Water
Trial Set to Begin in Florida and Georgia's Fight Over Water
ATLANTA (AP) – Florida and Georgia this week are taking their long-standing fight over the supply of water in their shared watershed to court. The result could affect millions of people and major industries in both states. The dispute focuses on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. The..
Brooklyn-to-Staten Island Drinking Water Tunnel is Activated
NEW YORK (AP) — A $250 million drinking water tunnel from Brooklyn to Staten Island that had been delayed by Superstorm Sandy has been activated. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Saturday that the tunnel is a critical backup that can deliver up to 150 million gallons of safe drinking water per day t..
California Water Agencies to Evaluate $350 Million Lawn Experiment
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) — California water agencies that spent more than $350 million in the last two years of drought to pay property owners to rip out water-slurping lawns are now trying to answer whether the nation’s biggest lawn removal experiment was all worth the cost. Around the state, water..
Agency to Help Oklahoma Cities Map Water Infrastructure Digitally
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Bert Curtis said the city of Davis‘ water infrastructure is mapped in his head, after working in the public utilities department for more than three decades. Now that map is on the web, and the division director’s employees can find water meters and fire hydrants using an iPad. ..
Alabama Governor Presents $2.2M in Grants to DeKalb, Jackson Counties
RAINSVILLE, Ala. (AP) – Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has distributed $2.2 million in Community Block Grants to towns in Jackson and DeKalb Counties. His office says the money will be used to improve sewer lines, roads, new drainage systems, and more. The cities that received the grants Wednesday ar..
West Virginia Backs $5.1M in Development Grants
CHARLESTON (AP) — State officials have recommended 11 Appalachian Regional Commission grants for $5.1 million for programs for economic development and infrastructure projects across West Virginia. They include $1.5 million to replace water lines in two areas in the city of Welch, $430,000 for the ..
Proposed Settlement in West Virginia Chemical Spill
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — A proposed settlement has been reached between Charleston residents and a chemical company accused of not doing enough to safeguard West Virginia’s capital city from a spill that polluted the drinking water of thousands of people in 2014. According to court officials, attor..
Company in Fatal Boston Water Main Break Faced Violations
BOSTON (AP) — A company involved in a water main break in Boston that killed two workers has a history of safety violations, federal records show. Occupational Safety and Health Administration records show that Atlantic Drain Services, of Boston, has received citations for workers lacking oxygen un..
Flint Water Crisis Panel Calls for New Emergency Management Rules
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan should consider abandoning its one-person emergency management structure and instead install a team of three experts when deficit-ridden municipalities and school districts fall under state control, according to a report released Wednesday by a legislative committee th..
Watchdog Says EPA Delayed Flint Emergency Order
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency had sufficient authority and information to issue an emergency order to protect residents of Flint, Michigan, from lead-contaminated water as early as June 2015 — seven months before it declared an emergency, the EPA’s inspector general said Thur..
Water Research Foundation Releases Results from Ongoing Study on Direct Potable Reuse
The Water Research Foundation (WRF) has released interim results from the project “Blending Requirements for Water from Direct Potable Reuse Treatment Facilities.” The objective of this project is to provide guidance for the appropriate use of blending as part of a direct potable reuse (DPR) project..
New Chief Technology Officer Joins the Water Council
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) and The Water Council have named Dr. David Garman as the new Chief Technology Officer for The Water Council. Dr. Garman will specifically lead The Water Council’s new initiative called the ICE (Innovation Commercialization Exchange) Institute while continu..
Connecticut Approves Temporary Pipeline to Supply Water
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — State officials have issued an amended emergency order to allow for the construction of a temporary pipeline to supply water to four Connecticut communities amid drought conditions. The state Department of Public Health had declared a public water supply emergency in Septembe..
Air Force: Toxic Chemicals Released Into City's Sewer System
DENVER (AP) — An Air Force base in Colorado said Tuesday it accidentally released about 150,000 gallons of water containing toxic chemicals into the sewer system of the adjacent city of Colorado Springs, but the potential health hazards weren’t immediately known. Peterson Air Force Base said the wa..
PMI Advocates Restoration Of Underground Water Infrastructure
In the first step of a committed advocacy effort for the safety and sustainability of America’s drinking water, Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) introduced an infographic promoting the restoration of the U.S. underground water infrastructure. “To help assure the safety and sustainability ..
