Water & Wastewater Added to FEMA’s Community Lifelines

Water Systems—both potable water and wastewater management—were recently added to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) list of Community Lifelines, which receive extra focus from FEMA during an emergency.

Devastating Floods at Water & Wastewater Systems

Like many in Vermont, I woke up on Monday, July 10 with a feeling of panic. The night before, it had been pouring rain and we’d had flash flood warnings for hours. Now, we were starting to hear about towns east of the Green Mountains that were seeing major flooding, and some water and wastewater systems were already in distress.

PFAS in Wastewater: Coming Down the Pipes

Disposal of wastewater solids is anticipated to become more expensive if beneficial reuse is restricted due to concerns about PFAS contamination. Wastewater facilities were not designed to remove PFAS from either water or solids.