2021 PNCWA Conference Lineup

Many Murraysmith leaders in water/wastewater engineering will be attending the PNCWA 2021 conference in Boise, Idaho, on September 12-15. Below is a lineup of our team members who will be presenting—check them out and connect with them, either in-person or virtually, if they’re discussing a topic you’d like to learn more about.

Head over to the PNCWA website for more information on how to attend.

Timeslot

Presenters

Topic

Monday, 9/13, 10:30am

Maricris “Mari” Orama, EdD, PE – Professional Engineer, Murraysmith

Sage Ebel – Engineering Designer, Murraysmith

How Do We Make Outreach More Equitable? A Case Study at Murraysmith + Quincy

Many individuals and organizations are working hard to develop plans for increasing racial and gender equity within their fields. STEAM Outreach plays a significant role in supporting long-term societal goals of increasing STEAM literacy and diversity within our STEM workforce. This presentation explores the steps taken at Murraysmith + Quincy to improve its STEAM Outreach program. We will discuss: 1) the significance of STEAM versus STEM; 2) the challenges and advantages posed by remote learning and STEAM outreach; 3) the restructuring of our program; 4) lessons learned and next steps; and 5) pertinent conclusions and recommendations for other companies looking to initiate more equitable outreach programs.

Tuesday, 9/14, 8:00am

Adam Crafts, PE – Principal Engineer, Murraysmith

Phil Roppo, PE – Project Manager, Clark Regional Wastewater District

Pump Station Systems Design – How They Can Vary by Agency

This presentation will delve into each pump station system, breaking down the wet wells, valving, power service, backup power, pump drives, level sensors, odor control, force mains, and pigging stations. This discussion will be supported by case studies, tying together the lessoned learned for design criteria, material or technology options, reliability and redundancy, permitting, and easement acquisition considerations. Understand Clark Regional Wastewater District and other local agency policy considerations on redundancy, odor control, force main pigging, or control strategy for facilities of varying size and complexity.

Tuesday, 9/14, 3:00pm

Adam Schuyler, PE, PMP – Principal Engineer, Murraysmith

Nichole Kruse, PE – Professional Engineer, Murraysmith

Stepping into Management During a Pandemic: What Have We Learned?

Nichole and Adam both took on new roles within the organization as the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread in early 2020, significantly disrupting the status quo. Nichole was promoted to Group Manager and Adam to Puget Sound Regional Manager and Corporate Management Team member. Both taking on new roles in the organization as the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread, both Nichole and Adam were charged with unifying and growing the Puget Sound Region and improving regional performance across multiple metrics (i.e., revenue, sales, profit). At the end of 2020, the Puget Sound region had met and, in certain areas, exceeded its performance goals. The presentation will include a discussion of lessons learned, and how they plan to apply their experiences moving forward in the era following the COVID-19 crisis.

Tuesday, 9/14, 3:45pm

Brendan O’Sullivan, PE – Principal Engineer, Murraysmith

Between a Lake and a Hard Place: Constructability Constraints and CIPP Lining

The City of Fairview’s Interlachen trunk sewer is a 12-inch-diameter concrete sanitary sewer along Fairview Lake’s northern shoreline. The City decided to rehabilitate approximately 12,000 linear feet of the degraded concrete trunk sewer. The trunk sewer is located predominantly in private backyards routed through backyard easements of nearly 70 private properties along the lakeshore within an existing easement, presenting a unique set of construction challenges. Any excavation along the shoreline would trigger floodplain permitting and likely an archaeological investigation, as the project area was once the site of a large Multnomah Native American village known as ničáqʷli. Constructability constraints presented the perfect opportunity to use UV-CIPP lining. The small construction footprint helped minimize impacts to residents, requiring less equipment to install the liner than steam or water cured CIPP methods. This presentation will provide an overview of the challenges faced and advantages of using UV-CIPP lining to minimize private property impacts.

Tuesday, 9/14, 3:45pm

David Stangel, PE – Principal, Murraysmith

Clark Worth – Principal, Barney & Worth (acquired by Murraysmith)

Five Things to Know About Saving Ratepayers Millions of Dollars with WIFIA

Every water and wastewater utility in the United States should be aware of and consider participating in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan program. The benefits to your community and ratepayers can have generational impact. Our staff has supported more than $1.4B in WIFIA loan Letters of Interests and subsequent applications. This presentation covers the five things utilities should know about WIFIA: 1. What projects are eligible for WIFIA?; 2. What are the benefits to ratepayers of WIFI loans?; 3. How do you apply?; 4. What are the chances of success?; 5. A strong LOI is key to success. Attendees of this presentation will have the information they need to take a closer look at WIFIA funding for their agency, potentially saving their ratepayers millions—or hundreds of millions—in interest payments.

Wednesday, 9/15, 11:15am

Kevin Cook, PE – Civil Engineer, Murraysmith

Andrew Henson, PE, PMP – Senior Engineer, Murraysmith

Planning for Seattle’s Future – The Wastewater System Analysis Episode

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is currently undertaking an ambitious effort to integrate their wastewater and drainage systems planning efforts, bridging the needs of the wastewater and stormwater systems to achieve greatest environmental and community benefit. A primary objective of the Wastewater System Analysis (WWSA) was to identify and understand wastewater capacity needs. Performance Thresholds were selected to achieve performance goals of providing adequate capacity in the public wastewater system, minimizing the risk of sewer backups into private property and public right-of-way. The modeling results were used in conjunction with community outreach results to identify and prioritize risk areas. 384 risk areas were delineated and categorized. The project team investigated and categorized critical priority risk areas further to identify capacity issues, providing a framework for programmatic solutions like Inflow and Infiltration (I/I) reduction, pipe and pump station replacement, operational and connected sewer agency constraints, and any combination of issues. This presentation will provide a sound approach to future planning efforts by incorporating technical and non-technical challenges in an expanding urban environment.