Abstract
This panel will delve into the landscape of water and wastewater asset management across different states, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities. We will discuss diverse practices, emerging technologies, and strategies that are shaping the way utilities manage infrastructure, particularly focusing on resilience, regulatory compliance, and financial sustainability.
Moderator
- Heather Himmelberger, P.E. , Director, Southwest Environmental Finance Center, University of New Mexico
Panelists
- John W. Tuggle PE PS, Executive Director, Region 4 Planning and Development Council, Summersville, WV
- Irene McSweeney, PE and Grade 4 Water Operator
- Calvin D. Clifton, Business Development & Recruiting Manager, Mattern & Craig, Inc., Offices in TN/VA/NC/SC
Bios
John W. Tuggle PE PS, Executive Director, Region 4 Planning and Development Council, Summersville, WV
John joined the WV Regional Planning and Development Councils in Oct. 2013 after spending 27 yrs as a Consultant Engineer, primarily in the water and wastewater infrastructure sector. He is a licensed PE in WV,OH, and VA. Virtually all of his prior years as a consultant were spent working closely with State and local government entities to improve the infrastructure needed to support the health and well being of the citizenry in West Virginia and surrounding States. He has experienced the creation and evolution of existing State and Federal funding programs over the years and developed the relationships with those agencies necessary to facilitate successful infrastructure improvements of all types. John has been a key player with GIS corporate decision-making process in both Public and Private Sector scenarios for over 20 yrs. His focus has been to research and develop ways to improve basic utility and government operations with the efficiencies and cost effectiveness that GIS means and methods bring to bear.
John manages a superb staff of project administration personnel at Region 4 as well as co-manage the Fayette Raleigh Metropolitan Planning Organization.
John is very proud to be a lifelong West Virginian. He has a wonderful wife, Romona, three grown and very successful children, and five grandchildren he adores.
Irene McSweeney, PE and Grade 4 Water Operator
Irene McSweeney, PE and Grade 4 Water Operator, has served the City of Boston for 34 years at the Boston Water and Sewer Commission as Director of Construction, Chief of Operations and Chief of Special Operations. Irene earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Wentworth Institute of Technology and a Master’s in Environmental Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Her work spans all types of major infrastructure, from cleaning and lining of water mains, to major sewer separation projects to clean up Boston Harbor, as well as numerous trenchless projects. As COO, she oversaw the Commission’s emergency response and maintenance of the Commission’s 1500 miles of Sanitary and Storm Sewers and 1008 miles of water mains.
Heather Himmelberger, P.E., Director, Southwest Environmental Finance Center, University of New Mexico
Heather Himmelberger, P.E. is a registered professional engineer with over 35 years of experience working with water and wastewater utilities all across the U.S. She has a BS from Penn State University and an MS from Johns Hopkins University both in Environmental Engineering. As Director of the SW EFC, Heather has been a staunch advocate and promoter of asset management practice for over 20 years. She has provided hundreds of asset management trainings and directly assisted systems of all sizes and types with understanding and implementing asset management. She has presented asset management presentations at regional, national, and international conferences. She has created guidance materials and documents for use by systems of all sizes, including a guidance for green infrastructure.
Calvin D. Clifton, Business Development & Recruiting Manager, Mattern & Craig, Inc., Offices in TN/VA/NC/SC
Calvin Clifton has over 30 years of experience in public works and utilities in the southeast. His business, Mattern & Craig, Inc., works with many small-medium municipalities, as well as rural utility districts.
Clifton has a very diverse background, in both the public and private sectors. He spent the early years of his career in the public works field serving in management positions with both the cities of Kingsport and Athens, Tennessee. Since 2004, Clifton has worked in the consulting engineering field in the role of project manager, asset management consultant, and business development & recruiting manager. He works primarily in east TN, North & South Carolina, and southwest VA.
As a former utilities and public works director, he approaches clients and projects from the standpoint of the owner, manager, and maintainer. His experience includes design oversight and management of water/wastewater, stormwater, streets, and traffic signs/signals.
A graduate of East Tennessee State University and Northeast State Community College, Clifton received his Municipal Specialist Certification in Public Works/Utilities from the University of Tennessee Center for Government and received his Professional Water Asset Manager (PWAM) certification in 2017.
A native of the east Tennessee mountains, Clifton and his wife, Leslie, reside in Kingsport. They have two grown children and four grandchildren.
