Sewer
Officials: Sediment Reducing Sewage Flow Through Broken Line
FRASER, Mich. (AP) – Macomb County officials say sediment has cut the flow of sewage through a collapsed sewer line that caused a massive sinkhole north of Detroit. Residents and businesses in 11 communities along the 15 Mile Road sewer line are being asked to reduce the amount of water going down ..
Pennsylvania American Water Kicks Off Scholarship Program
Pennsylvania American Water is now accepting applications for its 2017 Stream of Learning Scholarship Program to provide financial assistance to high school seniors who are planning to pursue careers in the water and wastewater industry. The program is designed to support outstanding students living..
Providence Mayor Issues Plan for Improving Infrastructure
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — The mayor of Providence has unveiled a five-year capital improvement plan that calls for spending between $16 million and $34 million annually on repairs and infrastructure improvement projects in the city. The Providence Journal reports that Democratic Mayor Jorge Elorza’s ..
Utility Builds Smarter Sewer System
The Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) is building a smarter sewer system that will help reduce sewer overflows into creeks and rivers. “Our smart sewer system is anticipated to save tens of millions of dollars in capital investments in projects to control sewer overflows,” sai..
New York Communities Receive More than $6 Million for Water, Sewer Infrastructure
New York Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gellibrand have announced more than $6 million in federal water and sewer infrastructure funding for the Village of Red Hook in Duchess County and the Town of New Haven in Oswego County. The federal funding was allocated through the U.S. Department of A..
Fiber, Sewer and Water Part of $1 Trillion Infrastructure Proposal
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats on Tuesday will propose spending $1 trillion on transportation and other infrastructure projects over 10 years in an attempt to engage President Donald Trump on an issue where they hope to find common ground. Details of the plan provided to The Associated Press in..
Infrastructure Upgrades in Michigan Unlikely to be Speedy
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Flint’s man-made water crisis and a football field-sized sinkhole in suburban Detroit have exposed flaws in aging underground pipes that mostly are out of sight, out of mind for a public that is more attuned to the sorry state of Michigan’s roads. But a major influx of money f..
ADS Unveils New Stormwater Pipe Technology
Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc., has revealed its latest breakthrough in stormwater pipe technology, HPXR™ 75. This new technology provides heightened levels of stiffness, is available in a range of sizes, and yields significant cost benefits for customers compared to alternative products. “The HPX..
McElroy Partners with Netafim to Grow HDPE Equipment Business
McElroy and Netafim have joined forces to meet the demand for HDPE (high-density polyethylene) pipeline solutions serving the irrigation industry and the growing opportunities in potable water and natural gas. “We are excited about the many benefits McElroy machines will bring to our growing operat..
Poisonous Manhole Fumes Claim Lives of 3 Utility Workers
KEY LARGO, Fla. (AP) — Three underground utility workers have died while investigating a sewage backup. According to Monroe County spokeswoman Cammy Clark, one of the men working for the county’s contractor, Douglas N. Higgins, went down a drainage manhole Monday morning to investigate why a newly ..
Vanessa Moreno Makes Unlikely Switch From Banking To Construction
Contractor Profile by Jeff Griffin Senior Editor Vanessa Moreno parks her car inside a blocked-off construction area adjacent to a Bellaire, TX, street and makes her way past a large, deep pit flanked by construction equipment. She wears her regular go-to-work attire: jeans, hard-toed safety boots..
Report Suggests Louisville Needs Sewer Upgrades
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Engineering consultants say Louisville’s Metropolitan Sewer District needs to spend up to $4.3 billion over the next two decades on its sewage and Ohio River flood protection systems. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports a long-term facilities plan written by the engineers ..
Houston Public Works Director Unveils Sewer, Water Plans
Dale Rudick, director of Houston’s Public Works and Engineering Division, discussed the department, current projects and its upcoming, five-year capital improvement plan (CIP) at the Dec. 7 luncheon meeting of the Underground Construction Technology Association Gulf Coast Chapter. As director, Rudi..
John Deere and AGTEK Collaboration Increases Customer Support
As contractors increasingly use 3D digital models and GPS technology when grading a job site, John Deere is joining forces with AGTEK − a leading provider of takeoff and 3D modeling software for the civil construction industry − to increase efficiency and ease the takeoff and modeling process across..
Texas Town Agrees to Extensive Sewer System Upgrades
The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the city of Tyler, Texas, agreed to significantly upgrade its sanitary sewer system to resolve alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act. The city will also undertake extensive operational improvements to its s..
