*Note: Attendees must be registered for the Conference (full or daily) to be able to register for the pre-conference workshops.

**Note: All times listed below are EST.

Saturday, August 9

8:00 am – 12:00 pm | 250 - Large Diameter Pipeline Forum: Owners Perspective

1:00 pm – 5:00 pm | Large Diameter Pipeline Forum: Users Only Session (Included with AM Session)

Presenters

• John Norton, PhD., PE; Great Lakes Water Authority; Director of Energy, Research, & Innovation
• Jody Caldwell, PE; Great Lakes Water Authority; Chief Planning Officer
• Alex Wells, PE; Passaic Valley Water Commission; Supervising Engineer
• Nicholas Gan, P.Eng., PMP; Region of Peel; Manager, Engineering Condition Assessment & Rehabilitation
• Lary Hare, PE; City of Oklahoma City; Engineer
• Donna Stephens, PE; Tarrant Regional Water District; Engineer
• Jay Pastor, PE; Metropolitan Water District of Southern California; Corrosion Engineer Team Manager
• Susan Donnally, PE; HDR; Condition Assessment Technical Lead
• Graham Bell, PhD., PE, FNACE, F.ASCE; University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Research Associate Professor

This workshop will focus on the aspects of initiating, developing, and managing a pipe management program. It will serve as a venue to discuss lessons learned from development and implementation of linear asset management programs through the lens of utility owners to continue to advance the pipeline management industry. Participants will be representative of varying geographic regions and disciplines within their respective utility, offering unique perspectives on the similar, but different challenges, they each face. After a hosted lunch break, large diameter pipeline owners or representatives will participate to discuss amongst their group, the challenges, realities and needs of this peer group. This split event is meant to provide both an open forum for discussion along with the opportunity for owners to speak frankly and candidly about their issues, problems and concerns.

The Large Diameter Forum was an outgrowth of the independent PCCP User's Group (PUG) meeting that started in the late 1990's. The PUG meeting was led by utilities and had as one of its key aspects a utility owner only session after a morning open session to allow PCCP owners to speak freely and discuss with candor and anonymity their issues along with the presentations during the morning open session. Many utilities have stated that this was the best part of the meetings and other groups (AWWA Condition Assessment Committee) has instigated a similar schedule and approach. This year, the organizers are proposing that we return to a similar format with an open session in the morning followed by a couple of hours utility only closed session. We believe this will improve the communication and desirability for the meeting to utilities.

Fee: EB: $225 | ADV: $250 | FIN: $275

8:00 am – 12:00 pm | 370 - Digital Transformation in the Water Industry

Presenter(s)

• Chris Macintosh, MBA, CPEng NER APEC Engineer IntPE(Aus), Global Principal – Digital Advisory

As global water challenges intensify, innovative technologies and data-driven solutions are becoming essential for efficient water management and sustainable practices. This workshop explores the critical role of digital transformation in revolutionizing the water industry. Participants will gain insights into emerging trends, best practices, and strategies for implementing digital solutions in water utilities and infrastructure projects. Key learning objectives include understanding the drivers and benefits of digital transformation, identifying key technologies and their applications, developing implementation strategies, and creating tailored roadmaps for digital adoption.

Fee: EB: $225 | ADV: $250 | FIN: $275

1:00 pm – 5:00 pm | 242 - The Importance of Utility Coordination and Subsurface Utility Engineering in Project Development

Presenters

• Natalie Parks, PE, M. ASCE, Senior Project Manager, Kimley-Horn
• Carl DeZee, PE, M. ASCE, Senior Project Manager, Kimley-Horn
• Tim Habenicht, PE, Director of SUE, Yellow Rose Mapping
• Tylor Bottorff, PE, M. ASCE, ROW and Utility Department Manager, Kiewit

The workshop will be an interactive discussion and learning opportunity where key practices of effective utility coordination are taught using practical exercises intended to demonstrate how these practices can be applied to all projects, regardless of stage of development. Exercises will include risk assessment, conflict analysis, conflict management, communication best practices, understanding SUE investigations, applying SUE data during design development, and methods of incorporating the utility information in the project plans. Case studies will be shared showing how effective coordination, or the lack thereof, influences the outcome of the project in construction.  

