The Passing of Grover Lowe

Saturday, November 21st , Grover Lowe, Executive Secretary of the Louisiana Conference on Water Supply, Sewerage and Industrial Waste, passed away from complications following open heart surgery.

Grover was a retired employee of the City of Shreveport, having worked at the Lucas Wastewater Treatment Plant. Grover had recently announced his retirement from the Executive Secretary position to be effective following next year's annual conference. Grover and his wife, Melba, have been welcome additions to the SW Section's annual conferences, where they have exhibited regularly on behalf of the Louisiana Conference since 2003.

Melba has asked that flowers and food not be sent. Rather, donations may be made to the Heart Society or the Diabetes Foundation in memory of Grover.

Sympathy cards may be sent to Melba at:

Melba Lowe
1625 Jack Martin Rd.
Minden, LA 71055-6378

A memorial ceremony will be held on Friday, November 27th, 10:30 am at:

North Acres Baptist Church
1852 Lewisville Rd.
Minden, La
Take the Highway 7 exit into Minden.
Turn Right on Broadway(US-79E)
Turn Left on Lewisville RD,(LA-159)
1.28 Miles to Church. (Should be on the right at 1852 Lewisville Rd.)

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OK wins court decision to prevent sale of water to TX

From the Tulsa World

Oklahoma won a major victory in federal court on Wednesday with a judge's order dismissing a lawsuit brought by Texas interests seeking billions of gallons of Oklahoma water.

U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton's order dismissing the lawsuit filed by the Tarrant Regional Water District won't necessarily be the end of the conflict between the two states. But the ruling provides Oklahoma with some pretty strong arguments for protecting the state's interests with regards to water rights, and at the same time buys the state some time to continue determining our own water needs.

To see the complete article, click here.

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Region 6 Energy Management Workshop

Energy represents the largest controllable cost of providing water or wastewater services to the public. Most facilities were designed and built when energy costs were not a major concern, but with large pumps, drives, motors and other equipment operating 24/7, these utilities can be among the largest individual energy users in a community.

Improving energy management is a crucial part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) efforts to promote “sustainable infrastructure”, and in response to this effort, EPA Region 6 and the Office of Water are hosting an interactive workshop, “Ensuring A Sustainable Future: An Energy Management Workshop for Wastewater and Water Utilities". The goal of this workshop is to provide energy management concepts, tools, and techniques to move water and wastewater utilities toward energy efficient operations. Specifically, this program will teach participants how to develop an overall energy management program to maximize their operating budget by setting and effectively implementing measurable energy reduction goals. The workshop will emphasize a “Plan – Do – Check – Act” approach to energy management activities.

The importance of this pervasive issue is evidenced through the gracious co-sponsorship of this workshop by the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT).

EPA and WEAT urge wastewater utility managers/staff, water utility managers/staff, public works directors and state agency representatives to attend this workshop on November 19, 2009, at the DoubleTree Campbell Centre Hotel, 8250 North Central Expressway, Dallas, TX 75206.

To register for the workshop:

1. Visit the Water Environment Association of Texas website: www.weat.org
2. Click on Hot Topics – EPA Workshop.
3. Clicking on “Ensuring a Sustainable Future: An Energy Management Workshop” and providing the registration information.
4. Submit payment for workshop. Early Registration is $50 until November 12 and $70 after this date. The workshop will be limited to 100 participants.

Additional activities are planned in the near future to help water and wastewater utilities and public works directors incorporate the use of energy plans into their operations.

If you have further questions regarding our programs or this workshop, please contact David Reazin at 214-665-7501 / reazin.david@epa.gov or Terry L. Branch at 214-665-6667 / branch.terry@epa.gov

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