Water Technology Program Names Inaugural Class
Pipeline H2O, a new water technology commercialization program managed by The Hamilton Mill, has announced its first class of companies. Supported by a coalition of regional cities, utilities, universities, and startup organizations throughout the Greater Cincinnati region, Pipeline H2O’s goal is to..
Sewer Break That Caused Sinkhole May Cost Michigan $100 Million
FRASER, Mich. (AP) — The cost to fix a broken sewer line that caused a football field-sized sinkhole north of Detroit is estimated at more than $78 million, Macomb County’s new public works chief says. The project’s cost could rise above $100 million if more work is done to improve the rest of the ..
Alabama Town Receives $300K Grant to Extend Sewer Service
TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AP) — The City of Tuskegee has received a $300,000 grant to help the community meet development needs. Gov. Robert Bentley on Wednesday awarded the city a Community Development Block Grant that would be used to extend municipal sewer service along Highway 81 to Interstate 85 Exit 38..
Study Shows Feasibility of Large-Scale Regional Recycling Water Program
A new study has confirmed the feasibility of a proposed large-scale project to treat and purify wastewater and distribute it to groundwater basins across the region through a collaboration between the Metropolitan Water District and the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County. The conclusion of ..
Most Evacuated Due to Detroit-Area Sinkhole Allowed Home
FRASER, Mich. (AP) — Most residents evacuated following last month’s collapse of a massive sewage line that caused a football field-sized sinkhole in suburban Detroit have been allowed home. Twenty-two houses were affected by the sinkhole in Fraser, including three that were condemned. Officials ha..
SoCalGas to Use Fiber Optic Technology to Monitor Pipelines in Real Time
Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) will be one of the first natural gas utilities in the United States to incorporate innovative fiber-optic cable technology to detect impacts and leaks along its transmission and high-pressure pipeline system. The technology uses fiber-optic strands to tran..
Officials: Fix to Philadelphia Sinkhole Could Take Days
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Water Department says it could take days to fix a sewer pipe and water main that led to a sinkhole that was large enough to swallow two cars in the city’s Fishtown section. A 30 foot-by-10-foot hole that was 5 feet deep developed after a six-inch water main brok..
Broken Sewer Line to Blame for Philadelphia Sinkhole
KENSINGTON (AP) — The Philadelphia Water Department is blaming a broken sewer line for the water main break that caused a large sinkhole to open and swallow two cars. It says over time, soil slowly eroded the aging system, causing a six-inch water line to shift and eventually break. That caused th..
Sewer Line Collapse Forces Michigan Governor to Declare State of Emergency
FRASER, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s governor has declared a state of emergency for a county north of Detroit following the collapse of a massive sewage line that — so far — has caused a football field-sized sinkhole. The disaster declaration was made Friday by Gov. Rick Snyder and makes state res..
Pipeline Rupture Spills Wastewater into Carson River
RENO (AP) – An unknown amount of wastewater effluent has spilled into the Carson River in the Lake Tahoe area. The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that according to the Douglas County Sewer Improvement District, officials noticed the rupture in Minden on Tuesday and repaired the break on Wednesday..
Missouri PSC Sets Deadline for Proposed Water and Sewer System Sale
Lake Region Water & Sewer Co. and Camden County Public Water Supply District Number Four have filed a joint application with the Missouri Public Service Commission seeking authorization for Camden County to acquire Lake Region’s existing water and sewer assets. Applications to intervene and partici..
Officials: Drilled Hole in Pipe May Have Caused Michigan Sinkhole
CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A hole drilled through a concrete sewer line nearly 40 years ago may have led to soil erosion beneath another section of the pipe and the football field-sized sinkhole that has forced 22 families from their suburban Detroit homes. Macomb County Public Works Comm..
Company Increases Use of Drones to Inspect Electric Transmission Lines
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Westar Energy is increasing the use of drones for such things as inspecting equipment, navigating remote areas and managing some emergencies, as the utility tries to improve safety and efficiency while also saving money, company officials said. Westar and Kansas State University..
Barbies and Bacon Grease Keep Houston Sewer Crews Busy
HOUSTON (AP) — Aaron McCall had fed about a dozen feet of green hose into the sanitary sewer line running from Daniel Castillo’s house, blasting pressurized water toward the main city pipe, when the ground let out a deep belch. “OK,” said McCall, a city utility worker. “There, it’s down.” The Hous..
Smoke Testing Helps Georgia County Identify Sewer Lines in Need of Repair
The DeKalb County Department of Watershed Management (DWM) recently completed 400 miles of sewer pipe smoke testing, and identified public and private lines in need of repair. The smoke testing of sewer lines is one type of required assessment outlined in DeKalb County’s 2011 federal Consent Decree..
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- Growing Pains and Gains
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