The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a webinar on consolidation solutions for public water systems (PWS) and how data, direct engagement, and experience can create feasible consolidation solutions on August 27, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. EST.

The webinar—Consolidation, Partnerships, and Regionalization—is scheduled to be hosted by Andrew Murray, a geographer with EPA’s Office of Research and Development, and Chad Fischer, a supervising engineer with the California State Water Resources Control Board, who is to discuss how the Safe and Affordable Funding or Equity and Resilience (SAFER) program, which uses data to identify needs and guide decisions on sustainable drinking water solutions, has been used by struggling water systems to continue providing safe drinking water.

Furthermore, the presentation will examine the national geospatial dataset of community water system service areas issued by the EPA, the development of datasets, the accurate linkage between drinking water providers and their associated consumers, and how data can be integrated into other areas, such as environmental justice and health. The webinar will also examine how data, direct engagement, and experience can create feasible consolidation solutions that offer the highest levels of sustainability and resilience to the water system, the EPA says.

The consolidation of small PWS with larger PWS has been proposed as a strategy for dealing with the costs associated with implementing the drinking water rule the EPA issued on April 10, 2024, which sets standards for five per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as well as the second rule issued by the EPA on April 18, 2024, which designates perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as hazardous substances.

In addition, on May 30, 2024, the EPA issued the proposed “Water Systems Restructuring Assessment Rule,” which seeks to direct states and public water systems to develop a framework to evaluate and implement restructuring alternatives for systems that are in chronic noncompliance with drinking water standards and that those systems should consider consolidation or transfer of ownership to achieve compliance with drinking-water standards.

Register for the “Consolidation, Partnerships, and Regionalization” webinar.