In 2017 the United States experienced one of the worst dam failures in recent history when the Oroville Dam partially split, causing major downstream evacuations and damages. The cause of the problem was unstable bedrock beneath the dam that consequently eroded and structural weakness due to deterioration. Since then the dam has been repaired and strengthened, but it is still somewhat of a … [Read more...]
Wow, 2020! What a start to another Year of Infrastructure Asset Management
It is March 2020 already and this is my first blog post for the year. 2020 has started at a huge and hectic pace and hasn't let up since. Early January saw me in the Philippines visiting family friends and working with NGO's (non-government organizations) with my daughter. During this period I made a presentation on Asset Management to the Central Philippines University (CPU) College of … [Read more...]
Angkor – What Ancient Water Infrastructure Can Teach Us Today
The pre-industrial city of Angkor in Southern Cambodia, most famous for the ruins of Angkor Wat today - with its heyday in the 13th century, had a very complex water infrastructure system. The features of this system included and were not limited to man-made lakes as reservoirs, canals, moats, and embankments. The main purposes for this water distribution network were flood control and … [Read more...]
Asset Management Reflections on the Water Infrastructure Act
The U.S. Senate and the President signed a new piece of legislation that is set to improve the upgrade and maintenance of water infrastructure all over the country. The Water Infrastructure Act (known as WIA) will allow states to put more finance into water infrastructure and is hoped to ensure the eventual reality of all Americans having personal access to safe drinking water. Water … [Read more...]
The Manila Water Model – Community Engagement with Water Utility Management
In the mid-90s the Philippine Government recognized that they had a national water crisis on their hands. Only 26% of the residents of Metro Manila had 24-hour access to drinkable water and the poor of the city didn't have access to clean drinking water at all. In 1997 this changed dramatically for the East Zone of Metro Manila when the Manila Water Company utility took over management of the … [Read more...]
Water Utility Management Lessons from Lansing’s Water System Project
Lansing, Michigan has succeeded in replacing all of it's 12,500 lead pipes. This large project has come at a high cost for the utility, but with careful investment, it has become a very manageable cost. The city has succeeded in avoiding problems that have arisen in other areas of the state of Michigan by thinking ahead and realizing that replacing old water infrastructure is crucial and … [Read more...]
Applying Infrastructure Asset Management Practice to Shun “Day Zero”
Cape Town, South Africa is facing a very dire situation due to a three-year-long mega-drought. By May, the city was expecting to have to turn off its water supply and hand out a meager 25 liters per day to its citizens, who will have to make their way through long and potentially dangerous crowds to one of 200 distribution points throughout the city. The shut-off day - known as "Day Zero" - … [Read more...]
American Public Works Association PWX to be held in Kansas City, MO
The APWA Public Works Expo (PWX) will be held in Kansas City, Missouri on 26th-29th August 2018 in conjunction with the International Federation of Municipal Engineers (IFME) World Congress In New Zealand, IPWEA NZ is a member of IFME and a sister organization of APWA. Ross has attended and presented at the previous two IFME World Congresses in Helsinki, Finland in 2012 and … [Read more...]
Asset Management Career in the Water Infrastructure Sector Pushed
In the USA, many water infrastructure upgrades are going to be needed in the next couple of decades. There is a growing concern, however, that with many laborers in this field set to retire soon, there may not be enough people to do the jobs. Brookings Metropolitan Policy Programme, based in Washington D.C., has recently been thinking through this problem and has held a conference in hopes … [Read more...]
How Infrastructure Asset Management Boosts Infra Spending in Rural US
The US Department of Agriculture has recognized several pressing needs in rural US communities and has plans to invest $267 million to improve water and wastewater systems in 103 projects. Many of these communities have very limited water infrastructure and the risk of contamination. Water Technology reports: "USDA’s investments towards water infrastructure include $116,000 loan to the … [Read more...]
Inframanage Team Attends Pacific Water Conference, Noumea 6th-10th August, 2018
The 11th Pacific Water and Wastewater Conference will be held in Noumea, New Caledonia from 6th-10th August 2018. Members of our team will be attending this Conference, which is a vital forum for the discussion of water and wastewater issues across Pacific Island countries. This includes infrastructure management issues. This Conference is somewhat unique in including Ministerial … [Read more...]
Inframanage Blog 2018 – More Infrastructure Asset Management Education
Those of you who have been regular visitors to the Inframanage Blog will have noted that it has been a long time since the last blog post - back in late 2017. A combination of high consulting workload, study, and family responsibilities has created this gap, and in effect created a lack of 'bandwidth' to regularly blog. This combination of events has now passed, and as of today, regular blog … [Read more...]
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