WDBC shares important info on COVID-19's effect on the water industry. Read our latest blog. New research study underway.
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WDBC E-NEWS – April 9, 2020
Issue Highlights
COVID-19 and the Water Sector - What Can You Do?
Blog Feature - Communication Leads to Shared Success in a Design-Build-Operate (DBO) Partnership
WDBC Launches New Research Study
Agencies are Responding to COVID-19 with Critical Information Regarding the Water Industry
While our collaborative-delivery education sessions may be on hold for the foreseeable future, the WDBC is still committed to educating our industry on issues that affect all of us. We will continue to use this space to pass along any pertinent information from other organizations that can help everyone better manage this ever-changing crisis. We are all in this together - let's work together.
AWWA Recently Provided Webinar Sponsored by WDBC Advisor Member Woodard & Curran Entitled Legal Aspects of COVID-19 for Water Utilities.
The rapidly evolving issues that COVID-19 is bringing to water utilities across the nation are also impacting various legal aspects of their operations. Facing unfamiliar exposures and liabilities, water utilities are having to learn new ways to anticipate and address COVID-19’s legal challenges. During this webinar, legal aspects of key topics covered included: enforcement and compliance issues; discretionary changes under consent orders; procurement, contracting and force majeure issues; and water utility employee health and safety related issues. This webinar brought together legal and water utility operational experts to help guide attendees through these topics and sought to provide them with insights on how they can proactively identify and then address the legal aspects of these issues. For other AWWA webinars dealing with COVID-19 and the water industry, click here.
The Water Research Foundation Hosts Webinar on Latest Corona Virus Research
Keeping up with the rapidly changing information and science related to the COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for our global community. To date, more than 1,300,000 people have been diagnosed with the virus resulting in more than 73,000 deaths.
The pandemic is prompting questions for the water supply and sanitation sector globally. The concentrations of the virus and its survival and potential infectivity in different water and wastewater matrices are yet to be confirmed. The rapidity and magnitude of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic means answers to these questions are needed quickly. It is important that water sector professionals remain informed regarding updates to information and any measures needed to protect both workers and public health in general. The Water Research Foundation is hosting this webcast as part of a series to provide technical updates and information on COVID-19:
Thursday, April 16, 2020 - 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. (EDT)
Our world-renowned presenters are experts in infectious disease control, virology, water and wastewater engineering, personal protective equipment (PPEs), outbreak epidemiology, pandemic trends, and risk emergency response. Our presenters will provide participants with up-to-date technical details, resources, and published public health recommendations as we continue to learn more about this ongoing pandemic.
Presenters: Peter Grevatt, PhD, CEO – The Water Research Foundation Charles Haas, PhD – Drexel University, WRF Academic Council, A Risk Assessment Update and Perspective Matthew Arduino, DrPH – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC’s Current Update on COVID-19 Charles Gerba, PhD – University of Arizona,The Survivability of the COVID-19 Virus in Air, Water, Wastewater, and Various Surfaces Krista Wigginton, PhD – University of Michigan, Overview of the COVID-19 Virus Loads in Human Samples and Using Predictive Models to Predict Fate in the Environment Gertjan Medema, PhD – KWR Water Research Institute in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands – The Dutch Case Study on Sewage Surveillance of COVID-19 Mark LeChevallier, PhD – Dr. Water Consulting, LLC, Overview of PPEs and the Current Implications and Applicability to COVID-19
Moderators:
Charles Haas, PhD – Drexel University, WRF Academic Council Lola Olabode, MPH, BCES, Research Program Manager – The Water Research Foundation
COVID-19 Response: Ask Congress to Support Infrastructure Investment and Design-Build
Please read this important message from our colleagues at DBIA:
Once again, talk of federal infrastructure investment in Washington has become and on-again/off-again issue, changing with each day. It shouldn't be this way. History has shown passage of a broad infrastructure investment package helps communities recover, creates jobs and spurs the economy. The next round of stimulus should include funding for building roads, transit systems, airports and water projects, among other forms of infrastructure putting thousands back to work and boosting our communities' vital public services.
Design-build has a long history of helping our nation recover in times of crisis. Congress needs to know about design-build's record of success (backed-up by research) in delivering innovative projects on time and under-budget, especially in crisis situations.
Now's the time to urge Congress to pass an infrastructure investment plan including policy provisions based on Design-Build Done Right® Best Practices to encourage a wide use of design-build.
Here's How You Can Help: Write or Email: Your U.S. Senators and U.S. Members of Congress Use this draft letter as a template. Please add personal information (your profession, ties to your community, etc). After you send to your elected officials, please share your letter or email with us at advocacy@dbia.org so we can follow up.
Communication Leads to Shared Success in a Design-Build-Operate (DBO) Partnership
A standard design-build-operate (DBO) partnership in the water and wastewater market may include an operations company, a lead design engineering firm, and a contractor to complete the construction phase. Depending on the contractual arrangement, each organization is typically contractually bound to one another through the completion of the construction elements of the project, and in some cases this relationship extends into the steady-state, long-term operations and maintenance period. Given the complexity of these projects, the question arises: How does each company succeed in a DBO partnership? Is there an overarching goal that will share success between the companies equally, or is everyone trying to achieve success for themselves?
WDBC Launches New Research Study for 2020-2021
The WDBC is initiating a research effort during the 2020-2021calendar years focusing on “What makes a collaborative-delivery project successful and what challenges are encountered?" Using the many collaborative-delivery methods available in the water marketplace, the study will aim to illustrate best practice enhancements to use when delivering capital projects.
Stay tuned for more updates on this vital industry research!
Our library of past research studies can be found here.
The Water Design-Build Council stands ready to contribute its expertise, resources, innovation, and enthusiasm to the challenge of strengthening our water and wastewater infrastructure.
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