A newsletter dedicated to Cross Connection Control and Backflow Prevention www.abpa-sa.org

February Vol. 25 Issue 2

Matt Damon Wants You To 'Buy A Lady A Drink' By Kevin Westerling

Oscar-winner and A-list actor Matt Damon was at the Sundance Film Festival recently, and he used the platform not to announce his next movie role, but rather his latest initiative as co-founder of Water.org.

Damon, fellow co-founder Gary White, and beer-makers Stella Artois have launched “Buy a Lady a Drink,” which seeks to raise funds and awareness around water issues in the developing world.

The title of the social impact campaign refers to the time and effort it takes for women in poor, water-scarce countries to collect clean water for their families — a combined 200 million hours per day, according to the organization.

The idea is to buy a specially-designed chalice through the website, and each sale will provide one person with up to five years of clean water.

Damon is among the highest-profile celebrities to support the cause of clean water and sanitation around the world (Bill Gates is another), and he often turns to YouTube to spread the word. For example…

Damon’s take on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which swept the country over the summer, included a twist — he opts for toilet water to pour over his head. “For those of you like my wife who think this is really disgusting, keep in mind that the water in our toilets in the West is actually cleaner than the water that most people in the developing world have access to,” he says.

In the following clip, Damon takes the comedic route to awareness, going “on strike” from using the bathroom. The message of clean water and sanitation is delivered alongside laughs, making it all the more effective and watchable (with over a million views). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQCqNop3CIg&feature=player_embedded

Celebrities are often criticized for speaking from ivory towers, but sometimes they make good use of the pulpit. For his work that’s near and dear to the heart of every water and wastewater professional, we might even forgive him for Stuck on You.

“The Solution to Cross Connection Control is NOT dilution”

February Meeting Details Meetings of the San Antonio Chapter ABPA are usually held the second Thursday of every month except December. Dinner and refreshments are served at 6:00 p.m. sharp with the meeting starting at 6:30. The next meeting is: Date: Thursday, February 13, 2015 Time: 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Location: 6425 Evers Rd. Leon Valley Conference Center Program: Hal Haas - Hugh M. Cunningham Meal: Hugh M. Cunningham

No alcoholic beverages allowed by

TCEQ Next Meeting: March 12, 2015

Director’s Meeting February Agenda 5:00 p.m. General discussion and quorum

confirmation 5:15 p.m. Call Meeting to order. 5:16 p.m. Secretary’s Report. Read and approve the

minutes of the previous meeting. 5:20 p.m. Treasurer’s Report. Discussion and

approval of the treasurer’s report. 5:25 p.m. Supply Officer’s Report 5:30 p.m. Vice President’s, Directors, and any other

reports for the good of the chapter. Comments, new business, any discussion.

5:40 p.m. Training Report. Training & Meal Sponsors 5:45 p.m. Webmaster Report 5:50 p.m. President’s Report. New & old business 6:00 p.m. Meal is served. 6:30 p.m. General Membership Meeting

1. Gauges to be tested. Bill Hamrick-Carl Michaud 2. First time attendees or visitors (get w/Jeff

Hoffman for member-ship) 3. Irrigator’s Report. Ron Renouf 4. Anything from the Directors Meeting. Troy Baird 5. Election of Officers & Directors in September 6. City, regional, and national reports. Bruce

Rathburn and any City personnel present 7. Supply Officer Report. Troy Baird 8. Training program for the evening. 9. Raffle prize announcement.

Ongoing Goals of ABPA-SA Chapter

1. Educational Outreach with public by

presenting at PHCC meetings, engineering firms, schools, and neighborhood associations. Continuing goal.

2. Greater use of TCEQ website. Tracking of

CEUs, Services available. Personal education.

3. Increase member awareness of importance of chapter meetings. Increase attendance and public awareness.

4. Increase website resource information. More

detailed links to more information like TCEQ, COSA, and any place that would be helpful to our members

Big Thanks to

Blane Habey with Fortiline WW forsponsoring our meal and donatingthe $50 Academy gift certificate Doug Meeks with 811 for his presentation and informative information about CALL B4 YOU DIG, a service that should be utilized anytime it is necessary to dig or trench to prevent damagingburied utilities.

