Staff Reporter

Sudden mould outbreak after all this rain? You’re not alone – but you are at risk

March 1, 2022 by Staff Reporter

Recent torrential rain along the east coast of Australia has sparked renewed fears of mould in people’s homes, which can cause dangerous health problems. Many flood-affected residents in northern New South Wales and Queensland will also be contending with mould as part of the post-flood cleanup.

Moulds are fungi – microbes like viruses or bacteria. There are some microbes in every building and they’re usually harmless.

In a damp or water-damaged environment, however, toxic mould species grow and release spores that can cause health problems if inhaled.

Here’s what you need to know.

Read more:
Floods herald creeping problem of mould and growing health risks

More than just lungs: mould can affect health in other ways

Many of us know someone whose asthma is triggered by exposure to mould. But even non-asthma sufferers are at risk.

Research shows dampness, mould and related airborne particles are associated with a range of adverse health outcomes, including increased risks of asthma, allergies, and respiratory infections and symptoms.

A parliamentary Inquiry into Biotoxin-related Illnesses in Australia noted the need for further research into mould prevalence, mould measurement and the potential health effects of exposure to damp and mould.

Some research suggests people exposed to mould in their homes report more severe depression and anxiety symptoms. Of course, this association isn’t just about mould, and worsening mental health is likely to do with a range of factors associated with living with damp and mould, including poor housing condition, poverty, and general ill health.

Heavy rain and floods lead to excess indoor moisture, and a damp environment is perfect for mould growth.
Shutterstock

Mould hot spots in Australia

The World Health Organisation advises no level of exposure to mould can be considered safe for health. It says dampness and mould-related problems should be prevented and remediated early to avoid potentially harmful exposure.

Despite this strong advice, mould is a common problem in Australia. Until recently, not much has been known about mould prevalence, with the official WHO guidelines on indoor air quality estimating 10-50% of Australian homes are affected by dampness and mould.

We can also make an estimate using the large-scale Australian Rental Housing Conditions Dataset, which collates robust data collected from over 14,000 rental households in 2020.

Our analysis of this data set shows 27% of renters say their current home has problems with mould and 21% report problems with dampness.

Mould is often found in the south eastern states of Australia due to a combination of lower temperatures and damp weather. It is also a problem in New South Wales and Queensland, where 39% and 26% of regions respectively have a high prevalence of mould in rental homes. Sydney has more mould than Melbourne.

We have mapped the data for Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane here:

Data source: the Australian Rental Housing Conditions Dataset.
Centre for Research Excellence in Healthy Housing

You’re also more likely to find mould in poorly maintained, low-income housing. These poor housing conditions are more common among people who already experience health issues.

Children are another group at higher risk of living in housing with mould – 33% of people living with two or more children reported mould in the Australian Rental Housing Conditions Dataset (compared to 27% of childfree households).

Other risk factors for mould included roof and plumbing defects, and the need for urgent repairs.

Building codes and rental policy can help

Mandated building standards are important to ensure design, building and maintenance sufficiently address mould growth.

Our current building codes do not focus on preventing damp conditions. In fact Australia’s National Construction Code previously inadvertently promoted moist indoor environments by solely focusing on well-sealed, energy-efficient buildings.

The National Construction Code is to be updated in late 2022. Hopefully, the new code will directly address the mould-promoting condensation problem caused by measures to increase energy efficiency in buildings.

New builds, of course, don’t house the whole population. Almost a third of Australian households rent, and this includes older homes with a range of structural issues. Policies targeting renters and landlords could have a significant impact on population health.

While tenancy regulations vary across Australia, some states and territories have begun to address the issue of mould in rental housing.

For example, the recent Victorian rental reform mandates premises:

must be free from mould and damp caused by or related to the building structure.

It allows tenants to log an urgent repair request where issues, such as leaking roofs or plumbing, lead to mould.

Since there are no accepted standards for mould measurement or remediation, legislation referring to “mould and damp” may not end up improving housing conditions.

An agreed definition of what level of mould is harmful, and how it can be measured, would allow governments to set cut-offs above which homeowners are compelled to intervene.

What can you do about mould in your home?

Prevention is more efficient than removal. The key is keeping the house dry and free of dust. Make sure you:

fix leaks, including roofs and walls as well as plumbed appliances such as dishwashers
increase ventilation and air circulation with windows and fans
use extractor fans when cooking, bathing or drying laundry
use a dehumidifier
clean condensation from inner windows.

