National Rural Water Association
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| National Rural Water Association | |
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| Mission | |
| To foster opportunities to enhance the success of state associations to the benefit of their members. | |
| Vision | |
| To define the future of rural America as the recognized leader of rural water and wastewater. | |
| Location | |
| The NRWA office is located at 2915 S. 13th Street, Duncan, OK 73533 | |
| Latest News | |
| NRWA News | |
The National Rural Water Association and its affiliated state rural water associations is the largest water and wastewater utility membership organization in the United States of America. The NRWA is a professional organization that supports rural and small water utilities throughout the nation. NRWA and its state affiliates are organized as a non-profit trade association and represent more than 26,696 water and wastewater utility members.
The association is the U.S. leader in providing training, technical assistance and source water protection assistance to the rural and small utilities which comprise 94 percent of the nation’s community water supplies. This assistance is universally supported by the United States Congress and is provided in partnership with the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service, the Farm Service Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The NRWA and state rural water affiliates also represent rural and small utilities in the regulatory and legislative process.
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[edit] History
The National Rural Water Association was founded in 1976 in response to the passage of the Safe Drinking Water Act, passed in 1974. The SDWA authorized the United States Environmental Protection Agency to set national health-based standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally-occurring and man-made contaminants that may be found in drinking water. The NRWA was founded because many of the original EPA standards were written for large metropolitan water utilities, and many smaller utilities did not have the resources to meet those standards.
NRWA’s First meeting in Oklahoma City was attended by eight states: Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Indiana and Texas. States quickly join the organization with Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa and South Carolina joining in 1977; Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon and Tennessee 1978; and Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New York and Ohio in 1979.
The Circuit Rider Program, a signature of NRWA, began in 1980 in 18 states. Circuit riders are roving drinking water experts that provided technical assistance to the unities in their area. The program provided another tool for small water systems that did not always have the experience, equipment, training or personnel to deal large or persistent problems.
During its operation, the NRWA has added a variety of training, technical assistance and financial programs to assist small water and waste water systems. The NRWA’s network of training and assistance had allowed rural and small community water supplies to maintain compliance with the SDWA at rates similar to metropolitan systems on a percentage basis.
[edit] Quality on Tap and Protecting Our Environment
Quality On Tap – Our Commitment – Our Profession is a nationwide, grassroots public relations and awareness campaign designed especially for the drinking water industry. QOT delivers a positive message to the public on the safety of their drinking water supplies and the technical professionals who work to ensure the quality of drinking water delivered to the tap.
Protecting Our Environment is the sister campaign for the wastewater industry. Wastewater professionals are the first line of defense in Environmental Protection. This campaign is designed to publicize the professionalism of the wastewater personnel and the critical role they play in Environmental Protection.
Both of these campaigns are practical "hands-on" guides to better public relations for rural and small water and wastewater utilities. They contain the tools small systems need to promote their profession, quality and value to the public.
[edit] Programs
The NRWA and its state affiliates provide a range of programs to assist utilities in their governance, management, finance and operations. Annually over 100,000 personnel are trained and over 100,000 types of on-site technical assistance is rendered throughout the 50 United States, and Puerto Rico.
Training and technical assistance is delivered through a cadre of personnel with a range of technical and practical experience. This technical knowledge, combined with the experience of managing and operating water and wastewater systems has allowed NRWA training, assistance and “common sense solutions” that are practical at the local level.
[edit] Member Support Services
NWRA and the state associations offer a variety of support services provided to member utilities. All support services are delivered through the state associations. These may include but are not limited to revolving loan funds, insurance, discounts, bond pools, certification, background checks, conferences, legislative events on the state and national level and a VIP Fleet Discount for systems of any size and any number of vehicles.
These programs and services available through the NRWA homepage or state associations.
[edit] Emergency Response/Disaster Relief
NRWA and its state affiliates provide assistance to small systems recovering from disasters. This assistance is considered to be an extension of the regular services provided to small water utilities: "It's the same thing we do every day, just with more urgency and immediate need."
These efforts have been praised for their ability to quickly provide responsive, meaningful assistance to small utilities and support repair efforts months, even years after the disaster.
