ATLANTA (May 30, 2012) — Managing the supply of water continues to be one of the most challenging governmental functions in today’s world. With a heavy impact on the economy and quality of life made worse by drought and a growing population, effective water management needs to be certain, efficient, and cost-effective for local communities to develop and prosper.
To this end, three Atlanta-based firms — NewFields, River To Tap (R2T) Inc. and Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP — have joined together to create the Smart Water Gridsm. The initiative taps into each organization’s core strengths, offering a comprehensive range of engineering, environmental, legal, and decision-making services to present water management solutions specific to a community’s resources and needs over time.
“Quality of life for a community both now and in the future is our goal,” said Stephen E. O’Day, partner and head of the sustainability practice at Smith, Gambrell & Russell. “We have a tremendous opportunity to help communities thrive and control the cost of water supply through state of the art information management and phased implementation of available water resources — when and as needed to maximize efficient use of financial and natural resources.”
The group’s proprietary, multidisciplinary approach to water management is a 180-degree turn from the ‘one size fits all’ strategy that is typically proposed to local governments. The conventional step of building a reservoir to secure water for a community’s future comes with a high cost not only for today’s residents, but also for future generations. The Smart Water Gridsm is solution-neutral. It uses advanced data and knowledge management tools for customized solutions that optimize the stewardship of water supply and taxpayer dollars.
“We live in a dynamic, data-rich world. Our approach is based on a new generation of tools able to move and assess large amounts of up-to-date information quickly. This leads to informed and rapid decision-making and manageable costs,” commented Billy Hall, Civil Engineer with NewFields. “The Smart Water Gridsm ensures adequate water supply with balanced and comprehensive management of the sources of uncertainty and risk.”
The Smart Water Gridsm a collaboration of NewFields, River To Tap (R2T) and Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP, creates efficient, cost-effective water management solutions for local communities. Utilizing the demand/supply balance, existing knowledge management and state-of-the-art data inputs, enhanced conservation, retrofitting of supply/distribution channels, increased efficiency, and supply tools, this powerful planning service aims to deliver water output at desired times and levels. The Smart Water Gridsm offers communities scalable solutions from established experts in the engineering and design, planning, data capture and analysis, permitting, economics and legal fields. For more information, contact: William Hall (Billy), Newfields at 404-347-9050 x949 , bhall@newfields.com or Stephen E. O’Day, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, at 404-815-3527, soday@sgrlaw.com.
More information on Smart Water Gridsm partners:
NewFields is an international firm of environmental experts in the fields of engineering, life sciences and environmental medicine. The firm provides comprehensive services for the resolution of all aspects of environmental liabilities with particular emphasis on applied decision theory. www.newfields.com
River To Tap (R2T) Inc. is a full service engineering firm, providing exceptional engineering and consulting services to public and private sector clients, with offices located in Georgia and Florida. R2T is a certified 8(a)/Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) with the U.S. Small Business Administration and a Women-Owned Business Enterprise. [www.r2tinc.com](http:// www.r2tinc.com
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Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP is a full service, international law firm that advises regional, national and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters. The Environmental and Sustainability Practice Groups represent businesses and others in transactions, litigation and other legal issues, providing focused legal representation in the fields of environmental law and sustainability. Founded in 1893, SGR has offices in Atlanta, Jacksonville, New York, Washington, DC and Frankfurt, Germany.