Use extractor fans when cooking, bathing or drying laundry.
Shutterstock

If mould has already set in, the best option is to remove it physically with a microfibre cloth.

Mould remediation is complex and often best undertaken with professional advice. Australian state and territory governments provide advice on dealing with dampness and mould in the home.

For example, see advice sheets from the Victorian Department of Health, NSW Health and the Queensland government.

This explainer by the Healthy Housing Centre of Research Excellence on mould and damp also provides information on where you can seek help.

Read more:
Queenslanders at risk from mould as flood clean-up continues

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TOMORROW: EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan to Visit Easley, South Carolina to Discuss Critical Water Infrastructure Improvements

March 1, 2022 by Staff Reporter

March 1, 2022

ATLANTA (March 1, 2022) – Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 2, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan will travel to Easley, S.C. to highlight critical sewage upgrade projects that reflect the economic and environmental benefits of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Under the Law, EPA will work with state partners to deploy the largest federal investment in water infrastructure in our nation’s history, more than $50 billion to improve drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.

Administrator Regan will join city and state officials to discuss how local, state, and federal partners can work together to deliver benefits to underserved and overburdened residents and build a better America. The infrastructure event will be at an active construction site being managed by the Easley Combined Utilities. This event is open to the press.

WHO: EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan

City of Easley Mayor Butch Womack

Easley Combined Utilities Chairman Nick Caldwell

WHAT: Event to highlight new sewer lines in Easley, SC and investments coming under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

WHEN: Wednesday, March 2, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. EST

WHERE: Easley Combined Utilities Sewage Project Site

723 Cardinal Drive

Easley, S.C. 29642

RSVP: ***Interested credentialed media should e-mail an RSVP to [email protected]. Please include your name, media affiliation and contact information.

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EPA Issues Final Permit Decision Requiring GE to Clean Up Housatonic River

March 1, 2022 by Staff Reporter

March 1, 2022

BOSTON (March 1, 2022) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued its final permit decision obligating the General Electric Company to perform a cleanup of the Rest of River portion of the GE-Pittsfield/Housatonic River Site.

“EPA is requiring GE to move forward with the Rest of River cleanup plan documented in the final permit,” said EPA Regional Administrator David W. Cash. “The communities along the Housatonic deserve access to a river free of threats posed by PCBs, and issuing the final permit today is a big step towards that cleanup goal.”

The Revised Final Permit is a significant step towards reducing PCBs in and around the river and will reduce risk of human exposure. Some of the goals of this permit include achieving:

Reduced risks to children and adults from direct contact with contaminated soil and sediment;
Reduced soil contamination in the floodplain allowing recreational and residential use without unacceptable risk, and
Reduced PCB concentrations in fish to levels that allow increased consumption of fish caught from the River in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

“Today’s decision by the EPA will support the recovery of past wrongs that have impacted the communities along the Housatonic River for over 70 years. It is the result of the hard work of community leaders and will ensure the Housatonic River can be enjoyed for generations to come. We will continue working with our federal, state and local partners to hold GE accountable for meeting all of its obligations and seek the environmental justice our communities deserve.” –Statement from U.S. Senators Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Representative Richard Neal

After a robust public comment process, EPA issued the Revised Final Permit, outlining the cleanup plan for the Rest of River in Massachusetts and Connecticut, on December 16, 2020. Following that, the Housatonic River Initiative and the Housatonic Environmental Action League petitioned EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board (“Board”) for review of the Revised Final Permit.

On February 8, 2022, the Board issued a 122-page decision denying the appeal of the revised permit. The Board denied the appeal in all respects.

Today, EPA notified the General Electric Company of the Region’s final permit decision, and the permit became effective and fully enforceable. EPA remains committed to the work to protect human health and improve the ecological health of the Housatonic River and its floodplain by implementing the remedy called for in the permit.

The Revised Final Permit requires GE to clean up contamination in river sediment, banks, and floodplain soil that pose unacceptable risks to human health and to the environment. GE will excavate PCB contamination from 45 acres of floodplain and 300 acres of river sediment, resulting in removal of over one-million cubic yards of PCB-contaminated material. Most of the sediment and floodplain cleanup will happen within the first 11 miles of the Rest of River in the City of Pittsfield and the towns of Lee and Lenox. Phasing the work will disperse the effects of the construction activities over time and locations. The excavated material will be disposed of in two ways: materials with the highest concentrations of PCBs will be transported off-site for disposal at existing licensed disposal facilities, and the remaining lower-level PCB materials will be consolidated on-site at a location in Lee. The cleanup is estimated to cost $576 million and will take approximately two to three years for initial design activities and 13 years for implementation.

