Water University: Utility Management & Policies

Rural and Small System Sustainability (1HR, 1PDH, 0.1 CEU: $20)

This webinar will cover the Workshop in a Box and will help water and wastewater professionals prioritize the ten key management areas of sustainably managed utilities: product quality, customer satisfaction, employee & leadership development, operational optimization, financial viability, infrastructure stability, operational resiliency, community sustainability and economic development, water resource adequacy, and stakeholder understanding and support. We will discuss the attributes and walk you through any easy way to see your utility’s strengths and weaknesses. The webinar will also teach you how to develop an improvement plan and an action plan to address the weaknesses you identify.

Learning Objectives

Learn about the NRWA EFC

Learn About Sustainable Utility Management

Learn the 10 Utility Management Areas

Conduct a Self-assessment

Create and Action Plan

GIS Part 1: GIS 101 for Rural Water Systems (1HR, 1PDH, 0.1CEU : $20)

This course will focus on the value of using a Geographic Information System to manage a rural water system.

Educational Outcomes:

* Knowledge of the fundamentals of GIS.
* Understanding what resources are required for GIS.
* Knowledge of the benefits of using GIS

Presenters:

Jason Channin is a Senior Solution Engineer for Esri’s Water Practice. He joined Esri in 2003 as an Inside Sales Representative to support the Esri Denver Region. He now serves as a Senior Solution Engineer as part of the Esri Water Practice, specializing in Esri solutions for water/wastewater/stormwater management. Channin has more than 17 years of GIS experience. He earned a B.S. in geography in 2003 from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO.

David Totman is the Industry Manager of the Esri Global Water Practice providing thought leadership and market direction. Having been in the water industry for 36 years, he has been using GIS for nearly 30 of those years in business process optimization, project analytics, and infrastructure management. Totman served as the Manager of Asset Management for Colorado Springs Utilities, one of the largest four-service municipally-owned utilities in the United States. He was educated in chemistry at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and received his Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering from Arizona State University. Graduate work at ASU included a Research Assistantship with the College of Construction and thesis development in groundwater transportation methods. He has served on the Arizona Geographic Information Council and was a member of the Geospatial Information & Technology Association since its AM/FM International days.

Roles and Responsibilities in Construction Management (non CEU: FREE)

Jon Melhus will cover the roles of all parties once a contract is awarded and goes into construction. These include the owner, consulting engineer, contractor and funding agency.

Mr. Melhus came to the USDA Rural Development National Office in the Rural Utilities Service Water Program in the spring of 2007. Prior to that Jon was State Engineer for RD in Minnesota since 2003.

Before coming to RD, Jon was an Engineer with US F&WS in Minneapolis and Portland, OR, an Engineer with US Air Force in Cheyenne, WY and a Soil Scientist with USDA NRCS in NM, MT and CO. Jon recently returned from a year in Iraq serving as USDA’s Agriculture and Engineering Advisor on the Maysan Provincial Reconstruction Team.

The Risks of Industrial Cyberattack and How You Can Manage Them (1hr: $20)

This course is aimed at those who would like to understand more about the industrial cybersecurity risks they are exposed to and what they can do to mitigate these risks.

Steve Mustard, an industrial cybersecurity subject-matter expert of the International Society of Automation and its umbrella association, the Automation Federation. Mustard is an automation consultant with extensive development and management experience in real-time embedded equipment and automation systems.

Educational Outcomes

* Understanding of the Risks of Industrial Cybersecurity

* Knowledge of Methods to Reduce Cybersecurity Risks