Gain insights from the webinar about the challenges faced with the delivery of water infrastructure & planning for external risks while preparing for the $55 billion investment provided by IIJA.
It’s no secret that our country’s water systems are under stress. Factors like climate change, population increase, and water scarcity are unpredictable and make the delivery of water infrastructure, much of which is underground, a challenge. Maintaining existing infrastructure or investing in new water conservation is a complicated process. The United States has allocated $55 billion to water and wastewater initiatives as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Join our water infrastructure executives as they discuss how they are addressing these obstacles and building capital programs that meet the strategic needs of their communities.
This webinar will cover:
- Challenges faced with the delivery of water infrastructure
- Critical questions water agencies need to answer in building their programs
- How to plan for external risk factors such as climate change
- How to better prepare for the $55 billion infrastructure investment in the United States
Speakers:
Tom Hickmann
Chief Executive Officer, Tualatin Valley Water District, Oregon
Heather Dyer
CEO/General Manager, San Bernardino Valley
Municipal Water District, California
Indra Maharjan
Director, Innovation, Technology, and Alternative Delivery
Ontario Clean Water Agency
This guide discusses how Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) addresses the immediate need for an updated infrastructure of airports, seaports, and rail sectors to strengthen America’s supply chain resiliency.
According to the 2021 ASCE Report Card, America’s ports supported more than 30 million jobs and approximately 26% of our nation’s GDP. But the report warns that without updating these ports and waterways, the country could face further supply chain and labor issues.
Decades of neglect of the country’s railways, seaports, and airports have left the country in a vulnerable position when it comes to the movement of goods and supply chain issues. According to several surveys, none of the top 25 airports are in the United States, and only four of the ports have made it to the global top 50 ports list. Furthermore, the waterways and ports have billions of dollars in backlogged repairs.
The IIJA will provide $973 billion over the next five years (the fiscal years 2022–2026) to fund a multitude of old and new programs to improve transportation, including railways, seaports, and airports across the country.
This guide discusses how IIJA is the first step in the path to future for providing clean air, drinking water, and environmental justice for enhancing health and security across America.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that while great strides have been made in reducing pollution, many areas in the United States exceed national air quality standards. And with six to ten million lead service lines still in use across the country, many Americans do not have access to safe drinking water.
The IIJA will provide $973 billion over the next five years (the fiscal years 2022–2026) to fund a multitude of old and new programs to improve water, transportation, energy, environmental remediation, public lands, broadband, and more.
Additionally, according to a recent EPA study, about “14% to 18% of total daily treated potable water in the United States is lost through leaks, with some water systems reporting water-loss rates exceeding 60%.” In what’s been called a ‘big win’ for the country’s aging power grid, the IIJA will invest in improving the nation’s power infrastructure and addressing legacy pollution issues.
In addition to the needed funding to address the existing problems, provisions outlined in the bill will also modernize the current regulatory system to help speed up projects to mitigate climate change and support a competitive global economy.
Clean air, clean drinking water, and environmental justice for communities that have been left behind are part of a more extensive initiative to improve health and security across America. This bill is the first step on the path to the future.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed into law in 2021 has created a perfect opportunity to leave behind some commonly believed myths about capital construction projects and programs.
While the world lived through another year enduring a global pandemic, many industries, including construction, forged forward by adopting and integrating new ways of conducting daily business. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was signed into law in 2021, creating a perfect opportunity to leave behind commonly believed myths held when it comes to capital construction projects.
Top ten commonly believed myths in the construction industry:
- Myth #1: The construction industry lives in the past
- Myth #2: Sustainability and construction don’t go together
- Myth #3: There is little inclusivity and diversity in the construction industry
- Myth #4: Collaboration across departments and amongst stakeholders is hard
- Myth #5: Only large agencies with big tech budgets can afford capital construction project management software
- Myth #6: Project data is always inconsistent
- Myth #7: Right of Way (ROW) and land acquisition is a tedious process
- Myth #8: Online public engagement is difficult to manage
- Myth #9: Construction projects are always delayed
- Myth #10: Cash flow is not transparent
Explore this guide to gain valuable insights about the public engagement process, how your agency can manage public feedback and the common challenges often encountered during the public engagement process.
Your constituents’ feedback will influence your project, so it is important to have a solid engagement process in place, beginning with the planning phase of a project.
Outlined below are common challenges often encountered during the public engagement process and how investing in a public engagement platform will help ease, for that matter, even eliminate these tedious problems.
- Quality (or the lack) of engagement
- Limited audience reach
- Slow dissemination of information to the public
- Slow and cumbersome review of feedback