For More Information:

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Originally Appeared Here

KDHE: Prairie Burning Season prompts health advisory

March 1, 2022 by Staff Reporter

TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued a health advisory for the upcoming Flint Hills Burning Season.

March and April is prairie burning season in the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma, according to the KDHE. The burning is conducted to help manage and preserve the natural ecosystem of the tallgrass prairie, control invasive species, reduce woody encroachment from species such as Eastern Red Cedar and Sumac and provide better forage for cattle but the smoke created from the controlled fires can have a negative effect on air quality.

Best counties to retire to in Kansas

To help keep tabs on the fires and air quality, the KDHE will activate the Kansas smoke modeling tool on March 1 which uses computer models to predict the potential contribution of smoke to downwind air quality problems. Over two million acres are burned on average in the Flint Hills every year in Kansas and Oklahoma.

“For the twelfth-consecutive year, we are proud to have the opportunity to provide this important tool for the prescribed fire community,” said Douglas Watson, meteorologist at the KDHE Bureau of Air. “We continue to encourage ranchers and land managers to take advantage of this smoke modeling resource to spread out their burns more effectively and mitigate potential air quality impacts.”

The burns release large amounts of particulate matter and other pollutants into the air that can form ozone. These can effect your health by causing burning eyes, runny nose, coughing and illnesses such as bronchitis. People with respiratory issues, pre-existing heart conditions or lung diseases, children and elderly are more vulnerable to experiencing symptoms.

In order to protect your health on days when smoke is present, the KDHE recommends the following:

Highland Park turns off power, sends students home

Healthy people should limit or avoid strenuous outdoor exercise.
More vulnerable people should remain indoors.
Help keep indoor air clean by closing doors and windows and running air conditioners with air filters.
Stay hydrated by drinking lots of water.
Contact your doctor if you have symptoms such as chest pain, chest tightness, shortness of breath or severe fatigue.

For additional information about the burning in the Flint Hills, click here.

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Originally Appeared Here

EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Highlights Common-Ground WOTUS Strategy, Infrastructure Investment for Alaska

March 1, 2022 by Staff Reporter

March 1, 2022

SEATTLE (March 1, 2022) – On Friday February 25, 2022, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox joined U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski in Alaska. Engagements in Anchorage and Wasilla helped spotlight features and characteristics that make Alaska unique. The experience also highlighted the essential nature of water and common-ground approaches to steward vital water resources through strategic policy and infrastructure investment.

“I want to thank Senator Murkowski for inviting me to experience what makes Alaska so special and for her leadership that benefits this state and our nation. I will take these stories, lessons, and experiences back with me,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “Water is essential to healthy people, thriving communities, agricultural production, recreation, and economic development. Today, we discussed how federal, state, and local partnership can make sustained progress and benefit all people.”

Starting in the morning, Assistant Administrator Fox, Senator Murkowski, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jaime Pinkham and others participated in a listening session on “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). This listening session is one mechanism for the agencies to consider the regional variation in implementation of WOTUS, given the diverse water quality and quantity conditions in diverse parts of the United States. EPA and Army are committed to a durable definition of WOTUS that centers implementation to protect public health, the environment, and downstream communities while supporting economic opportunity, agriculture, and other industries that depend on clean water.

“The best way to understand the unique needs of Alaska communities is by coming to our state and speaking directly with Alaskans,” Senator Murkowski said. “I appreciated the opportunity to host Assistant Administrator Fox at a roundtable in Anchorage focused on WOTUS, and to convene a group of Alaskans who spoke to the extreme burden that an expanded rule would impose on our state. As we try to find common ground on a WOTUS definition that works for Alaska, I also welcomed the opportunity to highlight the investments the bipartisan infrastructure bill provides for water and wastewater infrastructure. Administrator Fox will play a key role in ensuring those basic services finally reach communities in need across our state.”

In the afternoon, Assistant Administrator Fox joined Wasilla Mayor Glenda Ledford, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Jason Brune, and staff from Senator Murkowski’s office to tour the Wasilla Wastewater Treatment Plant. This event illustrated the need to invest in our nation’s water systems and the historic investment in water infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Alaska will receive $65 million in 2022 State Revolving Fund (SRF) supplemental investment. This is the first of five years of funding through the SRFs, which can be used to make needed upgrades to drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. In Alaska, funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides a unique opportunity to support communities that lack access to essential water services.

