Accela to Present Overview of Collaborative Approaches to Water Infrastructure Management

At the American Water Works Assn. Annual Conference & Exposition (AWWA ACE11) in Washington, D.C., Accela Inc. will deliver a presentation titled, “Managers, Mobile Workers and the Man-on-the-Street: How Governments & the Public Can Collaborate to Protect Water Infrastructure.”

The session will provide an overview of the challenges facing regional and local water departments in the U.S., the collaborative approaches that can help them better manage their assets and the emerging technologies to facilitate improved processes. The session will feature Mitch Bradley, vice president, asset management solutions, Accela Inc.; and it will take place Tuesday, June 14, from 4:30 to 5 p.m.

Across the U.S., management of critical water assets is often in the hands of local governments that are stretched with budget and staffing cuts. Expanding U.S. population, increasing water usage, and aging infrastructure are adding to the urgency of adopting new approaches to manage water infrastructure. Failure to foster collaboration within department teams and with the public can affect how successfully water systems are maintained, environmental regulations met, and public health protected--with great impacts to the long-term quality of national water resources.

Strategies and tools that allow water department managers, office staff and field teams to share and act upon consistent, up-to-date information are becoming vital--as is providing the public (the “man-on-the-street”) with efficient mechanisms to act as a department’s “eyes and ears” and to report infrastructure problems they encounter. New technologies have the potential to fundamentally change the way municipal water utilities perform their duties and serve the public--and to help them do so more efficiently, collaboratively and cost-effectively.

Source: Accela