The second part in the Learned Society webinar series will host two industry experts. Becky MacDonald on the response to secure the future of our water supply during COVID-19 and Nigel Cann on the explosion at Tianjin.
We want to ensure that we are able to provide opportunities to network with peers on a technical level, publish useful and practical information and importantly, enable you to continue to learn and improve your skills.
Becky MacDonald will discuss the four Guiding Principles to Secure Our Water Future, developed by the US Water Alliance, and supported by over 228 water companies around the world, with more signing on every day. It will highlight how these principles are reflected in New Zealand Governments response, a $12 billion investment programme which specifically includes water infrastructure.
Water is the lifeblood of our communities and economies. Clean, affordable, and accessible water is fundamental to public health and is considered a basic human right. Water plays an essential role in public health and well-being during this COVID-19 crisis.
The last thing stretched health services need is a waterborne pathogen outbreak in the middle of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Nigel Cann will discuss the impacts of the Tianjin disaster, why understanding the potential impacts of major incidents at hazardous sites is critical for appropriate planning controls, designing to prevent and mitigate events and generally why “safety-in-design” matters to every project.
The explosions occurred at a chemical storage facility in in the port city of Tianjin, China on the 12 of August 2015 where a disaster for the many people living in the vicinity of the Site. Unusually for a disaster event, there was widespread information, photographs and videos available on the internet about the destruction and chaos that it created. Although originally studied because we did not believe original reports on the size of the explosion, our work validates the models and assumptions used in consequence modelling.