“Alaska’s waters are vast including over 3 million lakes, 900,000 miles of navigable waters, and more wetlands than the lower 48 states combined,” said Alaska DEC Commissioner Jason Brune. “WOTUS has far reaching implications for Alaska and will disproportionately impact our state. We appreciate Assistant Administrator Fox coming here with Senator Murkowski to engage with Alaskans. We also face considerable challenges in providing drinking water and wastewater infrastructure to far reaching cities and villages throughout Alaska and look forward to addressing these issues with the EPA in a collaborative and sustainable manner.”

“I am extremely grateful for the coordination and opportunity the Honorable Senator Murkowski and EPA Assistant Administrator, Radhika Fox, have provided for the City of Wasilla to demonstrate the necessity for advancements as we are continuing to see a high growth trend that is putting increased pressure on our maturing infrastructures throughout our community and state,” said Wasilla Mayor Glenda Ledford.

For more information on WOTUS, visit: www.epa.gov/wotus.

For more information on the water infrastructure investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, visit www.epa.gov/infrastructure.

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Originally Appeared Here

Colorado announces plan to move past COVID-19 emergency – La Junta Tribune Democrat

March 1, 2022 by Staff Reporter

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has laid out his vision for how he thinks the state can emerge from the COVID-19 emergency with a plan that emphasizes training for health care workers and improving indoor air filtration systems.

“For those who are fully vaccinated, it is perfectly acceptable, and you do not need to feel guilty returning to your normal lives,” Polis said at a news conference Friday.

The Democratic governor’s plan aims to reduce the likelihood of future health emergencies. It includes improving hospital readiness with testing and COVID-19 approved therapies, expanding the healthcare workforce, updating public health and virus surge plans and promoting indoor air quality improvements in schools and public spaces.

The plan comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention significantly loosened federal mask-wearing guidelines, though agency officials advised people to wear masks in indoor public spaces in counties where spread of the virus is deemed substantial or high.

Polis noted that public settings such as small businesses and universities are still requiring masks, adding that residents should still carry masks.

“It’s just a polite thing to do — to be ready if asked, to put on a mask,” he said.

Polis urged immunocompromised people to ask their doctors about a possible fourth vaccine dose and continue taking precautions during times of high virus transmission.

A little more than 69% of Colorado residents have been fully vaccinated and nearly 78% have gotten at least one dose, according to AP data analysis.

“If you’re not fully vaccinated, I don’t know how many other ways I can say it or that health officials can say it, but the most important thing you can do to reduce your risk significantly is to get vaccinated,” Polis said.

The state also plans to promote federal policy changes for mass testing standards, additional funds for healthcare job training, supply-chain improvements for testing and other medical supplies and investing in longterm COVID-19 research.

“We need to normalize COVID within our healthcare system,” said Scott Bookman, the Colorado health department’s COVID-19 incident commander.

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Originally Appeared Here

Feature: The connection between housing and health

March 1, 2022 by Staff Reporter

Tom Woolley, architect and author, explores the impact that building materials have on indoor air quality and consequently our health.

The past couple of years have made us more aware of health issues than ever before, particularly in relation to our housing.

Many people, forced to spend more time at home, may have wondered whether this is affecting their health. There are obvious mental health problems with being cooped up and it’s even more important to get out for exercise, but how many people think about the higher level of exposure to indoor pollutants and chemicals?

In the past twenty to thirty years, construction of new houses and renovation of existing ones have included much greater use of hazardous chemicals, though awareness of this is not as high as it should be.

Changes to building regulations since the first oil crisis have attempted to make buildings more energy efficient, but this focus has been far too narrow.

The UK construction industry still struggles to understand how to insulate buildings properly and continues to use materials that do not work well and insulations that are bad for health and bad for the planet. Even Michael Gove in Parliament on January 10 referred to what he called ‘dangerous insulations’ and has spoken out against Kingspan (one of the leading insulation companies) sponsoring Formula 1 racing and the Ulster Rugby stadium.

As many more people are facing increases in fuel and electricity costs, there have been calls for houses to be better insulated from industry and activists but neither understand how to do this properly.

In this article, I will try to unpack the many and complex issues about construction materials and building methods and how this has the potential to create serious health problems for both building occupants and the planet.

