Asset Management Regulations Are Coming, Are You Ready?

Author: Kevin Slaven, Senior Asset Management Consultant; ARCADIS U.S., Inc., 222 S. Main St., Suite 300, Akron, OH 44308; phone 330.515.5687;

KEYWORDS: asset management, capital planning, asset inventory, risk management

ABSTRACT

Asset management is switching from a best management practice to a regulatory driven requirement. This presentation will provide the historical background on asset management starting with development of the 2000 International Infrastructure Management Manual to the 2014 ISO 55000 asset management standards. We will discuss what asset management is and what industry best practices are. The presentation will provide an overview of the results of the asset management survey completed by the AWWA Asset Management Committee. Below are the details of the study:

“The Asset Management Committee (AMC) of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) is conducting this survey of State Revolving Fund (SRF) agencies to better understand plans to implement asset management requirements for utilities, such as those integral to the Fiscal Sustainability Plans (FSP) required for Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) programs by the 2014 Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA). Many of the water and wastewater utility professionals that will prepare FSP’s are AWWA members. The mission of the AWWA Asset Management Committee is to promote proactive and cost effective management of utility assets. The AMC’s interest in conducting this survey is to better understand how requirements for FSP’s are being implemented and what support our AWWA members may require to help ensure the success of this effort.

In this survey, the terms Fiscal Sustainability Plan and Asset Management refer to the following:

  • Fiscal Sustainability Plan (FSP) – a plan required by the 2014 WRRDA, which includes an inventory of critical assets; evaluation of the condition and performance of assets; certification that water and energy conservation efforts have been evaluated and will be implemented; and a plan for maintaining, repairing, and replacing assets as necessary.
  • Asset management - a set of practices used to provide the service level required by utility customers at the lowest long-term cost and acceptable level of risk. Practices include inventory of assets, assessment of asset condition, performance and risk, and risk-based planning to optimize maintenance, renewal and replacement of assets. Asset management is an integral component of a Fiscal Sustainability Plan.”

Once the survey results have been discussed I will provide some state specific asset management regulation examples for New York, New Jersey, and the draft regulationsfor Ohio to see how states are starting the process of requiring asset management. We will talk through how these states align with US EPA and WERF best practice guidance documents. Then we will discuss how the newly formed Ohio AWWA/Ohio WEA Asset Management Committee is working with the Ohio EPA to help the agency develop an asset management program for all utilities.