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"Direct Talk" by the Pres. We have great News. The ABPA-SA Chapter booth at the Irrigation Expo conference January 31st was a big hit. Several of our members helped man the booth on Saturday while meeting many new irrigators and talking about backflow prevention and cross connection control. The main booth attraction was our hydraulic apparatus that Bill Hamrick built showing an irrigation control valve holding back only minimal pressure under a back-siphonage condition. If you haven’t seen it you must check it out. Bill’s set up was very educational to booth visitors and will be useful for future shows that our Chapter attends. Troy Baird Chapter Chatter by Greg Shean, Secretary The Texas Turf and Irrigation Association (TTIA) held its second annual South Texas Landscape and irrigation Expo (STILE) at the Leon Valley Community and Conference Center on January 31st. The San Antonio Irrigation Association was a huge contributor. Our chapter sponsored a table, primarily for backflow education to the irrigation industry. It was also our first step towards our backflow public education program that we want to take to the home and garden shows. STILE was a great success – not just from the over 24 exhibitors, participation, and CEU attendance, but also from our first public awareness presentation in a very long time. The highlight was not the smiling and friendly chapter members who manned the table, not the bowl of candy (could have used more chocolate), nor the backflow pamphlets. It was Bill Hamrick’s fluid presentation that an irrigation valve is not a backflow prevention assembly or device. Cleverly conceived and made, it’s what we were looking for to convince the public of a potential hazard to safe drinking water. Thank you Bill for this great start. We could use another self-running educational display such as Bill’s and a video presentation. Pamphlets were good but didn’t generate that much interest. SAWS had a table next to ours. They were focused on conservation and the irrigation audits which were interesting, but not much to do with backflow. There were two CEU classes for 2 LI CEUs each on “Irrigation Technologies to Increase Efficiency” and “Two-wire Basics.” The cost was $25 for each class but you could attend for free. There were about 80 attending each class. About half paid for the CEUs. There was free coffee and cinnamon rolls for breakfast and Schlotzsky's Muffuletta sandwiches, along with pickles, chips, cookies, and soda, for lunch. It was worth it. The STILE admission was $25 but free if you were registering for a CEU class. Pretty good educational and nutritional bargain. Last month I described how I didn’t notice the criminal history attestation during my irrigator license renewal. Back of my mind was that I just did it for my backflow license, so they must know I’m still clean. WRONG. I got a TCEQ letter reminding me of my oversight. Done. Morale: need to do one for every license, every time.

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MINUTES

SAN ANTONIO CHAPTER-ABPA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Thursday, January 8, 2015

President Troy Baird presided over and opened the San Antonio Chapter-ABPA General Membership meeting starting at 6:34 pm, for the regular monthly meeting at the City of Leon Valley Conference Center.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS - PRESENT EXECUTIVE OFFICERS - ABSENT Troy Baird – President

Ron Renouf -Vice President Jeff Hoffman –Treasurer & Past President Greg Shean – Secretary

OFFICERS SPECIAL TO THE CHAPTER - PRESENT

OFFICERS SPECIAL TO THE CHAPTER - ABSENT

Troy Baird - Supply Officer Matthew Wilgen – Webmaster Bill Hamrick – Gauge Testing & Certification Carl Michaud - Special Officer to Gauge Testing and Certification

Jeff Meeks - Sgt. At Arms Manny Hernandez – Public Relations/ Speakers/ Program Topics

DIRECTORS AT LARGE - PRESENT DIRECTORS AT LARGE - ABSENT

Fred Baird Brad Harrell Frank Snyder Gene Hinojosa James Franco Robert Stricker GUEST PRESENT: Doug Meeks, Texas811.

Blane Haby, Fortiline of San Antonio.

Agenda Item #1. Introduction. Troy described Open Meeting as part of Director’s Meeting. The goal is to increase membership participation. INFO. Agenda Item #2. Secretary’s Report: The November General Meeting minutes were posted in the January newsletter. There were no comments. Bruce moved to accept the minutes. Seconded and passed. INFO. Agenda Item #3. New members. Jesus Lupian was a guest and has applied for his ABPA-SA membership. INFO. Agenda Item #4. Supply Officer Report: Troy showed the You Name It Specialties windbreaker with its removable net lining. It is a lighter material than the ABPA National windbreaker. The cost is $42 for jacket with the chapter logo. The National windbreaker, with the National logo is $62.

