At CWEA’s AC26 South Coast Water District (SCWD), Collection System Supervisor Daniel B. Guerra and Collection System Operator II Raymond Zarate will lead a Collection System Frontline session sharing their insights on the District’s award-winning Capital Project: Tunnel Stabilization & Sewer Pipeline Replacement Project (Tunnel Project). The 15-year effort modernized a 1954 tunnel and gravity...

Water and wastewater utilities across California are increasingly adopting AI and machine learning (ML) tools to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and address water sustainability challenges; however, adoption remains uneven. A Bluefield Research whitepaper revealed that less than 50% of the water sector is prepared to leverage AI solutions. Larger and smaller utilities are the most digitally advanced,...

Whether you are the second-largest sewage collection utility in California or a small independent district in the Central Valley, building strong working relationships with other local utilities is crucial. That’s why this team from Northern California came together to emphasize the importance of partnership at this year’s annual conference in Sacramento. Sacramento Area Sewer District...

CWEA’s Annual Conference participants attending the “Bottlenecks and Breakthroughs: Developing AI Models for Calera Creek’s Wastewater Treatment Operations” session will hear Yunus Kovankaya and Jeff McAllister report on the real-world application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to address operational problems and identify opportunities for improvement and cost savings. The speakers, from the engineering consulting...

With years of experience as an Environmental Compliance Inspector for Riverside, Tim Ridley understands that education is essential for environmental compliance. It helps build a knowledgeable, aware, and responsible community and workforce. Education goes beyond simply knowing the law by encouraging accountability and providing people with the skills to make informed, environmentally responsible choices. “The...

The field of Pretreatment, Pollution Prevention, & Stormwater (P3S) is explicitly and directly focused on managing environmental compliance in water systems. While P3S is not an environmental compliance program in itself, it is a project delivery model that must strictly adhere to environmental compliance regulations. So, who are Environmental Compliance Inspectors? The core mission of the Clean Water...

At the P3S Conference in San Jose last year, one question stopped me in my tracks: “What do you have to lose?” That defining, but simple question sparked a collaboration that turned a compliance challenge into a success story. Meeting face-to-face with companies that truly understand our industry is what makes CWEA events so valuable...

The Water Environment Federation (WEF), Amazon.com, The Water Center at the University of Pennsylvania (WCP), and The Leading Utilities of the World (Leading Utilities) announced the creation of the Water-AI NexusTM Center of Excellence, a collaboration that will develop sustainable water practices for AI infrastructure while also using AI to solve global water challenges. This...

The City of Oxnard has selected Carollo Engineers to provide construction management and inspection services for the Primary Clarifiers and Activated Sludge Tank Improvement Project at the City’s Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF). The project represents a significant investment in safeguarding the community’s water and wastewater infrastructure while meeting all regulatory requirements cost-effectively. The WRRF...

Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is increasingly becoming a readily available tool to enhance workplace safety and risk management. While AI applications will never replace experienced safety professionals, they can serve as essential support and data-collection tools for inspectors and technicians. People will always be needed to provide critical judgment, context, and oversight in workplace safety....