UCT - WaterWorks Conference

 

9 - 9:25 a.m.

Continuing Challenges With Trenchless In The Water Arena

Moderator: Wendell “Buddy” Barnes, PE, FSAME, MWH Americas

Speaker: Rafael Ortega, Vice President, Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam

As populations continue to increase, so does the demand for drinking water. With urbanization growth comes the challenge of installing water infrastructure with less impact on the community. Although trenchless has been embraced for decades in the wastewater industry, the water infrastructure arena has been much slower. The presentation will discuss some of the reasons for the slow acceptance and propose steps that can be taken to accelerate its universal use.

 

9:30 - 9:55 a.m.

Water Conservation, Water Loss And The Impacts Of Drought

Moderator: Wendell “Buddy” Barnes, PE, FSAME, MWH Americas

Speaker: John Sutton, Team Lead-Municipal Water Conservation, Texas Water Development Board

This session will provide an overview of water use and an analysis of water loss as reported by public water suppliers. The response to the most severe drought in Texas and the Southwest in history will be reviewed in terms of water conservation and the effectiveness of water conservation and drought contingency plans. What are the “acceptable water losses” for a public system? Also provided will be information you need on the annual water audit requirements of the TCEQ and TWDB.

 

10 - 10:25 a.m.

How Will States Finance Future Water Infrastructure – Federal, State And Local Roles

Moderator: Wendell “Buddy” Barnes, PE, FSAME, MWH Americas

Speaker: J. Tom Ray, PE, D.WRE, Water Resources Program Manager, Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam

What is the outlook for future funding of water infrastructure projects? With the severe federal budget crisis and tremendous national debt, will there even be a federal role in the future? The possibilities will be discussed, including the recent cuts to EPA’s Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs, the severe cuts expected in the FY13 Corps of Engineers’ budget, and the potential for new federal funding programs such as the much-discussed “Infrastructure Bank.” The session will also provide an update on the 2012 Texas Water Day scheduled for February 2012.

 

10:30 - 10:55 a.m.

Facing The Challenges For Houston's Water And Wastewater Systems

Moderator: Wendell “Buddy” Barnes, P.E., FSAME, MWH Americas

Speaker: Jun Chang, Deputy Director-Public Utilities Division, City of Houston

Houston's water and wastewater systems serve the fourth largest city in the nation and its surrounding areas. Everyday challenges include meeting customer demands, especially under the current drought conditions; finding funds to improve inadequate and aging infrastructures; being compliant with regulatory requirements and other unfunded mandates; and planning. The presentation will cover what the city is doing to meet those challenges.

 

11 - 11:25 a.m.

Recent Survey Of Water Pipeline Failures In North America

Moderator: Wendell “Buddy” Barnes, P.E., FSAME, MWH Americas

Speaker: C. Vipulanandan (Vipu), PhD, PE, Professor/Director-CIGMAT & THC‑IT, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Houston

The Center for Innovative Grouting Materials and Technology (CIGMAT) at the University of Houston conducted a national survey in collaboration with the city of Houston to document conditions of water pipelines in North America. Presented will be the survey results that were analyzed with a number of local parameters to establish the general trends observed in water pipeline failures. It was possible to investigate the relationship between breaks and/or breaks per mile and some factors such as pipe length, pipe diameter and age of the systems.

 

1 - 1:25 p.m.

 

1:30 - 1:55 p.m.

Water Supply Issues In Montgomery County, TX

Moderator: Frank Marino, PE, HR Green

Speaker: Jace Houston, Deputy General Manager-Administration, San Jacinto River Authority

Rapid population growth in Montgomery County, TX, has resulted in declines of water levels caused by over-pumping underground aquifers to meet increased water demands. The Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District recently adopted a mandate that requires all large volume groundwater users in Montgomery County to reduce their groundwater consumption by 30%. The San Jacinto River Authority has developed a plan that would deliver surface water from Lake Conroe to a few large users along the I-45 corridor. Phase 1 of the program will involve the construction of a 30 MGD surface water treatment plant at Lake Conroe and over 50 miles of transmission lines.

 

2 - 2:25 p.m.

A Sustainable, Holistic Approach To Assessment & Rehabilitation Of RCP & PCCP Assets

Speaker: Rudy Loera, PE, President, Analytical Engineering

A holistic approach needs to be taken and coupled with new methods of engineering and construction technologies to existing methods to sustain the life of the infrastructure. This presentation will discuss a holistic methodology of assessment using magnetics, acoustics and ultrasonic technologies coupled with structural strengthening FRP technologies to sustain the life of pipe.