Click here to read the full order. 

According to the alert, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center (WaterISAC), a security information source to the water and wastewater industry, are warning utilities about the possibility of cyberattacks targeting infrastructure related to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, potentially taken in response to U.S. actions and economic sanctions. "Due to these current events, WaterISAC and the USEPA strongly encourage water and wastewater system owners and operators to maintain a heightened awareness for possible intrusions into their operational networks and to prepare to maintain critical operations if process control networks are disabled," the email read.

Last month, the EPA announced a plan to begin improving cyber-resilience for the country's water systems. More information can be found here. 

Click here to find a link to the EPA's cybersecurity best practices for the water sector. Click here for resources for water and wastewater utilities from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security agency. 

WaterISAC also has a list of resources for its members, available here. 

• Approximately $15 billion in funding has been dedicated to projects meant to identify and replace lead service lines in water systems throughout the country. 

• Around $11.7 billion has been allocated to the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. An additional $11.7 billion has been allocated to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

• Approximately $10 billion will be used to address problems of emerging contaminants, including $4 billion focusing on perfluoroalkyl substances, $5 billion dedicated to Small and Disadvantaged Communities, and $1 billion for Clean Water State Revolving Funds to tackle the same problem. 
  

Additional amounts totaling slightly less than $3 billion have been set aside in the bill to supplement initiatives undertaken under the Safe Water Drinking Act and the Federal Water pollution control act. 

TRWA is committed to working with state agencies, the EPA, and the national association in order to help members understand how the law's provisions affect their organizations and their communities going forward.

The bill is huge, and so for those looking to understand it in more detail, we've collected some additional resources for your perusal.  

• NRWA provided a more detailed look at how the funding will be allocated over the five-year span of the law and match requirements.

• NRWA regulatory analyst Mike Keegan breaks down the bill and previews some other upcoming water issues at the federal level in the December 6 update to his Rural Water Issues Advisory.

• The Pacific Institute has a massive table spelling out all the water initiatives -- not just drinking and wastewater-related -- the Infrastructure and Jobs Act at the bottom of its analysis on the new law. 

S.B. 3, the Texas Legislature’s response to February’s unprecedented power and water outages brought on by Winter Storm Uri, imposes several new requirements on water utilities, including new reporting and emergency planning requirements.  All retail water utilities in Texas are subject to these requirements, and therefore must comply with three important upcoming deadlines.  The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) have released guidance and template documents to assist utilities in complying with these deadlines, which are: 

• November 1, 2021:  Utilities must submit critical infrastructure information to certain agencies and electricity distributors and providers.  The PUCT has prepared this guidance to assist utilities in providing this information.  
• March 1, 2022:  Utilities must submit an Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) to TCEQ.  The commission has prepared a template EPP that systems can use to meet this requirement.   Utilities who require assistance in preparing their EPP can utilize the commission’s EPP Help Form. For more information about EPP’s, see the TCEQ’s frequently asked questions page.
• July 1, 2022:  Utilities must implement their EPP.

• The PUCT requires all information to be submitted online by filing a letter in Project 52299.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the PUCT will not accept submissions by mail.  For assistance with filing, utilities may contact the PUCT’s Central Records Division by email at centralrecords@puc.texas.gov, or by phone at 512-936-7180.
• In addition to reporting critical infrastructure information to your electric service provider, you must also report that information to your transmission and distribution service provider (TDU), which is the company that distributes electricity from power generation to homes and businesses.  You can find more information on how to identify and contact your TDU in the attached PUCT guidance. 
• Going forward, water utilities must annually re-submit their critical infrastructure information to their retail electric providers and TDUs and immediately notify all the required entities about changes to your critical load infrastructure as they occur.  Therefore, utilities should make it a policy to regularly review their critical infrastructure and notify the appropriate entities when necessary.

Until now, Utilities Code Section 182.052 created an opt-in approach to the confidentiality of certain personal information.  Under the old law, utilities were required to keep confidential their customers’ address, telephone number, social security number, and billing and usage information, but only if the customer expressly requested that the utility do so.  This created a headache for utility administrators when they received requests for this information, because in many cases only some of their customers had opted into keeping the information confidential.  This meant verifying on a customer-by-customer basis which customers’ information they should disclose, and which they should withhold.

That headache was resolved with the passage of H.B. 872 this session, which makes this information automatically confidential for all customers. H.B. 872 officially goes into effect on September 1st, 2021. That said, there are some other minor changes that utilities should be aware of.  First, the law gives customers the right to opt out of this automatic confidentiality.  While I don’t expect such requests to be common, utilities must still give customers the option and honor their wishes if they get a request for customers’ personal information.  Systems can give customers this option either by posting a request form on their website, along with a way for customers to electronically return the form, or by giving them a paper copy of the request form, either with a bill or with their application packet in the case of new customers.  Posting it online seems like the easiest, most cost-effective method of complying with this requirement. 

Systems should also be aware that they cannot charge an administrative fee for processing requests to allow disclosure of customers’ information.  This was allowed under the old, opt-in scheme, but in that case the volume of requests was generally higher since most people want more confidentiality of their personal information, not less.  So, in the off chance that you get a request to disclose a customer’s information, you will have to process it for free.

The Legal Department has made changes to the Sample Tariff and District Service Policy, as well as updated the form to reflect the new, opt-out focus of the law.  If you purchased either of these documents recently, you can contact us at legal@trwa.org to obtain these changes.  If it’s been a while since you last updated your tariff or district service policy, it might be time to purchase our latest version, which includes these and other changes that have accumulated throughout the years.

The 87^th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature ended on May 31, 2021, and between the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the February winter storm it proved to be a session like no other.  COVID precautions meant that large groups couldn’t assemble at the capitol until very late in the session, so for the first time ever, TRWA’s Rural Water Rally was conducted virtually.  Meanwhile, for the second session in a row the House elected a new speaker, Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont).  With the new speaker came a new chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, which handles many bills of interest to TRWA members.  This year, longtime committee member Rep. Tracy King (D-Batesville) led that committee, which also included the former chair, Rep. Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio).

At the beginning of session, most of us here in Austin expected a somewhat subdued agenda, with issues such as the biennial budget, pandemic response, and redistricting taking up most of the legislature’s time.  However, as is fitting for a notably strange session, there were some surprises.  The failure of the state’s electrical grid in February’s storm quickly pushed that issue front and center,  and all three members of the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) resigned in March, along with most of the board of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

With such a major unexpected issue suddenly thrust to the forefront, it was perhaps fortunate for the legislature that the U.S. Census Bureau was delayed in getting detailed 2020 census data to the state before session came to an end.  Rather than taking up much of the regular session’s 140 day schedule, the redistricting process will have to wait for a special session later this year, where the legislature will redraw all election maps on both the state and federal levels.  These new maps are expected to reflect a continuing shift of the state’s population to large urban portions of the state.

Despite all the challenges associated with conducting a legislative session in the face of a global pandemic and an unprecedented weather emergency, the 87^th legislature filed and passed about the same number of bills as they do in a typical session.  When they gaveled out on May 31, the legislature had sent 737 bills to Governor Abbott for his signature out of 6,919 that were filed.  Below is a summary of the bills that are relevant to rural water utilities, some of which passed and some of which did not.  Unless otherwise noted, all bills signed by the governor become law on September 1, 2021.

Response to Winter Storm

S.B. 3 (Schwertner)

While the bulk of this bill addressed problems with the state’s electrical grid brought to light during February’s freezing weather event, it also contains several provisions pertaining to water utilities.  The version that passed the Senate, which went through that chamber with minimal input from stakeholders, would have required all utilities to maintain emergency generator capacity for critical water infrastructure.  It also would have prohibited collection of bills accruing during hot and cold weather events commonly experienced in Texas, and it contained excessive penalties for violations.

TRWA participated with a group of water industry stakeholders to develop language that addressed the legislature’s concerns about water service during weather emergencies without being overly burdensome on utilities.  We also testified before the House State Affairs Committee and engaged our members to discuss industry concerns directly with their legislatures.  The final version of the bill includes the following key provisions:

 

• Water utilities must provide service during an extended power outage as soon as it is safe and practicable to do so following the occurrence of a natural disaster.
• Utilities must also adopt and submit to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) a plan demonstrating the utility’s ability to provide emergency operations.Participation in a statewide mutual aid program such as TxWARN counts toward meeting this requirement.The bill also requires TCEQ to develop a template plan for systems to utilize, and mandates that the agency provide systems with access to Financial, Managerial, and Technical (FMT) staff for assistance. TRWA currently provides these services to systems through a contract with TCEQ.
• The final version of the bill contains more reasonable billing provisions than those contained in earlier drafts.S.B. 3 now prohibits systems from disconnecting customers for nonpayment or from imposing late fees during an “extreme weather emergency,” which is defined as a period when the previous day’s high temperature did not exceed 28 degrees Fahrenheit and is predicted to remain at that level for the next 24 hours.
• S.B. 3 requires utilities to work with customers that request a payment schedule for unpaid bills during extreme weather emergencies, which most systems were already voluntarily doing.
• While the Senate version of the bill authorized fines of up to $1 million per violation of its billing provisions, the final version caps those fines at $50,000 and mandates that only extreme cases qualify for fines of more than $5,000.
• Utilities have until November 1, 2021 to submit critical infrastructure and emergency contact information to the PUCT, their electric provider(s), their local office of emergency management, and the governor’s division of emergency management.They have until March 1, 2022 to submit their emergency preparedness plan to TCEQ, and until July 1, 2022 (or later, if approved by TCEQ) to implement that plan. TRWA will be providing information and guidance on this new requirement.

In addition to the steps mandated by S.B. 3 above, TRWA recommends that all utilities proactively engage with their electric providers to ensure they are considered critical customers during emergencies.  In discussing the storm with our members, a common theme among systems with more positive outcomes was that they had a plan in place at the local level for receiving notice of power shutdowns and rolling blackouts.

Cybersecurity Training for District Employees and Directors

H.B. 1118 (Capriglione)

Last session, the legislature mandated that all political subdivision employees and board or council members must complete an annual cybersecurity training approved by the Texas Department of Information Resources.  TRWA developed a training which was approved by the agency and offers it online and in person at many of our conferences.

H.B. 1118 narrows the scope of the cybersecurity requirement and became effective immediately upon the governor signing it on May 18.  Under the new law, only employees and board or council members who use a system computer to perform at least 25% of their required duties must complete the annual cybersecurity training.  This should eliminate most board or council members and some field staff from the requirement. 

TRWA recommends that staff of utilities not required to take this training and who utilize system computers voluntarily complete the training anyway, as water systems continue to be a target for this type of breach.

 

Retail Rates

S.B. 387 (Schwertner)

Initially, this bill would have allowed customers in a city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) to appeal their rates to the PUCT if their rates increased following a takeover of service by another utility, regardless of the utility type.  TRWA met with Sen. Schwertner’s office and found that they filed the bill in response to a situation in his district where one city took over service of an area from another city.  Because the initial bill would have disincentivized many rural utilities from entering into agreements to efficiently allocate customers, we assisted the sponsor in drafting language that would address their specific constituent issue.  As passed, S.B. 387 only authorizes rate appeals for customers within a city’s ETJ when their service is taken over by another municipal utility.  Districts and water supply corporations are no longer impacted by this bill.

 

H.B. 3689 (Cortez)

Chapter 13 of the Water Code gives municipal utility customers located outside a city’s limits the right to appeal their rates to the PUCT since they are not able to vote in city elections.  However, in a recent appeal on the reasonableness of a city’s rates outside its limits, the PUCT assumed jurisdiction to review not only those rates but also at the rates charged to customers within the city limits.  H.B. 3689 clarifies that the PUCT’s jurisdiction extends only to the rates charged to out-of-city customers, and that the agency may not compare those rates to the rates charged within the city.

 

H.B. 1484 (Metcalf)

This bill relates to the rates charged by a utility after it purchases or otherwise acquires another utility.  Under the new law, the acquiring utility may charge its newly-acquired customers the rates specified in its tariff that are in effect for its current customers, without having to go through a new rate proceeding at the PUCT.

 

Wholesale Rates

S.B. 997 (Nichols)

The PUCT handles wholesale rate appeals in a bifurcated process: first, they must determine whether a wholesale rate is adverse to the public interest, and if it is, the second phase focuses on what the proper rate should be.  Dissatisfied parties may only appeal the PUCT’s decision to district court once both phases are complete.  S.B. 997 would allow the losing party in the first phase appeal that decision immediately before moving on to the rate-setting phase.  This may reduce the time it takes to litigate these cases.

 

CCN Issues

H.B. 837 (Lucio)

Last session, TRWA was successful in passing legislation that fixed the way the PUCT compensates utilities when their service area is decertified.  Since then, we have observed that several utilities have been able to work out agreements on compensation with developers who decertify land from their service area.  H.B. 837 simply adds to last session’s legislation by requiring the landowner/developer to notify the PUCT once the compensation is paid.

H.B. 3476 (Schofield)

The Water Code requires cities with a population of 500,000 or more to give their consent when a new CCN is requested within the city’s boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).  As a condition of giving consent, the city may require that all water and sewer facilities be designed and constructed in accordance with its standards.  In general, cities have less authority in their ETJ than they do within their boundaries, and H.B. 3476 makes a similar distinction in this area.  Under the new law, affected cities may no longer require facilities within their ETJ to comply with the city’s standards.  Instead, those facilities are subject to standards set forth by TCEQ.  The bill does not affect cities’ ability to require that facilities within their city boundaries be designed and constructed in accordance with their standards.

 

Rural Broadband

H.B. 5 (Ashby)

There were several bills filed on expanding broadband access to rural parts of the state, but H.B. 5 emerged as the vehicle for this legislative priority.  This bill creates a Broadband Development Office within the Office of the Comptroller, which is charged with studying broadband expansion to rural Texas.  The new entity will also develop a map of underserved areas, defined as places where fewer than 80% of households have access to broadband; and create a development program to provide grants, low-interest loans, and other incentives to internet providers to expand access.  The overall impact of this bill will likely depend on the manner in which it is implemented, as well as funding by future legislatures.

 

Employment

S.B. 45 (Zaffirini)

Current protections against sexual harassment in the workplace only apply to employers with 15 or more employees.  S.B. 45 expands those protections to all employers, regardless of the number of people they employ.  The bill does not distinguish between public and private sector employees, so it applies to all TRWA members, regardless of whether they are a district, WSC, city, or investor-owned utility.  Under the new law, employers commit an unlawful employment practice if sexual harassment occurs in the workplace and the employer or its management knew or should have known of the conduct and failed to take immediate corrective action.  “Sexual harassment” is defined as an unwelcome sexual advance, a request for a sexual favor, or any other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature if:

• submission to the advance, request, or conduct is made a term or condition of an individual's employment, either explicitly or implicitly;
• submission to or rejection of the advance, request, or conduct by an individual is used as the basis for a decision affecting the individual's employment;
• the advance, request, or conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance; or
• the advance, request, or conduct has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

Public Information Act

S.B. 1225 (Huffman)

Last session, the legislature allowed entities to temporarily suspend their requirements under the Public Information Act for requests made during a period of “catastrophe.”  The ensuing COVID-19 pandemic prompted the legislature to clarify what that term means this session.  S.B. 1225 clarifies that a situation does not qualify as a catastrophe simply because a governmental entity’s office is closed and its staff is working from home if the staff is still able to access information responsive to a request.  Additionally, entities may only postpone their response by seven days due to a catastrophe, with one additional seven-day extension before they must comply.  The bill also requires governmental entities to make a good faith effort to provide responsive information when their offices are required to be closed due to a catastrophic event.

