Water

Aqua America Offers Tips, Video to Minimize Lead Exposure

To help raise awareness of potential sources of lead in drinking water during Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, Oct. 22 – 28, Aqua America has released a lead education video designed to help homeowners understand the important role they play in ensuring their water is lead free. “Each day, Aqua stri..

Milwaukee Wins Waukesha Water Contract

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee, not Oak Creek, will sell Lake Michigan water to the City of Waukesha under a new deal. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly announced the 40-year water supply agreement on Monday. Waukesha Water Utility General Manager Dan Duchniak says for Waukes..

Sacramento’s Catastrophic Peril: Flooding

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – Even living here on the West Coast, Marion Townsend decided to act as floods ravaged Texas and hurricanes pounded the Caribbean in recent weeks. Her Sacramento neighborhood slopes downward from a levee that separates it from the American River, in an area that officials co..

11-Year-Old Honored for Lead Detection Invention

3M and Discovery Education have named 11-year-old Gitanjali Rao from Lone Tree, Colo. the winner of the 2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. Gitanjali is working to develop Tethys, a sensor-based device that can detect lead in water faster than other current techniques. ..

Last Boil Water Advisory Ends After Detroit-Area Main Break

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A final boil water advisory has been lifted following last week’s water main break that affected about a dozen suburban Detroit communities. The Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s office issued the all-clear Monday morning for the northwest part of Farmingt..

Wisconsin Senate to Vote on Lead Pipe Replacement Loans

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin state Senate is expected to vote on a bill that would allow a public water utility and municipalities to finance property owners’ efforts to replace lead pipes. Under the bill, public water utilities, cities, villages, towns or counties could provide grants, loans..

7 Detroit-Area Communities Remain Under Boil Water Advisory

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Seven suburban Detroit communities are expected to remain under a boil water advisory through Sunday following this week’s water main break. The Great Lakes Water Authority gave the update Friday as it announced that the advisory for Bloomfield Township and Keego Harb..

Judge Dismayed by Flint’s Refusal to Follow Water Order

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — A judge says the Flint City Council again has failed to come up with a long-term water source and may be pushing the troubled community toward bankruptcy. In a sweeping decision Friday, federal Judge David Lawson says the council’s proposed two-year extension with the Great Lake..

Water Pipeline to Be Built in Pennsylvania

On behalf of Governor Tom Wolf, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced funding for an Abandoned Mine Land (AML) project to construct a public waterline to serve 148 homes and businesses with public drinking water. “The Pine Grove Waterline Project will eliminate..

San Francisco PUC Awarded $625 Million Water Infrastructure Loan

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $625-million WIFIA (Water Infrastructure and Financing Innovation Act) loan to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). The loan, one of 12 issued nationwide, is expected to save ratepayers over $200 million. The $625-million ..

EPA: Michigan Should Boost Water Safety in Flint, Statewide

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Staff and funding shortages and poor data management are preventing Michigan environmental regulators from making sure that state residents have safe drinking water, federal officials said Thursday. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said deficiencies in Michigan’s..

Crews Replace Sections of Broken Detroit-Area Water Main

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Crews have installed new sections of a broken 48-inch (122-centimeter) line that prompted a boil water advisory to about a dozen suburban Detroit communities. The Great Lakes Water Authority says Thursday that work is continuing to restore service to thousands of cust..

New Online Marketplace for Trenchless Pipe and Sewer Repairs Launched

ShopTRENCHLESS.com, LLC today announced the launch of its website targeting residential and commercial plumbing contractors and suppliers, as well as utility contractors and municipalities’ maintenance divisions. shopTRENCHLESS.com is an online marketplace empowering the industry to source the next ..

Grant to Improve Water Quality for the Maumee River Basin

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — A northeastern Indiana county is receiving a $367,000 federal grant to improve the water quality for the Maumee River Basin. The Northeastern Indiana Regional Coordinating Council says Allen County will use the funds for improvements in Fort Wayne to capture nearly 500,000 g..

Water Pressure Being Restored After Detroit-Area Main Break

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Officials say water pressure has been restored to most communities following a suburban Detroit water main break that kept students home from dozens of schools for a second day. The Great Lakes Water Authority says only a section of Farmington Hills with 35,000 reside..

