Utility Infrastructure
Regulator Reconsiders Pipelines Class Location Method
by Stephen Barlas | Washington Editor Federal regulators are taking another look at the pipeline industry’s request to essentially eliminate the class location method for assessing the need for pipe replacement and change it by expanding integrity rules beyond high consequence areas (HCA). The Pipe..
Virginia Tech SWIM Center Offers Water Infrastructure Certificate, Conference
The Virginia Tech Sustainable Water Infrastructure Management (SWIM) Center is offering the Digital One Water Smart Utility Water conference, Dec. 5-6, at its Research Center in Arlington, Va. Addressing one of the most pressing societal needs over the next several decades, the conference will focu..
The RehabZone Brings Together Yesterday and Today
The RehabZone™, exclusive to UCT, offers attendees a “hands-on” look at the history and best of today’s trenchless technologies for the rehabilitation of aging infrastructure. The exhibit-within-an-exhibit is where you can see the methods used in North America over the last 200-plus years. Then, ex..
First Infrastructure Proposal Surfaces in Congress
While the Trump administration has punted on preparing an infrastructure development proposal, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has not. Shuster produced a discussion draft of potential legislation on July 23. The discussion draft include..
Akktoberfest to Honor Akkerman’s 45th Anniversary
Marking 45 years of guided boring, microtunneling, pipe jacking and tunneling equipment and solutions for installing a variety of underground infrastructure, Akkerman is hosting Akktoberfest, Sept. 18-20, at its Brownsdale, Minn, headquarters. In the tradition of Oktoberfest, the largest folk festi..
HDD Projects Help Connect Colorado Water Systems
In Colorado, the cities of Denver, Aurora and 10 South Metro water providers have formed a partnership that provides communities the opportunity to purchase, transport and treat available renewable water. Water Infrastructure and Supply Efficiency (WISE) is one of the first organizations of its kin..
Pretty Means Nothing When Infrastructure is Crumbling Underneath
by Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief Brown or blackish water comes out of the sink, toilets back up, the television is nothing but snow, internet is down or there’s no signal for cell phones (millennials shudder at the thought). This dark vision is actually happening in one U.S. city and unfortunat..
Water Infrastructure Improvements Forecasted at $683 Billion by 2027
Capital expenditures (CAPEX) for U.S. municipal water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure will exceed $683 billion over the next decade, according to new forecasts from Bluefield Research. Improvement plans demonstrate a wide range of capital needs, but distribution and collection networks fo..
Southern Company to Sell Florida Assets to NextEra Energy
Southern Company has entered into agreements to sell Gulf Power Company, Florida City Gas and the entities holding Southern Power’s interests in Plant Oleander and Plant Stanton to NextEra Energy for approximately $6.475 billion. “This sale provides Southern Company the opportunity to d..
NineStar Connect to Acquire Gem Water Utility, Expand Fiber Service
NineStar Connect, a smart utility providing water, sewer, electric and high speed fiber services, has entered into an agreement with the town of Cumberland to acquire Gem Water Utility, which the town has owned since 2010. Gem Water serves approximately 500 water customers in a territory that lies b..
Regulators Order Changes at North Mississippi Water Utility
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi utility regulators are ordering changes in a rural water association. The move came after residents complained about water quality and other issues with Lafayette County’s 850-customer Punkin Water Association. The Oxford Eagle reports Northern District Commissione..
NW Natural to Acquire Two Water Utilities in Washington State
NW Natural Water, a subsidiary of NW Natural, has entered into agreements to acquire Lehman Enterprises and Sea View Water. The assets and operations of Lehman and Sea View, which are both based out of Whidbey Island near Seattle, Wash., will be combined under a newly-formed subsidiary of NW Natura..
WSSC Awards Contract to Transform Sewage into Renewable Energy
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) has approved the first phase of a $250 million project that will turn poop to power by transforming sewage into renewable energy. The $44 million contract awarded to PC Construction Company will allow WSSC to begin design and early construction of ..
Washington Port, Utility District Form Broadband Company
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) – The Port of Skagit and the Skagit Public Utility District have approved an agreement to jointly oversee the construction of a fiber optic network that extends from Anacortes to Concrete. The Skagit Valley Herald reports the port and utility district approved the agreement..
New EPA Funding Leverages Public, Private Investments in Water Infrastructure Projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of funding – up to $5.5 billion in loans – that could leverage more than $11 billion in water infrastructure projects through the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program. “Thanks to the President’s lea..
