To Enhance Economy, Global Competitiveness, And National Security

MCLEAN, VA.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—
As the nation prepares to hear President Obama deliver his annual State of the Union address, Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) outlined essential items that must be included in any national discussion about the nation’s aging infrastructure.

“There is consensus across the political spectrum that infrastructure is critical to economic development, job creation, national security and competitiveness,” Booz Allen Executive Vice President Mark Gerencser said. “But a lack of harmony in the political process is limiting our ability to accomplish the big things that are required to re-build America’s infrastructure.”

In his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama said, “Our [nation’s] infrastructure used to be the best.” Booz Allen is hopeful that the President will again address the nation’s infrastructure problems and create the national momentum to avoid catastrophic consequences.

Below are eight principles that must be addressed in any discussion on the nation’s infrastructure:

1. Create a shared and comprehensive national vision. America needs a comprehensive vision that inspires and guides planning and action at the regional and local levels. The vision should be a living framework that describes what could be achieved, expected timelines, and how success will be measured. It must also define new mechanisms, in addition to Public/private partnerships, to engage government, industry and civil society in flexible, adaptable, and innovative ways. 2. Think innovation, not shovels. We will not solve our problems with repairs or extensions. America must re-imagine its infrastructure to meet the needs of its citizens in a future that abounds with both opportunities and competitive challenges. Building world-class infrastructure upgrades at home also prepares American industries to compete successfully in the mammoth wave of new infrastructure development in China, India, Brazil, and other fast-growing emerging economies. 3. Take the long and integrated view. Short-term thinking is a recipe for failure. While there is undeniable immediate pressure to create jobs through infrastructure projects, creating a wish list of short-term projects has proven to be a mistake. For decades, the federal government has provided states and localities with funding for one-off projects – and now nearly every city has a series of unconnected transportation and energy systems. 4. Rationalize the bureaucracy and its policies. Federal, state and local officials must ensure regulations, laws and policies are coherent, consistent, stable and enabling within and across infrastructures. For example, federal energy policy engages over 30 different entities that do not coordinate decisions, and transportation—as the biggest consumer of energy—doesn’t coordinate planning, policy, and spending with its counterparts in energy and environment. Infrastructures are becoming more interdependent and so should their governing structures. 5. We cannot afford to buy our way out. America must innovate new financing, business, and operating models to ensure sustainable, safe and effective infrastructure performance for future generations. We must take steps to level the playing field for public and private investment sources. For example, consider eliminating the tax exemption for municipal debt or exempt all private infrastructure investment from federal tax. 6. Plan regionally and think holistically. We need regional plans but there is no consistent form of regional governance to plan or implement actions. Megaregions present real promise. For example, one way to alleviate congestion at O’Hare International Airport would be to establish high-speed rail between Chicago and Milwaukee. Unfortunately, there is no ready mechanism for these two metropolitan areas to develop a joint regional plan. 7. Make resilience a forethought—not an afterthought. Resilience will cost more if not designed in. More than security, resilience ensures enough capacity, redundancy and reliability against failures or catastrophic events caused by natural or man-made disasters, including cyber or terrorist attacks. 8. Build for the next century, not the last one. Align incentives with objectives. Financiers, builders, owners, operators, and users face perverse incentives. For example, users have the least say in infrastructure design and those who pay for it often realize the least benefits. Adjust the incentives for the various stakeholders and place users at the center of all designs. Our re-imagined Infrastructure needs to account for America’s changing demographics. With 85% of the population living on 26% of the land, cities face unprecedented challenges and new demand patterns.

Booz Allen Hamilton is leading an effort to transform how our country and clients think about America’s transportation, energy and water infrastructures. As part of this effort, it is sponsoring a simulation on Re-Imagining Infrastructure to enable next generation solutions that leverage new business models, innovative technology, and funding—in scalable, sustainable ways. The simulation unites a “megacommunity” comprised of senior executives in the government, business and civic sectors to foster a shared understanding of our nation’s infrastructure challenges and develop a holistic approach to addressing them.

To view a one minute video on Re-Imagining Infrastructure, click here: http://bcove.me/01p70ed2.

For more information, please visit Booz Allen’s website at www.boozallen.com.

About Booz Allen Hamilton

Booz Allen Hamilton is a leading provider of management and technology consulting services to the U.S. government in defense, intelligence, and civil markets, and to major corporations, institutions, and not-for-profit organizations. Booz Allen is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, employs more than 25,000 people, and had revenue of $5.59 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2011.