 

H.B. 1082 (King)

The Public Information Act has historically protected the home address, home telephone number, emergency contact information, and social security number of a statewide elected officer or member of the legislature from requests for public information.  H.B. 1082 expanded this protection to elected local public officers of any entity subject to the Public Information Act, including districts, water supply corporations, and cities.  The law became effective immediately after being signed by the governor on May 19.

 

H.B. 872 (Bernal)

Section 182.052 of the Utilities Code currently requires utilities to keep confidential the address, phone number, social security number, and usage information of their customers, but only if the customer requests that they do so.  H.B. 872 flips this “opt in” confidentiality process to an “opt out” structure – beginning September 1, utilities can automatically withhold this information from Public Information Act requests without express permission from their customers.  Instead, customers may request that the information be made available on request.  This should make responding to this type of request much easier because utilities will no longer need to redact the information of some customers while providing the information of others.  TRWA will be updating our Sample Tariff and the associated sample confidentiality form this summer to reflect the new law before it goes into effect.

 

Eminent Domain

S.B. 721 (Schwertner)

This bill requires entities using their eminent domain authority to disclose to the landowner all current and existing appraisal reports produced or acquired by the entity relating to that property.  The entity must disclose the reports not later than the third business day before the special commissioner’s hearing on the property’s value.

 

S.B. 726 (Schwertner)

Landowners whose property is taken by eminent domain have the right to repurchase property if the condemning entity fails to demonstrate actual progress toward the public use of the property by the 10^th anniversary of the date the land was acquired.  Condemning entities can demonstrate actual progress if they can demonstrate that they have completed two out of five affirmative steps toward developing the property, such as the performance of a significant amount of labor or hiring of a significant amount of architectural or engineering work.  S.B. 726 raises the standard for demonstrating actual progress – beginning September 1, condemning entities must demonstrate that they have completed three out of the five enumerated actions rather than two out of five.

 

S.B. 157 (Perry)

All entities with eminent domain authority must file an annual report with the Texas Comptroller relating to their eminent domain activity in the previous year.  This is the report that TRWA’s Legal Department will submit on our subscribing members’ behalf ahead of the annual February 1 deadline each year.  Under the new law, districts and cities with populations of less than 25,000 must only submit the annual report if some of the information required on the report has changed since the previous filing.  Systems must still verify the accuracy of the report on an annual basis, so this bill may not change a lot from an administrative perspective.  The Legal Department will monitor how the Comptroller implements this bill to further assess its impact on our district and city members.  WSC members are unaffected by S.B. 157 and must continue submitting a report each year.

Political Subdivisions

S.B. 58 (Zaffirini)

The Local Government Code authorizes political subdivisions to finance the purchase of personal property, including computer hardware and equipment.  Recognizing the increasing use of cloud-based services for data storage, processing, and cybersecurity, S.B. 58 adds those services to the list of types of personal property political subdivisions may finance.

 

H.B. 1476 (Bell)

This bill requires political subdivisions to provide vendors with notice of an error or a disputed amount under a contract not later than the 21^st day after the political subdivision receives an invoice.  The notice must include a detailed statement of the amount in dispute, and the political subdivision may withhold from payments no more than 110% of the disputed amount.

 

Direct Potable Reuse Guidance

S.B. 905 (Perry)

This bill requires TCEQ to develop and make available to the public a regulatory guidance manual to explain its rules applying to direct potable reuse, which is defined as the introduction of treated or reclaimed municipal wastewater directly into a public water system, or into a raw water supply immediately before it enters a water treatment plant.

Board of Plumbing Examiners Sunset

H.B. 636 (Thompson)

Like all agencies, the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners (TSBPE) is subject to the sunset review process, in which the legislature decides whether to continue the agency’s existence and makes changes to their responsibilities and duties. Last session, the legislature planned to abolish the agency and transfer its functions to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), which oversees a variety of other professional licenses.  However, that bill failed to pass at the last minute, so Governor Abbott continued the board’s existence through 2021 by executive order to prevent the industry from being totally unregulated.  This year was less dramatic.  Rather than transferring oversight of the plumbing industry to TDLR, the legislature decided to continue the TSBPE’s existence through 2027.

Bills of Significance to TRWA Members that Failed to Pass

Water Program Oversight

H.B. 3650 (Lucio, III)

Many in the water industry, including TRWA members, were closely watching this bill, which would have transferred oversight of water utilities back to TCEQ from the PUCT, which has overseen rate and CCN issues since 2013.  TRWA testified in support of this bill due to the challenges of water utilities being regulated by two agencies. The House Natural Resources Committee unanimously voted it out for consideration by the entire House, but it was never set for debate in that chamber and did not proceed any further.  This bill could be the starting point for more conversations about this issue moving forward.

Fees

H.B. 3802 (Lozano)

This bill started as one TRWA members were concerned about, but through our legislative efforts we turned it into a bill that would have been very good for our industry.  TCEQ counts each space at an RV park as a full connection for purposes of determining the capacity a utility must maintain to serve those properties.  Some WSCs charge RV parks an additional fee to recover the cost associated with this extra capacity.  As filed, H.B. 3802 would have prohibited WSCs from charging these fees, which are already prohibited for districts.

The TRWA Legislative Team worked with Rep. Lozano’s office, the bill’s Senate sponsor (Sen. Zaffirini), and representatives of the RV park industry to draft a compromise bill that all sides could support.  Under the final version, TCEQ would have been required to count individual RV spaces as a percentage of a standard single family home, rather than as a full connection, for purposes of determining the property’s number of connections.  Without a disproportional impact on the utility’s capacity requirement, utilities would no longer need to charge an additional fee. 

Unfortunately, while the bill passed the House, made it through the Senate Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs Committee, and was placed on the full Senate’s intent calendar near the end of session, like many bills it simply ran out of time.  It is frustrating that this bill came so close to passing, but we are well-positioned to make progress on this issue next session.  In the meantime, utilities should continue to seek variances from TCEQ based on their actual demand if RV parks are having a substantial impact on their capacity requirements.

S.B. 1719 (Hall)

Senator Hall filed this bill in response to a cost of service dispute in his district between a WSC and one of its new customers in 2019.  TRWA assisted in resolving the dispute at that time, and we worked with the senator’s office in the interim to develop legislation to address the underlying issue.  S.B. 1719 would have allowed PUCT to review membership and tap fees charged to new applicants for service to ensure they were consistent with the WSC’s tariff.  The bill passed the Senate but did not receive a committee hearing in the House.

CCN Issues

H.B. 1435 (Lucio, III)

This bill would have amended Section 13.255 of the Water Code pertaining to decertification of a utility’s certificate of convenience and necessity (CCN) by cities.  Under current law, the PUCT automatically grants a city’s petition for single certification of an area within its limits, subject to the city paying compensation to the decertified utility. The proposed law would have required cities to demonstrate that the CCN holder was unable to provide continuous and adequate service to the area in question before decertifying it. It also removed the “useless and valueless” language in current law that has hindered systems receiving fair compensation in cases before the PUCT, bringing the city-instigated decertification statute into alignment with the one for developers. TRWA supported this bill before the House Natural Resources Committee, but they did not vote it out this session.

Service Extension Policies

H.B. 1926 (Wilson)

TRWA fought hard against this bill, which would have established a new appeal process for the PUCT to review the finding of a water supply corporation or special utility district that a developer failed to comply with the system’s service extension policy or engineering requirements for service.  We asked TRWA’s members to contact their representatives about this bill on two occasions when it was set for hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee, and it was pulled from consideration both times.  The bill was filed in response to a conflict between a developer and an investor-owned utility that had purchased a water supply corporation several years ago.  TRWA facilitated discussions between these parties near the end of session, and we are hopeful that they will be able to work out their conflict locally without the need for legislation next session.

 

Open Meetings

H.B. 768 (Patterson)

TRWA members testified against this bill, which applied to all political subdivisions located wholly or partly within a county of more than 5,000 people.  As filed, H.B. 768 required these political subdivisions to upload an audio and visual recording of their meetings to their website, something that many of our members found difficult due to technical or staffing limitations at their system.  The bill was ultimately amended to narrow its scope to apply only to counties, cities and school districts.  It was voted out of committee but did not receive a vote on the House floor.

Remote Meetings (Numerous Bills)

In March 2020, Governor Abbott temporarily relaxed numerous requirements under the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) to allow entities to conduct meetings virtually or by phone.  With almost a year of entities operating in this way when the legislative session convened in January, numerous legislators filed bills that would make some or all parts of this new way of doing business a permanent option.  Some bills essentially would have made permanent all facets of the governor’s ongoing temporary order.  Others expanded on emergency remote meeting provisions currently in law or allowed individual board members to participate remotely if a quorum was still convened in a single physical location. 

Somewhat surprisingly, none of these bills passed despite TOMA being an often-amended statute even in a more typical session.  As a result, virtual meetings will become a thing of the past once Governor Abbott rescinds his order from last spring, other than the narrow allowances currently proscribed by law.  As of this writing, the governor has not rescinded his order, so fully remote meetings are still allowed at each entity’s discretion.

TRWA recommends that utilities implement a transition policy for resuming disconnections rather than an abrupt return to business as usual. Here are some tips for reinstituting service disconnections for nonpayment:

• Give your customers advance notice of the date on which you will resume disconnecting service for nonpayment. We recommend a date around April 15, though the specific date may vary depending on your system’s billing cycle.

• Clearly communicate with your customers that they should contact you before your new disconnection date if they are unable to pay their bill, and let them know that you are willing to work out a payment plan with them. This can be done on a water bill, in a separate mailing, or as an announcement on your utility’s website or social media.

• Continue to negotiate payment plans with each customer based on their ability to pay and their specific circumstances rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all payment plan.

• If customers are struggling to pay their bills, reach out to local organizations who may be willing to assist them. Such organizations include Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs, Shriners, Knights of Columbus, WIC (Women, Infant, and Children) Programs, churches, and other charitable institutions.

• If you have customers who have not paid their bills or established a payment plan while you were following the PUCT’s order, reach out to them personally to let them know that you will begin reinstituting disconnections on a specific date if they do not arrange for a payment plan.

• Document attempts to reach out to nonpaying customers so you can support the disconnection should they file a complaint with the PUCT.

• Once your disconnection date passes, you may fully resume your usual disconnection policy as specified in your tariff unless the PUCT issues a new order. TRWA will notify its members immediately if that happens.

The answer appears to be yes, but employers need to be aware of a couple notable exceptions and other things to consider. Since employment in Texas is generally at-will, employers can terminate employees for almost any reason, including refusal to obtain the vaccine. However, if an employee has a medical condition or sincerely-held religious belief that prevents them from taking it, employers must provide a reasonable accommodation for their situation, if doing so doesn’t pose an undue burden on the employer. 

Reasonable accommodations include things many water systems are probably already doing to some extent, such as allowing employees to work from home, requiring them to wear a mask or providing them with a separate workspace away from other people. If an employee claims a medical condition or sincerely-held religious belief that prevents them from taking the vaccine, TRWA advises our members to take them at their word since the cost of proving otherwise could be greater than the burden of simply making an accommodation.

Another thing to consider is potential legal liability for employers who make taking the vaccine a condition of employment. If an employee is required to take the vaccine and has a bad medical outcome from doing so, such as an allergic reaction, the employer could be the subject of a Workers’ Compensation claim. We have seen some articles that stress that this could be a slightly greater concern for these vaccines due to the compressed timeframe of their creation and distribution relative to previous vaccines. 

All of these factors together indicate that the best course of action is to strongly recommend that employees obtain the vaccine on a voluntary basis. Systems might also consider a more targeted approach by requiring the vaccine for front-line workers such as operators (subject to the exceptions discussed above) while recommending it for other personnel.

The TRWA legal department has advised members throughout the pandemic to hold their meeting on their normal date, if at all possible.  This advice continues into 2021 for a few reasons.  First, as with last year, we don’t know how long the pandemic will last, so it is unclear when a rescheduled meeting would be able to take place free of coronavirus concerns.  Also, based on the experiences of systems who postponed their 2020 meeting, we know of a few complications that can arise from postponement, such as determining when directors’ terms end or begin, and determining which members of your corporation are eligible to vote when the meeting eventually occurs. 

Additionally, since the scale of the pandemic took us by surprise earlier this year, it was unlikely that a WSC would get in very much trouble if they moved their meeting while attempting to comply with the law to the greatest extent possible.  While that is still probably the case, it could more of a concern in 2021 now that systems have had almost a year to adjust to life with COVID-19.  The governor’s order allowing for online and phone-based meetings remains in effect, so systems have alternative methods for holding meetings at their disposal that may not have been available to them in 2020.  These are factors that courts or the Public Utility Commission (PUC) could take into consideration if a board’s decision to postpone its annual meeting were challenged. 

With that in mind, TRWA continues to recommend the following best practices for conducting your annual meetings in 2021:

• Meetings should be short, to the point, and free of unnecessary social activities.  While some systems use fun activities like meals or door prizes to generate attendance, TRWA recommends that systems refrain from this practice once again in 2021 to promote social distancing and to ensure compliance with any gathering restrictions that may be in place statewide or locally.

• Members should be strongly encouraged to vote ahead of time, rather than in person.  State law and TRWA Model Election Procedures allow members to mail their ballots or drop them off at a designated location before the date of the annual meeting.  Systems might consider promoting and encouraging these voting methods while letting people know that the meeting itself will be a short event.
  •  Sample Election Procedures (Revised Sepetember 2020) Microsoft Word Version or PDF Version
  •  2020 Election Procedures Revisions List : PDF version
• Establish safe voting procedures for those who wish to vote in person at the meeting.  Since the law allows people to vote in person at your meeting, we do not recommend denying them that option altogether.  Instead, many systems in 2020 came up with creative ways for members to safely vote in person, including utilization of drive-through voting, outdoor voting in a parking lot or other structure, or giving voters access to the voting station on a one in, one out basis.
  
• Members should be encouraged to view the meeting online.  As discussed above, Governor Abbott has relaxed Open Meetings Act requirements for the duration of the pandemic, which means you can broadcast your annual meeting online.  If you have the capability to do so, promote the online option to discourage people from gathering in a large group.
  
  

• In the Texas House, it was a good night to be an incumbent, as most of the chamber’s 150 seats remained unchanged with Republicans likely holding on to a majority similar to the 83-67 advantage they held in 2019.  The majority of new faces in the House will be members of both parties who are filling seats vacated by lawmakers who did not seek re-election.  Two seats in Harris County switched parties in opposite directions, with Democrat Gina Calanni losing to Republican Mike Schofield, and longtime Republican member Sarah Davis losing to Democrat Ann Johnson.
  
