Planning for Recovery: Maximizing the Value of Federal Stimulus Funding
The American Rescue Plan Act, provides $1.9 trillion in relief to families, small businesses, and state and local governments to offset lost revenues and put significant effort into expediting COVID-19 vaccine production and distribution. An infrastructure bill is expected to work its way through the U.S. Congress in the next few months that will follow up with targeted funding for specific sectors of infrastructure, including water, transportation and others. Additional federal funding is being channeled through existing programs, such as continuation of federal contributions to low-interest loan programs for water and transportation sectors.
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What You Need to Know About the Lead & Copper Rule Revisions
The Lead and Copper Rule was initially promulgated in 1991 with minor revisions over the past 30 years. On January 15, 2021, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released Long-Term Lead and Copper Rule Revisions, which are currently undergoing a public comment period. The Long-Term Revisions will have significant impacts on the 60,000 public water systems required to comply with the rule. While aimed to reduce the risks of lead and copper, the revisions will add even more complexity, logistical challenges, and data management considerations. During this public comment period there are steps that utilities can take to prepare for some of these requirements, which can take a couple of years to complete.
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Awareness and Vigilance Help Prevent Cyber-Tampering at Water Treatment Facilities
Cyber-tampering is on the rise. Awareness and vigilance can help thwart an attack. Intentional cyber penetration into U.S. water utility process control systems by rogue nation states, insider threats (through intentional and unintentional attacks), and a variety of criminal groups have been reported. Cyberattacks have disrupted critical process operations in all industrial sectors (e.g., energy, manufacturing, water, transportation, building management systems, etc.) Consequently, these attacks have the potential to disrupt, or even compromise production or service.
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Reservoirs Underpinning Civilization: Challenges and Solutions in Managing Reservoir Safety
Dams and their impounded water storage reservoirs provide immense public benefits, including water supply, sustainable energy sources through hydroelectric power generation and flood risk reduction. With dam and reservoir operation and maintenance, it is often necessary to adapt to challenges brought about by changes in legislative requirements, engineering standards, climate and other natural hazards and public attitudes toward risk, as well as aging infrastructure. In this webinar you’ll learn how two owners approach dam safety and how cq9°Ù¼ÒÀÖ is working with them, and around the globe, to manage risks and public safety of existing reservoirs through organizational awareness, surveillance programs, maintenance and periodic upgrades.
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Urban Flooding: Driving Community Improvement Through Urban Flood Mitigation
The frequency and intensity of urban flooding has had devastating impacts on exposed communities across the globe, from the economic cost of damage and disruption, to mental and physical health and displacement. The challenge in managing this hazard is complicated as the cause of floods is often poorly understood and mitigation can be secondary to water quality considerations for sewer programs. However, by taking a holistic approach to understanding the causes and developing solutions, mitigating urban flooding presents opportunities to deliver improvements to neighborhoods and communities. This webinar examines the causes of urban flooding, the opportunities available from a proactive approach to mitigation and the importance of community engagement in understanding the problem and developing solutions.
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From Risks to Resilience: International Perspectives on Holistic Climate Adaptation at a Time of Financial Challenge
It’s time to think differently about the future – about how we respond to unanticipated events like COVID-19 and how we prepare for and mitigate the natural, societal and economic risks associated with climate change. When individuals, communities, institutions, businesses and systems are resilient, they’re able to withstand, recover quickly and thrive – no matter what adversities they experience. In this session, we will examine resilience and preparedness in the context of climate change, with a focus on investigating ‘undisclosed risks’ and the full range of short- and long-term climate risks, and a holistic asset management approach for addressing climate change. We will hear from Melbourne Water, which provides drinking water and wastewater services for the approximately 5 million people living in the Melbourne metropolitan area and Thames Estuary Asset Management 2100, the Environment Agency’s single largest flood risk management program in England.
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