WE ARE SEEKING VOLUNTEERS

Two flood management initiatives in Howard and Baltimore counties in Maryland are looking to install
high-water gauges on the Patapsco River Bridge, and the tributaries feeding the river in Howard and
Baltimore Counties. The communities are seeking Community Engineering Corps’ support with
understanding the process of installing the gauges and building a case with local governments to have
them installed.

The communities are also looking into modeling a stretch of the Patapsco River between Oella and
Catonsville, MD. They are striving to fight a planned development in Baltimore County on a known
floodplain area, and require an environmental scientist’s support to provide data that shows there should not be development on the floodplain. This data would be collected with the intention of presenting to
county officials.

This project stems from the region’s severe annual flooding, with the most notable being unprecedented,
deadly flooding in 2016.

CECorps is partnering with the US Water Alliance through the EPA Environmental Finance Center to provide technical assistance to a Tribal Community in Clallam County, Washington. The Tribe is looking to expand their existing drinking water system capacity to accommodate an increasing population and economic growth in their community.

The project will be implemented in two phases. At this time, CECorps is assisting with the first phase and is seeking volunteers to develop a comprehensive water system plan that includes forecasting water demand projections, assessing the existing condition of their infrastructure, and outlining the necessary infrastructure improvements to support forecasted demand. This phase may also include developing a map or database of the existing system assets. The second phase will focus on comprehensively planning the infrastructure improvements identified in the first phase. This may include conducting a blending study, inventorying potential financing sources, and/or developing a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).

A nonprofit wastewater utility association provides wastewater treatment services to approximately 20 households in a rural Missouri community. The treatment facility is a single cell lagoon system, with a 1-acre lagoon located on a 1.5 acre lot. The utility has been regularly issued orders of noncompliance from their primacy agency (Missouri Department of Natural Resources) for exceeding the maximum levels of ammonia allowed under identified on their NPDES permit.

The utility has a chlorination/dechlorination system to maintain compliance with their NPDES permit E.coli limits, but does not have the technical or financial capacity required to add the required treatment for ammonia, resulting in ongoing notices of violation.

Camp Verde, Arizona, is a rural community of about 12,500 people stretched out along the Verde River. The town is bisected by US Highway 17 with State Route 260 running along the west side of the town. The land use is characterized by mostly low density residential development interspersed with agriculture along the river. There is a commercial district stretching along Main Street and Finnie Flat Road. Beyond Main Street and Finnie Flat Road most of the roadway network is local streets and local collectors. The town has a limited ability to raise revenue as they are not able to collect property taxes and they limit the sales tax collected from certain major retail establishments. Because of this lack of funding, there is also a lack of capacity and staff expertise.

The small city of Ellsworth, Maine is experiencing growth beyond its intended capacity. As a small rural community with some larger urban challenges, Ellsworth struggles to keep up with the demands of providing safe and accessible transportation infrastructure. The High Street corridor is a roughly 2.25 mile commercial strip surrounded by residential and mixed-use neighborhoods. The traffic load for the High Street corridor is immense for a small rural community. The area also frequently floods and has a major negative environmental impact on Card Brook, which receives drainage from High Street. The City recently updated its Business Attraction Plan and recommended a High Street Master Plan to examine the unsafe pedestrian environment, traffic congestion, and flooding.

A Navajo Nation community located in San Juan County, Utah and partners have spent nearly 25 years working for equitable access to basic civil infrastructure. After decades of effort by community members and partners, the community recently got connected to the electrical grid and is set to get first
time water access with a regional water main extension project set to conclude construction in March 2025.

Most community members currently have conventional onsite wastewater treatment systems. The condition and functionality of the existing wastewater infrastructure is anticipated to be varying. As such, there is a need to assess community-wide wastewater improvements to address the need for sustainable, reliable, and affordable wastewater services in the community.

A small water utility in Plymouth County, MA, is looking to connect seasonal users to the main distribution system, increasing their customer base by offering year-round service. The current main lines are shallow and undersized, causing them to be unable to support year-round service. For this reason, the community is looking to upsize the lines and bury at an adequate depth for year round use.

Currently, community members that have seasonal pipes rely on private wells that provide water to residents during off-season. In addition to the general issue of water provision, a major concern is that these private wells have tested high for nitrates and magnesium.

The community of Coral Bay experiences severe flooding on one of their main roads. As a result, residents, and the emergency responders located in this area, are oftentimes cut off or with limited access to the rest of the island. While there is a secondary access point, this road is insufficient as it often experiences landslides that are not able to be immediately cleared off. The communities who are being most impacted by this are historically underserved from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who do not have the available resources to invest into a solution for a problem of this magnitude.

The project organization is an environmental advocacy nonprofit that focuses on promoting renewable energy and fighting air and water pollution. They have recently brought cases against scrap metal yards across varying states and U.S territories who were not meeting standards required of them by the EPA regarding metal levels in their stormwater runoff.

Ligation has been finalized and the support needed at this time is technical assistance with reviewing the design of stormwater quality infrastructure that is required to be implemented by the scrap metal yards as part of the settlement. The organization does not currently have the technical capacity to provide engineering design review and is looking for support from someone with stormwater management and treatment experience to provide cursory 60% design review on four proposed water quality facilities.

An Oregon NGO dedicated to supporting Afro-Indigenous peoples and preserving Indigenous traditions through cultural education is looking for technical support with various projects within their community. Projects could include a multifaceted scope and a longer term commitment, ideal for student or professional volunteer groups.