  
• Because the Texas Senate’s 31 seats have staggered terms, there were fewer races to watch on that side of the capitol.  At the end of the night, Democrats gained one seat in the chamber as Roland Gutierrez defeated Sen. Pete Flores in a district covering Southwest Texas and the Big Bend area.  Republicans will still hold an 18-13 advantage in the senate.
  
  
• Democrats also fell short in their bid to expand gains they made in the state’s congressional delegation in the 2018 election.  Despite high profile races in about a dozen districts mostly concentrated in suburban parts of the state, there were no party switches in last night’s election among the state’s 36 congressional districts.

2021 Legislative Preview:  The 87^th Texas Legislature convenes on January 12, 2021.  Despite the familiar makeup of the Texas House following Tuesday’s election, the chamber will be led by a new House Speaker for the second time in as many sessions.  Last session’s speaker, Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton), did not seek re-election.  The speaker is an important role because he or she sets the legislative agenda for the chamber, decides which bills get called up for a vote and when, and perhaps most importantly, assigns the chairs and members of all House committees.  With the identity of the speaker uncertain, it remains to be seen whether Rep. Lyle Larson (R-San Antonio) will remain chair of the important House Natural Resources Committee, a position he has held for the past several sessions.  In the days leading up to the election, eight representatives from both parties filed paperwork seeking the speaker position, but on Wednesday Rep. Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) announced that he has the support of enough members to win the job.  We won’t officially know who will be the next speaker until the legislature’s opening gavel drops in Austin in January.

Bill Tracking & Capitol Pipeline:  Pre-filing of bills for the 87^th Legislature begins on November 9, 2020. The TRWA Legal Department will immediately begin reviewing these bills for potential impact on the rural water industry, and posting relevant bills on our website. Once session begins in January, be on the look out for the return of our Capitol Pipeline newsletter in addition to the standard newsletter covering non-legislative topics.  The Capitol Pipeline will include summaries of bills of note as they move through the legislature, calls to action for or against bills that impact our members, and a full range of updates on key dates and events taking place at the capitol during the session.

The safety of drinking water will continue to an important concern for your customers. From Flint, Michigan, to East Texas, from oilfield fracking to agricultural chemicals, public concern over the safety of drinking water remains high. Sometimes it hides behind timely concerns such as economic conditions and the pandemic, but when someone gets sick or something else bad happens, the problem can easily accelerate into a crisis.  Communications must be perfectly executed. Are you ready to deliver? Ask yourself these questions:

Know who will speak for the utility

• Does staff know when to alert the General Manager of an event?
• Does the General Manager know when to alert the Board of Directors?
• Has the Board approved an Emergency Communications Procedure empowering the General Manager?
• Does the General Manager know when and how to involve the Board of Directors?
• Do you have an emergency management plan that includes a core group of people who will function as your emergency management staff?
• Can your emergency management team function if you are not there?
• Do employees know utility business cannot be discussed on their social media?
• Do employees know whether they should answer news media questions at the site?

Know and practice the order of communications

• Are written procedures in place for alerting regulators and health authorities?
• Are procedures in place for notifying elected officials?
• Are procedures in place for alerting employees?
• Are procedures in place for alerting customers?
• Can you put a message on at least two social media channels within 30 minutes day or night?

Know what to say in public statements – and what not to

• Do you know when to empathize with those affected?
• Do you know when to say, “I don’t have the answer. We are working on getting good data. We will let you know.”
• Do you know how to coordinate with the region’s Emergency Management Coordinator (often the County Judge in rural counties) and can you reach them 24/7?
• Do you know how to time-bracket restoration when there is a service delivery issue?

Know your customers’ news media

• Do you know what your customers consider reliable, local news sources?
• Do you have a recent and accurate list of key news media? Are you connected on social media?
• Does your list include radio and TV?
• Do you know the Five Ws that news media need to write a story?

Now is the time to become better prepared for the unexpected. You’ll be glad you did.

• All check marks? Perfect. Now practice.
• Half of boxes checked? Make a plan to expand and improve your emergency response.
• Only a few? Make this a priority for 2021 for your Board and the staff you most rely on.

Prepared for the Texas Rural Water Association by Robert Cullick Communications. Robert Cullick has handled electric and wet utility communications in Texas for more than 30 years and speaks at TRWA conventions.  He is an independent consultant operating out of Travis County, Texas, and responds to your questions at Robert.Cullick@gmail.com. 

As background, Green Valley SUD scored a victory for rural water in 2019 with a favorable U.S. district court decision in their ongoing CCN decertification case with the cities of Schertz and Cibolo.  The cities immediately appealed that decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the appellate court directly below the United States Supreme Court responsible for hearing appeals from district courts in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.  A panel of three judges is usually assigned to hear the majority of cases, but here, the Fifth Circuit took the unusual step of having the case argued before all 17 judges.  Historically, when appellate courts choose to have the whole court hear a case, it sends a strong signal that they are planning to overturn established precedent.    

The Public Utility Commission (PUC) and the cities argued that a utility can only show service has been made available if the utility has infrastructure in place dedicated to serving the property to be decertified.  Had the Court overturned North Alamo in favor of this standard, rural utilities would have found their CCNs extremely vulnerable to decertification by neighboring providers, because utilities simply do not, and cannot plan for future growth in that way.  TRWA submitted an amicus brief in support of Green Valley, which argued in favor of the North Alamo precedent; however, given the likelihood that the North Alamo standard would fall, we also offered the court a reasonable alternative already used in other jurisdictions across the country.  The Court essentially adopted TRWA’s alternative argument in its entirety, the best possible outcome short of a full affirmation of North Alamo.  

In Green Valley’s case, the Court adopted the “physical ability” test, which states that a utility must show that it has adequate facilities to provide service to the area within a reasonable time after a request for service is made and that it has the legal right to provide service to the area.  The opinion also states that courts will need to make a fact-specific determination in each case as to whether a utility can make service available within a reasonable time after it receives a request for service.  While not the best possible outcome for Green Valley and rural utilities in Texas, the physical ability test should give rural utilities, with federal debt, protection from decertification when they are ready and able to serve high-growth areas.  The court remanded the case to the federal district court to further rule on the facts based on this opinion.

The Emergency Assistance for Rural Water Systems Act allows USDA Rural Development to provide affordable and sustainable financial options for rural utilities impacted by COVID-19.  Assistance includes grants, zero percent loans, one percent loans, principal and interest reduction, loan modifications and direct operational assistance to provide financial stability for the impacted utility to get through this crisis.

NRWA strongly supports these tools for Rural Development to employ in this crisis. NRWA’s 30,000 member utilities need these tools and resources to directly address the financial concerns and continuity of operations challenges that the rural utilities are currently experiencing, especially as they continue to provide uninterrupted essential services now and in future disasters or economic downturns.

“Access to clean drinking water and safe wastewater treatment is vital to every American, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated Kent Watson, NRWA President and Texas National Director. “Serving as a manager of a rural utility for 30 years, I understand the necessity of the Emergency Assistance for Rural Utilities Act. This Act will provide assistance that is direly needed by many utilities in our Nation that are suffering the financial effects of the pandemic and will ensure future sustainability for these systems during times of crisis.”

This legislation comes at a time that is desperately needed for Rural America and Rural Water.  Small and rural communities have done their part to meet the public’s needs during the COVID-19 pandemic by maintaining and restoring customer access to water services regardless of payment. NRWA estimates small water and wastewater systems stand to lose $998 million in revenue due to customer nonpayment alone. This lost revenue will never be recovered by utilities and does not include emergency operational costs.

Most of the country’s drinking water and wastewater utilities are small. Roughly 80 percent of the country’s approximately 17,000 wastewater utilities serve populations less than 10,000 persons. Over 90 percent of the country’s approximately 50,000 community water systems serve a populations less than 10,000 persons.

“I’m proud to introduce this much-needed legislation to address our rural water infrastructure," said Congressman David Rouzer.  "Our rural communities have been struggling for years to maintain and update critical water infrastructure, a problem that has been made that much worse by revenue shortfalls due to the pandemic. This legislation will provide critical resources to better ensure we have the sound water infrastructure necessary to providing basic services for rural families.” 

Congressman Filemón Vela is "proud to introduce bipartisan legislation that would provide much needed assistance to rural water and waste disposal systems affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic. This health crisis has showcased the important role safe drinking water and sanitary waste disposal play not only in public health, but also in the economic vitality of rural America. As we continue to fight this pandemic, we must ensure that our nation’s rural water and waste disposal systems have the resources and infrastructure needed to support families living in rural communities.” 

Rural America and TRWA are proud of the commitment made by Congressmen Rouzer and Vela.

 “Congressman David Rouzer has been a long-standing supporter of rural water utilities as far back as his days working at the USDA Rural Development and later the NC General Assembly. His determination to assist rural North Carolina and water and wastewater systems has never wavered and has once again been exhibited by his Emergency Assistance for Rural Water Systems Act. As a resident of Congressman Rouzer's district, I could not be more proud of his attentiveness to the needs of his district and the priorities of rural and eastern North Carolina,” said Daniel Wilson, Executive Director of North Carolina Rural Water Association.

Brian Macmanus, Texas Rural Water Association’s Immediate Past President, acknowledges Congressman Vela’s vision. “Congressman Vela has always listened to the needs of his rural water constituents in District 34, and is aware of our systems’ financial needs.  On two occasions he has visited our local surface water treatment facilities.  Here in Deep South Texas and across our entire state and country, we are very pleased with the potential relief this bill provides to our water and wastewater systems in Rural America.”

Systems of all sizes have taken necessary steps to ensure continuity of service and to protect the industry workforce. State Rural Water Associations have developed a listing of 2,786 retired or otherwise qualified operations specialists to support systems if critical, local utility staff are unable to perform their duties due to the virus. State and federal agencies continue to adjust as the pandemic evolves including extending operator certification deadlines and allowing flexibilities in the regulatory area.   

At this point, the financial impact of this virus is resonating throughout the industry across rural America. NRWA anticipates congressional actions in the near future that could include infrastructure funding, and your association will advocate for provisions that will address rural utilities that have been financially impacted from this pandemic. We have heard your voices and concerns and are responding accordingly.

Utilities should continue to monitor and update the financial impact on their historic revenue streams as the consequences of this virus continue to evolve. The impact is compounded by several moving factors including businesses that have closed or temporarily shut down; the downturn in the economy; resulting in increased unemployment and lower return on investments. As a result, systems will likely see more late or non-payment for residential services soon. As systems assess this financial impact, if necessary, they should start discussions with their State Rural Development office and other lending institutions regarding what assistance or servicing actions are available to them at this time. Your State Rural Water Association has the resources and expertise to assist in this effort. This assistance can be rendered remotely, maintaining the recommended social distancing guidelines.

Overcoming these challenges in the months ahead will require a common goal of ensuring the continuation of these essential services to the public. It will require patience, perseverance and understanding by all. Your State Rural Water Association has the staff expertise and experience to assist your system and jointly take on these challenges. 

This long- term trusted partnership with each of you, including our federal, state and local leaders, will ensure that rural America will get through this crisis together. As our nation continues to deal with the pandemic, we thank each and every individual as you continue to take all the precautions you can to maintain social distancing, disinfect surfaces, wash your hands, resist touching your face, all things necessary to stay healthy and lessen the spread of this dreadful outbreak.  

Thank you for dedication and service.

Sam Wade

CEO, National Rural Water Association

You may search for neighboring PWSs using Texas Water Development Board’s Water Service Boundary Viewer. Please use the search bar in the top left for addresses, PWS IDs, or Counties. Once you find a nearby water system, click inside the boundary of the water system and a pop-up window should appear with a link to Texas Drinking Water Watch (highlighted in the image below).

Alternatively, you can search for neighboring systems using our Drinking Water Watch website. Please use the drop down under ‘Principal County Served’ and ‘Water System Type’ to search for facilities near you (highlighted in the image below). On the next page, please click ‘Summary Sheet’ and you should see contacts listed under the ‘All Water System Contacts’.

If you need assistance calculating the specific feed and dosing rates, please work with TCEQ’s Texas Optimization Program (they can help you calculate a chemical mix for creating alternative disinfection chemicals that are NSF Standard 60 certified). The contact is Mr. Kenneth Dykes and his email is Kenneth.Dykes@tceq.texas.gov.

Please work with your manufacturing suppliers to certify you understand their supply amounts, their designated ratios, and their manufacturing suggestions.  Please view the list of Texas suppliers on our COVID-19 webpage.

If you need help at any time, please reach out to the SBLGA Hotline at 1-800-447-2827.

For more resources on TCEQ’s COVID-19 response to public water systems please visit our COVID-19: Public Water Systems webpage.

As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, many water utilities will be faced with tough decisions relating to maintaining a healthy work environment without running afoul of applicable employment laws.  Below is a helpful guide for employers as they strive to maintain a healthy workplace while conducting their vital business operations. 

The firm has also compiled this analysis of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which is expected to be signed into law by President Trump soon.  This resource explains employers’ obligations relating to the Act’s Emergency Family and Medical Leave and Emergency Paid Sick Leave provisions which could affect TRWA members in the coming weeks and months.

The severity and lasting impacts and effects of the spread of COVID-19 remain unknown.  Each day federal, state, and local governments deploy new measures in an effort to curtail the spread of the virus, and such measures will impact the workforce and implicate legal obligations of employers.  For example, some jurisdictions have closed, or are considering closing, schools, which may require parents without access to childcare to remain home.  Additionally, individuals who tested positive or were exposed to someone who tested positive to COVID-19 may be required or advised to quarantine for several weeks. 

In the most recent move, the CDC and President Trump issued new guidance on March 16, 2020, recommending the avoidance of gatherings larger than ten (10) people.  In light of these developments, employers should consider their options on how best to decrease the spread of the virus in light of their obligations under applicable employment laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), and related state and local laws.  Additionally, to the extent an employer is considering implementing temporary layoffs or furloughs, employers should be aware of their obligations under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act, and related state laws. 

Based on the information we have to date regarding the virus and the Department of Labor’s existing guidance, we developed the following practice guide for employers.

Recommendations to Frequently Asked Questions

The following recommendations are based on the unique and extraordinary circumstances presented by the coronavirus (COVID-19), the declaration of a pandemic, and guidance public health officials, including the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”), and federal and local governments as of the date of this publication. 

Maintaining a safe and healthy workplace:
Q: An employee is displaying symptoms of COVID-19, can an employer require the employee to go home?

A:Yes.During a pandemic, an employer is allowed under the ADA to require an employee to leave the workplace, particularly if the employee is exhibiting symptoms that would pose a threat to the remaining workforce.


Q: Can an employer measure an employee’s temperature during the coronavirus pandemic?

A: Generally, under the ADA measuring an employee’s temperature is a “medical examination” that must meet specific requirements to be permissible.However, during a widespread pandemic, an employer is allowed to measure an employee’s temperature to determine whether the employee would pose a threat to the remainder of the workforce.


Q: Can an employer ask an employee whether the employee has symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g., fever, shortness of breath, etc.)?

