The State Of Industry, From A Consultant's Perspective

Russell Ford of CH2M HILL speaks to Water Online Radio about the impact of regulations on utilities, critical issues surrounding water quality, and what the future of the water industry looks like.

The following is an excerpt from the Q&A. Click on the Radio Player above to hear the full interview.

Water Online Radio: I’m putting myself in the position of the guy in charge of a local or municipal water utility, and just tactically, what kind of things would you recommend I keep in front of my mind?

Russell Ford: I would definitely look at some planning; I’m a big proponent of planning – looking at where the regulations are going, what I need to do, how I have to comply with those regulations.

I would also look at staffing – training the workforce – which is something that is overlooked. As people retire, they are leaving these systems that they have operated for a long time, having worked for a water system for 20 or 30 years. That goes when someone retires.

How do you capture that knowledge, how do you get that integrated into an automation plan? So, one of the things we have been looking at is a lot of real-time authorizations for distribution systems.

How do you run the pumping configurations? How do you keep the tanks full during high demand periods and low demand periods? How do you keep the water fresh, so you can minimize disinfection byproducts?

All of that information is institutional and part of somebody’s operational scheme from working there for a long time. And now we have to get into the computer and help move that forward.