August 2020 Vol. 75 No. 8

August is upon us and already there are those lamenting a lost 2020, calling it a year of failure. Granted, to date, 2020 has been a year of sickness, a year of protest, a year of violence, a year of lunacy. However, I don’t buy that it has been a year of failure.

Most people involved in utility construction know clay pipe has been around for a long time – thousands of years, in fact, beginning in 4000 B.C. in Babylonia. It has been used in the United Kingdom since the late 1600s.

Published in February 2020, by the Cross Bore Safety Association, Leading Practices for Cross Bore Risk Reduction is the direct result of the industry’s expressed desire to have a high-confidence guidance document to help ensure cross bores are not created and, if existing, eliminated.

The popular adage “out with the old, in with the new” is often associated with enthusiasm and fanfare. Yet, in the world of sewer replacement and expansion, the true test of a successful project is having the work go almost unnoticed by the public.

The underground utility infrastructure is an essential service and now, more than ever, maintaining it effectively and efficiently is crucial. By attending the Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exhibition (UCT), Jan. 26–28, 2021 in Nashville, Tenn., you will enhance your ability to do just that.

Vortex Companies Adds Diversity, Inclusion Position, New Facilities The Vortex Companies has promoted Candace Strother to the newly created position of director of Diversity and Inclusion. In this role, she oversees Vortex’s efforts to promote diversity in ..

CUIRE, of the University of Texas at Arlington, will hold its 19th annual Pipeline and Trenchless Technology Training and Certification Schools in conjunction with the Underground Construction Technology (UCT) International Conference & Exhibition.

Since December 2017, a group of researchers from CUIRE at the University of Texas at Arlington has been developing design methodologies for structural applications of spray applied pipe linings (SAPLs) in the renewal of culverts and drainage structures.

Together, NASSCO and CUIRE promote the need for quality assessment, maintenance and rehabilitation standards to sustain wastewater collection systems, as well as for thoroughly trained, qualified and certified practitioners, as critical components of the public health infrastructure.

Zahra (Ellie) Kohankar Kouchesfehani Ph.D. candidate in Civil Engineering with research in the design of spray-applied linings (SAPLs) for structural applications Society of Iranian American Women for Education (SIAWE) Endowed Scholarship, 2020 Outstanding Civil Engineering Ph.D. Student Award,..

A federal court tossed out a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) policy to extend rehearing periods so it could spend more time examining primarily landowner or environmental groups’ complaints about FERC’s approval of a new construction application.

Remembering Ron Halderman Ron Halderman, a widely respected HDD pioneer whose more than 35 years of experience helped define the future of trenchless technology, died at 72 in Billings, Montana, after battling cancer. Throughout his career in the design an..