Juniper Capital Management Acquires Green Mountain Pipeline Services
Juniper Capital Management and a team of co-investors created a new investment platform, Infrastructure Services Group (ISG), to conduct strategic acquisitions. The company sees tremendous opportunities in this sector, due to the enormous need for improvements to the country’s aging water infrastruc..
Alliance Water Project Proceeds; Selects Consultant
Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam Inc. (LAN) was selected by Alliance Regional Water Authority (Alliance Water), as a pipeline engineering consultant for a major water project serving several Texas communities in the I-35 corridor. Since 2007, Alliance Water, formerly the Hays Caldwell Public Utility Agen..
EPA Awards $25.4 Million to Support Small Drinking Water, Wastewater Systems
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding more than $25 million in grants to help the country’s small drinking and wastewater systems, and private well owners, better protect public health and the environment. The grants will fund training and technical assistance to help workforce..
2009 Stimulus Lessons and Infrastructure Investment
by Robert Carpenter Editor-in-Chief Early proposals for high-dollar infrastructure investment has created a unique buzz of excitement not heard since the much ballyhooed stimulus of 2009. Then, a President Obama-sponsored $800 billion stimulus package was passed. While there was much ado about aid..
Surrey, N.D., Receives 2018 Dire States Equipment Grant
CASE Construction Equipment awarded the 2018 Dire States Equipment Grant to Surrey, N.D., for citywide drainage control and flood mitigation projects. Years of sudden urban planning and insufficient funding have caused flooding and infrastructure damage in the city. Several drainage-ways have fille..
Big New Dollars for Rural Broadband Companies
Broadband infrastructure was one of the big winners in the fiscal 2018 appropriations bill President Trump signed in late March. That bill included $600 million for rural broadband deployment through a new pilot program to be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Servi..
Primoris Services to Acquire Willbros Group
prim.com; willbros.com Primoris Services Corporation, one of the largest publicly traded specialty construction and infrastructure companies in the US., has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Willbros Group Inc. In an all-cash transaction, Primoris will pay $0.60 per share for t..
East Chicago Lead Water Line Project Lacks Participation
EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) — A utilities director in northwest Indiana says lagging participation in a lead water service line replacement project could affect the area’s ability to justify future projects. The East Chicago Water Board approved a $3.1 million plan last year to replace lead and galvani..
Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania to Begin Pipeline Upgrade Project
Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania will commence work this month on a gas pipeline replacement project in Fayette County that will ensure the delivery of safe, reliable, and efficient natural gas to residents of the borough of Brownsville. The project, which includes replacing more than 1,600 feet of und..
Washington Water Service’s Schlender Receives Drinking Water Week Commitment to Excellence Award
Washington Water Service’s (Washington Water) Water Quality Manager Carol Schlender has received the Drinking Water Week Commitment to Excellence award from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH). The Drinking Water Week Commitment to Excellence award is given to an individual water system..
Del Puerto Water District Wins ACWA's 2018 Clair A. Hill Water Agency Award for Excellence
The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) has awarded the 2018 Clair A. Hill Water Agency Award for Excellence to the Del Puerto Water District for its North Valley Regional Recycled Water Program. The program is an innovative solution to water supply and reliability issues in the San Joa..
Carmichael Water District General Manager Receives ACWA Leadership Award
The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) has recognized Carmichael Water District General Manager Steve Nugent with its 2018 Excellence in Water Leadership Award – Building a World of Difference for his leadership and commitment to collaborative regional integrated water management throug..
California Water District Approves up To $650M for Tunnels
(AP) — A Northern California water agency voted Tuesday to support Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to build two massive tunnels to remake the state’s water system. The Santa Clara Valley Water District board voted 4-3 Tuesday to support the $17 billion project and to commit up to $650 million to help pay f..
West Virginia City OK's Higher Sewer Rates
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — An increase in sewer rates has been approved by a West Virginia city council. The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports sewer rates are expected to rise 16 percent in Dunbar after the City Council approved raising them during a meeting Monday. Mayor Bill Cunningham say..
NRTC Names Bartolomei President, Utility Solutions
The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) has named Greg Bartolomei President, Utility Solutions, effective May 14. Bartolomei will lead NRTC’s portfolio of smart grid solutions, which includes metering and metering networks, analytics, demand management, smart energy (including sola..
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- $5.3 billion, 516-mile pipeline to connect Texas to Arizona through New Mexico