Inframanage

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About INFRAMANAGE.COM
    • OUR TEAM
    • TESTIMONIALS
  • IAM RESOURCES
    • VIDEOS
      • Southwest EFC Asset Management Story
      • IPAM Summary Series
      • IM – Forecasting the Changes to 2030
      • NZ Demography – Professor Natalie Jackson
      • IDS Conversations
      • IAM – Myths, Realities, and Money
      • Strategic Asset Management Planning
      • Preparing, Implementing, and Reviewing AMP
      • Asset Management Planning Lecture at UoA
      • Demand Management – Asset Management Lecture at UoA
    • WEBINARS
      • IAM – How to Start?
      • Ask the Experts August 2018
      • Ask the Experts October 2017
      • Ask the Experts June 2016
      • Ask the Experts November 2015
      • Ask the Experts May 2015
      • Ask the Experts August 2014
      • Ask the Experts April 2014
      • Infrastructure Management Discussions
    • eBOOKS
    • CONFERENCE PAPERS
    • RESEARCH PAPERS
    • NEWS
    • PACIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT
      • About Pacific Infrastructure Management
      • The Pacific IM Team
      • AM Pacific Resources
    • CLIMATE ADAPTATION
    • VIDEO BLOGS
      • The Metropolis Infrastructure Management Story
      • Asset Management Conversations with Evan
  • DIRECTORY
  • UTILITIES IM
  • CLIMATE ADAPTATION
  • BLOG
    • ASSET MANAGEMENT VIDEO BLOG
      • The Metropolis Infrastructure Management Story
      • Asset Management Conversations
    • ASK THE EXPERTS
      • Enriching Infrastructure Asset Management Lessons
      • Utility Infrastructure Asset Management Learning
      • Starting Infrastructure Asset Management
      • Simplifying Infrastructure Asset Management
      • Levels of Service-Cost-Risk and Asset Management Plan
      • Resolving Asset Management Issues
      • Asset Management – How to Start and Practice Effectively
      • Infrastructure Asset Management – How To Start
    • INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT DISCUSSIONS
    • INFRASTRUCTURE DECISION SUPPORT
    • IAM – MYTHS, REALITIES, & MONEY
    • PREPARING, IMPLEMENTING, & REVIEWING AMP
    • STRATEGIC ASSET MANAGEMENT PLANNING
    • SWEFC ASSET MANAGEMENT STORY
    • PACIFIC WASTE & WASTEWATER CONFERENCE
  • CONTACT
  • MEMBER HOME
  • LOGIN
You are here: Home / Ask the Experts 11 October 2017 / Asset Management is About Level of Service that Protects Public Health

23/11/2018 By Admin 1 Comment

Asset Management is About Level of Service that Protects Public Health

resolving asset management issues webinar

Ross and Heather continue to discuss the case of the Havelock North New Zealand water contamination incident.

asset management public health
I think in New Zealand now we’re refocusing ourselves on remembering that water and wastewater systems are about protecting public health – Ross Waugh

A webinar attendee’s question led Ross and Heather to discuss the importance of levels of service and public health.

The participant asked whether the water system at Havelock North was chlorinated, which Ross said that they wished it was.

Ross explains further:

There’s a couple of large systems in that particular area and another area in one of our major cities, where they’ve had such good groundwater for such a long time that the communities have decided that they don’t want chlorination. Our federal government hasn’t enforced it as a regulation.

There’s just a significant debate going on across New Zealand in our profession and with the regulators at the moment about whether there should be mandatory residuals. There used to be, sort of one of the things where people got a bit annoyed, people don’t like chemicals in the water supply, and those people are particularly vocal in the community.

And it’s just an extensive conversation around public health versus public preference shall we say.

In asset management, one of the things that you do is you sit down and work out the service levels.

So, for a water utility, you would go, yes we are going to provide safe water. We want to deliver, it tastes nice, we want to provide enough of it, a good quantity of it at the right pressure perhaps—those sorts of things.

But what we found out of that Havelock North Incident is that your number one service level is, don’t kill people. Provide safe water. The other service levels are secondary to that.

Back in New Zealand, I’m sure the case was in the 50s and 60s in the States as well, a public water engineer would be called a public health engineer. That was the focus. It was getting public health, primary health.

I think in New Zealand now we’re refocusing ourselves on remembering that water and wastewater systems are about protecting public health in the first instance, and maybe that’s going to change the cost structure a little bit to make sure that we have that covered off.

Heather:

And it’s something that has come up a lot in the work that we’ve done in asset management, is the idea of the level of service and level of service is a big part of asset management.

But it’s often one the utilities want to ignore and want to downplay as not as important as the other four components of asset management.

And an incident like this, or even Flint, Michigan, in my opinion, drives home that message that level of service is vitally essential. Because, say a community like Flint put first and foremost the public health in the community as the number 1 thing, not the money, not switching sources.

The number 1 thing is the public health of that community. I think they might have made different choices.

So, we do need to have that level of service be a key factor for all of our communities and looking at public health as a huge part of that public level of service.

Ross:

And that Havelock community, the water is currently being chlorinated. They had done the risk assessment before the Incident, years before, and said hey we could get contaminated water.

They had chlorination injection points at every single one of their wells. The trouble is, once you get contamination in the water, your sampling is not continuously done online usually. Well, in New Zealand, it isn’t.

And so it’s was too late. The horse had already bolted in terms of that.

The fascinating thing is that the town wants chlorine out of the water even after a third of the town has been sick, you know. Lots of children being unwell. Older people are dying. They still don’t want chlorine on their water.

And the municipality has had to provide one well with a tap where people can go and fill up their water without chlorine in it.

