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Newsletter #86 for July 19, 2012

Sustainable Drinking Water in Uncertain Times

This week we've been attending the Biennial Tribal Drinking Water Conference. It's been great learning more about what RCAC and other organizations do to support tribal operators in Region 9. Here are a few of the things we learned:

1. Thanks to RCAC and ITCA, a number of the operators at the conference are already using SmallWaterSupply.org and have a lot of good things to say about it. It was so gratifying to hear so many people give us praise for the work we are doing.
2. We wrote a blog post about developing a basic GIS using Google Earth back on Feb 28, 2011. ITCA got a handheld GPS and tried it using the free software provided by Google. They were able to develop a GIS for a tribal community with great success. We hope to get more details and share that information soon. If anyone else has also used Google Earth to help map their system and infrastructure, please let us know how well it worked for you.
3. We met a lot of great people this week at the conference, operators, ta providers, regulators, and vendors alike. There was a strong sense of community among the attendees and it was a great learning environment. We made many new friends, and are going away from the conference excited, knowing we will be working more closely with many of these folks in the upcoming year.

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Small Talk: Outreach Tip of the Week

Use email as part of your efforts to communicate more effectively. MailChimp.com is a free service that allows you to send electronic newsletters to up to 2000 customers.

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

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Video of the Week

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

This week's featured video is the first recording of a two part (see Part 2) webinar from RCAP on best practices in setting rates.

SmallWaterSupply.org

Formulate Great Rates

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Weekly Reading for July 19, 2012

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

Job Training Program Expands to Include Wastewater and Stormwater - The US EPA offers grants to support workforce development.
Town barred from beefing up farm water rules - Wisconsin Surpreme Court says communities cannot set standard stricter than the State.
Oregon's Pipeline Newsletter - Add this resource to your list of state resources with helpful information for operators.
Missouri Rural Water Puts Together Drought Information For Midwest Communities - this week MRWA sent out an email to their constituents with information they have gathered related to water conservation and drought response. Some Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana communities are facing water challenges because of this summer's drought.

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SmallWaterSupply.org Calendar

Upcoming Free Webinars

August 7 - RCAC: Board Basics: Safe Drinking Water Act
This workshop will teach operators, managers and board members how and why safe drinking water regulations exist. Available at 10am and 2pm Pacific.

August 8 - USEPA/USDA: Partnerships: State and Funder Perspectives
Webinar participants will learn how state regulators are facilitating partnerships, strategies for working with very small systems, and how funders encourage partnerships.

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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Recently at SmallWaterSupply.org

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers mission includes tribal needs
Partnership, assistance for tribes and other small water systems available from Army Corps of Engineers.

Do You Rely on Your SCADA System Too Much?
Odds are there are some things that only you know about your plant. Write them down!

Stuff We Love: Washington's Water Tap newsletter
Discover how one state program is effectively sharing news with operators.

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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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