Business
Connecticut Water Service Makes Leadership Changes
The Board of Directors of Connecticut Water Service, Inc., announced today they have accepted the resignation of Eric W. Thornburg as Chairman, President and CEO, and unanimously appointed David C. Benoit to serve as the Interim President and CEO of the company, its Connecticut operating subsidiarie..
Consumers Energy to Take Closer Look at Copper Gas Lines
JACKSON, Mich. (AP) — Consumers Energy has agreed to inspect certain natural gas lines every three years instead of five. The utility is responding to a request from state regulators. The state says leak rates in copper gas lines have climbed in comparison to steel lines that are coated and wrapped..
Conterra Names New Area Sales Manager for the El Paso Market
Conterra Ultra Broadband Holdings, Inc. today announced that Roy Lambert has joined the company to manage the expansion of its services to enterprise customers in the EL Paso, Texas metropolitan area. Lambert is a native of the El Paso area with deep ties to the community and comes with..
Sterlite Tech Launches Dense Network 1152F Cables for Mobile Backhaul
At the India Mobile Congress, Sterlite Technologies today announced the company’s FlashFWD 5G Solution can now be used with 1152F variant cables. FlashFWD 1152F is NABL certified and complies with the latest global standards of IEC.60794 series, ANSI/ICEA S-87-640, Telcordia GR-20, and ITU-T Recomme..
Brown and Caldwell VP Elected to AWWA National Board
The American Water Works Association has elected Brown and Caldwell Vice President Kelly Comstock to serve on its National Board as the Georgia Section director. A 20-year member of the Association, Comstock has distinguished himself as an influential advocate for the state’s water sector. With ove..
California Water Service Group Names Pottenger to Board of Directors
California Water Service Group today announced the election of Carol M. Pottenger to the Company’s Board of Directors, effective September 27, 2017. The first female three-star Admiral in American history to lead in a combat branch, Pottenger served for 36 years in the U.S. Navy. One of the first ..
American Water Awarded New Contract for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio
American Water Works Company, Inc. today announced that its Military Services Group has been awarded a contract for ownership, operation and maintenance of the water and wastewater systems at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. According to the contract, the award revenue is estimated at approx..
Peak 10 + ViaWest Launches 100 Gigabit Network Connectivity Across America
Peak 10 + ViaWest has launched a new core network backbone featuring 100 Gigabit (Gb) connectivity across nine of its data center and cloud node locations in the United States. This 100Gb backbone increases the company’s network capacity by five times and provides customers with network..
New Jersey American Water Invests $4.4 Million in Monmouth County Water Upgrades
New Jersey American Water has started construction on a number of water infrastructure improvements, investing over $4.4 million within its Monmouth County service areas. The approximate 30,130 feet of new pipe replaces water main that was installed as far back as the 1900s. The existing pipe has re..
Enbridge Fails Pipeline Inspection in Canada
Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) has issued three Inspection Officer Orders to Enbridge for failure to adhere to worker safety, pipe handling and environmental protection requirements during construction activity on the High Pine Expansion Project near Chetwynd, British Columbia. The NEB orders ..
American Water Charitable Foundation Provides Support to Recent Hurricane Disaster Relief Efforts
The American Water Charitable Foundation announced it is providing a grant of $70,000 to the American Red Cross to individuals and families impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Puerto Rico. “The American Water Charitable Foundation is pleased to join the ma..
SummitIG to Extend Dark Fiber Network in Northern Virginia
SummitIG today announced it will expand its dark fiber infrastructure throughout Northern Virginia by 50 miles in 2017. The company also expects to increase its 61 on-net buildings to 70. SummitIG’s existing 500-mile fiber optic network includes unique and densely populated infrastructure stretchin..
Mississippi Firm to Expand Internet Offerings Across State
RIDGELAND, Miss. (AP) — C Spire says it will expand internet service in Mississippi. The telecommunications company says it will begin offering wireless internet in 46 communities by year’s end. Speeds will be up to 25 megabits per second, using signals from nearby cell towers. Ridgeland-base..
Swiss ABB to Buy Unit from General Electric for $2.6 Billion
GENEVA (AP) — Swiss robotics and industrial machinery maker ABB is buying the electrification services unit of U.S. conglomerate General Electric in a deal valued at $2.6 billion, boosting its presence in its crucial North American market. The deal between ABB, which provides high-tech equipment fo..
Nebraska Utility Exec Chosen to Lead National Trade Group
COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska Public Power District executive will lead a national utility trade group for the next year. NPPD’s Chief Operating Officer Tom Kent was recently chosen at the president of RMEL. The group serves the utility industry with education and networking services. The util..
Pacific Connector Pipeline Application Filed
Veresen Inc. has submitted applications with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the Jordan Cove Energy and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline Projects, which include the construction and operation of the 7.8 million tonne per annum LNG export terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon and a related pipeline..
