Utility Infrastructure
Budgets For EPA Water Infrastructure Grants Endangered
President Trump’s intention to drastically cut the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other departments and agencies, could have a major impact on the agency’s two key water infrastructure programs, the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs). Early leaks of..
Utility & Communications Construction Business Update
EDITOR’S NOTE: The past 25 years has seen many changes in the underground utilities universe. Technology advances, regulatory activity and environmental requirements have dictated major alterations in the way companies are managed. Rating as one of the foremost changes is the evolution of the busine..
Utility Worker Saves Man's Life
NEW YORK (AP) — A utility worker is being credited with saving a man who fell onto a New York City subway track just before a train pulled into the station. Cellphone video taken by a Seattle teenager shows Jonathan Kulig, of Queens, picking up a young man who had fallen off a Manhattan station’s p..
American Water Acquires Shorelands Water Company
American Water has completed its acquisition of the Shorelands Water Company, a privately owned water utility that provides water services to more than 11,000 customers in Monmouth County, N.J. The acquisition was approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on March 24, 2017. The purchased ..
Underground infrastructure Remains A Ghost In The Politics Of Infrastructure Stimulus Discussions
by Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief I’ve been waiting patiently. Listening intently, viewing all the footage, reading the reports and still I’m not seeing it. There has been virtually no mention of underground infrastructure in any of the coverage and discussions of the pending infrastructure stim..
Illinois American Water Employees Honored
Two Illinois American Water employees were recognized for their construction and safety efforts at the 30th Annual Peoria Area Labor Management Council and Tri-County Construction Labor Management Council award banquet on March 28, 2017. Roger Goodson, Illinois American Water’s senior manager of fi..
Illinois American Water Acquires Water System
Illinois American Water has officially acquired the Village of Sadorus water system, which will be incorporated into the company’s Champaign County District. The Village of Sadorus Board voted in favor of the sale in April 2016 and the Illinois Commerce Commission approved the sale for $240,000 on ..
Iowa Utility Regulator Confirmation Delayed
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The Iowa Senate delayed the confirmation of Geri Huser as the Iowa Utilities Board chairwoman after The Associated Press reported on her extensive private legal work, lawmakers said Wednesday. The Senate commerce committee had been scheduled Tuesday to consider Huser’s appoin..
Utility Leaders Elevate Water Infrastructure at AWWA Event on Capitol Hill
More than 140 water utility leaders from throughout the United States embarked on 352 meetings with members of Congress this week to elevate the importance of investing in water infrastructure. The utility leaders were part of the American Water Works Association’s Water Matters! Fly-In, an annual ..
Study Shows How U.S. Utilities Can Help Improve Water Resources
In recognition of UN World Water Day, Barclays Bank PLC and the Columbia Water Center have released the second report of the Impact Series from the Barclays Social Innovation Facility. Titled The water challenge: preserving a global resource, the report explores the extent of the water challenge and..
Utilities Advocate for Investment in Water Reuse Infrastructure
WateReuse members from across the United States arrived in Washington, DC today to elevate water as national priority during the National Water Policy Fly-In, a highlight of Water Week 2017. WateReuse is participating with other water sector organizations to deliver a clear, consistent and unified m..
March 2017 Business News
RDO Vermeer RDO Vermeer, part of the RDO Equipment Co. network of heavy equipment dealerships, received five awards from Vermeer including top honors, the Pinnacle Dealer Award, which recognizes talents in sales and aftermarket support. Award criterion include dealer metrics, such as parts, service..
Pipelines And Earthquakes - Bracing For "The Big One" In Oregon
By Aaron Eder, P.E Right after people started to feel safe enough to walk away from a recent summer blockbuster earthquake movie, “San Andreas,” New Yorker writer Kathryn Schulz had to go and scare the skinny pants off of Portland’s hipster crowd. Seismologists have long warned that a subduction zo..
Buffalo Grove IL Contracts RJN Group For Rehabilitation Program
RJN Group Inc. (RJN), a consulting engineering and specialty field services firm, has a new contract with the Village of Buffalo Grove (IL) for professional engineering and specialty field services to help meet short-term program requirements of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater..
Errant Excavator Blamed for Iowa Pipeline Leak
HANLONTOWN, Iowa (AP) — An Oklahoma-based company has blamed an errant excavator for damaging a pipeline in northern Iowa that spilled nearly 47,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Magellan Midstream Partners released a statement Tuesday saying the excavator apparently didn’t check with regulators about th..
