Water Asset Management Conference a Success

The Water Asset Management Conference, which has its roots dating to 2001, headed back to Arlington, Va., last week with a full two-day agenda of presentations and awards focused around trends in water utility asset management.

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Formerly known as the UIM/SWIM Conference, the re-branded Water Asset Management Conference is a partnership between UIM: Water Utility Infrastructure Management journal (a sister publication of Trenchless Technology) and the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Management (SWIM) Center at Virginia Tech.

The new title is more descriptive and reflective of the content as the dialogue has historically been rooted in water infrastructure asset management. In addition, a distinctive new logo has been developed that shows the intertwining relationship of water and the infrastructure needed to transport it.

The Water Asset Management Conference began with SWIM Center meetings on Dec. 2 followed by panel discussion that kicked off the conference that afternoon. Following the panel was an awards reception where the UIM Award and SWIM awards were bestowed.

Read more about the 2015 SWIM annual award recipients here and read about the UIM award winner below.

Highlighting the agenda on Dec. 3 was a full day of focused presentations covering the latest in technology and best practices in asset management. Presentations were selected by a panel of leading professionals in the field of asset management.



Topics addressed included: risk assessment, data management, planning and prioritizing infrastructure investment, renewal technology and more. One of the hallmarks of the event is the interactive dialogue among participants. The classroom venue was ideal for back-and-forth discussion that is missing from many industry events.

Sponsors of this year’s Water Asset Management Conference were Echologics, Reline America, CH2M, Pure Technologies and PICA Corp.

The Virginia Tech Research Center in Arlington is located just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The area is host to many dining and lodging options, as well as entertainment.

NEORSD’s Julius Ciaccia Receives Annual UIM Honor

As part of last week’s Water Asset Management Conference, UIM recognized Julius Ciaccia, chief executive officer of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD), as its 2015 Water Infrastructure Management Award Winner. Throughout his career, which spans nearly 40 years, Ciaccia has held numerous leadership positions with public utilities in Northeast Ohio on both the water and wastewater side. Within those positions, Ciaccia has overseen billions of dollars in capital improvement projects.

The Water Infrastructure Management Award was created by UIM in 2012 to recognize individuals who are on the forefront of driving innovation and who have had a lasting and meaningful impact within their utility and/or the water/wastewater field. This year’s award was formally presented to Ciaccia on Dec. 2. Ciaccia is also the subject of UIM’s December 2015 cover story.

RELATED: NEORSD’s Julius Ciaccia to Receive Annual UIM Honor at December Conference

“Ciaccia is a true leader in this industry,” said Bernie Krzys, publisher and CEO of UIM.

In addition to his work with Cleveland Public Utilities, Cleveland Water and NEORSD, Ciaccia has been involved in several industry associations including the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) where he is a long-time Board member and past president of each.

For more information about the Water Asset Management Conference, follow this link to the conference website.