21st Annual EPA Drinking Water Workshop: Small System Challenges and Solutions
Details | Lodging | Certificates | History | About Small Systems | Related Resources
Workshop Details
The 2024 workshop is being hosted by EPA's Office of Research and Development and Office of Water in partnership with the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA).
When
September 17-19, 2024 (Eastern Time)
- September 16, 5:00 p.m. (early check in)
- September 17, 8:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
- September 18, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
- September 19, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Where
Graduate Cincinnati
151 Goodman Dr.
Cincinnati, Ohio 45219, United States
Who Should Attend
The workshop is open to Tribal, state, and territory agencies responsible for public water systems. The workshop speakers and facilitators will be technical, regulatory, and communication experts from EPA; ASDWA; and Tribal, state, and territory agencies.
Focus and Agenda
This year, the workshop will focus on PFAS and lead (Pb) topics. It is being designed for government agencies responsible for drinking water regulations compliance and treatment technologies permitting, and will provide current technical and regulatory information, resources, and training needed to help in building systems capacity and sustainably and with providing equitable access to drinking water.
The agenda will be posted once it's available. The workshop will include technical presentation sessions, in-depth training sessions, focus group roundtable discussions, ask the experts and posters session, regional networking session, and other networking opportunities.
General inquiries about the workshop may be directed to EPA-Drinking-Water-Workshop@ICF.com.
Lodging
Lodging details and room blocks will be posted soon.
Note for EPA Participants: Please include conference code MM262602 on your Travel Authorization.
Attendance Certificates
Attendees will have the opportunity to receive certificate of attendance for participating. Certificates are typically sent via email within three-four weeks following the workshop—EPA cannot guarantee acceptance of certificates for continuing education or submit certificates to states or organizations.
Workshop History
To support the efforts of state and local officials to assist small systems, EPA and ASDWA have held an annual workshop for the past 20 years to provide timely information on a variety of drinking water topics relevant to small systems.
When the first workshop was held in 2004, it was by invitation only and designed as an educational opportunity for state staff working with small communities to install arsenic treatment technologies. In 2008, at the encouragement of state agencies, the workshop was opened to the public and expanded to include small drinking water system distribution, water quality, source water, treatment, and operations topics.
In 2023, we were excited to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of our workshop with close to 400 attendees. Online Agenda
About Small Systems
There are 145,720 active public water systems in the United States (including territories). Of these, 95% (138,923) are considered small systems under the Safe Drinking Water Act, meaning they serve 10,000 or fewer people.
- Small systems serving 500 or fewer people: 114,928
- Small systems serving 501-3,300 people: 18,753
- Small systems serving 3,301-10,000 people: 5,242
Data is from EPA’s Government Performance and Results (GPRA) Tool (2024 Quarter 1).
While many of these active small systems consistently provide safe, reliable drinking water to their customers, many face a number of challenges in their ability to achieve and maintain system sustainability. Some of these small system challenges include lack of expertise to choose, operate, and maintain systems; lack of financial resources; aging infrastructure; limited options for residual disposal; and state agencies with limited resources to support the large number of small systems. EPA's research is developing tools, technologies, and approaches to help small systems lower costs and provide safe drinking water now and in the future.
Learn more about small drinking water systems
Additional Opportunities and Resources
Webinar Series
In addition to this annual workshop, EPA also holds a free monthly webinar series. The Small Drinking Water Systems Webinar Series provides a forum for EPA to communicate directly with drinking water professionals to provide training and foster collaboration and dissemination of information. Beginning in January 2024, some webinars in the series are now being held in partnership with ASDWA.
Webinar topics vary each month and are primarily designed for Tribal, state, and territory government agencies responsible for drinking water regulations compliance and treatment technologies permitting. However, others may also benefit from the webinars, including water system operators, technical assistance providers, NGOs, local government personnel, academia, and private sector. This series will continue to provide the latest information on solutions for challenges facing small drinking water systems, but will now be more of an extension of the in-person workshop as it will include presentations that were given during the events. Webinars in this series are typically held on the last Tuesday of the month, from 2 to 3 p.m. ET.