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Troy passed both around for review. We need to order at least 12 as an initial order. Troy called for a show of hands on how many would be interested. About 6 were interested. Will take another vote at the next meeting. OPEN. Troy presented a table of chapter attire and reviewed the prices available for purchase. There is also free literature on the head table. INFO. Agenda Item #5. Training Report: Manny reported that Doug Meeks, Texas811, will present the training. INFO. Agenda Item #6. Meal Sponsor: FrontIline sponsored the meal of brisket, beans, potato salad, rice, sweet tea and sliced jalapenos, onions, and bread. INFO. Agenda Item #7. Raffle Sponsor: Fortiline provided $50 Academy gift certificate. INFO. Agenda Item #8. SAIA 2nd Annual South Texas Irrigation & Landscape Expo (STILE): Troy reported that the chapter will sponsor a booth at STILE and had paid the $250 registration fee. STILE will be held on Saturday, January 31, 2015 from 8 AM to 5 PM at the Leon Valley Community and Conference Center where we have our monthly chapter meetings. Troy described who normally participates and attends the Expo and there would be irrigation CEUs available. INFO. Agenda Item #9. Newsletter. Troy stated that the newsletter PDF file was sent directly to the members so they would not have to download the newsletter from the website. He asked how many read the newsletter and several more raised their hands than previous meetings. The consensus seemed to favor continued emailing of the newsletter PDF file directly to the members. OPEN. Agenda Item #10. SAWS Report: Bruce reported that SAWS is changing to a simpler to operate dynamic portal for test and maintenance reporting. Right now they are waiting on the budget cycle. It might be operational next year but, meanwhile, SAWS will be going with what they have. SAWS needs testers with a high volume of testing business to be the first to be trained. He asked that those interested call Lorie at 233-2421. INFO. Agenda Item #11. ABPA & Region Report: Frank reported that ABPA wanted to attach our logo in support of a letter to the Governor of the State of Michigan to not to sign a bill that would reduce backflow testing to three years for reduced pressure assemblies and five years for double checks. The bill went around their legislative process. The concern is that, if it becomes law in Michigan, other states will follow. INFO. Bruce reviewed how to log on to ABPA website. This will allow you to do a whole lot more on the website such as direct contact with your board or another member. It’s easy to find other ABPA members. The ABPA National conference will be May 17-19 in Nashville, TN. INFO. Agenda Item #12. Membership: Troy mentioned the need for membership participation at the Open Directors Meeting which is held on the odd numbered months of the year. He described that back in the 90’s the chapter had a backflow repair contest. A discussion followed on how that might help to increase membership but no decision was made. Bruce related how a “Best Picture” might be another possible contest. Bruce had two pictures showing a large backflow assembly. He said that, for a $1 per guess on the type, the winner would take home the entire pot. Troy also brought up the possibility of the picture contest for the best and ugliest backflow installation. OPEN.

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Agenda Item #13. Training: Doug Meeks, Texas 811, Damage Prevention Manager, from Dallas Texas, explained the importance of calling the 811 "Call before Your Dig" Call Center and their procedures before digging. This is to have your area’s utilities marked to avoid hazards such as gas explosions, cutting electrical and cable TV lines, and breaking into sewer lines and water mains. Texas 811 is a non-profit company where the utility companies are their operators. The utility companies pay 95 centers per call to Texas 811. Dallas is their headquarters. There are about 200 employees taking calls where 60% work out of their homes. They receive between 6,000 to 8,000 calls per day with peaks topping 13,000. Damaged utilities numbered 9,000 last year with 30% due to no calls to 811. Besides the damages, there is a $2,500 fine for not getting a locator. The locator has 48 hours to locate the utilities. They estimate that 30% are not accurately located. Get a direct contact with the locator. Call 911 for all incident management. Call 811 within two hours for incident reporting. INFO. It was moved the meeting be adjourned. Seconded and pass. Meeting adjourned at 8:04 for the monthly raffle.

Greg Shean Secretary ABPA San Antonio Chapter

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Dirty California Water Linked To Obesity By Sara Jerome

The inaccessibility of clean water in some parts of rural California is linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes, according to a new policy paper.

Titled "Improve Water Quality in Rural Immigrant Communities," the paper by researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that in communities where clean water is not accessible, sugary sodas often take its place.

The research indicated that "low-quality drinking water is a potential barrier to reducing the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in high-poverty rural immigrant communities."

"The prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes in California is higher among low-income minority populations than white affluent populations. A combination of environmental factors, including a lack of access to healthy foods and nutrition education—and safe drinking water—likely contribute to these disparities," the report continued.

Researchers focused on mothers in poor, rural California towns in the Central Valley for their study.

"California’s San Joaquin Valley has the highest rates of drinking water contamination and the greatest number of public water systems with Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) violations in the state," according to the Community Water Center, a group dedicated to correcting these problems.

The policy paper found that even when clean water was accessible, the belief that it might be contaminated prevented households from using it.

"They found that the women would not drink the water or give it to their children because of its 'unpleasant taste, dirty or yellow appearance, excessive iron, and/or general contamination.' Instead, the women purchased bottled water or other drinks at nearby stores. They reported that their children drink soda or sugary drinks at least two to three times per week," according to VICE News.

