Engineering Inc - May/June 2018 - 7

New ACEC Chairman Manish
Kothari (second from right),
president/CEO, Sheladia
Associates, Inc., participated
in a panel discussion on
opportunities and best
practices for securing global
projects at the recent Discover
Global Markets (DGM): Design
+ Construct Forum in Kansas
City, Missouri. DGM is the U.S.
Department of Commerce's
flagship event series to build
international opportunities for
U.S. firms. Also pictured (from
left) moderator Diane Willkens,
Development Finance
International, Inc.; Preston
Winter, Millennium Challenge
Corp.; and John Mogge, Jacobs.

need. They need help
determining what their
funding gap is and how to
bridge this gap," he says.
Utilities are turning to engineering firms to help them build the
case for a rate increase.
"In the past, water systems were not equipped to provide customers with information that could demonstrate why rate increases
were necessary, so they simply asked customers to trust them," says
McCarthy. "As the world becomes more digital, the information
becomes more accessible. Through innovation, we empower utilities
to leverage data to help illustrate the depth and breadth of the factors that drive rate increases."
Engineering firms then help with public outreach. "I've attended
a lot of public outreach sessions over the past 20 years," says Close.
"There's much more interest and involvement than 20 years ago.
People are asking much tougher questions."
Water systems are also counting on firms to help them in issuing
municipal bonds and private activity bonds, and applying for federal and state grant programs.
Both McCarthy and Close say the best option for these communities is to combine a variety of projects into a single infrastructure
program.
"Rather than approach a flood protection project as a standalone
investment, we may add a recreation area to tap into park funding
and a multiuse trail to get transportation money," says McCarthy.
Close offers the example of a water system with a very high leakage rate but no access to funds to fix it. "We find they're spending
$1 million per year in power costs just to pump the water that is
leaking away," he says. "Now we can bundle water grants, energy
grants and even something for improving water quality. By putting
all of those together, we can get the job done." ■
Gerry Donohue is ACEC's senior communications writer. He can be
reached at gdonohue@acec.org.

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MAY / JUNE 2018

ENGINEERING INC.

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