Rural Water - Quarter 1, 2009 - (Page 46)

A picturesque view of the many mountains and valleys of Hawaii TRAINING IN HAWAII BY JOE LITTLE, MICHIGAN RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION DIRECTOR OF TRAINING PAUL STROPE, NATIONAL RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION PROJECT MANAGER NATIONAL RURAL WATER Association has provided water system operator training, through our rural water affiliates, to the 48 contiguous states and Alaska since 1977, but has not had funding to provide this valuable training to Hawaii – that is until this past year. A grant from the Environmental Protection Agency under the training specialist program finally made this training possible to the 130 water systems on the islands of Hawaii. To accomplish this massive project, NRWA invited trainers from our affiliates across the country to conduct this training; it was a tough decision for many of them. (Not really.) They were told that this would be a great opportunity, and they could assist operators throughout the islands with valuable training. Assistance from Jodi Yamami of the Hawaii State Department of Health was also invaluable in completing this task; she provided training locations at state facilities across the islands and helped coordinate and promote the training sessions. NRWA also faced challenges, coordinating the transportation, lodging, equipment and many of the other details, making the program run smooth and without incident. Training took place at six locations on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Oahu and Kauai. Teams of two trainers were dispatched for two weeks each month from March through September, covering the same locations with different training topics. Each training day included two three-hour sessions on different topics including math, electrical safety, operations and maintenance, meter and valve repair, treatment options and many others. Being in Hawaii, you would think that the focus would be on sand, sun and surf, but with the tight scheduling and moving from island to island, most thoughts were on airports and rental cars, although there were some days off, and the teams did enjoy some of the beauty of Hawaii. 46 • First Quarter 2009

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Rural Water - Quarter 1, 2009

Rural Water - Quarter 1, 2009 Contents From the President Question & Answer: Water Conservation in the Home Avoiding the Humpty Dumpty Approach to Data Backup From the CEO What the Future Holds Asset Management for Small Communities Understanding Your Surface Water Source: The Rivers Hydraulic Models Expeditionary Water Packaging System Graces Delta The Rural Water Rally in April Training in Hawaii Regulatory Update Rural Water Releases Report on Water Infrastructure Projects and Economic Stimulus Legislation Throwing My Loop Advertisers.com Index to Advertisers

Rural Water - Quarter 1, 2009

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