Webinar - Resilience: Strong Utilities, Strong Communities, Nov. 14, 2018, 11:30 AM Pacific

Resilience Webinar Presented by PNCWA Utility Management Committee:
 
.1 CEUs requested
November 14, 2018
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Pacific

The webinar is no cost for PNCWA members, PNCWA section members, and WEF-UPP organization employees, and $50 for nonmembers.

Flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes and scores of other hazards can wreak system-wide and regional havoc on lifeline utilities that serve critical health, safety, and environmental roles in our everyday life. Recognizing the role that functioning infrastructure plays in the near- and long-term recovery of communities following a devastating event, utilities across the country are taking a serious look at their resiliency. This webinar delves into the efforts many utilities are making to understand their risks by identifying vulnerabilities, modeling natural hazard scenarios, and defining the critical elements of their systems. The presentations will include project examples from the Pacific Northwest, with insights on building organizational awareness about the need for resiliency in the face of ever increasing demands on limited funds, getting efforts off the ground, and how mitigation recommendations are being implemented.

11:30 – 11:40     Introduction           Teresa Platin, HDR
11:40 – 12:00     Presentation 1       Sonia-Lynn Abenojar, King County Wastewater Treatment Division

12:00 – 12:20     Presentation 2       Mel Damewood, Eugene Water and Electric Board
12:20 – 12:40     Presentation 3       Josh Newman, City of Springfield / Metropolitan Wastewater Management
12:40 –   1:00     Discussion             Brady Fuller, Jacobs                                 

Speaker #1:
Sonia-Lynn Abenojar, MCP 
Capital Project Manager
Wastewater Treatment Division
King County DNRP
206-477-4524 / [email protected]

Bio: Sonia-Lynn Abenojar is a capital project manager for King County Wastewater Treatment Division. She supported the development of WTD's Resiliency & Recovery Recommendations reports and is currently a lead for the Division's systemwide comprehensive planning efforts. She holds a Master of City Planning degree from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture and Community Design from the University of San Francisco.

Presentation will cover
  • King County Wastewater Treatment Division’s experience incorporating resiliency and over-all goals
  • Project Presentation
    • Project specific goals & objectives
    • Project approach, results, and challenges
    • Next steps/implementation
  • How Support for Project was Developed within WTD
  • Advice for peer agencies in delivering resiliency projects

Speaker #2:
Mel Damewood, III PE
Chief Engineering and Operations Officer
Eugene Water and Electric Board
541-685-7145 / [email protected]

Bio: Mel has over 35 years of experience in the water/utility industry. He has been with EWEB for over 30 years and is currently the Chief Water Officer over operations and engineering functions within the Water Utility. One of EWEB’s top 10-year strategic priorities is Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Recovery. Mel was part of the Water/Wastewater task force in developing the recommendations for the 2013 Oregon Resilience Plan, and has been in a leadership role in preparing EWEB and the industry for disaster readiness.

Presentation will cover

  • EWEB’s early role in planning for emergencies/disasters and provisional water supply
  • How plans change and adapt to political decisions
  • The current status of EWEB’s Fixed Emergency Water Supply Stations and the future plans to meet strategic initiatives 

Speaker #3:
Josh Newman, PE
Managing Civil Engineer
City of Springfield and the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC)
541-744-4154 / [email protected]

Bio: Josh Newman has 26 years of experience in wastewater treatment operations, process design, project management and regulatory policy. Josh started his career as an operator at Los Angeles County Sanitation District. After graduate school, Josh worked in the private sector for 11 years, eventually returning to the public sector at the City of Springfield in 2006. At Springfield, Josh has helped manage the MWMC capital program and currently leads the MWMC’s planning and policy support workgroup. Josh has a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and a Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Presentation will cover

  • The MWMC organization and its critical infrastructure
  • The MWMC’s path to resiliency planning
  • Scope, schedule, and status update on the MWMC’s resiliency plan

Register for Webinar

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