All About Drinking Water: Field Services
The Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy’s (NDEE) Drinking Water Field Services team works face-to-face with the state’s public water systems (PWS) as a resource for nearly all aspects of the state’s Drinking Water program.
This entry in our All About Drinking Water series will provide more information about the Field Services team and the work they do. Previous articles have provided a broad overview of the state’s Drinking Water Program, discussed the role NDEE’s Drinking Water Engineers play when a new system goes online, covered the training drinking water operators are required to undergo to provide safe drinking water, and explained the monitoring and testing PWSs are required to conduct.
Team members within the Field Services section are responsible for eight field areas across Nebraska. Many field representatives live and work in their assigned region to provide timely assistance to the state’s PWSs.
Field reps provide a variety of services to ensure PWSs comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act, including performing routine sanitary surveys (RSS), conducting potential well site inspections, assisting with engineering project final inspections, training public water system operators, providing technical assistance, and assisting PWSs during an emergency.
Routine sanitary surveys are on-site reviews of a PWS. NDEE’s Field Services rep will review a system’s water source, facilities, equipment, operation, and maintenance to evaluate its adequacy and ability to reliably produce and distribute safe drinking water. This also gives NDEE an opportunity to provide education and help systems be proactive to prevent future issues from arising. RSSs are conducted on a routine basis and a crucial part of helping water systems protect public health.
Field Service staff also help PWSs by completing site evaluations for proposed well locations to ensure wells are placed in areas that prevent contamination from biological, chemical, or radioactive sources. When a new PWS is constructed, or when an existing PWS has new construction, the Field Services team assists NDEE’s Drinking Water Engineers during the inspection of these completed projects.
In addition to these surveys and inspections, the Field Services team also assists the Drinking Water Certification and Training Coordinator in implementing the state’s Water Operator training and certification program. This program ensures PWS operators are properly trained and licensed.
Because Field Services staff work directly with PWS operators in so many different ways, they also act as a resource when an operator has questions. This is especially important during emergencies. The Field Services team promotes the security and resiliency of PWS to protect drinking water for the public. This includes allocating Security Grant Funds that are used to improve water systems’ security and emergency response capabilities; reviewing and approving systems’ emergency response plans; training PWS personnel in emergency preparedness and response planning; and maintaining the PWS Emergency Operations Plan.
Through these on-site reviews, training, and face-to-face interactions, NDEE’s Drinking Water Field Services team serve and important role in protecting drinking water for all Nebraskans.
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