single repository for all your customer and location data but also provides a system of record for generating an audit trail and history of compliance.

‍Annual Notifications Until Verification or Replacement

‍Water systems must continue to provide notifications on an annual basis until the entire service connection is no longer lead, GRR or unknown. They also must furnish copies of these notices to their states every year, starting July 1, 2025.Again, 120Water’s PWS Pro enables the easy preparation and distribution of all three types of notices on an annual basis. And with cloud storage, it serves as a document management system allowing for access and packaging of all sent notices for proof of compliance.

‍24-Hour Notice for Lead Action Level Exceedance  

‍Starting October 16, 2024, water utilities must notify all customers within 24 hours following a lead action level exceedance of 15 ppb. This notification is known as a Tier 1 public notification, the EPA's most urgent notification category for drinking water regulations, and it must reach all people served by the system, not just those with lead service lines. This notice can be delivered in several ways, including through local newspapers, television and radio, posting in prominent locations throughout the service area, hand delivery and another method approved in writing by the state.Water systems with the 120Water PWS Pro application can set up 24-hour notification workflows in advance. With automated procedures, these notices can be triggered with the required information via the relevant channels to best reach the members of their communities.

‍Digital Transformation for Compliance and Communications

‍Both LCRR and the pending LCRI require more data to be supplied to primacy agencies, in addition to emphasizing public transparency and communication. 120Water provides software built specifically for compliance and public engagement. With digital transformation capabilities to standardize information and communication workflows, water systems can future-proof how they work to meet specific mandates and also improve community relations and public trust.We can help you create, manage and track your customer communications to meet LCRR/I’s requirements. Complete this form to learn more.

At 120Water, we always strive to provide tools that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of water program management. Our latest innovation is Insights, an addition to our State Dashboard that enhances data visualization for state primacy agencies. Are you trying to manage your statewide LCR program with thousands of disparate spreadsheets? Are you unable to quickly glean valuable information at a high level to inform decision making for your programs and water systems? Don’t know where to start when devising a plan to determine the best way to distribute resources? We've been there, and our message is simple. It doesn’t have to be this way! Technology is here to help.120Water is privileged to collaborate with several states that have paved the way for digital transformation within both their agencies and the water industry, leading to new solutions like Insights that improve water quality management. Now, all our state partners have access to this latest tool.Insights offers a bird’s-eye view of the inventory status of all water systems within your state. With this new homepage for the State Dashboard and the data it displays, you can easily monitor the progress of inventory submissions, visualizing data in ways traditional spreadsheets cannot.

Key Features and Benefits of Insights:

1. Holistic Inventory Overview and Submission Progress Monitoring:
   • Insights offer a comprehensive view of the inventory status across all water systems in your state.
   • You can track submission periods and see how many submissions have been received versus the total number of utilities.
2. Data Visualization:
   • The platform provides various ways to view data, showcasing potential areas of risk with lead service lines and other crucial data points.
   • Visualizing data in new ways helps identify areas that require additional resources, helping with informed decision-making and effective resource allocation.
3. Detailed Material Breakdown:
   • Insights includes utility material makeup statistics showing the percentage of systems with unknown, lead, galvanized, and non-lead service lines.
   • This breakdown allows for better progress tracking over time as systems continue their verifications and work toward reducing unknowns.
4. Geographic Map-Based View:
   • The geographic view lets you see a high-level breakdown of service line materials by region.
   • You can drill down into specific counties to see detailed service line inventories for individual water systems, allowing for targeted follow-up and support.

Insights is not just a homepage; it's a powerful asset for managing your water quality program statewide. It enhances clarity, enables better decision-making, and helps identify and address gaps in the service line data for your state.In releasing Insights to our clients, we’re confident it will become a valuable tool for LCR program oversight and beyond. Explore the power of data with Insights and transform your approach to statewide water system management. Contact us at marketing@120water.com to learn more!