The performance gap

First of all, there is the problem of the ‘performance gap.’ This was highlighted by the Zero Carbon Hub (ZCH), set up by the UK Government in 2008. The Government abandoned its zero carbon homes policy and shut down the Zero Carbon hub in 2016. However, the real reason for the closure was complaints from the construction industry that their failings to make buildings energy efficient had been exposed.

The ZCH and other important pieces of research showed that many new-build houses failed to achieve the standard of energy efficiency claimed when complying with the building regulations. Often the performance was 70% worse than had been predicted.

The ZCH initially identified this as a problem of poor building practice, but it might have further analysed the failure of standard construction methods and insulation materials.

The focus was on making buildings more air-tight which has led to wrapping most buildings in plastic and sealing them up with non-vapour permeable materials and finishes.

Unintended consequences

This leads us onto the second problem of ‘unintended consequences,’ even new houses have high levels of mould and damp and emit hazardous chemicals which cannot escape.

Even worse has been the so-called retrofit disaster problem, where various schemes, some grant aided, have installed synthetic petrochemical insulation materials into existing houses leading to even more dampness and mould growth.

The aim has been to make houses warmer and it has been claimed in much of the academic and fuel poverty literature that insulating houses leads to better health, even though the evidence for this is shaky at best.

It is possible to carry out quite simple and affordable indoor air quality tests, which identify a wide range of hazardous substances. When the results come back from such a test they are almost certainly going to show high levels of hazardous chemicals including a range of volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, mould growth and other persistent chemicals which can have serious effects on health, asthma, respiratory conditions and even cancer.

Official Government committees concerned with air quality have their heads in the sand about these issues and are ignoring emissions from building materials. They tend to put the blame for poor air quality on personal hygiene products, cooking odours and paints and decorations as well as outdoor air pollution. While these can contribute to the toxic cocktail of pollutants they are relatively short lived, whereas the real problem remains with persistent and much more toxic substances embedded in the building, which continue to off gas over many years.

Ventilation can partially mitigate this problem. However, while the mechanical ventilation industry pushes for more extract fans and heat recovery systems these do not remove the persistent pollutants like flame retardants, pcbs styrenes, isocyanates substances such as methyl isobutyl ketones, and many more.

How can these problems be avoided?

The Town and Country Planning Association have been campaigning, through a private member’s bill in parliament for Healthy Housing. While this is a welcome initiative, their Healthy Homes Principles do not spell out in detail how houses should be built and are weak on issues such as indoor air pollution. But their proposals at least draw attention to the standard of house construction in the UK.

Houses continue to be built with hazardous petrochemical, flammable insulation materials and the Building Safety Bill, soon to become law, is likely to be seen as one of the worst pieces of legislation in recent years as a panic reaction to the Grenfell tragedy as it will not do enough to make homes safer and healthier.

The bigger picture

Conventional hazardous building materials are not only bad for the health of occupants but their manufacture leads to serious environmental damage on a planetary scale.

Oceans are polluted with plastic waste (not just from single use cups and bags) but construction waste and a range of toxic chemicals such as flame retardants and PFAs.

Production of isocyanates, widely used in modern building materials, has largely ended in Europe because of the toxicity and pollution caused, but the materials are still being produced in China. It was also revealed that CFC blowing agents (banned in 1992) were still being used, leading to serious CFC pollution affecting the ozone layer. Accord Housing Association is attempting to build a nearly plastic free set of houses in Redditch but they are constrained by conventional building practice which makes it hard to exclude plastic altogether.

Alternative healthy, non-toxic materials, which can be used to construct and renovate houses, are widely available but are only used in a small proportion of projects. These products, often made from renewable bio-based materials, can perform much better than conventional construction products. They can insulate better, provide thermal mass to reduce overheating and are mostly breathable so that damp and mould problems are reduced.

They include materials such as sheep wool, wood fibre and hemp. The best non-chemical sheep wool insulation however has to come all the way from Austria even though farmers in the UK get next to nothing for their wool. A wide range of wood fibre products are available but again are imported from France and Germany. At least hemp is produced in the UK but only used in buildings at a cottage industry level. Using natural healthy emission free products could transform house construction and renovation and would only take a few years to scale up to mainstream production, but the petrochemical companies and their lobby groups are very active in resisting this.