Call For Action On Global Groundwater Crisis

International water scientists recently issued a call for action over the growing threat to the world’s groundwater supplies from over-extraction and pollution.

Water supplies will begin running out in critical regions where they support cities, industries and food production by 2030 unless urgent steps are taken to better manage the resource, they cautioned.

“The world has experienced a boom in groundwater use, more than doubling the rate of extraction between 1960 and 2000 — with usage continuing to soar up to the present,” says Professor Craig Simmons, Director of Australia’s National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT) and member of the UNESCO’s global groundwater governance program.

A recent satellite study has revealed falling groundwater tables in the United States, North Africa, India, the Middle East and China, where expanding agriculture has increased water demand.

“Groundwater currently makes up about 97 percent of all the available fresh water on the planet and presently accounts for about 40 percent of our total water supply. It provides drinking water to cities, is needed to grow much of our food and sustains many industries — yet almost everywhere, there is clear evidence that water tables are falling,” Professor Simmons says. “This means humanity is extracting groundwater much faster than it is naturally replaced.”

“Not many people think of groundwater as a key driver of the global economy — yet it is. If it becomes depleted, entire industries may be forced to shut down or move. Whole regions could face acute water scarcity.”

The groundwater crisis is driven by a competition for increasingly scarce water supplies between the megacities, the energy sector, manufacturing and farming. It has been hastened by an era of cheap pumps and relatively cheap energy, making it easy to extract.

“Over-extraction also has serious implications for the environment, especially when the climate is warming – as falling water tables can lead to emptying lakes and rivers and dying landscapes as the water they depended on is withdrawn,” Professor Simmons says.

“The blunt fact is that most countries and local regions did not know the size of their water resources when then began extracting them, nor how long it took to recharge. In some cases this can take centuries or even millennia. As a result they are now extracting their water unsustainably.”

Water is emerging as potentially one of the main limits to Chinese economic growth: groundwater supplies 40% of China’s food and 70% of its drinking water — yet water levels in aquifers in some regions are sinking by a metre or more a year. 660 Chinese cities have polluted supplies or are water insecure.

In the Middle East, depleted aquifers have been a major driver of the relocation of agriculture to Africa and the so-called ‘land-grab’ by wealthy countries. In India the number of wells grew from less than one million in 1960 to 19 million by 2000. Water tables in the key foodbowl are sinking beyond the reach of many farmers’ pumps.

“The crisis in global groundwater is chiefly one of poor governance, exacerbated by a lack of knowledge of the size and condition of the resource, rates of recharge, lack of transparent policy, lack of ownership, lack of price signals to users and a lack of political will to do anything,” says Professor Simmons. “It’s fixable — but it will take a lot of hard work and good science to do so.”

“Until recently this problem was on the world’s back-burner — but it is rapidly moving to the forefront. Groundwater science has improved dramatically in the last decade, giving us the ability to measure and manage the resource — but governance has yet to catch up. Unless it does, we can expect serious problems in the future.”

Even advanced nations such as the United States face a crisis in their use of groundwater, says Law Professor Robert Glennon of the University of Arizona.

“Groundwater now comprises one-quarter of the U.S. supply and more than half of all Americans rely on groundwater for drinking. Unconstrained drilling of new wells, as many as 800,000 per year, has put incredible strain on aquifers around the U.S.,” he says.

“Plummeting groundwater tables have caused earth subsidence, fissures, and saltwater intrusion. It took millennia for this water to accumulate in aquifers, but humans are pumping it out in mere decades.”

The environmental costs of unsustainable groundwater pumping are staggering, says Glennon. Rivers and springs have dried up or been reduced to a trickle. In Arizona, pumping turned a healthy river, the Santa Cruz, into a desiccated sandbox. Even in humid regions, water bodies have suffered. In the Midwest, wells dug to produce spring water for the bottled water industry have compromised blue-ribbon trout streams. And in Florida, scores of lakes have dried up from intense well-field pumping.

The lack of sensible regulation has created incentives for unlimited access to a finite resource, according to Glennon. “An aquifer is like a milkshake glass and each well is the equivalent of a straw in the glass. What most countries permit is a limitless number of straws in the glass. This is a recipe for disaster,” he says.

