BC’s Joanie Stultz recognized with AWWA PNWS Pioneer Award
Kids safe to sip from school faucets, thanks to CECorps and AWWA section
Brown and Caldwell appoints vice president to propel Texas growth trajectory
DALLAS — Leading environmental engineering and construction firm Brown and Caldwell today announced Adam Evans has joined the firm as vice president and area leader as part of its Texas growth strategy.
With a 17-year background in the water and wastewater sector, Evans is highly skilled in the positioning, capture, and efficient delivery of water infrastructure projects in numerous geographies. His experience includes leading high-performing teams focused on exceeding clients’ expectations and helping their capital investments go further.
Based in Dallas, Texas Area Leader Evans is responsible for operations management, business development, and driving new client growth in addition to expanding the firm’s presence to meet market and customer needs. He will direct project teams in the planning, design, and construction of municipal water, wastewater, and stormwater projects that positively impact clients’ long-term goals.
Since the early 1980s, Brown and Caldwell has provided professional services to numerous municipal and private industry clients throughout Texas as described by CEO Rich D’Amato:
“I am thrilled to welcome a leader of Adam’s caliber to our growing Texas business. His client-centric approach complements our proud legacy of bringing highly technical, cost-effective solutions to the Lone Star State’s most complex environmental challenges related to aging water infrastructure, flood control, and water supply and reuse.”
Evans holds a master’s and a bachelor’s in environmental engineering and is a licensed professional engineer in Texas and Oklahoma.
Wastewater utilities help track spread of coronavirus
Site work commences on historic Everglades Agricultural Area Storage Reservoir Project
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Construction of vital restoration upgrades to the Everglades has begun – officially announced by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
A component of the State of Florida and the federal government’s Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Storage Reservoir Project in southwest Palm Beach County provides ecological benefits, reduces harmful discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries, and sends clean water to the Southern Everglades and Florida Bay. The project – expected to cost more than $1.8 billion – includes a combination of canals, stormwater treatment areas (STAs), and a storage reservoir anticipated to hold 240,000 acre-feet of water.
Following initial site preparation, the SFWMD will now begin construction of a new 6,500-acre STA west of the reservoir with associated inflow/outflow canals and levees to connect the Miami and North New River Canals. Future projects include additional conveyance capacity through enlargement of the Miami Canal and the North New River and a new 4,600-cfs inflow pump station to deliver water from the inflow canal to the reservoir and STA.
In the role of STA engineer of record, leading environmental engineering and construction firm Brown and Caldwell is providing geotechnical engineering; surveying; hydraulic and hydrogeologic modeling; and design of the new STA and its network of canals. A critical element of the project’s long-term success, the company has expedited the design of the canals to ensure early construction commencement.
“We congratulate Governor DeSantis and the South Florida Water Management District on this important step and for their leadership, dedication, and foresight in maintaining and protecting South Florida’s natural water systems and wildlife habitats.”
Brown and Caldwell Principal-in-Charge Albert Perez
The new STA is scheduled for completion in 2023, and the reservoir is expected to be complete in 2028.
What’s new in leachate sampling and analysis?
Construction set to start on critical Everglades project
Madison flooding improvement project earns national award
BC CEO joins Water Environment Federation COVID-19 roundtable
Richland Creek Reservoir dam green lighted – pump station goes operational
SFPUC, Mayor London Breed, Supervisor Shamann Walton, and partners establish grant program to support Bayview businesses
Water Environment Federation convening a blue-ribbon panel to evaluate biological hazards and precautions for wastewater workers
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — To ensure the protection of wastewater workers during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) is convening a blue-ribbon panel of experts to evaluate information on biological hazards and safety precautions.
The panel is comprised of a diverse array of experts involved in water operations, science, health and safety and will provide appropriate input to U.S. government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The top priority of the Water Environment Federation is always to ensure the safety and health of the frontline people in the water workforce, who protect our communities not just during the coronavirus pandemic but every single day. In keeping with the WEF tradition of educational and technical excellence, the blue-ribbon panel will make certain that our information on hazards and safety and the guidance of organizations such as the WHO, CDC, OSHA, and EPA are based on the latest evidence and absolute best science.”
WEF President Jackie Jarrell
The coronavirus pandemic has shown the need for timely, reliable information on biological hazards from wastewater and appropriate protective practices for wastewater workers. The WEF Manual of Practice, Safety, Health and Security in Wastewater Systems, includes a chapter that discusses types of hazards, how to prevent and treat infections, and which workers are at risk. The panel of experts will review the advice provided in the Manual of Practice and other WEF publications and guidance from federal agencies to determine if supplemental advice or recommendations are warranted to protect worker health and safety. The panel is expected to work quickly and present its initial findings within a few weeks.
The panel is chaired by Dr. Art Umble, who leads the Global Wastewater Sector for Stantec Consulting and previously managed a publicly owned water and wastewater utility. Dr. Umble also serves on the advisory council of the Water Research Foundation (WRF), the editorial board for the Water Environment Research (WER) journal, and university advisory boards for environmental engineering, and provides peer review for academic journals and collaborative research projects. Panel members represent a variety of academics, practitioners and policy-makers in disciplines from across the water sector, including public health, safety and security, utility management, collection systems, facility operations, municipal design, industrial, laboratory services, and microbiology.
The panel members are:
• Dr. Art Umble (Chair), Stantec
• Dr. Allegra da Silva (Vice Chair), Brown and Caldwell
• Tim Page-Bottorff (Vice Chair), SafeStart
• Dr. Charles Gerba, University of Arizona
• Dr. Kyle Bibby, University of Notre Dame
• Dr. Charles Haas, Drexel University
• Dr. Leonard Casson, University of Pittsburgh
• Dr. Kartik Chandran, Columbia University
• Dr. Mark Sobsey, University of North Carolina and World Health Organization
• Dr. Mark LeChevalier, Dr. Water Consulting
• John Bannen, Inframark
• Dr. Earnest Blatchley III, Purdue University
• David Gill, DC Water
• Dr. Naoko Munakata, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts
WEF’s overall response to the coronavirus pandemic has included providing the latest technical and scientific information to the water community, offering educational opportunities through digital programming, and communicating regularly about resources and assistance available to the sector. WEF maintains comprehensive information and resources related to coronavirus at www.wef.org/coronavirus.