New Podcast 🎙️ How Authorities and Engineers Work Together

Strong Infrastructure Starts with Strong Partnerships

In a new episode of PMAA’s Authorities on Air podcast, Brodhead Creek Regional Authority Manager Dave Horton, P.E., is joined by Mike McCarey, P.E., Vice President and Manager of the Water/Wastewater Department at Carroll Engineering Corporation, for a conversation about the partnership behind reliable water and wastewater infrastructure.

What Does It Take to Keep Essential Systems Operating?

Together, Mike and Dave offer an inside look at the relationship between a municipal authority and its engineer, along with the planning, communication and trust required to keep essential water and wastewater systems operating safely and reliably.

Water and wastewater infrastructure must operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Delivering that reliability requires much more than responding when something breaks.

Three Key Themes

Trust and Communication

Why open communication and honest assessments create stronger engineer-authority relationships.

Proactive Planning

How condition assessments and early operator input help prevent costly emergencies.

Smarter Investment

Using GIS and asset data to prioritize improvements with the greatest community benefit.

Planning Today to Prevent Tomorrow’s Emergencies

In this episode, Mike and Dave discuss how Carroll Engineering and BCRA work together to evaluate infrastructure, plan improvements, engage operators and address potential concerns before they become costly emergencies.

You’ll hear about:

Bringing operators and field personnel into the design process early on

Balancing proactive planning with unexpected infrastructure needs

Designing projects that support operations, maintenance and long-term reliability

Replacing a 122-year-old cast iron water main serving as a critical backbone of BCRA’s system

For BCRA, replacing the aging water main is expected to improve capacity, water quality and fire protection while reducing strain on other facilities. It is a practical example of how thoughtful engineering and long-term collaboration can help authorities invest in the projects that deliver the greatest benefit to their customers.