Magazine
Directional drilling: HDD Hall of Fame Class of ’24 announced
Underground Infrastructure magazine and the Horizontal Directional Drilling Association, in conjunction with the HDD Reunion Organization, are proud to announce the HDD Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Trenchless Technology Center continues to prosper, provide industry research
(UI) — The Trenchless Technology Center (TTC) at Louisiana Tech University had another busy year and its Industry Advisory Board (IAB) again hit an all-time high in 2023. Research activities were in full swing and in-person training even came back, with forums in Boston and Houston.
Editor's log: Liberty in retreat
(UI) — The modern environmental movement is so concerned with forcing its ideology upon the world that exploring and legislating such nonsensical paths are forcing us to toss aside common sense.
First aqueduct water pipeline rehabilitated with geopolymer for SDCWA
(UI) — When the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) inspected its First Aqueduct water conveyance system in Valley Center, engineers identified that rehabilitation was required. Groundwater was infiltrating three tunnels within the system and rehabilitation was required to maintain the tunnels’ structural integrity and extend their service life.
Tech Tips: Force main rehabilitation
(UI) — Force mains, also called rising mains in the United Kingdom, are low pressure pipelines that lift the sewage from one location to another by pumping the sewage under positive pressure.
Unveiling the future: Introducing the Underground Infrastructure Conference (UIC)
(UI) — Step into the future of underground infrastructure at the Underground Infrastructure Conference (UIC) in Oklahoma City from Tuesday, March 19 to Thursday, March 21, 2024!
Currently at CUIRE – Annual update of research center’s activities
(UI) — Pipe deterioration is a complex process, involving a combination of aging, chemical and environmental factors. Polymeric SAPL is a new application to structurally renew deteriorated gravity and pressure pipelines and can be applied to a wide range of concrete, masonry, corrugated metal, and steel pipelines.
AGA Chair sees future shaped by education, innovation
(UI) — Sitherwood, who plans to retire from Spire this December, sat down with Underground Infrastructure to discuss her career, her outlook for the natural gas industry and her work as the 2023 chair of the American Gas Association (AGA).
New permitting provisions in budget bill slight natural gas industry
(UI) — The natural gas industry greeted the permitting reform bill Congress passed, and President Biden signed last month with something short of enthusiasm. The permitting provisions in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 had only glancing benefits for gas pipelines and were chiefly written to benefit wind, solar and electric energy deployment.
Newsline
Chemical manufacturer 3M Co. will pay at least $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits over contamination of many U.S. public drinking water systems with potentially harmful compounds used in firefighting foam and a host of consumer products, the company said.
LAN, Houston Public Works project earns state-wide recognition
Houston Public Works (HPW), Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam Inc. (LAN), and Harper Brothers Construction LLC (HBC) received the Texas Chapter of the American Public Works Association (TX-APWA) 2023 Project of the Year Award for Environment, $25-to-$75 million category, for the SWTP 72-inch Water Line from Emancipation to Tuam.
Asset management: Digging data
(UI) — There are already lots of good reasons for why you should digitally document underground construction jobs, from pre-drill planning to post-drill reporting.
Inside infrastructure: Latest ‘WOTUS’ rule upended by Supreme Court
(UI) — Looking at the increasingly high-profile issue of permit reform needed to get important infrastructure projects off the ground, few issues (if any) are as polarizing as the “Waters of the Unites States” (WOTUS) rulemaking.
Hard surface potholing the right way helps a business grow
(UI) — More Florida cities are seeing the advantages of core saws, since McKim & Creed expanded into coring solid surfaces to locate utilities.
Editor’s Log: Priceless - Safety and damage prevention
(UI) — After attending and helping produce countless trade shows, workshops and related educational functions over the decades, I’ve learned that many of the best sessions were not the most popular sessions – not by a long shot. It’s not always what you want to hear, but what you need to know that has the most impact on your business or job.
Newsline
Daniel Oefner, ENV SP, P.E., Assistant Director for Wastewater Operations at the city of Houston, was the guest speaker at the Underground Construction Technology Association’s Gulf Coast Chapter luncheon on June 7 at Maggiano’s Little Italy, Houston.