A: Yes, an employer can ask if an employee is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.However, any information received from the employee must be treated as confidential medical information.Therefore, as with any other employee medical information, such information must be stored in a confidential file, separate from the employee’s personnel file.Additionally, employers should not disclose the identity of an employee diagnosed with COVID-19 or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.


Q: Can an employer require employees to disclose an underlying health condition that potentially makes the employee more susceptible to complications of the coronavirus?

A: No.An employer cannot require employees to disclose medical conditions unrelated to the coronavirus, even if such conditions make the employee more susceptible to complications of contracting coronavirus. However, if an employee voluntarily discloses such a condition, the employer must treat this information as confidential medical information.Additionally, the employer should work with the employee to determine if the employee requires a reasonable accommodation that would allow the employee to perform the essential job functions while mitigating any health risk to the employee (such as, allowing the employee to telework, placing the employee in a separate office, etc.).


Q: If an employee recently returns from a trip from an area designated as a “hot spot” by the CDC or other government officials, can the employer ask the employee to remain at home?

A:Yes, an employer can require an employee returning from a recent trip to remain at home. The employer should advise the employee to “self-isolate” in accordance with guidelines from the CDC and local public health officials.

 
Continuing business operations:
Q: Can an employer require employees to work from home during a pandemic?

A:Yes, an employer can require its employees to telework or work from home during a pandemic. However, the employer must provide the employee with the tools and equipment necessary to allow the employee to work from home, such as laptops, phones, printers, etc.Under the FLSA, employers cannot require employees to reimburse the costs of providing laptops, phones, etc., if doing so would cause the employee’s earnings to fall below the required minimum wage. Under the ADA, employers cannot require employees working from home as a reasonable accommodation to reimburse the employer for the costs of providing laptops, phones, etc.


Q: Is an employer required to allow employees to work from home?

A:No, unless (i) an employee with a disability requests telework as a reasonable accommodation and doing so does not impose an undue burden on the employer; and/or (ii) the federal, state, or local government orders the closure of businesses.


Q: Does an employer have to compensate non-exempt employees who are unable to work due to the effects of the coronavirus?

A:Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are only required to pay non-exempt employees for hours actually worked. However, if an employer offers paid time off, the employer should follow its normal policies and procedures relating to paid time off.

On March 18, 2020, President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), which among other things, amends the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) and enacts a separate Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act.  For more information regarding the FFRCRA, please click here.


Q: In order to maintain business operations, an employer requires some employees to report to work, while other employees can work from home or are deemed “non-essential.”  How does an employer determine which employees need to report to work?

A: The decision to allow some employees, while not others, to work from home must be based on legitimate business reasons in light of the nature of the job functions. Employers cannot select employees to report to work based on protected categories, such as race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability status, or veteran status. Additionally, employers should consider which job functions can be performed remotely and whether some job functions are not necessary due to a reduction in the Company’s operations.

 
Addressing a reduction in business operations:
Q: Due to a decrease and disruption to the company’s operations, the company is considering temporarily laying off employees on furloughs.  What obligations (if any) does the company have to provide notice under WARN?

A: If an employer is considering permanently or temporarily laying off workers, it should consider its obligations under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining (“WARN”) Act. The WARN Act requires covered employers to provide employees 60 or 90 days’ notice of any “plant closing” or “mass layoff.”The federal WARN Act applies to employers with 100 or more employees (excluding part-time employees working less than 20 hours per week, employees who have worked less than 6 months).

The WARN Act does not apply if: (i) fewer than 50 people lose their jobs as a result of a mass layoff or plant closing; (ii) the planned layoff is less than 6 months; (iii) for employers with 50–499 employees, the layoff results in less than 33% of the total active workforce at a single worksite; or (iv) the work hours are not reduced 50% in each month for any 6-month period.

Further, the WARN Act does provide certain exceptions to the 60 or 90-day notice requirement for unforeseeable business circumstances or natural disasters. The unprecedented effects of COVID-19 may qualify as “unforeseeable circumstances” exempting an employer to provide the full 60 or 90 day advance notice. However, employers covered by WARN may still be required to provide employees notice of a mass layoff or plant closing as soon as practicable. The applicability of the federal WARN Act is very fact-intensive and specific advice requires understanding of the specific facts at issue.

Q: Due to a decrease and disruption to the company’s operations, the company is considering temporarily laying off employees.  Can employees collect unemployment benefits due to a temporary layoff? 

A: Yes. In Texas, employees affected by a temporary layoff may qualify for unemployment benefits, subject to the eligibility requirements.If an employer is considering a mass layoff (in addition to evaluating its obligations under the WARN Act), the employer should consider whether it should file a mass claim of unemployment benefits on behalf of the terminated employees. Filing a mass claim for unemployment benefits offers a means to simplify the process and ease the burden on employers and employees relating to the unemployment benefit claim process.

Q: Prior to the widespread effects of COVID-19, the Company extended an offer of employment to an individual.  However, given the current circumstances, the Company can no longer employ the individual.  Can the Company revoke its offer of employment?

A: Depends. Generally, employees in Texas are considered “at will,” meaning the employer or employee can terminate the employment relationship for any reason or no reason at all. However, if the employment relationship is governed by an employment agreement or other contract, the employer must review the terms of the employment agreement to determine its obligations.

Other Considerations

Continuously monitor guidance from the CDC and state or local public health officials.  The federal government, states, and municipalities have declared states of emergencies, recommended small gatherings, ordered the closure of bars and restaurants, and issued “shelter in place” orders.

Maintain ongoing and open communications with employees.  As the guidance from the CDC and federal and local governments evolve each day, it is important for the Company to provide periodic updates to its workforce regarding the impact of the guidance on the Company’s operations, policies, and procedures.    

Critically evaluate whether telework is appropriate and necessary to continue the Company’s business operations.  Telework may be an effective temporary solution for some workers, however, it may not make sense for all workers.  For example, the nature of some positions require in-person attendance, such as store clerks, IT professionals who need physical access to the Company’s IT infrastructure, etc.  Additionally, telework may not be a long-term solution.  Many employers are adopting telework procedures as a “last resort” to protect the health and safety of its employees while continuing the Company’s operations.  However, telework may not be ideal, create inefficiencies, or cause business disruptions.  Therefore, employers should notify its telework employees that these measures are directly related to the extraordinary nature of the coronavirus and guidance from public health officials, and that these policies are subject to change based on new guidance from health officials and the elimination of the need for social distancing.

To the extent an employer decides to temporarily or permanently lay off employees, an employer should internally document and maintain records relating to: (i) the business reason for conducting layoffs (e.g., unexpected and/or dramatic reduction in business operations due to the impact of the coronavirus—be as specific as possible); (ii) the criteria the employer used to identify the employees who would be impacted by the layoffs; and (iii) communications to employees regarding the layoffs.
 

Critical Operations Preparedness

• Identify essential employees required to maintain continuous operation and designate an emergency backup for these employees in the case they cannot report to work.
• Strategize implementation of an ancillary workforce (e.g. neighboring water systems, contractors, employees in other job titles/descriptions, retirees) to operate utilities on emergency basis.
• Stay stocked on chemical supplies and order products ahead of schedule to avoid delays from understaffed chemical suppliers.
• Generate back-up supplier contact list for essential chemical and operation needs.
• Update/create detailed written instructions for crucial operations (i.e. shutdown, water quality sampling, public notification).
• Review/update emergency response plan and contacts. Identify key customers—hospitals or care facilities—with special needs.
• Discuss cyber security precautions when using remote access. Back-up critical files frequently as a prevention measure to restore data.
• Consider emergency food and overnight necessities at 24-hr facilities for personnel working long shifts.
• Encourage personnel to stay home when they are sick. Provide work-from-home or sick leave options. Discuss backup or alternative shift rotations for personnel that need to stay home to care for themselves and/or loved ones.
• If possible, make a plan with your family and any groups that you lead in case of have school/work closures.
• Limit meetings, gatherings and travel. Encourage personnel to postpone all non-essential travel to areas affected by COVID-19.

Public water systems are expected to continue to monitor water quality and provide sample results to regulators during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Mutual Aid Assistance

There may be systems, that due to an outbreak of COVID-19, require operational assistance.  If you are interested in potentially helping a system in need in an emergency situation, please contact emergency.assistance@trwa.org.

Frequently Asked Legal Questions 

It can be difficult to comply with all the laws written for a normal time while still being responsible in dealing with this pandemic. The TRWA Legal Department has fielded a high volume of calls about how best to conduct business, elections, and their annual meetings during these uncertain times. Click here to review frequently asked questions and answers. 

Update: 3/13/2020

On March 13, in response to the global Coronavirus pandemic, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg issued a Declaration of Public Health Emergency relating to the pandemic which bans gatherings of more than 500 people in the City of San Antonio through March 20, 2020.  Additionally, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency and Governor Greg Abbott declared a statewide disaster. 

Based on the Mayor’s Declaration which we believe will likely be extended, and out of concern for the health and safety of our attendees, the Texas Rural Water Association Board of Directors decided to cancel our Annual Convention scheduled for March 25-27, 2020, in San Antonio.

We want to thank each of you for your patience and support as this was a difficult decision.  In the history of TRWA, this is the first time we have canceled our Annual Convention, which we value as time together to learn and enjoy the camaraderie of our rural water community. 

The TRWA team will work to minimize inconveniences presented by this cancellation, including providing full refunds of your registration and exhibit fees.  Our TRWA staff team is switching gears from planning the details of this event to the administration of the cancellation activities. Please continue to be patient with them through this process. 

Each of you will receive an email next week about the processing of your refunds.  Please also see the FAQ below for additional information.

Our board and staff team are disappointed that we will not be gathering together in San Antonio this month, but we hope and expect to resume our regular pattern of conferences throughout the rest of the year and look forward to seeing you soon.

Thank you for your dedication to your communities and our industry. 

We have received several questions about whether we intend to continue our plans to hold our annual convention later this month, so we wanted to be sure all our members knew our plans and stance on the situation. RuralWaterCon 2020 is on course to be held as planned in San Antonio at the Grand Hyatt on March 25-27. The Texas Rural Water Association is committed to caring for our colleagues and our members, as your safety and well-being is a top priority. We continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation, remain vigilant, and follow recommended precautionary measures, protocols and guidelines from various health organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and local authorities, in an effort to ensure our conference participants remain in a safe and healthy environment.   

Our host hotel has ensured us that they are taking extensive precautions to protect their guests, including:
 

• Placing hand sanitizers in various public restrooms
• Routinely cleaning and disinfecting surfaces every 3 hours, including thorough disinfecting of bathrooms in public spaces
• Utilization of proper EPA approved cleaning products in public spaces and guestrooms
• Checking guest’s well-being during the check-in process
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces
• Reinforcing proper hand hygiene with all hotel associates

 
Let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns, and we are excited to see you at our convention in just a few weeks!

Statement from National Rural Water Association: 

The National Rural Water Association continues to monitor the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and recommends all water and wastewater utilities review the best and latest information on the following trusted websites:

• CDC: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/summary.html
• OSHA: www.osha.gov/SLTC/covid-19/controlprevention.html#solidwaste
• WHO: www.who.int/publications-detail/water-sanitation-hygiene-and-waste-management-for-covid-19
• CISA: www.cisa.gov/insights

At this time, existing safe management techniques in both drinking water and sanitation apply to COVID-19.  Extra measures are not needed. In particular, disinfection treatment processes will facilitate more rapid die-off of the COVID-19 virus. Provision of safe water, sanitation and hygienic conditions play an essential role in protecting human health during all infectious disease outbreaks, including the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Frequent and proper hand washing is one of the most important prevention measures for COVID-19.  Good and consistently applied hygiene in communities, homes, schools, workplaces, marketplaces and health care facilities will further help to prevent human-to-human transmission of COVID-19.

This outbreak continues to evolve and information changes daily. Similar to past viral outbreaks of this magnitude, COVID-19 is something to be taken very seriously. NRWA will continue to monitor the situation and is following the guidance of leading health authorities. Any impact to technical assistance, training programs, meeting and/or conferences will be posted prominently at https://nrwa.org/initiatives/covid-19/.

The National Rural Water Association (NRWA) is the country’s largest public drinking water and sanitation supply organization with over 31,000 small and rural community members dedicated to drinking water quality, environmental protection and public health protection. Safe drinking water and sanitation are generally recognized as the most essential public health, public welfare, and civic necessities.

The second level of protection comes from the water system itself. This includes the office staff, managers and water operators. All operators must receive Texas Commission on Environment Quality (TCEQ)-approved training and pass a state license exam to legally operate a water system. During the training the operators learn many ways to protect and provide their customers with safe water.

There’s a third level of protection that most people never stop to consider. That’s you, the consumer! Yes, you too are responsible for protecting your drinking water. There are many ways that you may be of assistance, but the biggest assistance comes in the form of what we refer to as “Cross Connection Control and Backflow Prevention.”

Occasionally, a situation occurs where there is a temporary loss of water pressure due to the breakage or maintenance on a water supply line or main. This can cause the backflow of pollutants or contaminants from a cross connection to enter the water system and threaten the safety of your drinking water. Often your home is the first to receive that contaminated water, then it moves into the water main going on down the street to your neighbors. Even if the backflow event doesn’t cause a health hazard, it could adversely affect the taste, odor or appearance of the water. The contaminant may also be corrosive to your home’s plumbing.

Your first line of defense is utilizing a backflow device outside your home. There are many different types of backflow prevention devices available, some costing as little as $5. All homes should be equipped with an inexpensive vacuum breaker at each outside water faucet. These can be purchased at any hardware store and they are easy to install. They simply screw onto the hose bib and the water hose is then attached to the vacuum breaker.

The common water hose is the biggest culprit when it comes to cross connections in the home and business. For example, animal watering troughs which are common in rural areas for watering cattle or horses can take quite a while to fill. The automatic system for filling a trough is very popular and makes life easy for the owner; however, they require a garden hose or plumbing line to be present. A few years ago, a horse rancher was having a periodic problem where he would suddenly find lots of dirt in the bottom of his swimming pool, brown ice cubes in his freezer and brown water coming from his faucets. After several months of investigations, the water utility staff found the problem.

Every month the utility staff would perform a routine, state required, flushing of the water lines close to the rancher’s home causing a temporary drop in water pressure. The rancher had a very large horse watering trough just outside the back yard of his home. There was a garden hose lying inside the trough and the end of the hose lay in the muck at the bottom of the trough. Every month when the utility flushed the lines, a backflow event was occurring sucking all that muck back into the home’s plumbing system.

There was a simple fix to the problem. The rancher first installed vacuum breakers at all his outside hose bibs. Next, he installed plastic PVC piping with an air gap at the trough. An air gap is simply the area between the end of a hose or piping and the surface of the water. This prevents the backflow of water into the water system. If you happen to have a similar situation that needs correction, remember that the air gap should be two times the diameter of the hose or pipe.

With warmer weather approaching, there will be a lot more activities involving the garden hose and with these, other potential cross connection problems. Help protect yourself, your family and your neighbors by removing your water hose from Fido’s bath bucket, the kids wading pools and the garden sprayers. These are other common uses that can cause problems during the summer months. Help spread the word about how everyone in the community can take prevention measures to protect the water system and your homes from contamination.

