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This session will include presentations from Norway and Australia about 21st Century solid waste management technologies, practices, and advancements. • Dulverton Waste Management operates 60,000 tonne per annum landfill and a 30,000 tonne per annum compost facility in northwest Tasmania, Australia. (1 metric tonne = 1.10231 US tons.) In 2017, the facility claimed the Waste Management Association of Australia’s Award for Landfill Excellence. This presentation will note the challenges overcome to turn this business, with many shortcomings, around to one that achieved this prestigious award. • Does this sound like science fiction to you? The City of Bergen, Norway uses a pneumatic waste collection system (PWCS) to collect and dispose of solid waste. The waste is disposed of and transmitted pneumatically in underground pipes beneath city streets. The construction of PWCS can be combined with other infrastructure projects installing fiber optics or water/sewer projects.
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Everyone brings their own experiences and perspectives to the job of snow and ice control. Enjoy this story of how the speaker’s previous work experiences shaped his perspective on public service and leadership, including a safety before service philosophy.
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In today’s connected world, weather information can be accessed with a click of a button. But what does it all mean? Standard weather forecasts deal in percentages of chance and ranges of accumulation. This session will offer you tips for understanding the weather data available to you and how to improve decision-making regarding allocation of materials, equipment, and staff for potential winter storms.
Read MoreWhen disasters and emergencies occur, public works personnel are among the first to respond. Public works provides traffic control and debris management; assists with rescue, evacuation, damage assessment, infrastructure repair, and service restoration. Attend this session to examine what agencies should do to have the resources, training, policies and procedures to be ready and responsive for all-hazards incidents. We will discuss responsibilities and unique capabilities of public works in emergencies and planned special events. Public works must have a seat at the table with police, fire, and public health when it comes to planning, training, exercising, and actually managing incidents.
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Let’s be honest, keeping snow and ice off the streets and highways is not an easy task. In fact, it’s rather complicated! Anyone doing winter maintenance knows the pressures you face to provide higher levels of service and the ongoing effort to train employees on shrinking budgets! With so many ideas and resources out there, which ones are going to be most valuable for you, your staff and your agency? This session will help you identify and discover numerous resources and training opportunities to begin transforming your agency’s maintenance operations. Learn from other North American snow professionals who have done those innovative things, screwed them up, and learned from their mishaps – so you don’t have to make the same mistakes we did!
Read MoreLearn what some of the most enlightened communities are doing these days to make their neighborhoods a great place to work, live and thrive today and into the future.
Read MorePerched just above the Roaring Forties in latitude and geologically young, New Zealand is exposed to a wide-range of naturally occurring hazards including flooding, earthquakes, windstorms, snowstorms, volcanic activity, and tsunami. The Manawatu-Whanganui Civil Defence Emergency Management Group is a collection of lifeline utilities in the region. Learn about how they prepare for these types of events – from asset and risk management to preparation, response, and recovery. Shakespeare said that all the world is a stage. If that’s true, lifeline utilities are the backstage crew that keeps it all running. The goal is to respond to emergencies and bounce back with more resilient networks.
Read MoreThe cheerful TV weather person comes on the local news on Friday and talks about a 40% chance of rain for Monday. But come Monday, a severe storm causes local flooding and a combined sewer overflow! Precipitation forecasting has improved exponentially over the last 20-years, yet for public works operations, a profound disconnect exists in how forecast information is acquired (access and timing), perceived (interpreted), and used for decision-support (mitigation.) This presentation will discuss the tools that are available to resolve this issue and provide innovative approaches for using hydro-meteorological information in managing stormwater and wastewater programs.
Read MoreThe panel will discuss the concepts and goals of public works asset management by focusing on the initial development of a roadmap, governance model, asset data gathering, data cleaning, and the development of condition and risk scores.
Read MoreColumbia, Missouri’s Urban Forestry Master Plan is a roadmap that provides detailed information, recommendations, and resources to effectively and proactively manage and grow the City’s urban tree canopy. The plan includes a detailed analysis of the urban tree canopy and public street trees, leaf litter issues, an emerald ash borer strategy, ordinance development, maintenance budgeting, and an ESRI StoryMap to communicate results and recommendations to the general public.
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