Features
Put the money where the pipe is: Optimizing wastewater pipeline rehabilitation projects
Utilities are under pressure to stretch limited wastewater funding while tackling aging pipelines and sewer overflows. This article outlines how smarter bid packaging and contractor efficiency can maximize rehabilitation budgets and reduce costs.
Race for AI dominance renews focus on natural gas and pipeline capacity
Industry advocate Eben Wyman explains how the surging power needs of AI data centers are bringing natural gas back into the spotlight, and why expanded pipeline infrastructure and permitting reform are key to meeting demand.
Increasing productivity in sewer vac maintenance: Tools, techniques, teamwork
Sewer departments across the U.S. are finding new ways to boost productivity. From smarter scheduling and advanced sewer vac equipment to preventative maintenance and crew training, small improvements are helping utilities get more done with limited resources.
UIC 2026 set for San Antonio with revamped schedule, awards and expo
UIC 2026 will return to San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 27–28, reimagined as a two-day event with expanded education, technical theaters, and networking opportunities. The Underground Infrastructure Awards will also debut alongside the UCTA MVP luncheon.
Business people: Leadership moves at Bobcat, DEVELON and more
This edition of Business People highlights key executive appointments and promotions across the underground infrastructure and equipment sectors, including new leadership roles at Bobcat and DEVELON.
Business news: Vermeer alliance, NAXSA safety push, PODS data upgrade, Hultec expansion
This month’s Business news highlights key industry moves, including Vermeer’s new alliance with Sharewell HDD, NAXSA’s nationwide Shore Up for Safety Week, PODS’ SCADA Link module release, Hultec’s new Texas facility, AWWA’s updated C901 standard, Hyundai’s equipment merger plans, McElroy’s congressional visit, and Bobcat’s workplace recognition.
SIPP watermain lining in North America
In 1982, trials for watermain pipe rehabilitation commenced in the United Kingdom using the spray-in-place pipe (SIPP) lining method with slow-cure epoxy. In the early 1990s, Dr. Ian Robinson at E Woods developed a SIPP lining material with a 16-hour cure time. Subsequently, over 100 SIPP rigs were used to rehabilitate watermains across the United Kingdom.
Double-stacking manhole liners to rehab, stop corrosion in Midland, TX
It is said that life imitates art, and in every epic story, there is a hero, a villain, a victim and a guide. In this story, the villain is corrosion caused by hydrogen sulfide gas, victimizing the manholes in Midland, Texas; the guide, perhaps, is Madewell Products Corporation and its products being used to rehabilitate the manholes.
Celebrate excellence: Underground Infrastructure Awards now open for submissions
Celebrate innovation in underground infrastructure. Submit your project for the 2025 UI Awards, honoring excellence in HDD, fiber, water, sewer, gas, power, asset management, and emerging technologies.
Utility & communications construction update
Daniel Shumate, Managing Director, FMI Capital Advisors Inc. If you happened to be Rip Van Winkle and fell asleep at the beginning of 2025 and awoke in July, you would have no idea of the volatility that the public markets experienced and the global confl..
CIPP lining strengthens 7,700-foot Fox River interceptor in Wisconsin
A Wisconsin sewer district completed a complex CIPP lining project beneath the Fox River, restoring more than 7,700 feet of interceptor pipe. The work, carried out entirely from barges, overcame unique challenges posed by the riverbed and urban setting.
30th CIGMAT conference focuses on flooding, energy and infrastructure resilience
Industry leaders, engineers and researchers gathered in Houston for the 30th CIGMAT Conference to confront challenges in energy, flooding and urban infrastructure. Key sessions spotlighted innovative solutions — from smart cement to large-scale water treatment projects — shaping the future of resilient cities.
Plan for single Americas energy network gains momentum amid political push
Plans are taking shape to link power grids across the Americas — a project that could span from Alaska to Patagonia and reshape the continent’s energy future. Political leaders are reviving interconnection efforts as renewable power surpluses in Latin America grow.
Letter to the Editor: Missing as-built records fuel underground utility strike risks
A trenchless services expert weighs in on the ongoing debate over underground utility strikes, pointing to a critical issue many in the industry overlook: incomplete as-built documentation. Could addressing this gap be the key to preventing future strikes?
Azuria expands pipeline rehabilitation services with BLD acquisition
Azuria Water Solutions has acquired BLD Services, a major U.S. pipeline rehabilitation company known for CIPP lateral liners and underground utilities work across the Gulf Coast and Eastern regions. The deal strengthens Azuria’s water infrastructure capabilities nationwide.
HDD Association tackles industry issues, needs for small, large drillers
Surprisingly, it’s been more challenging than expected to prove to company owners that there’s value in correctly and safely performing horizontal directional drilling (HDD), observed Don Riggs, long-time owner/operator and HDD advocate. For the last two years, Riggs has served as HDDA’s inaugural president, and one of the top priorities of this new organization has been safety-focused education and training.
