Business
Michael Baker International Makes Leadership Change
Michael Baker International today announced the promotion of Michael J. Conaboy, P.E., to Regional Director for the firm’s West Region, succeeding Anna Lantin, P.E., who will transition to the newly created role of Senior Vice President of Business Development, where she will support Conaboy in ..
11-Year-Old Honored for Lead Detection Invention
3M and Discovery Education have named 11-year-old Gitanjali Rao from Lone Tree, Colo. the winner of the 2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Gitanjali is working to develop Tethys, a sensor-based device that can detect lead in water faster than other current techniques. ..
Enbridge Knew of Line 5 Damage Years Ago
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The company that operates twin oil pipelines in a Great Lakes waterway says it knew three years ago that protective coating had been damaged but didn’t inform regulatory agencies. Enbridge Inc. says four gaps were opened in enamel coating on one section of Line 5 in Mich..
San Francisco PUC Awarded $625 Million Water Infrastructure Loan
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $625-million WIFIA (Water Infrastructure and Financing Innovation Act) loan to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). The loan, one of 12 issued nationwide, is expected to save ratepayers over $200 million. The $625-million ..
New Online Marketplace for Trenchless Pipe and Sewer Repairs Launched
ShopTRENCHLESS.com, LLC today announced the launch of its website targeting residential and commercial plumbing contractors and suppliers, as well as utility contractors and municipalities’ maintenance divisions. shopTRENCHLESS.com is an online marketplace empowering the industry to source the next ..
Southern Company to Sell Utilities in $1.7 Billion Deal
Pivotal Utility Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Southern Company Gas, has entered into agreements to sell the assets of its utility operating divisions, Elizabethtown Gas and Elton Gas, to South Jersey Industries in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $1.7 billion. ..
Illinois American Water Announces Winners of “Imagine a Day Without Water” Art Contest
Illinois American Water has selected the winners of its annual “Imagine a Day Without Water” art contest. The company offered the contest to 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classrooms within the company’s service area. The contest is held annually in conjunction with the Value of Water Coalition’s “Imagine a..
PSE&G Upgrades NatGas Pipeline Infrastructure Post-Sandy
Five years after Hurricane Sandy left two million New Jerseyans without power, Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) has completed strategic infrastructure investments that, in the event of another Sandy-like storm, will keep critical equipment out of floodwaters’ way and the lights on for..
Man Dies While Working in Sewer Line Outside Chicago
STREAMWOOD, Ill. (AP) — Authorities have identified a Gurnee man as the worker who died in a suburban Chicago sewer line. The Cook County medical examiner says 22-year-old Brett Morrow died in the accident in Streamwood, about 30 miles (48.28 kilometers) northwest of Chicago. Firefighters worked ro..
Utility Worker Cleaning Storm Debris in North Carolina Dies
TAYLORSVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina sheriff says a utility worker has been killed after cutting a tree which had fallen on a power line following a severe storm. Alexander County Sheriff Chris Bowman told local media outlets that 31-year-old Brian Keith Wilmoth was cutting the tree Wednesday..
Four Union Utility Workers from New Jersey American Water Travel to Puerto Rico for Relief Work
Four New Jersey American Water employees joined a team of more than 300 AFL-CIO volunteers who traveled to Puerto Rico on Oct. 4 to help with Hurricane Maria relief efforts. The employees who volunteered to join this two-week assignment are Utility Mechanics Al Archila, Karl Engallena and Jorge Pere..
Kinder Morgan Warns About Trans Mountain Delays
Kinder Morgan has warned that its Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project is facing possibly months of delays because of the timing of permit issuance and other regulatory approvals. The delay could be as long as nine months, Kinder Morgan’s chief executive Steven Kean said in a recent confer..
Public Meetings Set on Montana Utility's Proposed Gas Rate Increase
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators have scheduled public meetings on a request by Montana Dakota Utilities to raise its natural gas rates. The proposed increase is for $5.9 million annually over current rates, or a 5.4 percent overall increase. The average residential customer would see ..
Enbridge Receives Presidential Permit for Line 67 Pipeline
The U.S. Department of State has granted a presidential permit to Enbridge Energy, L.P., authorizing the company to increase transport up to a full design capacity of approximately 890,000 barrels per day of crude oil and other hydrocarbons across a three-mile segment of the Line 67 Pipeline at the ..
Michigan Utility Companies Partner to Showcase Careers in Energy
DTE Energy, Consumers Energy and the Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) are partnering to provide Michigan students an up-close look at vibrant career paths with the fourth annual Careers in Energy Week, proclaimed Oct. 16-20 by Gov. Rick Snyder. More than 99,000 Michiganders have energy-rela..
Water Environment & Reuse Foundation and Water Research Foundation Announce Integration into One Organization
The Boards of Directors for the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) and Water Research Foundation (WRF) have voted unanimously to integrate the two organizations into one research foundation. Beginning on January 1, 2018, the new organization will be led by a single Board of Directors comp..
