Sewer
Aegion Agrees to Acquire Underground Solutions, Inc.
Aegion has executed a definitive agreement to acquire Underground Solutions, Inc. for $85 million in cash and expects to close the transaction during the first quarter of 2016. The Company will separately pay for the discounted value of tax benefits (estimated today to be approximately $5 million) a..
The Thrills! The Chills! Ten Underground Infrastructure Stories From 2015
by Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, Art Director As 2015 quickly moves into history, let’s take a look back at the thrilling days of yesteryear and some of the underground infrastructure stories that peppered the pages of UC in 2015. There were awards given and records broken and lumps of rock and the loss o..
TTC Auger Boring School
Inaugural TTC Auger Boring School Impresses Attendees The Trenchless Technology Center’s 2015 Auger Boring School received favorable reviews from participants in the week-long training program completed in mid-October. Sponsors included American Augers, Baroid Industrial Drilling Products, Barbco,..
Ditch Witch founder dies
The utility construction industry lost a giant with the Dec. 11 death of Ed Malzahn, chairman of the Charles Machine Works Inc. (CMW). Malzahn’s invention of a compact trenching machine paved the way for changes in the way essential utility services are delivered to customers. Malzahn, 94, died i..
Alaskan Villages Still Without Plumbing Infrastructure
Despite more than $2 billion in federal and state funding over the past 50 years to provide for essentials such as running water, residents in at least 30 secluded Alaskan villages live without basic plumbing infrastructure. With the State of Alaska facing tightening budgets, traditional piped wate..
CIPP In Jail
CIPP Keeps Maricopa County Within Budget, Without Disruption Estrella Women’s Jail in Maricopa County, AZ, can anticipate at least 50 years of improved flow with no more backups from its rehabilitated sewer system. The emergency cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) upgrade was performed by Irontree Construct..
B&T Drainage Wins Vermeer Ultimate Crew Contest
B&T Drainage of Marshall, IL, proved themselves as the ultimate drilling crew at the 2015 International Construction and Utility and Equipment Exposition (ICUEE) in Louisville, KY, beating out three other crew competitors and winning the use of a Vermeer D24x40 S3 Navigator HDD for the span of one y..
Green technology emerges for stormwater management
A new green technology has shown great potential for stormwater management – research efforts have shown potential for the use of floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) to remove nutrients and contaminants from stormwater retention ponds. FTWs float on the surface of wet ponds and provide a growing med..
Melfred Borzall FastBack
Melfred Borzall’s one-of-a-kind patent-pending FastBackTM system is changing the way contractors handle HDD boring. FastBackTM is Borzall’s new system for direct pullbacks without removing the drill head or installing a backreamer. This unique system includes the FastReamTM housing – used in place ..
Choose the right tool for the job
Total-solution HammerHead®/RS Lining Systems collaboration keeps pace with rapidly evolving noninvasive techniques Today’s pipe repair specialists can take a lesson from Maslow’s “law of the hammer,” revising it slightly to make a similar point: “To the contractor with a sledge, every bid includes ..
Florida County Shows Benefits Of Aggressive Reclaim Water Program
by Jeff Griffin, Senior Editor Programs to reclaim wastewater for reuse have been in effect for more than three decades, with treated wastewater widely used in many areas for irrigation, cooling water for industrial plants and various construction activities such as mixing concrete and other purpos..
Business Shorts - October 2015
LMK Technologies On August 24, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) ruled in favor of LMK Technologies, declining institution of inter parts reviews on two petitions filed by BLD Services. The decisions were issued in IPR2015-00723 (Paper 7) and IPR2015-00721 ..
LMK Technologies Continues to Lead the Way in Trenchless Rehabilitation
LMK Technologies Continues to Lead the Way in Trenchless Rehabilitation of Main to Lateral Connections with the Addition of Man Entry Lapel Liner Located in Ottawa, Illinois, LMK Technologies has been a leader in trenchless Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) lining since 1993. LMK is recognized by many mun..
Vactor’s New DigRight™ Technology Benefits Vacuum Excavation of Utilities
According to hydroexcavation best practices, there are set pressure limits based on the depth of the excavation. For example, when excavating 18 inches below the surface, the water pressure limit is 1,500 psi. The maximum water pressure allowed in any situation with a straight jet nozzle is 2,500 ps..
New productivity tools help HDD contractors work smarter, not harder.
The world’s aging infrastructure, expanding population and growing energy demands create an environment that will keep horizontal directional drilling contractors in high demand. At the same time, HDD contractors face new challenges, as project owners demand more information and detailed documentati..
