November 2025 Vol. 80 No. 11

(UI) — Industry safety expert Dennis Piven will lead three must-attend sessions at the 2026 Underground Infrastructure Conference in San Antonio, emphasizing confined space safety, cost-saving best practices, and real-world safety discussions for underground utility professionals.

To meet growing demand across 22 counties, the Nueces River Authority is developing a Gulf Coast desalination plant on Harbor Island and a 178-mile conveyance pipeline expected to deliver up to 450 million gallons of water per day to South Texas by 2029.

The 2026 HDD Reunion will be held Jan. 28 at the Underground Infrastructure Conference in San Antonio, featuring the formal induction of the HDD Hall of Fame class and a panel discussion with industry pioneers celebrating decades of innovation in horizontal directional drilling.

Underground Infrastructure has named the 2026 UI Awards finalists across HDD, water, sewer, asset management and fiber, with MVP + UI Honors to be presented at the Underground Infrastructure Conference in San Antonio.

Hydrate plugs can halt pipeline operations and raise safety risks. This guide explains how high-frequency pressure analytics and AI help operators locate obstructions quickly, target remediation, and cut downtime in midstream systems.

Not even a swampy bog, buildings or deeply buried gas and water lines could stop a major Canadian oil producer from quickly rehabilitating a 4,000-foot-long deteriorated water supply line. The solution for installing the desperately needed new pipeline was to go deep using trenchless technology and a composite high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe.

UIC 2026 is almost here. Two days. Real education. Real technology. Real industry leaders. Join us in San Antonio Jan. 27–28 to get ahead of the trends reshaping underground infrastructure.

Planning a major HDD crossing? Underground Infrastructure’s annual Large HDD Rig Census maps out the contractors, rig counts and capabilities behind the biggest iron in the market — from 100,000-lb class units up to 1.7 million lbs of pullback. See who’s equipped for long, large-diameter, high-torque work before you pick your next drilling partner.

Jeff Haby, senior vice president of production operations at San Antonio Water System, has been selected as the 2026 Most Valuable Professional for his leadership in delivering more than $1.2 billion in critical water and wastewater infrastructure improvements.

This issue’s New Products highlights gear for underground crews: Melfred Borzall’s smaller Tri-Con HDD connection, Vermeer microtrenching and restoration attachments, Boretec’s pit-launched 10HD drill, Vactor Ramjet dual-reel sewer jetter, and Cat backhoe/mini-excavator updates built for urban, utility and pipeline work.