Infrastructure
The replacement value (in 2014 dollars) of drinking water infrastructure in Delaware is estimated at $4 billion. This estimate is based on a detailed inventory of major assets at each of 35 public water utilities in the State. Sustaining the functionality of these systems will require an investment of over $1 billion over a 20-year period. The needs assessment study, commissioned by the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), found that the four large community systems in the State appear to be on a pace to meet their investment needs but projects an investment gap of over $300 million for the small and medium utilities. The full report can be found here (look under “Program Overview” for "Water Infrastructure Advisory Council - Drinking Water Needs Assessment, February 2015."). DPH commissioned follow-on work seeking to understand how best to foster asset management and financial planning in these utilities to sustain infrastructure functionality. A draft report on recommendations to foster sustainability is being reviewed by DPH.
Cyber Security
Water utilities are classified as critical infrastructure under the Presidential Executive Order issued in 2013. About one-third of the water systems in the State of Delaware use Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems. These systems are vulnerable to cyber attack. AWWA guidelines, developed in 2014, recommend that utilities establish a certain minimum level ("AWWA Priority 1 Controls") of cyber protections. Utilities can use AWWA's Cyber Security Tool to generate recommendations tailored to their particular SCADA configurations. Four Delaware water utilities were surveyed using the AWWA tool in an effort to enable a self-assessment of their current security posture. The SCADA systems in these test utilities varied signinficantly in complexity, however, the study found that there were only minor differences in the Priority 1 Controls. The report, also available at the DPH link above (under "Applications and Information"), recommends that a common set of controls be initially adopted by the State as an across-the-board baseline. An appendix to the report ("Cyber Security Policy for Managers of Drinking Water Systems") is available as a stand-alone download.
Water/Wastewater Privatization
Camden, NJ privatized the operation, management and maintenance (OM&M) of its water and sewer systems in 1998. The agreement with United Water terminates in 2016. A competitive procurement for follow-on services resulted in the selection of American Water. Negotiations on the terms of a new services agreement were recently concluded and await receipt of the necessary approvals. KSG provided an assessment of the various forms of contract relationships that the City could pursue, provided input into the development of a Request For Proposals and participated in the evaluation of proposals received and the negotiation of terms with American Water. The Camden System has sucessfully transitioned over to American Water management as of February 2016.
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects
KSG supports Honeywell’s Energy Services Group in their evaluation of project opportunities for achieving "net-zero" in wastewater treatment plants. Projects are evaluated on the basis of the performance contracting model with guaranteed investment and performance outcomes. A feasibiity assessment of the Kent County, DE regional facility has been completed.
Brandywine-Christina Healthy Water Fund
The majority of streams in the Brandywine-Christina watershed remain impaired four decades after the passage of the Clean Water Act. The Water Fund concept seeks to cut across jurisdicational and political boundaries and develop a comprehensive aproach to stream restoration. This University of Delaware and The Nature Conservancy effort is funded by the William Penn Foundation and seeks to build on successful water fund implementations elsewhere in the US and abroad. You can view Phase I of the report here.