Trenchless Pipe Replacement
HammerHead Trenchless Equipment HammerHead pneumatic pipe-bursting systems are being used by underground contractors around the world as an effective method to replace failing, outdated or under sized sewer, water and gas lines. Pipe bursting follows the path of the existing utilities, reducing uti..
A Small HDD Mud Recycler Built for Big Success
Some of the best new product ideas come from customer conversations. Equipment manufacturers often talk with underground construction contractors about their ever-changing equipment needs on horizontal directional drilling (HDD) job sites. When utility contractors talk about their biggest HDD pain p..
New Products
John Deere The Final Tier 4 444K, 524K and 544K utility-class wheel loaders’ PowerTech engine deliver impressive torque, 444K (124 hp), 524K (141 hp), 544K (163 hp), to help maintain good boom and bucket speed in and out of the pile for heaped loads, even in wet or hard-packed material. The K-Seri..
Rehab Technology News
Reline America welcomes new installer, Whitaker Construction Reline America has announced the addition of Whitaker Construction to its team of authorized installers. Whitaker Construction, founded in 1953, has been in the underground utility construction industry for over 60 years. They have grown ..
American Augers Introduces Mid-Range Rig, Fluid Recycling System
American Augers has introduced two new horizontal directional drilling (HDD) products – the DD-110 directional drill and M200D drilling fluid recycling system. The 110,000-pound pullback DD-110 represents the “low” end of the company’s mid-range directional drill lineup. The M200D fluid recycling s..
Thompson Pipe Group Capabilities 2015
A Pipeline to the Future The 2015 California drought is projected to cost the state more than $2.5 billion and over 20,000 jobs. One of its most serious long-term consequences is the reduction in California’s groundwater reserves. This is like dipping into savings to make up for a shortfall in the ..
Directional Drilling: Reamers & Hole Openers
Century Products Century Products introduces a new line of Fly Cutters engineered for maximum performance and reliability. Incorporating a robust square tube design to ensure longevity with superior strength, this new design features the ability to pull or push ream due to strategically placed cut..
TTC Seeks Applicants For Eminent Scholar Chair In Civil Engineering
Louisiana Tech University is now accepting applications and nominations to fill an Eminent Scholar Chair Professorship endowed by the T. L. James family and the Louisiana Board of Regents through an initial investment of $1 million. The James Chair will provide leadership in expanding the research ..
Underground Construction Drilling Fluids Guide 2015
Bentonite Baroid Industrial Drilling Products (281) 871-4613, www.baroididp.com Aquagel: Premium grade Wyoming sodium bentonite used as viscosifier and filtrate reducer in freshwater drilling fluids. Meets the requirements of API Specification 13A, Section 9. NSF/ANSI Standard 60 certified. Bore-..
Thunder Products Introduces Large HDD Recycling System
Thunder Products is introducing a new Thunderstorm drilling fluid recycling system at the 2015 ICUEE show in Louisville, KY, in late September. The Thunderstorm III becomes the largest of three fluid recycling system models in the Thunder Products lineup, said company President Dan Sharpe. It is de..
Rehab Technology New Products
Flowtite Stops Pipe Joint Leaks Flowtite Fiberglass Reinforced Pipe (FRP) takes full advantage of the specific characteristics of basic raw materials to create strong, corrosion-proof pipe and pipe components. Flowtite is lightweight, long-lasting and extremely resistant to both inner and outer cor..
News shorts September 2015
AEM releases new Underground Utility Awareness video “Everyone has a part to play” to help ensure underground utility safety and damage prevention. That’s the message of a new video and related online and print resource from the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM). “Contractors, manufactu..
ASCE to Recognize Dr. Tom Iseley as Distinguished Member
In October, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) will recognize David Thomas (Tom) Iseley, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE for his contributions to the trenchless technology industry at ASCE’s 2015 Distinguished Member Induction Ceremony held during their Annual Convention, Oct. 11-14, in New Yo..
Contech Engineered Solutions helps build 9/11 site
Contech Engineered Solutions supplied a new stormwater detention system to Liberty Park, an elevated public park under construction in the new World Trade Center in New York City. A stormwater detention system was needed to meet NYC Department of Environmental Protection stormwater regulations. The..
Equipment Spotlight: Drilling Fluids/Polymers
Drilling fluids/polymers by CETCO Drilling Products, M-I SWACO, Baroid Industrial Drilling Products and Wyo-Ben.
- 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
- Two workers rescued after hours trapped in Mich. trench collapse
- Trump calls for Keystone XL pipeline revival, but developer has moved on
- 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