Rendering of the new anaerobic digestion complex at the Altoona Water Authority’s Westerly facility in Altoona, Pennsylvania

Beyond simply being an alternative to the traditional design-bid-build method, collaborative project delivery offers wastewater utilities and authorities several benefits. Two of the most salient benefits of collaborative delivery are the flexibility it allows during the project development process and the performance guarantee it provides. The Altoona Water Authority’s (AWA) Water Resource Recovery Facility project with Energy Systems Group, LLC (ESG) is a recent example of a utility using the collaborative approach to address its long-term operational, environmental, infrastructure, technology, and financial needs through a single solicitation.

The world enters another month of the COVID-19 pandemic and we all slowly continue to figure out how to deal with it. “This new normal,” “in these uncertain times,” and wishing friends and colleagues to “stay safe” are the phrases of today. We use these now because they are necessary. As of mid-July, COVID-19 has infected over 13 million people worldwide {update 10/6/2020: 35.5 million} and caused over 580,000 deaths {update 10/6/2020: over 1 million} – over 135,000 in the United States alone {update 10/6/2020: 208,787}. For a time, the U.S. economy essentially shut down and the unemployment rate went from 3.6% in January to 11.1% in June. Children went to school from home or stopped altogether, and now I have masks for my family hanging next to my car keys in the kitchen. This is all anything but normal.