A forward-looking utility responds to workforce retirement with a jobs program worth replicating.
In the first months of the new year, many of us find ourselves facing a combination of ambitious agendas, competing priorities, and budget realities. In the U.S. water sector, there is a never-ending gamut of accountabilities involved in ensuring water quality, including addressing and preventing water shortages, innovating to fight contamination and treat wastewater, and upgrading vast infrastructure.
An electrical engineer does the math on coagulation process control, using computational modeling to determine best practices.
Sounds simple. It makes sense. But far too many people do not do this. They put together an idea, a process, but fail to take the design to completion before starting to build. Cutting corners always comes at a price. There is an old saying in Project Management, “You can have it good, fast, or cheap. Pick any TWO”. Cutting corners will bump your cost, decrease quality, or possibly both.
Mobile technology is so fast-moving that new apps are created each day, with more and more people turning to them for on-the-job solutions. Here are 10 apps geared toward the water/wastewater professional that are worthy of consideration.
ABB uses digital solutions to drive outcomes. Engaging customers to demonstrate tangible results that scale.
The new generation of ABB’s total plant automation: DCS and SCADA for the power and water industries.
Reduced operational costs and downtime through seamless distributed control system integration.
Real-time control of a 360km water distribution system through an advanced distributed control system.
Improved water reliability and lifecycle costs through total control of a one hundred mile transfer system.
100% available water in the driest of deserts through highly efficient desalination.
Plant visibility and control with no downtime through a unified control system.
Protecting coastal cities through accurate flood prevention solutions.
It has long been established that predictive maintenance of existing equipment will reduce operating costs and help ensure safe operation.
Many utilities today are investing in advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). However, many of these same utilities often don’t realize the breadth of capabilities that a smart utility network (SUN) now offers. In the past, AMI networks were typically used for accurate metering and billing. Today, a smart utility network builds upon traditional AMI to provide multiple advantages across the full water cycle — and beyond.
Many utilities are embracing the concept of smart utility networks to make their systems more efficient and enhance customer service. Smart utility networks provide the ability to improve every part of the water cycle. However, having the right metrology for each application is critical to ensuring the reliability and accuracy of the data being collected.
If A Pipe Leaks In A Forest, Does It Make A Sound? (Part I) addressed condition assessment and leak detection from the perspective of surprises that can arise when “hidden” problems are revealed by acoustic technology. This article introduces several more eye-opening experiences with permanent and mobile acoustic leak detection equipment, plus examples of just how expensive undetected leaks can become when they turn into full-blown water main breaks.
Utility managers are facing increasing financial and sustainability pressures regarding water loss throughout their systems. An American Water Works Association (AWWA) white paper titled The State of Water Loss Control in Drinking Water Utilities notes that “all utilities incur inefficiencies, or losses, in both supply- and customer-related functions of their operations.”
As need for efficiency expands, there is greater expectation for utility network performance and data reliability. Although having access to more data more quickly can be a benefit of a smart utility network, making the most of the optimization possibilities within a water system relies on having the right data for the right applications delivered at the right time. Such data becomes vital information, giving water professionals the ability to make better decisions.
Beyond the existential philosophy implications, the consequences of a pipeline leaking in a forest when no one is around highlight the desirability of leak detection systems in water distribution utilities as a whole. As the following experiences show, leak detection can have its entertaining side. On the other side of the coin, however, the consequences of not monitoring leaks can also trigger a tsunami of costs far beyond the expense of pipeline repair alone.
Most people accept that major purchases in life — e.g., housing, automobiles, appliances — come with cyclical budgeting impacts that require amortizing costs over the long term, through savings or borrowing. Why should anyone expect the national water infrastructure to be any different?
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) proudly announces the 2018 WEF Awards recipients for individual service and contributions.
H2O Innovation Inc. (“H2O Innovation” or the “Corporation”) is proud to announce that Utility Partners, LLC (“UP”), its business line providing operation and maintenance services (“O&M”) in the United States, recently renewed two contracts.
The Water Environment Federation (WEF) proudly announces 15 distinguished members as the 2018 WEF Fellows recipients.
The Water Environment Federation has released a line of training tools to equip operators with 21st century wastewater treatment methods and practices.
WSSC has launched a nationwide search for the newly created Inspector General position, which was recently established by Maryland General Assembly House Bill 419, Chapter 130 during the 2018 session.
Effective June 27, 2018, David St. Pierre has resigned as Executive Director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD).