A small water utility in Plymouth County, MA, is looking to connect seasonal users to the main distribution system, increasing their customer base by offering year-round service. The current main lines are shallow and undersized, causing them to be unable to support year-round service. For this reason, the community is looking to upsize the lines and bury at an adequate depth for year round use.

Currently, community members that have seasonal pipes rely on private wells that provide water to residents during off-season. In addition to the general issue of water provision, a major concern is that these private wells have tested high for nitrates and magnesium.

A small, spring-fed, community-run water utility operating in a rural community in Allegany County, MD, is in need of upgrades. The system, which serves 28 homes, is facing several challenges. As the entire system is approaching 60 years of age, and is either nearing the end of or already beyond its useful service life. The system has many leaks, and being located in a rural area, some homes that it services are as far as two miles apart from one another. This distance, along with the topography of the area, has resulted in the system being quite disjointed. The community has previously either repaired the system themselves, or raised funds internally to cover the expenses of repairs. This is becoming less feasible, however, as the system ages and more challenges arise.

The system is not in compliance with Maryland state regulations and must be updated to achieve compliance. The spring serves about 28 homes and does not provide consistently sufficient pressure to all connections, resulting in a potential backflow hazard, as well as unreliable service for each customer. Water from the spring has tested positive for nitrates/nitrites and coliform. The treatment system qualifies as a T1 plan.

A nonprofit water utility district, which provides drinking water to a rural community in Kootenai County, ID, is looking to update its existing systems. The community’s drinking water infrastructure was developed in the 1960s, and has surpassed its useful service life. The utility is seeking Community Engineering Corps’ support to assist in the development of a Facilities Plan (Preliminary Engineering Report and Environmental Report), which will be used in an application for funding for the system’s rehabilitation. The utility is a small, community-owned water system that has not yet been able to find any assistance to finance a Facilities Plan.

This project is in partnership with the Rural Community Assistance Corporate (RCAC). RCAC plans on completing the Environmental Report component of the Facilities Plan.

A non-profit, Young Women on the Move (YWOM), helps middle and high school girls in Wyandotte County live healthier and more prosperous lives. They are operating out of a 100-year-old church donated to them in 2017. They have several needs stemming from that space as well as opportunities to expand their environmental justice impact and provide pathways to careers that support those goals. YMOM is planning to renovate a portion of the church. Additionally, adjacent to the church is a condemned property owned by the organization. YWOM is interested in having the property demolished to turn it into an outdoor classroom.

A nonprofit wastewater utility association provides wastewater treatment services to approximately 20 households in a rural Missouri community. The treatment facility is a single cell lagoon system, with a 1-acre lagoon located on a 1.5 acre lot. The utility has been regularly issued orders of noncompliance from their primacy agency (Missouri Department of Natural Resources) for exceeding the maximum levels of ammonia allowed under identified on their NPDES permit.

The utility has a chlorination/dechlorination system to maintain compliance with their NPDES permit E.coli limits, but does not have the technical or financial capacity required to add the required treatment for ammonia, resulting in ongoing notices of violation.

A Navajo Nation community located in San Juan County, Utah and partners have spent nearly 25 years working for equitable access to basic civil infrastructure. After decades of effort by community members and partners, the community recently got connected to the electrical grid and is set to get first
time water access with a regional water main extension project set to conclude construction in March 2025.

Most community members currently have conventional onsite wastewater treatment systems. The condition and functionality of the existing wastewater infrastructure is anticipated to be varying. As such, there is a need to assess community-wide wastewater improvements to address the need for sustainable, reliable, and affordable wastewater services in the community.

A small water utility in Plymouth County, MA, is looking to connect seasonal users to the main distribution system, increasing their customer base by offering year-round service. The current main lines are shallow and undersized, causing them to be unable to support year-round service. For this reason, the community is looking to upsize the lines and bury at an adequate depth for year round use.

Currently, community members that have seasonal pipes rely on private wells that provide water to residents during off-season. In addition to the general issue of water provision, a major concern is that these private wells have tested high for nitrates and magnesium.

Residents of a small, rural community in Yuba County, CA, run a non-profit company that is shareholder owned and fulfills the community’s water and wastewater needs. This utility has operated in partnership with RCAC, California Rural Water Association, and the California Department of Water Resources to evaluate the water system’s performance and leak detections, which ultimately resulted in a pro bono water system assessment from a local engineering firm.

The community has 58 residential lots, of which 26 are developed. There are currently 26 active users of the water system who own septic systems on their approximate ⅓ acre lots. These systems were originally built in the 1960s.

Given the age of the systems, the tanks are outdated and in need of replacement. Rather than replacing the existing tanks with new, individualized septic tanks, the community is looking to assess the feasibility of establishing a centralized wastewater system.

A small, spring-fed, community-run water utility operating in a rural community in Allegany County, MD, is in need of upgrades. The system, which serves 28 homes, is facing several challenges. As the entire system is approaching 60 years of age, and is either nearing the end of or already beyond its useful service life. The system has many leaks, and being located in a rural area, some homes that it services are as far as two miles apart from one another. This distance, along with the topography of the area, has resulted in the system being quite disjointed. The community has previously either repaired the system themselves, or raised funds internally to cover the expenses of repairs. This is becoming less feasible, however, as the system ages and more challenges arise.

The system is not in compliance with Maryland state regulations and must be updated to achieve compliance. The spring serves about 28 homes and does not provide consistently sufficient pressure to all connections, resulting in a potential backflow hazard, as well as unreliable service for each customer. Water from the spring has tested positive for nitrates/nitrites and coliform. The treatment system qualifies as a T1 plan.