Water

Michigan Gets Federal OK to Spend $119M on Lead Abatement

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan won approval Monday to spend up to $119 million in federal funding over five years to remove lead hazards from the homes of low-income residents in Flint and other communities — the second time the state has received a waiver to spend such additional money to respond t..

Federal Loans Aimed at Rural Illinois Water Infrastructure

CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is lending more than $16 million to a number of central and eastern Illinois communities to pay for water-related infrastructure work. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s office said in a news release Monday that $14.3 million of the money will be used fo..

MaxLiner Trenchless CIPP Solutions

The MaxLiner System is small enough to fit into your existing service vehicles and needs just two or three workers to get the job done. The highly portable system allows you to install more than one job per day, and its lightweight design allows you to quickly and easily use it for not only traditio..

John Deere Integrates SmartGrade Technology Into 750K, 850K Dozers

John Deere is building on its lineup of SmartGrade crawler dozers with the integration of the machine control offering on the 750K and 850K models. “The launch of our 700K SmartGrade dozer was a huge hit earlier this year, and many of our customers asked for the grade control technology to be integ..

Judge Orders Michigan, Flint to Deliver Water to Homes

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered the state of Michigan and the city of Flint to deliver bottled water to lead-tainted homes if residents want it. Judge David Lawson granted an injunction Thursday sought by the American Civil Liberties Union and Natural Resources Defense Council..

New Jersey American Water Makes Leadership Changes

New Jersey American Water has promoted Kevin Kirwan to Vice President of Operations and Kevin Keane to Senior Director of Coastal Operations. “Both of these long-tenured professionals have exceptional leadership skills, and extensive utility and operations knowledge and expertise that will help us ..

Canadian City Receives Funding for Modern Water Infrastructure

In Saskatchewan, new federal and provincial funding will be going toward a project in the city of Estevan. The city will be constructing a residuals management facility to treat the wastewater generated by its water treatment plant using an effective and low-energy treatment process. The project als..

Wyoming Study: Fracking Likely Not Behind Well Water Problem

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A final state report released Thursday on foul-smelling well water in Wyoming contradicts an EPA report from five years ago that ignited a national backlash when it suggested hydraulic fracturing was the cause of the contamination. Bacteria were more likely to blame for the pr..

APWA Urges Congress to Pass Water Infrastructure Legislation

The American Public Works Association (APWA) and other key water groups are urging Congress to include water infrastructure provisions as part of a final Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) bill this year. The 12 water organizations support a bipartisan compromise of the WRDA bill with meas..

UT Austin Engineering Becomes New Home for EPA Water Infrastructure Center

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $3.9 million to researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin to establish the new Center for Infrastructure Modeling and Management, which will develop and improve open source water infrastructure mo..

Air Force: Missing Tainted Water Likely Evaporated From Pit

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AP) — The military said Wednesday an Air Force Base in Colorado did not discharge thousands of gallons of water contaminated with toxic chemicals into the wastewater treatment system of Colorado Springs, as it originally feared. Some water tainted with the chemicals ..

USDA Makes $331 Million Investment for Clean Water Infrastructure in Rural Communities

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $331 million in 85 projects that will improve water and wastewater infrastructure in rural areas in 39 states and American Samoa. Community infrastructure investments are a key piece of USDA..

Criminal Investigation Underway in Toxic Chemical Release

DENVER (AP) — Military and civilian authorities are investigating whether any laws were broken in the unexplained discharge of 150,000 gallons of wastewater tainted with toxic chemicals at an Air Force base in Colorado. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the U.S. Environmental Prote..

Vactor HXX ParaDIGm® Vacuum Excavator Wins Award at 15th Annual Chicago Innovation Awards

The Vactor HXX ParaDIGm®, a compact vacuum excavator, has been named a winner at the 15th annual Chicago Innovation Awards. The Chicago Innovation Awards recognize the most innovative new products or services brought to market or public service in the Chicago area each year. The award was presented..

Air Force Sent Wastewater into Sewers up to 3 Times a Year

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The Air Force says a base near Colorado Springs sent water laced with toxic firefighting foam into the city’s sewer system as often as three times a year. Air Force officials tell The Gazette that Peterson Air Force Base stopped sending firefighting foam wastewater in..

Utility Eyes Burning Thinning Debris to Protect Water Supply

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona water and power utility is conducting an experiment to add forest-thinning debris to coal burned by an electricity-generating plant. It aims to make thinning more economical to help avoid devastating wildfires producing runoff that would contaminate reservoirs. A tes..

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..