Hobas Pipe Meets Rehab Challenge
When an old storm water sewer that crossed below a highway and popular shopping avenue in Québec partly collapsed and had to be replaced, the city government was presented with a challenge: renovating the pipeline while keeping traffic disruptions to a minimum. The solution was Hobas Pipe, the only..
CH2M Delivers Sustainable Solutions
A six-month pilot test conducted by CH2M under a tailored collaboration project between Tucson Water and the University of Arizona for the WateReuse Research Foundation, confirmed the viability of potable reuse as a renewable water source for the future. When considering potable reuse, water qualit..
USDA Announces Nearly $25 Million to Improve Water Quality in Southeast Iowa
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack today announced funding through USDA’s Water and Environmental programs to help the City of Fairfield make enhancements to its wastewater facility that will improve the water quality in southeast Iowa. “The recent flooding in Iowa and other parts of the cou..
Promising Earthquake Resistant Steel Pipe For Water, Oil, Gas
Devastation caused by major earthquakes is well-known – dramatic video clips vividly document the destruction of collapsed buildings, caved-in highways, fallen bridges and debris scattered across the landscape. However, not all damage is visible. Violent shifts underground can rupture water, sewer..
New Water Infrastructure Grant Programs At Issue In Congress Proposed Rule
The U.S, Senate recently passed bill S. 2848, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016, with a broad bi-partisan vote of 95 to 3. The House is still working on its own version of a WRDA bill. A key water infrastructure element in S. 2848 is a provision of $70 million so the new Water Infr..
Rafael Ortega Establishes Aurora Technical Services, LLC
Aurora Technical Services LLC is a Houston-based civil engineering consulting firm. Owned and operated by Rafael Ortega, P.E., the firm provides engineering expertise focused on water and wastewater pipelines. Specific areas include: planning plus preliminary engineering, detail design, specialty co..
Smart Water - Making The Smart Choice
By Robert Carpenter, Editor-in-Chief Alas, age catches up with us all. But this benchmark I refer to is perhaps the greatest benefit of age – becoming grandparents. My wife and I attended not one, but two, Grandparents Day lunches recently with our 5 and 7-year old grandchildren. It was very enjoya..
PPP Model Addresses Water And Wastewater Industry Challenges
While municipalities still rely heavily on traditional funding mechanisms, receptiveness to new alternatives is growing, according to the 2016 Black & Veatch Strategic Directions: U.S. Water Industry report. One solution is public-private partnerships (PPPs). “The PPP model can restructure and prov..
Hydromax USA and Detection Services Propose Exclusive Licensing Agreement
Hydromax USA announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Detection Services, Australia, to enter into an exclusive licensing agreement to deliver pipeline inspection services to the water and sewer sectors in the United States, Canada and other selected markets. Under the proposed ag..
North America and Europe Expected to Account for over 90 Percent of Investment in Water Management Solutions Through 2025
A recent report from Navigant Research examines the landscape for water management technologies and services in intelligent buildings, including global market forecasts for revenue, through 2025. Investment in water management delivers economic and sustainability benefits, but the pace and scale of..
Waukesha Chooses Manager for Lake Michigan Water Supply Project
The Waukesha Water Utility Commission has selected Greeley and Hansen as the program manager for its switch to a Lake Michigan water supply. The Environmental engineering firm specializes in water and wastewater engineering. The Commission voted tonight to have Greeley and Hansen proceed with work ..
'Ghost Claims' Complicate Water Rights in South Dakota
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A looming dispute over water rights near Rapid City highlights a thorny issue facing South Dakota: How to handle claims so old or outdated that one expert calls them “ghost claims.” The case at hand involves a stretch of Rapid Creek. The Rapid City Journal reports (http://bi..
Deal Reached for Flint Water Aid, to Avoid Government Shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders have broken a stalemate over money to address the Flint, Michigan, water crisis, top House aides said Wednesday, clearing the way for a spending bill needed to keep the government running until December. The spending measure also would provide long-delayed mon..
Former North Carolina Employee Accused of Falsifying Water Tests
CARY, N.C. (AP) — A former Cary employee has pleaded guilty after an investigation revealed that he falsified documents on more than 275 water sample tests. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement that 41-year-old Christopher Dale Miller of Cary pleaded guilty Monday to making false statemen..
A Timeline of the Flint Water Crisis
FLINT, Mich. (AP) — It’s been a year since doctors warned that high levels of lead were found in the blood of Flint’s children, news that Michigan officials initially rejected. Here is a look at some of the key events surrounding the city’s lead-tainted water crisis: April 2014: In an effort to sav..
- 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