Hired for His Strong Back in 1957, Honored for Brain in 2017
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (AP) — When Willie Holsclaw started working for the Elizabethton Water Department, he didn’t really get a lot of respect. It was 1957 and the city did not have any backhoes in its fleet back then. All the water department needed was a man with a strong back to dig ditches in al..
Companies Set Subsea Industry Benchmark for Fiber Optic Cable Capacity Reach
Infinera and Seaborn Networks have completed a successful subsea field trial demonstrating the industry’s highest spectral efficiency on an ultra-long-haul subsea cable. The 8QAM trial demonstrated 4.5 bits per second per hertz on Seaborn’s Seabras-1 cable, with a distance of more than 10,500 kilome..
Xylem Expands Hurricane Relief Efforts
Xylem today announced plans to expand its support to $900,000 in contributions and volunteer time to the recovery and rebuild efforts underway in response to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The company’s actions include monetary contributions, employee plus matching gift donations and an expansion of it..
Illinois Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management Names Ajay Jain to Board of Directors
The Illinois Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management (IAFSM) recently appointed HR Green’s Ajay Jain, PE, CFM, to its Board of Directors. As a member of the Board, Jain will also be chairing the Inter-Organization Committee, charged with assuring regular communication between IAFSM and ..
Pipe Restoration Technologies Awarded Lead Pipes Patent
Pipe Restoration Technologies, LLC, makers of the ePIPE®, Lead-Free, Leak-Free™ and LeadSmart® product lines, today announced that it has been granted U.S. patent #9764354. This patent is related to the ePIPE system of in-place pipe restoration which reduces lead leaching from underground water serv..
Colin Sabol Appointed President of Xylem’s Sensus & Analytics Businesses
Xylem Inc. has named Colin Sabol Senior Vice President and President of Sensus & Analytics, effective October 1. Sabol succeeds Randy Bays, who will move into an advisory role with a focus on Xylem’s global manufacturing operations. Both will report to Xylem President and CEO, Patrick Decker. Xylem..
Ukiah Valley Sanitation District Announces New General Manager
The Ukiah Valley Sanitation District has named Joe Tait General Manager. In his new role, Tait will be responsible for navigating the district through its lawsuit against the City of Ukiah, while also restructuring the district and driving innovation and best management practices to provide ratepaye..
Montana Utility to Build Natural Gas Pipeline to Doosan Bobcat Factory
ISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Bismarck-based Montana Dakota Utilities is building a $13.8 million pipeline to provide natural gas to a South Korea-owned manufacturing facility in southeastern North Dakota. MDU says construction of the 12-inch, 21-mile long pipeline to the Doosan Bobcat Inc.’s factory in Gwi..
Ex-Water Corporation Boss Gets 8 Years for $1 Million Fraud
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The former head of a not-for-profit corporation formed to oversee the water services for the city was sentenced on Friday to more than eight years in prison for accepting nearly $1 million in kickbacks. Linda Watkins Brashear pleaded guilty in 2015 to fraud for participating in ..
Indiana Regulators OK Vectren's Grid Upgrade, Rate Increases
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) — Indiana utility regulators have approved Vectren Corp.’s seven-year plan to upgrade its electrical grid and pass those costs onto its customers through rate increases. The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved the Evansville-based utility’s plan Wednesday. The grid ..
North Dakota Settles with Dakota Access Pipeline Builder
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators have approved an agreement settling allegations that the Texas-based builder of the Dakota Access pipeline violated state rules during construction.North Dakota’s Public Service Commission last year accused Energy Transfer Partners of improperly reportin..
Utility Achieves Methane Capture Milestone
SmSouthern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced the company has passed the one million cubic foot mark in its ongoing methane capture initiative. This innovative process allows for gas that would otherwise be vented to the atmosphere during pipeline replacement work to be saved and reinject..
CommScope CFO to Retire
CommScope today announced that Mark Olson, executive vice president and chief financial officer, intends to retire from the company, effective March 31, 2018. CommScope will retain a leading executive search firm to help identify the company’s next chief financial officer and will consider internal..
Miners & Pisani, Inc. Expands Presence In Utility Market
Miners & Pisani, Inc. has hired two industry veterans to lead the company’s utility sales division, representing Honeywell’s HPS – Honeywell Process Solutions line of natural gas measurement, flow correction and flow control products as the Authorized Distributor and Channel Partner for gas utilitie..
- OSHA cites Florida contractors for trench safety violations at sewer and excavation sites
- Biden-Harris administration invests $849 million in aging water infrastructure, drought resilience
- Texas contractor penalized by OSHA for repeated trench safety violations
- West Virginia approves $67 million for water, sewer projects
- Mark Boyer named 2025 MVP of underground infrastructure industry