Dedicated professionals in cities and water utilities across the United States work hard every day to consistently provide clean, safe drinking water to their communities. In the best of situations, it can be challenging to keep up with the demands of daily operations, maintenance, administrative duties, and compliance with various regulations and emergencies. It can be even more daunting for smaller, rural water systems with minimal staff and resources. Where to turn? Who can help? This #IronStrong Blog will provide answers to those questions.
How Did the Circuit Rider Program Originate and Evolve?
In 1980, the Circuit Rider Program was established in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farmers Home Administration and the National Rural Water Association (NRWA). The program provides a skilled nationwide team of water professionals with technical assistance to water utility managers, boards, and operations specialists. Designed as an onsite, hands-on, activity-based training program where the participants learn how to resolve their current and future problems, it protects USDA Rural Developments' current water utility infrastructure investments. It helps to plan for a sustainable future.1
The NRWA is the largest water and wastewater utility membership association that held its first official meeting in March of 1976, an organization dedicated to training and supporting water and wastewater professionals serving small communities across the U.S., also bringing a voice to the table on legislative issues. It formed from a grassroots effort of people in rural communities who had a shared love of rural life and a commitment to providing those rural communities with clean, safe drinking water.
What are the Core Provisions of the Circuit Rider Program?
The Circuit Rider Program focuses on the following:
- Personal and professional help is at the heart of the program
- Hands-on training and technical assistance 24/7
- Onsite activity-based training for participants to take ownership in learning how to resolve current and future problems
- For day-to-day operations, financial and managerial issues
- Continues to grow and adapt to changing circumstances like the COVID-19 pandemic
- The program benefits rural water agencies both nationally and internationally
Who are Circuit Riders?
“Circuit Riders are the backbone of the rural water industry, offering exceptional technical assistance and serving as vital communication hubs. They unite rural communities and foster collaboration and sharing of resources and experience. By acquiring and transferring the wisdom of veteran operators to the next generation, they help ensure systems can maintain continuous operations and growth of their knowledge base. Moreover, they champion the rural cause with state agencies, skillfully guiding industry professionals through the ever-changing complexities of funding and regulatory landscapes.” - Joseph Pheil, Executive Director, Ohio Rural Water Association.
The Circuit Riders consist of:
- A nationwide team of experienced drinking water professionals providing training to water utility managers, boards, and operation specialists
- Roving technical experts in the water and wastewater industry, including Disaster Circuit Riders
- Currently, there are 132 Circuit Riders across the U.S.
- Circuit Riders have provided technical assistance for more than 1,1000,000 hours to help rural systems and communities since 2009
- Individuals can apply to become a Circuit Rider at org
Is there an International Circuit Rider Program?
Globally, 2 billion people still lack access to safe water, 3.6 billion live without improved sanitation, and 122 million still collect drinking water directly from surface water sources.2
- Contaminated water and poor sanitation contribute to 88% of all diseases in the developing world.
- The International Circuit Rider Program has been implemented in Ghana, Chile, and Honduras.
To address these issues, the Center for International Water and Sustainability implements the International Circuit Rider Program, which focuses on three key areas: Technical, Administrative, and Community.
Is there a Tribal Circuit Rider Program?
The Tribal Circuit Rider program is the oldest and largest tribal-specific program of its kind. The program prioritizes providing ongoing, dedicated assistance to California and Arizona tribes, building their capacity to provide safe water following the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Assistance can include:
- Identify and evaluate affordable solutions in rural areas
- Assist systems to respond and recover after natural and human-made emergencies rapidly
Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, ice storms, and health pandemics
- Improve financial sustainability through better management practices, more efficient operations, and a better-maintained system
- Compliance with federal regulations
- Assist in utility management, finance, operations and maintenance, regulatory compliance, energy efficiency, and loan/grant applications
Eligible project areas involve:
- Serve an area with a population of 10,000 or less
- Must be a public, nonprofit corporation, or an Indian tribe
- Must have legal authority to own and operate the water facility
Are there State-Specific Examples of Circuit Rider Programs?
In certain states, such as Oregon, through Oregon's Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, contracts have been established with the drinking water Circuit Riders to provide short-term (10 hours or less) onsite technical and engineering assistance for water systems serving populations under 10,000 and nonprofit transient and non-transient water systems.
Beginning with the 2022-2027 Circuit Rider contract, Oregon can also use state general funds to provide technical assistance to water systems not eligible for traditional Circuit Rider assistance, except only federally owned systems.
Oceanside Water District, a small water district on the NW Oregon coast, provides water service to approximately 800 ratepayers in the Oceanside and Cape Mears communities.
- Oceanside Water District recently utilized the Circuit Rider Program to get a consulting and construction engineering cost analysis for an intertie project with Netarts Water District
- This will allow them to pursue grant funding for the project. Because the service provided was less than 10 hours, Oceanside Water District did not incur any cost, a savings of approximately $2500.00
Many states host Rural Water Association conferences yearly to provide training, support services, and representation for the water and wastewater industry. The Rural Water Association of Utah (RWAU) represents 95% of the state's water and wastewater systems in Utah. Its membership includes public works superintendents, plant managers, certified operators, mayors, elected officials, and engineers. RWAU conferences hold operator certification classes and exams.3
“The primary purpose of the West Virginia Rural Water Association (WVRWA) is to provide technical support, training, and workforce development to the state’s water and wastewater utilities. The Water Circuit Rider Program is the flagship program in West Virginia (WV) and most states. In WV, three onsite Circuit Rider technicians assist water systems with leak detection, water tank inspection, line location, rate reviews, water utility management, operation and maintenance support, regulatory compliance, Cyber Security, and much more, said Todd Grinstead, Executive Director of the WV Rural Water Association. “Collectively, all programs in WV have over 360 years of experience working for rural water systems! In addition, WV has a particular tie to the Water Circuit Rider Program. The USDA Water Circuit Rider Program began under the direction of Mr. Dwight Calhoun. Following his retirement from USDA, Mr. Calhoun served WV as a member of the WVRWA Board of Directors.”
Who should you contact for more information, or how should you apply?
To learn more about Circuit Rider assistance, check out the following:
- National Rural Water Association
- Local Rural Water Associations
- USDA Rural Development
- Rural Utilities Service Office
McWane Ductile provides rural water agencies with training that complements the efforts and expertise of the Circuit Riders, such as holding Day of Water events. McWane Ductile has also developed a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER) template for smaller utilities. The template has various components, such as sustainability, service life, etc., that show how Ductile iron pipe can meet their requirements.
Conclusion
We can honestly say that those within the Rural Water Association and Circuit Rider Program have seen the value of Ductile iron pipe, such as its energy savings, sustainability, service life, savings on construction costs, and reliability.
When we first considered writing a blog about the Circuit Rider Program, we weren't familiar with it. The more we read and learned about it, the more we found it interesting, and we felt compelled to spotlight the dedicated, hardworking professionals who provide such a critical service to rural water communities.
After reading this blog, we hope you will also better understand and appreciate the great work and benefits the Circuit Rider Program provides to Rural Water Associations nationwide. Could your utility benefit from the Circuit Rider Program?
References:
-
National Rural Water Association, “Circuit Rider Program,” Accessed June 10, 2024. https://nrwa.org/circuit-rider-program/.
- World Health Organization, “WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply, 2021,” Accessed June 10, 2024. https://www.unwater.org/publications/who/unicef-joint-monitoring-program-water-supply-sanitation-and-hygiene-jmp-progress-0.
- Rural Water Association of Utah, Accessed July 14, 2024. rwau.net.
