Speaker Bios
Frank J. Blaha-Water Research Foundation
Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Engineering. Master’s Degree in Civil and Environmental
Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Twenty-eight years of varied environmental
engineering experience, with the last sixteen years at the Water Research Foundation. Prior to working
at the Water Research Foundation his experience was mostly gained at small consulting firms, focusing
on water, groundwater, and waste management issues. For the last eight years my focus has been
primarily on distribution system infrastructure issues, primarily on buried asset deterioration concerns,
as well as distribution system water quality concerns. Other areas of work include decontamination of
distribution systems, security concerns, and seismic risk factors. Member of American Water Works
Association and a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Colorado.
Michael D. Royer- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Urban Watershed Management Branch
Water Supply and Water Resources Division
National Risk Management Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
2890 Woodbridge Avenue
Edison, NJ 08837-3679
Education:
B.A. Natural Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 1973
Employment history:
1977-present Physical Scientist, U.S. EPA, Edison, NJ
Selected Publications/Presentations/Posters:
Nestleroth, J.B., Flamberg, S.A., Condit, W., Matthews, J., Wang, L., and Chen, A. 2012. Field
Demonstration of Innovative Condition Assessment Technologies for Water Mains: Leak Detection and
Location. EPA/600/R-12/018. U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, Edison, NJ, 191 pp. (M.
Royer, Task Order Manager)
Liu, Z., Kleiner, Y., Rajani, B.,Wang, L., and Condit, W.. 2012. Condition Assessment Technologies for
Water Transmission and Distribution Systems. EPA/600/R-12/017. Office of Research and Development,
Edison, NJ, 149 pp. (M. Royer, Task Order Manager)
Wang, L., Nestleroth, J.B., Flamberg, S.A., Royer, M., and Williams, A. 2010. Field Demonstration Of
Innovative Leak Detection/Location In Conjunction With Pipe Wall Thickness Testing For Water Mains.
Proceedings of ASCE Pipelines 2010. American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA.
Nestleroth, J.B., Flamberg, S.A., Wang, L., Chen, A., Royer, M., and Williams, A.F., 2010. Field
Demonstration Of Emerging Pipe Wall Integrity Assessment Technologies For Large Cast Iron Water
Mains Proceedings of ASCE Pipelines 2010. American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, VA.
Thomson, J. and Wang, L. 2009. State of Technology Review Report on Condition Assessment of Ferrous
Water Transmission and Distribution Systems. EPA/600/R-09/055. U.S. EPA . Office of Research and
Development, Edison, nj 111 pp. Http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/pubs/600r09055/600r09055.pdf (M.
Royer, Task Order Manager)
U.S. EPA. 2007. Innovation and Research for Water Infrastructure for the 21st Century Research Plan.
Office of Research and Development. Cincinnati, OH
http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/wswrd/awi/pubs/researchplan.pdf
Royer, M. and A.N. Tafuri. 2004. Structural Integrity Monitoring For Improved Drinking Water
Infrastructure Sustainability. EPA Science Forum. Poster.
Royer, M.D. – Project manager for multiple EPA research reports, e.g., granular activated carbon and
other sorbents, protective clothing and equipment, and remediation of metal-contaminated superfund
sites (1980 to 1995).
Keith D Coombs–Louisville Water Company
Registration:
Experience:
Registered Professional Engineer, Kentucky
October 2007 to Present
Manager – Infrastructure Planning
Louisville Water Company
February 2004 to October 2007
Process Owner – MRRP, Transmission and Relocation
Louisville Water Company
October 1996 to February 2004
Process Owner – Main Replacement and Rehabilitation
Louisville Water Company
August 1993 to October 1996
Project Engineer – Main Replacement and Rehabilitation
Louisville Water Company
October 1992 to April 1993
Geotechnical Engineer
US Ecology, Louisville, Kentucky
October 1983 to October 1992
Geotechnical Engineer
FMSM Civil Engineers, Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky
September 1982 to October 1983
Staff Engineer
US Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District
Tina Miller-Anchorage Water Wastewater Utility
Education:
Bachelor of Science - Civil Engineering, 1981
Master of Engineering – Civil Engineering, 1982
Speed Scientific School, University of Louisville
Education:
B.S., Civil Engineering, University of Alaska Anchorage, 1997
B.A., Biology, Dartmouth College, 1989
Registration: Civil Engineering, Alaska, 2006
Christina (Tina) has over 22 years of experience as an engineer and biologist, specializing in business
process improvements and efficiencies. She was appointed the Strategic Asset Services Manager at
Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility (AWWU) in June 2009 and previously served as the GIS
Supervisor at AWWU starting in March 2005. In her capacity as Strategic Asset Services Manager, she
supervised a staff of 7 professional and paraprofessional engineering, engineering technician, economist
and asset analyst staff. As Manager of the Strategic Asset Services Section, she provided technical
direction and leadership to advance asset management principles and practices for Alaska’s largest
utility. Before her tenure at AWWU she worked as a civil engineer and GIS specialist with HDR Alaska,
ran her own consulting firm as a sole proprietor and worked as a biologist with the consulting firm ENSR.
Across the course of her career, Tina has utilized data and data modeling to achieve business process
efficiencies.
She has applied this to water and sewer master planning, utility operations and
maintenance programs, information systems integration, water and wastewater hydraulic modeling,
advanced utilities asset management practices, field sampling programs for biological evaluations, and
Alaska’s rural energy cost equalization program.
Roy Brander P.Eng.-City of Calgary
Roy has degrees in both civil engineering and computer science, and developed the first GIS mapping
system used by Calgary Waterworks between 1991 and 1997. He became Calgary Water Resources’ first
Infrastructure Engineer in 1997 with a focus on water main replacement. He started the first projects to
address this need, with soil resistivity testing in 1998 and electromagnetic pipeline inspection in
1999. This was expanded into our current Asset Management group in 2005, and Roy has since
developed extensive database systems for all assets, inspections, and work-tracking using a commercial
“enterprise asset management system” product, CAD, and GIS mapping. He currently supervises the
selection of all water and sewer replacement, rehabilitation, and inspection programs by the other Asset
Management engineering staff.
Andy Hughes M.Eng., P.Eng-City of Calgary
Andy has spent his entire 18 year engineering career in the water industry. He has worked on a wide
variety of infrastructure projects from rehabilitation and construction of new water, wastewater and
storm distribution networks to construction of new wastewater treatment plants totalling over $250
million. Andy spent over 10 years working for Wessex Water, one of the top performing water
companies in the UK before making the decision with his wife to uproot his family to North America. He
moved to Canada in 2007 and spent the next 5 years in the consulting world prior to reacquainting
himself with public service by joining the City of Calgary in April 2012. Andy is currently a Senior
Infrastructure Engineer working in the Asset Management team of the Water Resources department.
Dan Ellison-HDR
Dan Ellison has completed four WaterRF projects and has four on-going projects, all focused on the
condition assessment and rehabilitation of small diameter water mains. In a former life, he managed
the pipeline rehabilitation program for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, completing up
to a million feet per year. He is the former chair of the Water Main Rehabilitation Committee of AWWA
and has presented papers at both national and international events.