Building Resilience in Water Utilities:
Four Reliability Challenges that Cannot be Ignored
Water utilities face four connected pressures: unreliable asset data that weakens decision‑making, compliance demands that crowd out performance work, rapid loss of experienced staff, and the need to justify every modernization investment. Together, these forces make it harder to maintain reliable systems and plan confidently for the future.
Four Key Challenges:
1. Asset Data Quality & Trust: “How can you make reliable decisions when their asset data is incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent?”
2. Compliance vs Performance: “Are water utilities spending so much time on compliance that reliability and performance suffer?”
3. Workforce & Knowledge Loss: “What happens to reliability when experienced staff retire faster than new talent can be developed?”
4. Modernization & ROI: “How do you modernize maintenance and asset management when every investment must be justified?”
Our Presenters
Verowin Hunting
Reliability Manager at Irvine Ranch Water District
Chief Engineer licensed Maritime Engineer with over 30 years’ experience in operational maintenance excellence. I have developed maintenance concepts and implemented various CMMS systems and processes across the globe for a wide range of industries.
At SpaceX, I built the maintenance organization from scratch for the world's first rocket factory. I developed and implemented a proprietary maintenance software for the rocket factor, which I then integrated across the test sites in Texas and both the launch sites in Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg.
My maintenance concepts, processes, and software successfully passed rigorous audits from the Air Force, NASA, and the FAA.
Currently working at the Irvine Ranch Water District to re-implement and revitalize all the maintenance data and processes. This includes the upgrade of Maximo to MAS 9.1.
Logan Cowley
Senior Consultant at MaxGrip
Logan is a Senior Consultant at MaxGrip with a strong foundation in mechanical engineering and reliability. He brings extensive experience from roles at Tesla, Austin White Lime, and Tenaris, where he led large-scale plant expansions, developed maintenance and reliability programs, and drove innovative engineering solutions. Logan has a special interest in how AI and digital transformation can accelerate asset performance, and he is passionate about enabling teams through training, knowledge sharing, and delivering sustainable improvements for clients.
Ghitte Neethling
Consultant at MaxGrip
Maintenance and Reliability Specialist, Ghitte Neethling works at MaxGrip as a consultant. She is a maintenance and reliability professional with over six years of experience driving engineering excellence, asset reliability, project management, and continuous improvement initiatives. She has a proven track record of helping organizations strengthen their asset performance and operational resilience.
Ghitte has established asset care programs across multiple industries, with a particular focus on Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) and Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM). Her hands-on expertise in implementing and optimizing Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) systems ensures that clients not only deploy the right tools but also achieve meaningful, lasting improvements in reliability and performance.
Throughout her career, Ghitte has supported major companies such as DOW, Motiva, and Pemex, delivering tailored solutions that bridge technical strategy with practical execution. Her work empowers organizations to drive operational excellence and maximize the value of their assets.