WaterNews for July 21, 2005

Benjamin Grumbles
Assistant Administrator
Office of Water

WaterNews is a weekly on-line publication that announces publications, policies, and activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Water.

In This Week’s WaterNews:

• EPA Convenes Workshop on Economic Impacts of Aquatic Invasive Species
• National Drinking Water Advisory Council Report on Water Security
• Water Efficiency
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EPA Convenes Workshop on Economic Impacts of Aquatic Invasive Species

Benjamin H. Grumbles, Assistant Administrator for Water, spoke at the Economic Impacts of Aquatic Invasive Species Workshop yesterday, in Washington, D.C. He discussed EPA’s commitment to addressing Aquatic Invasive Species. The workshop was co-hosted by EPA’s Office of Water and EPA’s National Center for Environmental Economics. The goal was to obtain the Workshop participants’ individual views on potential conceptual frameworks and bioeconomic tools for use in the subsequent development of national and regional estimates of the market and non-market economic impacts of aquatic invasive species. It is a major step toward implementing the Office of Water’s Invasive Species Action Plan which, among other things, calls for development of those estimates.

For more information on Invasive Species visit http://www.epa.gov/owow/invasive_species/index.html

National Drinking Water Advisory Council Report on Water Security

In a June1-3, 2005 meeting of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council (NDWAC) in Washington, DC, the Water Security Working Group of NDWAC presented findings to the Council that addressed (1) the basic scope for active and effective security programs, (2) significant system failures and key threats that security programs should consider, (3) features that all active and effective security programs should address, (4) steps that government and others can take to support and encourage utility security efforts and create a better climate for security and (5) a framework for measuring utility security progress. The NDWAC unanimously approved and adopted these findings as recommendations to EPA. The final NDWAC report and letter to the Administrator are available on the EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ndwac/council.html.

Water Efficiency

Did you know that by installing more efficient plumbing fixtures and appliances, most households could reduce indoor water use by about a third? Homeowners with an automatic landscape irrigation system can reduce irrigation use by an average of 17 percent or more with a new climate-based irrigation controller. With increasing pressures on our water resources, efficient water use helps to reduce the need for costly water supply and wastewater treatment facilities, helps maintain stream flows and healthy aquatic habitats, and reduces the energy used to pump, heat and treat water. More information about water efficiency and water efficient products can be found on EPA’s Water Efficiency website www.epa.gov/owm/water-efficiency.

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