AWWA ACE54421

A primary objective of the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Amendments is capacity development--the enhancement of the technical, financial, and managerial aspects of a public water system. The Amendments require states to implement programs ensuring adequate capacity of new systems, as well as the acquisition and maintenance of capacity for existing public drinking water systems. The Act recognized the need for additional technical assistance to states to meet capacity development initiatives and included a provision for expansion of the technology assistance center grants. With a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Maryland Center for Environmental Training (MCET) operates a Technology Assistance Center (TAC) that evaluates and assists small water systems in the Mid-Atlantic region. MCET has undertaken four major activities, as part of the TAC project, designed to address the problems of small systems in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. First, MCET is performing no-cost comprehensive evaluations of selected public water systems. Second, based on the knowledge gained in these evaluations and the existing knowledge and skills of its technical assistance providers, MCET is providing training for state regulators and designated individuals from the Mid-Atlantic region in the methodology of conducting these evaluations in drinking water systems. Third, building on the baselines provided by the evaluations and the training expectations of the states, MCET is developing a small system tool kit, which will include a video outlining the approach and benefits of regular water system evaluations and a guidebook with an assessment instrument to enable local officials to perform self-evaluations of their drinking water systems. Finally, MCET is conducting a training needs survey in the six state region and will develop curricula to address the major training needs identified. This paper focuses on MCET's methodology for conducting the evaluations of small water systems and the lessons learned from these evaluations.