If you are concerned that you have activities within your home or business that may be causing a cross connection and require backflow protection, we recommend contacting your water system operator. Water operators are very knowledgeable and willing to assist. They can perform a cross connection inspection and make recommendations on devices or processes to prevent back flow events from occurring.

Remember that education, back flow protection devices and changing habits are your best friends when preventing cross connections and backflow events.

FDA recognizes that the recommendation to flush certain potentially dangerous medicines only when a take-back option is not readily available raises questions about the impact of the drugs on the environment and the contamination of surface and drinking water supplies. However, they believe that the known risk of harm to humans from accidental, and sometimes fatal, exposure to medicines on the flush list far outweighs any potential risk to the environment from flushing these leftover or unused medicines. 
For further information on drug disposal you may visit: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/how-to-dispose-medicines.pdf and https://www.fda.gov/drugs/disposal-unused-medicines-what-you-should-know/drug-disposal-flush-potentially-dangerous-medicine#FlushList. 

Texas is an undeniable target for natural disaster—we have the perfect atmosphere for hurricanes, tornados, floods, fires and even an occasional ice situation. Our fluctuating temperatures and seasons allow for many different emergency events to occur, but we hold strong and bear through it. Part of that process involves us relying heavily on our public water supply. During an event, it is likely not at the forefront of our minds how our utility providers and those who work for them are preparing for the same situation.

It is important to understand the great measures your local water utility goes through to prepare for a natural disaster of any type. Some of the practices are:

• Filling water tanks – Utilities will do what they can to make sure the tanks are completely full before an event. There is a real chance that power could be down, and the well, intake or treatment plant may not be operational to refill tanks and distribute water. In some cases, keeping the tanks full will help the utility keep the tank upright. Water weighs 8.34 lbs. per gallon and that weight will steady a tank in high winds or heavy floods.

• Turning off valves – Your utility may close off the valve at the tank or road that services your area because it is prone to taking on damage. Understand that a broken line will leak continuously until your utility can find it and fix it. In many events, this may be days due to road access, flooding or other damage. Closing the valve can save water and stop possible contaminations to the supply.
  
  
• Electricity – Utilities are required to have backup power for their water source, but the backup power (generator) may also suffer damage and be unable to perform as expected. Your utility will have backup plans in place for external power in these events.

• Holding down the fort – Though a common expression, holding down the fort is a reality when a natural disaster is imminent. A piece of pipe can become a projectile in high winds, so your utility will physically strap down all their pipe, equipment and material in the supply yard. Your utility must identify all their vulnerabilities and address them in advance.

• Public Notices/Disinfection – Your utility goes to great lengths to make sure the water they serve is of the utmost quality, as well as in compliance with the standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. During a disaster, please be aware of posted signs throughout the area such as flyers, painted plywood and/or door-to-door announcements letting everyone know the status of the public water supply, since newspapers and TV broadcasts may not be available during these events. The utility may post a Boil Water Notice as a precaution in response to low pressure or outages during an event. The notice recommends boiling water at a rigorous boil for two minutes before drinking to eliminate possible bacteria in the water. This is not a problem in most cases, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

• Emergency Response Plan – Utilities are required to have an Emergency Response Plan in place. This is a task the utility must take on to assess potential risks and vulnerabilities and prepare a plan for them. Though no plan ever prepares you completely, know that your utility has done all the preparations they can to continue to provide safe and potable water in an emergency situation.

• Mutual Aid Networks – Texas has a mutual aid network for water utilities called the Texas Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network (TXWARN) that facilitates connection between utilities when assistance is needed. In addition, your utility is a member of Texas Rural Water Association (TRWA), a trade association that provides staff and generator resources to its members during emergencies. TRWA is also a TXWARN partner. Through these resources, your utility can get assistance with anything from chemicals needed to backup generators, manpower and equipment. Rest assured your utility has the backing and support of hundreds of utilities across the state to help them get up and running to provide you with quality water as soon as possible.

These, of course, are just a few ways your utility may prepare for an emergency event. Your utility may go above and beyond these measures to make sure they are providing you with the best possible service during a natural disaster.

Outside of the utility’s preparations, there are a few things you, the customer, can do to help.

• Store some water – Depending on the event and where you are, it is possible the power will go out and water supply and pressure may be minimal. Store water for your household (drinking, cooking), including for your animals. An average dog needs to drink 8.5 to 17 ounces of water per 10 pounds per day, depending on activity level, size, age and weather. To translate: A 50-pound dog needs between 42 and 84 ounces of water to stay happy and hydrated.

• Turn off your water – If you have a property that serves a large acreage or livestock, turn off your supply to outlying areas in advance of an event. If something breaks, you may not know you have a leak for some time. These leaks put a burden on the water utility to provide water for consumption to others when it is needed. You can supply your stock once you have confirmed you do not have any issues or leaks but be sure you are not wasting water that could be used for human consumption or safety.

• Protect your belongings – With tornadoes, hurricanes and floods, water damage is a real threat. Follow your insurance company’s suggestions to wrap, pack and store items that are near and dear to you such as pictures, letters, etc.

• Get Supplies – Understand that just because the hurricane, tornado, fire, etc., didn’t impact you directly, it doesn’t mean it won’t impact you at all. Past hurricanes have caused fuel shortages throughout Texas. I remember seeing a line of cars from my small town stretching to the nearest interstate miles away, many of them stuck in place because they ran out of fuel. On top of that, they didn’t have the necessary items to sustain them through the crisis. There are many places to find a list of suggested items to prepare in these kinds of events—but make sure to do it in advance

We can never completely prepare for what may come, but it is our responsibility to do what we can to make sure we are safe and secure. Your utility consists of people just like you that do a great deal of preparation for the sake of the public water supply before they consider themselves. Be sure to thank these individuals for the work they do to provide you water service, especially during an emergency situation. Consider what they do; and do your part to prepare as well.

• They are your neighbors: Water Districts and Water Supply Corporations are typically governed by people whose families drink the water every day.  They are elected by their fellow community members to serve on the water system board of directors.

• They are volunteers: These board members are volunteers who devote their time and energy to providing a better quality of life for their community by ensuring a clean supply of drinking water and/or sewer services. These individuals realize the importance of these services to the sustainability and public health of their communities.

• They are ambassadors:  They are the public’s representative to help oversee the water system, and they are also the system’s representative to tell the system’s story to the media and the public.

Now you know a little more about who is governing your water system, but do you know what they actually do? The specifics may change based on the size of the system, but generally, here are eight things your water or sewer system’s board of directors are responsible for:

1. POLICY: The governing body’s major role is to develop policy, while leaving operations to the water system’s staff. However, in very small systems with part-time or volunteer staff, the board may help operate the system. Policies set by the board are the “how to” of running a utility and cover all aspects of the organization, varying in scope from rates and customer service polices to purchasing/ procurement policies to personnel policies.
   
   
2. UNDERSTANDING REGULATIONS: There are many federal and state regulations and laws that affect your water and/or sewer system and how it does business. It is a responsibility of the water system’s board of directors to keep abreast of them and ensure the system and its business operations are in compliance.
   
   
3. PLANNING: One of the board’s jobs is to look forward and try to best position the system for the future. Managing a water or sewer utility is expensive and extensive, so it is up to the board to determine goals and objectives and major ways to achieve them. This includes securing future water supplies, asset management, financial security, customer relations and recruiting for future board members, just to name a few.  Just like managing our personal finances and assets, water and sewer systems must be constantly planning for short-term and long-term needs.
   
   
4. BUDGETS: The board approves the system’s annual budget and periodically reviews its progress to ensure the system is on track to meet its goals for the year. The budgeting process helps the board focus on the system’s mission, assess if planned expenditures are achieving the desired results, determine operational and capital spending, and highlight key measures of performance.
   
   
5. MANAGEMENT: A water or sewer utility’s board of directors has just one employee—the utility manager. The board recruits, selects, compensates, appraises and (if necessary) terminates the utility manager. The utility manager then manages the rest of the staff and implements the board’s policies.
   
   
6. MONITOR SYSTEM PERFORMANCE: The board of directors is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the water or wastewater utility, but they do monitor the overall performance of the system. This information is gathered through monthly reports, customer feedback, and audits. The board uses this information to gauge the success of their short-range and long-range planning.
   
   
7. MEETINGS: There are two major reasons for a board meeting—discussing and deciding on water system business. It is the board’s responsibility to set and post the agenda, and then conduct business openly, lawfully and ethically.
   
   
8. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: Man-made and natural disasters, along with everyday breakdowns of facilities and equipment, can drastically affect your water or sewer system’s ability to meet the customers’ needs. The board of directors is responsible for ensuring there are emergency plans in place to guide the system’s board and staff on what to do in a crisis.

The garden hose has probably been responsible for more problems related to water systems than any other single piece of equipment in the world. The garden hose can create so much trouble because it is so user friendly and easy to connect, but it’s also so easy to forget! Regardless of whether it is connected, it looks so innocent just sitting there. However, there are multiple misuses of the garden hose.

Have you ever left the garden hose in the dog’s watering bowl, a horse trough, AG spray tank, hooked to a one-quart garden sprayer or soap dispenser for washing your car/truck? In the event of a backflow event (the water system has a leak and enough water reverses flow toward the leak to create an area of low pressure), a vacuum can occur and will suck the water, along with whatever is in it, back through the garden hose, into your plumbing, into the water system, then to your neighbor, and so on and so on. Imagine the possibilities.

Now think about the individual that tries to unstop a clogged drain, or heaven forbid, the sewer line with a garden hose. What happens when the system has that same leak a mile down the road? It doesn’t matter if you live on the other side of the road or next door, because it’s usually the same water main feeding everyone. Now my hope and prayer is that the individual trying to clean the sewer line with the garden hose doesn’t decide to take a drink from that hose anytime in the future.

One of the lessons I learned long ago was reinforced in the lines of a Spiderman movie I watched: “With great power comes great responsibility.” We as customers of a water system have some power—we get to vote on the individuals that represent our interests, in most cases. So therefore, we also have a responsibility to help ensure the integrity of our water system.

There are several ways that we as customers can help. Don’t leave the hose in the bucket, trough, tank or pool. Another way is to see if your plumbing contains a simple $5-$10 device known as a “hose bibb vacuum breaker.” If you don’t have those, you can purchase them at most hardware stores. It’s a pretty cheap way to help protect an entire water system. You can also contact your water system and ask them for information or an inspection. All water systems are required to provide a Cross Connection Control Program. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) monitors this when they perform a system inspection and most all water systems have an on-staff or contracted certified Customer Service Inspector to do individual home/business inspections. They may also use a Licensed Plumber. Most water systems would be glad to do an inspection even if they have done one for you in the past. Things change and need to be looked at again and updated.

The garden hose is not the only problem, but it is one of the most common. As a homeowner you may install and maintain your own irrigation system. It’s still important to have a suitable backflow prevention assembly in place and to be sure that it works properly. TCEQ requires you to have a licensed backflow tester check the assembly when it is installed. Always check with your water provider for specific regulations.  Your water system is also trained to deal with contamination issues at hospitals, mortuaries, vet clinics, chemical plants—the list goes on with anything that could cause health problems by passing through the water system. Water system operators are trained to monitor the system, identify potential hazards, and help determine the appropriate means to offset the dangers.

I’ll leave you with one last example. Have you ever heard of “Blue Ice Cubes”? Several things need to happen at the same time to create this issue, but they did on at least one occasion that I’m aware of.  Many years ago, maybe still in some areas, folks were fond of the “Tidy Bowl Man” blue liquid placed in the toilet tank to help clean and disinfect the toilet bowl. There was an unapproved fill valve (ball cock) in place and when the toilet was flushed, a new stream of blue filled the tank. At the same time there was a water leak down the road causing backflow and the refrigerator ice maker valve opened to fill the ice tray. The next day, Blue Ice Cubes! Y’all get the picture. This could have been prevented if the customer had requested the water system’s CSI Inspector or a Plumber do a home inspection because they would have identified the fill valve that needed to be replaced in the toilet to prevent the cross-connection.

All systems should be vigilant in preventing cross-contamination of their water supplies.  TCEQ has put forth this guidance on backflow prevention issues, including examples of common cross-connections, methods for preventing cross-connections, and testing of backflow-prevention assemblies.  This guidance is useful for water systems, but we recommend sharing it with your customers because it breaks down cross-connection and backflow issues in an easy-to-understand manner! 

Credit Card Processing

Although a water system’s billing processes are Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant, incorporating a few practices into your daily routine can help keep your cards and account numbers safe. For example, keep a record of your account numbers, their expiration dates and the phone number to report fraud for each company in a secure place.

Do your best to only use established businesses that you can contact easily if there’s an issue. Look for sites with “https:” in their web addresses — as the “s” stands for secured. Even if you’re on a secured site, don’t share your information unless you have to and you know how it will be used.

Furthermore, don’t share your account information to anyone via phone or email unless you’ve made the call to a company you know to be reputable. Avoid sharing this information via email unless you have encrypted it in a reliable way.

Identifying Spam and Scams: Gone Phishing

Phishing is a type of online scam where you receive an email that appears to be from a legitimate company or individual, but instead is a scam intended to solicit sensitive information from you in one way or another. This is usually done by providing a link to what appears to be a reputable website but is really a façade and the information you provide instead ends up in the wrong hands. More sophisticated scams include using the names of recognizable colleagues who are likely not to be in the office, requests to update account information or fraudulent links to share documents or information. To protect yourself from phishing scams, here are a few things you can do:

• Review the email address – Is it actually coming from a credible address, or is the display just piggybacking on a trustworthy organization or individual? If the email is not addressed to you specifically, pay closer attention to the text and context of the email. Sometimes the reply path email address is different than the sending email address, which is another great indicator that the email is fraudulent.

• Confirm credibility – Before making any purchases or agreements, confirm details through a second communication channel (phone, text or in-person confirmation). Often, repeated grammatical errors and resistance to further or different communication indicate foul play. If sentences or word placement do not make sense, or the wrong words are capitalized throughout the body of the email, stop skimming and pay closer attention.

Best Practices for Cyber Users

Here are a few general tips to help ensure your sensitive information stays out of the wrong hands:

• Identify your most sensitive accounts, such as your bank account, and be intentional about elevating their security.

• Use “$tr0ng3R” passwords and update them regularly. There are several smartphone apps that you can use to securely store your passwords.

• Equip yourself for success by layering your protection: A password is the first line of defense against cybercriminals. When possible, use multifactor authentication (security systems that require more than one method of authentication from independent categories of credentials to verify the user's identity for a login or other transaction) for an added layer of protection.

• Keep your operating system, browser and other critical software up to date with the latest security patches to minimize vulnerabilities.

• Be cautious of what you share and engage with on public Wi-Fi; limit the amount of personal information you share online or elsewhere.

• Monitor your accounts regularly, respond to fraud alerts and report unauthorized transactions promptly.

• Avoid clicking website pop up ads or bad links. Before clicking on anything stop, think and check if it is expected, valid and trusted. If you accidentally engage with a fraudulent website, use the task manager to kill the process. If you are unable to do this, hard restart your device.

