PENNSYLVANIA CREATES A SMALL PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS ECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE CENTER

摘要

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has the largest rural population in the nation. Thereare approximately 2,300 community water systems,1,300 nontransient noncommunitywater systems,and 6,500 transient noncommunity water systems. In 1996,there was atotal of 10,405 public water system violations with 92% of these violations occurring insmall systems. Of these violations,95.9% were “monitoring and reporting” violations,while 2.1% were “Maximum Contaminant Level” violations. For these MaximumContaminant Level violations,58.2% were violations of the Total Coliform Rule.Together,these figures indicate the importance of basic operator training and technologytransfer. A well-designed operator training program is needed to reach these smallsystems in the rural and remote areas of Pennsylvania.Using grant funds from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA),the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) and Penn StateHarrisburg have begun the development of a Small Public Water Systems TechnologyAssistance Center (SPWSTAC) at the Penn State Harrisburg campus. Two innovativetraining programs are proposed: (1) Train the trainers: This involves training instructorsin adult education techniques and small system compliance and variance technologies.(2) Train the operators: This involves training small system operators in computer,laboratory,and operation and maintenance skills.