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Newsletter #116 for June 24, 2013

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New Security Tips Pocket Guide Available

After a string of vandalism hit Montana water systems, the state's water security program developed a new outreach tool that shares important water system security reminders. It is worth a download even if you don't live in Montana!

The list of local emergency contacts is the real gem of this guide though. The best news is that they are willing to work with other states to update the resource with state-specific contact information. We'll let you know if/when we see other state brochures.

Thanks to ASDWA for alerting us of this new guide!

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Where We Find the Best Information

For each issue of this newsletter, there are more articles and links to reference than we have room to share. In the end we tend to choose items with the most widespread relevance. The thing is, some of the best, most well-written articles are in state program newsletters. We've mentioned before that Washington's Water Tap is consistently top-notch, but we wanted to share a link again with this reminder:

If you're an eager learner, subscribe to newsletters from other states to gain insightful best practices. Just be sure to pay attention to your own state's specific regulations and deadlines!

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Small Talk: Outreach Tip of the Week

Not sure what to share on social media? Use it to tell everyday stories about the public workers in your community.

Each week, we offer a quick tip to help you educate the public and communicate more effectively with local decision makers and customers.

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Recently at SmallWaterSupply.org

Telling the Story of Water
Video offers new insight on how to help the public improve their understanding and value of safe, clean water. [More context for this week's video!]

Takeaways from the Tribal Utility Governance Program
Lessons learned from combining in-person and distance education to train tribally-owned water systems.

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Share This: Understanding Your Water Bill

Need help understanding your water bill? Use this tool to learn the most common billing structures, descriptions of units used, and how to look at your usage trends.

Share This is a new feature offering insightful resources to share with your customers and the public.

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Video of the Week

In each newsletter, we highlight an excellent video worth watching. That video is also featured on our home page. Visit our archive for past features.

In this video actor Alan Alda discusses the challenge of talking about technical topics and offers ideas that make communication more natural and human - and thus more effective.

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Communicating Science: Helping the Public Get Beyond a Blind Date with Science

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Weekly Reading for June 21, 2013

Each week we share a collection of our favorite links we know you'll love too!

Tapping into the Value of Water - This white paper from Water Online shares statistics about effective ways to communicate with the public about infrastructure needs.
Potomac named America's most endangered river - Group says 'nation's river' threatened by urban, farm pollution, cutbacks in Congress
Klamath Tribes and feds exercise water rights - Irrigation for Oregon ranches will be shut off for up to two weeks.
Safety basics - Learn a few tips to protect yourself and co-workers from slips, trips and falls.

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SmallWaterSupply.org Calendar

Upcoming Free Webinars

June 26 - RCAC: Board Basics - Rate Setting
This workshop will show board members, managers and operators how to establish fair rates based on a budget based on true costs.

Want to find additional training opportunities for operators, including events in your area? Search the SmallWaterSupply.org Calendar for more online and in-person events.

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About SmallWaterSupply.org

SmallWaterSupply.org is a free service, grant-funded to support small community water and wastewater operators with comprehensive resources and information in one easy-to-use place. We also serve the 800+ training, primacy, and technical service organizations, by helping operators get to their information. We aren't buying, selling, or advertising anything. You can call us at 1-866-522-2681 if you need assistance.

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