A recent report for the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, by Arup and others sets out very clear figures that conventional house building releases 100 kg of CO2 per square metre, a house built of natural materials has the opposite effect, locking up a similar amount of CO2. Unfortunately, embodied energy is largely ignored by those seeking to create energy efficient buildings.

Even green campaigners, talking of green new deals, Insulate Britain and community energy projects are largely in ignorance of healthier materials. It is particularly difficult to get the mainstream media to take an interest in this topic. ITV has a better record but a recent “Tonight” programme which discussed many of the issues in this article was cut in half to give time to so-called energy experts to bemoan the rise in fuel costs. A further ITV interview with a leading campaigner against retrofit disasters was axed recently as the producer could not see that it was of interest. The BBC doesn’t even bother and only Channel 4 news has kept Grenfell in the public eye.

There is more detailed information on these issues available. My book Building Materials, Health and Indoor Air Quality has sold thousands of copies and I am wading through a mountain of new material to produce Volume 2. Together with Dr. Eshrar Latif at Cardiff University and architect Rachel Bevan we produced a guide to insulation materials for the Institute of Civil Engineering when we realised that such a guide did not exist. Finally, in April a new guide to natural building techniques will be published by Crowood Press.

Photos by Erik Mclean and Mufid Majnun

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New document lays out rules for a regional Central Iowa water utility

March 1, 2022 by Staff Reporter

A draft document that would govern how a new regional water utility would operate is now available for public comment.

Created by the Des Moines Water Works, the draft 28E-28F agreement is named for the Iowa Code chapters governing such arrangements. It outlines how Central Iowa Water Works could function, its responsibilities and role in long-range planning for drinking water needs and setting water rates, and a suggested composition of its voting board.

The Des Moines Water Works board of directors filed the agreement last week. That kicks off a months-long process of negotiating with 13 potential member communities and their customers. It’s estimated that city councils or utility boards will vote by the fourth quarter of this year on whether to join Central Iowa Water Works.

The utility could form as early as Jan. 1, 2023, with the first billing cycle to begin July 1 of that year.

Planning for the regional water utility started about five years ago. The new model would move away from the current arrangement in which a single entity, Des Moines Water Works, controls a majority of the region’s water service, instead establishing a board with a representative from each city that chooses to join, plus two from Iowa’s capital city.

More:Here’s a closer look at the proposed Central Iowa Water Works before utilities vote on whether to join

Des Moines Water Works produces 80% of the water consumed in the 700,000-population metro, and a majority of it is used by residents of suburban cities that buy it at a wholesale rate set by the Des Moines utility.

“The elevator spiel on what’s the big picture is pretty simple: best management of the available water resources in central Iowa, fair and equitable distribution of the costs to all customers, and reliability and resiliency, trying to create a system where all the facilities basically serve everybody,” said Ted Corrigan, Des Moines Water Works CEO and general manager. “And those are really the reasons that are sort of overarching and benefit everyone.”

Financial benefits to cities would vary. For most, it would hold down future cost increases. West Des Moines for example, has said the move to a regional utility could save consumers there up to 30% over the next four decades. In Des Moines, if all communities join, the bill for an average customers would fall by 8-10%, said Amy Kahler, chief financial officer at Des Moines Water Works.

How the Central Iowa Water Works agreement would work

The draft agreement (read below) follows a year-long effort by water utilities in Des Moines, West Des Moines and Urbandale to create a framework for the proposed utility. Des Moines Water Works then led the charge to put the framework into the proscribed format of the 28E-28F agreement, which under Iowa law allows for “joint exercise of governmental powers.”

Corrigan said the agreement closely matches the framework, with the addition of several scenarios including how a community could join later if it decides not to be a founding member and how a community could leave Central Iowa Water Works.

More:Des Moines Water Works’ lawsuit angered Iowa farmers; now utility, ag department join to encourage cover crops

Under the agreement, cities that choose to join would transfer ownership of their existing water source, treatment and transmission lines to Central Iowa Water Works, which would manage them as a regional entity and serve as the “exclusive water supply provider” to member communities.

Each city would still maintain its local distribution lines, fire hydrants, water towers and valves — all the equipment that gets water to its homes and businesses — and would still be responsible for setting rates and billing its customers. It’s a model similar to the current one: Des Moines Water Works wholesales water to the cities, which set their own rates to recoup the costs of delivering it to customers and maintaining their local systems.

Besides managing daily water needs, Central Iowa Water Works also would plan for future water use in the Midwest’s fastest-growing large metropolitan area. Under the agreement, the utility’s board, within a year, would hire an engineering consultant to create a new long-term plan.