Combining hand tunneling, HDD for El Paso sewer job
To accommodate new residential development in El Paso, Texas, crews have been working for more than a year on a project to install a 54-inch sewer force main for El Paso Water. The plan was to complete the installation by hand tunneling – until complications necessitated the addition of horizontal directional drilling (HDD).
Choosing the best boom for vacuum excavators
A clean sewer system creates a healthier community. Sewer cleaners are used to efficiently remove blockages and prevent buildup. Breaking up blockages often demands a combination approach that includes the use of a boom.
Dual conductor barrels keep HDD interceptor project on target
In a complex HDD interceptor crossing, Amici Engineering Contractors used telescoping conductor barrels and pneumatic pipe ramming to navigate poor soils and ensure successful bore alignment. The 7,600-foot reclaimed water main installation along a waterway was completed with precision using multi-stage casing and reaming techniques.
Fiber drives HDD growth as big-rig pipeline work returns
Underground Infrastructure's 27th Annual HDD Survey shows strong fiber-driven growth for small and mid-sized drill rigs, while large rig activity is rebounding as pipeline work picks back up across the U.S. Contractors remain optimistic, despite continued labor pressures and rising competition.
Preparing brick masonry manholes for bonded rehabilitation systems
Brick masonry manholes made from clay or shale brick and laid with portland-cement mortar are still used in North America. Although typically historical, they are often found in manhole rehabilitation projects.
Underground construction activities grow in Central America, Caribbean
The volume of underground construction activities in the Central America and Caribbean region will significantly accelerate due to an acute need of modernization of local energy infrastructure. Also, the need for solutions to frequent regional blackouts and energy shortages is driving work.
Jeremy Wagner leads NASSCO through eventful year
Having originally joined the wastewater industry on the software development side more than 20 years ago, Wagner is now president and CEO of PipeLogix, a pipeline inspection software company based in Palm Desert, Calif.
Inside Infrastructure: Pipeline safety debate continues, construction fully engaged
The issue of pipeline safety, especially with regard to preventing damage to underground facilities during excavation, is a longstanding priority of the excavation construction industry. Although pipeline safety legislation has traditionally been bipartisan, battles over climate change and other peripheral issues have polarized the pipeline safety debate and obstructed efforts to move a bill through the legislative process and enacted into law.
Fiber optics and forests: Mosaic Technologies weaves fiber beneath Wisconsin’s Northwoods
In the forests of Northwest Wisconsin, Mosaic Technologies is laying nearly 400 miles of fiber to connect over 2,500 addresses, overcoming rugged terrain and tight deadlines to bring high-speed internet to remote communities.
Fort Wayne, Ind., tunnel project uses Vortex inserts to protect sewer system
Fort Wayne City Utilities is constructing a five-mile-long tunnel deep beneath the city to reduce combined sewer overflows into local rivers. Part of its Tunnel Works program, the project includes nine drop shafts, five of which feature IPEX’s Vortex Flow Inserts designed to minimize odors, prevent corrosion and improve wastewater quality before treatment.
Bridging the digital divide: Fiber installation brings innovation to the Pennsylvania Turnpike
In Pennsylvania, a groundbreaking fiber optic installation along the Turnpike is tackling two challenges at once: expanding the state’s digital backbone and closing the broadband gap in rural communities. With innovative micro-trenching methods and all-season materials, the project is on track to deliver 325 miles of new connectivity infrastructure by 2026.
How to get more hours out of your heavy equipment
Extend the life of your heavy equipment with smart practices that cut costs and boost productivity. From using high-quality fluids to operator training and preventive maintenance, Volvo Construction Equipment’s Tony D’Angelica outlines four key strategies to help fleets get more hours—and value—out of every machine.
NASSCO Tech Tip: QC sampling for lateral lining installations
The installed properties of mainline CIPP are affected by the installation process. This phenomenon has been referred to as natural parameter variation. To ensure the installed CIPP exhibits the necessary physical properties after curing is completed, field samples are prepared during installation and then sent to a testing laboratory for testing flexural modulus, strength and wall thickness.
Utility and communications construction update
While the final plan for tariffs from the Trump Administration is unknown, the initial rollout shocked investors and caused a flurry of market activity. This will likely continue until a stable plan that is being strategically implemented has been negotiated.
- 2 workers killed, 1 injured while working on sewer line in Mobile, Ala.
- $5.3 billion, 516-mile pipeline to connect Texas to Arizona through New Mexico
- Tunnel boring continues under Chesapeake Bay for $3.9 billion HRBT Expansion project
- Judge approves construction for key portion of $485 million pipeline in Larimer County, Colo.
- 31 workers rescued after LA tunnel partially collapses
- New products: Latest industry developments
- 31 workers rescued after LA tunnel partially collapses
- Ohio Supreme Court rules sewer line location isn’t a ‘defect’ in property dispute
- Faulconer Construction begins rock blasting for water pipeline project in Charlottesville, Va.
- $5.3 billion, 516-mile pipeline to connect Texas to Arizona through New Mexico