Water

New Orleans Neighborhood Pilots Innovative Stormwater Solution

A neighborhood in New Orleans recently completed the 50th of about 200 planned stormwater management projects designed to allow water to filter into the ground instead of pouring into storm drains.

EPA Announces $196 Million Water Infrastructure Loan to Inland Empire, California

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has provided a nearly $200 million loan to improve wastewater infrastructure in San Bernadino County, California.

Brown and Caldwell, Carollo Engineers Joint Venture Selected for South County Ag Program

The Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (Regional San) has selected a joint venture of Brown and Caldwell and Carollo Engineers as project managers for $375 million recycled water infrastructure program.

Tennessee House Panel Passes Private Sewer Oversight Bill

A House panel passed a bill that would block Tennessee’s Department of Environment and Conservation from regulating how some types of sewage treatment systems are designed and built.

Epidemic of Wipes and Masks Plague U.S. Sewers, Storm Drains

While drain clogs aren’t new, cities say they’ve become a more costly and time consuming headache during the pandemic. Home-bound Americans are flushing more wipes, and discarded masks and gloves are gumming up treatment plants.

USDA Invests $281 Million in Rural Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Improvements

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing more than $280 million to help rural communities improve their water and wastewater infrastructure.

Stantec to Lead Major Wastewater Development Project in Egypt

Global engineering services company Stantec has been selected to head up a massive wastewater infrastructure improvement project for the Fayoum governate in Egypt.

USDA Invests $12 Million in Rural Water Infrastructure Improvements in Texas

The United States Department of Agriculture is investing $12 million to improve water and wastewater infrastructure in rural communities across Texas.

Work Commences on Everglades Reservoir Project

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that construction has begun on a nearly $2 billion restoration project in the Florida Everglades.

Maryland, Virginia, D.C. Intend to Sue EPA on Bay Pollution

Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia are planning to file a lawsuit against the EPA for what they claim is a failure for the organization to hold two other states accountable for meeting targets set to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

Eight Texas Cities Partner for New Water Line

Eight cities in the Houston area are partnering together to replace a 75 million gallon water line.

WEF Panel to Study Biohazards, Safety for Wastewater Workers

To ensure the protection of wastewater workers during the coronavirus pandemic and beyond, the Water Environment Federation is convening a blue-ribbon panel of experts to evaluate information on biological hazards and safety precautions.

Supreme Court Rejects Narrow View of CWA in Maui Wastewater Case

The Supreme Court ruled that a Maui treatment plant's discharge of polluted water into the ground, rather than directly into nearby waterways, does not relieve it of complying with the Clean Water Act.

Vegas Giving up Bid to Pump, Pipe Water From Rural Valleys

Las Vegas water officials said they’re giving up a decades-long plan to pump and pipe groundwater from rural northeast Nevada to suburbs and tourist resorts in the state’s largest metropolitan area.

Corps of Engineers Examines Mississippi Pump Proposal

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that it will re-examine the potential environmental impact of a proposal for massive pumps to drain floodwaters from parts of rural Mississippi, drawing immediate criticism from conservation groups that say the project would be harmful and expensive.

Project Lowers Flooding Risk in Albuquerque’s South Valley

When the final phases of the Black Mesa Project are completed, it will connect the drainage from three dams – Don Felipe Dam, Raymac Dam and McCoy Dam – into one pipe manifold and drain the water to the Rio Grande River.

LAN Engineering Selected for North Texas Water Supply System

LAN Engineering has been selected as the consulting engineer for a $490 million reservoir and conveyance project in North Texas.

Utility & Communications Construction Update

The spread of the coronavirus has upended almost every staple of U.S. life, and businesses have no sense of what the next two weeks, much less the next two months, could look like. With these themes as the backdrop, there are some takeaways we can share for planning the next six months, as we consider both oil and the spread of the coronavirus.

AWWA Cancels ACE20 June Conference in Orlando

The American Water Works Association has added its AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition to the list of major cancellations caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Researchers Test Wastewater to Track Spread of Coronavirus

Researchers have determined that wastewater testing can provide an effective way to measure the prevalence of Covid-19 and gain a better understanding of its spread in communities where other means of testing may under-report its presence.

Lametti & Sons Completes Complex Microtunneling Project

Lametti & Sons recently completed a complex microtunneling project as part of a $5 billion infrastructure development in Rochester, MN.

Underground Construction and Related Industries Respond to Coronavirus

While much of North America hunkers down to wait out the coronavirus pandemic, essential workers at companies throughout the underground construction industry are continuing to deliver vital services to customers.

Electro Scan Completes Trial Project for new Pipeline Inspection Technology

Electro Scan announced that it has completed a trial project of its new pipeline inspection technology with Sydney Water, Australia’s largest water utility.

Trump Administration Pushes for More Wastewater Recycling

The Trump administration is making a water-recycling push it says could get good use out of more of the wastewater that industries, cities and farms spew out, including the billions of barrels of watery waste generated by oil and gas fields each year.

North Carolina Rural Communities Getting Over $2 Million for Water Infrastructure Upgrades

The North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) has approved grant requests to local governments in excess of $2.5 million to improve and update water and sewer infrastructure.

EPA Announces $40 Million Water Infrastructure Loan to Toho Water Authority

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a $40 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the Toho Water Authority in Kissimmee, Florida.

Wisconsin Assembly to Vote on Bills Fighting Water Pollution

A bipartisan, $10 million package of more than a dozen bills designed to combat groundwater contamination in Wisconsin is slated for approval in the state assembly.

23rd Annual Municipal Sewer/Water Infrastructure Forecast

It’s a presidential election year, and usually that spells trouble for public works funding programs. However, for the sewer, water and stormwater markets, that doesn’t seem to be the case in 2020. Cities expect spending to be stable, or even grow.

Feds to Fund Water Infrastructure Projects in Four States

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $2.7 billion for infrastructure projects that help protect surface water and provide safe drinking water to communities across the country.

Mexican Farmers Take Over Dams to Stop Water Payments to U.S.

A dispute over water payments to the United States widened in Mexico Wednesday, after President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador said Mexico has to pay its debts but angry farmers pushed back National Guard troops guarding a dam.