Minnesota Rural Water Association

Minnesota Rural Water Association Excellence in Training and Technical Assistance

MRWA Wastewater Technical Advisors Paul Plaetz and Keith Evans provided technical assistance with smoke testing in Brown...
08/20/2026

MRWA Wastewater Technical Advisors Paul Plaetz and Keith Evans provided technical assistance with smoke testing in Browns Valley today

Sunflowers in bloom at MRWA Chairman Tom Dowdle farm, beautiful field and the beginning of fall harvest season in Minnes...
08/17/2026

Sunflowers in bloom at MRWA Chairman Tom Dowdle farm, beautiful field and the beginning of fall harvest season in Minnesota!

MRWA Training Specialist Bob Klug got a chance to show off rural water at the Blackduck Backwoods Bash this weekend
08/17/2026

MRWA Training Specialist Bob Klug got a chance to show off rural water at the Blackduck Backwoods Bash this weekend

08/16/2026

🎟️ ONLY 45 TICKETS LEFT

Join us for the 7th Annual Women in Rural Water Luncheon, featuring a panel of State Rural Water Association Executive Directors, moderated by Rogue Monkey Media’s Angela Godwin. The luncheon will also include the presentation of the third annual Women in Rural Water Luminary Award.

Purchase tickets as an add-on to your WaterPro Conference registration!

MRWA staff toured and learned about the super critical Water Oxidation pilot project at the St. Cloud wastewater treatme...
08/13/2026

MRWA staff toured and learned about the super critical Water Oxidation pilot project at the St. Cloud wastewater treatment facility. A PFAS reduction process!

MRWA Wastewater Trainer Keith Evans provided technical assistance in Pillager with sewer televising active main!
08/06/2026

MRWA Wastewater Trainer Keith Evans provided technical assistance in Pillager with sewer televising active main!

08/06/2026



Change default passwords immediately.

As a best practice and in light of recent analysis of this cyber activity targeting water and wastewater systems, the National Rural Water Cybersecurity Center recommends that utilities change default passwords, especially for public-facing, internet-connected devices that can control operational technology systems or processes. Access to these devices is often set to default or easily guessable passwords, including credentials that can be identified using publicly available tools and resources.

Utilities should establish and enforce a strict policy requiring all manufacturer-default passwords to be replaced on hardware, software, and firmware before those assets are connected to any internal or external network. This requirement should also apply to IT assets that support operational technology environments, including OT administration web pages.

Utilities should require passwords or phrases of at least 15 characters for all password-protected IT assets and operational technology assets when technically feasible. Consider including a combination of non-repeating and non-sequential uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

Contact your IT staff or integrator to change default passwords immediately. If you need additional assistance, contact your State Rural Water Association, or, to be connected with a DEF CON Franklin cybersecurity expert volunteer for free cybersecurity assistance, contact [email protected].

đź”—: https://nrwa.pulse.ly/pwbyeougst

08/06/2026

The Senate Agriculture Committee is scheduled to mark up the Agricultural Act of 2026, known as “Farm Bill 2.0,” on Thursday.

“The Farm Bill contains transformational, bipartisan legislation, including a Cybersecurity Circuit Rider Program, modernization of USDA water financing programs, and providing financial incentives to assist voluntary consolidation, all of which will protect public health, preserve economic vitality, and ensure affordability of water services in rural America,” said NRWA Chief Executive Officer Matthew Holmes. “NRWA has advocated for these provisions, which will directly impact Rural Water's 31,000 utility members nationwide, and strengthen water and wastewater infrastructure in rural America.”

We encourage the Senate to pass this vital piece of legislation that provides additional resources and expands authorities for rural water and wastewater utilities to address current challenges, including recent cyberattacks and threats in rural America.

08/06/2026

Structured wage progression is one of the defining strengths of the NRWA Apprenticeship Programs, which reward skill development with predictable, incremental pay increases as skills are attained.

Look who's out on-site in Silver Lake! MRWA Energy Efficiency Technical Advisor Paul Hoeschen working on energy assessme...
07/27/2026

Look who's out on-site in Silver Lake! MRWA Energy Efficiency Technical Advisor Paul Hoeschen working on energy assessments!

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217 12th Avenue SE
Elbow Lake, MN
56531

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