The Toro Company Recognized With 2017 EPA WaterSense® Excellence Award
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today recognized The Toro Company with a 2017 WaterSense® Excellence Award for its contributions to the WaterSense program and furthering efforts in water efficiency in 2016. Toro was presented the award at the WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Expo..
Customers Against Indiana Michigan Power Rate Hike
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — Indiana residents say they can’t afford Indiana Michigan Power’s proposed 20 percent rate hike increase, which would be used to improve the utility’s electric distribution system in Indiana. Customers would see an estimated $26 monthly increase, which could go into effect ..
Geospatial Corporation Makes Leadership Change
Geospatial Corporation has named Rob Brook to the company’s executive management team. Brook, who will serve as Team Lead GeoUnderground is a former Senior Director – Gas Infrastructure for Pacific Gas & Electric and he served as the Global Pipeline and Gas Utilities Industry Manager for ESRI. ..
Bentley Systems Completes Rollout of Comprehensive Modeling Environment for Infrastructure
Bentley Systems, Incorporated, has completed its CONNECT Edition application portfolio for design, analytical, construction, and asset performance modeling of infrastructure. The CONNECT Edition’s comprehensive modeling environment supports aligned digital workflows across applications for all proje..
Pressman Joins Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board
Barry D. Pressman was seated today as the city of Beverly Hills’ representative on the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Pressman replaces Robert Wunderlich, who had served on the board since July 2007. A professor and chair of the Department of Imaging ..
WaterStart Begins Accepting Grant Proposals
Nevada-based incubator, WaterStart, has started accepting proposals from companies around the world with timely, collaborative and unique applications on how their technologies can help its members advance development and management in various areas related to water. With support from both its memb..
Middlesex Water Company Files Rate Request Seeking Recovery for System Upgrades
Middlesex Water Company has filed a petition with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) for a general increase in water rates for its Middlesex system in New Jersey. Middlesex filed the request seeking recovery of $92 million in investments made to its drinking water infrastructure since..
Nokia and WOW! Deploy Industry's First Virtualized Distributed Access Architecture
Nokia and WOW! today announced the cable industry’s first commercial virtualized Distributed Access Architecture (vDAA) deployment designed to significantly increase the capacity of WOW!’s existing Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial network and help meet exploding bandwidth demands of subscribers. Traditional Hy..
Xcel Energy may Split Subsidiary for Minnesota, North Dakota
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Xcel Energy has proposed splitting its utility operations in North Dakota and Minnesota, telling regulators that widening policy differences between the two states over clean energy have caused stresses that might best be resolved through a breakup. But a consultant for the North..
Authorities ID Victims in Western Michigan Trench Collapse
WYOMING, Mich. (AP) — Authorities have identified the man killed in a trench collapse in western Michigan and say the man who was rescued was his father. Wyoming firefighters said Tuesday the collapse killed 30-year-old Christopher James Godfrey, who was completely buried by dirt. Firefighters res..
Vincent Sapienza Named Commissioner of New York City's DEP
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has named Vincent Sapienza as the Commissioner of the City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). During his 34 years with DEP, Sapienza has served in leadership posts for several of the key operating divisions, has overseen major capital improvements and..
Vortex Companies, Deep Trekker Form Strategic Sewer Repair Partnership
The Vortex Companies announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Deep Trekker, a developer and manufacturer of commercial-grade pipe inspection crawlers and other remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Based in Canada, Deep Trekker and Vortex will aggressively attack the trench..
Omaha Utility Says Water, Gas Rates Likely to Rise in 2018
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha-area utility says work to replace aging infrastructure will see natural gas and water bills in the area rise again next year. Metropolitan Utilities District is planning increases similar to those approved for 2017, the Omaha World-Herald reported . The board ..
1 Worker Dead, Another Rescued After Trench Collapse
WYOMING, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a trench collapse in western Michigan has left one worker dead and one rescued. Wyoming Fire Chief Chuck Lark said firefighters were called about 2 p.m. Monday to a residence where the collapse occurred. He tells The Grand Rapids Press that when they arrived, o..
- TxDOT advances massive drainage tunnel beneath I-35 in Austin
- Glenfarne Alaska LNG targets late-2026 construction start for 807-mile pipeline project
- U.S. water reuse boom to fuel $47 billion in infrastructure spending through 2035
- $2.3 billion approved to construct 236-mile Texas-to-Gulf gas pipeline
- Major water pipe break in Puerto Rico hits over 165,000 customers
- Pennsylvania American Water launches interactive map to identify, replace lead water service lines
- Trump's tariffs drive $33 million cost increase for Cincinnati sewer project
- Utah city launches historic $70 million tunnel project using box jacking under active rail line
- Tulsa residents warned after sewer lines damaged by boring work
- Fatal trench collapse halts sewer construction in Massachusetts; two workers hospitalized