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ABPA-SA Board of Directors

Executive Officers

2014 - 2015 1) President –Troy Baird 2) Vice President – Ron Renouf 3) Immediate Past President – Jeff Hoffman 4) Treasurer – Jeff Hoffman 5) Secretary – Greg Shean

Special Officers to the Association

6) SGT-AT-ARMS –Jeff Meeks 7) Supply Officer – Troy Baird 8) Gauge Testing and Certification – Bill Hamrick,

Special Officer to Gauge Testing and Certification: Carl Michaud. 9) Public Relations/ Speakers/ Program Topics – Manny Hernandez 10) Webmaster – Matthew Wilgen 11) Policies and Procedures – Frank Snyder

Directors at Large

Two-year term

1) Fred Baird 2) James Franco 3) Robert Stricker

One year term remaining

4) Frank Snyder 5) Gene Hinojosa 6) Brad Harrell

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“The Direct Connection” is published monthly and may be obtained from the www.abpa-sa.org website. Opinions or facts within “The Direct Connection” are not necessarily representative ofthe opinions of the American Backflow Prevention Association and may or may not represent an official policy. Additionally, the opinions or facts of contributors or advertisers may or may not represent an official policy. Published by the ABPA-SA Chapter Editor: Bill Hamrick Assistant Editor: Bruce Rathburn Additional Editors: The entire Membership For further information about ABPA, contact: Bruce Rathburn 2800 US Hwy 281 North San Antonio, TX 78212

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Thanks to our ABPA-SA Sponsors

JULY 2014

JUNE 2014

PEPCO Sales & Marketing

MAY 2014

Irrigation

APRIL 2014

Backflow Test Gauges

MARCH 20146

800-66-BKFLO

FEBRUARY 2014

FEBRUARY 2015

Hal Haas

JANUARY 2015

DougMeeks@Texas811.org

NOVEMBER 2014

OCTOBER 2014

SEPTEMBER 2014

PEPCO Sales & Marketing

AUGUST 2014

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APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

US Membership $65 International Membership $79

Sustaining Membership $300.00 New Member

Renewal - Member #______________ To join the American Backflow Prevention Association, simply fill out the membership application form and mail it with your check to the address listed below, or if paying by credit card you may fax the completed form to 979.846.7607. Local chapters have additional fees. Below is a listing of chapters by region. To find out if there is a local chapter in your area, please review the chapter information on our website at abpa.org or call the National Office at 979.846.7606. Membership in the Association constitutes paying National dues.

Sustaining Member: • Must be a company or organization • Assign only one person as the member of ABPA • A Sustaining Member must submit a letter that

designates their Voting Representative.

Please Print Legibly or Type

Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc First Name MI Last Name (Include suffix)

Organization (Agency/Firm) Department/Division Title

Address:

City: State / Prov Zip + 4 Code/Postal Code Country

Daytime Phone Fax Email

ABPA-SA $ 20.00 Local Chapter (if joining a local chapter) Local Dues Amount

Method of Payment

Charge $ 85.00 to my Visa MasterCard American Express Discover Check Money Order Invoice Me

Credit Card Number Card Expires (MM/YYYY) CVC Number

Name as it appears on card Signature

Additional Information How would you like to receive your Membership Renewal Invoice Notification? Email US Mail (Not available for International Membership)

Local Chapter Dues Listed by Region

REGION 1 New England Rhode Island

REGION 2 Virginia

REGION 3 Carolinas Florida Suncoast Peach State “1788” Tennessee

REGION 4 Arkansas Central Texas Corpus Christi Lower Rio Grande Valley North Texas San Antonio

$12.00 18.00

$25.00

$10.00 12.00 30.00 20.00

$10.00 20.00 23.00 25.00 23.00 20.00

REGION 5 Colorado Southeastern Colorado Utah

REGION 6 Arizona Central Coast Central Valley California Hawaii Silver State Southern California

REGION 7 Big Sky Idaho Oregon SRC4

REGION 8 (USD) BCBPA (British Columbia)

$15.00 15.00 12.00

$20.00 10.00 10.00 23.00 23.00 15.00

$10.00 10.00 20.00 20.00

$26.00

REGION 9 (USD) Ontario REGION 10 Wisconsin

REGION 11 Indiana Indiana BPA Michigan Northern Illinois Ohio

REGION 12 Central Missouri Eastern Nebraska Heart of America Panhandle Western Nebraska

$50.00

$10.00

$ 5.00 25.00 40.00 23.00 10.00

$20.00 10.00 12.00 5.00 8.00

Please make checks payable to: ABPA PO Box 3051 . Bryan, TX 77805-3051 979.846.7606 . Fax: 979.846.7607 Email: membership@abpa.org

01.2014

ABPA-S.A. Chapter P.O. Box 1113 Boerne, TX 78006