Idaho Rural Water Association

Fun Fact: 197 Idaho communities have certified a Source Water Protection Plan since 2000! 💧✅👍

This statewide achievement is built on strong partnerships between Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, USDA Rural Development, Idaho Rural Water Association, and every community that has chosen to participate in source water protection. IRWA will continue to support efforts that protect sources of clean drinking water for all Idahoans.

Happy Source Water Protection Week!

It was our pleasure to moderate a panel discussion for the Idaho Economic Development Association on the state of water in Idaho! 🎤💧

We were joined by a knock-out group of partners - Great West Engineering's Kristina Gillespie-Jaques, AE2S's Eric Dodds, and Chris Bromley of McHugh-Bromley, Attorneys at Law.

Thank you to IEDA for inviting us to share some insight on the connections between water and economic growth.

IRWA is HIRING!

Are you interested in a role with a positive impact on dozens of rural communities across the state? Then you might be our new Wastewater Technician! This opportunity is perfect for wastewater utility professionals looking to travel across Southeast/Central Idaho sharing their expertise for the benefit of rural utilities.

This is a full-time position and offers a generous benefit package including health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance as well as paid time off (PTO), and a generous 401k employer match after the first 6 months.

HOW TO APPLY: Submit your resume and cover letter to [email protected] no later than October 4, 2026. Learn more about this job posting and download the job description at https://members.idrwa.org/members/classifieds4.php

Have you heard? It's ! EPA's SepticSmart program highlights the importance of proper care and maintenance of home septic systems. If you aren't paying a monthly sewer fee to a utility, your wastewater is your responsibility to manage. 👍

Does your home use a septic system? Follow along for a few quick tips on managing your home wastewater system to save money, stay healthy, and protect the environment! The first and easiest step: Think at the Sink! 🏡

Think At The Sink! NOTE: If you need captions, please click the CC button on the playe...

This week we participated in two Legislative Water Colleges in Moscow and Boise!

Each year this incredible event, developed by our partners at Idaho Water Users Association, brings together legislative and congressional candidates and state agency representatives with all kinds of water users across the state - drinking water and wastewater utilities, irrigators, coalitions, nonprofits, research entities, neighborhood associations, and others. IRWA was pleased to play a role in the planning of this year's tours, each of which include presentations by municipal water utilities like City of Nampa, City of Middleton, and City of Moscow.

Next week we head south to Legislative Water Colleges in Filer and Rexburg where Idaho leaders will learn about water quality and quantity challenges in the driest part of our state. Stay tuned!

📢 FREE WATER TESTING!📢

Melba area, mark your calendars for September 10th! IRWA and the City of Melba will be conducting free well water testing at the Melba Senior Center!

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality

🚨Cybersecurity Alert!🚨

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NSA - National Security Agency, FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Department of Energy have released this Cybersecurity Advisory to warn owners and operators of industrial control systems (ICSs) of an active cyber threat to Siemens S7 Series PLCs and provide relevant mitigations to protect and defend them.
Threat actors are conducting reconnaissance and capability development against U.S.-based Siemens PLC installations using AI-generated exploitation scripts disguised as legitimate monitoring tools. The actors leverage Internet scanning services to find Internet-exposed PLCs running outdated software or that are otherwise poorly protected.
Owners and operators of operational technology (OT) systems using Siemens S7 Series and other PLC devices to proactively check their systems:
are properly protected with all applicable security patches and updates,
are isolated from the Internet wherever possible,
have strong access controls, and
employ security tooling to monitor ICS environments for anomalous or malicious activity.
These mitigations are particularly important for owners and operators who work with third-party service providers or system integrators who may have remote access to PLCs, as the asset owners may not realize that their systems are exposed and at risk.
These agencies recommend that utility operators review the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) in this cybersecurity advisory and conduct recommended mitigation and preventative actions to reduce the likelihood of an attack.

Defending Against an Active Threat to Siemens S7 Series PLCs | CISA This advisory warns of threat actors targeting Siemens S7 Series programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and includes mitigations to be understood and applied within the broader context of ongoing threats to PLCs and operational technology devices.

Congratulations to Jacob Hyer, Public Works Supervisor for the City of Homedale, on graduating from IRWA’s Class II Wastewater Track in the Apprenticeship Program!

Jacob completed 4,000 hours of on-the-job training and 288 hours of classroom instruction while maintaining a full-time job. His dedication and commitment to protecting Homedale’s wastewater system make this an incredible achievement.

Pictured with Jacob are Mayor Kimberly Murray and IRWA Apprenticeship Specialist Jake Slater. We’re proud to celebrate this milestone and excited to see what Jacob accomplishes next!

Know someone who would make a great water or wastewater professional?

IRWA is excited to announce our new Apprenticeship Referral Program.

Help us strengthen Idaho's water and wastewater workforce while earning a reward for your referral.

For more information, contact:

📞 (208) 900-2224
📧 [email protected]

Please share this post with anyone who may be interested.

Can't beat these weekend plans! IRWA participated in the Genesee Community Days parade with our portable water trailer (which we used for the first time a few years back in this very community!) Thanks for having us back for one of our favorite events, Genesee!