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WaterNews for June 8, 2001WaterNews is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water. Inside this week's WaterNews:
1) Administrator Whitman signs Restoration Plan for Charlotte Harbor, FL 1) Administrator Whitman signs Restoration Plan for Charlotte Harbor, FLEPA's Administrator Whitman has signed the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary on Florida's west coast. The plan, which will address water quality degradation and habitat loss, was developed by representatives from government, industry, and the local business community, as well as environmental and public interest groups. The objective of each National Estuary is to create and implement a conservation plan that addresses the whole range of environmental problems facing the estuary, while preserving its economic and social values. Currently there are 28 estuaries in the National Estuary Program, and Charlotte Harbor is the 24th to finalize its CCMP. For information on Charlotte Harbor and the newly approved management plan, go to to www.charlotteharbornep.com. To learn about other National Estuary Program sites, visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/. 2) EPA Issues Rule to Further Protect Drinking WaterToday, EPA issued a final rule that will provide an estimated 35 million Americans with cleaner, safer drinking water. Many drinking water plants must periodically clean their filters to remove accumulated debris, pumping water backwards through the filter in a process known as "filter backwashing." When systems recycle this filter backwash water, they increase the risk of waterborne pathogens, such as Cryptosporidium, entering treated water. Today's rule establishes requirements to ensure that filter backwash recycle practices do not compromise the ability of a treatment plant to provide safe drinking water. For more information on the rule, go to http://www.epa.gov/safewater/filterbackwash.html. 3) EPA Improves Access To Local Water Quality InformationThis week, EPA released the Watershed Assessment, Tracking and Environmental Results (WATERS) integration web site. WATERS unites geographically specific water quality data from state web sites and various EPA sites, including EPA's new National Water Quality Standards Database and its Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) Database, with the US Geological Survey's National Hydrographic Dataset. WATERS users can click on an interactive map to see which waters are classified by states as impaired (those waters not attaining water quality standards), and to learn the purpose or use of each waterbody (such as whether or not it is designated for protection as a drinking water supply, for recreational use, or for fishing). Although not yet complete, WATERS will eventually cover all 50 states, and contain links to data on ambient water quality, drinking water quality, polluted runoff, fish consumption advisories, facility discharge outfalls, and other information. For more on WATERS, visit http://www.epa.gov/waters/ on the Internet. 4) Learn About Your Drinking Water: Local Reports Out this MonthIf you are one of the more than 260 million people who receive water from a community water supply, keep your eye out for this year's water quality report. The report will include a brief description of the source of your drinking water and the levels of contaminants that may be found in it when it reaches your tap. Water suppliers are required to deliver these annual reports (also called consumer confidence reports) to their customers by July 1. The report may arrive along with your bill or as a separate mailing. Apartment dwellers can get a copy from their landlord or directly from their water supplier. Many reports are available on the Internet, and EPA has links to hundreds of them at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm.
Please forward this message to your friends and colleagues who share an interest in water-related issues and would like to hear from EPA's Office of Water. To subscribe to the WaterNews listserve: * Send an email message, leave the subject line blank, and address it to: waternews-join@lists.epa.gov * In the body of the message write: Subscribe WaterNews firstname lastname (Please leave one blank space between each word, do not include any other message, and use your actual name- i.e. Subscribe WaterNews Robert Jones) A welcome message will appear in your email box once you are officially subscribed. WaterNews will be sent to you at the end of each week. If you encounter difficulties subscribing to this list server or if you would like to be taken off the WaterNews list server at any time, please send your E-mail address to Gloria Posey at Posey.Gloria@epa.gov.
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