Denying Pipeline Expansions Will Raise Electric Rates, Cut Jobs, Jeopardize Energy Security
A new report released in January by the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) found that rejecting pipeline infrastructure would remove almost one-third of U.S. electricity generation capacity by 2030, dangerously raising electric rates nationwide, especially for poverty-stricken households. The report, t..
San Antonio Desalination Plant Supplies Water to 53,000 Homes
San Antonio Water System (SAWS) introduced a truly new drinking water source: desalination. While desalination is usually associated with sea water, SAWS project pumps salty – or brackish – water from deep in the Wilcox Aquifer under south Bexar County as the source for this purified drinking wa..
Iowa Considers Dismantling Water Utilities in Three Cities
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – An overflow crowd jammed a legislative hearing to oppose a bill they argued would make it more difficult to ensure safe water. At Monday’s public hearing on a bill that would dismantle water utilities in Des Moines, West Des Moines and Urbandale, opponents criticized the pro..
EPA Invests $95 Million In California Wastewater Projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $95 million in new funding to California for improvements in local wastewater infrastructure, including upgrades to the city of Holtville’s 850,000-gallon-per-day wastewater treatment plant, serving 6,954 residents, to comply with water qu..
Pennsylvania Eyes New Fees to Add Drinking Water Inspectors
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says it wants to impose new fees on public water utilities to pay for more inspectors and resolve a federal official’s warning it isn’t adequately enforcing safe drinking water standards. Wolf’s Department of Environmental Protection says it hop..
Many Positives From Common Ground Alliance DIRT Report
The latest Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) report released in October 2016 by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) contained the good news that efforts to reduce accidental damage to the nation’s underground utility infrastructure and build awareness of the free 811 service are making significa..
Maine Utility Regulators to Consider $1.5B FairPoint Sale
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine utility regulators are ready to delve into details of the proposed $1.5 billion sale of FairPoint Communications, the country’s eighth-largest phone and internet company. Consolidated Communications, based in Illinois, announced in December it was buying FairPoint, assum..
West Virginia American Water Names New President
West Virginia American Water has named Brian Bruce its new president, effective March 1, 2017. Bruce replaces Jeffrey McIntyre, who has been named Senior Vice President of American Water’s Mid-Atlantic Division, encompassing Pennsylvania and West Virginia. McIntyre will also become President of Penn..
Utility Altered Water Treatment Chemicals Without Approval
PITTSBURGH (AP) — State environmental officials found that the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority altered its water treatment chemicals without approval, although there is so far no evidence that this move has caused any public health risk. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly..
Illinois Community Utilizes Economical Grouting Solution
By Tom Fuszard Communities and sewage districts looking to save on repairs to leaking laterals are finding chemical grouting a great option. For pipes that are structurally sound, it is often the best method to use. Sugarloaf Township, IL, used this process and discovered that the project paid for ..
Pipe Plugs Help To Prevent Cedar Rapids Flooding
In late September 2016, rising waters of the Cedar River initiated a state of emergency in Cedar Rapids, IA. Memories were still fresh of the great flood of 2008, the worst in the city’s history. The Cedar River crested at 31 feet, which is 19 feet above flood stage, inundating more than 1,000 d..
Survey Shows Utilities' Cybersecurity Not Keeping Up with Technology
An overwhelming majority (89%) of power and utility executives say their cybersecurity function does not fully meet their organization’s needs, according to the EY Global Information Security Survey 2016-17. That number continues to rise compared with last year (86% in 2015) as companies struggle t..
Pennsylvania Township Still Deals with Industrial Water Contamination
VANPORT, Pa. (AP) — A battle is brewing among several entities over financial responsibility for water treatment, and the township municipal authority — for the time being — is stuck in the middle footing the bill. That bill — estimated by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to ..
Texas Town Changing Disinfectant to Improve Water Supply
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) – Different chlorine will be used by a South Texas city working to improve its water supply after issues including a four-day usage ban in December. Corpus Christi officials on Tuesday announced plans to temporarily change water disinfectant, starting March 6, with the ch..
Water Research Foundation Publishes Report On Infrastructure Funding
The Water Research Foundation (WRF), a leading sponsor of innovative research supporting the water community, has published a new report to help utilities assess several new and emerging capital financing alternatives. The report indicates that while new options may help, utilities still need suffic..
- OSHA cites Florida contractors for trench safety violations at sewer and excavation sites
- Biden-Harris administration invests $849 million in aging water infrastructure, drought resilience
- Cadiz to reuse steel from terminated Keystone XL pipeline for California groundwater project
- Texas contractor penalized by OSHA for repeated trench safety violations
- West Virginia approves $67 million for water, sewer projects