Rural water relief efforts since 2008 include assistance to areas damaged by hurricanes (Hurricane Gustav, Hurricane Hanna, and Hurricane Ike), tornados (Parkersburg Tornado, Picher Tornado and Dierks Tornado), floods, and ice storms (2009 Ice Storms).
In 2009, NRWA instituted a training program to educate, train and certify Rural Water field staff in emergency response[1][2]. The program trained delegates from every state association in a range of emergency response and disaster relief topics, including planning and preparedness, assessment and documentation, safety, power generation and reimbursement. Attendees received hands-on training on the connection and operations of both large and small emergency generators.
[edit] Members
Small communities comprise more than 94 percent of the community water supplies NRWA through its state affiliates represents 26,696 water and utility members from 48 non-profit, state rural water associations that cover the 50 United States and Puerto Rico.
[edit] State Affiliates
| State Affiliates | |||
| Alabama | Indiana | Montana | Pennsylvania |
| Alaska | Iowa | Nebraska | South Carolina |
| Arizona | Kansas | Nevada | South Dakota |
| Arkansas | Kentucky | New Hampshire | Tennessee |
| Atlantic States | Louisiana | New Jersey | Texas |
| California | Maine | New Mexico | Utah |
| Colorado | Maryland | New York | Vermont |
| Delaware | Massachusetts | North Carolina | Virginia |
| Florida | Michigan | North Dakota | Washington |
| Georgia | Minnesota | Ohio | West Virginia |
| Idaho | Mississippi | Oklahoma | Wisconsin |
| Illinois | Missouri | Oregon | Wyoming |
[edit] Events
[edit] H20-XPO
The H20-XPO is a partnership between the National Rural Water Association and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers to co-locate their national conferences bi-annually, beginning in 2009. The event will offer over 80 educational sessions, 1,000 exhibits and 30 acres (120,000 m2) of equipment, including hands-on demonstrations. The first co-located event is scheduled for October 6-8, 2009 in Louisville, Ken.
The partnership is designed to bring together water & wastewater utility systems, big and small, municipal and rural, operations, management and governance to create the only event of its kind. H2O-XPO is designed to meet the increasing needs of water, wastewater and municipal operations in products, services, equipment and education. The all-inclusive event for today’s professional personnel, will maximize is designed maximize the investment and benefit for water professionals across the country.
[edit] Rural Water Rally
The National Rural Water Association holds and annual Rally in Washington D.C. to further the work of providing drinking water and wastewater services to rural communities. Rural Water professionals, leaders and customers from every state attend the rally to thank their Senators and Representatives for their support and encourage them to further support the goals and needs of the Rural Water Industry. NRWA welcomes V.I.P. guest speakers from legislative staffs and federal organizations, like the EPA and USDA, to share their views and insight to the assembled guests. The NRWA held the first Rural Water Rally in 1986 and has grown in attendance every year.
[edit] Great American Water Taste Test
In 1999, the National Rural Water Association hosted the first Great American Taste Test during the Rural Water Rally in Washington D.C. Each of NRWA’s state affiliates selects an entry at their own state taste tests. A gallon of the winning system’s water is shipped to the rally for national judging. Five finalists are selected by a panel of judges during a preliminary tasting. The final five are then judged by a V.I.P panel in a tasting during the Rural Water Luncheon on the final day of the rally. Each entry is judged on three criteria:
- Clarity
- Bouquet
- Taste
In the event of a tie, the winner is decided by a “Drink Off.” Drink Off was used to decide a winner for first time during the 2009 GAWTT to break a tie between entries between Perdido Bay, Ala. (the eventual winner) and Allen County, Ken.
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
National Rural Water Association
- ^ "Rural Water experts certified at Emergency Response training". National Rural Water Association. 2009. http://www.nrwa.org/NRWAupdates/RWExperts.htm. Retrieved on 2009-05-21.
- ^ "2009 In-Service a success". National Rural Water Association. 2009. http://www.nrwa.org/NRWAupdates/UpdateArchive/In-Service_Success.htm. Retrieved on 2009-05-21.
