Andrew Chastain-Howley, the Director of Water Solutions for the Smart Integrated Infrastructure Group at Black & Veatch, is teaching water and wastewater operators how to juggle. Not literally,  but that's the metaphor he uses to describe the role of the plant manager — even the best can only juggle a few balls (i.e., tasks) at a time.  Continue Reading..

There are many tools, offered by many vendors, available to help operators understand the condition of their assets. But which do you choose, and how does condition assessment and risk management relate to asset management? Brian Ball, Asset Management and Condition Assessment Engineer for Black and Veatch, has the answers.  Continue Reading..

When a seismic event is experienced, the first things to rupture are often a utility’s water lines feeding hydrants. And these are critical for fighting fire that often breaks out during earthquakes. So it was heartening to learn about the success of a recent Cornell University test of AMERICAN Flow Control’s Earthquake (EQ) Joint System. The EQ base allows the inlet pipe to the hydrant to deflect at an angle and move in and out of...  Continue Reading..

Peter Brooks, the VP of WaterTalent, sat down with Water Online to discuss how his company is forging a new paradigm in utility and industrial operations staffing in response to labor trends, economic realities, and still in-demand water/wastewater treatment expertise.  Continue Reading..

AWWA's leader, CEO David LaFrance, talks about his organization's initiatives and how they respond to industry concerns that could ultimately pose a threat to water quality — AWWA's push for full lead service line replacement being a notable example.  Continue Reading..

The aged nature of water pipe has received a lot of coverage in the water industry press over the past few years. But little has been said about the control points throughout the distribution system, often rusted in place and no longer operating. As Chris Vazzana, President of Hydra Stop, explains in this Water Online interview, operators end up shutting down large sections of cities when a main breaks because the immediate valves are no longer...  Continue Reading..

In this interview with Water Talk, Jason Carter of Arcadis, Doug Owen of Owen Water Consulting, and Ed Means of Means Consulting share survey results and workshop ideas from water operations around the globe, boiling it all down into a framework and an implementation pathway for other utilities to build innovation programs and manage ideas as critical assets within their organization.  Continue Reading..

Lots of work has been done over the past century on improving water quality at the treatment plant. But as Flint, MI’s water crisis served to remind us, perhaps too little focus has been directed to the distribution system itself. PAX Water Technology and UGSI Solutions are looking to change that.  Continue Reading..

Is "smart water" living up to the hype? Can there be true impact without broad implementation? Even when technologies are in place, are utilities using smart water capabilities to their fullest extent? Water Online hosted Reese Tisdale, president of Bluefield Research, to answer these tough questions.  Continue Reading..