Additionally, the agreement outlines how much it would cost each city to join Central Iowa Water Works. It provides a complex funding formula that takes into account assets, five-year average water use, reserves and future water needs.

While each city would pay $2 million in startup fees, the remainder of what they owe would be dependent on how many communities opt to join and what investments are made between now and when the regional utility is set up.

“It’s like a sample problem in a text book,” Corrigan said. “You can do a lot of what-ifs … but you can kind of get an order of magnitude. Is it going to be $2 million or is it going to be $10 million? They can get a sense of that.”

To help gain a better understanding of who is interested in joining Central Iowa Water Works, city councils and utilities have been asked to vote on a non-binding founding resolution that says they will begin negotiating terms of the agreement.

“That’s kind of the beauty of this founding resolution, because it’s an early signal of who is interested in joining. And if we have a couple who do not sign that, then that seems to be an answer early on in the process,” Kahler said. “So I think that that was really good mechanism.”

Boards that govern West Des Moines Water Works, the Urbandale Water Utility and the Xenia Rural Water District have each voted to begin negotiations. So have city councils in Waukee, Ankeny and Clive.

Corrigan said he is hopeful other cities will vote in the first quarter of the year.

Each city interested in joining is must read over the draft 28E-28F agreement and submit comments or changes to Des Moines Water Works staff and legal counsel. Public comments also may be submitted prior to the final agreement’s passage.

Your chance to weigh in

Communities will likely schedule their own listening sessions on the Central Iowa Water Works draft 28E-28F agreement, with two public open houses planned by Des Moines Water Works this week:

11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. March 2 at the Central Library, 1000 Grand Ave.
4:30-6:30 p.m. March 3 at the East Side Library, 2559 Hubbell Ave.

Kim Norvell covers growth and development for the Register. Reach her at [email protected] or 515-284-8259. Follow her on Twitter @KimNorvellDMR.

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Originally Appeared Here

Houseplants: ‘Effective’ indoor plants for purifying the air – ‘removes common toxins’

March 1, 2022 by Staff Reporter

With houseplants becoming more and more popular, experts at Clear It Waste Collection decided to find out which indoor plants have the best air purifying qualities. The company took to Reddit to find out which plants gardeners can’t stop talking about, which included a variety of houseplants including the Pothos plant.

With more than 10,000 Reddit posts, Clear It Waste Collection found the Pothos plant to be one of the most popular indoor plants.

They said: “It is known as one of the easiest to care for houseplants as it requires minimal watering.

“The Pothos plant is considered one of the most effective indoor air purifiers and removes common toxins such as formaldehyde, benzene and toluene.

“The plant is particularly great for darker offices, cafes and workspaces as it requires little sunlight and attention. Whilst this is considered to be one of the best low maintenance plants for air purification, be aware that it can contain toxins that are harmful to dogs and cats.”

READ MORE: When to plant new potatoes – Best time for tasty harvest

Another great plant, known for being extremely low maintenance, is the Snake Plant.

Snake plants are known to have a lot of health benefits, including filtering indoor air and boosting mental health, according to Clear It Waste Collection.

They said: “These plants are considered lucky and reduce the risk of developing allergies and airborne diseases due to their filtration qualities.

“Specifically, this is one of the few plants that convert carbon dioxide into oxygen at night and regulate airflow.

“This plant is perfect for brightening up your bedroom, or even in a school environment.”

Another expert also recommended the Snake Plant for its air purifying qualities.

Jo Lambell, founder of Beards & Daisies, explained: “You can never go wrong with a Snake Plant, they’re one of the most laid back and relaxed plants you could own.

“They thrive off neglect, so even if you forget to water them, they’ll still look after you by purifying the air within your home.”

Commonly known as the mother-in-law’s tongue, the plant is known for its sword-like leaves.

The expert continued: “According to NASA, the Snake Plant is one of the best plants for improving air quality.

“We recommend placing it on your bedside table to help you drift off into a blissful slumber at night.”

The Peace Lily houseplant, known for its bright white flowers, is also great for purifying the air.

It helps to filter indoor air as well as increasing the levels of humidity.

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Carrier Offers Ways to Build Confidence in Building Health | 2022-03-01

March 1, 2022 by Staff Reporter

Carrier Offers Ways to Build Confidence in Building Health | 2022-03-01 | ACHR News

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