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The International Public Works Director Roundtable is an annual interactive session that targets public works directors (PWDs) or their equivalent across North America. Using the tagline “Where Directors Go to Grow” and their logo, organizers plan to build on the successes in Toronto, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Orlando, Kansas City, and Seattle. The International Public Works Director Roundtables continuously rank as one of the most popular and highest-rated sessions each year. This session is designed to be participatory and maximize engagement with all the directors present. Directors are seated at roundtables encouraging interaction with each other. This session enables directors from across the world to network and learn from each other’s experiences.
Read MoreWhile many agencies and municipalities acquire land for a single purpose, learn from our panelists ways to generate income from rights-of-way and easements and maximize benefits to the public Land…
Read MoreWith more than 11,000 miles of roadways and an annual snowfall amount averaging 131 inches, the Province of New Brunswick's (PNB) winter fleet is no stranger to the "snow fight." Together with telematics partner, Northern BI, Highway Maintenance Engineer Jordan Stephens has been using telematics to manage the 450-plus fleet. Tasked with reducing a $60 million snow clearing budget, Jordan wanted to see if telematics could find areas of waste within the fleet. Having only used paper-based routes for plowing and salt/sand spreading, Northern BI recommended optimizing these age-old processes to improve efficiencies. Hear from PNB's Jordan Stephens, and Northern BI President Dwayne Primeau, on how they are leveraging IoT data to transform the province's winter fleet operations.
Read MoreTop Trending Technology for Field Crews was one of the selected technologies for APWA’s Top Trending Technologies program of 2021. This presentation will provide the audience an introduction to the TTT program in APWA, the background of the top tech for field crews topic, and the technologies explored in the program. The presentation is tailored for those technologies that are most applicable to the snowfighters and winter operations. The APWA Top Trending Technologies program has been very successful and the demand for information from our membership has been robust. The area of field crew technologies, innovations, and tools has been one of the most requested. There are many new and innovative tools for field crews and this session will provide an examination and introduction of those technologies that are currently available and generally accessible to public works crews.
Read MoreLike many cities, the City of Charlotte, North Carolina, faces the challenge of aging infrastructure in urban environments serving an ever-growing population. This presentation will present two case studies related to expedited temporary repairs the City undertook that employed innovative solutions. The first case study will examine a temporary bridge used to remove traffic loading from a compromised existing culvert that serves a center-city thoroughfare before the planned Republican National Convention and impending NFL season. The second case study will focus on an existing corrugated metal pipe that experienced a significant joint failure and the measures taken to protect the public and restore traffic in an accelerated manner. The presentation will include a summary of the challenges associated with each project and lessons learned.
Read MoreEmergencies are equal opportunity challenges in communities as they impact citizens with and without disabilities. It is vitally important that communities prepare well before emergencies occur with practical and well-thought-out solutions that keep everyone, including those with disabilities, safe while maintaining their dignity at all times. Information will be provided regarding how to plan for individuals with specific needs, including mobility, visual, hearing, and cognitive impairments, and for people whose survival requires medical equipment. Accessible evacuation plans and shelters will also be addressed, along with laws regarding service animals. Attendees will learn about questions that can and cannot be asked of people with disabilities and about politically correct disability-related terminology.
Read MoreAs per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) discoveries increase across the country, water utilities, industry organizations, state regulators, and the EPA are struggling to publicly communicate new findings in drinking water, wastewater discharges, and biosolids. And these discoveries are going to exponentially increase in the coming years. The EPA’s Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5) will require most water utilities across the country to test for 29 different PFAS compounds starting in 2023. Make no mistake, obtaining this data is absolutely necessary to our industry as we play catch up with the decades-long damage to our source waters. However, as we look for more PFAS, there is still so much we don’t know about the health and environmental impacts of the vast majority of these chemicals.
Read MoreThis session will give an overview of National Weather Service (NWS) operations and how NWS warnings are communicated to emergency management personnel and the public. The session will then look at how NWS operations functioned during the passage of the remnants of Tropical Storm (TS) Fred in August 2021. The passage of TS Fred simultaneously produced numerous tornadoes in North and South Carolina and extreme flooding in parts of North Carolina. Though damage from tornadoes was light, flash flooding resulted in the loss of 56 homes and five deaths. The NWS outlook products discussed the possible hazards several days in advance. During the event, over 30 tornado warnings were issued, along with many flood-related products, including a “Flash Flood Emergency” product, which is the rarely used and most extreme warning product for flooding. For the Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina NWS office, this was one of the busiest days in its history due to the large number of high-impact products issued.
Read MoreThe world of engineering is facing challenges no one has ever tackled before. Some of these issues include climate change, efficient transportation solutions, maintaining adequate water supplies for a growing population, and putting light rail trains on a floating bridge. With these obstacles in front of us, we need the best and brightest on our teams. However, the profession is dismissing half of the population before they are ever given a chance. If we do not work together to encourage women to enter the field of engineering and stay in the field, we will all miss out on the innovations and contributions that come from their unique perspectives.
Read MoreBoth polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can be found in lakes, rivers, streams, and municipal water supply and are harmful to humans and our environment. One may be lesser known in some regions, but widely recognized (and banned) on the west coast, mid-west, and locally in Greenville, South Carolina, and Asheville, Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Town of Matthews, and Boone, North Carolina. PAHs are a group of chemicals created by heating or burning material that contains carbon. PAHs are present in coal tar sealers, asphalt sealers, and liquid propane (LP) derived sealers. Although coal tar sealers have a higher PAH level than other sealers, PAHs are present in high levels in asphalt and LP-based sealers. The speaker will provide insight from his position as the Southeast U.S. Director of the Asphalt Sealcoat Manufacturer’s Association (ASMA). The purpose of ASMA is to provide a common specification for asphalt-based sealers for use by governmental and private bodies to ensure both quality and environmental safety.
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