WATERBURY, Conn., April 23, 2002 -- Haestad Methods announced that it has been selected by Sandia National Laboratories to become a licensed trainer for the Risk Assessment Methodology for Water Utilities (RAM-WSM) training program.
Under an Interagency Agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy, Sandia selected a small group of firms to provide RAM-W training to water utilities, consultants, and other interested parties nationwide. In this highly competitive process, Haestad Methods was chosen based on its superior training capabilities, expertise in water security matters, and outstanding reputation in the water resources industry.
Haestad Methods' instructors will be trained at Sandia's facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, over the next several weeks. After completing the program, the team will be licensed to train water utilities and water systems consultants on how to use RAM-W to conduct vulnerability assessments, develop emergency operations plans, and upgrade their security systems. Haestad Methods will begin offering RAM-W training in May and June.
Funded by the EPA, RAM-W was developed by Sandia National Laboratories and the AWWA Research Foundation. Coordination of the training program began after Congress approved the EPA to support counter-terrorism activities at drinking water and wastewater utilities. This EPA support comes in the form of grant funds made available to qualified publicly owned facilities for up to $115,000.
Haestad Methods is certified by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and has instructed more professionals in the field of water resources than any other organization of its kind in the world. "Haestad Methods is highly recognized in the industry for providing extensive training to meet the rapidly increasing needs of the water resources community. We are honored to add RAM-W training to our distinguished suite of courses," said Nicole Beckom, Director of Continuing Education for Haestad Methods.
For more information on registering for Haestad Methods' RAM-W training program, e-mail: [email protected]
About Haestad Methods:
Haestad Methods sponsored the First Annual Water Security Summit (www.watersecurity.org) to equip the water resources industry with critical guidelines for protecting water supply infrastructures.
Haestad Methods is a provider of software for the design and analysis of water resources systems including water distribution, storm, and sanitary sewer infrastructure. For more information, visit www.haestad.com.
EPA Grant Program:
Under the grant program, the EPA has specified that community water systems may contract with any of the 17 selected firms licensed to carry out all of the elements of RAM-WSM training, as defined in the Request for Applications for this grant program.
For more information on the firms that have been selected to become trainers for vulnerability RAM-W training, readers may download an Adobe Acrobat PDF file at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/security/sandia_training.pdf.
For more information on the EPA Grant Program visit http://www.epa.gov/safewater/security.
