Water utilities today face unprecedented risks from “Black Sky Events“—catastrophic incidents such as hurricanes, winter storms, wildfires, cyberattacks, and prolonged grid failures—that disrupt critical services for extended periods. Recent experiences like Hurricane Beryl, the 2021 Texas freeze, and other widespread power outages highlight vulnerabilities in traditional backup solutions, particularly diesel generators that often fail under extreme conditions or logistical constraints.

This webinar features Matt Froelich, District Engineer at BGE, overseeing the North Fort Bend Water Authority (NFBWA), offers essential insights for water utility executives, municipal leaders, and engineers looking to fortify their systems against long-duration power outages.

We cover the real-world success story of the NFBWA in Texas. In partnership with Enchanted Rock, NFBWA deployed a 2.4 MW resiliency microgrid at its Bellaire pumping station to maintain operations during any grid outage. The solution replaced aging natural gas units with a resilient microgrid  that is owned and operated by Enchanted Rock, meaning the water authority now has highly reliable backup power without diesel fuel logistics or maintenance burden on its staff.

Natural gas microgrids offer indefinite runtime via underground fuel supply and emit far fewer pollutants than diesel generators​, helping utilities meet environmental goals​. Moreover, with a resilience-as-a-service model, water utilities can harden their systems at a fraction of the cost of traditional backup solutions​, leveraging third-party expertise and selling surplus energy back to the grid to offset costs.

You will learn: 

• Evolving Threat Landscape: Understand the current reliability challenges facing water utilities – from grid stress to extreme weather – and why conventional backup generators alone may not be sufficient for today’s prolonged outages​.

• Resilient Microgrid Solutions: Learn how advanced microgrid technology can provide storm-proof power for water infrastructure. We’ll explain how natural gas-fueled microgrids sustain operations through long-duration outages to keep pumps and treatment plants running when the grid is down​.

• Case Study – NFBWA’s Journey: Gain insights from NFBWA’s microgrid deployment firsthand. Guest speaker Matthew Froehlich, P.E., NFBWA’s engineer on the project, will share how and why they implemented their microgrid, and the tangible benefits achieved – including uninterrupted power through hurricanes and the elimination of refueling and generator maintenance headaches​.

• Reliability Meets Sustainability: Discover how to bolster resilience without sacrificing sustainability or cost-effectiveness. We’ll discuss how clean natural gas microgrids emit up to 100X lower local emissions than diesel solutions.

• Proactive Resiliency Planning: Explore strategies to proactively prepare your utility for the next big storm or outage. From building the right partnerships to leveraging new technologies, we’ll outline steps to harden your water facilities against hurricanes, wildfires, and grid failures. Hear how leading utilities are building a resilient future for water supply through innovation and planning​ and take away a roadmap for enhancing your own emergency response capabilities.