TRACK DESCRIPTIONS
TRACK DESCRIPTIONS
Utility Risk and Resilience— Utilities are operating in an increasingly complex risk environment, where natural hazards, cybersecurity threats, and cascading system failures can quickly disrupt service. This track brings together lessons learned from real‐world emergencies, exercises, and risk assessments to help utilities better understand today’ s threat landscape from wildfires and earthquakes to cyber incidents and emerging, nontraditional hazards. Sessions focus on practical risk planning, resilience standards, and training approaches that strengthen operational readiness and support faster, more coordinated responses.
Asset Management— Asset management is being applied as a structured, data‐driven discipline that links asset condition, likelihood of failure, and consequence of failure to long‐term planning and investment decisions. Utilities are using asset inventories, performance data, and analytical tools to prioritize capital and maintenance activities, manage risk across linear infrastructure, and improve the transparency and defensibility of funding decisions. This approach supports a shift from reactive maintenance to proactive planning, aligning operational practices with financial sustainability, regulatory expectations, and long‐term service reliability while enabling utilities to adapt to changing system demands and resource constraints.
Operational Strategies— Operational Strategies focus on maintaining reliable and resilient water infrastructure through effective system understanding and management. It reflects the need for utilities to recognize how infrastructure components function together and how operational decisions affect overall system performance. The emphasis is on supporting long‐term reliability and enabling informed, proactive management of critical water systems.
Technology and Data— Utilities are relying more on technology and data to better understand system behavior, manage emerging demands, and strengthen operational resilience. Digital tools such as hydraulic modeling, AMI demand analytics, AI applications, and advanced leak detection are used to reduce non‐revenue water, and anticipate disruptions. Data‐driven insights also support better planning, from identifying hidden losses and managing hydraulic transients to evaluating the water and cost impacts of new growth.
Planning, Financing, and Delivery— Utilities are planning, funding, and delivering infrastructure in an environment of constrained resources and increased public scrutiny. This track brings together perspectives on long‐range water system planning, financial strategy, risk management, and capital project delivery to show how utilities move from vision to execution.
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