SOURCE: National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT)

Sustainable Small Drinking Water Systems in North America

More than ever, sustainable surface and ground water supplies are essential to communities across North America and around the world. The strains of industry and agriculture on ground water are noticeable as pressures on water supplies intensify and supply patterns change. The increase of agriculture over vulnerable aquifers, climate change and hydrocarbon production are impacting our water quality. Unregulated use or uncontrolled flow of ground water can cause water quality degradation and conflicts between water users. Reports have shown that ground water use has contributed to a decrease in base-flow to some streams and rivers, affecting surface water ecosystems.

Some jurisdictions in North America recognize that surface and ground water are connected. Considerations of the ecosystem and in-stream flow requirements are factored into the water use decision process. In Canada, British Columbia is the only jurisdiction that does not regulate ground water. The provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia, as well as Washington State and Idaho in the United States are recognized as leaders in North America for their ground water allocation and permitting frameworks.

With the increased contamination of surface and ground water, communities are looking at ways they can protect and maintain their water supply ensuring safe drinking water for generations to come. Some communities are incorporating as small drinking water systems (SDWS) and creating the infrastructure to govern and define how the SDWS will be maintained. These communities can now negotiate with local provincial or state governing bodies.

These organized, and now incorporated users groups, have the ability to elect a board of directors who will represent the interests of the community. Federal governments, municipalities and organizations have no universal agreement on what a Small Drinking Water System is. The number of homes and individuals hooked up to the system, the amount of time the system is used per year, the amount of water distributed through the system (flow rate), the complexity of the system and what is in the water vary within every jurisdiction. Every small drinking water system will be unique, created by its membership.

Canada considers a very small drinking water system to serve less than 500 individuals, and a small drinking water system to serve fewer than 5000 individuals 1. The United States consider a very small drinking water system serves between 25 and 500 individuals and a small drinking water system serve between 501 and 3,300 2 individuals. Local jurisdictions may have amendments or conditions on the number of homes or individuals served.

One scientific definition in Canada states that safe drinking water is free of microbiological contaminants and only contains chemical contaminants at levels that do not harm human health 3. The United States define safe drinking water as not containing harmful bacteria, toxic materials or chemicals. It is considered safe if it meets these criteria despite color, taste or odor 4.

Every small drinking water system has to determine if the surface or ground water in their community is affected by external sources or changes in the environment surrounding the water supply. Whether it’s a new community or the community has been instructed by a local regulator to treat their water due to aging infrastructure. The small drinking water systems membership must get professional help to work within jurisdictional guidelines.

These newly formed small drinking water systems (SDWS) are looking for guidance on how to design and sustain a water treatment system within the framework of the jurisdiction. A qualified local water treatment specialist can work with the regulators in the area to ensure the community is developing a system that will meet or exceed the jurisdictional requirements. With larger communities or communities spread out

over a large area, the small drinking water system administration will have to also retain the services of an engineer to design a water treatment system that complies with the local health rules for safe drinking water.

Some communities are under permanent or seasonal Boil Water Advisories or Notices and some communities cannot agree on treatment methods. Some members within the community do not want to treat the water at all, others may have alternate ways of treating the water and some members may have long standing disputes between them that prevent working together at all.

Treating the water can be a great area of dispute among members of a small drinking water system. More and more people within a community oppose using chemicals such as chlorine to disinfect the drinking water. Chlorine by itself is not effective against some parasites like Cryptosporidium but can inactivate Giardia. The disinfection of both Cryptosporidium and Giardia are required by most jurisdictions in North America.

Giardia is often found in human, beaver, muskrat, and dog feces. Cattle feces appear to be the primary source of Cryptosporidium, although these parasites have also been found in humans and other animals. Drinking water sources become contaminated when feces containing the parasites are deposited or flushed into water. If treatment is inadequate, drinking water may contain sufficient numbers of parasites to cause illness.

A small drinking water system should have at least two barriers of protection against infection. If the water is pristine, filtration can be used as one barrier. If the source or supply of the water is questionable then chlorination may be required. The growing choice among small water users is the ultraviolet microbiological water treatment system, used as the last treatment step in supplying clean safe drinking water to the community.

Some communities cannot use a centralized treatment system and can now take advantage of advancements in water treatment technology. The small water groups can use a point of entry (POE) UV system in each home. Attached to the water intake of the residence, the point of entry system uses filtration and/or chlorination as the first barrier of protection and the UV microbiological system as the primary barrier of protection.

In older municipalities, some chlorinated systems have seasonal events that over tax the system and cause boil water advisories or notices in the community. Smaller communities that feed off these older municipal systems can now create their own small drinking water system using POE as an affordable way to upgrade an existing water system.

