2024 Arkansas Water Conference

10:45 AM

Biosolids Composting with In-vessel Technology

The City of Bentonville and the Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) has been composting for decades, and with the growth of the area around the facility in recent years, the City was looking into ways to manage the odors as well as updating aging facilities and operations. Garver and the City performed pilot testing, and based off those findings, proceeded with in-vessel technology improvements, requiring a much smaller footprint, produces a better Class A product, composts material in a fraction of the time, generates minimal odor, and eliminates the leachate.

Speaker: Senior Project Manager Chris Buntin, PE

Room: C104 | Add to Calendar »

2:30 PM

Opportunistic and Emerging Pathogens in Drinking Water and Their Impacts to Human Health and Regulations

Current surface water disinfection practices have successfully reduced the number of illnesses and deaths associated with pathogens in drinking water across the United States. However, in recent years, reports of illnesses and deaths associated with opportunistic pathogens have increased, while emerging pathogens have gained public attention. This presentation will describe emerging and opportunistic pathogens, their occurrence, and potential control strategies.

Speaker: Water Quality Practice Leader Ashley Pifer, PhD, PE

Room: C105 | Add to Calendar »

2:30 PM

Digital Transformation and Change Management: Coming Soon

Digital transformation is using digital technology to fundamentally change the way an organization does business, and more than likely is coming to your utility. Bringing the new digital reality to life includes a range of management skills from data management to visioning to change management. By planning, thoughtfully implementing, and supporting the changes incrementally, utilities have a better chance of success in maintaining employees and integrating real change. This presentation will review these changes so managers and leaders can leaven with an understanding of what to consider for managing change and what resources are available to support the plan for transformation.

Speaker: Project and Management Support Leader Jennifer Russell, EISE, CSEP

Room: C203/C204 | Add to Calendar »

8:45 AM

Pump Fundamentals II

The presentation will discuss various types of pumping equipment commonly used in water and wastewater industries.​ This will include details about the piping, valves, and pumps typically used in such equipment. The aim of the presentation will be to provide a comprehensive understanding of the different components that make up typical and unique pumping equipment. In addition to discussing the various components, the presentation will also cover some case studies that will be used to illustrate some of the design issues that can arise when designing pumping equipment.

Speaker: Senior Project Manager Paul Strickland, PE

Room: C203/C204 | Add to Calendar »

9:45 AM

Resurrecting a Giant - The Bayou Meto Water Management District's Marion Berry Pump Station

The Marion Berry Pump Station, part of the Bayou Meto Water Management District, pumps water from the Arkansas River into a holding reservoir and canal system that feeds a series of ditches and pipes for delivery to farms across 268,000 acres. Completed in 2014, it has sat idle for nearly a decade due to funding delays, but has gained traction and funding. This presentation will explore the various components of the station, the challenges in identifying critical components for operation, and the various trades and professionals brought to bear to take the station from idle to operational.

Speaker: Project Manager Daniel Hollinger, PE

Room: C105 | Add to Calendar »

9:45 AM

Financial Forecasting: Digital Twin Provides Value

Utilities face many challenges in planning for and managing their financial requirements while also balancing resources, customer expectations, regulatory changes, and population growth. Traditional methods of financial planning and forecasting can seem inadequate, complex, and time consuming. This presentation will discuss the method used by Garver to develop a consolidated financial model serving as a functional digital twin. This model consolidates disparate data sources into one database to quickly ascertain the impacts of a variety of possible scenarios in relation to revenue generation, capital improvement planning, and budget allocation.

Speaker: Technology Solutions Specialist Jeremy Porterfield, PE

Room: C205 | Add to Calendar »

9:45 AM

Utilizing 4D Technology for Project Review

Utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM) gives more opportunities to explore appropriate iterations in an expedited way and leverages digital data to enhance project management and decision-making in design by integrating 4D time-related data with the 3D model. Streamlining this process is Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), a cloud-based platform built for a variety of features such as quantity takeoff, collision detection, and construction sequencing. This presentation delves into explaining how each module can be strategically employed to facilitate robust project review process. By integrating ACC into project workflows, stakeholders can harness the power of BIM, improve collaboration among multidisciplinary teams, and enhance overall project management.

Speaker: BIM Team Leader Stacey Conrad

Room: C207 | Add to Calendar »

9:45 AM

Using Portable Samplers to Track Micro Pollutants in the First and Last "Flush"

Amidst growing concerns with future water security, the City of Norman, Oklahoma, invested in a multi-year demonstration of water reclamation and recycling. Demonstrating successful recycled water production required tracking the fate of both regulated, and unregulated contaminants across the treatment barriers. Of these contaminants, trace organics, also known as ‘micropollutants’, can vary in loadings with time of day and the rate of influent flow – posing a unique challenge for sampling and monitoring. Results from this study will be presented to highlight key findings including the specific micropollutants that are immune to biological and/or advanced treatment, and the capacity of different biological wastewater treatment processes for assimilating the diurnal ‘spikes’ in individual micropollutant concentrations.

Speaker: Water Reuse Practice Leader Michael Watts, PhD, PE

Room: C209 | Add to Calendar »

10:45 AM

PR Planning: Strategies for the Best and Worst of Times

For many organizations, it’s not a matter of if they’ll face negative press – it’s a matter of when. So how can you make sure you’re prepared? This presentation explores the full spectrum of PR – from issues management to building your brand – and how to be prepared for it through a proactive approach to make the most of your media and community relationships.

Speaker: Public Relations Team Leader Anita Smith, APR

Room: C207 | Add to Calendar »

1:30 PM

CFD: How Close is Close Enough?

In the water and wastewater design process, there are many instances where sources of information fall short due to the complexity of flow behavior. In these circumstances, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be used to predict the behavior of the flow through accurately capturing complex geometry, losses, and turbulent effects. This presentation will provide examples of how CFD can be used to provide more precise estimates of hydraulic information to improve secondary clarification, headworks, and flow split structures.

Speaker: Water Practice Area Team Manager Evan Tromble, PhD, PE

Room: C207 | Add to Calendar »

2:30 PM

How to Keep Your Startup From Turning Into a Shutdown

Construction projects can often be difficult, even when things go well. Many utilities struggle with executing a swift and precise control system startup while ensuring they are receiving the same functional system envisioned during the design process. This presentation will explore several simple, yet effective, ways to streamline your control system startup and get your system online faster with fewer headaches.

Speakers: Automation Team Leader Mike Crawford
Instrumentation and Controls Group Leader Clay Tidwell

Room: C207 | Add to Calendar »

3:30 PM

Graphic Design: Saying with One Picture What You Could Say in 47 Words

When you think of graphic design, it can be easy to imagine the large billboard signs along the highway, brochures at events, and signage at local restaurants. Graphic design isn’t something most engineers focus on, but it can be pivotal to communicating designs, concepts, and solutions, as well as engaging audiences and achieving success. This presentation will explore how graphic design can be used as a conduit to effectively communicate technical information and learn how a graphic designer can say in just one picture what an engineer might say in 47 words.

Speaker: Graphic Designer Mercedes Goins

Room: C207 | Add to Calendar »