Michigan School’s Water Clear of Chemicals

ROCKFORD, Mich. (AP) — Drinking water tested at a western Michigan middle school has shown no signs of hazardous chemicals from a decades-old tannery waste dump site. Rockford Public Schools turned off drinking fountains at East Rockford Middle School two weeks ago as a precaution after leather and..

Trump Administration Opposes California Water Tunnel Project

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Trump administration said Wednesday that it will not support a massive water project proposed by California, the latest and most serious blow for Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to re-engineer the state’s water system by building two giant water tunnels. “The Trump administration d..

California Democrats Seek New Federal Probe of Water Project

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Five California Democrats in Congress asked Tuesday for a new federal review of funding for Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tunnel project. Their request follows a federal audit of Brown’s $16 billion proposal to re-engineer California’s complex north-south water system by building..

Michigan Water Main Break Continues to Affect Health Care, Schools

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A water main break in suburban Detroit continues to affect area hospital services and is keeping some students home from school for another day. The break of a 48-inch (122-centimeter) line Monday in Farmington Hills that serves customers in western Oakland County pro..

Illinois Attorney General Sues Gas Company Over Leak

MAHOMET, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois attorney general is suing a Chicago gas company over an underground natural-gas leak that has affected water wells near the central part of the state. The News-Gazette reports the lawsuit filed by Attorney General Lisa Madigan against Peoples Gas is based on a refe..

Lawsuit Filed Over Tainted North Carolina Water

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — A law firm fighting lawsuits for Flint, Michigan, residents over lead-tainted drinking water is filing the latest class-action case blaming a North Carolina chemical plant for releasing little-understood compounds into the water supply for hundreds of thousands of people. Th..

Detroit Boil Water Advisory to Last for Days

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Officials say the earliest that a boil water advisory could be lifted for several suburban Detroit communities is Friday evening. The Great Lakes Water Authority gave the update Tuesday on Monday evening’s break of a 48-inch (122-centimeter) diameter pipe in Farmingto..

Flint Council Approves Short-Term Deal for Drinking Water

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The City Council in Flint, Michigan has voted to extend a short-term contract for drinking water after requesting more time to comply with a federal judge’s order to choose a long-term water source. The council voted Monday night to approve a two-year contract with the Great Lak..

Boil Water Advisory Issued in Detroit Area After Main Break

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) – A water main break in suburban Detroit has prompted officials to issue a boil water advisory for about a dozen communities. The break on Monday evening in Farmington Hills affected surrounding communities and closed a number of area schools on Tuesday. In parts of Nov..

$22 Million Awarded for Water, Sewer Projects in New York's Finger Lakes Region

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced over $22 million in grants to support 21 essential drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the Finger Lakes region, including upgrades and replacements for drinking water systems, filtration plants and water mains, and the constructi..

Pennsylvania DEP Fines Ohio Lab for Water Testing Violations

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) collected a $220,000 penalty from Summit Labs in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, for violations related to testing drinking water samples and failure to notify DEP and public water suppliers in cases of MCL exceedances, among others. “We rely on a..

Four Union Utility Workers from New Jersey American Water Travel to Puerto Rico for Relief Work

Four New Jersey American Water employees joined a team of more than 300 AFL-CIO volunteers who traveled to Puerto Rico on Oct. 4 to help with Hurricane Maria relief efforts. The employees who volunteered to join this two-week assignment are Utility Mechanics Al Archila, Karl Engallena and Jorge Pere..

Flint City Council Seeks More Time to Choose Water Source

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The City Council in Flint, Michigan, is asking a federal judge for more time to choose a long-term source of drinking water in the wake of the city’s lead-tainted water crisis. The request was made in a Sunday court filing. Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration sued Flint to force t..

PSC No Longer Copied on Boil Water Advisories in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Utility regulators in Kentucky say water utilities are no longer required to send copies of “boil water” advisories to the state Public Service Commission. The PSC says it will now be informed of such advisories through a daily report from the Kentucky Division of Water...

Rhode Island Community With Chemicals in Drinking Water to Get Update

BURRILLVILLE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island officials will be holding another community meeting in Burrillville, after chemicals were detected in the drinking water. The Health Department and Department of Environmental Management are set to hold a meeting Monday evening at Burrillville Middle Sch..