A Stetson University researcher presented a Marxsan‑based conservation prioritization for Seminole County, showing maps that prioritize groundwater recharge, wetlands and floodplain protection. The model suggests protecting roughly 34–37% of county land to meet combined objectives versus the county’s current ~27%. Commissioners pressed on weights, TMDL integration and institutionalizing the tool.

The council authorized a $767,290 contract for sludge dewatering improvements and the city manager reported the wastewater plant's biological treatment microbes were restored after a recent loss; the city is coordinating with DEP to identify any discharge that caused the disruption.

Water quality manager Jennifer Lawson presented a draft comprehensive stormwater management plan that reframes flood risk, prioritizes performance-based service levels, introduces 'SUDS' terminology and plans a two‑volume public release in the next two weeks.

Residents and the guest expert raised concerns that cooling-water withdrawals and blowdown chemistry could deplete wells, change groundwater chemistry, and introduce PFAS and other persistent chemicals into waterways; the county said permit pathways need examination.

Staff presented Ordinance 26-16 to amend the land-development manual with watershed-based special protections: 25-acre disturbance caps, 40% water-quality buffers and strengthened erosion controls. Public commenters debated watershed scope and engineering justification.

Staff said the district received a notice of violation from the Lahontan board for turbid discharge traced to the golf course; consultants were hired and staff will pursue design and permitting (Army Corps, Fish and Wildlife, Lahontan) with construction planned for 2027.

Council approved hiring another seasonal fire inspector, buying two used electric vehicles and upgrading charging infrastructure, plus authorization to buy a replacement bottle‑fill compressor and a flow‑water refill station for the firehouse.

This story was originally published on LincolnChronicle.org and is used with permission. Eric Van Vlack warily walks the concrete ledge leading to the stormwater outfall pipe as if it is a tightrope, balancing a stick with a jar at the end of it. There’s a pool of water collecting below him before it makes its way to the ocean and Van Vlack wants to be careful not to fall in. He leans over to the pipe that juts out of the Nye Beach turnaround parking lot and dips the stick’s jar-end into the flowing water. Then he will take the sample back to a room inside the Oregon Coast Aquarium not much bigger than a closet, where he and other Surfrider Foundation volunteers who are part of the blue water task force perform water quality tests every two weeks at 14 locations in and around Newport. Over the past year, less than 30 percent of the samples taken at the Nye Creek outfall meet state water quality standards, the Surfrider tests show. Nye Beach has generated high bacterial readings off and on for years and in June the Oregon Health Authority issued an advisory for unsafe levels of fecal bacteria...

The utility manager announced a hard shutdown to replace a pressure‑reducing valve on Oct. 13–14 that will affect about 550 services in upper‑town zones and that the Division of Drinking Water requires a precautionary boil‑water notice during recharge and sampling.

In the first-ever statewide study of well water on Maryland’s farms, water quality specialists at the University of Maryland School of Public Health (SPH) and UMD Extension found both harmful…

The commission approved a not-to-exceed $160,000 task order with Woodard & Curran to prepare a drinking-water facilities plan required by DEP; the plan must be submitted by Nov. 15 and is intended to unlock approximately $6.4 million in SRF principal-forgiveness funding for water-system improvements.

County utilities committee approved a plan to use fund balance to cash-fund portions of six capital projects at Lake Moultrie Regional Water Plant — including a PFAS removal system, clarifier improvements and a redundant transmission main — to reduce debt and mitigate rate impacts.

The board approved multiple applications to the Grand Traverse Band's Winter 2026 2% allocation cycle — including audio/visual upgrades, veterans dental planning, Safe Haven support, clean water coordination, cancer foundation support, new radio equipment, and parks projects — and voted 3–4 to deny $20,000 to Homestretch Housing for Northport.

City water superintendent and staff told commissioners the GAC filtration equipment is installed but not operable until piping and controls are completed; staff proposed pausing new service commitments and presenting a list of already-committed projects on Oct. 22 to avoid overloading the system.

Comfort Lake–Forest Lake Watershed District has begun installing an iron-enhanced sand filter on Heath Avenue to capture runoff before it reaches Little Comfort Lake; the district estimates the project will prevent about 80 pounds of phosphorus and 4,330 pounds of sediment annually.

Residents told the board the 291 James Street plan risks endangered‑species habitat, groundwater recharge and Great Brook water quality; they urged preservation and relocation of the affordable units to less sensitive sites.

Presenters told the Butte County Water Commission that the State Water Resources Control Board plans to update the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan and may adopt both an unimpaired-flow regulatory pathway (roughly 35to55% of unimpaired flow) and a compensated Healthy Rivers and Landscapes program; staff said a hearing is scheduled for late October and implementation actions are likely to follow.

The committee approved easements for the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer Districts Big Creek Storage Tunnel, a four-mile CSO storage tunnel that NEORSD says will reduce combined sewer overflows by about 550 million gallons per year; NEORSD agreed to $670,400 for park restoration and easement payments.

Staff reported three recent sampling cycles with 90th-percentile lead values at 9→6→7 ppb (all below the 15 ppb federal action level) and urged residents to use city test kits and navigators if concerned about tap water quality.