Utility Infrastructure
Crumbling Public Water Infrastructure Signals Larger Role For Private Participation
Private participation in U.S. municipal water markets is poised for expansion, according to a new report from Bluefield Research. Municipalities and local authorities are showing increasing reliance on investor-owned utilities and private players for the ownership, management and operation of public..
More Americans Worried About Aging Water Infrastructure
More Americans are concerned about aging water infrastructure in their communities than last year and they’re willing to spend more to make improvements, according to a new survey released today by MWH Global. Among the survey’s key findings: Nearly half of Americans (48 percent) say not having ..
Dominion-Questar Merger Moves Closer After Approval From Utah's PSC
The Public Service Commission of Utah has approved the merger between Dominion Resources, Inc. and Questar Corporation, subject to terms and conditions of an agreed settlement stipulation. With this action, the final regulatory approval needed to complete the merger is pending with the Wyomi..
PG&E Becomes First Natural Gas Utility to Obtain Process Safety Certification
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has successfully passed a comprehensive gas safety audit and has been certified to the chemical industry’s RC14001® management system standard. The audit reviewed numerous end-to-end safety processes at the company, ultimately approving PG&E as the first utili..
New Questions Over California Water Project
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Critics and a state lawmaker say they want more explanations on who’s paying for a proposed $16 billion water project backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, after a leading California water district said Brown’s administration was offering government funding to finish the planning for the ..
Municipal Water Infrastructure CAPEX To Exceed $532 Billion By 2025
According to Bluefield Research, capital expenditures (CAPEX) for U.S. municipal water and wastewater utilities are expected to exceed $532 billion between 2016 and 2025, almost 28 percent more than CAPEX during the last 10 years. A significant decrease in federal funding for water utilities — $4.3..
Infrastructure Vision 2050 Names “Dream” Phase Winners
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) has announced five winners in the second, “Dream”, phase of the Infrastructure Vision 2050 Challenge. Launched earlier this year, the three-phased competition challenges a community of innovators to reimagine personal mobility, freight movement, and ..
WaterWorks News
WaterWorks News, July 2016 American Water Seeks Approval Of Plan in WV West Virginia American Water filed an application with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) seeking approval of an Infrastructure Replacement Program (IRP). The purpose of an IRP is to address the national chall..
Southern California Water District Finalizes Land Purchase
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Southern California’s largest water supplier has bought sprawling farmland that could be used to help build twin tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The Sacramento Bee reports (http://bit.ly/2a3qYUm) the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California ..
SAK Construction Begins Multiple Baltimore/D.C. Projects
SAK Construction (SAK), a national pipeline rehabilitation and tunneling services contractor, is beginning work on $21.7 million of contracts won throughout the Baltimore, MD, and Washington DC regions. SAK is repairing the sewer and pipeline infrastructure in these metropolitan areas by utilizing s..
St. Louis Gets an Upgrade: Laclede Replaces 235 Miles of Pipelines
Like many utilities operating in urban areas, The Laclede Group is faced with aging infrastructure. The company is tackling this challenge head-on by undertaking a major upgrade to natural gas distribution systems operated by its three subsidiaries: Laclede Gas in St. Louis, MO, Gas Energy in Kansas..
Stantec Acquires Firm Focused On Resources For Built Infrastructure
In the second quarter of 2016, Stantec announced the completion of its acquisition of MWH Global – a 6,800-person engineering, consulting and construction management firm focused on water and natural resources for built infrastructure and the environment. This acquisition expands Stantec’s position ..
While Water Rates Rise, Infrastructure Remains In Jeopardy
A survey published by Circle of Blue – an award-winning network of journalists and researchers, who report on water and worldwide resource issues – reported the price of municipal water in the United States is rising faster than any other city household expense. The network’s annual water rates tra..
PG&E Tests Safety Drones For Infrastructure Inspections
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced its current testing of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, to enhance the safety and reliability of its electric and gas services. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorized PG&E’s use of drones to assist with electric and gas infra..
American Water Seeks Approval Of Plan in WV
West Virginia American Water filed an application with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) seeking approval of an Infrastructure Replacement Program (IRP). The purpose of an IRP is to address the national challenge of aging infrastructure by directing additional investment to areas ..
Making A Triumph Out Of Tragedy
by Robert Carpenter Editor-in-Chief For a surprisingly large number of contractors and manufacturers in the infrastructure markets, the first half of 2016 has seen a tepid advance, even with favorable economic winds at their backs. Must be an election year. There are exceptions. The horizontal dir..
Surging 28%, US Municipal Water Infrastructure Forecast Reaches $532 Billion
Capital expenditures (CAPEX) for U.S. municipal water & wastewater utilities – including spending on pipes, plants, and pumps – are expected to exceed $532 billion between 2016 and 2025, according to new forecasts from Bluefield Research. This new outlook, which draws heavily from planned utility bu..