All consumers should stay alert and reduce their likelihood of an attack by proceeding with caution – there’s no magic solution to avoiding breaches of cybersecurity, but the more safeguards you take, the better.

There are many factors that play into the service, quality and quantity of drinking water you receive from your local utility, and they all impact the rate you pay for it. 

Here are 10 things you may not realize impact your water rate:

1) Regulations:  The water and wastewater industry is heavily regulated for the sake of safety.  Your water utiitymust comply with hundreds of regulations that require a lot of time, equipment and expertise, all of which cost money.

2) Capital Improvements:  The concept of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t apply here.  Proper planning to meet growth demands, complying with capacity requirements and replacing aging infrastructure is a best management practice and saves money in the long run. 

3) Electricity:  It takes power to run the pumps and operate the treatment processes to provide the quality and pressure required.   

4) Water Supply:  It is costly to drill wells, obtain regulatory approvals and permits or purchase water from a wholesale provider.

5) Facilities:  A basic groundwater system with one well needs a pumping well, pressure and/or storage tank(s), chemicals and injection equipment, and a building and site to place everything.  These can run over a million dollars.  For utilities that have multiple well sites and/or pump and treat surface water have invested many millions to provide safe water to its customers.

6) Treatment: Treatment of water varies depending on the geographical location in the state, as well as the type and location of water being treated.  Regardless, every water utility must treat to the acceptable levels provided in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Act and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s regulations. 

7) Personnel:  Utilities employ general managers, operators and administrative staff. Water and Wastewater operators are specialized professionals trained to safeguard the public they serve.  To attract and retain excellent staff, utilities must pay competitive wages.

8) Technology: Technological advancements have been made to provide accurate, real-time data for water utilities in areas such as water conservation, water quality monitoring and smart meter technology for better service to customers.  It has also allowed the opportunity for many systems to accept credit cards, do business through websites and have online bill pay.

9)  Future Water Supply:  Texas averages around 350,000 new residents each year.  Identifying options and making the necessary steps toward obtaining and securing water for continual service to current and new customers plays a big part in how rates are set.   

10)  Communication: Your utility is a phone call away.  Whether in the office or after hours, communication has allowed for faster response times to resolve outages and issues in the system.   

Though necessary for everyday life, the price you pay for water is likely a small percentage of what you pay for many of the other modern conveniences we have available to us. So, the next time you look at your water bill, think of all the things that go into bringing safe, flowing drinking water into your home or business each and every day. The price you pay for your water service is an investment in a strong, safe and sustainable water system that is necessary for the future sustainability of your community.

Groundwater conservation districts, or “GCDs,” are responsible for managing production from aquifers within their geographic boundaries by requiring permits for the production.  The law currently allows, but does not require, GCDs to take into account a utility’s service area when deciding how much water the utility is authorized to produce.  This makes sense considering the unique functions and legal obligations of water utilities.  A water utility is not your typical applicant for groundwater – utilities do not ordinarily own large amounts of acreage, and they are seeking water to serve all of their customers, including residences, businesses, and agricultural users.  Utilities produce water not for themselves, but on behalf of hundreds or perhaps thousands of their customers.  While the utility’s customers are free to drill a well on their own property, doing so is often cost-prohibitive.  Therefore, customers look to the water utility to provide the water since the utility is able to take advantage of economies of scale to produce the necessary water for its customers at a lower cost. 

Recognizing the unique nature of water utilities, many GCDs across Texas take a utility’s service area into account when issuing the utility’s groundwater permits.  For those GCDs, nothing would change if House Bill 2249 becomes law.  This bill would require all other GCDs that regulate by acreage and/or tract size and do not consider service area to consider the utility’s service area.  The bill does this while still ensuring that this requirement does not interfere in any way with a landowner’s right to obtain a permit or drill a well.  Without recognizing a utility’s service area, the acreage-based approach to permitting has devastating effects on rural communities.  With only a small amount of land owned by the utility for its well site, utilities in this type of permitting scheme are required to obtain additional land or water rights at a high cost that is then passed on to consumers.  Worse, when a GCD ties production to an applicant’s contiguous acreage, utilities can find themselves unable to fully utilize their wells if adjacent landowners are unwilling to sell their land or lease their water rights. 

To balance the interests of utilities, their customers, and landowners within their service area, House Bill 2249 includes several safeguards to ensure that water utilities are not over-permitted and that landowner rights are protected.  First, GCDs cannot consider any of the utility’s service area that does not overlie the aquifer.  Additionally, the utility would not receive credit for any acreage within its service area that is already subject to another permit, and the utility’s permit will be reduced annually to subtract acreage assigned to a landowner permit issued after the utility’s permit.  Under the bill, utilities are prohibited from interfering with or protesting landowners’ requests to obtain their own permits.

House Bill 2249 is a reasonable compromise to the complex issue of allocating a managed resource among competing interests while keeping water rates reasonable for rural communities and ensuring that landowners’ property rights are not restricted.  House Bill 2249 does not create an unconstitutional taking as the Farm Bureau asserts.  It does not take or constrain the landowner’s right to drill a well, use the water or encumber the water.  It only allows the utility to use the water to serve these same landowners.  Landowner rights are recognized and are superior to the utilities’ authorization to use the water.  Requiring these utilities to acquire groundwater rights from its landowner customers will unnecessarily result in huge rate increases.

To promote the strong root growth that supports a plant during drought, water deeply and water only when the plant needs it. For clay soils, it is recommended to water less deeply, and in multiple cycles. Irrigating with consideration to soil type, the condition of your plants, the season, and weather conditions— rather than on a fixed schedule—significantly improves your watering efficiency and results in healthier plants. Grouping plants according to similar water needs also makes watering easier and more efficient.

Lawns, gardens, and landscapes can be irrigated manually or with an automatic irrigation system. Manual watering with a handheld hose tends to be the most water efficient method. According to the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Research Foundation’s Residential End Uses of Water study, households that manually water with a hose typically use 33 percent less water outdoors than the average household. The study also showed that households with in-ground sprinkler systems used 35 percent more water; those with automatic timers used 47 percent more water; and those with drip irrigation systems used 16 percent more water than households without these types of systems. These results show that in-ground sprinkler and drip irrigation systems must be operated properly to be water-efficient.

Watering Mistakes

Much of the water applied to lawns and gardens never gets absorbed by the plants. Common ways that water is wasted include:

• Runoff: Applying water too rapidly causes runoff, because grass and plants can only absorb so much water at a time. When runoff occurs, soil, fertilizers, and pesticides can be carried to nearby streams.
• Evaporation: Watering in the middle of the day or using a sprinkler that sprays a fine mist causes much of the water you apply to be lost through evaporation. Plants don’t have enough time to absorb the water before it is evaporated by the sun.
• Underwatering: Watering too little is wasteful because it does little to alleviate any drought stress that the plants may have.
• Overwatering: Applying too much or too often causes the greatest waste of water. In addition to overwatering the plant, excessive irrigation can leach nutrients deep into the soil away from plant roots, which increases the chances of runoff pollution.

Good Watering Techniques

The key to watering lawns is to apply water infrequently, yet thoroughly. This creates a deep, well-rooted lawn that efficiently uses the water that is stored in the soil. To know when to water your lawn, simply observe the grass. Wilting and discoloration are signs of water stress. At the first sign of wilting, you have 24 to 48 hours before damage occurs.

To water properly, apply 1 inch of water to the lawn as rapidly as possible without runoff. An easy way to measure your application of water is to place a 6-ounce tuna can on your lawn. When the can is full, you have applied enough water. If you start to notice runoff before the can is full, turn off the water. Then, wait for approximately one hour to allow the grass to absorb the water, turn the water on again, and wait for the tuna can to fill.

Water early in the morning, before 10 a.m. Avoid watering from mid-morning to late afternoon, when you can lose one-third of your water to evaporation. Also avoid watering in the evening, because lawns and plants that are left wet overnight are more prone to disease.

Different areas of your yard may have different watering requirements. Some plants and trees may require less water than grass does. You can reduce the sprinkler run time for these areas. A licensed irrigator can advise you on irrigation application rates for your geographic area, topography, soil conditions, and other factors.

For “hose-end” sprinklers, make sure the sprinkler heads are adjusted to avoid watering sidewalks and driveways or other hard surfaces. A hose-end sprinkler head should spray large droplets of water instead of a fog of fine mist, which may be affected by wind drift. Set a timer, so that you remember to turn off the hose-end sprinkler.

All this in mind, please remember to always comply with your water system’s water use restrictions.

Maintenance

When it comes to a home's irrigation system, a little maintenance goes a long way. Permanent sprinkler systems require regular maintenance and adjustments. This can be done by you, a licensed irrigator, or licensed master plumber.

• Check your settings at least quarterly to make sure that water is being applied properly and make adjustments as needed. It is important to ensure you are providing adequate water but are not overwatering. Depending on where you live, you may need to winterize your system in the late fall to prevent freezing of system components.
• Check your sprinkler heads regularly. Remove any dirt or debris that may be clogging the nozzle and make sure that water is flowing at the proper pressure.
• Examine points where the sprinkler heads connect to pipes or hoses. If water pools in your landscape or you have large wet areas, you could have a leak in your system. A leak about as small as the tip of a ballpoint pen (or 1/32nd of an inch) can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month, so if you find a leak, repair it promptly! 

Smart Watering Technology

With automatic systems, overwatering is most common during the fall when summer irrigation schedules have not been adjusted to the cooler temperatures. Irrigation system schedules should always be adjusted down in the fall to prevent overwatering in the colder months.

Using water-efficient technologies can make a big difference in keeping your residential or light commercial irrigation system running efficiently without a lot of effort on your part. 

•  WaterSense Labeled Irrigation Controllers – To make automatic irrigation systems more efficient, consider upgrading your standard clock timer to a WaterSense labeled irrigation controller. These irrigation controllers are a type of "smart" irrigation control technology that uses local weather data to determine when and how much to water. With proper installation, programming, and adjustments, these smart controllers can help consumers save water, time, and money when compared to use of a conventional controller.
• WaterSense Labeled Spray Sprinkler Bodies – WaterSense labeled spray sprinkler bodies, which feature integral pressure regulation, can help decrease the outdoor water waste associated with irrigation systems that receive water under higher pressure.
• Microirrigation – Microirrigation can reduce the likelihood of overwatering a landscape by delivering water directly to where it is needed most, the root zone of plants, preventing runoff and reducing evaporation.
• Soil Moisture Sensors – Soil moisture-based control technologies water plants based on their needs by measuring the amount of moisture in the soil and tailoring the irrigation schedule accordingly. This will prevent waste by ensuring that the sprinkler does not turn on during and immediately after rainfall or when soil moisture levels are above pre-programmed levels.
• Rainfall Shutoff Devices – Rainfall shutoff devices turn off your system in rainy weather and help compensate for natural rainfall. This inexpensive device can be retrofitted to almost any system.
• Rain Sensors – Rain sensors can help decrease water wasted in the landscape by turning off the irrigation system when it is raining.

Sources:

EPA WaterSense, Landscaping Tips: www.epa.gov/watersense/landscaping-tips.

EPA WaterSense, Watering Tips: www.epa.gov/watersense/watering-tips.

Landscape Irrigation, A “Take Care of Texas” Guide. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Take Care of Texas: www.takecareoftexas.org. 

Read more about each of these cases by viewing the documents attached below. 

President Trump will face new challenges when it comes to Congress as the Democrats in the House now have the ability to stifle some of his legislative agenda on immigration while also attempting to subpoena his tax records. Thanks to Republicans picking up additional Senate seats, that chamber will become a “firewall” of sorts against the newly empowered House leadership and agenda.

One place where House Democrats, Senate Republicans and the White House could find common ground, and ultimately a bipartisan agreement, could be on infrastructure spending which is encouraging to Rural Water. “Last night I had a conversation with President Trump about how we could work together, one of the issues that came up was ... building infrastructure for America, and I hope that we can achieve that," potential new House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters yesterday highlighting the jobs that could be created in "surface transportation, water systems ... broadband ... schools, housing and the rest.” The key outstanding issue that will be the primary point of contention during the infrastructure debate will be how to pay for it. There are rumblings that an increase in the gas tax or reducing tax cuts for corporations could be ways of doing so.

The new 116^th Congress is set to be sworn in January 3^rd 2019. Here are how the congressional committees pertinent to Rural Water will likely be impacted:  

House Committees

Agriculture: Incoming chairman Collin Peterson from Minnesota said he doesn’t want to wait until he claims the gavel in January to pass a farm bill—even though that would allow him to write his own legislation. There could be a last minute deal on the Farm Bill this lame duck session of Congress, however an extension of the law is more likely.

Appropriations: Ranking member Nita Lowey from New York is set to be the first woman to lead the powerful appropriations committee. She’s been ranking member since 2013.

Transportation and Infrastructure: Rep. Peter DeFazio from Oregon is currently the ranking member and expected to take the lead of T&I this January. He will be a leader in developing any infrastructure legislation.

Energy and Commerce: Rep. Frank Pallone from New Jersey will most likely become chairman of this committee and will be focusing on environmental regulation and making healthcare more affordable.  

Senate Committees

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: The current Committee Chairman Pat Roberts will retain the gavel and chairmanship of this Committee. He was not up for re-election. His counterpart and able partner Senator Stabenow from Michigan won re-election and will likely continue to be the ranking member as they both work to enact a Farm Bill. Senator Heitkamp, a Democrat from ND, lost her reelection bid which opens up a seat on this Committee.

Appropriations: There will be minimal, if any, changes in the Republicans’ lineup of leaders on this powerful committee.  Chairman Richard Shelby from Alabama and the team of subcommittee “cardinals’’ he assembled six months ago are prepared to tackle a full set of FY2020 spending bills early next year after they clear the decks of FY2019 before the end of 2018 during this lame duck session. Neither Shelby nor any of the subcommittee chairs stood for re-election this fall.

Environment and Public Works: Republicans lead by Senator Barrasso from Wyoming will continue to control this committee in the 116th Congress and may try to pass a highway bill. This Committee was successful in passing and enacting a massive water infrastructure bill just last month.

As we return from Labor Day weekend, election season is kicking into high gear. I recently attended the Texas Agriculture Council's summer meeting, where we were informed that 95 of Texas' 150 House seats and 13 of its 31 Senate seats are involved in contested elections. At the meeting, three candidates for the Texas House spoke about their campaigns, and it gave me some ideas for ways you can get some face-time in front of candidates in your area to spread TRWA's legislative message.

One candidate in particular, Cynthia Flores of Round Rock, mentioned that she holds weekly coffee discussions in the rural portion of her district near Taylor and Coupland focusing on issues that are important to constituents in that area. Water was one topic she called out by name, and for those of you in Central Texas these sessions would be a great way to meet a potential representative in a small, relaxed environment. Other candidates across the state hold similar conversations on a regular basis, so check the websites of your local candidates to find out where and when those are happening!