Fee: EB: $225 | ADV: $250 | FIN: $275

Sunday, August 10

8:00 am – 12:00 pm | 224 - Large Diameter Pipeline Forum: Service Providers Perspective 

Presenters

• Alex Mastrogiacomo - Senior Civil/Structural engineering, Semi-Retired
• Rabia Mady, P.Eng. Consulting Engineer, GHD
• John W. Norton, Jr., PhD., PE – GLWA
• Cameron White, BSc, Director of Growth, KenWave
• Yan Lan, P.Eng., M.Eng., Engineering Manager, DECAST
• Ad Shata, P.Eng. – APPIA

A key requirement for watermains long term asset management is to understand the condition of watermain in a system via state-of-the-art inspection methods. The condition assessment provides critical information needed to assess the physical condition and functionality of the watermain asset and aids in estimating the pipe remaining service life. The assessment findings are then interpreted in a risk-based decision-making matrix that identifies intervention strategies, maintenance strategies, and optimal renewal methods suitable for the current condition of the asset previously identified via different assessment methods while considering various criteria such as constructability and associated costs for each proposed intervention recommendation. While distribution watermain condition assessment lifecycle is well understood, transmission and sub-transmission watermain condition assessment lifecycle is challenging and has been carried out differently by different pipe owners through a variety of condition assessment program. Hence, uniforming the approach and condition assessment lifecycle for transmission and sub-transmission watermain assets and/or develop a framework is a must to allow other pipe owners to initiate programs as well as develop a database suitable for transmission and sub-transmission watermain assets that can be utilized for predictive analysis and decision making as part of long-term asset management practices.

Fee: EB: $225 | ADV: $250 | FIN: $275

1:00 pm – 5:00 pm | 10 - Large Equipment Owners Forum

Presenters

• Michael Thomas, PE; Capital Programs Unit Manager, Engineering Services; Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
• Valve Interaction Committee
• John Jolstrom, Val-Matic
• Actuator Manufacturer

Various municipalities and owners have been working together to try to unify procurement of large, reliable equipment. Attendees will be given a peek into their efforts. The primary objectives of this workshop are to understand where owners are concerned with regard to procuring large equipment, disseminate important updated information for valve procurement, and understand where owners can improve specifications for actuators. 

Fee: EB: $225 | ADV: $250 | FIN: $275

1:00 pm – 5:00 pm | 369 - Asset Management Workshop

Presenters

• Celine Hyer, P.E., IAM, Water Conveyance Planning Lead, Arcadis US
• Tim Noyes, Asset Manager, Toho Water Authority
• Courtney Jalbert, IAM, ENV-SPP Infrastructure Integrity Manager, Tarrant Regional Water District
• Alia C. Johnson, P.E., Engineering Manager, Dekalb County Department of Watershed Management
• Nimarta Gill, M.Eng., Advisor Water and Wastewater Strategic Infrastructure Planning

Developing comprehensive asset management plans (AMPS) for water and sewer pipeline assets are an important part of proactively minimizing the risks of pipeline failures and planning the proper funding for necessary rehabilitation and replacement needs. Some US states have put in place regulatory requirements to develop AMPS over the last five years which has increased the popularity of developing these documents, while other utilities are developing AMPS to assist with transforming how their organizations manage their assets to become more efficient and effective. The USEPA has published guidelines on the steps necessary to develop asset management plans and the ISO 55000 series also outlines what should be included in an AMP document. This workshop will provide an overview of best practices and content for AMPS, present detailed case studies with lessons learned from utilities that have developed water and sewer AMPS and facilitate group exercises on calculating pipeline risk and applying it for optimizing capital and maintenance needs as part of an AMP.

Fee: EB: $225 | ADV: $250 | FIN: $275