Side-by-Side HDDs Prove Effective On Gas Line Replacement Project
By Rita Tubb, Executive Editor Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) began work in September 2014 to replace two aging natural gas pipelines that cross Cache Creek near the town of Capay, CA. In September 2015, The HDD Company completed two horizontal directional drills (HDD) on the project, replacing the ..
Water Organizations, EPA Release Effective Utility Management Report
Eight heavy-hitters in the water and utility industries collaborated with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop the Effective Utility Management (EUM) Report entitled, Taking the Next Step: Findings of the EUM Review Steering Group, which was announced at the National Wa..
TTC Plans Special Utility Investigations School
The Trenchless Technology Center (TTC) at Louisiana Tech University is launching another specialty school this summer – the TTC Utility Investigations School (UIS). TTC teamed with the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute (UESI) to provide an intensive fiv..
It’s A Start: Training Programs Emerge To Meet Needs Of Industry's Workforce
by Robert Carpenter Editor-in-Chief Since the inception of horizontal directional drilling (HDD), a dearth of training programs has resulted in on-the-job, on-the-fly training by contractors. While such training is not necessarily a bad thing, during the first golden age of telecom construction it ..
Manufacturers Highlight Importance of Our Nation’s Infrastructure
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is joining other businesses, labor organizations and elected officials across the United States to tell policymakers and citizens to promote the need for more investment. Strong, resilient infrastructure is critical to our country’s economic growth and..
CIGMAT 2016 Focuses On Further Advancement
The Center for Innovative Grouting Materials and Technology (CIGMAT) and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Houston, hosted its 21st annual, one-day conference and exhibition on at the University of Houston, March 4. More than 330 individuals and 14 invited speakers..
Americans' Water Rates are Rising While Infrastructure Remains in Peril, Says New Survey; Special Town Hall on Finance and Infrastructure Held in Response
The price Americans pay for municipal water is rising faster than any other city household expense, according to a new survey published today by Circle of Blue, the award-winning network of journalists and researchers that reports on water and worldwide resource issues. Circle of Blue’s annual wate..
$546 Billion Needed in U.S., Canada Energy Infrastructure Investment
The United States and Canada will require annual average midstream natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids midstream energy infrastructure investment of about $26 billion per year, or $546 billion (real 2015$) total over the 21-year period from 2015 to 2035, a new study finds. The report, “N..
5,000 Linear Feet Of Overhead Power Lines Go Underground In Arizona
Millions of miles of overhead utilities are strung across the United States, but the unreliability of overhead utility lines as well as increasing maintenance and operating costs have led more municipalities, particularly in urban areas, to convert their overhead distribution lines to underground. ..
Water Delivery Commences For Colorado’s Southern Delivery System
The Southern Delivery System (SDS), one of the largest water projects under construction in the western United States, began the first phase of commercial operation in late April. Community leaders, contractors and partner communities celebrated the end of a busy 2015 with significant progress and ..
California’s $15.7 Billion San Joaquin River Delta Tunnel Plan Enters Pivotal Year
As originally reported by The Associated Press, California is proposing its most ambitious water project in a half-century. At $15.7 billion, the project proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown would run two giant tunnels, each four stories high, for 35 miles under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in Nor..
Pad Your Trench or Haul Material with Ozzie's Mini-padder
With Ozzie’s Mini-padder, you can pad and backfill your trench or haul and/or handle material with a loader bucket, all with one machine. This mini-padding machine features a quick-connect padding head system that allows it to be quickly converted from a padding machine to a track-powered loader. O..
West Virginia Water Utility Files Infrastructure Replacement Program
West Virginia American Water filed an application with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia (PSC) pursuing approval of an Infrastructure Replacement Program (IRP). An IRP is used to address the national challenge of aging infrastructure by directing additional investment to areas where imp..
- TxDOT advances massive drainage tunnel beneath I-35 in Austin
- Glenfarne Alaska LNG targets late-2026 construction start for 807-mile pipeline project
- U.S. water reuse boom to fuel $47 billion in infrastructure spending through 2035
- $2.3 billion approved to construct 236-mile Texas-to-Gulf gas pipeline
- Major water pipe break in Puerto Rico hits over 165,000 customers
- Pennsylvania American Water launches interactive map to identify, replace lead water service lines
- Trump's tariffs drive $33 million cost increase for Cincinnati sewer project
- Utah city launches historic $70 million tunnel project using box jacking under active rail line
- Tulsa residents warned after sewer lines damaged by boring work
- Fatal trench collapse halts sewer construction in Massachusetts; two workers hospitalized