Water Management in Tampa Bay and the Maghreb
Water management is an interesting topic for us of late. We’ve been thinking about it for a couple of reasons - locally, well, we have issues. First of all, we’re surrounded by water, so we’re always thinking about the power of that resource to impact our way of life. Our flagship product, Geodexy, can play a critical role in rapid disaster response - but most people only think about that when a hurricane is looming. Every day water management is all about maintenance and routine inspections, and planning for obsolescence and replacement. Wastewater infrastructure is a serious concern because even small failures can cause enovironmental and public health disasters! Geodexy enables asset managers to quickly and accurately schedule and perform routine pipeline steam inspections, and rapidly respond to any weakness.
Up until recently, we have been thinking locally. Then, we hosted an exciting visit with an Algerian and Moroccan delegation of scholars and assorted players, who are charged with solving myriad water-related issues in the Maghreb ( المغرب العربي al-Maġrib al-ʿArabī). It’s amazing how geography plays such an important role in everything from site selection for water storage, distribution, and treatment facilities, to the asset management program development process. It occured to me while the delegation was here that whether you live in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, or the Maghreb, you need three very vital things, commonly: a systemic way to deal effectively and safely with wastewater; consistent access to a sufficient supply of potable water; and an early warning system when something is about to go dreadfully wrong.
Right here in our own Bay area, we have citizens being arrested for letting their lawns die during (seemingly routine) water-shortage-fueled usage bans, as well as for watering their grass on the wrong day - we can’t win!! And yet, most of us only keep half an eye on reservior levels, if that, to stay out of trouble. We take it for granted that when we ask for water at a restaurant, it arrives shortly thereafter. When we want to shower, we turn a nozzle or two and it’s party time. This is not necessarily the case in the Maghreb: most of us wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves. Community Associations with iron-clad lawn requirements, especially.
So we were thrilled to share a bit of our knowledge with the delegation, and honored that they received it openly. We hope to help bridge the gap in the Maghreb, and in the process learn more about how to manage our own water supply. In the end, perhaps Spatial Networks will develop better ways to make wastewater history.
