Orange County Water District (OCWD) has selected Jacobs to participate in a pilot program to provide contracted treatment testing support services for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the company announced on Tuesday.

“Jacobs’ unique ability to shape the industry for PFAS solutions is drawn from our multidisciplinary capabilities in environmental, water, wastewater, solid waste, aviation and infrastructure,” said Jacobs People & Places Solutions Senior Vice President and Global Environmental Market Director Jan Walstrom.

PFAS are a family of oil and water-resistant chemicals found in everyday consumer products and airport firefighting foams that have infiltrated groundwater supplies over several decades.

Jacobs will help OCWD explore long-term solutions to ensure that water supplies continue to meet all state and federal water quality standards before the levels of PFAS in Orange County groundwater wells grow.

The goal of the pilot program is to help retail water agencies in Orange County determine the best available PFAS treatment methods. Jacobs will provide testing of different types of granular activated carbon (GAC), ion exchange (IX) products and adsorbents to determine which applications are best suited for Orange County’s diverse aquifer water quality and geochemistry.

“We challenge today and reinvent tomorrow by integrating both proven and leading-edge detection and treatment technologies to address PFAS chemicals transported in drinking water, groundwater, surface water, wastewater, leachate and soil,” added Walstrom.

Additionally, Jacobs has donated $467,230 to the Water For People nonprofit organization to help end the global water crisis with sustainable solutions, the company announced on Jan. 22 2020.

“One in three people globally don’t have access to safe water. One in two people, more than half of us walking the planet, don’t have access to adequate sanitation,” said Water For People CEO Eleanor Allen.

A yearly company initiative, Jacobs will help provide water sanitation services to Water For People’s journey to Destination 2030. The 10-year initiative to support low and middle-income countries obtain United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6. The goal will ensure available and sustainable management of water.

About Jacobs 

We’re challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world’s most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of approximately 52,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector.

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) has awarded Raytheon a 5-year, $197 million contract to help the department modernize the missile warning architecture with a new system that will collect and fuse data from multiple sensors to provide a comprehensive picture of launch activity, the company announced on Tuesday.

“The U.S. government’s global satellite network produces a constant flood of data — petabytes and petabytes of it every day,” said Dave Wajsgras, six time Wash100 Award recipient and president of Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services (IIS). “The Air Force wants to open that network up so they can use as much of that data as possible. That’s a huge transformation not just for the service, but for the whole government.”

Raytheon IIS has developed a new, open framework, called the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) Mission Data Processing Application Framework (MDPAF). The framework will provide advanced processing capabilities to USAF’s network programs.

The company will specifically focus on Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) satellite data from both USAF’s evolving Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) constellation and the future Next Gen OPIR constellation, as well as the processing of data from other civil and environmental sensors.

FORGE will provide more advanced operations compared to satellite ground control programs.  Instead of collecting and analyzing data from specific types of satellites or sensors, FORGE is  able to collect data from nearly any type of satellite or sensor, and then helps operators make sense of that data quickly.

Additionally, FORGE is capable of processing real data. Raytheon has incorporated its deep experience developing applications using DevSecOps and Agile software development processes to dramatically speed development.

“Essentially, this is a smartphone model,” said Wajsgras. “We’ve built an operating system that everyone can build applications for – from Raytheon to the Air Force to universities to small companies. These applications allow the system to process specific types of data.”

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I™ products and services, sensing, effects and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts.