April 2023 Vol. 78 No. 4

(UI) — The tri-annual ConExpo/Con-Agg Show broke all its previous records, including attendance, with over 139,000 people registered. Overwhelming size aside, a tremendous amount of pent-up energy was expended at ConExpo.

Coming out of conference season, sentiment remains high, and supply of labor is the one constraint that is keeping the industry in check. We continue to see consistent investment in existing infrastructure and a healthy pipeline of bid opportunities for new construction.

(UI) — Most municipalities are fully aware that preventing sewer overflows is a national enforcement priority for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), yet many struggle to stay compliant. Too often, when municipalities are short-staffed and must maintain miles of sewer line, they end up simply responding to emergencies.

When taking control of the House of Representatives in January, GOP leaders made it clear that a top priority in the 118th Congress would be to roll back some of the harmful climate change policy that was included in recent legislation backed by the Biden White House, and to reinstate commonsense policy that would “unleash American energy” and lower energy costs for American families.

(UI) — For decades, Randall Community Water District worked with PVC pipe, joining the pipe with bell gaskets. But when the water district was faced with a 3,000-foot bore that couldn’t be done with PVC, Manager Scott Pick realized he needed to find another solution.

NASSCO (National Association of Sewer Service Companies) expects to have a very productive year in 2023. The groundwork was set in 2022, when the association did an excellent job of recovering from “COVID fatigue,” according to association President Max Gowdy, “when members and staff adopted new ways to communicate, conduct business and achieve goals”

(UI) — When the effects of rampant inflation became apparent in Nevada’s Virgin Valley Water District in 2022, a tank installation project budgeted for $2.4 million – similar to a $2-million-project completed in 2018 – received a bid of $3.6 million. So Chief Financial Officer Wes Smith set to work recalculating the projected cost of planned capital projects.

(UI) — The 2024 Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exhibition (UCT) is moving to a later date and a new location. UCT will be held March 19–21 at the just-opened Oklahoma City Convention Center.

For 22 years, the RehabZone has been an integral element in the annual Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exposition (UCT), and it was again, in February, at the 2023 event.

During Richard Howard's tenure, Orlando’s Public Works department was increasingly known for its innovative, sometimes experimental and largely successful approaches to wastewater and stormwater management.

(UI) — Cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) has surpassed more than 52 years of successful and diversified installations. Over those years, the technology has advanced with development of new techniques and products that have influenced cost, quality and installation speed.

(UI) — As municipalities and other agencies embrace the concept of asset management for their underground infrastructure, locating and identifying those assets become more important. In the past, the options for locating and identifying underground assets were a challenge.