Exploring the future of the manhole camera industry: Unlocking hidden insights
(UI) — The manhole camera industry has undergone significant advancements in recent years, revolutionizing the way we inspect and maintain underground infrastructure.
NASSCO tech tips: PACPTM condition grading system
Each of NASSCO’S Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP) inspection reports offer eight or nine different condition grades. How each of these condition ratings are calculated is outlined within the PACP Manual Appendix C, but what do they mean and how can they be interpreted?
Caverns of Calloway – Dirt pipes are expensive
(UI) — After a heavy rainfall in June 2022, the Trinity River Authority (TRA) was notified of a sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) on a sewer line within the Walker Calloway System, a 4.7-mile wastewater collection system built, owned and operated by TRA.
HDDA Mud School provides vital information to drillers
The Horizontal Directional Drilling Association recently held a complimentary, hands-on Mud School to share vital information for new drillers and provide a refresher course for veteran operators. More than 60 people attended the May 18 event held at the Doubletree Hotel near Love Field in Dallas, Texas.
Utility and communications construction update
As the construction season jumped into full swing, the impacts of labor, equipment and government regulation on the contractor are highly impactful. After another month in June of construction employment gains (25,000 new jobs) in the U.S. economy, the challenge of finding labor to complete the potential work remains high.
New leak detection rules for pipelines proposed
(UI) — The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed major changes to its leak detection based not on concerns about safety but, rather, in order to reduce methane emissions related to their contribution to climate change.
Pressure pipe rehabilitation – what’s on the menu?
(UI) — Trenchless methods have been widely used for the rehabilitation of gravity pipelines for some time. The advent of these technologies and methods has lowered the cost of extending the useful life of gravity pipelines as opposed to outright replacing them.
Achieving more accurate utility infrastructure mapping with the help of an app
(UI) — More than 217,000 utility damage events were reported in 2021, according to the latest Common Ground Alliance DIRT (Damage Information Reporting Tool) Report. The three leading causes of these reported utility strikes were: digging without calling 811, failure to pothole and/or maintain clearance, and locating issues due to incorrect and/or outdated maps.
Rehab comes of age
From largely technological dreams to proven reality, the diversity of rehabilitation applications has spread like wildfire over the past 50 years.
Breakthrough time of styrene emissions through various CIPP coating materials
(UI) — Recent studies of cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) liners have shown that potentially dangerous concentrations of styrene can be emitted prior to liner installation in the cold storage unit or vehicle.
Rehab Technology: Emergency repair of unexpected leak
(UI) — Created in 1951, by the Texas Legislature, North Texas Municipal Water District (NTMWD) consists of 10 original member cities, including Farmersville, Forney, Garland, McKinney, Mesquite, Plano, Princeton, Rockwall, Royse City and Wylie. By 1956, this new agency was providing water to the region.
Business News
Ring-O-Matic has expanded dealer coverage in several major markets, improving product availability and machine application expertise.
NASSCO Standard Bearers: Kathy Romans
This month, Underground Infrastructure profiles Kathy Romans, who not only has been a tremendous force within the rehabilitation industry, but an effective leader for NASSCO. In additional to her committee work and service on the board of directors, Kathy was the first woman president of NASSCO.
How digitally mapping, documenting HDD jobs can aid compliance, profitability
Collecting bore and equipment data may seem like added work. If you install fiber, you may worry that it will eat into tight profit margins that are common in the industry. But the truth is, you likely already have much of what you need to record the data.
- Intrepid Fiber breaks ground on fiber optic network in Superior, Colo.
- Excavator collides with I-95 overpass in Henrico, Va., causing multi-vehicle crash
- Shrewsbury, Mass., expands sewer inspections and cleaning efforts
- Construction worker killed in trench collapse near Prosperity, S.C.
- Two workers rescued after hours trapped in Mich. trench collapse
- Illinois overhauls Peoples Gas pipeline program, mandates focus on high-risk pipes
- Ameren Illinois to invest $140 million in natural gas pipeline replacement program
- Charlottesville, Va., to begin work on 24-inch water line for Rivanna River crossing
- Mass. governor slams Trump for ‘dangerous delay’ of $50 million in lead pipe replacement funds