Candidates are also always looking for volunteers to help them canvas their district or talk to potential voters on the phone. Once you can identify yourself as a volunteer on their campaign you'll have an automatic "in" for an introduction at the candidate's next event. Whether your district is in a competitive race or considered to be relatively "safe" for one candidate, a little help on a campaign goes a long way when it comes to establishing a relationship.

Finally, as always, TRWA wants to hear from you about your efforts to get to know the candidates and office-holders in your area. If you're working on a campaign or attend a townhall or campaign event in your area, let me know so we can share your success with others and help you build on that contact. TRWA appreciates all your help!

My contact information: Trent.Hightower@TRWA.org | 512-472-8591

In the event of a local emergency or natural disaster, TRWA members can still call our emergency response hotline at 1-866-586-6480 for assistance. We will continue to provide resources and manpower to help you get your utilities back up and running and protect the health and welfare of your communities and customers. Additionally, our generators are available to TRWA members for any local emergency situation. If you find your system in need, contact us to utilize one of our seven generators that are housed across the state.

Read more about our partnership with TXWARN in our upcoming issue of Quench! If you have any questions, you may call us at 512-472-8591.

Texas Governor

Greg Abbott easily won his primary election.  Lupe Valdez (former Sheriff of Dallas County) and Andrew White (son of former Governor Mark White) are in a runoff for the Democrat nominee.  Valdez received a greater percentage of the vote in the primary but the contest between the two is a likely toss-up.  The winner of the runoff will face Governor Abbott in the general election in November and barring any major issues, he will easily win reelection in November.

US Congress

There were an unusual number of retirements from Congress this year which created opportunity for many who have wanted to run for Congress.  Those members that chose to not run for re-election include Ted Poe, Sam Johnson, Jeb Hensarling, Joe Barton, Lamar Smith, Blake Farenthold and Gene Green.  There are seventeen runoff elections in Congressional districts.  Those are as follows:

US House District 2 (seat being vacated by Ted Poe –R – Humble) – This is a Republican district and features Dan Crenshaw versus Kevin Roberts (former State Rep) in the run off.

US House District 3 – (seat being vacated by Sam Johnson R – Flower Mound) – This is a Republican district but there is a run off in the Democrat primary to see who will face Van Taylor (former Texas Senator who easily won his primary) in the general election.  The Democrat contenders are Lorie Burch versus Sam Johnson (pure coincidence on the name).

US House Distrct 5 (seat being vacated by Jeb Hensarling R – Dallas) – This runoff election features Lance Gooden (former State Rep) versus Bunni Pounds (a Republican fundraiser).

US House District 6 (seat being vacated by Joe Barton – R – Ennis) – There are runoffs in the Democrat and Republican primaries in this district. However, this is a mostly Republican district.  The Democrat contenders are Jana Sanchez and Ruby Woolridge and the Republican contenders are Jake Ellzey and Ron Wright.

US House District 7 (seat currently held by John Culberson – R – Houston) – This is a marginally Republican district and one that Democrats hope to win someday if not this cycle.  The Democrat primary pits Lizzie Fletcher versus Laura Moser and the winner will face incumbent Congressman John Culberson in November.  The Democrat primary made headlines as the National Democrat party came out against Laura Moser as they thought she was too liberal to have a chance to win this seat.

US House District 10 (seat currently held by Mike McCaul – R – Austin) The Democrat primary has Mike Siegel versus Tawanna Walter – Cadien and the winner of this contest will face incumbent Congressman Michael McCaul.  This is a solidly Republican district.

US House District 21 (seat being vacated by Lamar Smith – R – San Antonio)  This seat probably saw the largest numbers of contenders, over 18 on the ballot in the Republican primary.  There is a run off in both party primaries. The Democrat primary pits Joseph Kosper and Mary Smith Wilson.  The Republican primary has Matt McCall and Chip Roy vying for the nomination. 

US House District 22 (seat currently held by Pete Olson – R – Sugar Land).  This is a Republican district but there is a runoff in the Democrat primary to see who will face incumbent Congressman Pete Olson.  The primary contest has Sri Kulkarni and Letitia Plummer vying for the spot.

US House District 23 (seat currently held by Will Hurd – R – San Antonio).  This is a marginal district and the Democrat primary has Gina Jones and Rick Trevino fighting for the chance to face incumbent Congressman Will Hurd.

US House District 25 (seat currently held by Roger Williams – R – Weatherford).  This is a solid Republican district.  The Democrat primary pits Julie Oliver and Chris Perri against each other in an effort to face incumbent Congressman Roger Williams in November.

US House District 27 (seat being vacated by Blake Farenthold – R – Corpus Christi).  There are run off elections in both the Democrat and Republican primary for this seat which is a fairly solid Republican district.  The Democrat primary challengers are Raul Barrera and Eric Holguin while the Republican primary has Bech Bruun and Michael Cloud facing each other.  Bruun was the top vote getter in the primary but word is that this is going to be a very close runoff election.

US House District 29 (seat being vacated by Gene Green – D – Houston). This is a solid Democrat district.  Sylvia Garcia (former State Senator) won the Democrat primary outright in March.  In November, she will face the winner of the Republican primary contenders who are Phillip Aronoff and Carmer Montiel. 

US House District 31 (seat currently held by John Carter – R – Round Rock).  The Democrat primary contenders are Mary Jennings Hegar and Christine Mann.  The winner of that runoff will face incumbent Congressman John Carter in a Republican district.

US House District 32 (seat currently held by Pete Sessions – R – Dallas).  This is a marginally Republican district according to pollsters.  The Democrat primary runoff contenders are Collin Allred and Lillian Salerno.  The winner of that contest will face incumbent Congressman Pete Sessions in November.

Texas Senate

There is one runoff election for a seat in the Texas Senate.  The runoff is in Senate District 17 which is currently held by Republican Joan Huffman.  The runoff is in the Democrat primary and features Rita Lucido and Fran Watson.  This is a solid Republican district so Senator Huffman is very likely to keep her seat.

Texas House

There are fourteen primary runoff elections in the Texas House.  Seven of those fourteen are in districts where the incumbent decided to retire and not seek re-election.  Those are Lance Gooden, Byron Cook, Leighton Schubert, Jason Isaac, Larry Phillips, Helen Giddings and Joe Straus. The primary runoff elections in the House are as follows:

TX HD4 (seat vacated by Lance Gooden- R – Kaufman).  There was a crowded field in the solid Republican district.  The top two vote getters were Stuart Spitzer (who beat Lance Gooden in 2014 and was defeated by Gooden in 2016) and Keith Bell (a local businessman and former President of the School Board). This will be a close race to watch.

TX HD 8 (seat vacated by Bryon Cook – R – Corsicana). This solid Republican district features Cody Harris (farm and ranch real estate and management) and Thomas McNutt (VP at Collin Street Bakery) against each other in the primary.  McNutt ran against Cook last election cycle. Cody Harris was the top vote getter in the primary.

TX HD 13 (seat vacated by Leighton Schubert –R – Caldwell).  The Republican primary pits Ben Leman (Grimes Co. Judge) and Jill Wolfskill (energy industry) against each other in this solid Republican district.

TX HD 37 – This seat is currently held by Rep. Rene Oliveira (D – Brownsville) .  He faced a tough primary and was just shy of getting the required 50% in the primary.  He faces Alex Dominguez (attorney and Cameron Co. Commissioner) in the Democrat primary.  This will be a tough primary battle.

TX HD 45 (seat vacated by Jason Isaac – R – Dripping Springs).  This is a solid Republican district.  Ken Strange (Wimberley – School Board member) won the Republican primary outright. He will face the winner of the Democrat primary which features Rebecca Bell Metereau (professor at Texas State) and Erin Zweiner.

TX HD 46 (seat currently held by Dawnna Dukes – D – Austin).  Rep. Dukes faced several challengers in the primary and was not one of the top two vote getters.  Sheryl Cole (attorney and former City Council member) and Jose Vela (immigration attorney) face off in May to be the Democrat candidate in this House District which is a Democrat district.

TX HD 47 (seat currently held by Rep. Paul Workman – R – Austin).  Rep. Paul Workman currently represents this district which is the only Republican House district in Austin.  It is a marginal Republican district.  Rep. Workman won his primary and will face either Elaina Fowler (environmental remediation business) or Vikki Goodwin (realtor) in November.

TX HD 54 (seat currently held by Rep. Scott Cosper – R – Killeen).  Rep. Cosper faced a tough primary battle and several opponents in the primary.  While he was the top vote getter, he did not get over the 50% mark and will face Brad Buckley (veterinarian) in the May primary run off.  

TX HD 62 (seat vacated by Larry Phillips – R – Sherman).  This was another primary with a crowded field and the top two vote getters in the Republican primary in this majority Republican district were Brent Lawson (electrical engineer) and Reggie Smith (attorney).

TX HD 64 (seat currently held by Rep. Lynn Stuckey – R – Sanger).  This is a Republican district with Rep. Stuckey serving as the incumbent.  He will face a Democrat in the November general election and that will be either Andrew Morris (technical writer in defense industry) or Mat Pruneda (financial analyst).

TX HD 107 (seat currently held by Rep. Victoria Neave – D – Dallas). This is a toss-up district.  Rep. Neave will face the winner of the Republican primary runoff in November.  The two Republican candidates are Deana Maria Metzger (attorney) and Joe Ruzicka (retired Navy). 

HD TX 109 (seat vacated by Helen Giddings – D – DeSoto).  This is a Democrat district and the primary runoff features Deshaundra Jones (DeSoto City Council) versus Carl Sherman (Former DeSoto Mayor).

HD TX 121 (seat vacated by Joe Straus – R – San Antonio).  This primary field became crowded after Speaker Straus announced he would not seek re-election.  The top two vote getters in the Republican primary are Steve Allison (attorney) and Matt Beebe (cybersecurity business).

HD TX 133 (seat currently held by Rep. Jim Murphy – R – Houston).  This is a solid Republican district with Rep. Jim Murphy currently representing this district.  He will face a Democrat opponent in November and that will either be Sandra Moore or Martin Schexnayder.

*It is worth noting that in the general election in November, the party who holds the Presidency goes first on the ballot.  Thus, all Republican candidates will have an edge. 

Unlike many other states, Texas uses outside contractors (rather than the system itself) to assess the state of these systems. This objectivity helps guarantee correct reporting; in fact, failure to report violations is common in some states because it is difficult to report on things that haven’t yet been tested.

The Texas Health and Safety Code under Chapter 341.0353 provides the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) with the authority to evaluate public drinking water supplies at least once each year and as often during the year as conditions demand. The information gathered during the evaluation is then used to assign a rating to the water system of “Approved” or “Superior.” But what does this “superior status” mean to the consumer?

Adequate Oversight — To be recognized as a superior system, a minimum of two licensed operators (additional operators for larger systems) are required. This ensures the system is adequately staffed, which ultimately leads to increased oversight and a smaller margin for error.

Safe and Reliable Water — The most important factor for a consumer is safe, reliable water. TCEQ administers the Public Drinking Water program under primacy authority from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In this context, a superior system has met standards that prove the system can consistently provide quality drinking water.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), the EPA sets national limits on contaminant levels in drinking water to ensure the water is safe for human consumption. When awarded this status, a system has gone 24 months without microbiological violations.

To attain the superior status, TCEQ requires compliance with EPA drinking water standards for two types of contaminants. In this industry, the phrase “potable and palatable” is often used to describe these standards. While potable refers to the safety aspects, palatable references things like taste and appearance.

• Primary standards are set to protect consumer health by setting maximum levels on contaminants such as arsenic, fluoride, nitrate, lead, copper or chemicals used for water disinfection. A superior status is awarded only when microbiological sampling ensures water is potable and free of pathogens.

• Secondary standards are set at levels that, in most cases, aesthetically alter the water: this could include taste, odor or discoloration.

Effective Planning and Preparedness — As communities evolve, it is important for systems to maintain sustainability. To this effect, certain requirements are set forth to ensure a superior system can adequately provide for consumers, even in the event of an unforeseen situation.

For example, a superior system is required to have at least two wells, two raw water pumps or a combination of these to provide average daily consumption even with the largest well or pump out of service. Consumers depend on reliable sources, and this requirement helps ensure safe water despite inflation or unexpected circumstances regarding the wells, pumps or water.

To further implement preparedness, TCEQ also includes a capacity requirement for the system based on its service area. Capacity is crucial because it enables the system to a) reach consumers and b) reach them efficiently. This distinction is made because systems with low capacities often have low water pressure, and low pressure can increase the likelihood of outside infiltration.

Good Housekeeping — Lastly, TCEQ includes standards that help enforce optimal operations. It may be comforting to know that a superior system must comply with operating practices that include but are not limited to: documenting, reporting, flushing, etc. This gives added assurance that procedures are being executed.

The water system is also required to be well-maintained and present a pleasing appearance to the public. While the general appearance of the facility does not affect the water quality, these requirements hold the system to a higher standard. The underlying principle includes other aspects associated with superiority in clean water; tidiness and transparency is not a quality exclusive to the product.

The Texas Rural Water Association works hard every day to protect rural Texas’ drinking water. We have resources and expert staff that help rural and small systems with a wide-range of issues, including compliance and legal challenges. We are passionately engaged in representing the interests of rural water at both the state and federal legislative levels. We are here to help ensure rural Texans have access to efficient service and clean, quality drinking water. We represent over 750 small and rural utilities that serve communities that enjoy #qualityontap and #drinklocalwater.

It’s important to note that this new law only addresses “reading, writing, or sending electronic messages” via a “wireless communication device.” It is still legal for motorists in most cities to use their phone for GPS navigation, music apps, dialing phone numbers, etc., but drivers may still get pulled over if an officer suspects them of texting.

While the law includes a provision to preempt local texting-and-driving ordinances which already existed in over 100 cities, it does not address stricter cell phone bans (i.e., hands-free laws) put in place by at least 45 other Texas cities such as Austin, San Antonio, Denton and El Paso. Attempts made during the special session to roll back any city ordinances that ban mobile phone use beyond texting while driving were supported by Governor Abbott, but did not come to fruition. Cities are still free to pass (and enforce) hands-free laws within their city limits.

This new law adds to some existing laws that prohibit all drivers under 18 and school bus drivers from texting or making telephone calls while driving—even with a hands-free device. Texas also forbids use of phones in school zones. In 2010 the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration finalized rules to restrict texting and the use of hand-held mobile phones by truck and bus drivers while operating a commercial motor vehicle.   

RWEAC is TRWA’s emergency assistance program created to help small and rural water/wastewater systems in Texas in the event of a natural or manmade disaster or other emergency situations. RWEAC is available to help bridge the gap when personnel, equipment and other materials are needed to help protect the health and welfare of Texas communities and customers.

Governor Abbott initially identified 30 counties to be in a state of disaster. Our emergency response team reached out to all TRWA member utilities in those counties—totaling 73 systems— to provide information about RWEAC and to anticipate needs as the storm approached. We also reached out to our larger RWEAC and TRWA member network to let them know we were mobilizing and to find out who was available to help and in what way.

Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 Hurricane with winds of 130 mph near Rockport, Texas late Friday night. Over the next several days, Harvey moved very slowly, dropping 40-52 inches of rainfall in southeast Texas, causing catastrophic flooding.