And you go, well, that’s a conversation and communication between the regulators and the municipality, and the community to say we can’t guarantee the safety of the water without some sort of disinfectant and residual chlorine is still about the best way of doing that I think.


⇐ PREVIOUS POST

 

The Importance of Making Valid Assumptions in Asset Management Planning

asset management planning

NEXT POST ⇒

 

Discussing Asset Management Practice for Your Infrastructure System

infrastructure asset management best practice


Please Post Your Comments

Related

Share
Share17
Tweet
Pin10
Share
27 Shares

Filed Under: Ask the Experts 11 October 2017, Infrastructure Asset Management, Resolving Asset Management Issues Tagged With: asset management, asset management issues, asset management system, environmental finance center network, Flint Michigan, havelock north nz, Heather Himmelberger, inframanage, inframanage.com, infrastructure asset management issues, infrastructure asset management system, Public Health, Ross Waugh, water chlorination

Trackbacks

  1. Discussing Best Asset Management Practice for Your Infrastructure System – Inframanage says:
    25/11/2018 at 7:27 AM

    […] Asset Management is About Level of Service that Protects Public Health […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

TO RECEIVE OUR eNEWSLETTER VIA EMAIL, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE.

Infrastructure Asset Management Newsletter

In signing up, you will receive
FREE updates from Inframanage

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Visit the Climate Adaptation Platform!

Read the articles and links to scholarly papers, infrastructure asset management resources that relate to climate adaptation.

climate adaptation
READ MORE!

Recent Posts

  • Asset Management eBook Available Free!
  • America’s Infrastructure Systems are Failing the People They Are Trying to Serve
  • The Benefits of Investing in the USA’s Aging Water Infrastructure
  • Conversations with Evan 1 – Asset Inventory (Video)
  • Asset Management Conversations with Evan – Introduction (Video)
  • Water NZ BIP Presentation – Strategic Review of Infrastructure Procurement (Video)
  • Asset Management thoughts in Solving Manila’s Traffic Congestion
  • Utility Infrastructure Management in Disasters Needs Paradigm Shift

Watch our Latest Asset Management Vlog!

asset management conversations - asset inventory

Conversations with Evan 1 – Asset Inventory (Video)

Conversations with Evan is a video series that Ross Waugh started to provide asset management learning and information based … [Read More...]

MORE Asset Management Video Blogs!

JOIN INFRAMANAGE TO GET MORE ONLINE EDUCATION, FREE!

Create an account now and login to browse the Infrastructure Asset Management learning we have published for you!

JOIN US NOW!

IIMM-Related Articles

  • International Infrastructure Management Manual 5th (2015) Edition
  • Asset Management Manual for Smaller to Mid-sized Water Utilities
  • AM Basic Guideline – Applying Infrastructure Asset Management Principles
  • CLICK TO READ MORE IIMM-Related Posts

FREE eBOOKS FOR YOU! BOOST YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT EDUCATION!

infrastructure asset management
READ MORE

THIS VIDEO SEMINAR WILL ENHANCE YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT LEARNING

Introduction to Practical Asset Management Full Series - sidebar

Learn and sharpen your Asset Management skills through the
"Introduction to Practical Asset Management"
video series.

CLICK on the image or anywhere on this text.

BUILD YOUR ASSET MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS HERE!

CLICK and watch Ross Waugh present the Infrastructure Asset Management learning resources at the Inframanage.com site.

GET MORE IAM LEARNING!

Introduction to Practical Asset Management Full Series - sidebar
e-LEARNING offers premium Infrastructure Asset Management Online Learning.

FIND OUT MORE

BROWSE MORE TOPICS

  • Ask the Experts
  • Asset Management
  • Asset Management Planning
  • Infrastructure Asset Management
  • Infrastructure Asset Management Courses
  • Infrastructure Asset Management Learning
  • Infrastructure Asset Management Online Education
  • Infrastructure Management
  • Infrastructure Management Education
  • Infrastructure Management Planning
  • Transportation Infrastructure Management
  • Water Utilities Infrastructure Management
  • Infrastructure Management Forecasting
  • Infrastructure Management Innovation
Flag Counter

SEARCH OUR ARCHIVES

BECOME AN INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT EXPERT!

Introduction to Practical Asset Management Full Series - sidebar
FIND OUT MORE

OUR RECENT POSTS

  • Asset Management eBook Available Free!
  • America’s Infrastructure Systems are Failing the People They Are Trying to Serve
  • The Benefits of Investing in the USA’s Aging Water Infrastructure
  • Conversations with Evan 1 – Asset Inventory (Video)
  • Asset Management Conversations with Evan – Introduction (Video)
  • Water NZ BIP Presentation – Strategic Review of Infrastructure Procurement (Video)

WE TALK ABOUT

  • Future Infrastructure Management Implications
  • Infrastructure Asset Management Resources
  • Infrastructure Asset Management Courses
  • Infrastructure Asset Management Learning
  • Infrastructure Asset Management Online Education
  • Infrastructure Asset Management Online Learning
  • Infrastructure Management Education
  • Infrastructure Management Planning
  • Water Utilities Infrastructure Management

website security

Copyright © 2021 · INFRAMANAGE · PRIVACY POLICY · TERMS OF SERVICE

en English
af Afrikaansar العربيةzh-CN 简体中文nl Nederlandsen Englishfi Suomifr Françaisde Deutschiw עִבְרִיתhi हिन्दीit Italianoja 日本語ko 한국어ms Bahasa Melayupt Portuguêsru Русскийes Españolth ไทยuk Українськаvi Tiếng Việtzu Zulu