Brattleboro Meeting Comments from 4/6/2000 at 7:00 pm meeting:

How the State Will Use the Authority And Resources Of the Safe Drinking Water Act

• Strengthen link between owners/operators and the Water Supply Division.
  
• Fund a State wide advertising program with creative mailouts to the public to promote water system activities. Call in show promotions. Program should be on going due to high turnover of boards/operators.
  
• Form a clearinghouse where water system owners/operators can go for list of resources.
  
• Simplify rules/regulations requirements for small water systems. Water systems are overwhelmed with information. Keep it simple.
  
• Educate customers that this is a full time job and how much work is being performed. It isn't a volunteer position for many of those systems. Need more press release/educations support.
  
• Educate consumers/ owners of NTNC the important of Capacity water system management. They are often consider water system as a low priority until problems arise.
  
• Develop a mentoring program on a geographical regional and or county basis. Where professional can assist another system in developing templates for long range planning , O & M manuals etc...(Pennsylvania is doing mentoring work.) Create more technical workshops.
• Funding of computer technology to enhance communication (i.e. -email) with public on water system management.
  
• Fund water system with grant money for the cost of sampling or have the state do the sampling.
  
• Fund school water system to support sampling for districts with one operate.
  
• Fund programs with grants to support new regulations.
  
• Fund programs to support creative publicity like having a "best tasting water" contest.
  
• Develop an easier grant/loan process for small water systems.
  
• Fund programs to support the enforcement of source water protection program for small water systems.
  
• Fund grants for engineering services for loans to small water system.

Encourage/Impair

• Impair the viability of systems trying to decommissioned. This may create a higher public health risk not being a public water supply system anymore.
• Encourage the communication with Water Supply information to owners then to operators with an additional mailouts.