Our RWEAC first responder team, consisting of seven TRWA staff members, began traveling to our first staging site at Nueces County WCID #3 on Monday, August 28, and spent their first several days in the Corpus Christi area visiting systems, making assessments and providing assistance. They then headed up the coast to our next staging site at Quail Creek SUD in Victoria to continue response efforts in the area, as well as to the north and east of Houston.

“Through the efforts of many people, we were able to get situated close enough that we could begin our onsite initial assessments and start coordinating efforts,” said Jason Knobloch, TRWA Environmental Services Director, who acted as the initial incident commander and disaster area manager. “Thankfully, due to lessons learned and proper preparation, the first few days consisted more of calls from people and systems wanting to help than from systems in need. When a need did get reported, it was a rewarding feeling to confidently assure them that they were not alone and we were working with them to resolve their problem. I’m grateful to work with such a committed group of people and member systems that are eager and willing to help wherever they can.”

By the beginning of week two, the Governor expanded the number of affected counties to 50, and our emergency response team continued to reach out to member systems in the area. To date, we have contacted over 200 systems in these areas to check on their status, identify those who need help and learn what type of help they may need, whether it be in the form of generators, manpower, equipment, supplies, etc. We have also been working in close communication with TX-Warn, another “systems helping systems” network, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to learn of affected utilities that may need assistance. 

TRWA owns and maintains seven generators as part of RWEAC, funded in part through a United States Department of Agriculture – Rural Development grant and through the TRWA disaster relief fund. TRWA has already helped a handful of systems with these generators, including Maruiceville SUD, the City of Smiley, Cape Carancahua WSC, River Oaks WSC, Nueces County WCID #4 and the City of Woodsboro.

Additionally, our larger network of TRWA members and RWEAC participants answered our call and offered equipment, supplies and manpower to help relief efforts. TRWA has been busy coordinating volunteers and resources from these systems. So far, 27 systems have received hands-on assistance from our first responders and RWEAC volunteers.

“When we put out the call for assistance, we received an outpour of support, not only from our RWEAC network, but from other organizations, such as the National Rural Water Association, other state rural water associations, USDA—RD, and CoBank. Knowing that we have our larger industry behind us has been so meaningful and heartwarming as we respond to this catastrophe. It really epitomizes what it means to be part of the rural water family,” said Lara Zent, TRWA Executive Director and General Counsel. 

For example, Holiday Beach WSC in Fulton requested assistance with finding and fixing leaks caused by power poles lifting and breaking water lines. TRWA identified RWEAC member Jonah SUD as having the appropriate resources available to help. Jonah SUD graciously sent manpower, machinery and materials to help them repair lines and to shut off meters running to damaged homes. Once they completed their assistance efforts, Jonah SUD then went on to help out other systems who needed additional manpower, including Orangefield WSC and Mauriceville SUD. Staff from Walker County SUD traveled to relieve the Jonah SUD volunteers on Thursday, September 7, and continue efforts to help Mauriceville SUD get their distribution system back on line.

Another RWEAC volunteer who has gone above and beyond is Allen Knight from North Collin SUD, who has worked with our TRWA first responders at a number of systems, including Mauriceville SUD, South Newton WSC and the City of Bevil Oaks.

“We just can’t say enough about all who helped throughout this event. The operators and utility staff who aren’t just employees, but live in the affected communities, worked tirelessly to restore safe water and sewer service even though they too were personally impacted,” said Celia Eaves, TRWA Professional Development and Training Director, who served as incident commander and disaster area manager after the first week of response efforts. “There was a willingness from other utilities to dedicate staff and resources to help their neighbors even though they’re over 300 miles away. It’s taking a collective effort to recover, and it couldn’t have been possible without the hard work and dedication to our industry that all these individuals have demonstrated.”

Harvey’s catastrophic impacts will be felt for months to come. As of the writing of this article, many communities east of Houston are still under water, so our team is waiting for the water to recede before traveling to that area and assessing the damage. Our first responders are still out in the field and doing all they can to help these communities get the safe quality drinking water they deserve.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out to offer resources in response to Hurricane Harvey. Remember, any water/wastewater utility in Texas can request emergency assistance from RWEAC by calling 1-866-586-6480, a toll free hotline that is staffed 24/7. It is free to become a member of RWEAC—systems can complete their application and mutual aid agreement online at www.trwa.org/rweac.

If you would like more information on RWEAC or how to participate in the cooperative, visit our website or you may email us at rweac@trwa.org. You may also donate to our disaster relief fund by visiting www.trwa.org/donations. Together, we can help get these devastated areas back on the road to recovery.

10. HB 1083 by Perez and Rodriguez amends the Water Code to allow the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to authorize an investor-owned utility (IOU) to establish a class of rates for elderly people at a lower rate than other classes, and allows for utilities to establish a fund to receive donations to recover the costs of providing these reduced rates. The new law prohibits recovery of costs through charges to other customers.

9. HB 1508 by Giddings and West amends the Occupations Code to require entities that provide educational programs that prepare an individual for issuance of an occupational license (which applies to TRWA) to notify each applicant of their potential ineligibility to obtain the license if they have certain criminal convictions.

8. HB 2647 by Stephenson and Taylor amends the Public Funds Investment Act to make interest-bearing banking deposits that are guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund authorized investments under the Act, with certain exceptions. This law became effective June 15, 2017.

7. SB 499 by West and Wray amends the Property Code to add the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act. The new law will impact who has the right to property after the owner’s passing, which may impact, for example, who would be entitled to membership in a water supply corporation (WSC).

6. HB 3047 by Dale and Schwertner amends the Open Meetings Act to specify that a member of a governmental body who participates in a meeting by videoconference call shall be considered absent from any portion of the meeting during which audio or video communication with the member is lost or disconnected.

5. SB 564 by Campbell and Capriglione amends Section 551.089 of the Open Meetings Act to allow a governmental entity to discuss in closed session matters regarding security of information resources technology, security personnel, critical infrastructure, and security devices; expanding on an existing provision in Section 55.076.

4. SB 1289 by Creighton and Paddie adds a new provision to the Government Code also referred to as the “Buy America” law. It requires political subdivisions, including water districts, to use U.S. produced steel and iron products in projects financed, refinanced or partially funded by money from a state governmental entity such as the TWDB, but provides some exceptions.

3. HB 1648 by Price and Seliger requires the TWDB to require a retail public utility that provides potable water service to 3,300 or more connections to designate a person as the water conservation coordinator responsible for implementing the water conservation plan and to notify the TWDB Executive Administrator of this person.

2. HB 1573 by Price and Creighton requires the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to establish rules requiring water loss audits to be completed by a person trained to conduct water loss auditing. The bill requires the TWDB to make training on water loss auditing available without charge from the TWDB's website. The TWDB may provide training in person or by video or a functionally similar and widely available medium.

1. SB 79 by Nelson and Capriglione expands the Public Information Act to allow additional entities, including WSCs, to refer a requestor to an exact internet location or uniform resource locator (URL) address on a website as a method of producing information requested under the Act. The law requires the governmental body to provide the information in another format if the requestor prefers a manner other than access through the internet.

The Texas Rural Water Association works hard every day to protect rural Texas’ drinking water. We have resources and expert staff that help rural and small systems with a wide-range of issues, including compliance and legal challenges. We are passionately engaged in representing the interests of rural water at both the state and federal legislative levels. We are here to help ensure rural Texans have access to efficient service and clean, quality drinking water. We represent over 750 small and rural utilities that serve communities that enjoy #qualityontap and #drinklocalwater.

The discussions centered on regulatory fixes as identified by NRWA membership to include consecutive system issues, TMDLs and others. The Administrator stressed that the agency was in the review process of regulatory issues and encouraged the association to formerly submit comments. The attendees encouraged the agency to view rural and small systems as protectors of public health and the environment as opposed to a regulatory burden.

“I was very pleased that Administrator Pruitt agreed that there should be a cost benefit analysis performed on proposed regulations before they are enacted,” said NRWA Board Secretary Kent Watson, who also serves as Board Director for the Texas Rural Water Association and manages Wickson Creek Special Utility District in Bryan, Texas. 

“The meeting was very informative and the open discussion was very meaningful,” said NRWA President Steve Fletcher, who manages Washington County Water Company. “Hopefully this meeting is the start of a collaborative process that results in more affordability consideration in the regulatory review and processes.”

Senior Vice President Steve Wear, Manager of Conway County Regional Water in Arkansas; Vice President David Baird, District Coordinator, Sussex Conservation District in Delaware; Treasurer John O’Connell, Deputy Chief Operator, City of Cortland, New York; NRWA CEO Sam Wade; and NRWA Deputy CEO Matt Holmes also attended the meeting. 

Instead, the Administration is placing its confidence with the EPA State Revolving Loan Funds. Approximately 75 percent of State Revolving Loan funding goes to systems serving over 10,000 population. Additionally, in Texas, these funds are primarily allocated to systems with compliance issues, so the larger community of rural water systems would not be able to rely solely on these funds for support.

There are approximately 52,000 community water supplies in the nation, of which 92 percent serve less than 10,000 population. In 2016, USDA Rural Utilities Service dedicated their funding exclusively to Rural America — 85 percent of projects were for small communities, with populations of 5,000 or less. The USDA Water and Environmental Program is a vital lifeline for rural residents funding the water infrastructure we rely on today.

We urge systems who have utilized any of these programs to get involved. If you have received or plan to receive funding from the USDA for infrastructure projects, benefit from your visits with your circuit rider, or rely on the expertise of our wastewater technicians, then please reach out to your congressional representatives. Tell them that investing in these USDA programs will forward the President’s mission to address the nation’s aging infrastructure in rural communities. Let them know that these programs have been effective for 70 years, that your system relies on them for financial and technical support, and that eliminating them would be detrimental for rural America. Visit http://whoismyrepresentative.com if you need help identifying your representative.

Established in 1969, the Texas Rural Water Association is a statewide nonprofit association dedicated to the improvement of water quality and supply in rural Texas. With an active membership consisting of nearly 750 nonprofit water supply corporations, special utility districts, municipal utility districts, small-town water departments, investor-owned utilities and individual members, TRWA members provide water and wastewater service to over 2.5 million customers throughout the state. The Association supports these members by providing them with on-site technical assistance, education and informational programs and representation in legislative and regulatory processes at both the state and federal level.  

Thank you to J Muzacz for his hard work, and to SprATX for setting us up with an artist who was a perfect fit for our Association!

1. Drinking water operator certification is managed on a state-by-state basis. In Texas, licensing requirements are managed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Operators can be licensed in a variety of areas, including water, wastewater, distribution and reuse.
2. Texas has required all public water systems to have a licensed operator since the 1950s, though the EPA did not require licensed operators for public water systems until 2001.
3. Public water system operators must have at least a high school diploma or a GED, as well have required training courses and experience to test for their license. They then must renew their license every three years, requiring continuing education hours to do so.
4. There are several levels of licensure for being a water operator. As an operator advances from a “D” to an “A” license level, their expertise expands, including a strong working knowledge of math and chemistry necessary to ensure proper chemical dosages.
5. One major task of water operators is to disinfect our drinking water and maintain a disinfection residual, usually a form of chlorine, in the distribution system. A residual is a low level of the disinfectant that remains in the water after its initial application to protect against waterborne contaminants.
6. To ensure the water is properly safeguarded, the water operator conducts daily tests to measure the disinfectant residual in the water distribution system.
7. Water operators must flush all dead-end mains, and also must flush water distribution lines when they receive customer complaints. Once flushing starts, the operator cannot stop flushing until the water is clear and the desired chlorine residual is reached.
8. Fire hydrants and flush valves are designed to catch “trash” in the water and provide a place to remove this “trash” from the distribution system. This is why fire hydrants and flush valves usually flow “dirty” water when they are first opened.
9. On a monthly basis, water operators are required to take bacteriological samples from the water distribution system and have these samples tested by a state-approved laboratory.
10. Operators are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to make repairs and respond to emergencies on the water system.

The Texas Rural Water Association works hard every day to protect rural Texas’ drinking water. We have resources and expert staff that help rural and small systems with a wide-range of issues, including compliance and legal challenges. TRWA provides classroom and online training courses to help Texas water and wastewater operators get the training they need. We are here to help ensure rural Texans have access to efficient service and clean, quality drinking water. We represent over 750 small and rural utilities that serve communities that enjoy #qualityontap and #drinklocalwater.

There is a growing trend of groundwater districts changing the rules of the game for rural utilities, threatening their supply of water by restricting the amount of water they can pump based on the amount of surface acreage they own. These bills are a response to that trend. The practice of basing the amount of water a utility can pump on the amount of acreage owned at the well site, which the Farm Bureau is advocating, is not required by law, and most groundwater districts do not currently employ this practice. Historically, groundwater districts have taken into account the needs and rights of rural communities to their local supply of groundwater, and these bills seek to preserve these rights.

The Farm Bureau asserts that the property rights of utility customers are being threatened by these bills, but their interest is to maximize profits for large landowners who are working with water marketers to pump water out of the rural areas to sell to the highest bidders — the big cities. This practice will force local utilities to compete for the purchase of water to serve their communities, driving up the cost for their customers. House Bills 645 and 1318 will preserve access to a sufficient supply of affordable water before it is sold to the highest bidder and piped out of their area. Ninety-five percent of rural utilities serve 4,000 connections or less, and these communities already pay higher water rates than the big cities, because they do not benefit from the same economies of scale.

Rural utility customers benefit from having access to an affordable supply of water, which adds value to their property and makes the rural economy possible. Rural water utilities are not large landowners, but are required by law to serve communities of landowners who are relying on the local utility to pump, treat, test and deliver their groundwater for their household needs. Representative Lucio’s bills allow groundwater districts to balance the rights and needs of local communities with the rights of landowners to sell their groundwater.

Some groundwater districts are not only requiring rural systems to purchase land in order to pump sufficient supplies to serve their communities, but are requiring that the land be adjacent to the well site where they are pumping. In these districts, utilities are held hostage to whatever price the adjacent landowner seeks to charge, driving up costs to customers even further.

In northeast Texas, rural utility customers are being approached by for-profit business enterprises represented by big Austin law firms seeking to purchase water from every customer. With a for-profit business purchasing all the groundwater in a community, where will the local utility obtain the supply to serve that community? Will they be competing with Dallas to purchase that supply, perhaps paying double or triple the amount of the original purchase price? How will customers in that area be able to afford water for their household needs that they have “sold”? What will happen to the economies in those areas when they no longer own or have the right to pump their groundwater?

Local communities shouldn’t have to compete to purchase their own water resources with the big cities who are looking to these areas for their future supply. HB 645 and HB 1318 do not transfer any private property rights or water rights, but seek to help ensure that rural communities receive credit for the ownership of their groundwater resource that they are relying on their local utility to provide. 

The Texas Rural Water Association works hard every day to protect rural Texas’ drinking water. We have resources and expert staff that help rural and small systems with a wide-range of issues, including compliance and legal challenges. We are here to help ensure rural Texans have access to efficient service and clean, quality drinking water. We represent over 750 small and rural utilities that serve communities that enjoy #qualityontap and #drinklocalwater.