AWWA and ASME partner to develop water/wastewater standard.
Press Release Summary:
AWWA and ASME Innovative Technologies Institute, LLC have partnered to develop a national voluntary consensus standard detailing an all-hazards risk management process for water and wastewater utilities. Based on RAMCAPSM model, standard will stress both protection and resilience. It will help guide allocation of limited funds within utility assets, across utilities in different communities, and among assets in infrastructure sectors. ANSI will review the standard for approval.
Original Press Release:
AWWA and ASME Join to Develop an All-Hazards Security/Resilience National Standard for Water and Wastewater Utilities
(Washington, DC) - The American Water Works Association (AWWA) and ASME Innovative Technologies Institute, LLC (ASME-ITI) have announced the formation of a partnership to develop a national voluntary consensus standard encompassing an all-hazards risk management process for use by water and wastewater utilities.
The standard will be based on RAMCAPSM, the acronym for Risk Analysis and Management of Critical Asset Protection. With assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Water Sector Coordinating Council, ASME-ITI tailored the general version of RAMCAP to apply to water and wastewater utilities and adapt two pre-existing tools to be RAMCAP consistent. The standard will build on that effort and include protection (avoiding hazardous events or their consequences), and resilience (rapid return to full function after those events that occur).
By using common definitions, threats, metrics and methods to directly compare risk, resilience, and risk management benefits, the RAMCAP standard will help guide the allocation of limited funds among diverse assets within a utility, across utilities in different communities, and among assets in sectors of critical infrastructure.
This standard will be developed by a committee of volunteers representing water and wastewater utilities, practitioners, academics, and the interested public. ASME-ITI will serve as Secretariat and the effort will proceed according to ASME-ITI's procedures for standards development.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) will review the standard. Approval by ANSI is required for a standard to be issued as an American National Standard.
"We welcome the partnership with AWWA and are eager to develop a voluntary consensus standard for the water and wastewater sector," said ASME-ITI President J. Reese Meisinger. "The standard will build upon previously developed RAMCAP water sector methodology to provide a basis for enabling utilities to make well-founded decisions when allocating necessarily limited resources toward risk-reduction options."
"The work our committee members do will ultimately enhance our sector's risk assessment capabilities through a practical, yet rigorous process," said AWWA Deputy Executive Director Tom Curtis. "The approach will be kept relatively simple and intuitive while providing a sound basis for focusing on the most critical assets at any given facility."
ASME Innovative Technologies Institute, LLC (ASME-ITI) is a wholly owned, not-for-profit subsidiary of ASME (the American Society of Mechanical Engineers).
Founded in 1880, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization promoting the art, science and practice of mechanical and multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences. ASME develops codes and standards that enhance public safety, and provides lifelong learning and technical exchange opportunities benefiting the global engineering and technology community.
AWWA is the authoritative resource for knowledge, information, and advocacy to improve the quality and supply of water in North America and beyond. AWWA is the largest organization of water professionals in the world. AWWA advances public health, safety and welfare by uniting the efforts of the full spectrum of the entire water community. Through our collective strength we become better stewards of water for the greatest good of the people and the environment.
Contacts:
Greg Kail, AWWA
303-734-3410
gkail@awwa.org
