WESTIN NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release	Westin Contact
August 1, 2006	Scott McKinney
	info@we-inc.com
	916-852-2111

Westin and HDR Awarded Nationwide Asset Management
Research Project for Water and Wastewater Industry

ATLANTA and RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. – Westin Engineering and HDR have been awarded a research project by American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF) to identify the water and wastewater industry’s priorities for asset management research.

The project, titled “Asset Management Research Needs Roadmap,” will identify the industry’s most pressing research needs related to asset management, then define a set of comprehensive, cohesive and prioritized research initiatives. The results of this project will establish AwwaRF’s asset management research agenda for the next five to 10 years.

The project team, led by HDR, includes more than 30 water and wastewater utilities and subcontractors including Westin (as co-principal investigator), American Water and the Electric Power Research Institute.

“Asset management spans many interrelated business and operational strategies and activities,” said Doug Harp, Westin CEO and co-principal investigator. “Moreover, there is no lack of information, opinions, models, ‘best practices,’ software, and experts on the topic. This project is a critical step to set a unified vision and research roadmap for asset management in the water industry.”

“This project and the resulting research will guide utilities toward more effective capital planning and management of their critical infrastructure investment,” said Ed Tenny, HDR senior vice president and co-principal investigator of the project. “Ultimately, that change will ensure that our nation’s utility infrastructure will continue to provide reliable drinking water and wastewater treatment for future generations, in the most cost-effective manner.”

The project will apply a highly collaborative approach to capture ideas and priorities from AwwaRF members. In addition to Westin and HDR, the project team includes:

John W. Fortin, Asset Management Consultant
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
Polytechnic University, New York, N.Y.
University of Delaware, Newark, Del.

Participating utilities and agencies include:

Advantica, London, England
American Water, Voorhees, N.J.
Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility, Anchorage, Alaska
Aurora Water, Aurora, Colo.
City of Bellevue, Wash.
Calgary Water Resources, Calgary, Alberta
Charleston Water System, Charleston, S.C.
City of Chicago, Department of Water Management, Chicago, Ill.
Greater Cincinnati Water Works, Cincinnati, Ohio
City of Clearwater, Fla.
Department of Public Utilities, City of Columbus, Ohio
Dallas Water System, Dallas, Texas
Denver Water, Denver, Colo.
District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, Washington, D.C.
DuPage Water Commission, Elmhurst, Ill.
East Bay Municipal Utility District, Oakland, Calif.
El Paso Water Utilities, El Paso, Texas
Fort Worth Water Department, Fort Worth, Texas
County of Henrico, Richmond, Va.
Hillsborough County, Tampa, Fla.
Long Beach Water Department, Long Beach, Calif.
City of Los Angeles, Department of Water and Power, Los Angeles, Calif.
Louisville Water Company, Louisville, Ky.
City of Newport News, Department of Public Utilities, Va.
Northern Kentucky Water District, Erlanger, Ky.
City of Phoenix, Water Services Department, Phoenix, Ariz.
City of St. Louis, Department of Public Utilities, St. Louis, Mo.
City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Tacoma Water, Tacoma, Wash.
Tualatin Valley Water District, Beaverton, Ore.
Vallecitos Water District, San Marcos, Calif.

About Westin Engineering, Inc.
Westin (www.we-inc.com) delivers enterprise solutions that improve the performance of water and wastewater utilities. Professionals throughout North America apply practical expertise and proven delivery methods to address planning, design, implementation, integration, training and ongoing maintenance. Since 1981, Westin has served clients in the areas of SCADA, asset and maintenance management, knowledge management, customer service, security, telecommunications, GIS and information technology.

About HDR
HDR (hdrinc.com) is an employee-owned architectural, engineering and consulting firm that excels at managing complex projects and solving challenges for clients. More than 5,000 professionals, including architects, engineers, consultants, scientists, planners and construction managers, in more than 130 locations worldwide, pool their strengths to provide solutions beyond the scope of traditional A/E/C firms. HDR is No. 17 in the Engineering-News Record Top 500 Design Firms rankings for 2006. It is ranked No. 10 in water supply and No. 13 in wastewater treatment.