DOH-ODW COVID-19 Update 6/15/20

Washington State
Department of Health

Office of Drinking Water

Greetings Drinking Water Partners:

I hope my messages continue to find you, your family, and your co-workers safe and healthy.

When 2020 started, I had great optimism for everything we were moving forward together to protect Washington's drinking water. In January, I never thought I would spend most of the year working from home full time. In this unprecedented time, DOH staff work to support utilities, just as you all work to provide safe and reliable drinking water to your customers. We're almost half way through the year and I am optimistic about our ability to succeed together! I am amazed and proud of the way we are all adjusting to this new normal.

As businesses start to reopen, we must remember the important multiple barrier preventative measures to protect ourselves and others: stay home when sick, wash your hands often, don’t touch your face, maintain a physical distance of six feet away from others, and wear a cloth face covering in public. Remember wearing a cloth face covering is an additional barrier and is not a substitute for maintaining a physical distance of six feet from others as much as possible.  

Opportunity—The UW Climate Impacts Group is seeking input from water system staff in Washington state about how to plan and prepare for the impacts of climate change. The focus is on water systems that serve less than 200,000 people. If you are interested, please fill out this brief survey to help the project leads at the UW understand more about your water system’s needs and interests.  Feel free to contact Dr. Guillaume Mauger with questions or suggestions at gmauger@uw.edu or (206) 685-0317.

Trainings and Workshops—Many conferences and trainings have been cancelled for the year.  Here are a couple up-coming webinars and training opportunities available online. 

• Water Innovation: Federal Policy and Financing Water and Wastewater Solutions – Wednesday June 17, 8:00 a.m.—this webinar will focus on federal water infrastructure policy and the response to COVID. Register here.
• Cascadia Regional Earthquake Workgroup is presenting the Cascadia Water Resilience Symposium in a six session program on Tuesdays and Thursdays from July 14 through July 30, 2020. The symposium will explore building earthquake resilience into water systems. Register here.
• AWWA Pacific Northwest Section Water Treatment Committee is hosting a series of presentations that were previously planned for the 2020 PNWS AWWA Spokane Conference. The first session will be on June 30 from 8:30 to noon with a focus on groundwater treatment. Register here.

Please feel free to forward this message and if you or someone else would like to be added to our email list for water systems and operators, send a message to Elizabeth Hyde. If you have technical questions or concerns, please contact Kay Rottell or your favorite ODW staff member.

Thanks for all the work you continue to do to protect public health and support the economy!

Sincerely,

MIKE MEANS, R.G., LHG

Director

Office of Drinking Water, Washington State Department of Health

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The information below includes recent general messages from the Department of Health.

Good morning. The state Department of Health wants to keep you as informed as possible about continuing developments surrounding COVID-19, as well as provide guidance and resources you can share with employees, clients, or customers. If you want to manage your e-newsletter subscription preferences, you can do so here.

Stop the spread by staying local

As counties are reopening and the weather warms up, it’s a good time to check out a local park or camping area. Don’t get too far out of town—COVID-19 is spreading at different rates in different counties. We don’t want people traveling across county lines and bringing the virus with them or taking it home with them!

Be well prepared and mostly self-sufficient when you set out for your local park or camping trip. Since many towns and businesses are not open, or not open to their typical capacity, it may not be as easy as you remember to pick up a jug of water, snacks, or meals along the way. Generally you will find that day use parks close at dusk, and the playgrounds are still closed. No guarantees on the restroom facilities. Bring your own soap, water, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper.

Part of being prepared is making sure the camp or park you are headed to is open before you leave. Most of our state-managed lands are open for day use and camping—especially in counties that are in Phase 2 and above. However, other local, tribal, and federal land may still be closed. If you are planning to camp, consider the layout of the campsite. While some campsites in Washington state parks are spaced far apart and allow for social distancing, others sit quite close to each other.

Help keep everyone safe while you enjoy the outdoors:

• Camp with people in your household and with fewer than five friends from other households.
• Enjoy the outdoors when healthy. If you feel even a little bit under the weather, wait for it to pass before visiting public parks.
• Be flexible. If you get there and it looks crowded, have a back-up plan so you can go somewhere else or come back another time.
• Practice physical distancing. Keep six feet between you and those outside your immediate household. Launch one boat at a time to give others enough space to launch safely. Leave at least one parking space between your vehicle and the vehicle next to you. (Don’t forget your Discover Pass!)

Numbers. The latest numbers are updated on our webpage. As of 11:59 p.m. on June 12, there are 450,146 people in Washington who have been tested for COVID-19. Of those, 25,538 people (or 5.7%) have tested positive for COVID-19. Of those, 1,213 people (or 4.7%) have died of the disease.

Practice compassion. Be kind and respectful to the rangers, park aides, field staff, and other park visitors. This means staying at least six feet away from them. It means putting your mask on to have a conversation with them. And it means following the rules so the ranger doesn’t need to put themselves at risk to come have a chat with you.