In some jurisdictions, it is necessary to install the POE system in a utility room or shed outside the residence for easier access and maintenance. Regulators are still establishing the framework for their regions. The small water group must prove that they are delivering the required dose for UV microbiological disinfection and that they are complying with local regulations on water use. To achieve this, the water treatment specialist can install monitoring equipment that records the dosage information and alarm data during the lifetime of the small drinking water system.

The UV system should be validated to meet compliance within the industry and the jurisdiction. UV systems can be broad and varied. So industry standards using NSF/ANSI Standard 55 Class A POE disinfection treatment devices are required to deliver a minimum UV dose of 38 milliJoules per square centimeter (mJ/sq.cm), or 38,000 milliWatts per second per square centimeter (mW-sec/sq.cm), at the failsafe point as determined by inactivation of Bacillus subtilis spores and using a sensitivity calibration curve. Class A qualification is only available to devices equipped with UV sensors for monitoring.

When a UV manufacturer makes a cyst reduction claim on a Class A device they are required to a have a pre-filter that complies with NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for cyst reduction upstream of the UV device. Class A systems without a general cyst reduction device used for the treatment of untreated surface waters must have a device found to be in conformance for cyst reduction under Standard 53 installed ahead of the system. NSF compliance is not the same as validation. Make sure the water treatment system is designed to perform to the standards of NSF CLASS A.

Small drinking water systems are growing all over North America. Small water users groups as small as three homes and as large as 220 homes are developing POE UV small drinking water systems and some are winning awards using innovative ways of working with local regulators.

On Bowen Island in British Columbia Canada the small community of Honeymoon Creek was on a long term boil water notice because it was using an untreated surface water source. The community was unable to build a centralized treatment system. The intake was on private property and the owner was unwilling to allow construction of any kind. The community established a small drinking water system called ‘The Honeymoon Creek Water Users Community’ and challenged Vancouver Coastal Health (the local jurisdiction) that Point of Entry treatment would work.

The small drinking water system, its membership and the POE UV supplier entered into a contractual agreement on standards and maintaining the treatment system. This method impressed regulators and expanded into surrounding communities. Honeymoon Creek has 9 homes and has been recognized by the BC Drinking water Leadership council and given the Small Water Systems Award by the BCWWA. This award recognizes small water systems in British Columbia for initiatives that demonstrate
outstanding effort in the delivery of safe drinking water.” 5

Boswell BC has been under various boil water advisories and notices for over a decade. In 2000, a small group of 14 homeowners formed a corporation named ‘The North Boswell Water Users Community Inc. They were tired of the repeated boil water notices and advisories and set out to design a POE system using ultraviolet microbiological water treatment technology.

A decade later they are recognized as one of the first communities in North America to incorporate and operate a small drinking water system using a point of entry ultraviolet microbiological water treatment system. The North Boswell small drinking water system recently celebrated a decade with ‘NO’ boil water advisories or notices while surrounding communities are still under permanent boil water advisories. These communities are working with the North Boswell Water Users Community to help them establish their own infrastructure to create other small water users groups that can manage and maintain small drinking water systems in their own communities.

Communities and small water user groups are building small drinking water systems and working with regulators to help ensure sustainable safe drinking water for generations to come. Whether, you are an engineer, a water treatment specialist, and installer or community member, take a look around your province or state for a small drinking water system or small water user group near you and learn more about what you can do to ensure safe drinking water in every community.

Robin Keating is a Regional Sales Manager with at VIQUA – a Trojan Technologies Company. Please contact Robin at rkeating@viqua.com

1. Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development. Safety of drinking water: Federal responsibilities. Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable

Development to the House of Commons. 2005. Available from: http://dsp- psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/FA1-2-2005-4E.pdf
2. Environmental Protection Agency. Terms of environment: Glossary, abbreviations and acronyms.
EPA: Communication, Education, and Public Affairs; 1997 Contract No.: EPA# 175-B-97-001. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/OCEPAterms/
3. Health Canada. Guidance for providing safe drinking water in areas of federal jurisdiction – Version 1. Ottawa: Environmental and Workplace Health; 2005. Available from: http://hc- sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/pubs/water-eau/guidance-federal-conseils/index-eng.ph
4. Environmental Protection Agency. Public drinking water systems: Facts and figures. EPA: Public Drinking Water Systems Programs; 2008. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/pws/factoids.html
5. Honeymoon Creek Users Community: Watermark Magazine Volume 20 Number 2 Summer 2011: Available from http://bcgwwa.org/resources/watermark-magazine.html